Get Out There!

Lately, I have noticed something...I have spent too much time at home.  Being sick, trying to build my stamina back up to work 10 hour days 5 days a week, and family in town has left me home more days than I am usually accustomed to.  What happens to me when I sit home too often is that my arch enemy loneliness once again begins to creep into my mind with his good friend depression.  I was then reminded of what I read in quite a few places lately and that is GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE!  Besides online dating, you are not going to meet someone sitting at home in your pj's watching TV. 

Secondary to that thought, I also was reminiscing on how much I love Fall.  It is by far my favorite time of year.  The colors, the cooler temperatures, jeans and sweaters, and let's not forget candy corn! Throw in apples, pumpkins, and football and you have the most beautiful and fun time of year. 

And so with all of that being said, it brings me to today's post.  Erin's List of Ways to Get Out There This Fall:

1. Do you have work to do?  Check up on your Facebook or email?  Consider going to your local coffee house or bookstore instead of doing it at home.  Especially these days when the temps are a bit cooler and a warm cup of joe can certainly warm your bones and soul.  Try a pumpkin chai or carmel capp.  Embrace all the special flavors of the season.  (You can even treat yourself to some pumpkin pie or apple crisp)  Who knows who you may just bump into while out?

2. Catch a game! Fall wouldn't be Fall without football.  Whether it's the pros, college ball, or a local high school game watching a football game while sipping on a coffee or cold beer (probably not at the high school game though....) is a great way to have some fun!  A good game builds excitement and allows you to jump up and down just for the fun of it! (Plus ladies, most guys love a good football game)  ;)

3. Take in the colors.  Living in the Midwest makes us especially lucky to have an opportunity to see the beautiful colors of Fall.  Consider taking a drive in the country or taking a walk at the local park or hiking trail.  One of God's watercolors there right before our eyes.

4. Fresh apple cider, doughnuts, and crunchy apples.  All of these things found at your local apple orchard.  Again, living in the Midwest we are blessed with a variety of apple orchards and pumpkin patches.  Both offer a festive atmosphere and plenty of opportunities to satisfy those taste buds.  Consider buying some apples or pumpkins to create some savory fall dishes.  The possibilities are endless.  Take a hay ride while you're there!

5.  Check out the local scene!  Lots of festivals and community events start up again in the fall.  The same with local Adult Ed classes.  Interested in pottery, photography, or pilates?  There is a class waiting for you.  Street Fairs and craft shows also offer some great fall entertainment and opportunities to begin buying those Christmas presents.  (Just under 3 months of shopping time left ya know?!)

Anyways, those are just some of my ideas...the idea is in the title: Get Out There!  Whether it's grabbing a bite to eat with a friend, a drink with coworkers, or a play at the local theater.  Being single doesn't mean sitting at home...while you've got a life style with fewer strings attached, take an opportunity to get out there and experience the world. 

Standing Room Only

Since July of 2009, so just over a year to date, I have been to 7 funerals of close friends and family.  One of the problems of having friends of all ages is that friends die earlier than you are ready for them to.   And then recently, a dear friend of mine's mom had a brain aneurysm and is continuing her fight in the ICU (though making remarkable progress) and 2 local students with whom I have mutual friends were involved in a fatal accident on a local expressway and tomorrow their parents have to say good bye to their sons, who were just beginning their senior year in high school. 

And so my thoughts today are focused on losing loved ones...but more than that...they are about living.   As I sat at my uncle's funeral today and they played a slide show of his life I was taken back by all the memories we had shared over the years.  Weddings, camping, fishing, holidays...the list goes on, but I realize the importance of living.  Life has millions of experiences waiting to be had and I am once again reminded of the importance of living each day to it's fullest.  We often get caught up in the monotony of the day to day.  Work, school, errands, laundry, home....and we sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses.  We sometimes forget the call to not only live life, but to go through life loving and sharing our lives with others.  Sprinkling a little piece of ourselves to everyone we meet.  There is a quote that says "Live your life so that there's standing room only at your funeral."  I think that quote  has nothing to do with popularity and everything to do with living and loving.  If this past year of loss has taught be anything about life it is to live each day to it's fullest and to love those around you to your fullest as well.   And so my simple words today to all of you is to do this: tell those you love that you love them...don't assume they already know, experience the world out there...find something new to see or do, and don't forget to stop each day and thank God for this day (even on those days that seem difficult or hard)

Never Forget....

