Grover Opened A Massive Can Of Elephant Worms

Just some random thoughts to end the day . . .


• Are there some matters that are better left untouched regardless of how important it is that they be addressed???

You know those matters... They are the one you tuck far back in the corner of the closet with the intention that they'll never, ever, see the light of day. From time-to-time you take them out of their hiding place, take a look at 'em and then, once again, decide they're best kept tucked far, far away.

I didn't really mean to send the text message, however my finger somehow pushed the send button and off it went. I didn't mean to start "trouble." When I look back on that moment, I think there must have been something in my Chai Latte that caused me to have a massive bout of bravery. (It also didn't help that StarFruitKnits encouraged me to do it as well - at least that is the story that I'm sticking with).

That was a month ago. A month ago I opened a massive can of elephant worms that had been sitting in the closet for g-d only knows how long. (Ok, I know how long it has been there, but I'm not at liberty to say - it would give too much away.) I say "elephant worms" because it was like a purple suede elephant that we just ignored even though we knew it was there.

I've only sorta talked about the content of this text with its recipient. We've managed to skirt-over the matter. We both agree at some point we will need to address things, but for now we both seem to be fine with acknowledging the elephant worms and letting them slither around causing a bit of a slimy mess that stays in the back of my mind.

All this makes the other elephant keeping me company seem like nothing which is something I never thought would happen.

• In a recent tweet, I accident typed "Grover" instead of "groove." (How I got "Grover" from "groove" is really beyond me.) Anyhow, PT commented on my tweet which is what brought the error to my attention. PT said it was cute, which was nice of him to say. Initially I felt a bit on the stupid side for the mistake, but that might have had something to do with other unrelated factors. In the end, I eventually laughed about the whole thing. I also appreciated PT's sweet remarks. Also, I know I'll never look at a picture of Grover again without smiling and thinking of this mis-tweet.

• I had another crazy idea . . . . I've been seriously thinking about participating in 12 5k races in 2012. In theory, if I were to execute this plan, that would mean I would participate in one 5k race a month. Though doable, this leads me to the thought that I may have to travel to accomplish this goal; which never in my life did I ever imagine I would consider doing just so I could run 3.1 miles. (Seriously, I don't recognize myself right now.)

• I got D to commit to run a race with me in 2012. Now I'm working on BFF (I would totally travel to her if she agreed to run a race with me!). I tried recruiting Ash, but with his family's ever changing schedule, it's hard for him to commit. Apparently I'm also on a quest to recruit as many of my friends as possible to run 5k races with me. (Again, who is this person?)

• I have a lot of stuff to accomplish during the next two months, I hope this feeling of calm that I am experiencing right now lasts for awhile - I like it, A LOT!

• My reward for getting through all the stuff I have to accomplish is attending my first Blackhawk game. At the time I bought the ticket none of this was on my plate. Now, however, this is one of my incentives to keep going.

• I got my first b-day discount certificate in the mail two weeks ago from my favorite places to buy clothes. I hadn't really thought about my birthday up until that point, and honestly all I can really think in regards to my b-day is - it's November already? Where did this year go???

• This morning I heard "Thriller" on the radio. Then this evening I heard the song, "Ghostbusters." Just as I thought that it would be officially Halloween if I heard "Monster Mash," I flipped stations and there that song was - Halloween was officially complete!

• I never knew there was such a thing as "a perfect last day," but it turns out there is - and I experienced it. #thisisafirst

• Tomorrow I know will be challenging for me, but at least I know tonight I'm going to be happy when I go to sleep and I will keep that in mind as long as I possibly can.

Until later . . .

And Another Chapter Comes To A Close

Tomorrow, another chapter of my life will come to an end.

Over the past couple of years I've had a lot of chapters end just as quickly as they began. Though I call them chapters, they are probably more like sub-chapters of some greater chapter of my life that I will one day look back on and refer too. Until that day, I will continue to call them chapters.

