Thursday Morning Inspiration

Finally, a well-deserved day off!


Tomorrow is the Christmas party at the preschool, so I need my rest today since tomorrow shall be pure insanity fueled by sugar and candy canes. ha!


Anyway, snow is continuing to fall more than usual for this time of year.  This is January snow levels and it isn't even Christmas yet.... and speaking of Christmas, Christmas is 9 days away!  I'm looking forward to my first Christmas together with my husband!


This is always a cozy time of year... the perfect time to be cuddled inside with a book and some hot chocolate.  Right now the sky is an ominous shade of blue gray, and I know there will be much more snow later today.  I don't know what it is, but this time of year always makes me more contemplative and philosophical.  Maybe it's because Christmas always generates thoughts of love and birth and innocence and salvation. 


Here is a song for your Thursday morning inspiration: 

Another Milestone: Graduation

Today is Graduation Day! 

After countless papers, hundreds of thousands of words, countless books, two full-fledged (and one sorry attempt) all-nighters, and more finals than I care to remember, I am graduating with my degree in English Literature. 

I like to think that I am significantly wiser and more mature than when I first began this journey 4 and a half years ago.  So much has changed about me, about my life since then.  And in some bizarre way, the stories I have read and the papers I have written serve as a witness to my journey to who I am now.  I, of course, will continue to grow and mature, but it is an interesting phenomenon to see your life change through your own written words.

This is just another door opening up to Opportunity.

I say to my child, I will explain to you as much of life as I can, but you must remember that there is a part of life for which you are the explanation.  ~Robert Brault

Thanksgiving Eve 2010

Here I am, the night before Thanksgiving. My husband and I are hosting it this year.... the first time ever! Right now I'm cleaning, but by "cleaning" I'm really playing around with the centerpiece and eating a poptart. I have a lot of prior Thanksgivings to live up to, but I feel this is a good year for us to have it. There's so much for us to be thankful for this year. I don't even know where to begin... I think that if I wrote a book I would not be able to list everything.


I'll start by saying that I'm thankful for May 22 - when I married my best friend. I'm so thankful for him - words cannot really even begin to express it. I love you, honey!
I'm thankful for family -- without which, I wouldn't be where I am today.


Like I said, I'd be here all day if I tried to list everything, but I'll let Josh Groban sing us all a Thanksgiving song.


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

A New Day - A New Song

Once again, my mood can only be described by music.

I've been a weird mood - so anxious that I can barely sit still or focus on my work.  Ahh, ce la vie!

Well, here's the song that matches my mood for the moment:

Thought of the Day:Music

I have always loved, adored music.  Music can say what words cannot.  Lyric-less music has a way of meaning more than a word or two.  I don't know how, and I cannot fathom the power behind music but I know it is there. 


Music is emotional, it is support, it is sustenance in a dry world. It is a passion. Real, true music (not pre-packaged commercialized music that is produced just to make profit) can change your life. 


Music has always been a part of me.  I remember when I was little, my family would take 11-hour car trips down to Georgia to visit family. I loved those car rides.  I know it seems crazy to love being stuck in a car for 11 hours, but it was glorious. The ride was beautiful and somehow mystic.  We drove for hours down winding, tree-lined roads.  I could feel the earth come alive!  I would blast my walkman and just stare out the window, letting the music guide my thoughts. 


In fourth or fifth grade, I remember laying on the living room floor all afternoon, listening to classical music - Pachabel in Canon D - vowing that would be my wedding song, which it was. 


During a tough breakup after high school, music was so emotional - listening to one song would bring a deluge of tears. 


Music got me through a growing/learning phase in college.  


Traveling abroad, I relied on the comforts of my music in new places.  Because I listened to certain music so much, it became a soundtrack for my journeys.  Those songs still conjure up images of my explorations and wanderlusts. 


Lately, I have been wanting to take up piano again. I learned a little while I was in 8th grade, and the desire to play and learn more has overtaken me.  


All of that brings me to my point: lately, I have had this desire so strong to express certain thoughts and feelings but words are failing me.  The only way I can do it is through music.   


This song in particular says what I am trying to say: 

Lesson #5

Sometimes the answer is staring you in the face... you just have to open your eyes.  

Cliche, but true. 




