(Temporarily) Satiated Wanderlust

     Just over a month ago, I was itching to go, to travel, to explore. I've had that desire fulfilled now and I'm at least temporarily satisfied to remain at home. In the last month, I've spent time in Canada, South Africa, and Zambia, as well as the US (of course) and stopovers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Rome, Italy. I don't know if stopovers count, especially when they occur from 3am-4am, as the Rome stopover did, but I was still in those countries for a short time.
     I drove into Canada (7 hours of travel), camped in very wet conditions, explored Vancouver, drove home (3 hours of travel), drove to La Conner (2 hours of travel), experienced the Tulip Festival with my wonderful mother, drove home (2 hours of travel), flew to South Africa (28 hours of travel), spent a fantastic week with friends, flew to Zambia (6 hours of travel), spent a weekend with my other family, the Taylors (http://robandjennifer.wordpress.com/ go follow them!), and flew home (36 hours of travel). That last part of was especially taxing. I had an amazing time... but, yea, I'm liking my bed, my mom's food, and a more relaxed schedule. I didn't ever think I'd call calculus relaxed.
     Until I moved to South Africa, I was never a wanderer. Short trips, sure, that's fine. But I intended to grow up and live right where I'd always lived, maybe even in the same house. Now...the whole world is open to me. I've spent time in different lifestyles, and the term culture shock isn't foreign. It would be hard to live elsewhere, but I could do it. I might even want to... More than anything, though, I want to live where God puts me. The opportunities He's given me at such a young age have broadened my horizons and made me consider differed places. What is He preparing me for, I wonder? I can't wait to find out.
     While these last few weeks haven't resulted in culture shock since they were short term, they have been full of experiences. International travel on my own, especially, was new. I had to navigate airports, luggage, visas, customs, and vaccinations (or lack thereof), all on my own. There were times when I was nervous, but now I've done it, I can do it again. I hope to, in the future.
     Each trip has been different and each has been good.

It was good to make new friends while camping in thunderstorms, good to explore the gorgeous forest around Golden Ears provincial park, good to laugh at crazy circumstances.

It was good to spend time with my mom, good to have my camera out and take as many pictures of tulips as I wanted, good to have a schedule that allowed me to wander La Conner, read by lamplight on the porch with the stars above me, and sing hymns in the morning.

It was good to be surprised by special girls with a special birthday dinner, good to have a busy schedule of seeing everyone, mini golfing, watching movies, playing board games, eating good food, good to work on relationships that I want to keep for years to come.

It was good to be part of the Taylor family, good to spend a little time in a second world country, good to talk to Mr Taylor, Mrs Taylor, and Matt.

It was good. And now it's good to be home with those I love.

The Average American

According to the New Strategist, the Average American...

• makes $735/week
• has a landline telephone
• says he/she is in very good or excellent health
• is overweight
• believes the effects of global warming have already begun or soon will 
• is currently married
• lives in one of the top 50 metropolitan areas
• lives in a house built before 1975
• watches 2 hours and 49 minutes of television a day
• drinks alcohol regularly
• pays his/her credit card bill in full each month
• has been to college, but does not have a college degree
• believes in God without a doubt 
• favors the death penalty
• believes in evolution
• wants the government to spend more on education, health care, and the environment
• does not know which political party controls the House of Representatives

• The Average American Household contains 2.6 people, owns 2.28 vehicles, 1.6 dogs, 2.1 cats, and 2.3 birds, and is $75,600 in debt (including the mortgage).
• The Average American Man, between the ages of 30-39, has black hair and a BMI of 29 at 5'9".
• The Average American Woman, between the ages of 30 and 39, has brown hair and a BMI of 26.4 at 5'4".

     Right. Enough statistics.  You don't even have to read all of those to see where I might be going with this post. I fit... let me count... 3.5 of those. That's 17.5% if you want another statistic. No, I didn't just choose statistics that don't match me. I guess I'm not an Average American. In fact, I don't think I know a single Average American. That's interesting, given those facts are based on us.  Where are all the Average Americans described above? I daresay nowhere.