When I started this chapter two months ago I did with much hesitation. Furthermore, to say things got off to a rocky start was putting it nicely. About three weeks into the experience I had my concerns regarding the whole situation and at times regretted my decision; however, somewhere along the way things shifted. Before I knew it I had begun to write this story more freely, and with more enthusiasm, than I had in the beginning. I opened up my mind, and my heart, and found things that I could take-away from the experience rather than focus on the things the things I wouldn't get from it.

Earlier this week, when it became apparent that the end was drawing near, my open mind, and heart, begun to close at a faster pace than it had initially opened. I wasn't surprised by my behavior - I was self-protecting. I had let down my guard without even realizing it and I wanted it back, quickly, so when the end had arrived I wouldn't be so upset. See, I'm not a fan of goodbyes; however, over the past couple of years I seem to be saying goodbye a lot in one way or another.

As I finalized the end of this chapter late this past week, I found my mind and heart once again open. I was surprised by this occurrence. This is not normal for me when I know the end is coming. However, I guess this is just further shows me that I am not my "normal" self anymore.

I'm not sure when the next chapter will be written. It could be awhile. Until then, I will look back on this chapter with fondness and appreciate what I got out of the experience.

On a somewhat related note, tomorrow will also bring the last day I post my random writing to this blog. For sometime I've wanted establish a new blog that more accurately reflected me. I still knit, but not like I use too. Furthermore, it's very far and few between that I actually blog about knitting. I will continue to maintain this blog, however any entries posted to it will be crafting related. All other topics I explore will be posted to my new blog; simply titled: Froggie.

Until later . . .

iFail

In the weeks that have followed the passing of Steve Jobs there has been a lot of talk about his views on failure. Today's Thursday blog post is was inspired by these articles... This week, Susanna to ask us to write about something we have failed at and the lesson we learned from the experience.

Here are some of my thoughts on failure . . .

One of the first articles I saw about Steve Jobs' outlook on failure was this one from The Huffington Post. It made such a impression on that I posted it on my Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Until that point, I never really knew the extent of Jobs failures - only his successes. What I like most about his philosophy regarding failure was the idea that in order to be successful we all must fail. However, as I thought more and more about this article I began to wonder what if you are someone seems to continuously stumble - aka, fail.

Yesterday, I was texting messaging with Ash regarding failure (it was relevant to our conversation). As the messages flew back and forth (thanks to iOS5's unlimited messaging), Ash cited Thomas Edison's 999 attempts to create a light bulb that didn't work. Edison's famous quote from this experience goes, "I did not fail---I just learn 999 ways on how not to make a light bulb.” The idea is that Edison's triumph should inspire people to continue to persevere when they want to just want to give up.

As I pondered the topic more, I venture intro the contradiction that seems to exists when it comes to the message people receive regarding failure. On one hand we're told it's ok to fail because it's part of being human and we learn from our failures. On the other hand, we (as a society) laugh at and mock others failures by posting them online via such blogs at Fail Blog or Failure Magazine. To further this mockery, readers of these blogs make further fun of what they see by through their comment on it, and in some cases rate the level of "fail." All this leads me to ask, how much do we really practice what we preach? Or, do we just want to put on a good face in public just for the sake of looking good to others, however show our true colors when we hide behind a computer screen? I don't know the answers, but it's just something to consider.

Failure can be embarrassing or a sensitive topic depending on who you are talking too. Especially when a failure is regarding something incredibly personal or when a person feels like all they do is fail.

In the end, I think the important thing to constantly remind ourselves is that if we didn't fail, we wouldn't know that when we have succeeded; however, I can understand why it's hard to remember when you are in the thick of things.

Now that I've talked about failure, please see what my fellow bloggers have to say about the topic:


• Mom of Many (Susanna)

• Momarock (Sara)

• Merryland Girl (Melissa)

Until later . . .

365 Days Later

I always forget how subconsciously October, November, December and January are tough months for me.