A not-so-cliche way to phrase it: the classic case of The Purloined Letter.  See Poe. 




The hard part: learning how to open your eyes... a skill everyone needs to work on.  It's not as easy as you might think to see that purloined letter sitting right in your kitchen.  

Letter #10: To Someone I Don't Talk to as Much as I'd Like

A letter to someone who I don’t talk to as much as I’d like:

It’s funny (and sad) to see how much time and distance can change things.  I miss talking to you as much as I did.  In some bizarre fate of twist, I know that I would not be where I am without you.  You see, we really are connected in a tangled and intricate web.  The ripples we make in the water affect everyone.  As the saying goes, “The fluttering of a butterfly's wings can effect climate changes on the other side of the planet” (Paul Erlich.)  You may think we are not connected but we are.  When I look back at pictures, I am happy.  We needed each other.  I know distance and time may only grow more, but never doubt that I am your friend.

You’ll never know how much it meant to me that you came to my wedding.  Thank you, friend. 

Letter #9: Letter to Someone I Wish I Could Meet

To Someone I Wish I Could Meet in Person,

I suppose this might be obvious for whom this letter is written.  Anyway, when I was little I used to think that is was unfair that not everyone got to meet You in person.  I remember I was in first grade and I wondered what it would be like to meet You – would You be intimidating or would You be so loving that it seemed like we were friends for a long, long time.  What would our conversations be like?  Old friends or new acquaintances?

I’m not in first grade anymore yet I still wonder – would it be like friends or like strangers meeting for the first time.  I think the best analogy would be like when pen pals meet for the first time.  You have this knowledge of the other person but something is different when you meet in the physical realm for the first time.

Anyway, one day, I hope, we’ll meet and I know it will be completely better than the first-grade me thought. 

A Brief Respite

We went to Starved Rock, IL last Sunday (which was Halloween).  It was the best part of the week, month, semester.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  

There's something about being completely surrounded by wilderness that absolutely captivates me.  It frees my mind and I am calmed.  I feel so little in the woods yet so protected and safe. 

We had a picnic in the Lodge and then hit the trails.  Near the end of our day, just twilight was breaking, we saw a few deer.... a few 3 feet away from us. We just stood still and watched them eat and graze.  Finally, they passed us and went on their merry way.  As the sun set, the forest began to grow more and more alive.  

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.  

~John Muir, 1913, in L.M. Wolfe, ed.,John Muir, John of the Mountains:  The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, 1938

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.  

~Lao Tzu

Reflections of a Different Me

College graduation is in just about a month... 


I think back to the last time I graduated.  It was high school, I was 18... I feel like I am worlds apart from that girl who walked the stage in 2006. When I was 18, I thought I knew what I wanted, I thought I knew myself, I thought I knew where I was going.  Funny how our "great" plans change so much.  However, I am extremely happy that my 18 year old "great" plan did not happen the way I thought it would.  Funny how things may change - things we may never see happening - but then those are things we cherish the most - the decisions that really shape us into who we are. 


I can say that I know myself infinitely better than I did on that hot June day in 2006, but there's still more to me to learn. 

Thought of the Day: take the road less traveled

Everyone has heard this poem.  It is a classic.  Sometimes you hear it over and over again and it becomes trite, but then one day, it takes on a new meaning.  Something clicks and it's like the poem was written for you. I don't think you can truly appreciate this poem until you have lived it - until you experienced it - until you yourself have come to the fork in the road - until you yourself choose the road less taken. 

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

To Walk in Fields of Gold

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days
which occur more frequently in memory than in life. -  P. D. James

Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns. -   George Eliot

Another Year Older

This weekend I celebrated my birthday.  For the perfect fall day, my family and I went to the apple orchard...how I love the apple orchard! 


When I was little, I would get excited for birthdays because it meant birthday parties with kids from school, lots of presents, and cake -- pretty much what any kid likes about birthdays! 


However, as I've grown up, I've realized that I'm no longer a kid who expects (or even wants) huge birthday parties.  To me, the most important thing is time spent together, the words handwritten inside a card, and the memories made together. I know that makes me sound like a boring old adult, but it's true. The most important things are not really "things" at all. 


So maybe the birthday saying "another year older and wiser" comes with the wisdom of slowly realizing what is the most important thing in life: love. 


