frankly, if the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it

Ouch.

Sure, I understand where you are coming from in saying that to me, but there is something true about most new pairs of shoes... you usually have to break them in before you can fully be comfortable in them. And at first, they may give you a little trouble; you might get blisters... but eventually those blisters turned callous and the leather in the shoes starts to stretch and conform to your foot. So there is a little of give and take on both sides--the foot and the shoe; so that the very shoes that were once so uncomfortable might perhaps become your most favored pair. Such a pair of shoes would then fit you 'just-so" and they wouldn't fit anyone else the same. After a while the shoe, depending on it's quality and amount of usage, might become worn with holes where you have rubbed it against the tough pavement or scuffed where you have tripped and stubbed your toes. But thank goodness for the protection of that pair of shoes; without which your foot may have been hurt much worse. It's true, especially if you are not used to wearing close-toed, closed-heel shoes, at first that pair of shoes may cause you some trouble. For example, you might feel strange or constricted and not know how to react, but eventually that very same pair of shoes can become a comfort and security to your feet. Perhaps it's the "no pain, no gain" theory? I donno. But I'm still willing to give it a try.

Ouch. Does anyone have a band-aid?

acting your age, not your shoe size

I am 26. I wear size 6.5 - 7 shoe.

I can't decide if it is a positive thing or a negative thing that people often guess that I am younger than I actually am. I will confess, in addition to my height disadvantage, I do tend to be on the lower end of the 26 spectrum. While I am not bothered by the following, they do perhaps set me apart from most other 26-yr-olds of this world:

I don't own my own home, nor work at a 'professional' job.

I don't even own my own car (it's a car in my name, but technically it's provided by work).

I am single, never been married, and I have no children.

My dress is a wide range of things, from casual-fun to prepped-out office girl.

I am practical. I like to be comfortable, what can I say?

When it comes to my actions... I do tend to be fun-loving, silly, sarcastic, and less-embarrassed about the little things that tend to set others in a tizzy-fit. Of course I realize that there is a time and a place for most types of behavior. And lately I can definitely sense the difference in age of the college students under my care and myself. The life experience just hasn't reached that point yet. So why do they often guess me as their contemporary? Perhaps the difference is more inward and less apparent in it's outward manifestation. I am comforted that some with a more trained eye for maturity can sense that though I look young, I am indeed passed the point of my bachelor-degree days of university. Of course, I am not agruing by any means to portray that I am a boring oldie. As my contemporaries age they will just have to eat their hearts out... because I've got young blood.

a penny for your thoughts:

When I said, "Don't just tell me what you think I want to hear," what I meant was, don't merely toy with me in your speech. You can, however, tell me what I want to hear, if it is how you feel, even if it is just in the 'heat of the moment', so to speak. After all, if it is something I want to hear, it is something that I do hope to hear from you at some point. No need to hold in that which you feel... it may be that very feeling that you put into words that keeps us alive. Sometimes what you say is what matters the most.

These words brought to you by Ogo. Find out more at www.ogo.com

checkmate: motherly advice

I am a wee bit complicated. Ok, so sometimes, oh alright, probably a lot of the time, I am what you would call a "thinker." I even thought about it last night and decided that I often treat my life like I am playing a chess game with myself. Second guessing the outcome or results or reprocusions of certain actions and decisions... often staying a couple steps ahead of myself... "if I do this, then that will happen... and if I do that other thing, then this will happen..." Needless to say, I set myself in a whirl. And sometimes I run from certain things based on that tangent in my mind, and other times I am even left at a stand still. Nevertheless, while some actions/things in our life can benefit from such a mental exercise and because of which such a mind is praised in those environments, I have come to realize that it does not always come as a gain to be so analytical. This mental gymastics easily comes in and complicates my simplicity toward the Lord in so many matters. I forget so easily that "Touching Jesus is all that really matters..." I realized that because I tend to figure out everything, I am trusting merely in the brilliance of my mind and not simply in the Lord. What a shame.

Yesterday when I was talking to my mom about a situation that I have been doing a lot of thinking about, she told me straight up, "Emily, You really need to stop analyzing everything and just let things be."


Disclaimer: Granted there are times (believe it or not) that I do act impulsively without much consideration, so forgive me ahead of time if I do that and it has negative reprocusions.

how to stop people from bugging you about getting married...

Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

with no particular place to go...

On a Sunday afternoon after leaving a gathering of over 400+ people I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed off around town with less than a quarter tank of gas. With no particular destination known I just sat back at the wheel and let the vents of AC cool the roasting insides of my '91 Corolla. My trunk held the contents of my dirty clothes basket and detergent. Darn, I forgot my favorite family 'laundromat' was not available, because the owner was out-of-town at their ranch in OK for the weekend. (So much for clean bedding.) It was just me, my car, my laundry, and the open road. And though it was approaching lunch hour I did not stop at any of the restaurants I passed as I cruised the streets of South Austin. I wasn't hungry, but I did have the urge to go shopping. There was no one to hurry me through a store and no one to 'keep-an-eye-on'... a perfect time to shop Goodwill. The nearest was across town and I ended up nearly driving in a full circle just to get there. Goodwills can be a dirty place to shop, but they can also be so much fun. I found a number of very good finds. I love it when you find brand-new clothes, and I do mean brand-new, complete with the tags still attached. Wheee! What a steal! Who would pay full price for clothing when you can get lucky at the Goodwill?! After an hour or two my tummy started to growl and I craved a Freebird burrito. Mmm Mmm Good. So I drove back to the shopping place by my apartment and proceeded to inhale a 1/2-bird-chicken-on-a-spinach-tortilla. Yum! yum. After creating a foil-decoration for their wall (you'll have to see this place, it's definitely an Austin-hot-spot) I drove home to show Molly my 'goods'. Being quite happy with my afternoon 'alone' I was ready to return to the Foremost hall to face the 400+ again.