Typically, it's not until I'm somewhere into February that I really remember why those four months present challenges. The obvious answer, for those that don't know much about my life, would be that it's the change in the weather. I'm not going to lie and say I love the cold, but I know that isn't the real reason. In short, several years back, a bunch of bad things took place during these months. October and November were "lite" in terms of these events; while December is when things ramped-up and January is when shit really hit the fan. Since then, without even realize I'm doing it, I seem to slip into a different mindset during these months which seems to effect a lot of the things I do.

As I was making my way from the city to a friend's house in the suburbs Friday night, it hit me what time of year it was and that that last year around this time is when I began to feel as though my life was falling apart. I felt as though I had no control over what was taking place. To some extent this was the case - my life seemed to be a clusterfuck of bad events one, after another, after another. I was constantly on pins and needles waiting for yet another "shoe to drop."

Honestly, I'm thankful this year I remember all this. As I mentioned above, I don't typically recall this until it's too late. This is especially important to me this year because my perspective on things has shifted so drastically over the past year and I feared these months to some extent. I feared how I would feel around this time of year because I didn't want it to effect me as it had in the past. I wanted to be more aware of what was going on so I could make sure it wouldn't take over as it had before.

Life this past year, though not perfect, has over all been good. As a friend pointed out to me at dinner last night, I've done a lot this year and I've had a lot of cool experiences. She was right. I have done a lot this year and had a lot of cool experiences which is another thing I was thinking about as I was driving since I had just finished up having one of those really cool experiences.

It was during this drive that I realized that I didn't have anything to worry about the upcoming months. I began to feel more confident that I would make it through this period of time in a more graceful manner than I have in past years.... at least that is my hope.

Last November, I told someone "A lot can change in a year." When I originally uttered those words I wasn't thinking that there would be a lot of change in my life. I was referring to their situation and feelings. In some ways, a year later how I feel about certain things hasn't changed that much - or at all for that matter. However, in other ways things have changed a lot for me and I can't help but step back for a moment to acknowledge this - especially during a time of year when things typically seem to retreat backwards.

I'm not really out to make any point with this post. Take from it what you may. For me, I'm just marking a moment in time that normally is craptastic and uncomfortable as one that is more calm and peaceful than past years. I'm marking the my hopeful outlook that I will continue to feel this way through the coming months. That whatever change that has taken place is truly real and not just a weather related phenomenon that goes away as soon as the temperature falls below a particular degree point.

Until later . . .

Halloween

This week's Thursday Blog topic, compliments of Melissa, is: Halloween

The last time I really remember participating in Halloween as back in 2001. I had just moved back to the Chicagoland area and the place I was working said we could dress up for work if we wanted - so I did! My middle brother had gone to fantasy baseball camp and had gotten a Cubs uniform with our last name on it. Since the Cubs are the family's favorite baseball team, I thought it would be the perfect costume - and it was! I loved having the opportunity to wear it.

Some years, I've either dress-up in orange and black, or wore t-shirts that say something like, "This is my costume." This has mainly been as an adult that I've done taken the easy way out of Halloween costumes.

One of my favorite parts of Halloween are haunted houses. I absolutely ***heart*** haunted houses. When I was in college, as part of our service projects, I worked at a haunted house at Six Flags in Arlington, TX. It was a blast! The first haunted house I ever went to was when I was in Elementary/Jr. High - I can't remember exactly when. I do, however, remember that I went with my dad. I kept telling myself that it was all fake and that they weren't going to hurt me, but that didn't keep me from being scared and creep-out. Another time I remember going was about 7/8 years ago with a friend of mine. At one point they herded a group of us into a small space and filled the room with those plastic balls they use for kids to jump at Discovery Zone. This part of the haunted house was called being "buried alive."

This year, I've been invited to a Halloween party, but I'm not sure if I'm going to make it because I have another commitment the same day/night. No matter what, I'm sure it will be a fun Halloween!

