Month: August 2012

i was having trouble adjusting to the change of a (relatively drastic) new haircut when advice on how to deal with that came from an unlikely source.

sister E.

seeing as i’m 11 years her senior, the role of older sister falls with relative ease upon me, so imagine my surprise when she stepped into the wise older sister position after i sent her a picture of my new hair + what i thought was a silly face.

she saw right through it to my discomfort with the new look.

she had recently undergone a radical haircut (12 inches off) as well, which is how she knew just what to say.

sister E: hey. i cried. like sobbed the first day i had my hair cut. but i played with it and finally decided that it was shorter than i had ever wanted but i would make it work until it grew out more. why be unhappy, it’ll only look worse if you are sad under the haircut. if you are happy and radiating it doesn’t matter what your hair looks like.

me: that is the truest story ever.

sister E: then live it, you are beautiful. own it.

me: when did you become 45?

sister E: over night. haircut did wonders.

i think she wears the role of older sister, not to mention her adorable new haircut, quite well.

in this day and at my age, i’m classified as an adult. i may not feel like one, but on paper, i am one: i pay my own bills, bring home a paycheck, cook, clean, drink, live on my own, make plans with friends, and travel to see family. doing all the aforementioned things, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the ins and outs of this and that and always looking ahead at what’s next on the schedule. while fun and exciting and necessary, this leaves little room to enjoy the individual moments.

unless i press pause. metaphorically. literally. physically. emotionally.

there are so many wonderful things swirling around me i just need to reach out and snatch them, commit them to memory.

and in case i forget, there’s always a kid to remind me to stop behaving like an adult and live a little:

in the midst of all the planning and the doing and the going, i can’t forget to enjoy the moments i’ve worked so hard to plan because as they say, life is what happens when you’re making other plans and i don’t want it to pass me by in a big blur of colors and faces and storms.

so, for the rest of the summer (holy cow, that’s just one month!), i’m going to slow it down, observe everything around me, and yes, stop and smell the flowers should i happen upon them. i’m going to feel my feelings instead of brush them aside because i don’t have time to be anything other than even-keeled. i shall eat ice cream and go for some runs and read and be quiet and be loud and take charge and sit back. i’m going to be busy and i’m going to meander. i’m going to talk on the phone and send emails and take pictures and visit with friends. i’m even going to write.

basically, i’m going to smile and have fun because while life may not be what i expected, i should (and can and will) embrace it.

what are YOU going to do during the dog days of summer?