Winning Deal

So recently my family has gotten really into solitaire. Mostly my parents; they may or may not call dibs on who gets to play on my Mom’s Kindle Fire. Most often my little brother and I will hover over their shoulders and obnoxiously tell them where to place the appropriate card. While doing this obnoxious hovering, I observed my mom start a new game. It gives you the option of “Random Deal” or “Winning Deal” and my mom, flustered, clicked on the winning deal so she could go to bed on a happy note.

I thought about this for a while. I kept thinking that clicking on the Winning Deal was pretty much the same as cheating. Who wants to play a game where they are handed a win? I don’t know why, but this really and truly bugged me for a long time; however, as things usually do in my mind (thank you literary analysis) seemingly small and insignificant instances seem to take on a bigger meaning. And so this bigger meaning blossomed in my head.

We are all given a winning deal in life. Heavenly Father clicked on that first and foremost. In fact, with Heavenly Father there is no “Random Deal” there are only Winning Deals. Now, this might not seem like the case. Even when clicking on a winning deal you still get stuck. Sometimes you get stuck to the point where you think you absolutely couldn’t win with the hand that you were dealt. When it comes to Heavenly Father, though, you are always dealt a winning deal. I think we fail to see that though because we get stuck. All you need is that freaking 6 of Hearts and it would be smooth sailing, right? You’d win and you’d feel great because it was just like bing bang boom. But, instead you have to rearrange a whole bunch of other cards just to get it to work, but it works nonetheless. So the point of my rambling, and my overuse of commas is this: we have been dealt a winning hand. Even if we can’t see it. Even if the game would be so much easier if that 6 of Hearts wasn’t the last card that we pull. Heavenly Father knows what cards we need, and in the end we have a winning hand. I guess that’s comforting, and not at all cheating. Why not play the game if you know you’re going to win?

Twenty-Two

So I just changed the little blurb about me on here from "twenty-one year old girl" to "twenty-two year old girl." That was weird. I was really looking forward to that, but somehow it was just odd. Everyone has asked me who it feels to be twenty-two, and all I can think is that it's way different than turning twenty-one. Twenty-two seems so much more legit, like there's no turning back: You are getting old! It might be that thought combined with the fact that I am going to student teach in the Fall and graduate college in December, which are both pretty grown up things, right? So twenty-two freaks me out. Or maybe grown-up things freak me out. Needless to say I'm kind of freaked out. Woot for growing up?

Wicked!

I've been thinking for the last couple days that I need to report on the fabulous production that I got to see in Salt Lake. I just couldn't figure out the right way to do it. I could go on about how Elphaba was amazing, the dancing, the set, costumes, and the fact that Glinda stole the show with her airheaded blonde comments; however, as I revisited the music I decided to list a few of the lyrics from different songs that I loved.

You really don't have to do that... I know, that's what makes me so nice.

Wishing only wounds the heart.

And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free!

I believe I have been changed for the better. And because I knew you I have been changed for good.

So it was either quote everything, or only quote a few things so I'm going with the latter and not spoil it for you if you plan on seeing it sometime. It really was a blast to be able to go and see this with my family. Kudos to Lisa for getting us all together! Loved it :)

Home

So you're probably super sick of hearing about my family, but this is my blog. So get over it. I have an awesome family. Usually I would write this out in a list; however, today is a spotlight moment.

Stanley Morgan is my mom's dad. LuJean Despain is his wife. And they are my grandparents. I realized this weekend that I haven't heard much about their lives. My dad's parents have a knack for going over their own history, and it's a great one. My mom's side is a little more reserved. I had the opportunity to hang out with my grandpa for a little while the other day and it just made me realize just how wonderful these two are. My grandpa gave me a short history. He told me how he met my grandmother, when they were 15. He was going on a date with her cousin, and she was with his friend. The couples ended up doing a little switch-a-roo and that was that. My grandpa also told me how he and my grandma were married in Hawaii and had a 30 day honeymoon on the Hawaiian Islands, can you say dream come true? I told him that I wanted to hear more about his history and I'm bound and determined to help him record it. My grandpa loves finding his ancestors and timelining their lives. I think I would love to help him do this with his own life, his and his wife's. There is so much to be learned from the past, and what better way to learn it than from someone who loves you?

