Officially becoming an adult

I consider myself an adult because I have:

1. learned to set goals for myself and at least make a plan to achieve them.
2. more often tried to choose what's good for me over what I really want. And sometimes these choices have become more automatic.
3. had a relationship with someone of the opposite sex for more than a year and not killed him (yet).
4. planned a trip from start to finish and included all the essentials (I'm getting good at this one).
5. stopped getting carded by the grocery store checkout guy (even though it says they have to ask EVERYONE that looks under 36 or 37).
6. fallen out of MTV's target age group. All of a sudden in the past few years, MTV has become progressively more stupid to me.
7. developed a severe distrust and fear of teenagers.
8. made Costco my first place to shop. If Costco had a wedding registry when we were getting married, you know I'd be all over that.
9. stopped needing to get somewhere or do something ALL the time.
10. learned to savor the good things in life: such as time with those you love and time without those you love.
11. lost the desire to listen to loud music, drink excessively, and ride life-threatening roller coasters.
12. had a live baby come out of me (twice) and given all that is within me to raise them.
13. taught a child something useful.

And finally, I can now say that I've planned and executed 2 semi-formal dinner parties, one of which I planned the menu and prepared the food for as well. After 7 years of marriage, I pulled out flatware and dinnerware that I didn't think I'd ever see again. And all of a sudden I felt so different, as if all my childhood tea parties and pretend banquets had been preparing me for this moment. I know I'm already an adult, but suddenly I feel more official. I feel as if I've entered a new stage of adulthood... "formal (dinner party) adulthood."

Men are from Mars

Some of the ladies and I were talking about doing something for our husbands. Something nice. What do men want? When men think about presents for their wives, they automatically go to gadgets and electronics, things they themselves would appreciate. And when women try to find the perfect gift for their man, they think of things like massages at a spa and a nice dinner. I guess it's all part of our inability to put ourselves in the other sex's shoes. So, some of the ladies suggested a spa day for our men. What did the men come up with instead? A trip to the shooting range followed by a satisfying steak dinner. Could men and women be any more different?

Celebrity sighting

So we had our first sighting today - I mean that a random stranger recognized us while we were out and asked us if we were the couple on reDesign. It caught me off guard at first. I didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or proud. My friend Julie was there at the time and she got me thinking. She seems to think there are tons of other people out there that will recognize us, but not say anything. This thought has started to get me really self conscious. All of a sudden I see people staring at me and can't help but wonder what they're thinking and what they'll say behind our backs: "Oh snap. I saw that girl from last week's reDesign episode picking her nose." or "That guy from that show we saw is really obnoxious. He wouldn't even give us an autograph. Jerk." Will stardom change us? I hope not. Joe seems to think that it's not a big deal and that not many people really watch the show. Oh well, whatever the case, I guess I'm going to have to watch myself in public and not be so vulgar or lewd anymore.

Empty nest

I finally have the house to myself. No kids. No husband. Why? Because, starting today my youngest is in school 2 days a week. I debated about this decision for many long months. I wanted to keep her home as long as possible, but now I see the benefit of going out and making new friends, learning new things from skilled teachers, and having a daily routine (things that I couldn't give her). I fully intend to use my free time taking care of myself, doing classwork, being productive and just enjoying myself, in the hopes that this will all make me a better and happier mom. It doesn't get much better than this moment right now. I don't have the pressure of work, nor do I have the pressure of kids. Plus with Sarah halfway potty trained and Abby going into kindergarten next year, my work is almost done, right? Somehow I don't think I'm off the hook just yet, but I'm tasting the good life more and more each day, and it tastes mighty sweet.

Unfair

My bro just called me from TX and said that he's watching our reDesign episode on TV right now. And what's worse is that so is more than half of the US, not including us. We have to wait 3 more hours. This doesn't make any sense to me. This time zone thing has got to go. Those of you on Central and Eastern time, I hate you.

Girls need sisters

This weekend I got fed, and I mean in the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional sense. I just got back from a 3 day retreat with 20 ladies from our church. Sure I haven't pooped in 3 days and have averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep the last 3 nights, but how often do I get to take off from all my daily responsibilities and just enjoy the company of other women? Here's a picture from our "10-minute" hike. Fortunately, we all made it unscathed and finished with a breathtaking view of the gushing waterfall you see behind us.

We have a good group of sisters from all walks of life. We represent different careers, interests, stages of life and races. We each bring our own gifts and our own personality traits. When I think about this weekend, it reminded me of orientation week freshman year of college. We spent all hours of the day and night with each other, and in that time we learned more about one another, in a way that you can't do from just seeing each other on Sunday. That's why college friends are so special. When you've endured long talks at absurd hours of the night in your pajamas over bowls of ramen together, there's something magical that happens. Mmmm. I didn't grow up having sisters so it's always a blessing for me to get some time with ladies. Girls just need sisters.

It was also so satisfying to delve into the word and enjoy seminars led by one of the sisters from our church, who happens to be a gifted teacher and orator. We learned about our suffering and were reminded through Job and Christ's death on the cross that God truly does know and understand our suffering. And that our present suffering is also a blessing, something we endure and gladly give to the Lord we love. Amen for sisters and amen to a beautiful (yet exhausting) weekend retreat. I'm already excited for next year. I had such a good time that I didn't think too much about missing my girls. Does that make me a bad mom? But I was SO excited to see them for the first time in 3 days, and I got the biggest, tightest, warmest hugs from them, too. I was very proud of Joe for taking good care of the girls while I was gone and even handling a few extras, such as an early morning dentist's visit for the girls (first visit ever for both of them) and taking them downtown for a festival. Because I have Mr. Mom living with me, what do you say we consider making these retreats semi-annual, huh, ladies?