When You Find Yourself Through the Fingerprints of Others

Twenty-one years ago today, I received a bouquet of flowers and a balloon at school from my grandparents who lived 60+ miles away.  I remember wondering how they found a florist who would drive so far for a delivery.  We had moved to Richland Center, WI only a few months before, and that moment when I read the card was the first time I had felt like myself since moving there.

Please understand; the teachers and students were very welcoming and friendly.  In fact Rachel used to tell the story about how she and Jenny Larson argued about who would show me, the new girl, around on her first day.  Unfortunately, I only remember the girls' bathroom from that tour.  This move though was not my family's first, and I think they were just wearing me down.  That day though with the flowers and balloon; it was a turning point for me in Richland Center.

The following weekend I had my first and last birthday party of my childhood.  Yes, I had sleepovers with one or two friends for my birthdays growing up, but this was my only authentic birthday party.  For my 8th birthday, we invited Rachel James, Kelly Keene, Jenny Larson, Nicole Krug, Danielle Stussy, Marci Hill and Maria King to my house for games and cake.  I wonder if there is a picture of all of us somewhere.  I remember at one point crying in our fort because I thought people were having more fun with my aunt Pati than with me.  She did make a cool cake and rocked at tetherball.  I remember thinking though that the crying really made it my party.  "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore seemed to be influencing my understanding of a successful part.

Something about that birthday - the bouquet from my grandparents, my mom and aunt throwing me a party, the friends I had only known a few weeks coming to celebrate with me - has influenced how people permanently affect my heart and personality.  I wonder if people realize the emotional impact the connections we had have had on me.  I feel as though my heart and soul are much like the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd and Vine St; each person whom I've had a relationship with has left their mark - their fingerprints perhaps - on whom I am.

If you're reading this and have been a part of my life, I want you to know that I would not be who I am today if it weren't for you.  Thank you for touching my life.

*Note: If you were at my 8th birthday party and I didn't list you, please forgive me.  I'm getting old.*

Giving it to God...at the Airport

I'll try to keep this concise...

Today a good friend of mine was traveling and sent me a text message in response to me wishing her safe travels. As with any international flight, there was a long leg of the trip she expressed grief over. It made me think back to when I was in college.

Soon after my sophomore year of college began, my family relocated from 4 hours driving away to 4 hours flying away. Needless to say I began a stretch of time where I was traveling fairly regularly to visit on breaks. It was during that part of my life standing in O'Hare Airport often with two flights and a layover ahead of me (2 flights are cheaper than 1 ironically), that I learned to give things up to God.

Some would argue I was giving up to which ever airline I was flying that day, but in hindsight I think I was giving up to God. I realized talking to the ticket agents and flight attendants that these men and women completely determined if I was going to get where I wanted when I wanted. The harder I fought, the less likely things were going to improve. I also realized, simply by watching other disgruntled travelers, that yelling, pouting, screaming and threatening the airline employees would not make the delays shorter, the flights quicker or the weather more clear. It got to the point where I would prepare for the whole day to be consumed with travel, sometimes more than one day.

My goal was to get to my destination. And, that was as complex as it got - I removed time and comfort from the equation. I paid a significant amount of money to a company to get me from Point A to Point B, and with that exchange of money I transferred all control and responsibility. I was to simply show up and do my best to not become emotionally involved in the process.

Looking back I think I was learning to give things up to God. I give God my life and try not to get too emotionally involved in the process, and God gets me from Point A to Point B on God's schedule on God's route with and without weather delays.

How does your travel habits reflect your relationship with God?

Crafty Things

So, today I was asked to create a display for a fund-raiser. I didn't know to tell her I don't really have any crafty skills. Here it is. My display that is easy to put away and yet flashy. I used glitter. :) There's a good chance they sold their first products today all because of this great set up. Can you tell my undergrad degree is in marketing? :)

Anyways, if any of my Iliff buddies want one of these, or two or three, let me know. It's a fundraiser, and I got the hook-up.

Fourth of July in Chicago

Here is a short clip of the fireworks put on by Macy's in downtown Chicago on July 3rd. Yes, that is the wrong date, but that's how we roll in Chi-town. :) Enjoy!

I need to work on editing videos so you can have some tunes when viewing. I'll work on that next.

What did you do to celebrate Independence Day?

Happy Halloween!!!

I just wanted to get a quick post up wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. There is only 30 minutes left, but I still got it in on time!

Also, I recently bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0! What that means is sooner or later I'm going to have to start posting photos. I'll be cropping and editing and coloring and all that good stuff. There is going to be a HUGE learning curve, but I am trying to learn a little more each week.

It's tough to justify organizing music or photos on the computer when the house around it is a mess. I'll be sure to post when things are going a bit more...um...cleanly. :)

This weekend I'm up to the parents' house! That means "mini-vacation" for me. I love having them cook and pamper me. I try and help by doing dishes and my own laundry, but it's nothing like taking care of this place. :)

Happy November, everyone. Don't forget to start holiday shopping. The malls and stores are already getting crazy. Trust me...I know!