Look. I get it.

You don’t like me, I don’t like you.

I’m trying to change you. You’d rather stay exactly the way you are.

I get that.

Frankly I’d rather not waste my time trying to bring about transformation in someone who is clearly determined to never change.

I get that we come from different worlds.

You like to compress things for the sake of convenience,

I see no problem in stringing things along for as long as they’ll last.

But I have to change you, whether you like it or not.

So if you’d please just cooperate, we can get the job done in no time.

Then you can go back to your suave ways,

And I’ll continue to sound – according to you – like I’m chewing chicle when I speak.

Sincerely,

The English Version.

In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m currently translating poems from Spanish to English. Literally the worst.

Whew! It’s been a while eh? I’m way too tired to recount everything that’s happened since I arrived, so until I have the energy to do so, I’m leaving you a random list of things I’ve discovered/realized, etc.

Me. In all my chubby, red solo cup glory. (Notice the matching red mouth I’m rocking. Snow cone machines at family reunions are a wonderful thing!)

Also, hey! It’s the weekend!

I guess the best place to begin would be to answer the question that I’ve been asked most often: “What are you doing this summer?” Such a simple question, but since my tendencies are to tell someone every single thing I’m thinking/feeling/doing/planning to do/thinking about planning to do, well you get the idea. The question becomes far more complex. I’ll do my best to keep it simple this morning, but know that I’m more than willing to elaborate if prompted. SO. The short answer is I’m working and spending time with my family. The coolest thing is that on one level I actually get to do both at the same time, but I’ll leave that for later.

As far as spending time with my family, this summer is the first time in a long while that all 5 of my sisters and I are together under the same roof. It’s been so much fun and I spend a great deal of time playing barbies with the babies, (that’s what we call the two youngest) watching The Big Bang Theory with one of my “big” sisters, (I introduced her to the show and now she can’t stop watching it. She’s a complete Sheldon btw, for any of you who may have seen the show before) working with my fellow “little”, and eating obscene amounts of ice cream with all of them. We’ve spent quite a bit of time reminiscing about days gone by, and it’s so much fun to fill in the baby sisters on things they missed before they were born. (Ask me to tell you the “club” story. Seriously. It’s ridiculous.) I mentioned getting to work with my fellow “little” sister, which brings me to a long and hopefully not too complicated explanation of my work this summer.

So 2 years ago, my best friend was getting ready to be married and she mentioned something at the end of May about how her soon-to-be father-in-law was hiring staff for a summer camp. I went ahead and filled out the application and was hired soon after. So summer of 2010 I worked all summer at this day camp. That fall during my freshman year of college I stayed home and went to the community college to finish my associate’s degree before transferring to a four-year institution. Because I was home, I was able to work at a before and after school program based out of the same place as the summer camp (and with a lot of the same kids). I worked there all year until last spring when I left to work at Summer’s Best Two Weeks, a camp in PA that I’ve spent the past 9 years of my life attending. Since I worked at Summer’s Best I couldn’t work at the other camp, and because I transferred to UVA, working at the school program this past fall and spring was also out. No matter, my twin – a.k.a Abby – was at the ready to work at the program this past school year. Fast-forward to this spring. I finished my last final May 3rd. Which also happened to be the first day of finals. That was a little insane. I’d rather not talk about it. Although I did quite well though if I do say so myself. Since Fairfax county schools didn’t finish until two weeks into June, I was able to return to my old job for the first month I was home. I cannot even begin to describe to you how wonderful it felt to be back with my kids instead of catering to grouchy pool patrons which is what my job at school entails. I never feel more useful than when I get to serve and love on kids. School let out on the 15th and camp began this past Monday. What a week it has been. I already have a few dozen stories, but those will have to wait for later on this evening because right now I have to finish making cinnamon rolls, pack my lunch, and get ready to take my little ones to the Air & Space museum today! I can assure you I’m probably just as excited, if not more so than my kids.

If you managed to read all of this on only one cup of coffee I applaud you, it took me two to write this.

p.s. this song has been on heavy rotation this week. I know it’s not new, but I just love it. Especially the Spanish version.

List #1: Things I Miss

1. Reading books I want to read.
2. Discussing said books. (Especially with Andrew White when discussing J.I. Packer’s “Knowing God”)
3. Baking
4. My bed at home
5. My dog
6. My family. (I promise you rank higher than Jensen. I’m just going from stream-of-consciousness here.)
7. The days when I could eat whatever I wanted and still fit into my clothing.
8. Wearing dresses every single day.
9. D.C.
10. Watching movies made in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Or really films made anywhere besides Iran.

List #2: Things I don’t want to do today

1. Write my last response paper for my Iranian cinema class
2. Read my book for my Iranian cinema class
3. Go to work
4. Wash dishes. (Or really clean anything.)

List #3: Things I want to do today

1. Take the allergy medicine that makes me super tired. (Because it works better.)
2. Sleeeeeeeep.
3. Drink coffee
4. Meet with my discipler
5. Dance. Not even have a dance party. Just dance. By myself. Cause I’m cool like that
6. Make sweet playlists for my friends
7. Sing
8. Sleep some more

List #4: Things I will actually do today

1. Drink coffee
2. Write my paper and read for my Iranian cinema class
3. Go to work
4. Wash dishes/clean
5. Dance
6. Meet with my discipler
7. Be the 3-time champion of Rock, Paper, Scissors against one of my coworkers.

Yeah, that’s about it for today. Don’t melt away in the rain my friends.

I wanted to address two things specifically. The first is directed not only to all my single ladies, but to any other jaded cynics out there.

