Ageism?

People can never guess my age. When I was 17, everyone thought I was 13. When I was 21, everyone thought I was 18. And now that I’m 23, I still get confused for a 20 year old, but I don’t get offended anymore. I’m told that when I’m 40, and everyone thinks I’m 30, I’ll even appreciate it. We’ll see.

I found a place to live. I live with four incredible girls in a quiet neighborhood about 15 minutes outside of downtown. We share a 5 bedroom house, 2 dogs, and a cat. We’ve got a lot going on. Everyone has their own transportation, and everyone (except me) has at least 2-3 jobs. When I first moved in, I asked my new roomies about our neighbors, and they all said that there’s been a good relationship with most, but that all changed this weekend.

Saturday, my car spent the day parked in front of our neighbor’s house, opposite the flow of traffic. We walk out to my car that night to a note that says “DID YOU GO TO DRIVING SCHOOL? TELL N* I’VE HAD IT!” Ok, in my opinion, that seems a little intense for the situation…especially because he’s never mentioned it to her before. I moved my car, and the next day wrote an apologetic letter introducing myself, including my phone number, and asking to make sure that this “incident” doesn’t affect the way he views our landlord/roommate, or our house in general. Nice try, Cathy.

Yesterday, the kid of our neighbor drops a note in our mailbox. He told N* he’s not happy as a neighbor, and here are some of his concerns:
- having 5 cars parked in front of the house…this is a neighborhood, not a parking lot
- barking dogs
- finding her roommates on Craigslist…we could be anybody, and he fears for the safety of his children
- the condition of the front lawn…we need to turn on our sprinklers
- if she needs roommates to help pay the mortgage, maybe she should’ve thought about that before she bought her house

As if any of the above-mentioned items are any of his business. I think the thing that frustrates me the most is that, instead of walking over himself to talk to the roommates, he passive-aggressively sent his own child to deliver a letter. It’s not fair to be judged based on your age. It’s just like when the sales associate at a store ignores your presence because you look too young to be seriously buying something from their establishment. When people see a house of twenty-something single people, it’s automatically assumed that we’re completely out of control ragers who have no respect for our neighbors; a view that could be completely eliminated with one real conversation. Even in the face of goodwill and kindness, some people will just refuse to be happy.

It very much reminds me of the cinder blocks next to the Minorcas house.

Day One - As Experienced on 6.11.10

Tank of gas #1: gets us through NC and into TN. While driving through some of our beautiful cities I was awestruck with how magnificent some of God's creations really are. My navigatress and I decided right about the time we crossed through Asheville that, given the choice, we would so rather live closer to the mountains than the beach. Good thing I'm moving to a place where the nearest beach is 1,000 miles away, but the nearest mountain is practically in my backyard. :)

I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll be giving up Bojangles, Cheerwine, and Cook-Out milkshakes, so I'm also using this first day to hang on to the last bits of southern culture. We stopped for lunch at Newport, Tennessee's Cracker Barrel (little did we know we'd have an opportunity to eat at the Barrel at every other exit the rest of the day!). FYI - Cracker Barrel has 594 locations nation-wide. We dined on chicken, green beans, fried apples, mac & cheese, homemade biscuits, and fried okra..that's about as southern as you can get!

Tank of gas #2: switch drivers for a bit. Next stop - Nashville. From the passenger seat I see a construction sign indicating "long delays" in about 10 miles. No big deal. Sikkkkke. Not long after we find ourselves in standstill traffic. Literally no movement. We've got shirtless drivers hopping out of their cars to talk to truckers, heads hanging out of windows to try and see what's going on, and a lot of fist pumping (the happiest kind, of course).

Fast forward north 5 hours, and we're finally in the booming Kentuckian metropolis of Paducah - home to the National Quilt Museum and more restaurants within a square mile of our hotel than any other place either of us have ever visited. It's that big of a deal. Tomorrow, we're off on our second leg and third tank of gas. Slowly, but surely, I'm getting to those Rocky Mountains calling my name.

The Best Policy

God has blessed me with some amazing friendships.  These people literally support me, through a night eating our favorite frozen yogurt and watching She's the Man (huge Amanda Bynes fan), calling just to see how I’m doing, or a quick text reminding me that I am loved.  To constantly know that you’re appreciated and that you have people around loving you…what more could you ask for?

I had an amazing day with a relatively new friend.  Our first time on hanging out one-on-one, and we spent at least six hours in meaningful conversation…how often does that happen?  We mostly talked about our relationships with others and how we could help them to develop and grow in the best way.  And you know what we came up with?

Those that have stood the test of time have (at least) one crucial thing in common – they all value honesty.  Telling the truth can take many forms – constructive criticism, a behavioral intervention, or recounting some of your life’s experiences.  It’s ok to be vulnerable with them; you can trust them to proceed with that new information in a wise way because you’ve been honest with them, and they’ve been honest with you.

Beginning a new relationship on anything but honesty sets it up to fail.  The same goes for your (and my) relationship with Jesus.  He loves you (me).  He wants to know you (me).  He wants to hear you (me) talk with him and love Him in return.  If you can do that, He will bless you in unimaginable ways.

So be honest with Jesus, be honest with your friends, and certainly be honest with yourself.  It’s always the best policy.

Saying Goodbye

It's the attitude of the college senior to her friends on graduation day; whatever it takes to keep it together.  It's not goodbye, it's see you soon.  She's always looking forward to the next time she'll see their beautiful smiling faces.  I said those words last year, and this year is no different.

Yesterday I said goodbye to some of the most wonderful people I've ever had the pleasure to work with.  I've been challenged to grow and supported in my initiatives through the course of this most recent position than through any other work experience in my young professional life.  I cannot thank them enough for their mentorship and caring.

They surprised me with a lunch on my last day of work - almost everyone could make it; just for me.  Each of my colleagues submitted song titles to be compiled on a 2-disc set :) of roadtrip tunes for the ride out west.  It meant so much to me to get the opportunity to spend some of my last moments with the other members of our team.


And so, as my days in North Carolina are getting fewer, and the door is closing on this latest chapter of experiences, I want to say to everyone in RL&H, see you soon.

 

Colorado? Are you serious?

I'm not the stereotypical Southern Belle. I grew up in the mid-South, was never a member of the Junior League, and my descendants were sharecroppers in Appalachia. However, I am qualified to be a member of the DAC (Daughters of the Confederacy), attended cotillion for 3 years as a tweenager, and have sweet tea practically running through my veins; that's gotta count for somethin' y'all. I love my family and the Old North State, but something is missing.

It was the summer of 1989. My parents loaded my toddler-self, my kindergartener brother, and my newly retired grandparents into our 1985 two-toned "Big Blue" Suburban and left North Carolina in our rearview mirror as we traveled cross-country to the open arms of my aunt and uncle awaiting us in California.

Twenty years later, I want to go back. I've spent my childhood, adolescence, and college years in cities that could be reached in less than an hour of each other. So I've been praying for almost a year for an out-of-state adventure, and each time God says, "Colorado."

Colorado? Are you serious?

-I don't know anyone from Colorado!

Now I do.

-I've never spent time in Colorado!

Now I have.

-I'm too nervous to move that far from my family!

Not anymore.

Isn't God miraculous?

These entries will be a way to share my adventure with those at home, and provide an outlet for me to try and make sense of the new life God is making for me in the wild-west. :)