Monday Malarkey #3: Home

Home. What does the word mean to you? This week the word had been hitting me hard. I called my parents from college and said goodbye with tears welling in my eyes. When I said goodbye on the phone I wasn’t simply saying goodbye to a conversation, but to a home. A motherly voiced that comforted and soothed, and a father’s laugh that filled the nights with joy. I said goodbye to friends. 

But I got to thinking about how I define the word “Home”. For me a home is anywhere that has captivated my heart. Uganda is a home. The other day I had to wash my shirt in the sink, and I could almost hear the chickens cackling in the back round, the smell of smoke permeating in the air. But most of all I could imagine Mamma’s hands as she wrung and washed the clothes encased by a back round of lush vivacity. When I got to the village we called her Mamma and it wasn’t till the end of the trip that I realized how much of a mother she had really been to me. She was the hen, sure and strong, and I was the chick tucking myself in her wing. Mamma taught me to be a servant with a smile. It is one thing to meet the needs of others, but it takes love to serve with a smile.

My heart also lies in the songs my mother plays on the piano. They range from light Disney show tunes to deep and romantic broadway songs. It seemed as though my life was so dull until her veiny hands would place themselves on the piano. She played as if life and energy moved through her fingers tips and then I would set my voice free like a bird caged until the final moment when the doors are thrown open. The songs that my mom played are a kind of home for me. 

“We will pay for bits of the southwest the way we will pay handsomely, in this generation or the next, for a home. Whatever that looks like; We find ourselves longing for some combination of Martha Stewart and what we can imagine, say, of our family seat in Brazil.” –Gish Jen (The Blair Reader).

So I ask you again, what is home to you? The smell of fresh peaches on a hot summer day? The soft and loving touch of a mother, grandma, or sister? Those are the places we find comfort after the long journey of life. I often think of myself as a sojourner reminiscing about home… forever dreaming of the land where I plant my weary feet.

Stay tuned for more Malarkey next Monday! Stay groovy :)

Monday Malarkey #2: My perspective on Football

So today I was sitting in western civ. and my professeur stops and says "Ladies, do you want to get married? Then educate yourselves on Fantasy Football." So that got me thinking that I should share with the world what I know about football.

1. I would marry Tim Tebow if he asked. Not necessarily because he plays football but because he is super sweet and awesome with his christian-ness.

2. Touchdowns are good and when there is a touchdown scored you need to stand up and go crazy. Victory dances are totally appropriate, even if you don't care at all about football.

3. The Raiders have cool Jersey colors... but the broncos not so much.

4. Peyton Manning will probably keel over any day now..

5. When you hear a guy talk about football it's best to always agree, and if necessary pretend you know what you're talking about.

6. I like the Raiders.. but I'm not entirely sure why.

7. I don't entirely understand the appeal of playing football. It's like signing up to get pushed around.

8. Guys who play football (Not all of course) are generally really cocky.

9. When invited to football parties, just go!! I can almost guarantee free football food (queso, chips, salsa, hot dogs, hamburgers, wings etc.).

This is my perspective on football as a college girl kissing 19. I think i can speak for my fellow females when i say, we may not know a whole lot about football but at least we can make it up as we go.  And if you want to read more Monday Malarkey, i will be posting a new blog every Monday. Have a great week everyone!

Answers

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." ~Zora Neale Hurston

For the first time in my life i actually feel eighteen. I am sitting on my bedroom floor surrounded by a sea of boxes, having to say goodbye to the little nest that i have called home and fly like a free bird into a world of possibilities. Much like Hurston's character Janie, life has given me an answer... "go." 

And so I pick up my belongings, look out on the road that lies ahead, and move with courage and confidence. Knowing that wherever the journey will take me i will always have a blank sheet of paper and enough memories to warm a heart of stone. All thanks to the many people in my life who have taken me with my brokenness and sinful ways and loved me unconditionally. My prayer is that wherever I go and whatever I do that I will always show people the same love and grace that Christ has shown me. We live in a dark world... but there is beauty all around us.         

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Monday Malarkey #1: A Sonnet For Your Thoughts

The Lonely Lover

The sun doth shone on days of reverie

And love was the summer’s tepid song

Every moment was a victory

Until the winters mournful gong

Now the lonely lover sits on window sill

Her tears falling like the morning dew

She waits, her thoughts flowing in soft trills

The memory of him a golden hue

The winter’s cold chills her to the bone

Distant nostalgia is her only thrill

She glances to the moon’s unknown beams

Till love finds her once again in the spring

She will find a noble knight in her dreams

And they will walk on shores of guarantees

Gazing into waves of tranquil seas

Monday Malarkey, your cup of tea.

 This is the start of something new. I am starting a series called Monday Malarkey. Basically what I'm going to be doing is posting a new blog post every Monday. The topics will include but will not be subject to: college life, babysitting woes, life as a female kissing 19, my thoughts on Men, religion, missions, food, my strange habits and more! Stay tuned every Monday for your dose of Monday Malarkey. I don't promise perfection people, but i do promise malarkey.. and a lot of it!
Signing out.

Definition of MALARKEY

: insincere or foolish talk : 

Variants of MALARKEY

ma·lar·key also ma·lar·ky

Examples of MALARKEY

1. He thinks everything politicians say is just a bunch of malarkey.
2. <the old lady declared that everything politicians say is pure malarkey>

Origin of MALARKEY

origin unknown

First Known Use: 1929

Hesitation

The sun danced wildly on my skin and the scent of chlorine wafted in the air like a cool mist. I undressed quickly and sat by the side of the pool.  i planned on jumping in like a child but something about the water mesmerized me by it's charm. So I sat on the edge with my legs swaying in the chilled water. I could feel the hard pavement against my fingers and then my mind started to spin like a wheel; concocting, dreaming, observing.
I looked into the glassy surface of the water. I could see all the way to the bottom. I wanted to jump in, but something held me back. I knew the cool of the water would only last for a moment and then i would be under the surface free to glide around. But for some reason i was afraid.
Then i realized that this is how i feel about college. I am sitting on the edge ready to dive in, but i am looking in with hesitation. I know the water is not too deep and the chill of the water will only last a moment. But I am sitting on the edge, filled with hesitation. 

Goodbyes

Today I finished Little Women. It seems like every time i find myself unexpectedly on the last page I shed a little tear. You see Little Women isn't just a book to occupy my time. it's a loving caution from Marmee and a funny blunder from Jo. A learning moment of Meg's or a sentimental word from Amy. And all those experiences have journeyed me through my first summer with a full time job Nannying. Sometimes I wished that Louisa had thrown in a chapter on Nannying. It could have easily been done, Meg could have taken up a job with a family and struggled with the same things and came home crying, much like i did. Then Marmee would have come to our rescue with a tender touch and wise words that would have been stored up in my treasure chest of words to feed and drive me. But alas, life doesn't always hand you things on a silver platter... and good books must have a last page. A last sentence. Characters must stay forever locked on the pages between the covers, and I must eventually say goodbye to Marmee's tender heart, Jo's wild spirit, Amy's sweetness, Meg's love life, Laurie's silly notions, and Beth's quiet ways of keeping things lovely. These were the characters that filled my days when I felt so alone and friendless. These were the stories that made me smile on a day filled with tears. Today I say goodbye again... but not until I pick the old warn book up from the shelf and start the adventure all over again with the first delicious words sounding something like this:

 ""Christmas won't be Christmas without presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug."

Until next time my dear friends. Au revoir.