I always have so much trouble with this one-- awaken? awoken? awakened? awook?
Well whatever it is, it happened to me around 3:20 am this morning. I had left my back porch light on before going to bed, so upon looking out, I was able to see the monsoon just outside my window pane. Whoa.
I really don't keep up with the forecast the way I should, and my aeromancy skills are slim to none. I had not made myself aware the night before of the approaching downpour, else I would have prepared my car ahead of time (believe me!). My yard, garage, and driveway are all surrounded by trees, so whenever the wind begins to pose a threat, I always try to quickly get parked in the garage.
I lugged my drowsy self downstairs to the back door and took a second look outside. Whoa. After 20 minutes and chickening out once or twice, conditions were not improving, and I knew it was time to bite the bullet-- but my umbrella was in the car. Of course it was!! I had no choice but to get creative. I threw on some shoes and went tearing outside at almost 4 in the morning with a big glass bowl on my head. That's right.
I should mention that directly in front of my garage door, the driveway pavement dips a little, so "when it rains it pools" in front of my garage. I splashed through the small harbor and threw the garage door open. With the first challenge down, I darted to the car and got in as quickly as I could. Thinking I had a cozy moment to drain off, I looked around the car. It was soaked in there. I thought, "What?? The door was open for half a second!!" That's when I realized it-- I had completely forgotten about leaving the 2 front windows open a crack to keep the car cool. Insult to injury.
Finally after parking safely in the garage, I splashed back through the harbor. At this point, my pants were so soaked they were falling off my body. I headed back inside at 4 in the morning with a large glass bowl under one arm, an umbrella in one hand, and my waistband in the other. Sweet mother of Jesus, I hope the neighbors were all asleep.
And then hours later my news feed is filled with all your updates. "What storm??" "I slept right through it!!"
Well, that's just precious.
7.18.2010
7.04.2010
All the Single Ladies
I trust most of you are sharp learners. Likely you've noticed there are some qualities I avoid and name tags I hope my life will never sport. "Typical". "Average". "Common". "Cliche". "Standard".
In being completely honest with you, one of the "typical" things that perturbs me is the way pretty little twenty-somethings approach the covenant of marriage. Frankly, the Midwestern Christian community is by far the most guilty.
That brings me to the Almighty Disclaimer. If you're married, you can pretty much ignore this post in its entirety unless I've intrigued you. 98% of the people I know have done exactly what I'm addressing. If you fall into that percentile, I hope your choices have worked out beautifully-- and if so, FABulous. I'm thrilled for you. Expect a card in the mail. The point I aim to make is not that you made the WRONG choice, but that I believe there are BETTER choices twenty-somethings can elect as an alternative to the "typical" path.
Have you ever noticed how just about EVERYBODY lives their life the same way?? Go to college, have a ring by last semester of senior year, get married and have 2-4 baaabies by 26. Awwwww!
Yawn. It seems to me, if a female has held on to a guy for a year and is over the age of 20, she figures it's time to tie the knot-- especially if she just graduated college. "I'm here, he'll have me, I'm of legal age. Let's make this thing official."
I may ruffle some feathers by saying this, but that is called "settling". Let's say you are looking down from a helicopter, waiting for your turn to skydive. If you're flying over water, clearly it is neither the time nor the place to jump. Well, neither is it the time nor place the instant you spot your first glimpse of land! There could be skyscrapers down there! You could find your body-- or in this case your marriage-- severed in half, wishing you had done your research and awaited a better time or opportunity.
I used to be one of those girls who thought life did not truly begin until my single-girl days ended. Let me tell you, I feel PATHETIC for ever letting myself be so brainwashed. If you're still that girl/dude, I must lovingly ask you: Do you have any idea how boring marriage is (in comparison to what your fantasy believes)?? Do you have any idea how much daily work it is? Do you have any idea how much you have to compromise and sacrifice? Do you have any idea how many THOUSANDS more people you're going to meet before your life is over??
