I went to a wedding this weekend and it was lovely. Young love in the air is so inspiring! All the dreams and hopes for the future are just sitting right there like gifts waiting for them to open!
They have no idea what lies before them. The better. The worse. Just eyes closed and dancing. I love that. Yes, it's gonna be a long road. But oh so worth it. If I could talk to my 18 year old self standing at the altar some 27 years ago and tell her all the trials she will face, and the heartache and the tears...I'm not sure my little 18 year old self would understand it all. I had stars in my eyes and my heart in the clouds. And that's ok.
I've grown - we've grown. We've learned so much about each other, life, others, ourselves. It hasn't all be happy happy - but it has all been wonderful.
I think this song explains it perfectly. Lyrics are below.
I was nineteen, you were twenty-one
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway
We bought our rings for forty each
From a pawn shop down the road
We made our vows and took the leap
Now fifteen years ago
We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard
Is a good place to begin
'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found
And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love's chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me
'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear
'Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you
You might not know this about me... but I'm an introvert. I like people and I like being around people...just in limited quantities. I like time alone. A lot. I like time to myself and time to think by myself.
You might not think I'm an introvert because my hubby is such an extrovert! But it's true. I am more of an introvert.
So just some thoughts on being an introvert:
I do enjoy people and big crowds but if I'm not talking that doesn't mean I'm not listening. And I may need to leave and walk around by myself just to recharge a bit. Crowds drain me.
I'm better talking one on one or in small groups.
I love to be silly and have fun.
If I've spent a while with a big group then I need some down time to recharge.
I'm perfectly fine spending an entire weekend alone. Or going places alone.
I think internally. I may mull something over for a while and process it all internally. I may or may not eventually tell you how I feel.
I prefer to work alone. I'm not sure if this is an introvert thing or just a being independent thing.
I like being married to my best friend the Extrovert! He helps me get out of my shell and not be a hermit! He makes my life interesting and a whole lot of fun!
God made us all different! I'm thankful for that! It'd be a pretty quiet world if we were all like me! I'm glad I have a lot of extrovert friends too! They are fun! and I love it!
Just not too much fun all at once! HA!
So...Did you think I was an introvert? How about you? Where do you fall on the introvert/extrovert scale?
I love to vacation! And travel! And explore new things! Even if we can't get away for a long period of time we take every advantage of our weekends! If you think about it- I get 2 weeks vacation a year- that's 10 days PLUS there are 52 weekends in a year--that's 114 days! So that is 124 days a year to explore and have adventures! Not to mention the occasional 3 day weekend! Bonus!!
So what kind of things can we do in just a weekend? Well, lots!! It doesn't really have to cost anything either. If you are going on the cheap then pack a lunch and dinner, take advantage of a campground to spend the night or an Air bnb, and find out the free events that are happening near you that weekend.
Adventurous ideas:
Go to a museum in your town
Find the botanic gardens in your area
Google bicycling near me and find a new bike path
Your local library usually has a list of free events and concerts in your area. Go! and take a hoop too! It's a ton of fun!
Walk to your local coffee shop. You'll be surprised little things you notice about the neighborhood that you hadn't noticed while driving.
Take a board game or backgammon or cards and go to a park and play in the sunshine!
Find a little small town a few hours away and explore their town square
Go geocaching! You will find so many cool local things you didn't know existed by finding these! They are EVERYWHERE!
Google Adventures near me and see what pops up!
Find out when the local festivals are in your area! Maybe there's a parade you could check out!
Go to the library and pick up books that look interesting and just sit and read
The point is have fun! Do what you like to do! The laundry will always be there, the chores will always be there! (just get it done quick so you can go have fun!)
Don't put off an adventure today! Even little small things add up to a LOT of fun!
