8 things.

I tell ya what, Instagram is truly a beautiful thing. Until the day comes when I get that Nikon beauty of my dreams, it is the next best thing. I am a firm believer of capturing life's moments no matter how big or small, and Instagram has done just that. So here's a few moments from the last few weeks - some pretty, some yummy, and some darn right funny.

one :: yep, he'll probably kill me for posting this on here. We discovered that his skin and Tide don't mix {we are hoping that solves it anyway} but he has had rashes on his legs. So in order to keep himself from scratching while sleeping, he found some random old gloves I had stowed away in a closet and they became his best friends.
 

two :: still my favorite.

three :: the next picture deserves some serious explaining. A little venture into the pet store the other day while we were buying some time during an oil change led us to discover this. He, or she who knows, was pressed against the glass sleeping while standing up. So strange.

four :: Then we walked past him again on our way out of the store, and this is how we found him. HA, I have no words.

five :: I think I have spent the last two weeks in a hat. It has been the perfect dead week and finals week accessory for my lovely mat of hair.

six :: Speaking of school, by the end of last week I was physically and emotionally exhausted and decided I deserved a night off of no cooking. We went to one of our favorite restaurants where we also had our first date, Wingers. Heaven knows why he is reading that menu because he gets the same thing every time we go haha! But we both had to stop and stare at the menu for a second to figure out this "new best selling item" was. Did you know that apparently waffles topped with fried chicken and a side of syrup is the reason why people go out to dinner anymore?! WHO does that. only in America....

seven :: I did however cook at least ONE decent meal over the last week or so. I got the recipe here. Thank you Martha Stewart! And yes, those are red peppers in that lettuce wrap and Nic LIKED it. I never thought I'd see the day! I must be a good influence after all!

eight :: And that habit that I quit a few months ago, I'm happy to say that I still haven't caved, but sad to report that it still hasn't gotten any easier. They are pretty brittle from being short my whole life so I've kept them filed down. I've only painted them once and I completely regretted it. Seriously, if anyone has any tips, how do you keep your nails from turning yellow? I had a coat of nail hardener and clear polish under the pink coat and they STILL, after only five days, had a yellow tint when I took it off.

I hope you all have a fabulous week! Only three more finals and I will be saying a relieved hello to Summer.

4 years.

4 years ago I was stepping out of my little Oldsmobile, Alero, 
staring completely wide-eyed at the run-down 7 story building that would be my new home.

To make it even more unreal than it already was in that moment,
my mom and I began unloading our cars of the things I had brought with me,
hauling them up the elevator to my room on the seventh floor.
We unpacked together for a while,
most of that time filled with my mom's buzzing words of excitement.
You are going to love it here, I just know it. 
You will have so much fun meeting lots of new people.

I was quiet mostly,
trying desperately to take it all in.
I didn't really want to admit it at the time but I was pretty terrified.

A million thoughts were racing through my head...
You chose this remember? 
You are strong enough for this. 
Every day will get a little easier. 
And you know what, it did.

The girl who stood alone in a cafeteria filled with hundreds of strangers,
The girl with tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched her mom pull away,
The girl who didn't quite feel like herself and was truly shy for the first time in her life,
I don't even know that girl anymore.

The truth is - my life changed here.
And for the first time, I began to discover who I was, on my own, completely independent from the comfortable life I was living at home.

I've learned some hard lessons...
That my big group of friends from high school who I thought I would remain close to forever, would all move away. We would slowly lose touch and they would simply become a fond memory from my past. A faded photograph that I think of from time to time but not very often anymore.
That it is important to do what you love no matter what anyone else says, even when it isn't the best paying career you could choose.

And some lessons that were unexpected...
That I would find love when I least expected it.
That I have a confidence among strangers that I never knew I had.
That I am strong and independent all on my own.

But most of all, I've learned who I truly am.
And I have these last 4 years to thank for that.

 

the power of words

via

Last weekend Nic and I went to the store to get groceries for the week.
It wasn't but a few seconds after stepping out of the car that we heard it.
A shouting voice, it was hard to miss.
We both turned and looked.
There was a little boy about 7 or 8 lifting heavy grocery bags from a cart and placing them in the trunk of the car.
His dad ripped the grocery bags out of his son's hands while screaming in his face, "DO NOT look at me like that" and it was as if those words were enough to completely stun me that I had no idea the things he shouted after that.
He made an absolute scene.
And his son seemed to do all he could to fight back the tears.
A million thoughts ran through my mind in that moment but I found myself forcing them away because it was too hard to think about.
Then the boy got in the car and the man pulled away.

