My Introvert

As a child, my sister was extremely shy. So much so that she refused to go to school without me and since we were only 15 months apart, my mother held her back one year so that she would feel more comfortable starting school with her sister. Therefore, we were always together, had the same friends, and took the same classes. I’m not sure if it helped her to develop more self-confidence but it was nice to always have someone with whom to hang out – until of course our high school years when I started craving my own identity.

I’ve often wondered how things would have been for my sister had she started out on her own – independent of her security blanket.

Would she have been like my girl? Fiercely independent, calmly confident, secure in her own skin.

They are very much alike my sister and my girl. Both are extremely shy – some would say painfully so. I encourage the girl to always look adults in the eye and acknowledge their greetings. I tell her she doesn’t need to have a conversation but should always answer when spoken to.

And she does – for the most part.

I find that shy people tend to make others unsure of themselves. I find it so with the girl – people will approach and then sometimes feel rebuffed. It’s not her fault or theirs, but admit I wish it was different sometimes. She does teach me a couple things about myself – one of which is that it’s ok to not be liked by everyone. I’m a pleaser, she’s not. It is one of the many ways that I know she is a better person than I am.

And then there are her friends – it’s funny how she picks ‘em – or they pick her in some cases.

They’re a hoot – the whole lot and kit and kaboodle of them. It’s a wonderful blessed thing.

For Wordful Wednesday.

February 1, Snow Baby

This horse was romping in the snow and was such a pretty baby that I left him/her SOOC. This photo was taken on one of the rare snowy, blowy, cold days this winter. It just so happens that it was a day that the girl and I had to spend all day outside. Beside the irony, I trust that it happened that way so that I can get a photo of this pretty snow baby.

Happy Outdoor Wednesday!

January 31, Without Exception

The promise of a new day is – without exception – the most beautiful thing of all…

Welcome Topaz Tuesday! Photo edited with Topaz Adjust.

Dogfight

Hey you two – quit fighting!

Huh? Us?

I told you so! I knew you’d get us in trouble!

Sigh. It’s a day in a life don’t cha know? But they’re cute . . . it’s a good thing.

January 30, Big Red Barn

It’s Instagram Monday! Better known as “I Didn’t Download My Weekend Photos Monday.”

This barn was big and imposing and I wasn’t sure how to capture it well. The composition aside – the scale of the barn to the girls shows its size quite well.

I love Instagram! Happy, happy Monday!

Little People Are Better Than Big People

I will be praying quite hard for all the children of the world between the ages of 12.5 and 18. These are the formative years, the fragile period of time when the choices they make will impact them in all of their adult lives – if their parents let them live that long. Some things that have gone “down” last week, and yes, there’s been “drama” and yes, my kids have been involved. I won’t bore you with the details since every single parent out there experiences the same things at one time or another. However – I will say this, I am so proud of my kids and this brings me to the conclusion that I have realized long ago – that they are better people than I am for I would have not have made the same decisions at their age. I was much more prone to making things difficult for myself.

They are a blessing – no doubt about it.

So now . . . how to tell you without really telling you about it? Just a short two years ago I was able to write freely but now they are older and – well – care about how they are portrayed on the Internet by their mother.

Go figure.

I’ll find a way . . .

January 27, City Life

I love to live in the country but I love to visit the hustle and bustle of city life. I just have to remember to take more photos while I’m there.

It’s Friday and my to-do list for the weekend is long. I pledge to trim my rose bushes while the weather is balmy, to get a really good P90X abdominal workout in on Saturday (tomorrow), to cook a really fantastic Sunday night meal, to take a really long walk with my dog who deserves it, and to solve the very real crisis of dissolving world peace among rogue and established nations.

Someone’s gotta do it. How about you?

January 26, Asian Dawn

I don’t know what this says but I read it like a fortune cookie, “Peace, joy and prosperity will be yours.”

Happy Thursday!

January 25, Little Birdies

A little birdie told me this morning that it’s going to be a beautiful day. Wishing that for you!

January 24, Speaking In Different Tongues

I feel comfortable in situations where I don’t understand the language and I’m sure it’s because I spent most of my childhood in countries where many different languages were spoken. I didn’t always understand the words, but I always tried to make sense of the context, through hand gestures and smiles.

So I love signs like this – a little bit of this and a little bit of that and even if we don’t understand the language we understand the meaning. And this means  – food! Now you’re talkin’.

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