Now that you've read about my thoughts on the topic of Halloween, please take a moment to read what my fellow bloggers have to say:


• Merryland Girl (Melissa)

• Mom of Many (Susanna)

• Momarock (Sara)

Until later . . .

38:47.6

If I had a dollar for every time I told someone about this goal over the years I'd be a very rich woman.

Over the years, while sharing information about myself, such as my hobbies and interests, the fact that I wanted to complete a 5k race inevitably came up and every time I ended this part of the conversation the last thing I would say is, "I planned to do it soon." However, as I said above, I had the conversation many times which means I never really turned those words into actions.

That is until this year . . .

Earlier in the year as I was going through some e-mails I came upon one of the above mentioned conversations. Normally, I would have just ignored it and moved on with my day, but this time I looked at the date of the message - it was only a year old. As I looked at the words it dawned on me that I've been talking about this for many years now - and for some reason on this particular occasion that bothered me. That's when I decided this would be the year I would take action.

Sunday, just before 8 AM, I stood at the starting line waiting for the "Run For Her Life" race to begin, thinking to myself, "Wow, I'm really doing this!" Before I knew it, the race had started and I was on my way to completing my first 5k race experience.

During the first mile I spent a lot of time focusing on trying to pace myself and the fact that the rain wasn't letting up. I had been optimistic the rain would stop before we started the race, but that didn't prove to be the case. Actually, at one point we had a nice downpour. I had never run in increment weather conditions, so I was a bit concerned how it would affect my body and my overall run.

Even though I've trained consistently over the past couple months, I'm still in the process of building up my endurance, so throughout the run I found myself periodically walking. In high school, I had run track my freshman year. I was a sprinter. Running long distances was never my thing. This has been my weakness when it came to training for this race - learning to pace myself and build-up my endurance.

As I neared the first mile marker I couldn't help but look at the time. I really didn't want to because I kept telling myself that it was about completing the race, not how fast I completed the race. However, I looked - how could you not? It was right in front of me on a huge display. As I passed by the one mile marker, the clock display read: 11:00. Though anywhere from 10 - 12 minutes was par for the course during my practice runs, I was still impressed with myself. I grabbed a dixie cup full of water while trying not to slow-down fully and consumed it as quickly as I could. I felt bad throwing the cup on the ground like the others had, but I understood that's just what you do when running a race.

The second mile is where the course got more challenging. Prior to the race, S (who ran the race with me) and I diligently studied the course we would take during this race. (In theory it calmed our nerves.) This is when S pointed out that there was "elevation" along the way which in my mind meant slight, but not major, inclines. HA, was I wrong! Now, don't get me wrong, there were slight inclines, and then there were full-out hills. The path I had been taking for my training runs begins with a nice size incline, which I decided early on that I would run just to get practice running up inclines, however the hills we encountered Sunday made me feel as though I was back in Oregon and hadn't practiced on inclines at all. They were just too steep for my capabilities, so I found myself walking up them as quickly as possible. As one would imagine, this is where I began to lose even more time.

During the second mile, I thought a lot about my strategy for making up the time I lost walking up the hills. This basically equated to using gravity to my advantage when going down the hills. Walking up the hills took a lot out of my muscles and it was hard to start running again. By this point my muscles just didn't want to cooperate.

Also, by this point I began to see a pattern developing in my run/walk. There were about three of us that traveled most of the race together. The pattern started with me running in-between the two other individuals, and then I would stop to walk and would be passed by the individual who was behind me. After a few seconds of walking, I would once again start running and pass that same individual and take my place in the middle of the group.

As I passed the second mile mark, I once again glanced at the time. This time the clock read: 25:00.

Of all stages of this race, I'd have to say the last mile was the one where it wasn't only about my physical ability to finish the race, but it was about my mental ability to keep myself moving. Normally, all I have to do to keep myself motivated while running is play the song "Lose Yourself" and I'm good to go, but on this particular run that wasn't working.

During the third mile, I thought about my plans to participate in the Warrior Dash in 2012. I told myself a "warrior" would make it through a 5k without any problems.

