Busy As A Bee

Now and then I find myself having an inner argument. When things are calm and low-key in life with less obligations and activities, I find myself being inspired to get involved in new activities, groups, and life experiences. However, once I commit to such a schedule, I find that I begin to feel run down and a bit anxious. What to do?! Take this week for example: Monday I went to the library downtown with my friend H and her adorable baby girl, C! (Nerdy as it may be, may I please mention that just being in a library atmosphere like this one felt like a reader's paradise!) Tuesday I celebrated one of my best friend's birthday, Wednesday was Bible study, Thursday was indoor cycling at the gym, and the weekend holds a visit to friends in a nearby city. Each of these was and is very important to me and I enjoyed them thoroughly, but my body is definitely telling me to slow down. I suppose the old cliche stands for a reason: "Take time to smell the roses." I guess one can't do that while running through the garden full sprint now can they? As I led myself from work to one activity after another, I found myself embracing the moments of quiet time in the silence and longing to sit on the swing at camp that was so serene this past summer. Truth be told, I even drove past a beautiful field the other day (I have no idea how it managed not to be brown and crunchy like the grass everywhere else!) and thought how wonderful it would be just to lay out in the middle of it and take in the beautiful nature around me. Okay, maybe that's a bit too Twilight. No sparkling and charming vampires to take along for the outing. Nonetheless, my reactions made a very strong point to me. Balance is so important in life. I must continue to make time to be an excellent educator, I must make time to have a blast with friends and family, I must make time to grow in Christ. Last but not at all least, I must begin to make some quiet time a priority to rest, to relax, and to let my hair down. Here's to slowing down and enjoying both the busy moments along with those serene opportunities to sit down and put your feet up. Ahhhh............sounds perfect.

Monday Melody

Lots of bloggers whose pages I have browsed use clever little titles corresponding with the day of the week to denote the theme of a particular posting. Therefore, I thought I would make today Monday Melody and share a song that has inspired me lately. I love music, so it's definitely a bit difficult to choose one. Nonetheless, I think the most obvious choice would be a song I played repeatedly the other evening until my roommate asked me if I was actually going to play it yet another time. Oops, guilty! Once I get hooked on a particular melody or lyrics, I play that song into the ground. This particular song, "Defying Gravity" is from the musical Wicked. One of my good friends shared the Glee version recently which is pretty amazing. My sorority little sis also informed me that she has tickets for us to go see the original singer of the song, Idina Menzel, in concert in a few weeks! (Hence the whole reason I revisited this song the other day.)

I think that the song has a beautiful and sweet melody accompanied by equally beautiful lyrics. In one particular verse, she sings:
"I'm through accepting limits
'cause someone says they're so.
Some things I cannot change
but til I try I'll never know."

I think it's so easy for life and the expectations of others to pull us down with the strength of gravity. I love the magical thought of defying gravity and soaring to new heights. Why do we allow ourselves to set limits that we could surpass if only we dared to try? This afternoon, I put up a new bulletin board in my classroom with a writing theme. On it, I included an inspirational quote I found online which said "If you want to be a writer, write." I think that mentality can be applied to virtually any situation. You can't do something unless you are willing to take a risk and try it. Imagine away, but it won't become real until you put it into action. The only person holding me back is me. The only person holding you down is you. I think I'll try defying gravity too.

Three Generations of Style

This weekend I came back home to spend some time with my family. As I mentioned in my last post, I have a couple of friends' weddings coming up this weekend and next. Being the type of person who plans way ahead, I decided I'd go ahead and go shopping for a new dress for these two occasions. After convincing my mom to head to the nearby mall with me (which didn't take much convincing at all), I decided that I also wished for my grandma, who happens to live with my mom, to go with us. First of all, I knew it would be really good for her to get out of the house for a short outing and secondly, I must admit that I wanted her fashion opinion as well. These two women who accompanied me to the mall were the same ones who took me shopping as a toddler and laughed at my repetition of phrases such as "navy" and "on sale." Let's just say that the core of my appreciation for nice clothing and style, I inherited honestly from my mother and grandmother. Anyways, back to the story. So off to the store we headed and wound our way through various departments to grouping of racks upon racks of sparkly, shiny, and glitzy dresses. I understand why many males avoid shopping like the plague. Honestly, it can be overwhelming to sift through so many options, but I was ready for the challenge. With a handful of dresses gathered from the masses, I headed for the dressing room to try on and display each choice. After collecting the opinions of my mom, grandma, and the saleslady who jumped in, we decided upon just the right one. I was pleased as punch to have so quickly found one that I was happy with and we headed back home. Such a simple and quick shopping trip turned out to be a wonderful outing for three generations of women with style.

I wonder how many girls have the opportunity for such a simple but special outing. Sure, choosing a dress seems a bit trivial considering the big things in life, but it saddens me that so many people my age fail to seek out the advice and wisdom of our parents and grandparents. Growing up, my brother and I always laughed at our parents' attempts to impart their knowledge to us in what we laughingly referred to as LL's or life lessons. Nonetheless, my parents' and grandparents' wise words about saving and spending wisely, work, love, friendships, and such topics have proven to ingrain themselves into my being and help guide me down a steady path. I like to blaze my own trail, but it's wonderful to have the voice of Mom, Dad, and each of my grandparents whispering in my memory wise advice. Because they have been there, they wish to pass it on. Find your way. Do you thing. But while you're at it, don't forget to look back and seek wisdom from previous generations in the family who know and love you best.