We’re almost done unpacking. But now that we’ve moved in, new furniture is required, the old just does not fit in. It usually works that way. Trying to fit the old into the new is more of a struggle at times, so the best thing is a new slate all around. I find this fitting so well with old attitudes in new way of  thinking. It’s more work to try making the two work and soon to find out the old needs to go anyway. But I’m getting off track.

Saturday, after Chet put an Ikea bookcase together I grabbed the empty boxes and dragged them to the recycle bins by the side of the building. I got rid of them satisfied with my small accomplishment and as I turned around to leave, there, among all the boxes laid one in particular.

“Grab the box.” An inner voice whispered. I wasn’t about to do that. I just got rid of few boxes, mind you of different size and shape, but still I wasn’t about to bring back another. It defeated the purpose. But I didn’t take more than ten steps before I stopped, turned around and dragged the box out of the bin only to find out was bigger than expected.

No way, I don’t want this thing in our small apartment. So I put it back and left.

“Go get the box.” I stopped again in the same spot, turned around and preceded to go back only to go through the same mental argument about how I wasn’t about to drag that back to the apartment. I took a pause and brain stormed any possible uses for the box , not finding one I preceded with my mental argument. Finally after the inner voice tolled me to grab the box the third time, I turned around grabbed that box and dragged it right back into the apartment unsure of it’s purpose.

“What’s with the box?” Chet asked curiously.

“I don’t know. Ask God.”

He smiled and I put the box out of the way.

The next day Chet was looking for something to put under the dog’s pen, so the animals will not damage the floors. I remembered the box. Wouldn’t  you know it. It fit perfectly, as if it was made for that very purpose. I chuckled and said out loud.

“You’re funny God.”

“I know.” And I could sense a teasing kind of smiling back.

 

 

Aproape sîntem gata cu despachetatul. Acum, că ne-am mutat, observ ca este nevoie de mobilier nou, cel vechi pur și simplu nu se potrivește (mult prea mare pentru apartmanetul ăsta mic). Modalitatea asta funcționează de obicei și în felul de gîndire. Încercarea noastră de a potrivi modul de a gândi vechi cu un mod de a gândi nou, este de multe ori greu și frustrant. Nu în toate cazurile. Dar nu despre acest subiect vreau sa scriu azi. 

Sâmbătă, după ce Chet a montat o bibliotecă cumparată de la Ikea, am luat cutiile goale și le-au târât la pubelele de recirculare de partea laterală a clădirii. Am scăpat de ele mulțumită de realizarea mea mică si am dat să mă întorc, cînd am vazută cutie de altă dimensiune. 

“Ia cutia.” O voce interioară îmi zise în șoaptă. Nu aveam de gînd să iua cutia. Numai ce aruncase-mi citeva cutii, pentru ce sa aduc inapoi alta cutie. Nu am luat mai mult de zece pași înainte de a ma opri. M-am întors și am tras cutia afara numai sa-mi dau seama ca-i mult mai mare decât ma așteptam.

În nici un caz, nu vreau cutia asta mare în apartamentul nostru mic. Așa că am pus-o înapoi și am plecat.

 “Dute si ia cutia.” M-am oprit din nou în același loc, m-am întors și a am inceput un argument mental. Am luat o pauza sa vad daca aveam nevoie cumva de cutie. Nu am gasit nici o necesitate si iara am plecat cu miinile goale.

“Ia cutia.” A treia oara m-am intors si de data asta, desi nu intelegeam de ce Dumnezeu insista in cutia asta, am decis sa-l ascult chiar daca nu inteleg.  Am târât-o înapoi în apartament nesigura de scopul ei.

“Ce-i cu cutia?” Chet a întrebat curios.

“Nu știu. Întreabă-l pe Dumnezeu.” 

El a zâmbit și eu am pus cutia intr-un colt.

A doua zi, Chet a căutat ceva sa puna sub gardutul pentru câini să nu se deterioreze podeaua. Mi-am amintit de cutie. Sa potrivit perfect, ca și cum a fost făcuta pentru acel scop. Am chicotit și a spus cu voce tare.
“Doamne tu ești amuzant.”

“Stiu.” Și am simțit un fel de tachinare plin de haz zâmbindu-mi înapoi.

The other day we went to a restaurant. Needing to use the restroom, I had to wait until the one toilet restroom, who was occupied for the time being, would become available. Hopping and wiggling like a little kid I saw the men bathroom empty and was really tempted to go use it. If asked to explain myself, I would have said “I identify with full bladders people.”

 

As a general rule most of us look forward to good changes in our lives, few hate any and all types of change, and then there are those “special” type of people who don’t appreciate anything good in life, no matter what.

Before a major change occurs in our lives, you and I will encounter lots of resistance masqued in the gift wrap called doubt, not only from your own self but from those you and I will look up to for advise. This is nothing short of a blessing, annoying blessing, but blessing none the less. If those voices of doubt succeed and you or I back off, than we really didn’t want the change bad enough to begin with, but if those voices gives you the fuel you need to move forward and stand up to those doubts in order to allow the change. I’m amazed at how other people constantly try to burden you or I with their worries and doubts than make it look as if they have your best interests in mind. In reality those are reflections of their own doubts and fears. Not all change will end up in a glorious success, yet we still need to walk through it even if to learn a thing or two about ourselves, our reaction in the face of the unknown and the adjustments we must make.