It always goes back to love, doesn't it?  There's so many different types of love, but in the end love is love. And as the saying goes, "Life is love, and if you miss love, you miss life."  

What is Love?

What is love?  Perhaps this one question alone can strike up some of the most debated answers of all time. Hardly anyone can agree on one definition of love. 

Love may be hard to define for some people, but surely you cannot miss the outward signs of it. 

For me, some outward signs of love that I have been shown lately are little things like setting up the coffee pot for me so I have fresh coffee when I wake up, sitting up in bed so I can lean against you when I am sick, and making me a lunch when you yourself are getting ready for work, and offering to go to the store to buy me eye drops even though you were about to go to bed.  These are simple things... in fact, they are so simple, you might not notice them if you aren't paying attention.  In fact, some people might not say this is "love."  But to those people, I would say "Do not take your love for granted. Be mindful of the small things."  

If we are mindful in the small things, then we can be trusted with the big things (Luke 16: 1-12).  Life is composed of all the small things added together... in fact, sometimes the smallest things teach us the biggest lessons.  It's easy to become negligent in the small things, but when we are faithful in the small things, then I believe, our love shines forth even more. 

So I say, my husband may not be fighting a dragon and battling for me in a jousting tournament, or taking me across the world in a private jet --  but I am willing to argue that his love shines more brightly than the sun through "the little things." It's easy for a rich man to drop 1K on some earrings.... but it takes more selflessness, more strength, more love to go out to the store for medicine when you don't feel like going.  Simply put, love is in the little things. 

I have never doubted his love.  I grow more in love every day. 

"Do little things with great love." - Mother Therese 

Friday Morning Inspiration #2

See how nature--trees, flowers, grass--grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls."  --Mother Teresa 

I'm Back!! (From the Big Move)

Well, we are significantly into the month of September, and I'm just now writing....  That's okay though because everyone expects life to be chaotic after a big move.... The Big Move. 


I'm officially moved out of my parents' house (the beloved house of my childhood) and into my first home (technically, apartment) with my husband!!  Moving was everything I expected it to be: excitement, exhaustion, joy, and a whole lot of sweat.  


When I moved away to college, there was always a sense of "I'll be back soon."  But this move, was The Big Move.  This was permanent - a definite sign of growing up.  I always wondered what my first home would be like with my husband... and let me tell you, it's everything it's cracked up to be.  It may be small but its so "us." Our walls, our rooms were a blank canvas and we made it "us." 


Along the way, I've learned a few crucial things:


1. With a little bit of sweat you can do a lot.... oh, like move a thousand-pound couch down old wooden stairs and then up three flights of stairs. 
2. When you sort through your childhood room, you can find out a lot about who you are by what is hidden under your bed for 22 years :) 
3. There's a reason why people speak so highly of "elbow grease".... because it works! 
4. Spending the first night in your apartment is amazing...even if it means you eat breakfast using a cardboard box as a table. 
5. Only family would help you on a miserably hot day move boxes up three flights of stairs.... for that, I'm very grateful! 


I've still got a few pesky boxes to unpack but I suppose it will get done soon enough. 
For now, I'm just happy to have a cozy little nest that I like to call home :) 




"Home is where the heart is, and my heart is where you are."  - Relient K 

Lesson #4

Sometimes the best part of the week is Sunday morning breakfast on the porch with your husband. 

Lesson #3

Sometimes a "wrong" turn happens for a right reason. 


We may not know the reason for why things happen but eventually we see how the "wrong" thing led to the "right" thing. 

Lesson #2

Tuesday June 20


Lesson of the day: Growing up is hard. 




It used to be that the hardest thing was deciding what game to play at recess, what color dress to wear to homecoming, which table to eat lunch at, which pair of shoes to wear with my school uniform. 
They seemed like hard decisions at the time, but little did I know. 


Growing up is hard to do. 

Letter #8: To an Internet Friend

Here is the 8^th letter in my 30-letter challenge. It is to an Internet friend. 

Dear Internet friend,

I met you first at school, but now we live so far apart.  Our relationship has changed dramatically since we no longer live so close.  Now, the best way to describe us is “internet friends.”

Despite the difference, I hope we can still be friends for a long time.