My dad is a storyteller. He likes to take his time telling stories. When you are listening to one of his stories, you just listen. He takes lots of pauses and thinks about each word he's going to say. When you listen to him you don't want to interrupt or ask questions. Just sit and listen to what he's saying. There will probably be some sort of punch line or moral at the end of the story that you weren't expecting. So you've got to really listen. Let him take his time and tell you.
My dad is a writer too. He used to write all kinds of stories and poems for his online groups. Thankfully a friend of his preserved these stories into a notebook some years ago. Now my cousin has taken up the mantle and published these stories into a book!
I am so thankful for this! You see, my dad has Alzheimer's now. I'm sure all those stories are rattling around in his head but he can't communicate them to us now. All we have left of these stories are what we remember. But now we have a book!
I was reading them this morning and I can hear my dad in telling the stories. I hear his pauses. I hear his laughter as he gets tickled. I hear his joy in recalling things from his childhood.
Stories are a bridge to our past. Stories help the next generation understand a little more of the past generations. Stories are a legacy to be passed on.
I will greatly treasure this book of stories.
You can order it online too! Just click here. Proceeds go to Alzheimer's research.
What stories will you tell your children and grandchildren? Maybe you can write some down! Who knows where it will lead!
Over the years, we've moved a lot and lived in a lot of different places. We've met loads of people. Well, I should say Larry has gotten us to meet loads of people! ha ha! He's definitely the extrovert and I'm the introvert.
Some of the friendships that we've made have continued and some have waned. Some were dormant for a while and some have renewed. I do enjoy all my different friendships. As I was sitting having lunch with some friends today I was thinking about what a friend is.
F - Fellowship The dictionary describes fellowship as a "friendly association with people that share one's interests." I remember talking to someone one time who didn't go to our home church and describing how our church worked. I said that we fellowship for and hour or so. He looked at me and said "Fellowship for an hour!" I don't think I can do that! -and then he said "Wait, what's fellow-shipping?" Haha! As friends, I think our first thing we love to do is laugh and talk with each other. Those are some good fellow-shipping times. R - Remembering Another great thing about friends is remembering. We can get together and reminisce about the past. We can tell stories that only we know and laugh at those things or cry. It's good to bring to mind the things of the past. It's good to have people with me who bring things to mind.
I - Inspiration I love to be around inspirational people. Sometimes just a little word or action one of my friends does or says will catapult my life in a whole new direction. Or maybe I just start to see the world a little differently.
E - Encourager Friends seems to always know the right word to say to lift my day or help me see the sun behind the clouds. My Eeyore self really needs a good encourager at times and I'm glad I have friends that will do that!
N- Need I hate to be that "needy" friend. But that's how friendships work. Sometimes we need stuff from people and sometimes they need stuff. It goes both ways. It shouldn't be weighted on one side. I want to be the friend that can come over when you need, or talk when you need, or just listen.
D - Different Thank goodness all my friends are not just like me. We all have different interests, tastes in things and temperaments. But that's what makes it great! We can sharpen each other and keep each other on our toes! And I can learn not everyone's does things the way I do (or should!)
So it's a new year and everyone's making resolutions. I'm not a big resolutions fan. I'm super goal oriented and if I don't think I can make my goals then I don't want to resolve to do them.
So if you aren't making any New Year's resolutions this year, how about this:
Start: think about starting one new thing this year. Maybe it's trying to knit? or start reading the Bible, or start walking at lunch? You don't have to commit to a whole new lifestyle but maybe just a start will nudge you in the right direction.
Stop: think about stopping one thing this year. Just as easily as it is to start new habits, it's hard to stop. But maybe we can just stop one thing? maybe stop interrupting when someone is talking? or stop buying those donuts? or stop complaining? stop checking your phone. There's always something I need to stop doing. It's being mindful of those things that will help.
Continue: Think about continuing one thing this year. What did you do last year that was a good thing? Continue it! Continue walking, continue building friendships, continue praying, continue serving others. There are lots of good habits that we can keep doing!
That's my resolve for this year. Start one new thing, stop doing one thing and continue doing something good.
