This past year has been a whole new world for me. A year ago today, Andre and I got married! It's weird because when I think about that day, it seems like there's no way it was a whole year ago, but when I think about everything that has happened between then and now, it's amazing! I can say I have learned a lot, but I can say even more confidently that I still have WAY more to learn. Seriously, marriage is an everyday learning process. If I have learned one thing from being married so far, it's that our home is a much happier place when we are both humble, forgiving and don't sweat the small stuff. I'd say I've definitely had to learn that the hard way and I've unfortunately had to drag Andre through it with me, but it has helped me to see how patient and caring he truly is. I can say the same things about him now as I said a year ago; Andre is one of the most patient, humble, selfless men I have ever known (the list could go on and on), and I am blessed times 1 million to be able to call him my husband for eternity :)
Friday, September 5, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
People
Today I feel grateful. This summer has been spent exercising, watching tv, grocery shopping, doing laundry, hanging out by the pool, doing fun things with friends, exercising more, watching more tv, and waiting for Andre to come home each night between 8:00 and 10:00 pm. As you can see, it was a very long, fairly boring, but very laid back summer. One thing I have come to be very grateful for this summer though is... people. Complete strangers who I normally would have nothing in common with, who became wonderful friends and people I will never forget. Let me explain.
I decided this summer that I would take up yoga and pilates. So, four days a week for the past four months, I have been going to this class. Back in May, I walked into this class with people nowhere close to my age, who had been doing yoga for months to years, and I was this newbie 22-year old who had never once done yoga in my life. But, everyone was so kind and welcoming and was excited to see a fresh, new face in the class. At first, I felt a little young and out of place, but quickly became good friends with these people who were no less than 15-40 years older than me. I guess at my age you just don't imagine yourself hanging out with 40 to 60-year olds four days a week for fun, haha. But oh my gosh, I love these people! I've started asking myself, "why don't I hang out with 40 to 60-year olds more often?" They have life experiences, kids, families and real jobs and it's so fun to hear their stories. Sure, they liked to tease me about how young and inexperienced I am in life, but it was fun! They always reminded me to be grateful for where I'm at in life right now and always made "old" jokes about themselves that just made me laugh! These people, who came into my life for just a few short months, have made such an impact on me and have made me so grateful for just people in general.
I have associated with the so many L.D.S people in my life, especially in the past 5 years, and haven't had a ton of experiences outside of that. This summer, spending most of my time with people outside of my faith, has opened up my heart and mind to them. You don't have to be a mormon to be a good person. Of course, I already knew that, but I have felt so narrowed the past few years into thinking that the L.D.S. lifestyle is the best thing out there, but I have really come to realize that there are amazing, fun, friendly, good-hearted people out there who maybe don't even believe in God or Jesus Christ, and that's ok! For instance, there's this one lady named Pam. Oh my gosh, one of the kindest people I have ever known! Right off the bat she was just a sweetheart. A few weeks into the class, she invited Andre and I over for dinner. At first, I was a little surprised and thought, "wait, is she L.D.S?" Haha, I honestly thought that people don't typically just invite people over for dinner and that that was kind of a "mormon" thing to do. But I thought that it was so nice of her and of course we accepted the invitation. So, we went over there for a nice Sunday night dinner, we brought some flowers over and Pam and her husband had prepared a salmon dinner with a few different side dishes, and it was delicious! They offered us wine and beer and we politely turned them down and told them we don't drink. They said ok, didn't think much of it, and we just had a great evening full of conversation and laughs! Now, to someone who is not L.D.S, or someone who has spent most of their time associating outside of the L.D.S. bubble, this probably doesn't seem all that significant, but to me, it was a real eye-opener! There are normal people out there who maybe believe nothing close to what I believe, but who are kind and generous and who are wonderful people! I have truly grown to love these people, and Pam is just one of them.
Tonight was my last night of class before Andre and I move back to Idaho. So, after class they treated me to ice cream and we all just sat and talked and ate our ice cream and I just thought about how all these people, who were complete strangers just 4 months ago, now mean so much to me. I'm sad to say good-bye to them! Seriously, I don't even know any of their last names, but I have made friends who will be in my heart forever. And if I ever come back to Sacramento, I will most definitely be visiting that yoga class :)
I decided this summer that I would take up yoga and pilates. So, four days a week for the past four months, I have been going to this class. Back in May, I walked into this class with people nowhere close to my age, who had been doing yoga for months to years, and I was this newbie 22-year old who had never once done yoga in my life. But, everyone was so kind and welcoming and was excited to see a fresh, new face in the class. At first, I felt a little young and out of place, but quickly became good friends with these people who were no less than 15-40 years older than me. I guess at my age you just don't imagine yourself hanging out with 40 to 60-year olds four days a week for fun, haha. But oh my gosh, I love these people! I've started asking myself, "why don't I hang out with 40 to 60-year olds more often?" They have life experiences, kids, families and real jobs and it's so fun to hear their stories. Sure, they liked to tease me about how young and inexperienced I am in life, but it was fun! They always reminded me to be grateful for where I'm at in life right now and always made "old" jokes about themselves that just made me laugh! These people, who came into my life for just a few short months, have made such an impact on me and have made me so grateful for just people in general.
I have associated with the so many L.D.S people in my life, especially in the past 5 years, and haven't had a ton of experiences outside of that. This summer, spending most of my time with people outside of my faith, has opened up my heart and mind to them. You don't have to be a mormon to be a good person. Of course, I already knew that, but I have felt so narrowed the past few years into thinking that the L.D.S. lifestyle is the best thing out there, but I have really come to realize that there are amazing, fun, friendly, good-hearted people out there who maybe don't even believe in God or Jesus Christ, and that's ok! For instance, there's this one lady named Pam. Oh my gosh, one of the kindest people I have ever known! Right off the bat she was just a sweetheart. A few weeks into the class, she invited Andre and I over for dinner. At first, I was a little surprised and thought, "wait, is she L.D.S?" Haha, I honestly thought that people don't typically just invite people over for dinner and that that was kind of a "mormon" thing to do. But I thought that it was so nice of her and of course we accepted the invitation. So, we went over there for a nice Sunday night dinner, we brought some flowers over and Pam and her husband had prepared a salmon dinner with a few different side dishes, and it was delicious! They offered us wine and beer and we politely turned them down and told them we don't drink. They said ok, didn't think much of it, and we just had a great evening full of conversation and laughs! Now, to someone who is not L.D.S, or someone who has spent most of their time associating outside of the L.D.S. bubble, this probably doesn't seem all that significant, but to me, it was a real eye-opener! There are normal people out there who maybe believe nothing close to what I believe, but who are kind and generous and who are wonderful people! I have truly grown to love these people, and Pam is just one of them.
Tonight was my last night of class before Andre and I move back to Idaho. So, after class they treated me to ice cream and we all just sat and talked and ate our ice cream and I just thought about how all these people, who were complete strangers just 4 months ago, now mean so much to me. I'm sad to say good-bye to them! Seriously, I don't even know any of their last names, but I have made friends who will be in my heart forever. And if I ever come back to Sacramento, I will most definitely be visiting that yoga class :)
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