Blooper Reels

Hello, friends!

In recent months, I have been lucky enough to film Melissa playing the piano or trombone. (Beautifully, might I add.) It's fun to help her share her talents and joy in music with the Facebook world. It's also fun because Melissa is almost never satisfied with her first try, leading to a variety of funny moments before the final video goes live. Yesterday I compiled those funny moments into a blooper reel, and even though I'm the one who made the video and I also witnessed all of these moments firsthand, I still can't stop giggling whenever I watch it. Which has been often.

I call Melissa the Queen of Self-Confidence, and this is an example as to why. I don't know that I'd feel comfortable having some of my mistakes broadcast to the world, no matter how silly they are. The other day, I burned exactly one pancake, and it threw me off for the rest of the night. If someone had randomly been filming me, I would not have been cool with putting that out there for other people to see. It's ridiculous sometimes how much tiny things will affect my self-esteem!

But "bloopers" are a part of life. We all make mistakes, silly and otherwise, and it's healthy to acknowledge them, laugh at them, be willing to share them. It's when we isolate ourselves and fear judgment above all else that we forget to really live. Whether it's a wrong note on the piano or a pancake that gets a little too brown... those are things that happen to us, but they are not who we are, unless we let them be.

5 Years Ago, and 5 Years from Now

Hello, friends! I'm back with another blog post inspired by you guys. Today I'm responding to the prompt: "a letter to myself 5 years ago and 5 years from now." Thanks, Sarah!

...

Dear Mary from 5 years ago,

Remember University Lutheran? You left it just 9 days ago, but after 5 years, it's still a place I long to return to. Hold those memories close to you. Hold those people close to you. They're precious.

I know it seems like waiting for a call is the most painful thing that can happen to you. Trust me - it's not. I'm not saying this to scare you; I just want you to savor the time you have right now to just be. Spend time with your friends. Cuddle your new nephew. Pray. Read. Study. God's got a plan, and it's okay that you don't right now. It's going to be awhile before you're able to "just be" again. So as much as you can with an unknown future hanging over you... enjoy it.

You have big dreams. That's a good thing. Dreams are healthy. But you could use a healthy dose of caution, too. When that call comes - and I promise, it will come - jump in feet first, but keep your eyes wide open. Don't assume you can do everything, or fix everything, or be everything. You can't. You're not supposed to be able to. Don't let anyone tell you differently, including yourself.

I'm not going to tell you details, but I will tell you this: things will get bad for awhile. Your friends will see you through. Nothing will happen as you expect it to, but you can trust that God knows what he's doing.

Never stop dreaming.

Never stop caring.

Remember you're never truly alone.

Love,

Mary

...

Dear Mary 5 years in the future,

I have so many questions.

Where are you?

What are you doing?

Do you have a husband? More kids? A dog? A house?

Honestly, right now, the question that would fulfill my dreams is: Are you no longer worried about making enough money to pay rent? Because that would be fantastic.

As I'm sure you remember, 2020 has been insane thus far. We're only halfway through the year! Dare I hope that the second half of the year is calmer?

Insane as it's been, though, I'm so glad I've spent it in Milwaukee. Maybe 5 years from now, you're emotionally stable enough to be okay more than 30 minutes from your friends, but I am certainly not right now. And that's okay. I need them. They need me. And Tammy needs them, and they need Tammy. There's nothing quite like the support system my little family unit has right now.

Here's what I think is important for you to know 5 years from now:

Nothing bad is ever the end of the story. Something good is always around the corner. You might be in a hallway that's miles long, but the corner's coming. Have faith in God, in yourself, and in the people who care about you.

I desperately want to know where I'll be in 5 years. I really can't even begin to guess. But wherever it is... give yourself a pat on the back. You made it. Here's to another 5 years.

Please write back,

Mary

 

 

Fun Things to Do When Everything Seems Closed

Hello, friends! I'm back, thanks to another prompt from you guys. Thanks, Stacy! Let's see... fun things to do when everything seems closed. Here are a few of the things I've done since the start of quarantine.

• I've taken many, many, many walks. I've walked around my neighborhood, I've gone to parks and nature centers and found new trails, I've even ducked under a fence or two in my pursuit of sanity during isolation. It was fun to walk with my dog, but walking with Tammy or a friend or even alone sometimes is nice too. I got a state park pass last week that I'm excited to use for the first time this weekend.
• I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen. Lots of banana bread and cookies have been made, many new dinner recipes have been tried. I make a mean chicken burrito now. This past weekend, instead of doing our usual 4th of July activities that would involve crowds, Tammy and I baked red, white, and blue treats and delivered them to our friends. It was a great (and delicious) way to spend the holiday.
• Movies have definitely gotten me through. With so much spare time, I've been watching all of the Marvel movies in release date order. The next one on my list is Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tammy and I also went to a drive-in theater recently, which was super fun.
• Speaking of watching things, I found a new TV obsession: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist!
• I love writing (obviously, or you wouldn't be reading this) so I signed up for an online writing class. It definitely gave me something to do and look forward to. I also picked up my journal again for the first time in over a year.
• Tammy has been reading books with some of her favorite relatives and discussing them on video chat. She's also been playing games with friends on video chat and generally staying connected through technology. We have our second Zoom family game night coming up.

Those are a few of the ways we've been keeping sane in Milwaukee while everything is/was closed. I'm sure I'll be finding more ways as this pandemic continues. What kinds of socially distant activities have you found during quarantine? Let me know in the comments.

The Things You Do for Friends

Hello, friends! I enjoyed following along with Tanner Olsen's writing prompts so much that I asked for some from you guys. And you delivered! Today's prompt is "the things you do for friends," thanks, LeeAnna! :)

I brag on my friends a lot on my blog, and they deserve it. I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through the past few years without them. But one thing I don't talk about very often is how much I enjoy being a friend. I'm perfectly happy to brag on my friends. Bragging on myself is weird, and that's what this is going to sound like at first.

I love being a good friend, you guys. I love washing my friends' dishes when they're overflowing. I love watering their flowers when they're gone. I love helping them pack and unpack. I love picking something up for them when they can't. I love making soup for them when they're sick. I do! I just absolutely love doing those things for my friends. It makes my heart so full.

Obviously, I also love being a silly friend. I'll hide sticky notes around your place if left alone for five minutes. I'll send your significant other obnoxious text messages. I'll poke your shoulder over and over for an hour. I'll put weird events in your phone calendar. I'll tell you terrible puns every day for the rest of your life.

I love joking around and being ridiculous, but here's the thing: I know how much of a difference even the tiniest of kind gestures can make. If I can make that kind of difference, I'm going to, especially for my friends.

I couldn't be that kind of good friend for four years, because I didn't have many friends in Oklahoma. It felt like I took and took and never had the opportunity to give. I was a single mother without any family close by, so of course I had to ask for help a lot, but I was never asked to reciprocate. I didn't realize how much I missed that opportunity until I moved back to Wisconsin.

Back to the prompt: "the things you do for friends." Those things look different for everyone, don't they? I've explained my things, but those things might not be your things, and that is perfectly okay. Wonderful, even! I'm reminded of the love languages - words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, quality time, physical touch. We're all different. We all naturally show our love in different ways.

So find your language, and speak it joyfully. Speak it loudly, or speak it in whispers, but don't let anything silence you. Find the kind of love that fills your heart while it fills the hearts of others. Be the person God made you to be - loving in your own way.