It's Been a While

It's been over a week since I last posted. Oops. I almost posted a few days ago, but I was just really not in the mood at all to write. Then the last few nights, I've been exhausted. So, here we are. I've had a pretty good week, I suppose. A little boring now and then, but I guess it could be worse.

Saturday night, my mom and I went to see my high school's play which my sister did crew for. It was really good and fun and it was nice to see my friends again. Sunday, my friend Danica and I went to church and then played tennis. I am horrible at tennis...but it was fun. I hope we do it some more because she is fantastic and I need to be good at tennis! Since we went to the early service for church, we were done playing tennis by noon (also partly because Danica had to go home and clean her room, etc). So, I was bored later in the day. Then my mom decided we should go shoe shopping! Yay! I got a pair of espadrilles and they are the cutest. I can't wait to wear them. I also got another hat! I've always loved hats and how fantastic they are, but since the Royal Wedding I've been desperately needing one. Caroline bought me one when we went out LAST Friday (was it really only a little over a week ago? I feel like I've been home forever) and now I have another one! I am excited! I was a little hesitant to get it because not a lot of people wear them, but my mom said I should just wear it around and bring it back in style. So we will see how this goes. Haha. All in all, it was a relaxing weekend.

Friday, however, was not nearly so relaxing. It was quite the experience. I was supposed to pick up my Little Caitlin (I don't think I've talked about her yet, but she is this girl I babysit who is essentially my mini-me completely with the same name and similar looks. Cute.) at 3 and take her to her learning center at 4. Her mom texted me directions, but long story short I misunderstood them and we ended up at the wrong place. Funny how "It is past the Target but if you get to Kroger you've gone too far" can apply when you are so far off course. Sometimes I wish everything didn't look the same. But that is another story. Anyway, I called my mom and had her look up the address to put in my GPS. Then I called the place we were supposed to go to telling them that we'd be a few minutes late. Well...the address took me to this church that ended up being NOWHERE near where we needed to be! I called the place again and asked them for their address...it was the exact same one my mom had given me. So obviously this did not work. After a moment of panicking, I called Caitlin's mom (it is sometimes confusing that we have the same name.) and she helped me get there. About 90 minutes late! We were so far off course and I have no idea what happened. It ended up being fine because they had an opening then and because her mom had called, they knew the situation. Anyway, I am usually not late at all! So this was definitely a first for me. I think it was God trying to teach me that everything works out in the end and I need to stop trying to control everything. This is something I've been working on for the past several weeks and months and I think I've come far. I kept calm for the most part, even though I was definitely frustrated and I felt guilty. But I did my best and it ended up fine. In the future whenever I am stressing, I will try to remember this.

After I got Caitlin back home (really I'm not talking in third person, I swear) around 7.20, Danica and Jay and I met up to see Bridesmaids. Let me tell you...it is hilarious. I did feel uncomfortable a couple of times, but it was laugh out loud funny and we had a great time! It was nice to see Jay again for the first time in a while as well. Of course it was nice to see Danica too, but I'd seen her the previous weekend and I hadn't seen Jay since Spring Break. After the movie, we talked for a while before going home. This is when Danica and I (well it was mostly me) decided that we should play tennis after church on Sunday.

So now that I'm all out of order, let's go back to Sunday. I don't consider myself Christian, but I do love this network of churches that I am lucky enough to have been introduced to. Evan, my ex-boyfriend first took me to one of the churches and I fell in love though I'd been hesitant to go due to my unhappiness with churches past. While going through this sort of "spiritual awakening" and discovery that I've been doing this semester, I realized that I missed it. The messages always struck a chord with me and I never felt like I was being "preached at." It was more like the Bible was being used as lessons on how to live your life, which is exactly what I believe it is intended for. Anyway, I thought several times throughout this past semester about watching online, but for some reason I never did. The last Sunday of the semester, I went to a church in Boston with Barbara. She goes a lot and I'd never been. It was the Sunday after the Baha'i gathering so I was feeling spiritual, I suppose. (Talking like this is new to me and I'm afraid of sounding evangelical.) It was very modern like the network of churches here and it made me want to go back even more. So, when Danica presented the opportunity to go with her this Sunday, I jumped at the chance. It was amazing to be back in the church and I hadn't realized how much I'd missed Andy Stanley, the pastor. He is phenomenal and I love how he connects with people. He teaches in series that are usually four parts and this one was "The New Rules for Love, Sex, and Dating." This was the third week and we were talking about sex, so it was funny to go back to church for the first time and hear about sex. But, his big question was "Are you who the person you are looking for is looking for?" So since then, I've been thinking about that and how to better myself and become the person that the person I am looking for is looking for. I know I am not perfect; I will never be perfect; the person I end up with will not be perfect. But I have standards in my head of what I want...am I matching them? I think for the most part, I am a pretty good person, but I will try my best to improve myself...not change myself and become the best me.

I have written quite a lot and I have quite a lot more to say, but for now I am going to stop and think some. I will post later tonight.