Rapunzel (plain)

This will be how my hair probably looks most of my days during summer school. I call it "Rapunzel-plain". It's easy, it stays out of my face, and it doesn't give me a headache from the weight. I'll be honest, the braid part looks a hot mess halfway through the day because of my layers and I usually re-braid it, but I can live with that. When I am jumping, dancing, and being crazy all day (teaching theatre), I am just thankful my hair isn't choking, blinding, or overheating me. No really.

The "Rosie"

I really want to start seriously writing again as a means of staying sane through my first year of teaching elementary school, but as I have not been writing in quite a while I will start small. As some of you know, when summer hits and it's unthinkable to wear my hair down most days because of the sweltering heat in Texas, I start to get...err...creative with my hair. By creative I mean basically anything that will stay out of my face and off my neck. Beyond that there are no rules. Every summer I try new things, some of which turn out to be keepers, and some....not. :) Here's the first of the summer: The "Rosie". I took this picture at the END of the day, which if we are honest is the real test of any updo. If it doesn't look like a hot mess at the end of the day, it wasn't a total failure. Tada!

Watching the fire

This year I will watch the fire more. Here I sit, with my hot tea waiting for the next load of laundry to be done, Maximus sleeping on his bed, staring at the fire on this rainy day as my Jane Eyre pandora station serenades me, wondering, "why don't I make more time for THIS?!" I can say that with very few exceptions, sitting by the fire for 20 minutes does my heart more good than 20 minutes on facebook or instagram does. The internet sucks me in, and the next thing I know, an HOUR has gone by, and my life is none the better for it. Mostly I just end up looking at what other people are doing with their lives rather than living my own. Well, enough of that. I want to live; to drink in each day and enjoy it like I'm enjoying this cup of tea. I want to live a purposefully simple life.

Happy

I had a lot of great memories over Christmas with family in town, but one of my favorites was a very simple moment with my brother and his daughter. We were playing at the park and I was trying to get a good picture of my little niece. We (grandma, my bother, and I) kept trying to get her to look this way, hold still, no wait the other way, etc. and had basically given up and decided to just hang out.

Just then my brother went and sat down on this huge tire to take a break and just sit. So naturally his daughter just walks over and sits next to him. And they sit...and look at each other...and then they sit some more; and as life seems to do so often, as soon as we quit trying, it happens. As she is sitting there this huge smile slowly creeps across her face and she says quietly, "happy"...and then she just keeps saying happy for the next few minutes or so giggling and laughing with her daddy. This picture will always remind me of that moment. Happy. Well put little one, well put.

The First Sunday

I miss the noise. If you have ever been a youth leader you know exactly where your kids are because you can always hear them. Always. Laughing, yelling, and generally just being too loud for most adults. As a new youth leader this is somewhat striking and even intimidating. Pretty soon though, it's like music. No really. Something about the noise, the voices, the symphony of hearts and souls all coming together is just beautiful.

For the first time this morning, we didn't walk through the doors carrying large amounts of donuts. We didn't casually greet so many on our way to and from classrooms, didn't hurry here and there around the church talking with people, hugging, sharing, being. We didn't order pizza, do waffle prayers, clean up the youth rooms, or shut any doors as to not disturb the neighboring classes with our singing. We didn't walk into a room full of faces and hearts that we recognize. These past few months, I have been just sitting in every moment while it lasted, soaking up every smile, emotion, and memory knowing that today would come. The kids would look at me strangely and ask if I was okay. I would nod, smile, and drink in that moment too knowing this day was waiting. It has come. It is here...and I miss the noise.