Trick or Treat

I know it isn’t quite Halloween yet, but with the Big Move on the horizon, I’m not sure I will be able to post before then, so this is my official Happy Halloween post :) I have to admit, I love Halloween. Not as much the holiday I guess, but just the Fall season in general and things that are associated with Halloween: hot cider, hayrack rides, roasted hotdogs and marshmallows, pumpkin carving (the picture above is my carving from 2 or 3 years ago) crisp evenings (or this year, soggy cold everything), vividly colored leaves….while I am a summer girl at heart, I love Fall. In fact, it might be my favorite season if it weren’t for the impending doom that is winter.

Anyway, back to Halloween. Trick or treating – probably will be fun again with Brady now. But Halloween still reminds me too much of college days, where it was an excuse for teenage girls and young adults to dress as (excuse me language) sluttily and act as (excuse again) skanky as they like. And it was ok, because it was all masked in the festivities of Halloween. Where do we cross that line from Princess to French maid, from Dr. Doolittle to Naughty Nurse, from Little House on the Prairie to random mini skirt, high boots, and bra girl?

I have to admit, I (somewhat) fell victim to this holiday when in college. I paraded around in my hodgepodge little outfit that was some random semblance of whatever small clothing I owned, threw on a wig, and was someone else for a night. What is it about this kind of action that intrigues us, draws us in, entices us to play the part of someone else for a night? After discussing masks at Ignition last week, it got me thinking – Halloween is the one time we are allowed to be anyone we want to and not get made fun of, looked down on, or discriminated against for it. What if every day was Halloween, but instead of dressing up to be someone we aren’t, we were all just ourselves? What if instead of hiding behind more masks, we just shed the ones we wear every day? Maybe this year for Halloween, I’ll just be me :)

Home Sweet Home

Tomorrow we will be closing on our new house. I am excited to be closing one chapter of life and starting a new one as we move into our first single-residence home! It will be so nice to have a yard, an extra bedroom, non-shared walls, a basement for storage, and carpet. It won’t be as nice to mow, maintain the exterior of our house, clean more space, and attempt to keep Brady from falling down the stairs instead of climbing up them, but we take the small negatives with the huge positives. While the townhouse was a great starter home, this house truly feels like our own: we are the first owners, we will finish the basement however we choose, and we will be solely responsible for ensuring the house remains in good condition. Exciting…and a tad scary.

I’ll Be There For You

I recently heard on the radio that the cast of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. television show may be reuniting for a movie! I cannot tell you how excited I am if this is true! F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is truly the greatest show of all time. I think I have seen each episode at least 20 times, probably more. I fall asleep to it every night. I just love that show. Maybe it’s because I can see a little bit of myself in each of the characters.

Ross is my favorite. He wants to appear cool and collected, but is just a nerd at heart! He’s smart, he’s loving, he’s genuine, and he’s completely goofy. And he loves puzzles  :)

Rachel changes the most during the show: she begins as this scared, spoiled girl and grows into a woman who can fend for herself, pursues a career in a field she is passionate about, and takes motherhood head-on.

Monica is neurotic and organized, and while I don’t share her affinity for cleaning, I do like things organized. She has a ribbon drawer, I have a ribbon box  :)

Chandler is the comedian of the group, and comes in at a close second for most-changed character. The man afraid of commitment gets married. He overcomes a dull, meaningless job and finds something he enjoys – even if it’s not easy.

Phoebe is such a free spirit. Even though she’s “street savvy”, her innocence makes you want to protect her. And although I hope my singing skills are better than hers, we do share that commonality.

Joey…what is there to say about Joey except he’s dull, he likes to party, and yet he probably has more loyalty to his friends than anyone on the show. He will go out of his way for his best friends, and I hope my friends think of me with that kind of loyalty.

I would love for there to be a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. movie. I definitely hope this rumor turns out to be true!

Old Hat

The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left. ~ Jerry M. Wright

For the first time in my life, I feel OLD. It seems like just yesterday I was watching the Little Mermaid, wishing I was 16 years old, wishing I could grow up and be a teenager already. I wanted to read YM, I wanted to watch Clueless, I wanted to be free. Now l find myself gravitating toward Better Homes & Gardens, shaking my head at those naïve little teeny-boppers on TV, and wishing someone would tell me what to do and how to do it. How did that happen? 

I always wondered when adults get to the point when they wish the birthdays would go down instead of up. It has just recently occurred to me that I can no longer classify myself as “college age”. I have officially aged out of the Miss America competition. My little brother started college, and my little sister is almost done with college. I am married and I have a son. In middle and high school, teachers would have us write down where we wanted to be in ten years, or at 25 years old. I have no idea what I wrote down, but I’m sure I haven’t done all that I wanted to do, and yet here I am. 

I. Am. A. Grownup. And I don’t really know that I like it.

Role Model

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” ~ James 1:27

My infant son is my role model. I believe we could all learn valuable lessons from babies.

Babies don’t judge others. They play nicely with others, they don’t connive or deceive.

Babies welcome a warm smile from a stranger. They will happily interact with anyone they perceive to be friendly. Babies don’t know social “boundaries”. They simply trust people who are nice to them and don't trust people who aren't.

Babies are not racist. They don’t worry about social status, hair color, eye color, skin color, height, or weight. They treat all people – rich or poor, fat or skinny, young or old – the same. The only thing they require in return is kindness and love.

Babies are content with themselves. They don’t stress over money, friendships, or school. They don’t worry about being the biggest, best, or brightest. They enjoy being exactly who God made them to be.

Babies eat when hungry until they are full. They sleep when they need rest. They listen to their bodies.

Unless babies’ basic needs are not being met, their natural disposition is joy. They revel in the joy of living life.

Babies face challenges head on. They try until the challenge is mastered. Babies are ambitious.

So what happens to us in the time between those first few years of life and now? The world happens.