     Each person is an individual.  Each person has passions and hobbies, history and personality.  That is something that no statistic can capture.  Yes, 52% of the population might enjoy scrapbooking (I'm making that up), and that means the enjoyment of scrapbooking is a trait of the Average American, but even that number means very little. One person's scrapbook looks completely different from another person's because each scrapbook reflects the individual who spent time creating it. 

     The Average American is a bunch of numbers that eliminate our uniqueness. Whatever it is that makes me, me, can't be captured in the Average American because it's me, and I'm not Average.  I'm more than Average.  Yet... we still seem to be chasing after this American Dream of keeping up with the Average American (commonly named Jones).  We want to fit in, to be like everyone else. Everyone else, in my opinion, is boring, impossible, and even contradictory. 

     God created each and every one of us. We simply have to look around at creation to see that He has an abundance of creativity, and He applied that creativity to us as well. Psalm 139:13-14 is an oft-quoted passage, but it comes from one of my favorite Psalms and is beautiful each and every time it is used: 

For You formed my inward parts; 

You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are Your works;

my soul knows it very well. 

     You are not average. You are uniquely, wonderfully you, and you are loved by the One who created you as an individual. 

     Now, I do want to note that I wrote this Average American post from an American point of view mostly because it was easiest to find American statistics. The same message applies, though, to South Africans to Germans to Venezuelans to Malaysians and to any person anywhere.

References:

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/Market-research-statistics-US-pet-ownership.aspx

http://press.experian.com/United-States/Press-Release/new-study-shows-multiple-cars-are-king-in-american-households.aspx

http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-570.pdf

http://www.newstrategist.com/store/index.cfm/feature/57_15/50-facts-about-the-average-american.cfm

No, I'm not going to write them up in MLA format. 

Nostalgic Christmas Cheer

     As school ends (last exam was today!), I have more room in my head to focus on the more enjoyable things... like Christmas! And reading, and music, and photography, and crocheting, and selling Christmas trees, and family... all those things, too.  Christmas... it's been in stores since October, and in full swing for a couple weeks now.  Normally, by the time December 25 rolls around, I'm really kind of ready for the whole Christmas season to be done, especially the commercialized part of it. This year... not so much. I found myself singing carols before Thanksgiving (something I make a rule of not doing) and I haven't stopped yet. I'm enjoying the lights and the cheer and everything. We still haven't put up our tree, but I think that's happening this weekend. The Christmas concert is this weekend, the culmination of months of handbell practice. I decided a while ago what my presents would be, so I don't have to worry about that. I still don't like the whole presents vibe... gift giving is not my love language.  What to get, will they like it, what if they don't, what should I ask for, what if there's nothing I want, pretending I like it when I really don't... ugh. And that's self-centered in a way, but it's also not. I still give gifts. I would simply be okay if Christmas were less about boxes under the tree and more about family and Christ.  But! Back on topic! Christmas will be here before I know it!
     Before I know it... part of the reason I'm enjoying this season so much is because it's my kind of last. In nine months, I'll be in college. Sure, I'll come back to visit for the holidays, but there will be a different feel in the house.  This is my last year for really belonging to the traditions.  Childhood... is slipping away. Hence the hesitation in my thoughts. I've been mulling over memories the past couple weeks, pulling out old journals and family photo books, remembering the years and experiences I've gone through. I have not had a perfect life - far from it, with adoption and moving halfway around the world - but I have a had a good life, full of wonderful memories. I slowly turn the pages of the picture books, watching my documented years slip before my eyes. Even amidst pain, I have had a life of laughter and love. I have been given a perspective on life where I can know that struggles pass and contentment is possible as we suffer. And a lot of those memories are coming, not to the end, but to an end. To a beginning as well, but to an end, where my past shifts further into my past.
     I have just a few more months living in this household. A few more months of late night conversations with Teresa, a few more more months of building deep relationships with my siblings, a few more months of being part of this family's day-to-day life. I have to make the most of it. When Jonathon asks for help finding a tree or putting up lights, I need to drop what I'm doing and participate. Even when I should be studying for chemistry. What is an hour of chemistry to an hour of relationship? I want my siblings to look to me as their big sister, ready to talk to when needed, who loves them always. I want to build relationships that will last through years of both pleasant and tough times.
     So I participate whole-heartedly. I take them shopping when they need to buy gifts. I help blow tinsel on the tree. I bake chocolate peppermint cookies. I join them in singing random Christmas carols. When school starts again, I'll again be occupied by other things, but I hope I can do enough now and then to last through my leaving for college. I'll be back next year, but it'll be different. None of my siblings want me to leave.  They're all excited for me, but sorrowful, too. When I come home for any holiday, I'm going to brace myself before I knock on the door. It will be necessary.

