"What are you going to do with your life?"

It is a very odd thing, to be in one's 20s. 

I fall succinctly into the category of "twentysomethings" and it seems to come with an ever changing topography, thus far.  So far, in my 20s, I have graduated from college, changed jobs 5 times, moved three times, thought I was going to get married, traversed the heartbreaking terrain of break-up after a long relationship, had 3 nephews born (not at the same time), and moved back into my childhood bedroom.  Oh, and this happened:

The first three years of my 20s have been an emotional rollercoaster, put thousands of miles on my car, and have been both miserable and wonderful.  But one question has remained both prevalent and prevailing throughout - "What are you going to do with your life?"

In some variation at least. "What's next?" "What are you planning?" "What are you going to do now?" have all been thrown around, too.  And the answer is always some fumbling and nervous laughter and looking at my shoes because, quite honestly, I just don't know.  And you know how Satan uses horrible things to constantly remind us we're failing?  This happens to me all the time.  The sister of a person I once dated (oh, how uselessly vague am I?) once wrote a letter to him, but also sent it to me. It was very pointed. In it, she listed the attributes of the person she wished for him to be with and marry.  One of the attributes was that she would "have a purpose for herself in society." Of all of the things listed in that message, telling me to my face what she thought I wasn't, this is the one that stays in my head. The quiet message the devil uses to make me feel insignificant.  I don't have it figured out.  I don't have a purpose for myself in society.  And to make her words true of me hurts me deeply every day.

I've done a lot in my 20s.  I've been here and there and worked and paid my bills on time.  But I don't have it figured out.  And for some reason I seem to find myself isolated in my thoughts, that I'm the only person at this stage in my life who doesn't really know what the heck is going on.  And, dutifully, God puts people into (or back into) my path who remind me it's okay. They don't have it all together either.  I'm not alone. I don't have to be well on my way to a fulfilling career. I'm blessed by these people. I'm relaxed by them and encouraged by them, in all of their varied current paths. 

I'm at a distinct crossroads in my life.  I'm out of college, I'm recently single so I have no obligations to another person, and I'm in the location of all of my belongings (this hasn't been the case for a long time). I think it's time for an adventure. 

I found a blog on Pinterest today (Avoiding Atrophy) and read for a bit before finding this post: How You Know It's Time to Start an Adventure.  I can't seem to shake the feeling that it's time for an adventure.  I don't know to where, I don't know when, I don't know for how long. I don't know if it will have anything to do with what I'll do for the rest of my life.  But I'm ready for an adventure - a come-into-my-house-and-eat-my-food-so-I-have-to-leave kind or a I'll-make-it-happen-because-I-want-it kind.  I can feel God doing things in my life.  He was present in my breakup, he was present in my move home, and he is working something out for me.  I'm excited to find out what it is. I'm terrified to find out what it is.  (Anybody relate there? Anybody?)

It's going to be an adventure.

 

Baby Glossery

Hello, and welcome! Today we are going to be discussing some common terms that may not be very well known to those outside of the baby having/babysitting/nannying circle.

Do you have little opportunity to be around young children? Are you often confused by the things parents or caretakers of those children say?  Does it sometimes all seem like a foreign language? If so, this post is for you!!

Warning: this post is not for the weak.

• Dead Cheerio (n.) - A Cheerio that has been half eaten or picked up with soggy little fingers and discarded, creating a mushy, sticky thing that sticks to a young child's clothes.  Also can be used by said child for retaliation by throwing a dead cheerio onto the floor to be stepped on by his caretaker.
  
  "Child! You have dead Cheerios all over your pants like polka dots!"
  
  "UGH! I stepped on a dead cheerio and it's stuck to my foot!"
• Eeky Hair (n.) - Hair that has been freshly toweled off after a bath and is standing on end all crazy like.  Must be shown to every member of the house and each person must say "EEK!" appropriately and with enthusiasm. 
  
  "EEEEEK!!!! Look at that Eeky Hair!!"
• Poop-aggedon (n.) - A poop of epic proportions that comes out of the diaper, onto the child and his clothing. More typically occurring in younger babies.  Frequently requires a bath as poop mysteriously always seems to get in the baby's hair.
  
  "Sister! Go start the bathtub! Poop-aggedon is upon us!!! How did it get in his hair???"
  
  Variations include: Poop-splosion, and Poop-opocolypse. 
  Synonym: Blowout
  
  
• Soggy Baby (n.) - Contrary to popular belief, this term does not allude to a wet diaper.  Instead, it is when a baby relaxes completely and snuggles up against you.  Most frequently occurs after a long nap, when the baby has woken up but not entirely. 
  
