Tag: secret subject swap

Secret Subject Swap — Dear Me at Fourteen

Secret Subject Swap — Dear Me at Fourteen

Posted on by Mama

SecretSwapNoBorderWelcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

My Secret Subject is:
If you could go back and give your fourteen year old self advice, what advice would you give? Is there any advice you’d purposely not give? Would fourteen year old you listen?

It was submitted by: berghamchronicles.blogspot.com

Dear Me at Fourteen,

I know this will find you doing well, but since a little help is usually appreciated, I want to share some insight from several years on the other side of teenage us. See, you didn’t do anything too crazy that you’re not still cookin’; although, you might want to be a bit careful around fast cars, automobile sparks and Firebirds that flame. I’m kind of seeing a trend here, but the open road equals freedom through your future years; so embrace it, but be careful. By the way, the speedometer on that Firebird will peg out and keep going, so maybe you just shouldn’t go there.

Okay, pertinent stuff aside, let me just tell you that I realize you’re not a gushy, mushy sort of gal; so instead of writing from the heart (and, yes, we have one), I decided to simply compile a list of dos and a list of don’ts pertaining to your next few years (college is a whole other story, consisting of its own entirely different volume of dos, don’ts and do differents). I know you will disregard a few of my warnings and embrace several too, but hopefully this will make life a bit easier, moments more enjoyable and each day a whole lot more fun. Although I have to tell you, our teenage years were pretty great the first time through.

So from 30-plus years down the road, keep the wheel straight, the windows rolled down and enjoy every stop along the way.

Love,
Your Still Optimist, But a Bit Cynical Future You

Do This

  1. Trust your instincts. They are right on target (even if you ignore them when it comes to affairs of your own heart).
  2. Think a little harder before you give up basketball one day. You will miss it.
  3. Forgive your sister when she says she doesn’t care what you think, because she won’t even remember she said it.
  4. Definitely climb up on Melissa’s roof and throw those eggs, but don’t be surprised when you have to crawl back up the next day and clean it all off.
  5. Encourage your mom to buy that brand new Firebird the year before you start driving. You won’t be disappointed.
  6. Pay more attention in French class — you will actually have several chances to use what you learn.
  7. Take that graduation trip to Padre Island. It will have its bumps, but it will be a blast!
  8. Journal more. Lots more. You will have a full life and you should really put your thoughts on paper.
  9. Continue to think the best of people. It makes life so much more enjoyable.
  10. Do trust that the Lord is always there, and when the Holy Spirit speaks loudly you ought to listen.

Don’t Do That

  1. Don’t race a Mustang along school property; but if you do, be nice to the jerky cop that pulls you over because he doesn’t plan to give you a ticket.
  2. Don’t outsmart your sophomore science teacher.
  3. Don’t say you will never drive a mini van, over and over again. Hint: eventually you will.
  4. Don’t put so much on your platter. Enjoy some down time.
  5. Don’t be such a perfectionist. It leads to procrastination.
  6. Don’t leave your mom waiting while you tote your friend all the way home after cheer tryouts. Mom will be mad, really really mad.
  7. Don’t lose touch with your childhood friends. You will miss them.
  8. Don’t forget to tell your Mom and Dad you love them every day.
  9. Don’t wait so long to tell a certain senior to, “Shut up and kiss me.”
  10. Don’t read bad books. Life is too short to finish it just because you started.

*****

If you want to read more of the fun, here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

 

Secret Subject Swap — Mike Rowe, Come Clean My Dreamcatcher

Secret Subject Swap — Mike Rowe, Come Clean My Dreamcatcher

Posted on by Mama

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 16 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

My Secret Subject is:
Every so often a dreamcatcher must be emptied of the nightmares it catches.  Who does it and why?

It was submitted by: www.someoneelsesgenius.com

Hmm. . . this is a tough one. Mainly because I haven’t a clue when it comes to my dreamcatcher etiquette. While I am familiar with the design and basic concept of this legend, I had no idea that one said catcher ever got full or needed to be emptied. Sounds like a dirty job to me — we might want to call in Mike Rowe for this one.

