meet my sanity.

11:34 PM

marco@ntonio:

-> I miss youuuuu
-> Can't wait for our grown up date tomorrow :)

All, meet Marco.  He sent this to me via BBM (That's Blackberry Messanger... it's an addiction.  Any of you who have a Crackberry can attest to this.)  Anyway, this was random.  I saw him less than 24 hours ago, and I'd talked to him about two hours earlier, but we weren't in a BBM conversation at the time he sent this.  He was just out, and thought of me.

Marco has a laugh that makes others giggle.  He's given up sweets since Lent, but certainly has not given up J. Crew.  For this, I am thankful.

Today, I told Marco he wasn't my grad school friend.  He got offended, until he realized what I meant...

... the "grad school" part wasn't necessary.

fountain of youth.

You know how the saying goes: "If I had a nickel for every time __[insert circumstance]__, I'd be rich."

Well, I think if I had even just a penny for every time I can attribute my personal success to something I learned through my experience with the Ohio Association of Student Councils (OASC), I'd have ended world hunger by now. 

Handle a tough situation, make a new friend, stand up for what I believe in, be silly in a crowd full of boring-ness... you name it, and OASC has taught me how to do it, or given me the courage to learn for myself. And though this post could easily pass as a shameless plug for a non-profit with which I am in love, (and I mean that, IN LOVE), the truth of it is that OASC is the foundational inspiration for this blog.

I said in my first post that sooner rather than later I would write about the people who had introduced me to the wonderful world of children's books and movies, and how they end up teaching us adults some pretty important things, too. Miss Connie Miley introduced me to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and a host of other fan favorites. Mr. John Namey is a Polar Express expert, among other things. Molls & Ash helped me bring Love You Forever to our favorite teens... the list goes on.

The bottom line is that I've got this history of great people who helped me learn and teach great life lessons to others because they were intelligent and insightful enough to see the value of childhood in adulthood. I mean, it should be easy enough for all of us to see and do. But, I think it's pretty apparent that most adults quickly forget some... well, most... of those important childhood lessons. (As if it's only children who are childish and immature. Hm.)

Below is an excerpt from Sanders and Sillers' I Hope You Dance. This darling little book came out right around the time Lee Ann Womack's song by the same title became immensely popular. The book is one of my personal favorites, and tonight, this particular piece goes out as a tribute and "thank you" to my OASCers. All of you. Wherever you are. However old (or young) you may be. I owe you for teaching me that age is just a number, and that magic exists in so many forms in so many ways throughout each stage of life. I think this will hit home for each of you...

Ah, youth... new skin, wide smiles, 
clear eyes... the future so bright.
If only we could bottle it up, sip it now and again, 
and stay forever twenty-one,
forever ten, forever five.

I liked being five.

But I'd also like to think that time and age are like cousins-
they're relative. 
Who said you have to go by actual miles? 
If you didn't know how old you were, how old would you be? 
(Me, I'm sticking with five.)

I'll even argue that you can bottle youth. 
What you store it in is all up to you. 
(I suggest your heart.)
If you can figure out a way to keep the energy and gumption and fire alive,
you'll always stay young.
And where there's youth, there's hope...
where there's hope, there's wonder...
where there's wonder, there's faith...
where there's faith, there's chance...
where there's chance, there's love...
where there's love, there's music...

and dancing.

take the gum!

I'm pretty lucky. I've got these girls... well, they're sisters, really. By Theta standards, of course. But also because they are just that special and important.

My girls, they do some pretty amazing things. Grad school, PhDs, traveling and living all over the world, promotions way beyond their years, volunteering and speaking and helping... and they're kind, genuine, sassy, funny, intelligent, and beautiful to boot. (Yes, this kind of woman does exist.) We hardly get to see each other because we're so busy being successful and independent and, well, fabulous. Yet, I have and still do refer to them as my best asset. You can see why...

Anyway, I could go on about them forever. But, given that this blog is supposed to be about the little moments in life that too often and too quickly pass us by, I'd like to draw your attention to the photo below.  These are some of my girls. And this is what we do. We gab, we share, we laugh, we give each other advice, we laugh some more, we can look at each other and know exactly what the others are thinking and feeling... I'm not sure that most people ever get to feel the kind of connection to their friends that I feel with my girls. And this picture captures it beautifully. (Thanks to V's future mother-in-law for getting this shot!) Most of the time we're so involved in each other when we're together that we don't get to properly document moments like this. And this one is a gem.

We talk a lot about how lucky we are. Women are pretty awful to one another most of the time. Even ones that claim to be best friends. But these girls... these women... they get it. The unconditional love that I receive from these women and give back in turn is just... indescribable. I sure hope I'm wrong about other people's friendships... I hope they do get to feel this. Because I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Good luck to the men who work their way into our lives. You've got to be okay with not just one strong female, but a whole group... a group that's not going anywhere.

....and Patty, thank goodness you took the gum like we told you to. ;)