What is Red, Black, Green, Yellow, and Blue and as has no corners?

In just 3 weeks,  Ill be riding in a plane to this lovely little place.  To volunteer with Team USA helping to get the US Athletes all ready for the Games.  Im stoked! I will be volunteering for 7 days, which will leave me a few to tour before returning home.  I will be spending some time in Oxford with my lovely travel buddy Julie who is living there.  But Im also just excited to wander the city, see some sights, feel the excitement, and just enjoy after/before my volunteer shifts.  Oh, and I hear the swing dance scene is fabulous there!  

Greener Grass

I was in the LA for work for the past 5 days.  It wasnt the greatest work trip.  I realized before I left that the purpose of going out there wasnt exactly there any longer, and that it was just going to be "working out of the LA office."  But then I get there and had access issues with the firewall there, and I couldnt get to all the programs I use daily.  So it was a waste of time, more or less.  On a personal note, I did get to enjoy dinner with a few friends, saw a few other friends, had dinner with a cousin, and enjoyed a change of scenery. So not a total bust!

When I was driving home from the airport, I stopped at the grocery store to buy some basics knowing that I had nothing at home.  My grocery store of choice is the Wal-Mart in the Ghetto.  And last night tested my patience.  At 11pm, there was 1 cash register open, in the WHOLE store.  SERIOUSLY Wal-Mart?!  I realize that Im not going to a store known for customer service, but really?! ONE register!  After walking back to check out with my three items from the tech department, and getting told that he couldnt help as they just took his cash drawer from him, I dropping my things and left the store not having bought anything, and wasted 20 minutes of my night.

All I could think while driving home was how nice it would be to have a husband, or even boyfriend, or even a good friend, that would have already picked up those items for me so that I would have breakfast in the morning.  And how nice it would have been to have someone that really care that I had a mildly crappy trip.  And how it would have been nice to have someone to cuddle up with and watch something on the DVR before going to bed. ...  And then, when I got home to an apartment with a broken A/C, I could only think it would have been so nice to have had someone to have dealt with it when it broke instead of having to go to bed in a blistering hot apartment.  ...   The grass is always greener I realize.  But today, Im just saying it would be nice to have someone!

Charlotte Style

I'm not going to lie.  Life in Charlotte is rather boring.  Its not a single's town.  It has a couple of colleges, but they are more of commuter schools rather than a destination schools.  There are big companies, but in very specific industries.  And its just a small town in general.   So its been a little bit hard to find and make friends.    Don't get me wrong, I do have some local friends, and I'm so glad to have them.  

If I had a family, than I would love Charlotte so much more.  And one reason that I would love to have a family here is because the houses you find in the older, but nice, neighborhoods are beautiful.  I love the porches and the columns.  They are cute and quaint.  Here are a few from a long my walk that I love.  

Sable

I finally got to meet this little lady! Sable Naomi Midgley.  Mark and Jessie are darling parents and fabulous host!  Just hope that next time I visit with them, I dont bring food poisoning with me.  

PS This country is just to gosh darn big, and people I love are in just too many gosh darn ends of it.  

Compliments

Compliments are a funny thing.  They can be given honestly.  They can be given freely.  They can be given in return for something.  They can be given with thought.  They can be given without thought. They can be given for common things.  They can be given for not so common things.

A few of my personal favorite compliments I have received thus far in life are:

"You fit nicely in your chair!" - Given by a date after the first act of a Circus de Soleil show where he was sitting next to a very large person who was infringing on his seat/space.
or
"Wow, you know how to load a dishwasher!" - Given by a boyfriends roommate who was usually perplexed by how other people load a dishwasher, and found some else who he felt knew how to use the space for maximizing the space.
or
"You are a great travel buddy!" - Given a few times by travel buddies, most recently by a friend recounting a painful trip with someone else, and who wished that I was able to travel (Dang school tuition!)

But the one that I just dont understand is the...
"You are a pretty girl, what's your problem?"  (Or something similar)

Seriously?!

I know that those who usually say this are really trying to give a compliment despite ending with a harsh question.  But seriously people?!  It makes me want to flush their head in a toilet bowl.  Ok, ok Sorry.  That might be a little juvenile!