  "Ohh, what a sweet, soggy baby laying on me so sweetly. I wish he'd never move."

Spring Fever Without the Break

This is my second year without a Spring Break.  For the vast percentage of my life, I've had a spring break every year.  Let me tell you, it is WEIRD that first year when you don't get one and you have to go to work every morning and watch all the other kids getting a spring break and going home and relaxing and reading 18 books and dipping their toes in the water at the beach. 

(Wait... most kids don't read 18 books on their spring break?   Well, let's just say I promise I traveled more on my spring breaks than they did. And to better places. And, honestly, with better company.)

Anyway,  it's not really as bad for me this year as I don't have a typical 9-5 job at the moment. I get to play with and get beat up by the cutest one year old currently on the planet.  (Side note: I cannot and will not believe he's already one.  It's not happening. He's still the tiny, squishy, sleepy little baby I first met last July.... He can just pull up on furniture and is trying to speak now... that's all... right?)  So, even if I don't get the recommended daily allotment of sleep, I still have it pretty good.  I mean, I wear makeup maybe twice a week. 

My question is, at what point does it stop being weird not to have a Spring Break?  (For all of ya'll who AREN'T teachers, ya butts.) Is it something you eventually get used to and then don't care about anymore? Or is it something you still long for deep in your heart every year as winter draws to a close?  There's something to be said for transitions.  Spring break has always been that for me. Winter is officially over and Spring is officially here, regardless of what the weather does.  Let me know what you think! Maybe I'll have to plan my own "spring break" every year and save up my time off. :)

Snow White Had An Apple

My future grows dim as I have been poisoned tonight.  It's happened once before but I pulled through. I'm not so sure I can this time...

Let me tell you my tale before I am no more and my story is lost forever. 

It all began almost two years ago, in a sweet little apartment in Oviedo.   My graduation day was here and everyone in the apartment was excitedly getting ready.  Being a lovely and gracious host, I decided to make whole wheat apple streusel muffins for everyone.  Opening the box, I thought they smelled a little weird. A strange mix of plastic and chemicals.  I figured it was fine, and pressed on to mix up what was sure to be a delicious and filling graduation day breakfast.  Into the oven the muffins were popped! As they cooked, they filled the apartment with the strange aroma I encountered when I first opened the box.  I grew more wary of the supposedly delicious muffins... In no time, they were done and Sister and I anxiously took a bite... only to discover that the pervasive smell also tainted the flavor of the cupcakes and they were TERRIBLE!!!! Absolutely disgusting!!

From there the blame began to shift.  Sister said "You gave me poison muffins!!! You're trying to kill me!!" I hurriedly replied "Mom gave me the box of poison muffins!!! She's out to get us!!"  Poor mom wasn't even there to defend herself. (Sorry, Mom, for what I said when I was poisoned)  Needless to say the whole batch went straight into the trash and we got ourselves McDonald's instead. It was not poison.  I lived through my graduation, but just barely. 

Fast Forward two years to tonight.  As delicious baked spaghetti was baking in the oven, my stomach started trying to gnaw itself in hunger and I decided to have a small snack so as to save my digestive system from self-destruction.  I perused the pantry and decided on a few saltine crackers to tide me over.  When I opened the Tupperware, I was met with the faintly familiar smell of radioactive plastic.  Not placing the smell to the memory, I tasted my first cracker. Stale. Also tasted really bad.  Sister tasted one to confirm. Yup, gross and stale.  We figured they smelled bad because they were stale and I went to open another pack. 

Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. The same smell from the Poison Muffin incident!!! We were dealing with Poison Crackers!!!! The smell alone of another pack was warrant to throw it out.  A third sleeve was opened and tasted and it was even worse than the first. Sister and I both ran to the trash can to spit it out and then to the sink to rinse out our mouths.  All of the crackers were violently hurled into the trash! I ran to the fridge to grab the first thing I could find that would clean my mouth out the fastest - applesauce.  It was delicious, but the aftertaste of poison is still lingering in my mouth.

Of all the things in the world, I never would have expected to be poisoned by radioactive plastic muffins and crackers.  Let this be a warning to all of you - if you open a package of something that is neatly portioned in a plastic pouch, and said plastic pouch smells a little funny - like it might be radioactive - STOP what you are doing and immediately throw the whole container away and toss the trash bag outside where it can't hurt you anymore. 

I think Snow White had the better deal.