I don’t know what else to say.  So much has changed between us.  Just know that we may be far, but it only takes a click of a button to send an email.  Please don’t lose touch. 

Letter #7: To an Ex-Crush

Here is the 7^th letter in my 30-letter challenge. This one is supposed to be to an ex-boyfriend or ex-crush.  Kind of an interesting letter.  This is one of those letters that you are supposed to write and then burn or shred without ever sending. 

Dear Former Crush,

You know who you are but most people reading this might assume I’m talking about someone else.  Well, I’m writing to you.

We never dated but I liked you for over a year.  You liked me too.  In a lot of ways, I owe you a thank you.  I met you when I was going through a rough patch in my life.  Through our friendship, parts of me could be healed. But, I never could figure out why you refused to date me even though you liked me.  Well, I finally know now.  I was waiting for my husband to come.  Had I been dating you, I would not have been free to date my husband when I first met him. 

It hurt my feelings that you couldn’t take the risk by dating me.  But the pain you caused me only made me appreciate my husband more. The pain is long since gone and I have no embittered feelings toward you.  I have a genuine gratitude to you. 

Everything happens for a reason.  You were there as a friend for me for so long.  I enjoyed our friendship. I learned a lot and grew as a person. 

You have a girlfriend now and I’m happy that you found someone that you can commit to. 

In a bizarre way, I needed to know you before I could meet my husband.  I hope that you have found that same happiness with your girlfriend. 

Friday Morning Inspiration

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides. 

       - David Viscott

Letter #6: To a Stranger

Here is the sixth letter in my 30-day letter challenge. 

Dear Sir,

I saw you when we went out to eat dinner at the Warsaw Inn.  We were sitting at a table for four near the middle.  You were sitting alone by the wall.  You had a glass of red wine pour neatly to the right of your plate.  I don’t know why I remember the part about the red wine.  I guess it made me think that you were enjoying your dinner.  You don’t have red wine if you plan on scarfing down your meal. 

But the thing I remember most about you was not your wine.  No, it was your sadness that I remember most.  There was such genuine sorrow written on the wrinkles of your face.  We thought maybe you used to come here regularly with your wife, that maybe the Warsaw Inn was “your spot” with her.  We thought maybe that she died and you continue to frequent your favorite spots to keep your wife’s spirit alive. 

Of course, I don’t know if you were married, or ever were for that matter.  All I know is that the sadness was there.  I hope that your sadness will fade.  I hope that you can be happy again.

I’ll probably never see you again but in the brief time that I saw you eating dinner with your red wine, you taught me a lesson.  Cherish the time you’ve got.  Cherish your loved ones.  Love your spouse.  Never take anyone for granted.  I hope you find peace from whatever was troubling you.

May God bless you and keep you. 

Letter #5: To My Dreams

Here is the fifth letter in the 30-day letter challenge. This one is supposed to be to “my dreams.”  How do you write a letter to your dreams?  Does it mean dreams as in aspirations or dreams as in nightly REM cycle dreams?  I don’t know.  Well, I’ll guess I start by saying that I have very unusual yet vivid REM-type dreams.  I try to analyze them.  In the summer after seventh grade, I had intense dreams all summer long. I dub it “the summer of the dreams.”  Here are a few examples.

1.    I lost a really cool bracelet that my mom gave me, and I was pretty sad about it.  One night, I had a dream that I found my bracelet.  Seemed like a normal dream…. But here’s the kicker: when I woke up, the bracelet was in my bed.

2.  In 4^th grade, I had a dream that St. Nicholas saved my life.  He told me to wake up so I didn’t die.  So, I woke up.  One of my loose teeth had fallen out in the night and was loose in my mouth.  Later, that day, I realized it was the feast of St. Nicholas.  So… my theory?  I had a dream that told me to wake up so I didn’t choke on my tooth??? Sounds crazy. Maybe it is. But that’s how it happened so judge the facts for yourself.

Anyway, I’ll start my letter.  I’ll go with the aspiration type dreams.

Dear Dreams,

I’ve always been a dreamer.  For as long as I can remember. Daydreamer fits me perfectly.  I think one of the reasons why I’m never bored is that I’m such a good day dreamer. 