As I neared the end of course I began to see a few individuals running towards me. They were familiar faces I had seen throughout the race and as I passed them I wanted to shout, "Hey, wrong way!" However, I refrained and went about the task at hand - finishing the race.

Just as I was made aware that I was entering into the home stretch of the course, the shuffle feature on my iPod started playing the song "Survivor" by Destiny's Child. Goose bumps took over my body because I realized this was the song I would be listening to when I crossed the finish line. Given the cause I was running for, Domestic Violence, and the meaning this song has in my life, I couldn't have chosen a better song to sum-up the day, the experience and all my personal thoughts and feelings associated with all these things. It was besherte.

As I turned my second to last corner I saw a crowd of people waiting at the end of the block. Even though the volume on my iPod was somewhat high, I could hear their cheering which only added to the adrenaline rush that had taken over my body. I could feel myself speeding up as I knew I was now only seconds away from completing my first 5k run.

As I crossed the finish line the display read: 39:01.

A volunteer met each runner at the end of the line with a bottle of water and heartfelt congratulations. As I took my bottle of water I began to cry a bit. The volunteer asked me if I was ok and I told her I was fine, there was no way I could explain to her exactly why I was crying.

I feel a little silly saying that I cried after completing the race, but the fact of the matter is that I did. Completing this race meant so much to me I really can't put the feelings into words. First and foremost, I had just achieved a goal I had talked about for 10 years. I wanted to write back to every individual I've shared this goal with over the past 10 years and tell them what I had achieved. Never again would I say, "one day" when I talked about running a 5k race. I was living a moment I had only dared to dream about for so long.

Additionally, my last two weeks of training had been challenging and my times not as strong as they had been early on in my training. Though I knew having a longer run time was ok, my competitive nature, and drive to push myself to do my very best, motivated me for a specific run time range. I was happy that I had finished with such a good time for me. Lastly, I was still thinking about the song I had just been listening to and the challenges that life has presented me over time. Not only have they made me a stronger person, I feel, they have made me a more caring and compassionate person ... and for that I am thankful.

Sunday evening, I went online to see if the official times had been posted. After locating the link to the race results I feverishly searched for my name as wanted to see my rank within the overall group and my age group as well.

As I scanned across this information, I noticed that my reported time was: 38:47.6.

"WHAT?" I thought to myself. Then it hit me that they have to technology to track when you cross the starting line so you are not penalized for being in the middle or back of the pak when the race begins. This made me feel even more proud of myself.

As I write this post, almost 40 hours later, I am still on a high from this experience. All I want to talk about is the race and I can't stop wondering when my next race will be. S suggested a race in December, however I have a conflict that day. Another friend of mine invited me to a race in November, but it's a 12 mile run with an obstacle course that makes the overall haul 18 - 20 miles. I politely passed on that invite stating I didn't feel prepared for the challenge. However, a part of me wonders if it's worth trying anyhow...

Before I sign off, I want to send some "thank yous" out to a few people:

To those who donated money to Family Shelter Service: In 2.5 days you raised $218 to help domestic violence victim reclaim their lives. I cannot begin to thank you for the amount of generosity you have shown.

To S and Ashley: Thank you for humoring me during the training process by accepting all the text messages I sent you regarding times, frustrations, etc. Y'all were great!

To all my family and friends: Thank you for your support and encouragement during this journey. Oh, and also for humoring me by commenting and liking my many, many, many Facebook statuses regarding my training progress.

To S: Thank you for asking if you could join me at this race after my friend I was originally going to do this with backed out. I couldn't have thought of a better person to share this experience with. Also, I know I said this Sunday, but again I will always find humor in the fact that when we first became friends getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to go buy yarn was so exciting for us and now what motivates us to get up at the ass-crack of dawn is to go run a race. How far we've come . . . I'm sure the amount of text messaging won't cease as we do have the Shamrock Shuffle in March and Fat Ass race in May to plan for!