For those of you young twenty-somethings currently contemplating marriage with your your equally young significant other, let's stop and think for a moment. Let's say, Lord willing, you live to be 75. You're REALLY so impatient that you cannot wait 1-2 more years to be sure of what you're doing? That's 3% of your lifespan. So it's 3% and be certain NOW, or spend roughly 62% of your life with the possibility of misery and regret. Seems like an obvious investment. The big picture shows there is NO rush!!
Unless your precious "biological clock" is tick-ticking away (which is another discussion entirely), you have your entire life to get married. Divorce rates are up there, and no one is invincible-- but they absolutely plummet after the age of 28. Know why? Because like fine wines, individuals have taken time to mature with age. They have gotten to know themselves and have a better understanding of what they want and need in a spouse. Patience and maturity are key marital components, and those who have waited to marry undoubtedly posses those traits. There's more to life than marriage and babies-- and by that I don't mean superior alternatives. I mean great additional things that people tend to skip past and neglect because of their impatience.
Experience life without limits before you white-picket-fence yourself in. I promise, someday you will be a better spouse for it.
In being completely honest with you, one of the "typical" things that perturbs me is the way pretty little twenty-somethings approach the covenant of marriage. Frankly, the Midwestern Christian community is by far the most guilty.
That brings me to the Almighty Disclaimer. If you're married, you can pretty much ignore this post in its entirety unless I've intrigued you. 98% of the people I know have done exactly what I'm addressing. If you fall into that percentile, I hope your choices have worked out beautifully-- and if so, FABulous. I'm thrilled for you. Expect a card in the mail. The point I aim to make is not that you made the WRONG choice, but that I believe there are BETTER choices twenty-somethings can elect as an alternative to the "typical" path.
Have you ever noticed how just about EVERYBODY lives their life the same way?? Go to college, have a ring by last semester of senior year, get married and have 2-4 baaabies by 26. Awwwww!
Yawn. It seems to me, if a female has held on to a guy for a year and is over the age of 20, she figures it's time to tie the knot-- especially if she just graduated college. "I'm here, he'll have me, I'm of legal age. Let's make this thing official."
I may ruffle some feathers by saying this, but that is called "settling". Let's say you are looking down from a helicopter, waiting for your turn to skydive. If you're flying over water, clearly it is neither the time nor the place to jump. Well, neither is it the time nor place the instant you spot your first glimpse of land! There could be skyscrapers down there! You could find your body-- or in this case your marriage-- severed in half, wishing you had done your research and awaited a better time or opportunity.
I used to be one of those girls who thought life did not truly begin until my single-girl days ended. Let me tell you, I feel PATHETIC for ever letting myself be so brainwashed. If you're still that girl/dude, I must lovingly ask you: Do you have any idea how boring marriage is (in comparison to what your fantasy believes)?? Do you have any idea how much daily work it is? Do you have any idea how much you have to compromise and sacrifice? Do you have any idea how many THOUSANDS more people you're going to meet before your life is over??
For those of you young twenty-somethings currently contemplating marriage with your your equally young significant other, let's stop and think for a moment. Let's say, Lord willing, you live to be 75. You're REALLY so impatient that you cannot wait 1-2 more years to be sure of what you're doing? That's 3% of your lifespan. So it's 3% and be certain NOW, or spend roughly 62% of your life with the possibility of misery and regret. Seems like an obvious investment. The big picture shows there is NO rush!!
Unless your precious "biological clock" is tick-ticking away (which is another discussion entirely), you have your entire life to get married. Divorce rates are up there, and no one is invincible-- but they absolutely plummet after the age of 28. Know why? Because like fine wines, individuals have taken time to mature with age. They have gotten to know themselves and have a better understanding of what they want and need in a spouse. Patience and maturity are key marital components, and those who have waited to marry undoubtedly posses those traits. There's more to life than marriage and babies-- and by that I don't mean superior alternatives. I mean great additional things that people tend to skip past and neglect because of their impatience.
Experience life without limits before you white-picket-fence yourself in. I promise, someday you will be a better spouse for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)