There is no rhyme or reason for why one person stumbles into their forever someone earlier in life rather than later, and just because others havent yet, doesnt mean there is a problem.  I understand that the natural progression in life is to get married, but be nice to those that have yet to have found someone they are willing to join forces and make their way through this world with.


Ok.  Sorry for not warning you ahead of time.  Im off my soapbox now!  ... We will now return to your regularly scheduled blog post!

10s

I recently heard the following.  Now, I realize that this was a story in about 5th person, and that the end comment was only shared and not the full conversation, but it still just riles me.

A teenage girl, probably 14 y/o, commented about her teenage crush on Josh Hutcherson.  Her father told her '10s only go for 10s, so you should stop liking him.' Or something of the sort.

Again, this was only relayed to me.  Therefore, I dont know the complete context in which this comment was made.

I am so thankful that I never heard that comment directed to me by my father.  Im so glad that I never had to ever think that there wasnt atleast one (male) person in the world that thought that I wasnt the greatest girl/women ever.  Im so glad that I had a father that expressed, maybe not often but enough that I knew, how beautiful and fabulous I was and that I was deserving of whatever it was that I was shooting for, even if my teenage self rarely believed him.

Those teenage years are horrendous.  They are filled with abundant moments of shear self doubt, and endless lack of self-confidence. (Or maybe that was just me!)  And if you dont think that you have your parents, and hopefully siblings, friends, and whoever else you are able to find strength in (namely a God in whatever form you believe in), behind you, than its hard to find the needed self-confidence to make it in this (at times) cruel, horrible world.

In a world that is tearing down the image of women, and making it harder to find goodness in oneself, look around to those you interact with and find ways to show kindness and love towards them.  Help them feel that they are 10s in the crazy world that wants everyone to think they are merely a 2 in need of x, z, and y to ever get to be a close to a 10.

Community

Last month I got the chance to meet up with an old friend.  This particular friend has been apart of my life for more years then seems possible to my 24 y/o psyche!  (Crap.  Im not 24 y/o anymore, nor have I been for more years than I want to admit!)

When I was visiting with this friend, there were a few other people around, and it was abit chaotic. Lots of new people to meet.  A few 'old' friends that I wanted to catch up with.  Food to be ordered and enjoyed.  Etc.  We finally did get more of a chance to talk, and he asked me the general questions regarding job, Charlotte, family, life, etc.  But then he asked me something that has made me really think lately.  He asked if I had a community. Since I had never really been asked that before, I gave him an answer in the affirmative and moved on to something else.  But it has really made me reflect.

What is ones community?

I have come to see it has the general people that one *chooses* to interact with on a weekly, maybe monthly, basis.  It can be made up of immediately family, extended family, friends, church members, associates from work or hobbies, neighbors, etc.  Its the people we make a priority.  Its the people that one can count on for different needs or wants.  Its the people that continually help us along our personal path.  Its the people we feel a connection with.  Its the people that we have shared mutual interests with.

There was a time in my adult life when I truly had this.  My community was large and interlaced with people in many different areas of life.  It made for lovely gatherings, parties, friendships, family time, memories, and more.  I had opportunities to share in their joys, heartaches, excitements, contentments, and enjoyments.   I had opportunities to serve them.  I had the opportunity to learn from them and grow in ways that I would have never thought I would.  I had the opportunity to find strength in their goodness and love.  I had a community that I never realized I needed or that would be hard to find locally in the same magnitude.


I dont think that it was until that specific question was posed, that I realized what it was I have been missing and searching for for awhile now.


Im not thinking that that was a once in a life time opportunity, and that I need to just realize that reality of finding it again is unattainable.  I have faith that there will be a time in which I can find this feeling of community again.  When or where is the age old question in this life.  As much as I wish that I had a current community here now with me, I just am glad that I have had that previously, in my adult life. And Im so grateful for the friends that I do have locally.  I have so many dear friends all over, which makes choosing a plan to travel to, so very hard.  But its the calls or texts for dinner, lunch, or a visit that I really cherish these days as my heart is lonely for in-person interaction.