You’ve always given me great aspirations to work towards so thanks! Sometimes I think my dreams are too unattainable, but the challenge is kind of fun…. Sometimes its not fun, but for the most part it is. 

One of my favorite poems has to do with dreams so I’ll share:

what if you slept?

and what if

in your sleep you dreamed?

and what if

in your dream you went to heaven

and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower?

and what if when you woke up

you had that flower in your hand?

ah, what then?

-coleridge

Love,

The Dreamer

Letter #4: To My Sister

Here is the fourth letter in the 30-day letter challenge. This one is dedicated to my sibling.

Dear Sisterino,

When we were little, we would fight everyday. Usually over the “rules” of some game we invented.  Yet, even though we would fight, we were still best friends at the end of the day.  After all, in a world of grown-ups, we were the only ones who could still fit under the dining room table.  But, one day at Grandma’s we had an especially big fight.  Probably over the rules of some game.  I was five and said the worst thing I ever said to you.  I said, “I wish we weren’t sisters.”  Looking back, it was the worst thing I ever said…. I regret that I said it.

My life would be so boring (but probably less mischievous… well…. maybe not haha) without you!  I’m sorry I said those words so long ago, but the truth is that I’m so glad you’re my sister!

Whenever we hang out and have “brother day” I always have so much fun.  You get me.  Our twin-ness is just awesome… remember the twin letter from Vienna? Haha.  We’re so different and so exactly the same.  It’s pretty much awesome. 

Right now, you’re making French press coffee. I’m laughing at you because you’re using the nasty sponge to wipe your shirt….you probably made it more germy than it was worth.  See, it’s things like that that make me laugh. 

I like so many things about the “real” you…. You’re just as crazy as me.  You like dancing to “It Makes Me Ill.”  You like crazy harebrained ideas. 

Basically, I know the real you.  And I love the real you. 

Love,

Your twin 

Letter #3: To My Parents

Here is another letter in the 30-day letter challenge. This one is to my parents.

I don’t know where to begin so I’m just starting here: I’d be on the street if it wasn’t for you.  You both are so generous.  You have given me so much… I don’t mean material things either.  Through your generosity, you’ve given me lessons.  How to be.  How to love.  How to be selfless.  How to do the right thing, even when it hurts.

Mama, you’ve taught me that a mother eats the burnt half of the bagel and shares the good half with her daughter.  You’ve taught me that a mother selflessly gives her time and efforts for others.  I learned that a mother better have her act together and know where everything is.  You’ve walked countless miles holding my stuff.  It’s my turn now to cart stuff around the city, the zoo, the museum, Europe.  I know how to be a woman because of you. I hope that one day I can be just as good a mother as you.

Daddy, you’ve taught me to be proud of your roots.  You taught that you stand behind family no matter what.  You’ve taught me that it’s okay to take “short cuts” if it means you really get to take the long, scenic root.  You showed me that it’s okay to leave the bed unmade for the day… as long as you make it sometimes.  I double and triple check things because of you – and it’s saved me many, many times!!

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m proud to be your daughter.  I am who I am because of you. 

Thank you for everything you do.  You’ve given me so much, but again, the lessons you’ve taught are priceless. 

I love you.

Doodles

Cata

Captain

Student

Katie 

Thursday Morning Inspiration

Philosophy & a Latte in the morning:

Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. . . . It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.


-- Erica Jong

Letter #2: To my crush

Dear Crush aka My Husband, 


I love the way you make me coffee each morning. 
I love the way you laugh. 
I love how you always win when we wrestle. 
I love your ocean eyes. 
I love your generous spirit, your loving soul. 
I love the way you always strive to be the best person you can be. 
I love your gentleness, your goofiness, your creativeness.  
I love your sleepy eyes when you first wake up. 
I love how you comfort me when I'm sad, how you cheer me up when I need to laugh. 
I love how you like to make concoctions in the kitchen. 
I love your sense of adventure, your sense of gratitude, your appreciation for nature. 
I love the way you "go green." 
I love dancing in the living room with you. 
I love our dates and our field trips. 
I love gazing into your eyes. 
I love when you hold me, kiss me. 
I love the way you looked at me as you recited your vows.
I love your smiley eyes. 
I love how you love me. 
I love everything about you. 


