Growing up

A large part of me (as you can tell by this blog) is still a child at heart, but there is another part of me that is a maturing teenager who sees that growing up is inevitable and reasons that I had better get it all out of the way as soon as I can.

The teenage side of me is what pushed me to get a job and enroll in a college class (yep, just one). In some ways this has been hard, being homeschooled I never had to be anywhere every day or have a paper ready by a certain deadline, but in other ways both sides have enjoyed this step. It gives the reasonable part of me a sense of accomplishment, and the fact that I get to work with kids and I am enrolled in a writing class, gives my younger side a chance to exercise my imagination.

These two personalities are like sisters, they go everywhere with one another, but often, have disagreements on what the best way to do things is.

Kid me: OOOOHHH butterfly! Come on let's follow it. :)

Teenage me: Whoa, whoa, hold on. Come back over here. That is a pretty butterfly, but look  at that old gentleman walking down the street. What is he going to think about you? And besides, we need to head back home so I can work on my essay.

Kid me: No, no, that  old guy won't mind. It will probably make him smile and your essay can wait just a little bit longer. 

Teenage me:  I tell you what, if  we go back and work on the essay right now, we can have some of that chocolate I have been saving.

Kid me: Chocolate?

Teenage me: Mhmmm.

Kid me: Okay. :)

I would never want to get rid of either part of me, but as I get older, I find my mature (ish) side starting to win more of the arguments. That is one of the reasons I started this blog. I see it as a place where the kid side of me can win the battles. Even if the mature side puts up some fuss sometimes.

~ Real contentment must come from within. You and I can not change or control the world around us, but we can change and control the world within us. ~ Warren Wiersbe
     

Watching the Stars Wake Up

Sometimes, on clear nights, I like to sit outside and watch the stars wake up. I think that here in Montana, where I live, is the best place to watch the stars. It's quiet, doesn't have too many lights, and lives up to its nickname; Big Sky Country.

In essence, when you look at the stars you are looking back in time, because the closest star (other than the sun) is 4.3 light years away. That means the light we see actually shone over 4 years ago. I know this is sort of a simple concept but I love thinking about it and it gives me the assurance that there is Someone bigger, watching out for us.

Recently, I found one of these tutorials for making small origami stars. I instantly became obsessed with these cute paper crafts and have made many since. I personally like cutting the paper to be slightly thinner, but I have found that no star will be exactly the same. My favorite part is drawing the faces on.

Here are some of the ones I made. Hope you enjoy!



The clouds were so pretty today, I had to take a picture.

The Girl Inside

On first impression some people might call me childish. They would be right, but you know what? It doesn't bother me one iota. When I get old and gray, I still want to be known as the girl with the contagious, girlish giggle, the one who still chases butterflies, plays with Playdough, and draws stick figures.(That last one is only because I don't have the patience to learn how to draw.)

I'm always striving to please others, this blog will be where I draw the line. I'm going to post what I want to, so what if only one person reads it and thinks its lame. I don't want to lose "me" looking for someone who doesn't exist.

I said all that because I want my main focus on this blog to be expressing the kid inside. It's that small part of us that never grew up and never will. It's the thing that makes your heart jump when you see a shooting star. It is that irresistible urge to swing on the swings or to splash  through the mud puddles.

 I have been blessed with all of this "kid-ness" because I work in the preschool room at a daycare. I can't credit it all to the kids in the class, (I was born with an extra large quantity of child I think) but when you spend several hours a day with three to five-year olds, you get an extra dose of sunshine.

Before I get too carried away with explaining how childish I am, I had better end the post, but I wanted to challenge all of you (my hypothetical readers) to do something nice for someone this week.  It doesn't have to be something huge it could be just smiling at a stranger, holding the door for someone, or even buying a family member or co-worker coffee. I'll do it too, and let you know how it goes in my next post. (In a few days I hope.)