Old Friends, New Friends

Today I had the opportunity to hang out with an old friend that I haven't seen in a very long time. I loved being able to catch up and talk, reminisce about high school and things that we can now laugh about. I kept thinking that it was so great to talk about the past. And then we started talking about our current lives. As I watched her beautiful baby boy blow raspberries and smile hugely at us I was even happier to have a friend to talk about our current lives. We said a few times that high school was fun and we loved every minute that we were in it; however, we were much happier with how life was turning out to be. It didn't matter that she and I are in different points in our lives, or that really our lives were very different. We sat and talked for hours. I liked it. A lot. And it made me realize a few things... Just a small list guys. It's been a while.

1. I really like to talk. And laugh. This was satisfied with talking and laughing for three hours.

2. I really like my life. I got to talk about the past, talk about the present, and talk about the future and it surprised me how happy I am with where I am now. Ultimately I have bigger and hopefully better plans, but I like where I am and I like who I am. I also liked hearing that my friend is happy in those same capacities in her own life.

3. The future is looking bright. I came home this weekend only to be bombarded with worries about the future. Car troubles (always), wondering how exactly to pay for college, and worries about things completely out of my control (coughdatingcoughboyscoughsocializingingeneralcoughcough). Despite these random things that I can't really control, I know things are going to work out. I know I will make it through my final semester of college, financially and all. I know that cars break, but cars can also be fixed. And regardless of how I feel, I know I will someday be much less socially awkward. Or I'll just find a way around that. Although barring ordering a spouse off the internet, I'm not sure how I will do that.

Anyway, I said this would be short, so I am cutting myself off. I think I like coming home and having old friends to talk to, and I especially like talking to those old friends only to realize that they are new friends too... If that makes sense haha.

Maybe I Needed to Hear This

"That is the risk of Faith, Mack. Faith does not grow in the house of certainty." The Shack by William Paul Young

"Growth means change and
change involves risk, stepping
from the known to the unknown."
-Author Unknown

"Because of my faith I approach the unknown, unseen, and unexplained with unquestioning assurance... Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism."
-Richard C. Edgley

Rafting in Paradise

So I stole this title from a blog written by a bunch of river guides on the Snake River. When I first saw it I thought it was a bit of an exaggeration; however, after this past weekend I will admit that it is pure truth. This weekend I was able to go up to Jackson, Wyoming and have a weekend to remember. There are a few things that I learned from this trip. And who woulda thought I would share these things in a list? Hehe

First, the phrase "taking a trip down memory lane" was coined for this excursion. I took the same route that I took on my first voyage up to Jackson, and boy were there a lot of memories going through my head.

Not all cars are made for camping. My sister's Kia Sentra proved that.

It's ok to set up your tent a mere 15 feet away from the road as long as the road is dirt and it's in the mountains... right?

Having the right amount of food for a trip makes everyone happier.

Rafting in Paradise is something I want to make an annual thing. I didn't get to go on a rafting trip last summer and that made me realize that I love and miss it.

If you are sitting on the raft, about to go through a big wave and all you can think is "Man, I don't feel particularly stable in this particular spot" you should probably move so as to avoid being plunged into the water in Big Kahuna.

I am not one who enjoys cliff jumping. Found this out from the baby cliff that I jumped off of into the Snake River. I am not a fan of the free falling sensation. Everyone kept saying the climb was way worse than the jump. I would have taken the climb three times over instead of the jump.

It's amazing how much you can fall in love with a place. This trip made me realize that I miss Jackson a lot more than I thought I did.

I also re-learned that potentially awkward situations surround me daily.

So once again, Jackson has made my summer that much better :)