Lastly, I want to say this experience has given me so much. It not only fulfilled a life goal of mine, it prompted me make healthier life choices than I have in the past.

This past April, I went to a wedding where I sat at a table of individual who participate in triathlons, and races similar to the race I ran on Sunday. At the time I was kind of bored listening to them talk about these things because I didn't understand their enthusiasm and didn't have anything to add to the conversation. However, now I get it. I have been bitten by this bug and I hope it's an infection that never wears off.

Until later . . .

12 Hours And Counting

It's exactly 12 hours before the 5k race I've been blabbering about for months now begins.

I have to admit I'm feeling somewhat like I did the night before I took the LSAT; however, unlike the LSAT the results for tomorrow's race really have no significant implications on my life in the big scheme of things. Surely, the race results will not determine whether or not I get accepted to school. Nor will I have to run another race if I don't do as well as I need too want too. Yet, I'm just as anxious.

My approach to training for this race was similar to the way I approached prepping for the LSAT. Practice! Practice!! Practice!!!

However, unlike the LSAT, my times for my runs have been fairly consistent and within a smaller span (within a 5 - 7 minute range). My LSAT practice test scores... more like a 30- point range. I think it's fair to say that I know pretty much how only it will take me to complete 3.1 miles tomorrow.

I'm not impressed with the amount of time it takes me to complete 3.1 miles. I'd like for it to be lower than it will most likely fall, but that's due to the fact that I always like to make a rock star showing straight out of the gate - even though I realize that it might take a few tries to get the results I want. (This is also similar to my initial LSAT results.)

Tonight, instead of checking to make sure all the tips my No. 2 HB pencils are as sharp as they can be and that I comply with all the regulations that have been set out for me, I am making sure my running attire is clean and in a place I can find them as easily as possible; it will be, after all, the crack-ass of dawn when I have to get up. Instead of figuring out which college campus I have to find parking at, directions on how to get to the race site have been obtained. This time, electronic devices are not prohibit which make me happy to hear because I couldn't imagine not running without music playing.

Tomorrow, instead of testing my cognitive abilities, I am testing my physical abilities.

As I think more and more about the two, I find the link that would not be obvious to anyone but me . . . Both the LSAT and running this 5k race are both things that I have talked about doing for many years - somewhere around the 10 year mark to be more specific. Things I only dared to dream of doing, but never dared to actually take action. Both are things I'd label as "one of my silly ideas."

However, I eventually dared to take action, and stopped thinking of them as "silly ideas." It's kind of a strange feeling when you begin to make these things reality. It's also a bit scary because you don't know how they are going to turn out.

The nice thing about both of these things is that if I don't end up at law school my life will go on; it won't be the end of my world. To that accord, even if my time tomorrow isn't super impressive I can still say I completed the race, which is something I have never done before, and something a lot of people never attempt.

Additionally, this won't be the last race I participate in . . . there are many more to come.

Until later . . .

Life Is Uncertain

It was around this time 10 years ago. After a night out with a friend, I made my way back to the suburbs via the el. I had parked my car at a local suburb el station and took the train in for my night out. I figured it would be easier than trying to find parking. The trip home was a two-step process. The first step was to take the red line from the city to the end of the line and then transfer to the purple line. What I didn't anticipate was that I would be making my way home during the wee hours of the morning.

During the first leg of the trip, myself and two other females encountered a rather large guy who was acting a bit aggressive towards us. This was the first time during this ride home I realized that maybe I should have paid more attention to the time. Thankfully, the guy wasn't so aggressive as to actually try to touch us. However, I did become fast friends with the two other girls waiting for the same train. In our minds there was safety in numbers. I sat with the others until they got off the train. Then I sat alone making sure I was extremely aware of my surroundings. Minutes after getting off the red line train at the end of the line I realized another purple line train wasn't coming for about another 3 hours. I panicked for a moment. The area I was in wasn't the safest neighborhood and I had to figure out what I was going to do. Thankfully, when I Ieft the station there were two cabs parked across the street. This was perfect since another passenger of the same train I was on was in a similar boat as I. I was also thankful because those were the days when cabs didn't take credits card. It just happen that my whole night out had been comped so I had just enough case to cover the fair back to my car. I was lucky to have gotten out of that situation without anything happening to me.