 






  Life. Memories. Cheer. Happiness. Sorrow. Christmas. 

     Joyful Nostalgia.

Tell Me a Story

Windy colors

     My life is pretty full right now. Between school and work and college applications and ROTC applications and church and family, I don't really have much time. When I do have time, I'm probably reading or taking pictures or crocheting.  Maybe I'm just sitting, daydreaming; I don't get to do that very often. Okay, all of that to say I'm busy.  A couple days ago, I ought to have been working on an annotated bibliography for history... But I had a week left and after a really nice run through the gusting wind and gorgeously colored leaves slapping me in the face, I couldn't go inside! The colors and movement and light of fall was calling to me and making my shutter-button-finger itch.
     I grabbed my camera, didn't bother to change out of my now-sweaty running clothes, threw my fuzzy boots on, and headed outdoors. Backlighting and yellow leaves and wind blowing had given me some super nice artistic shots on their own, but as I was capturing beauty I was inspired by a story going on around me.  The treehouse, which was a huge renovation project for siblings and friends over the summer, had leaves up the slide and across the deck, the door was hanging off its hinges, and it had a look of abandonment about it.  Our swing set was swinging forlornly in the wind.  The driveway was covered in debris, untouched by bouncing basketballs and running feet.  Thus, I title this set of photos "Abandoned Summer."  It also has ties to growing up, I think...

Forlorn swingset

Look of abandonment

     I love fall, so I wanted to share some of the beauty I captured.  This set also provides a nice intro to what I actually wanted to write about today.  Stories... A week ago (maybe two?) I was driving to the bus stop and the rain drops slid down my windshield, my wipers going swish-swish-swish.  I sat at a red light, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel in time with whatever song was playing on Air 1, when it hit me: I love stories.  Whoa!  Huge revelation!  Not so much... but it truly wasn't a thought that had occurred to me before, at least in this sense.  Yes, I've always loved books with good story lines; I've been an avid reader as long as I can remember.  My love of stories extends further than that, though.  My favorite music is that which tells a story, either through words (Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera, or more contemporary music that doesn't simply repeat words over and over) or through the complexities of the music (classical or jazz).  History is one of my favorite subjects because it's just one huge story, and millions upon millions of stories contained in that one story.  I try and reveal stories through my photography.  I have a love for life because, well, life is a story to which we don't know the ending.  I love my job because I get to work with people who have had a long time to develop their stories.  Maybe one of the reasons I love photographing children is because they are an empty book with so much potential for future stories.  I think a lot of my life revolves around stories!
     God is the writer of perhaps the biggest and most important (to us) story of all - the whole of the one we're in right now.  He's totally in charge.  But He's given us free will to help write our own stories.  How am I going to shape mine?  By taking that free will and surrendering it to God.  By abandoning my own ambitions to the knowledge that God's goals are so much better than mine.  By choosing each and every moment to give it all to Him, and to make that all my best - be it in taking a  chemistry exam, warming up before singing for the children on Sunday morning, being authentic with a friend, in making breakfast for my family, in preparing for whatever future He has in store for me, in photographing His creation, or in serving the residents at the retirement home.  And in taking time to enjoy the beauty of the what He's set around me.

It Doesn't Take Too Much to Get Me Talking Photography

      It's been 5 weeks since I've written anything.  It's not as though I'm lacking ideas, I just haven't gotten around to actually writing them out beyond a couple descriptive sentences (I've made a habit of doing that because too often I don't have any ideas). Why haven't I written?  I don't know. But I keep up with this blog because I enjoy it, not because I feel obligated to. When I feel obligated without enjoyment, then it's time to move on.  As of starting this post, I'm not even 100% sure what topic I'm writing on today.  Maybe I'll just bounce around; that would pretty accurately reflect the status of my mind at the moment.  But... I think I would confuse everyone, so I won't do that.
     I think I'll talk about photography.  It's a topic that (you should have noticed) I love and will very readily talk about.  I'm still learning, and sometimes other photographers introduce topics that are completely, genuinely, honestly, truly NEW to me.  Best learning experiences ever... or at least, they have the steepest learning curve. 