***

Ever since this happened I can't get it off my mind.
I keep wondering, more like praying really, that this is not a common thing in this boy's life.
Even more so than that, I keep hoping that it didn't get any worse than yelling when they got home, out of sight from the public parking lot.
The look on the father's face was one of despise. I kept hoping in that moment to notice a glimpse of a bad day but from the way the little boy reacted, it didn't seem that way.
It was heartbreaking and the last few nights I've laid awake wondering how there are so many people in this world who aren't able to have children that would make wonderful parents and others who are given that blessing and do not treat their children the way they deserve to be treated.

***

It also got me thinking about my future students someday and what I would do if I found out something like this was happening to one of them.
And the truth is, I'm not sure what I would do.
I know what I would want to do but I'm not sure what I can do.
I get attached and I've already noticed this about myself.
I care so much about their happiness and success.
It would be a hard thing to know.

***

It doesn't matter who you are in this world, everyone deserves to be treated kindly.
Words aren't empty.
They have so much power and once they are said, they can never be taken back.
I wish that man in the parking lot the other day knew that.
Because if he truly did, I don't think he would have ever said what he did.
It is my hope that people will lift each other up and fill this world with kind words.
I know I need to hear them, and I'm sure you do too.
We all deserve that much.

a pretty song to ring in your Tuesday

thoughts on being a teacher

via

I realized something valuable today that I don't want to ever forget. While I was at work, I am a receptionist at a dental clinic by the way, one of the dentists approached me and wanted to know the cost of tuition at ISU. His daughter is graduating from high school this year and is thinking about attending. The moment I responded with the answer he was looking for my boss, overhearing this conversation, chimed in and asked him what his daughter wanted to major in. With a semi-disappointed look on his face followed by a sigh he muttered, "a teacher" - a response that almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself that it was a joke. I could tell he was embarrassed to say it out loud but not as embarrassed as when my boss said, "Oh, Meagan is going into education!" It was as if he wanted to crawl out of the room with his tail between his legs.

This one experience made me realize that this is not the only time this situation has happened to me. Over and over again I get the same response when anyone asks me what I am going in to. One memory in particular stands out - One of my favorite high school teachers that I admired said, "Why would you ever want to do that? You are way to smart to be a teacher. You would be wasting your talents." I was floored!

And I can tell you that all of these experiences made me react the very same way.

I began to defend my career choice.
Then I'd question why I even chose it in the first place.

I know today won't be the last time that I am faced with this situation but it will certainly be the last that I will feel a need to defend myself or question why I chose it because I KNOW why I chose it.

I chose it to make a difference.
To see the glow in a child's eyes when they learn something new.
To be someone they can depend on when they have no one else.
To teach them things that will make them successful in this world.
And because it makes me incredibly happy.

I am proud of my career choice. The truth is, I know I was meant to be a teacher. Life is too short not to do what you love and what makes you truly happy, and that is something I never want to forget.

my new love for chambray

Rather than exchanging Easter baskets full of candy, this year we decided to get gifts that would keep on giving instead. Since it was the same weekend I got Nic his birthday iphone, I got him a case to protect it for Easter and he got me my new favorite shirt.

I don't know why I didn't have a chambray top until now, seriously.

So don't be surprised if you see it in the next 300 photos on this blog, mmkay!

thoughts on marriage

I have learned a lot about marriage over the past 327 days and what it's like when we have both have good and bad days. There are days when he comes home from work bursting at the seams with ideas about how to improve his clinic or become a better manager. It is in these moments that I know countless hours of research will begin and I can tell he truly loves what he does. There are days when I come home beaming from a morning spent in a classroom full of little ones. Where I'm bursting at the seams to tell him all of the cute things they said or the milestones they made when they finally understood a new concept I had been trying to teach them for a while now. An excitement that spills over into my thoughts about hopefully having my own classroom filled with little ones in just a short year from now. And when there are days when only one of us feels this happy, the day definitely doesn't end that way. We find that we both end up incredibly happy after hearing the others' accomplishments and joy because there is nothing better than seeing the other one succeed.

But there are other days that aren't so good. Days where we both come home with heavy hearts feeling completely exhausted and stretched beyond our limits. He will vent about work while I listen. I'll be in tears from the stress of school and he just holds me until I stop crying. And while happy days are my most wonderful days, the bad days are the ones where I feel the most love. A measure of love that is beyond my comprehension. It is my hope that everyone in this world feels a love like that whether it be from a parent to a child or with a best friend or in your spouse.

I am truly thankful to have found someone who loves me in my worst moments. Someone who desperately does everything he can for me when I am sick. Someone who even thinks my "ponytail and sweats look" is my most beautiful. Someone like Nic.