On a personal note now, and my European friends will relate to this more so I believe, we grew up tough. At least most of us. Our parents forced us, repeatedly, to take big steps towards life. At the time we hated it, at least most of us, but in time we learned some valuable lessons. We learned to not only stand up on our own two feet but to help those around us stand alongside us. We also learned to compete with those better acquainted with the ways of life thus improving our general knowledge. Such form of parenting left scars. So as a response most of us blessed by God to live in a better land, we babied our kids and gave them what we didn’t have. Down the road, at some point or another, we may have come to regret such decisions, especially when faces with entiteled behaivors and forgotten gratitute. So which way of parenting really did a favor to their kids? Based on rezults, I would have to say that our parents knew the value of hard work and honesty and engraved it in us, even if it came accross harsh. I didn’t kill us, it made us better humans.

Change is inevitable, we heard that many times, that’s because is true.

 

Ca regulă generală, majoritatea din noi așteptăm cu nerăbdare schimbări bune în viața noastră. Unii urăsc orice fel de schimbare, iar apoi sunt tipii de oameni care nu apreciază nimic bun în viață, indiferent ce e.

Înainte de o schimbare majoră în viața noastră, întâlnim rezistență mascata sub forma de îndoială, atit de la propria sine cit și de la persoane de incredere, persoane de la care asteptam un sfat incurajator sau plin de intelepciune. Dar indoiala lor asupra deciziilor noastre nu este altceva decât o binecuvântare. Dacă acele voci de îndoială reușesc sa ne convinga sa dam înapoi, nu am dorit cu adevarat schimbarea, dar dacă aceleasi voci ne dă combustibil să mergem mai departe atunci inseamna ca dorim schimbarea pe deplin si sintem gata sa infruntam indoiala atit a noastra cit si a celorlalti. Nu e usor. Sunt uimita de modul în care alți oameni încearcă în mod constant să ne ingrauneze cu grijile și îndoielile lor sub masca ca ne au interesele noastre în minte. În realitate, acestea sunt reflecții propriilor lor îndoieli și temeri. Nu toate schimbările vietii se vor încheia cu un succes glorios, dar tot avem nevoie de schimbare chiar dacă numai pentru a învăța un lucru sau două despre noi înșine si reacția noastră în fața necunoscutului. 

Pe o notă personală acum, multi dintre prietenii mei europeni au crescut intr-un mediu dur. Majoritatea din noi. Părinții noștri ne-a obligat, în mod repetat, de a lua pași mari spre viață. La acea vreme am urât treaba asta, poate nu toti, dar în acelasi timp am învățat lecții valoroase. Am învățat nu numai să stam pe propriile noastre picioare, ci sa ajutam si pe cei din jurul nostru. De asemenea, am învățat să concuram cu cei mai bine familiarizati cu modurile de viață, îmbunătățindu-ne astfel cunoștințele noastre generale. Desi o astfel de educație parentală ne-a cicatrizat uneori am invatat pe parcus ca e mult mai buna decit a da mult comfort copiilor nostrii care in timp cresc in copii lipsiti de iubire si plini de fara respect fata de viata in general. 

Schimbarea este inevitabilă, am auzit cuvintele astea rostite de multe ori, pentru că sint adevărate.

It is possible to live in the Seattle area and yet miss few of it’s attractions. I know I have. Enjoy the videos and have a great rest of the week.

Portugal-Sagres

Berlin, Germany- Street Fair/Festival

So we’re moved in, but not fully unpacked. Still, I absolutely love life in the city:)))) Why did I wait so long to make this change? Comfortability. Feels great to be freed from the burdens of ownership, at least for now.

I thank God that my children get to experience city life along side us and they seem to radiate in this environment. I understand we’re still under the spell of newness and maybe down the road this feeling may change, but for now I smile and thank God for it. Have a great day:)

Ne-am mutat in inima/centrul orasului Seattle. Mi-a fost dor de viata de oras si acuma ma bucur de ea la maxim. Ii multumesc bunului Dumnezeu ca ne-a dat zile pe pamint sa pot experimenta momentele astea in viata. Nu cred ca am fost atit de fericita ca in present de ceva timp si vreau sa impart aceste momente si cu voi:) O zi placuta:)

 

Saturday we’re moving. The big one, the final step, the yehh I’m looking forward not to live out of boxes anylonger:) Have fun reading the labels I came up with to entertain myself:) Have a great day.

The pile of sweets I found hidden (from the kids) between clothes for those days you just may need some uplifting:)

With cranky day over here’s some jokes for us:)

O my gosh I finally discovered what’s wrong with my brain! On the left side there’s nothing right and on the right side there’s nothing left.

Some days you eat salads and go to the gym, some days you eat cupcakes and refuse to put on pants. It’s called balance.

Dear sneeze, if you’re going to happen, happen. Don’t put a stupid look on my face and than just leave.

A police officer called the station on his radio;

“I have an interesting case here. An old lady shot her husband for stepping on the floor she just mopped.”

“Have you arrested the woman?”

“Not yet. The floor is still wet.”

Jokes heard on Bill Johnson’s “Hope in all circumstances” sermon on Youtube.

Have a great day:)))))