This week, for the Thursday Blog project Sara asked us to give our thoughts on whether or not we felt the world was more unsafe now, than it was 50 years ago. Or, are we just more aware of it now, than we were back then?

I didn't use the best judgement in the above story. I should have thought through the possibilities for that particular evening a little bit more than I did. However, the situation itself isn't the most unsafe situation I've ever been in. Actually, the most unsafe situation I've ever been in started out as a safe situation, and turned into an unsafe situation. It's important to note this because as much as I think many of us would like to think life is predictable, it is really isn't THAT predictable. On a daily basis we put ourselves in situations that we think nothing of, because we think they are safe, but do in fact have the potential to become unsafe. The fact of the matter is that life itself is uncertain, and thus as a whole, unsafe.

In preparation I did some very lite research. What I that in the 20's and 30's crime wasn't reported with the same regularity that it is today and as a result not many statistics exist for that period of time. (It did state, however, that they did report dead bodies which I found interesting.) Furthermore, the information I read said that crime today is actually lower than it was in the 1970s. Though crime may be lower than it was in the 1970s, I believe as a society we may not feel this way because we hear about crime in our neighborhoods, and around the world, on a consistent basis. Technology has made this information so readily accessibility so new about crime is "in our face" all the time.

In my mind, I reconcile the uncertainty of life by reminding myself that I am making decisions that make me feel safe, yet still allow me to live my life. Additionally, it is that same uncertainty that pushes me to live life outside the box and take risks - such as skydiving - that I might not have otherwise taken.

Now that I've shared with you my thoughts on whether or not our world is safer now than it was 50 years ago, please take a moment to read what my fellow bloggers have to say:

• Momarock (Sara)

• Merryland Girl (Melissa)

• Mom of Many (Susanna)

Until later . . .

A Slice Of Humble Pie

BFF was the one that called me out on it. I had just commented to her that I really didn't have the time to date like I had hoped since I was prepping for the LSAT - amongst all the other things I had going on in my life - and would need to make the guy I had gone out with a few times aware of this little tidbit of information. That's when she pointed out the irony of that statement as I had once been on the receiving end of similar news. (It wasn't because of the LSAT, but law school was involved.) After BFF made her comment, I did a bit of back-pedaling. I said it was different because it wasn't an invested relationship and I probably wouldn't have continued on seeing this person even if I didn't have the LSAT to think about; however, I did understand what she was trying to point out.

This week, for the Thursday blogging group topic I asked everyone to take a minute to think about a time when they walked in someone else's shoes for awhile and it helped them understand better what that person was experiencing. I asked everyone to reflect upon their experience and to discuss what effect it had on them... Were they more sympathetic towards others who have those circumstances? More humbled? Or, did it not change their outlook at all?

My first LSAT experience was a definite wake-up call for me. Aside from making me take a step-back from the whole process and really think long and hard, again, about whether or not I should apply to law school altogether it also reminded me about what had happened to me. It made me want to go back to the person I mentioned above and tell them I now got what they were trying to impress upon me. It also made me realize that sometimes you think you know, or have an idea, what someone is really going through, but the truth of the matter is that you don't.


Soccer Mom For A Day

Recently, I helped S one weekend take her kids to their soccer tournaments. Mr. S was out-of-town, and she needed to be in two places at one time. When she asked me to help her I was more than happy to do so.

Our day started bright and early - my itinerary showed I needed to be at her house by 8:45 AM to pick up Mac 'N Cheese for his game in a neighboring town. This mean I would need to be up and out by 8 AM at the latest. Though they don't live too far from me I knew that caffeine was a must and I would need extra time to acquire it.