The reason behind my dreamcatcher naiveness is probably that I’ve never given it much thought because I’m not a big believer in superstitions. Okay, so I eat black-eyed peas on new year’s day,  but that’s because I love those little beans and I like forcing the rest of my family to eat just one “tastes like dirt” pea (my husbands words, not mine) once a year.  

Now don’t get me wrong, I love all the stories, history and interesting ideas behind many of the superstitions, some of which are almost as old as time. I find it amusing to see how these mysterious beliefs have been handed down through the ages and how they make perfectly logical people act in silly, serious, irrational or even reverent ways. Don’t you dare spill a speck of salt in front of my husband and not expect him to toss a few grains over his shoulder. As for me, if I thought about the repercussions of every ladder I walked under, umbrella I opened indoors or black cat that crossed my path, I think I would worry myself sick.

So let’s get back to dreamcatchers. Since my knowledge of this Native American legend was so limited, I decided to do a bit of research and found an article at Lifescript.com titled “The Truth About Dreamcatchers,” so it must be accurate. Right? A dreamcatcher is made from a wooden circle and some type of “string” woven to resemble a spider’s web. Apparently there is significance in how the threads are woven, and there definitely needs to be a hole in the center of the webbing.

The legend states that if you hang a dreamcatcher over your bed while you sleep, the good dreams will go through the hole in the middle while the nightmares become ensnared in the webbing. I have no idea what happens to those so-so ones that are just epic day-in-the-life head movies that go on and on but never end. . . But I digress.

So this is where it gets really interesting. According to “The Truth About Dreamcatchers,” when the sun comes out in the morning, all the captured nightmares just evaporate. Evaporate? Well, this indeed is good news for me, because now I no longer need to employ someone to kick my nightmares to the curb (or cart them off to the recycling station) and yes, Mike Rowe, you’re off the hook.

*****

If you want to read more of the fun, here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

 

Secret Subject Swap — Memorial Day Memories

Secret Subject Swap — Memorial Day Memories

Posted on by Mama

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 16 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

My Secret Subject is:
What is your best and/or worst Memorial Day memory?

It was submitted by: www.southernbellecharm.com

weddingpicOh shucks, this is such an easy one for me. You see, my husband and I of almost 12 years now tied the knot on Memorial Day weekend 2003. That, and the only other Memorial Day that sticks in my head was a crazy girls trip to Padre Island after high school graduation. . . but my husband may not appreciate it if I didn’t put him tops on my list. Just kidding, babe; you know you’re number one.

Although we married a bit later in life than most, we only managed a long weekend for our wedding and honeymoon both, because my husband-to-be had just taken a new job and hadn’t earned a lick of vacation. Of course that didn’t stop fools in love, and after a February proposal we promptly set a date for Memorial Day weekend. Let me tell ya, my mom and I can execute a wedding like nobody’s business and three months was a (semi-) breeze.

We married in a little white church in Farmington, Arkansas, and had the reception outside under a tent. The morning was filled with thunderstorms and lots of rain, but somehow the sun came out early enough to dry the ground but not enough to raise the temps. As it turned out, it was a perfect day for a wedding, especially when you’re the one getting married.

After the ceremony we drove through crazy dense fog to Roaring River in Missouri for a weekend getaway together. The trout fishing wasn’t fabulous, but we didn’t really much care. Hmm, maybe my new husband cared at the time, but he didn’t let on. I won’t tell you about the big fish that got away (as my love-struck hubs went running for the net he forgot in the car), because that seems to be a reoccurring theme in my trout fishing adventures. But trust me, it was huge.

As we quickly come upon another Memorial Day this month, my husband and I will also be celebrating another year of marriage, which always make the weekend special. Sometimes it doesn’t quite fall on our anniversary, but it’s usually somewhere close. The very best thing about it being a holiday weekend (other than honoring the men and women whom have served our country) is that we often get to take a short trip to celebrate. (That and it helps me remember that I better buy a gift and card for the special man in my life. Sometimes, I can be such a guy.)

*****

If you want to read more of the fun, here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

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