We will never forget....September 11, 2001, a day that for my generation we will never forget.  Much like Pearl Harbor, it's a day that will go down in infamy as we reflect upon the terrorist attacks on US soil for the first time in over 50 years.  I remember, as I am sure all of you do, exactly where I was and what I was doing.  I had just began my student teaching in Monroe and was just beginning the day when we were informed of the attacks.  Being only 22 at the time, I had never experienced anything of this nature. My world stopped that day for awhile and made me realize what a gift I have been given to live in this wonderful country.  Now 9 years later, I realize that I am still affected by the events of this day.  I think I grew up a little that day as I realized  that I have been blessed to live in this country. I also realized that people around this world begrudge me because of this freedom.  The price of this freedom is great, since there are so many people who have never experienced it.  And so on this day I am reminded to be grateful.  Grateful not only to live in such an awesome country, but grateful for all the blessings in my life.

Yesterday, I had taken my 8th grade class over for Adoration at the church and we were all reflecting on Mary's Magnificat. (Luke 1: 46-55)  I was teaching the kids how to pray with Scripture and so I told them to pay attention for something to kind of "pop out" at them.  Well, I did the same exercise while they were and the line that struck me was this, "The Mighty has done great things for me..."(vs. 49) The Lord then spoke to me about being grateful for all the things the Lord has blessed me with.  I have a tendency to look often at what I feel is missing from my life.  No husband, no kids of my own, little savings, etc....And the Lord showed me at that moment my 24 eighth graders sitting there.  My foster children for now.  And quickly my heart was reminded to be grateful for each and every one of them.  I continued to think on all the things I am blessed with.  A humble, but lovely home.  A car that runs and gets me to all the places I need to be. A job where I am able to impact the lives of children day in and out.  Family and friends who love me.

So today, I am making the choice to be grateful.  Grateful to be able to live in the United States of America, a land that I LOVE. I am grateful for the men and women who continue to fight on my behalf and keep us free and safe.  I am grateful for all the people in my life that have added to my life in some way or another.  Life isn't always easy, and maybe not even fair, but life is good because I am free to continue on loving and serving God and my country.

May God Bless America this day! We will never forget!

A Pretty Package

Women each and every year spend millions of dollars on beauty products.  Women pluck, dye, cover up, conceal, and suck in all to create a beautiful package.  It's what women do!  Often though, women who are striving to live a chaste life often confuse being chaste with being frumpy.  Chastity is a virtue that we are all called to live out, married, single, dating,...we are called to live a chaste life.   But often our clothing takes two paths...too tight, too skimpy, too revealing OR boring, bland, frumpy. 

So what is the happy medium here?  How do you live a chaste life and still dress in a way that is attractive to men and makes you feel good about yourself at the same time.    Dawn Eden, author of the book "The Thrill of the Chaste" devotes a whole chapter on dressing in a chaste manner.  I love that Eden doesn't merely suggest covering up and making sure your skin is covered, rather she talks about creating a beautifully mysterious package.  I am an advocate for beautiful packages.  I am one of those strange people who love to wrap presents and make them look beautiful under the tree.  There is something about a beautiful package under the tree that causes those who gaze upon is beauty to wonder, "I wonder what present is deserving of such beauty and care."  And that is what it is like for us.  As Dawn Eden makes the analogy to a gift wrapped present being torn open a bit to reveal it's contents takes away a little beauty from the package.  The same is true for us women.  We need to see our  bodies as a gift that God has given us to share as some point in the union of marriage with our husband.  God does not though ask us to cover ourselves completely or not to accessorize.  In fact, Eden would argue that we should always make an effort to showcase the beautiful present that we are.

