Feeling Important at Target

As I walked through the frozen food section of my local Target store last week, I felt very important.  In order to save energy, the freezer lights are off when no one is around.  When someone walks up to or by a freezer, the lights come on.

I had no business in the freezer section.  I was merely walking from one end of the store to another by way of the row of freezers.  However, the freezer lights do not discriminate, and each light turned on as I walked by.  I noticed this, and – though I know it seems odd – I felt important.

Sometimes I feel a bit ignored.

I do not think that I suffer from feeling ignored, but I feel it nonetheless. I have noticed that life’s patterns put us into a course of rhythm, and sometimes those patterns change and we do not like the new rhythms.  For example, when my children were young, I was the center of their universe.  Now they (rightfully so) feel as though others their age or even (the horror!) other adults should have some of their time.

Sometimes I feel unseen.

We have all been there (I think anyway).  The crowded room with people we hardly know or even people we do know.  We look around and see everyone talking to everyone else.  And we wonder, “Where do I fit in?”  Breaking into an already existing conversation can be hard.  I would rather run away.  Sometimes someone pulls us into the conversation, but often we have to be the ones to reach out.  This is hard.

Sometimes I just feel unimportant.

All of these are feelings. They might not even be reality.  In fact, what I feel as others ignoring me could just as easily be seen by them as me ignoring them.

At times like this, I need to remember truth.

I am not the center of everyone else’s universe, and rightly so.  But – God sees me and care about me as an individual.

I may not have something to say that others want to hear, but God is willing to hear anything I have to say and hopes that I would listen in return.

I am not all that important.  But I am.

In other words, God could do anything He desires without me. At the same time, I am part of His plan to impact the lives of others.  When I do not feel important, I need to look to Him to find my importance.

And that is where the rubber hits the road for me.  When I think I need to feel important usually is exactly when I should be remembering that I am not but that God is.  I need to see my importance as coming from what He desires to do through me rather than what I can do because I’m just that great.

What do you think about this?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.

Improving Ourselves

This morning, my blogger friend Marilyn who blogs at communicatingacrossboundariesblog.com shared a commercial which features her daughter-in-love.  She did this purely out of family pride and even went so far as to state that as a disclaimer.  I read her blog daily as it typically is a source of encouragement or of new thoughts to contemplate – and she is a good friend.

This commercial made me think, and I wanted to share my think.

Click here to watch the commercial on YouTube.

The commercial’s main idea is the Eclipse chewy mints can change who we are from our unattractive (let’s face it – somewhat repulsive) selves to much more attractive selves.

Well – that’s easy!  I love to chew some mints!

As I type this at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning, I sit in my pajamas with my hair unbrushed and my clothing unchanged.  I did brush my teeth as I am somewhat compulsive about needing fresh breath once I am out of bed for the day.  The point is that I am not at my best as I write this blog.  I need improvement before I step out of my house and let the world see me.

According to the commercial, I should just chew Eclipse chewy mints.

Oh – if it were that easy.  Isn’t this what commercials do as a whole?  They present to us the picture of perfection, the impression of improvement, and the challenge to change.  And they give us the answer in a product in the hopes that we would then jump off of the couch and run to the nearest store to purchase the item so that we can reach for their promised new and improved self.

But change is never that easy.

I cannot become a sparkling woman in white clothing – so attractive that a prince would pursue me – simply by chewing some mints.  I would likely need to lose a few pounds, have a hairdresser at the ready, and spend thousands on a new wardrobe.  And is that change truly necessary?  I am a functioning adult who draws a paycheck and makes a (albeit small) difference in the lives of others on a daily basis.

So – watch the commercial, but put on your thinking cap and remember that it is mostly just for fun.

And buy some Eclipse chewy mints, for – though it may not turn your man into a debonair who will take you away to exotic places – it will surely brighten up his breath after he eats Mexican or Italian food on your date tonight.

Happy Saturday to all!

