No. I don't mean the Kate Beckinsale movie. Okay fine. I'll explain it better:
-noun: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
Good fortune; luck.
Sunday, I had one of those serendipitous days where all sorts of things just seemed to come together. It wasn't one thing in particular, but a series of excellent conversations, lovely moments and little realizations that made me understand something incredibly important.
But first there's a few things you need to understand:
But first there's a few things you need to understand:
1) I'm a busy person.
I have this...disorder, I guess you could call it. I have an insane desire to fill every single ounce of my day with stuff to do and taking a chill pill usually isn't on the list. Lately, things have been slightly more hectic because...
b) I live with and take care of my 80 year old grandmother.
She's fantastic, wonderful and amazing, but it can be a lot of work sometimes. Especially because she doesn't drive and has been having memory problems.
It's a go with the flow kind of thing, but I'm not really a go with the flow kind of girl.
3) Most weeks, I end up working 7 days.
I do this because I adore mentoring. My aunt teased me because I once said that it was my guilty pleasure. She says that the nerdiest thing she's ever heard, which can't be true because her husband plays World of Warcraft.
Anyway, I could totally get by money wise without it, but that's not why I even work with the students that I do.
d) My ward (congregation where I attend church), while pretty awesome, is tiny. And is mostly girls. Which means no dates.
Okay, so now that you know all of that, let me tell you about my Sunday. Lately, I've been feeling kind of stuck. And completely ineffective. Which makes me crabby. There's nothing in this world that I hate more then feeling out of control. Call me a controlist if you must. It's true. But Sunday, as I sat and waited for my grandma to be ready for church I was reading this fantastic book by an amazing woman. In one letter, written during the twilight years of World War II to her husband who was living in another state, working for a railroad company, she says,
"Guess your more essential in my life than I would have guessed. I just done seem to be able to get along without you."
I, of course, don't have a husband to say that to, but I started thinking of all the people that I just don't seem to be able to do without. It's a LONG list. Here are a few people that I thought of:
My madre,
who that very morning, while we were on the phone made me laugh so hard I cried.
My daddy,
who has endless quantities of advice, welcome or unwelcome and is always willing to put aside important things to help me.
KMJ,
who goes to dinner with me just about every Saturday night and even though shopping isn't her thing, is willing to do some retail therapy with me because she knows I love it.
Sara, the theatre fairy,
who not only keeps me in theatre tickets, but will spend hours searching for good pictures to add to my hot boys screen saver.
Lisa,
who I swear has a sixth sense because whenever I'm having a bad day she shows up and makes it all better.
My tutoring/mentoring students,
who fight over who gets to study with me and tell each other that I'm "hella cool" when they don't think I can hear them.
Megan, the DVD pusher,
who is always up for a Slurpee and never mocks my insane TV obsession.
Beth, my boss at the tutoring center,
because she always makes me feel like I'm doing my job well and reminds me why I was chosen to participate in a program that is reserved for grad students only.
Lindsay, the darling and fantastic girl who cuts my hair
because we always have the best time chatting and laughing. She never makes me feel unwelcome when I stop in to visit her at work.
Basically, the list could go on and on. Throughout the rest of the day I was reminded, in very subtle but unmistakable ways, that I am in the right place. I am exactly where I need to be, doing the things that I need to do so I can become the best version of myself. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how truly serendipitous my life is.
I have this...disorder, I guess you could call it. I have an insane desire to fill every single ounce of my day with stuff to do and taking a chill pill usually isn't on the list. Lately, things have been slightly more hectic because...
b) I live with and take care of my 80 year old grandmother.
She's fantastic, wonderful and amazing, but it can be a lot of work sometimes. Especially because she doesn't drive and has been having memory problems.
It's a go with the flow kind of thing, but I'm not really a go with the flow kind of girl.
3) Most weeks, I end up working 7 days.
I do this because I adore mentoring. My aunt teased me because I once said that it was my guilty pleasure. She says that the nerdiest thing she's ever heard, which can't be true because her husband plays World of Warcraft.
Anyway, I could totally get by money wise without it, but that's not why I even work with the students that I do.
d) My ward (congregation where I attend church), while pretty awesome, is tiny. And is mostly girls. Which means no dates.
Okay, so now that you know all of that, let me tell you about my Sunday. Lately, I've been feeling kind of stuck. And completely ineffective. Which makes me crabby. There's nothing in this world that I hate more then feeling out of control. Call me a controlist if you must. It's true. But Sunday, as I sat and waited for my grandma to be ready for church I was reading this fantastic book by an amazing woman. In one letter, written during the twilight years of World War II to her husband who was living in another state, working for a railroad company, she says,
"Guess your more essential in my life than I would have guessed. I just done seem to be able to get along without you."
I, of course, don't have a husband to say that to, but I started thinking of all the people that I just don't seem to be able to do without. It's a LONG list. Here are a few people that I thought of:
My madre,
who that very morning, while we were on the phone made me laugh so hard I cried.
My daddy,
who has endless quantities of advice, welcome or unwelcome and is always willing to put aside important things to help me.
KMJ,
who goes to dinner with me just about every Saturday night and even though shopping isn't her thing, is willing to do some retail therapy with me because she knows I love it.
Sara, the theatre fairy,
who not only keeps me in theatre tickets, but will spend hours searching for good pictures to add to my hot boys screen saver.
Lisa,
who I swear has a sixth sense because whenever I'm having a bad day she shows up and makes it all better.
My tutoring/mentoring students,
who fight over who gets to study with me and tell each other that I'm "hella cool" when they don't think I can hear them.
Megan, the DVD pusher,
who is always up for a Slurpee and never mocks my insane TV obsession.
Beth, my boss at the tutoring center,
because she always makes me feel like I'm doing my job well and reminds me why I was chosen to participate in a program that is reserved for grad students only.
Lindsay, the darling and fantastic girl who cuts my hair
because we always have the best time chatting and laughing. She never makes me feel unwelcome when I stop in to visit her at work.
Basically, the list could go on and on. Throughout the rest of the day I was reminded, in very subtle but unmistakable ways, that I am in the right place. I am exactly where I need to be, doing the things that I need to do so I can become the best version of myself. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how truly serendipitous my life is.
2 comments:
I am so flattered to make this list! I hope you know you are on my "list" too.
Love it. Also, I totally almost got this book from the library just last week! Seriously, you're fabulous.
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