OTHER

I haven't been crossing much off my lists of things to do lately.  There is a stack of mail a mile high on my desk.  There is something frightening hiding in the back of the top corner of my refrigerator.  I have laundry that is now folded thanks to my mother who was here with my kids for a couple hours the other day, but it's still sitting on the couch because I just haven't decided to put it away yet.

But there are other things that I have started to sort of cross off on a different list.  This list is not like any other "to-do" list.  It is not a bucket list.  It is not a list of things we all have to do.  It is a list of things that I have always wanted to do and just never have for whatever reason.

Starting a blog and a photography business is one of them.

Spending the morning rummaging through little unique shops in South Haven is another.

My favorite so far is the book I've started writing, although I'm a little worried about my accuracy in some of it and so I've got to talk to people who have been through what I'm writing about.

I took a picture of a butterfly yesterday when my husband took our sons fishing.  This butterfly was alone as far as I could tell, but not in a sad way.  It was sort of beautifully traveling on this little adventure experiencing things, stopping here and there, and enjoying the day.  I think we all have our own little journeys...I mean that is what life is really.

There is not one single person that will be with you from the day you are born until the day you die.  The closest thing we have to that is our siblings, and even they have separate lives and journeys.  So while we aren't really alone, there is this massive list of things we have done or want to do in our lives that are solely ours, and I bet it would be impossible that you'd find any two people with identical lists.  Not every butterfly can fly the same path through their whole lives....right?

I've been reading a lot and I've seen something in support circles for grieving parents where they talk about where they are in this moment, and being okay with how they feel and the way they act.  I am extremely grateful that I didn't have a "moment" to share regarding grief...every single one I read, from a mother one week after the loss of her baby to a woman who lost hers two and a half years ago and has since had another healthy baby, was heart wrenching.  I can not imagine.  But just this act of sharing their moments with each other seemed to help and inspire them.

So in a similar manner, I'm hoping to do a little inspiration sharing here...I want to know if anyone out there has something they have always wanted to do and how they are going to go about crossing it off their list.  It's a project I'm going to call "In OTHER Words", and tell me what your mission is and how you will complete it.  Hopefully this will get your ball rolling and inspire me to keep my momentum.

On the left of the blog there is a space to enter your name and a link to your own blog or note (assuming I've gotten it working correctly...uh oh.)  Anyway, if you would like to participate, please share!  

Be brave...you have to leave the cocoon sooner or later if you ever want to fly.