Heidi, sunrisephotogh.com

      I've been truly blessed this summer by Heidi Stephens at Sunrise Photography (sunrisephotogh.com) allowing me to follow her and teaching me some of her trade.  Connections with other photographers are really important, even if those connections only started because I used to babysit her boys!  Because of some of her mentoring, I've really found a desire to improve my photography further; one of my goals is to do one portrait photo shoot each week (I have enough siblings to do so) because portraits are one of my weak points and one of the most commonly requested shoots. I may, even, in the future, throw out an offer of portraits if someone will come be my model for a little while... when my siblings start rolling their eyes at my picture taking requests. 

Watching Grandpa

     That being said, someday I want to work without posing. One of my strengths is detail work, capturing the details of a place or event, and I prefer event shoots to portrait shoots; it's always good to challenge oneself, but it's also good to work within one's strengths. So, eventually, I want to capture life as it is (see my blog post: Now and Then) - especially the hardships that society, with its short attention span, often forgets.  One of the photographers who most inspires me is John Warren, the World Vision photographer (http://blog.worldvision.org/author/jon-warren).  His photos are not only beautiful, they're meaningful!   

Another's Life

     Overall, to improve, I'm working on portraiture, on different composition and editing techniques, and on keeping my eyes open for those real life, hard, easier-to-ignore situations that must not be ignored.  Anyway, I can see photography being a huge part of my life, no matter where God leads me (I still don't know where that is, but so many people ask me that I'll probably devote a single blog post to it).  I ended up bouncing around a bit anyway (seriously, between college now, college future, job now, job future, church, photography, home life, free will vs the sovereignty of God, Anne of Green Gables, and all the other parts of my life, I'm surprised I was able to be cohesive at all), but not nearly as much as I could have been; I stayed on one topic!  And I didn't address every aspect of that topic that has occupied my mind the last couple of weeks.
     I should stick some pictures in here and publish this and be done.  It's not going to get any more cohesive through more editing.  Oh!  I've definitely appreciated all of the praise for the photos that I've posted on Facebook.  This is a collective thank you, too - I intend to go somewhere with my photography.  Okay.  Enough said.  Stop typing.

The Best Vacation Ever

     So I'm about halfway through my summer vacation, now, and I've pretty much decided that this is the best summer I've ever had and that this summer probably will hold that record for a while.  I'm not saying it's perfect, with every day better than the last, but I seem to have struck the balance between busy and relaxation that works for me.  Below is a list of what I think makes this a beautiful summer:

     1. Get a job/be productive.  One of the things I think ruins a vacation is boredom.  Vacation boredom is why I love the South African school schedule we were on: 3 months school, 1 month holiday, repeat.  However, if you can keep yourself busy with a good summer job (especially if it's one you enjoy) that boredom will be a lot longer in coming.  As for being productive, this is around-the-home stuff: college/scholarship applications, cooking, cleaning, organizing, community organizations, etc.  
     2. Be lazy. That said, vacation is supposed to be relaxing.  Only allot yourself so much to do that when you feel like being lazy, you can be lazy.  Obviously, this is in lesser amounts.