1) My number one pet peeve about February 14th is not being single. It’s listening to people rag on Valentine’s Day calling it a “Hallmark Holiday” blah, blah, blah. Honestly, besides immediately categorizing you as someone who probably believes in other conspiracy theories, you also make me frustrated. Valentine’s Day is not a made-up holiday. It’s celebrating a very real man who lived a very bold life in the name of love (ultimately his love for God) Yes, our culture has twisted and distorted it to be about commercialism. But last time I checked they did that with Easter, Christmas, etc., and yet you still celebrate those holidays just fine without complaining. So don’t be hypocritical by conveniently forgetting the true meaning behind this holiday either.

2) This part is specifically for all the single ladies (although the fellas are more than welcome to continue reading)

My mother is a fount of wisdom and inspiration to me. A lot of the things she said to me continue to ring in my head at the appropriate times. So two stories for you: #1 – My parents have always called me “Tender Heart” – like the Care Bear – because I’m the peacemaker. I hate to see conflict unresolved, I hate seeing people suffering, I don’t like it when people are at odds with one another. Naturally my sensitivity to others meant that my feelings could be hyper-sensitive. And I can still remember what my mom used to tell me when I would be irrationally upset at a remark directed at me from one of my sisters. As I stood in front of her, tears of anger, hurt, or indignation running down my face (I’m a big crier. Sorry I’m not sorry) my mother would take my face in her hands and gently say, “Lizzie, you can choose not to be offended.” As I’ve come into adulthood, I realize more and more how profound that statement is. And its truth. When dealing with patrons at work who are rude and nasty? Yeah, I can choose to see it as a personal attack on me, or I can choose to not let their bad attitude dictate my response. It’s definitely easier said than done, but it’s more than worth the effort. So how does this have anything to do with Valentine’s Day? I’ll get to that. But first, one more story.

#2- When I was younger I always had a HORRIBLE attitude about school – math in particular. And though I hated to hear her say it at the time, I’m thankful for the wisdom my mother always shared with me. She would always use the quote (and I’m just paraphrasing) about how we always have a choice, but sometimes the only choice is our attitude. Obviously my stubborn heart didn’t want to admit it, but I knew then, as I know now, that she’s right.

So bringing those two ideas together has given me the following outlook on Valentine’s Day that I hope more singles can adopt:

1) Valentine’s Day is NOT a personal attack on my relationship status! So I can choose not to be offended at all the advertisements etc. geared towards couples. No one is ultimately forcing me to feel bad about being single other than myself.

2) I can choose to have a good attitude. Not only about this particular day, but also the past 7,238 or so days that I’ve spent single, and the unknown number ahead. Going along with this for me is recognizing yeah, it’s ok for me to admit that I desire to date and eventually marry, but the Lord’s will, not my desire, is what I should ultimately submit to.

Bonus story before I end this. I was talking to a good friend a while back and was describing a guy I was interested in. After a while of me talking, she gently interrupted me and asked, “Have you spent as much time praying about it as you have talking about it?” Yiiikes. Definitely something to think about.

So that’s about it. Get out there, eat a bunch of chocolate, and while you’re at it, check out MY favorite love song!

I’m off to pick up a package. That has new shoes! That I bought myself. Happy Valentine’s Day to me!

1) No one really wants to read my whining rants against realities they’re probably already dealing with. (Especially considering it lacked any kind of witty anecdotes and contained no humor whatsoever. Just all pity party, all the time.)

2) I believe the late, great Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls summed up my feelings exactly with his single, “Mo Money Mo Problems.” Amen. Preach it brotha.

So then, in lieu of whining and bitter diatribes, I decided to leave the writing to the pros today. I am, however, including two of my (currently) favorite videos. One is hilarious and one is just cool.

I’m so sorry! I realize most of you probably weren’t sitting at your computers with bated breath, refreshing my blog’s page, certain that there would be a new post. “If I can just click the refresh button a few more times. . .” However, that’s not to say I’m not sorry for beginning this blog and then promptly abandoning it when my workload became so great. I remember reading a list of tips on how to acquire and keep new readers of your blog. One of the recommendations talked about the importance of consistency. Even if you weren’t able to post a lot, you should still post as often as you can. Otherwise your readers will simply forget about you. I promptly took this advice and turned it inside out (which I’m all too prone to doing with any advice) so instead of small blog posts of a few paragraphs relaying some funny anecdote for the day, or some poignant reflection on my quiet times with the Lord, you receive a post of seemingly endless stream-of-consciousness about every other month. In order to embrace the new year and make a change, I’m not going to write anything else tonight, but rather, will leave you with this long-winded apology in the hopes that you’ll check the blog again sometime tomorrow afternoon. (At which time I plan on fully divulging what’s actually going on in my life! Te promeso)

p.s. Listen to this. It’s rad. 

List #1 (Which is currently the shortest list) – “Things I used to hate that I now love”

1. My hair. So unruly for so very very long. However, I’ve grown beyond a tolerance into full-blown love and appreciation for my funky locks. (Wowwww. Definitely just sounded like a sassy black woman. Moving on. . .)
2. I vowed time and time again that I would never learn Spanish. I’m currently a Spanish major. (Also I’m pretty sure there are some serious consequences for people in the Bible who made vows and didn’t keep them/tried to back out of them. Jephthah’s vow in Judges 11 anyone? Ananias and Sapphira??)
3. Rap/hip-hop. My music library is now made up almost entirely of those genres. 74.25% to be exact.

List #2 – “Things I hate strongly dislike.”

1. When people wink at me.
2. Steak.
3. Profanity. Especially the use of it. But also just in general.
4. Country music. (I should probably clarify that with this one I don’t strongly dislike it. I do, in fact, hate it. To quote the Grinch, “Hate, hate, hate. Double hate. Loooaathhee entirely.“