I also was reflecting today as I was sharing with my students some of the images of the Church that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  It made me ponder the fact that if my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit then just how am I treating it?  Am I giving it the love and care that it deserves?  Am I keeping a healthy lifestyle including my eating and exercising habits.  Being a woman who has always struggled with my weight I am constantly battling the bulge, but when I reflected on my body in this new mind set I realized it was time for me to make some changes. 

So, I have just decided to join Weight Watchers with a friend of mine and I am going to work on treating my body with the respect it deserves.  Good bye to my friends at the drive thru and TV time munchies.  So long Large Diet Cokes, and hello my mug of H2O.  I also am taking a look at my clothing styles.  Am I dressing in a way that I am presenting a beautiful package to match the beautiful me hiding inside?  Skipping my make up routine on a daily basis is no longer an option for I am the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  It's time for me to start treating myself with the respect I deserve.  I may never have a career in runway, and I am probably never going to be a size 2, but I am a beautiful creation of God and it's time I start treating myself that way.  Not to get the man, because then my actions would simply make me a sex object, but because I am worth it!

And so are you! :)

To Date or Not to Date...that is the Question?

A question has long been plaguing me over the last few years.  That question is this....should you date/marry someone who doesn't share your faith?  I have pondered that question many a days and I am not sure that I have yet to come up with the right answer. 

I have to be honest and say that my first instinct is that NO, you shouldn't date someone who doesn't share your faith with you.  As a faithful Catholic, my faith is the number one thing in my life that drives me soul and my livlihood.  My dreams and visions of my husband all include a beautiful wedding celebrated at our first Mass as husband and wife and then continuing on each and every Sunday.  I dream of praying with my husband and praising God in the good things and falling to our knees in the bad.    But as I have entered by 31st year, I am beginning to wonder...am I asking too much?  Many would argue that I am. And although my initial reaction is to disagree, I sometimes find myself questioning my inclinations.

A friend of mine was recently sharing that her friend passed some advice along to me that I shouldn't limit my dating life to only Catholic men.  She shared a story that she and her husband had married and for 7 years (I think it was 7...) she went to church faithfully on her own while her husband stayed at home.  Eventually, he came into the church and they now raise their family as Catholics together.  My thoughts went two ways when I heard this....a) I am being too picky and I never know what God has in store and b) That is great that her husband eventually came into the church...but what if mine doesn't?  Do I really want to spend the rest of my life attending Mass alone on a weekly basis? 

I realize that I could evangelize my husband, but wouldn't it be better if we could evangelize together? I realize that dating devout Catholic men really narrows my playing field, but do I want to risk watering down my faith by dating outside of my faith? 

So my dear readers, I throw this out to all of you.  What do you think?  Married couples? Single folks? Divorced folks?  What are your thoughts?  Help a poor girl out....;)

The Closet's All Mine!

In my efforts to embrace the single life I had been looking for some blogs to read that could inspire me in this quest.  I came across the blog Seraphic Singles in which the author, Dorothy Cummings, writes about being a single woman.  Dorothy, who married recently in her late 30's inspires many a readers with her witty tales and honest advice.    Dorothy is also the author of the book The Closet's All Mine which comes from her blog entries.  I had the pleasure of reading her book this summer. 

Cumming's book offers a refreshing insight to the single women (and men too) out there in a real manner.  Dorothy isn't a psychologist or counselor rather she is a real woman brave enough to be honest with how she as a woman has played the hand of cards she has been dealt in life.  Set up in a journal format the book is great for picking it up to read it one entry at a time or the whole thing at once.  It was a quick read and often had me laughing along with her tales.  I loved how the book was very relateable and not overly preachy, but still brought God into the picture in a natural way.   If you are looking for a light hearted, not too serious, book about embracing the single life then give this book a glance.