     3. Exercise.  You should do this year round, so don't slack off in the summer.  Much.  For more than a couple weeks at a time.  And have fun with exercising!  Don't use that machine every day for 30 minutes... borrrrring.  Pick up a new water sport, or run outside, turning down whichever side street you come to!
     4. Spend time outside.  Summer, unless you live someplace ridiculously hot, is a great time to go outside.  I've pretty much taken over caring for my mom's herb garden, and even the normally tedious chore of weeding is made 100x better when I'm out soaking in the sun.  Read outside.  Nap outside.  Work outside.  And exercising outside is so much nicer than exercising inside.
     5. Do what you love.  Spend time really filling yourself up; for me, this means I take my camera and play.  I read good books (this summer our family is reading classics), I paint, and I spend time in the kitchen.
     6. Build relationships.  This means seeking to hang out with friends, to spend time with siblings, to connect with parents and peers.  Be sociable.  I'm an introvert, so sometimes this is difficult, but it just means sometimes I need to have a day to be antisocial. 
     7. Keep traditions.  For as long as I can remember, my extended family has congregated at a cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota.  I know each of my cousins and aunts and uncles because of this, and I love the lake.  I wouldn't trade this time for anything. 
     8. Start new traditions.  Just because you have good old traditions to keep does not mean you can't start new traditions.  I always wonder when people say one mustn't do something because "it's not tradition."  Tradition had to start somewhere.  So, once a week, have a game night.  Rent a jetski and visit a local body of water.  Something.
     9. Explore.  Going hand in hand with starting new traditions, summer is a perfect time to find new places.  Visit a new restaraunt.  Hike unknown trails.  Take a road trip to wherever you end up.  Or, explore your own town a little bit more. 
     10. Spend time with God.  Most importantly, as always, spend time with the one who set an example for resting, who created the places you'll explore, who is a working, hands-on God, who wants a relationship with you. 

     This summer does have a bittersweet aspect to it.  I turned 18 back in April and, looking back over the last few months, it's almost as if I can feel childhood slipping away.  It's not something I can stop, it's not something I wish wouldn't happen, it's not something I want to hurry up.  People say my entire life is before me, but, more accurately, my entire life is behind me.  The rest of my life is before me.  This may very well be the last summer I can spend in the way I've just described.  That aches, but I've a restless excitement for what comes next, what God will do next.  

Note: it does help to speak to the weatherman and ensure that the summer weather is spectacular.  I've hardly had one ugly day in the last 8 weeks and 3 states.

Sweet Summertime

     In case I haven't mentioned it on here (I don't think I have) and in case I haven't mentioned it to you personally (I probably have, though, I mention it to a lot of people), know this: I make breakfast/lunch twice a week for my family of 8.  See, my mom and I did a trade off: I make breakfast instead of cleaning the chicken coop.  I really think I got the better end of the deal.  But, I can't simply throw cereal, milk, and bowls on the table.  8 people go through cereal really really fast.  I have to actually make breakfast.
     Mom started this serious breakfast-making when we were in South Africa, needing to eat at 6 AM so we could be out the door at 6:20.  Breakfast is varied, filling, and delicious: cobbler, clafouti (klah-FOO-ti), chocolate cake, baked french toast, hash, banana bread, etc.  Desserts work really well for breakfast - just cut the sugar, and it gets pretty healthy.  And all of these (or almost all) can be mixed up, spread into her stoneware Pampered Chef 9x13 pan the night before, and ready to go in the morning. But even with this vast variety, you can get a little bored.  Oh the tedium of plenty.
     Through the long, cold, dark winter days, when I wake up before the sun and am out the door soon after, I don't have time to make fun breakfasts.  Breakfasts where you have to think it through and then spend time doing it?  No, I must be content making it the night before and setting the oven to start at oh-dark-thirty.  Also, that fresh fruit, straight from our garden or a local farmer, which adds color, flavor, and zing to any breakfast dish, is seriously lacking in the middle of the winter.
     So, now summer's starting (they're calling for a high of 90°F today!) and I get to have fun!  Apricots, peaches, berrrrriiiiieeeessss (yum), bananas, apples... all readily available to me.  I wanted some kiwi, too, but it turned out I ate the last one a few days ago.  Oh well.  So blossomed this gorgeously scrumptious breakfast.  I should also note that the original recipe (which I won't even reference because I don't think I ever followed it) called for a sugar cookie base, but that's not such a great idea with 7 kids.  Um, hyper anyone?  The biscuit base worked just as well.  And I still got up at 6 AM to start breakfast, but it wasn't dark.  So I was happy.  MMMMMmmmmmmm...







Summer Breakfast Pizza
serves 8-10
oven 450°F

Ingredients:

Biscuits:
3 c whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c butter
1 c milk

Cream Cheese Spread:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 tsp orange zest

Topping:
1-2 cups of fruit.  I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apricots, apples, and bananas.  The blueberries were frozen, so I thawed them first, but everything else was fresh.