After an early start, and two rounds of getting the boys ready and to their games and home, I was beat! Seriously, I never knew it would take so much energy out of me. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun that day, but man.... I mean, aside from the fact that I had gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before, I'm not sure why it took so much energy out of me, however it did.

Later that evening, as S and I sat at their kitchen table discussing this and that it was easy to tell we were beat. Somewhere around 8:30 PM, I told S I was done for the evening and was heading home - I was ready to go to sleep. That is when she looked at me and said something to the effect of, "Welcome to my world."

My "Soccer Mom" for a day experience truly furthered appreciation for the art of parenting. It made me realize why my friends who are parents aren't always up for evening plans on the weekends.


Now I Get It

Usually I'm the one understanding where others come from; not the other way around. That is until about a little over a month ago . . . . I was catching up with a friend over coffee when they told me that they finally understood a lot of the things I had talked to them about 9 months prior. It all made sense to them now. I really didn't react to what they said. I just sat there trying to make sure I heard them right. They had just validated how I felt which is something I cannot recall ever happening to me prior to that moment. I mean, I'm sure it has happened before, but at that moment I could not pin-point another moment it had happened.

A few weeks later, as I was talking to someone else about some things going on in my life they to expressed that what I was saying made sense to them and they completely understood where I was coming from. Once again, I didn't say much about it, but I hearing that made me happy.

Last week, at Rosh Hashanah dinner, I was talking to a cousin of mine. I didn't even have to go into vast details... All I had to say were five words and she got it. She echoed how I was feelings without having me even say the words. Validation. Do you see a trend? There is a comfort that comes when you understand someone understands were you are coming from. There is a bond that is formed.

I'm including these stories in here for two reasons . . . First, there were the experiences that were the inspiration for this topic. Second, I want to demonstrate the importance of being able to understand where someone is coming. I don't always understand because I haven't had the same experiences as all the individual I know; however, I'd like to think I try the best I can to understand, and be understanding. It's something I am constantly working on.


In the end, "walking a mile in someone else's shoes" I have learned that I need to remember to be more understanding than I am at times. Sometimes, I almost thrive on walking that mile so I can better understand those around me, and relate to them better (especially those that are closest to me in my life).

Now that I have talked about my thoughts on "walking a mile in someone else's shoes," please take a moment to read what my fellow bloggers have to say about the topic:

• Momarock (Sara)

• Merryland Girl (Melissa)

• Mom of Many (Susanna)

Until later . . .

Mr. Perfect

I didn't give him the nickname "Mr. Perfect."

It was someone else who did it. Apparently, I had spent enough time discussing how "perfect" this acquittance of mine was that she felt the title fit him well. As I drove home that day from Southern Belle's house all I could think about was why I was so hung-up on Mr. Perfect.

This week for the Thursday blog project, Susanna asked us to talk about who we are jealous of, and why.

First and foremost, I don't like to get jealous of others. I feel it's not productive or worth the energy to be jealous of others. However, I believe it's normal to be jealous or envious of others from time-to-time.

I don't like picking on one individual in particular. Especially someone who is such a nice individual. The reason I mentioned Mr. Perfect doesn't have anything to do with be necessarily being jealous or envious of him, it has to do with the idea that I envy those that seem to be perfect and/or seem to have things come to them with out much struggle or effort. Mr. Perfect just happens to embody the elements of what I perceive to be perfect.

I realize that no one is perfect. I also realize that every set of circumstance we are handed in life comes with its own set of issue - the grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it?! I just think it's sometimes difficult to remember that when you are in the thick of your seemly uber imperfect world. Or, when you see someone accomplish something you can't or pick something up with no effort at all while you need to take much longer to accomplish the same thing.

Now that I've talked about jealousy, please take a moment to see what my fellow bloggers had to say about the same topic:


• Mom of Many (Susanna)

• Momarock (Sara)

• Merryland Girl (Melissa)

Until later . . .