Young at Heart

O is on a kick lately where she is always telling me what she wants to be "when she grows up".  It has changed several times over the last several months... This all started when she told the flight attendant on our trip home from Boston that when she grew up she "wanted to use a sharp knife".  That one did surprise me (yeah, and the flight attendant, too)... While I am pretty sure she isn't going to be a serial killer, I do hope she is channeling that desire into being a chef or maybe a surgeon?  Anyway, her latest list of career options includes being a "police girl" or a "knight in shining armor".  There seems to always be a weapon of some kind involved?  She also mentioned to me that when she grows up she is going to marry...Daddy (and she thinks I should marry Uncle Pete, which is ALSO problematic; and yes, I did give her the "you don't HAVE to get married when you grow up" speech).

So much focus on being a "grown up"...  Haven't we all been there?  As a kid all you want to do is be a grown up so that you can be in charge of your own life... sleep when you want, eat what you want, go where you want, etc., etc. etc.  What we don't realize when we are kids is that being a grown up means that you don't have time to sleep, eat or go where you want to because you are too busy being responsible for a million other things including taking care of a spouse/kids/other family, doing your job well, paying the bills, keeping the house clean, grocery shopping...should I keep going?

While as kids we just wish we were grown up, how many times as grown ups do we long for the carefree days of our youth?  I remember being a kid and feeling like time stood still... I remember feeling like I would NEVER be a grown up.  And then one day... Like so many other things, we seem to always want what is just out of our reach.  Once we have what we think we want, how many times do we wish we could go back to what we used to have?  There is just no substitute for experience...

They say that age is just a state of mind... O asked me earlier this week "mama, are we young?".  I of course answered, "we are young, honey...we are just two young chicks".  She seemed reassured... "yeah, we're young, mama...but we're not babies, we're big kids".  While I am flattered that she actually thinks she and I belong in the same age group, I do realize that this is only temporary.  But maybe it doesn't have to be... Being grown up does not mean that we have to forget about what being young is all about... yes, we have a few more responsibilities, but we also can choose to keep that sense of wonder and fun that is part of being young.  Thankfully, I have O to remind me that I am still young at heart, if not exactly in years...

Soul Mates...

Soul mates... I am probably beating this topic to death, but I do seem to run across interesting references on a regular basis... I hate to be too superstitious (I know that I am), but it seems like the universe is trying to tell me something.  Admittedly, I am not totally getting the message...  But I do keep listening.

The latest that I have to share is the story that created the myth...  Turns out, we have the Greek philosopher Plato to thank for coming up with this whole idea to explain the need to find our one, true, other half.  According to Plato, the Gods originally created the perfect human with two faces, four arms, and four legs.  The Gods saw how happy these humans were and became concerned that they would grow in strength and try to take power from the Gods.  So, the Gods determined that they could resolve this issue by splitting the humans in half and scattering the halves to the corners of the world.  They doomed the humans to forever search for their other half... While some might fit together okay and could make it work together, there would only be one perfect fit representing the "right" other half.  With searching for our other halves as a distraction, humans just didn't have time to challenge the Gods for power.

Fast forward to today... Now I have the perfect excuse to explain how I've ended up where I am...  Quite frankly between work and being a mom, I don't really have time to search to the ends of the earth for my other "half".  And if he turns out to be somewhere exotic, like Indonesia or Greece or Australia, well...it could be quite some time until I run into him. So, in an effort to distract myself, I have actually started using a matchmaker to set me up on dates... It has taken me a little while to work up the courage to talk about this one...feels a little pathetic to pay someone to find a guy to go out with me, but the bottom line is that I don't plan to just hang out at bars or clubs or wherever hoping that Mr. Wonderful will happen to walk by, so having someone who is talking to other people who are in the same place seems to make sense.

Here is the recap so far...  Security Company guy was totally distracted by a last-minute babysitter cancellation issue...his daughter was with his single, childless brother and he seemed to be a little concerned.  He gets points for having a nice smile and smelling super yummy good, but...while I may have made a friend for O (his daughter), not sure he was into me.  Number two is a golf pro and has a boat that he plays on all summer...easy to talk to and fun to hang out with.  He could maybe grow on me...  Next?  The good Doctor...when he really got going talking about how he is looking forward to settling down, getting married, and having children of his own, well...that seemed like a good time to tell him I actually had two ex-husbands and was not planning to get married or have more children.  Yup, that effectively scared him away.  Can't wait to find out who is next...

For those of you also searching or maybe just wondering if there is a "soul mate" my advice is this... don't limit your options or sit at home waiting for your other half to just magically show up on your door step.  Have some fun and check out as many "halves" as you can...you can't find the one you are looking for by playing it safe.