Directions:

1. In a food processor, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.  Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk all at once.  Mix just until dough clings together. 
2. Lightly flour a pizza pan and pat dough out onto the pan.  The dough will be sticky; add more flour as needed, and then lick your fingers. 
3. Bake in a 450°F oven for 10-12 minutes or till golden.  
4. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, orange juice, powdered sugar, and orange zest until well blended.  Set aside. 
5. Prepare fruit topping.  Thaw anything (like blueberries) that's frozen.  Slice larger pieces of fruit (like apples, apricots, strawberries) so they will lie flat on the biscuit.  Set aside.
6. When you pull the biscuit out of the oven, spread the cream cheese over the top while the biscuit is still warm. This way, the cream cheese will melt and spread more easily.  Spread as far out to the edges as you can.  You may have some cream cheese leftover, but it will be good on toast 
or snack. 
7. Create a beautiful fruit arrangement on top and serve to your family.  Be prepared to watch it disappear in an eighth of the time it took you to prepare it, but be sure to help with that disappearing act. 

Credit where credit is due:
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1990s edition
Orange Nut Bread & Cream Cheese Spread, Taste of Home, Karen Sue Garback-Pristera

On (Okay, after...) my Graduation Day

      I really meant to post this a week... two weeks ago.  You know, right after graduation.  Definitely before I left for my week at the US Air Force Academy.  Did that happen?  Nope.  So anyone who actually reads this blog is left with a month between posts.  Not ideal, but what's done is done.  Better late than never?  Back to that cliches thing....
     Anyways, although my technical "what year am I in school" definition is way more complicated than "Senior", suffice it to say that I walked a graduation ceremony this year and will (likely) not next year.  I walked with 7 other seniors at the homeschooling coop that I was part of for a few years before moving to South Africa.  It was such a nice ceremony, just family and friends, but the small graduating class (many who used to be in our class graduated from the local high school) meant each and every one of those graduating had to give a speech.  I probably knew about this 3 or 4 months ago, but did I write it?  Noooo.... It was okay, though, the speech-writing and -delivery went fairly well.  Below is the product of that hurried 15 minutes an hour before showtime.  As the M.C. said, perfected procrastination is known as inspiration.  Keep that in mind.

     
     Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start....  it was a spring day in North Carolina when I was born on April 9, 1996.  The first born, I was to be my parents' guinea pig, as they have so lovingly called me, for the next several years of my life.  Indeed, probably for the rest of it.  Thankfully, my parents are relatively ethical with animals, and I think I turned out okay.
     My mom jokes that she started homeschooling me because she didn't want to take me to the bus every day, and I am certainly thankful for that decision; buses almost always smell bad.  Thus began my homeschooling journey, with many different teachers, friends, and experiences.  I tell people I love homeschooling because I can finish my work at noon and have the rest of the day to myself, but I also love working at my own pace, avoiding the drama of public school, and forging a strong relationship with my parents, especially with my mom.  She has taught me so much outside of academics - to cook, to sew, to be independent, to serve those around me.  I am so thankful for her. 
     I am also thankful for my Dad.  he is a strong father who loves me deeply, who wants me to figure out everything, including how to change the car radio, and who is always ready with a hug when I need one.  I love you Mom and Dad.
     And although at times it may be hard to see past the annoying outsides, I love my siblings as well.  Esther, I love your laughter.  Ivan, your cheerful heart.  Becca, your smile is beautiful.  Jonathon, I do (most of the time) love your goofiness.  Teresa, I love the way you listen to me in the night as we discuss how to solve the problems of the world.  Or how you put up with me when I fall asleep in the middle of the problem solving. 
     My whole family has supported me as I've grown.  It hasn't always been easy, goodness no, or even always good, but it has been a family for which I am so grateful.  Now, as I look to the future, I don't know where I'm going, but I know they'll be with me every step of the way.  
     Although I have been class of 2014 my entire life, my 2 years overseas "messed up" my school schedules, so I am actually only a grade 11 in the eyes of the government; I dropped back a year to take full advantage of the Running Start program.  I am acting a senior in most everything else, but I'll finish up my Associates Degree next year. 
     From there, who knows where God will lead me?  I'm considering the air force, or going into chiropractic.  I'm interested in photography as well, I want to raise a family, and I sense the call of God into the mission field.  Wherever I am, my Lord will be with me and my family behind me.