July and 31 Dresses

In late July, I attended my high school 20 year reunion.  Click here to read more about what I learned through that experience.  What I did not expect to experience was to find “new” friends in the crowd.  (Side note: I do not remember a ton of high school; in fact, most of my junior year is a simple blur.)

One of the people that I enjoyed “meeting” was AnnMarie who had been a cheerleader, saxophone player and art enthusiast (still is….).

I am sure that we were decent acquaintances in high school, but it was really fun to get to know her more as an adult at the reunion. As we talked, she shared about a challenge she had created for herself to wear a dress every day in July. This was gutsy as our reunion occurred over the time period, so she wore a dress to each of the reunion events.  The more I heard about her challenge, the more I knew I wanted to feature her story on my blog.

Many thanks to AnnMarie who agreed to share her story through a question/answer format for the post.  I am inspired by her courage and perseverance – even through a reunion!

What prompted you to do this?
As I was cleaning out my closet for stuff to add to my rummage sale pile, I kept putting dresses back in the closet and thinking “I still might wear that.” Then I started counting the dresses… I got to 20 and thought, “boy, I have enough dresses and skirts for a whole month, and I really should wear them.” This was the end of June…so I decided, why not?

On July 1st, I put on a dress and started off my month of dresses. I decided not to tell anyone except my husband…just in case I couldn’t go through with it. I knew if I posted it on FB, then I’d be committed and I wasn’t ready for that. After about 1/2 the month, when I realized that I could actually do it, I started to tell some co-workers who were probably wondering if I was interviewing somewhere since we are an extremely casual office where shorts and flip flops are the norm all summer.

What did you learn?

• I learned I own a lot of dresses and skirts!

• I learned that dresses are way cooler on a super hot summer like this… but also that not everyday is a dress day… some days you just want a pair of super comfty capri’s.

• The best thing was learning which I liked and felt comfty in and which I did not… and if I did not, then it probably is time for that one to go to anther person who can appreciate it.

• I also learned that by challenging myself I actually was influencing and challenging others… some ladies in my work and social circle started to wear more dresses. It was fun to walk into hockey camp and have a friend say, “You inspired me (and Lisa looked beautiful in her dress).”

I’ve always enjoyed wearing dresses… but it was so fun to see others doing the same!

What were your doubts/drawbacks to starting? Did you really have 31 dresses in your closet or did you have to wear some a second time?

I didn’t have to wear any a second time… but I did have to include skirts. Also since I had recently lost 25 lbs, that opened up a few more options that hadn’t fit in a while. So together with skirts and dresses, old and new, casual and dressy, I did have 31… 3 of them are dresses that I use as swimsuit cover-ups, but that worked great when we were at the lake for 4th of July. My only rule, helped too: I decided I didn’t have to workout in a skirt… although I do have a workout skort that I wear most of them time .  And once I have worked out, I can put on something comfty. So this forced me to workout a bit more… especially on days when the dress wasn’t particularly comfy.

Are you keeping all of the dresses?

No… I have about 5 that I have added to the rummage sale pile. The rest I’m keeping, and I will probably continue to wear several a week.

Would you suggest that other women do something similar?

For sure… it was fun! A fashion challenge is a great way to try on some of the things in your closet that we keep but really aren’t wearing… this gets us to wear it and decide if it stays or goes. As for me… I will do this again… dresses again next summer, but maybe sweaters this winter… I have a lot of those that I don’t remember when I last put them on. I just don’t know if I have 31 of them!

Again – many thanks to AnnMarie for sharing her story!!!

In her life now, she is married, has three boys who all play hockey, and is a Configuration Data Analyst for a software company in Mankato. In her “free” time, she volunteers at her boys’ schools, is the webmaster of Mankato Community Bible Study, and serves as treasurer of the Southern MN Autism Coalition (of which she was also a founding member).

What’s next for you, readers?

• What challenges are youconsidering as we head into fall?
• Weight loss?
• A dance class?
• Better eating habits?
• More hours of sleep?

I would love to hear about them through the comment section of the blog.  Also – if you have done any challenges similar to AnnMarie’s, I would love to hear about your outcomes as well.