But most of all, I love YOU. 


Love, 
Your wife 

Letter #1: To My Best Friend

To My Best Friend,

I heard a quote once that "A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have." How true that is!  Hard to find?  Yep, you were hard to find.  It took me twenty years and a trip to Austria to find you.  Lucky to have?  Beyond belief! You've saved my life in countless ways - literally and metaphorically.  You've saved me numerous times on a mountain, dug me out of snow-filled hole when my foot got stuck, but you've always saved me metaphorically.  You've comforted me, wiped away my tears.  You've brought more smiles to my lips than anyone. You've brought more peace to mind than anyone else could.  You've guided me, taught me valuable lessons, and shown me true love. You've allowed me to be who I really am.  You brought the "real me" back to life.

You are simply amazing.  Without you, my path would surely be lost. Without you, I would not be this person who I am today.

I owe you gratitude.  I am indebted to you for your friendship.  You have always been generous and giving.  The first time we met, you were helping others.  The first time we traveled about Munich together, you bought me a coffee simply "just because."

The best way to thank you is to show you the kindness and love and friendship that you have shown me.  I am always here for you. 

Thank you, my friend.

Letters - Something New to Try

Letters

Saw this on another blog and it looked like a fun thing
to do, so here goes...

On this day you write a letter to:
Day 1) Your best friend
Day 2) Your crush
Day 3) Your parents
Day 4) Your siblings
Day 5) Your dreams
Day 6) A stranger
Day 7) Your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/love/crush
Day 8) Your favorite internet friend
Day 9) Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10) Someone you don't talk to as much as you'd like
Day 11) A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12) The person you hate most/has caused 
you a lot of pain
Day 13) Someone you wish could forgive you
Day 14) Someone you've drifted away from
Day 15) The person you miss the most
Day 16) Someone that's not in your state/country
Day 17) Someone from your childhood
Day 18) The person that you wish you could be
Day 19) Someone that pesters your mind - good or bad
Day 20) The one that broke your heart the hardest
Day 21) Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22) Someone you want to give a second chance to
Day 23) The last person you kissed
Day 24) The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25) The person that you know who is going 
through the worst of times
Day 26) The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27) The friendliest person you knew for only one day
Day 28) Someone that changed your life
Day 29) The person that you want to tell everything to, 
but are to afraid to
Day 30) Your reflection in the mirror

Lesson #1

lesson of the day: always finish your coffee before embarking on a long day of two-year-olds, background checks, and shady dr offices....otherwise you will regret the insufficient caffeine supply.




second lesson of the day: garmin and an iced coffee make things much better :) 

A New Blog, A New Day

Well, here I am again. 


I'm going to start a new blog. This one is about my life - my experiences as a newlywed, a student, a preschool teaching assistant.  I'm at a crossroads in life...  things are changing a lot.  I don't mean that in a bad way either.  I just got married, just started a new job, and am trying to finish my last semester of my undergraduate degree.  So I figured, I would share my life experiences because I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world who is trying to get her life going in the right direction.  


I guess I'll start with my reason for the name of the blog.  "A Time For Daffodils" is my favorite poem... there's a time for everything.  Everything has a reason.  This relates perfectly to my life.  There is a time for everything.  It's time for me to be part of the "real world."  There was a time when I could carelessly waste my summer days and chase down the ice cream man, but my time for that is over... until I'm chasing my kids who are chasing down the ice cream man. Haha.  


Anyway, there's a time for everything.  I hope that this blog can give guidance to others who are learning the challenges of "growing up."  We all have to do it, but it's nice when you know someone else is going through the same thing. 


 i think it is a very profound poem... it has a slightly different structure than what we normally see with poems -because of the parentheses... but read it...its deep :-) i had to read it a few times before i got it, but its quite enlightening.... i know im a geeky english major but i just got really excited when i figured it out so i wanted to share it with you. 

a time for daffodils

ee cummings

in time of daffodils(who know
the goal of living is to grow)
forgetting why,remember how

in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)

in time of roses(who amaze
our now and here with paradise)
forgetting if,remember yes

in time of all sweet things beyond
whatever mind may comprehend,
remember seek(forgetting find)

and in a mystery to be (when time
from time shall set us free)
forgetting me,remember me