HEY OLD LADY

Sometimes the cold, hard truth of reality comes right up and smacks you in the face; or in my case, the head.

They’ve been slowly taking up residence on my head for almost a year now, but it seems as though their ranks have been growing as of late. What is it that I am talking about? Grey hairs. That’s right, I’m not yet even 25 (25!!) and I already have more than one grey hair. I’d like to attribute it to stress, but whatever the reason of their existence, the truth is I’m getting older, we all are, with each passing day. I know my mind and body won’t always be the same as they are now [which, let’s face it, would be good if it would change, as in, my getting in better shape], and that no matter how well I take care of myself there are some things that will change without my own doing simply because I’ll be getting older, but I just wasn’t really aware that perhaps I’m already starting on the downward slope. Yikes. I’m hoping that those pesky grey hairs aren’t the precursor to more symptoms of aging popping up in my near future, and I sure think it would be quite nice if they would disappear all together.



I do intend to age gracefully. . .just when the time comes, and I’m hoping that that time isn’t upon me just yet; right now, I may not be so graceful about it.

LIVING IN THE LAND OF MAKE-BELIEVE

After watching Emily Blunt [a British actress, if you're unaware] on Leno tonight I couldn't resist the urge to speak in an English accent . . . and so I've been doing just that ever since. It happens sometimes.

I also recently stumbled across these cute pictures of my niece from a few years back,

and the combination of these things has got me thinking.

How fun would life be if we constantly, unabashedly let the real world and the world of make-believe collide?! If people did converse with others in accents (that are not their own). . .in public. . .just for the heck of it? If someone who had always been tempted to don a Superman outfit underneath their blase business suit in order to feel a bit like a superhero themselves did just that? If someone who needed a little extra "oomph" to run faster/farther pretended that they were being chased by a dinosaur?

True, the likelihood of people going overboard is pretty much guaranteed. But still, why do we have to forgo all of our make-believing just because we aren't adorable little five year old fairy explorers anymore? Perhaps letting our imaginations have a little more say in our day to day life may be exactly what each of us need. If nothing else, it'd at least be highly entertaining.

NIGHTY NIGHT

What is it about the night that beckons thoughts, feelings, moments so different from those that exist during the day? Is it the darkness closing in around us, shrouding us from the transparency of the day? Is it the freedom from our daytime responsibilities? Or is it simply that by nightfall we've been up for so long that our brains and bodies don't know how to function in a "normal" capacity?

.

Ever since I was a wee-one, nights and nighttime endeavors have varied quite greatly from their daytime counterparts. Any unidentified noise that typically would be shrugged off during the day, at night, becomes someone with ill intentions lurking just outside my door. Projects that call for my undivided attention receive just the opposite while the sun is high in the sky, but once the moon replaces the sun suddenly my focus kicks in and my best work is done [this reality was the bane of my existence throughout my years of school]. Idealistic dreams seem attainable and keep me filled with hope in the waking hours, but when I should be sleeping my mind becomes clouded with over the top rationalizing that gives way to anxiety. And still, at other times the expansive night sky, dotted with stars, affords me peace, calm, and a sense of (yet another) fresh start that rarely comes from the daytime.

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Vincent Van Gogh once said, "I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day." Perhaps he just may be right. Though the night may be riddled with some form of restlessness, or something of a similar flavor, whatever it holds, there's no denying that there's something bewitching about nighttime. . . and I often am under its spell.

LIFELONG PRAYER AND VERSE TO REMEMBER

Dear Lord,
As I place my life in Your hands, I will trust You to be faithful. Amen.

~ A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. - Proverbs 16:9 - ~