So yea.

Shapes and sizes, silver and gold

     Lots of teachers diss cliches, but I think there's value in them. Over-usage might be a problem, but when a certain phrase has been around long enough, it starts to gather connotations, same as a word would. So sometimes cliches more accurately express a concept better than a long train of words meticulously pieced together. That's not really what this post is about, but I'm about to use a couple cliches and now you won't immediately dismiss my thoughts because I'm not being "original" enough.  Although I'm sure you wouldn't have done that anyway.
     Friendships come in many different shapes and sizes; "one is silver and the other's gold"; opposites attract?  No, that last one probably doesn't hit the nail on the head.  I've had many friends and many chances to see how those friendships last through different circumstances and this has caused me to reflect on those different types of relationships.

•      Your childhood best friend whom you gradually drift away from.
•      The relationship which is based mostly off of joking, silliness, and plans for the next moment of laughter.
•      A friend who you knew for two years, who you saw every day in school, who you were close with, but with whom you won't stay in touch when you leave the school.
•      The friend you met when you were young, who has been through everything with you, who you consider as close as a sibling. Who you know, no matter how often you talk, you will always consider your best friend.
•      A person you sat next to for one class and got along well with, but you won't talk once the class is over.
•     One you see from a distance and put on a pedestal. You wish to be friends, but never have the guts to talk to that person. Or you do talk, but it's limited because you see the person so far above you.
•      The chance meeting of someone who you can look up to but are equal to, you understand each other in almost every way and can always be supportive of each other.  You stay in touch, but no matter how infrequently you talk, you pick up right where you left off and nothing has changed. You can see being friends for a very long time.
•      A friend you aren't extremely close with, but when you leave you stay in touch constantly.
•      Your everyday friends who you easily laugh with and chat with and share experiences with. You look up to them in varying degrees for various reasons and care about their joys and frustrations.

     I obviously didn't include names, and some of these are more general, others more specific.  I didn't include every relationship I have - that would be too many. Maybe you can identify with these or identify who I'm describing.  Maybe not.  The pictures don't match up, if you're thinking of using that as a clue.  I don't think you should even try to match people with descriptions.  And this isn't a scientifically researched list of carefully evaluated relationship types, this is just my reflections. There are so many types of friends, depending on the people interacting and the environment they're in.  Each relationship is as unique as the people forming it.

Getting my hands dirty

     The last two days,  as part of my gift to my mom, I've spent several hours working in the garden with her. This is actually a really fitting gift because it fits both my love language, quality time, and hers, service. So even though I don't normally find joy in weeding, it was enjoyable to work next to her in the sunshine, being productive, sometimes chatting, sometimes quiet, finding worms.
     As a college student, so much of my time is consumed by schoolwork, and I don't often have the time to really get my hands dirty.  Now, I've made it through the bulk of this term and I've got a little time to relax. Mother's day - perfect timing! So I weeded and planted snap peas, shelling peas, sweet peas, mint, and nasturtium.  And weeded some more.  And found worms.
     Good dirt is beautiful. If you've ever been a gardener, you know what I mean.  Rich, dark, mineral-laden dirt, nicely soaked with rainwater and full of stones, worms, and roots. You dig your fingers into it and crumble it together into a packed lump and then squeeze it back onto the ground. It gets under your fingernails and covers your hands, knees, and clothes. Gorgeous.

      You may have also picked up, I like worms. Obviously, I've been worm deprived for a while. They're cool! They can be long or short, fat or skinny. They regenerate if you accidentally chop one in half with your trowel (I did that a couple times). I'm pretty sure they can move backwards or forwards, and they feel weird slithering over your hand! And they're good for the garden. And they're pretty - dark purple and pink, not just a dull brown! Yes, I kind of enjoyed the worms. Mom laughed at my exuberance,  but I don't mind acting childish like that.  As my pastor is preaching, God is a working God who created this world and we are His working people, created in His image to enjoy what is good! I like getting my hands dirty!