June 12, 2009 I went to bed at 11:30.
My eyes are swollen.
My hair looks like poo.
My jeans are too tight.
Today could be the day I lose it.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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June 10, 2009 My life is an amazing one. There’s no question about that at all. I’ve been lucky and done more in 28 years than some people get to do in a lifetime.
I’ve seen an Australian sunrise and snorkeled on The Great Barrier Reef. I’ve stood beneath the eerie glow of Big Ben at night and hiked along the Italian shoreline. I’ve marveled at Stonehenge bathed in an early morning light and taken a nap on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
I’ve had my hair tangled by an Amazon breeze and found my way through jungles to a Lost City. I’ve played in thick Mississippi clay and I’ve heard jazz on the sidewalks of New Orleans. I’ve seen presidents carved into stone and rolled a kayak in the freezing waters of the Nantahala River.
I’ve walked through coffee fields and over mountains and I’ve run on empty trails and crowded streets. I’ve swum in rivers and oceans and danced under waterfalls and in the rain. I’ve seen love personified and I’ve had my heart broken and I’ve cried on four continents for one thousand different reasons.
I’ve watched my brother grow into a man that I respect with more intensity than I thought possible and I’ve thanked Jesus over and over for a baby Sisser that is my very best friend. I’ve turned my head away as my parents kiss in the kitchen. I’ve eaten ice cream with my Mamaw at midnight and cream cheese cupcakes for breakfast with friends that are scattered across the world.
I’ve read more books than I can name and written more words than I thought were in me. I’ve heard music in the Andes mist and wiped tears off of precious brown faces. I’ve fallen in love with Colombia and a man from some place called Carthage. I’ve learned to salsa dance and speak Spanish and to find my way home again.
To find my way home again. Yes, I’ve learned that, too, but I don’t think all of me is coming home. It can’t because…well, because I’m leaving part of my heart in Manizales.
See, I told you I had an amazing life. Thank you for being part of it.
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June 8, 2009 Mountain sunshine pouring through classroom windows.
Spanglish chatter and children’s laughter in the corridor.
The smell of coffee and empanadas dancing in the air.
Kisses on cool cheeks.
Small, brown hands around my waist.
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June 5, 2009 This post that my blog friend of a blog friend wrote about this book that I loved and this author that I stalk made my day.
I’m going to do better. I really am. I’m going to live well.
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June 3, 2009 I think I must be the most knowledgeable person in the world for all the things I’ve learned in this life of mine.
I’ve learned that chocolate milk chases nightmares away and that time doesn’t heal all hurts it just dulls them some. I’ve learned that things never happen like you plan them, but the way they turn out is inevitably better anyway. I’ve learned that hugs transcend language barriers, love crosses borders and spring always comes even if the colors are different when you live near the Equator.
I’ve learned to carry duct tape in my backpack, four quarters in my pocket, and Jesus in my heart. I’ve learned that cold showers can be good things and that it’s okay to put off a to-do list until tomorrow. I’ve learned that children are resilient and that adults hold grudges and that forgiveness should be free.
I’ve learned that I sleep better under one of Mamaw’s quilts and that people are life’s richest treasures. Sunrises are meant to be seen and sunsets should steal your breath. Exercise doesn’t give you the right to clean out your refrigerator, but eating your weight in chocolate is okay sometimes. I’ve learned that time is precious and that it is fleeting.
I’ve learned that my future isn’t dictated by my past and that the greatest freedom to be found is in knowing who you are. I’ve learned that some roads are curvy and mountainous and others are straight and sure for miles upon miles and that both of those roads lead to somewhere and going somewhere is always better than going nowhere.
I’ve learned that it’s okay to be imperfect, but not to be insecure. I’ve learned that guarding your heart keeps you from loving completely and being loved and that it’s okay to shed tears for people that you’ve never met. I’ve learned that I can’t change the world by myself, but that I can make a difference. I’ve learned that life is short and good and that there’s nothing I enjoy more than living it.
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June 2, 2009 I talk about kid quotes a lot, but today I’ve been reflecting on something a wise old teacher told me at the end of a long day in May.
“One of these days, I’m gone be skinny and good lookin’ and get me a husband that pays for me to get my nails done every week and I’m gone quit this place.”
Can I get an “amen,” y’all?
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June 1, 2009 Airports.
You’d think I’d be used to them by now. I’ve rushed through more than I can name and couldn’t possibly add up all the hours I’ve spent waiting on floors or sleeping in uncomfortable chairs. I walk down concourses with no sense of panic and can take off my shoes and clear security before most people finish packing their gels and liquids into a Ziploc bag.
And still airports amaze me. The steady rush of people. The smell of overpriced, undercooked food. The bookstores and magazines that no one can pass by. The faces of businessmen, stern and focused. The tears of homecoming. The tears of leaving a life behind. Yes, airports amaze me.
I guess it’s the state of limbo, the waiting to let go of the people that have seen me off in order to embrace the people that are waiting for me in the next place that’s on my list.
There’s the sense of independence, too, I suppose. The knowing that I’m alone and capable and that if everything in the world goes wrong- the flight is cancelled or overbooked, my money runs out, my luggage is lost, my itinerary is a day off- whatever the case may be, that I can handle it, even if I cry sometimes.
Airports.
They give birth to confidence, provide a segue and an escape, and they personify my life in transition. But this time as I wandered through Atlanta’s 563 concourses, I realized that I’m finally ready to stay home for awhile.
Or maybe just take someone with me for a change.
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May 25, 2009 Spending eight days with six Colombian children in the good ole US of A was more than an adventure.
It was a reminder that not everyone has eaten a biscuit and not everyone has to love them. It was a chance to make driving a fifteen passenger van look luxurious. It was a time when Spanish became a language we used like secret agents in elevators. It was late night snack sessions and lots of hugs. Jokes about different names for love handles, bodily functions, and brain freeze. Giggles and roller coasters and the chance to live in counselor mode again. Braids and sunscreen and hot dogs with mustard.
It was a time to burst with pride when I heard pleases, thank yous, ma’ams and sirs all flavored with precious Spanish accents. It was being grateful when a stranger held open a door for me and hearing my boys say, “I thought you were kidding, Mees, but they REALLY do do that!” It was watching as they all stood patiently in long lines using the time to look around wide-eyed at a completely different world.
It was watching them walk like grown ups down a concourse, leaving me behind and realizing that leaving Colombia’s children might just be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
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May 23, 2009 FACT: If a child drinks three containers of chocolate milk at lunch, there shall be vomit.
FACT: All gaseous type expulsions cease to be funny after midnight on the fifth day of travel.
FACT: Morning people are weirdos that should be locked up for life.
FACT: Wal-mart is a breeding ground for animalistic behavior.
FACT: Patience is a virtue that takes a hike during long lunch lines in the noonday heat.
FACT: Teachers have an innate ability to invoke fear in the young. Or not.
FACT: The nursing profession is highly underrated.
FACT: But this job rocks.
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May 21, 2009 I’m not cut out for this.
I TEACH kids. I don’t raise them.
But this week, I’m in Knoxville, TN (Go Vols!) with six Colombian kids that forget to brush their hair (and teeth) and need to be tucked in and be reminded to eat lunch and told how much farther it is and to buckle up and to please (FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY AND CHOCOLATE!) flush the toilet.
And this schedule is wearing me slap out!
I love it.
Check us out on the Destination Imagination website. Global Finals 2009. We’re rockin’ it.
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