Hey, hey! It’s Friday and I have a fairly busy weekend ahead of me – a massage after work, girl’s night out tonight, a vet appointment for Eloise tomorrow morning, a writing date, game night with the fam, and my least-favorite holiday on Sunday. Whew! Will I be able to take a nap at all this weekend? Stay tuned!
I’m wrapping up this week with Friday Questions, which I got from the Real Talk Radio podcast. I love these questions! They really make me think.
1) What’s one fact or idea that you’ve learned recently that’s changed the way you think about yourself or the world in general?
I’ve been thinking a lot about climate change recently, mostly because our current presidential administration doesn’t seem to think it’s a thing. (All of the eye rolls.) The facts don’t lie, and if we don’t make major changes, things are going to be pretty scary in the future. So, I’m trying to do my part in whatever small ways I can and that mainly comes down to the trash I produce. I don’t think I’ll ever live a no-waste lifestyle but I am trying to be mindful of the small ways I can limit my waste. Like no longer using paper towels, or plastic baggies, or single-use wipes. I recycle as much as I can and work really hard to produce only one bag of trash a week. (I’d love to get this down to once a month but baby steps!) These are small steps, but it feels good to be making them.
2) Talk about a time when you really pushed your limits and impressed yourself.
This may seem like a small example, but it happened on Tuesday night when I attended a silent reading event hosted by a local literary organization in my city. I went with a friend, thankfully, because I do not think I could have had the courage to go alone. Leading up to the event, I was a wreck. I woke up with so much anxiety roiling through my body.
I am 100% sure I would have just driven right by the center and gone home if my friend wasn’t with me. But she was, so we found parking and nervously walked around the building to the front. Just opening the door to the center felt like an insurmountable task. I really wanted my friend to be the one to open the door, but since I was the one who invited her to come along with me, I knew I had to be the brave one. It was so scary! But I’m so glad I did it and pushed myself beyond what is comfortable for me. It was such a fun night and stuff like this helps me remember that I can do stuff that feels scary!
3) What’s one decision in your past that had you chosen differently, would have led you down a totally different path in life?
If I had decided to move forward with getting my degree in education. Instead, I decided to change majors when I was nearly finished with the program, and I am so glad I did. My life would be completely different if I was a teacher. (Though I’m not sure I’d still be one today.) I’d have different friends, different responsibilities, a different home. It’s weird to think about, honestly. I am so happy where I am today and what my career looks like right now, so I can’t imagine how different my life would be if I had graduated with an education degree and become a teacher.
4) What’s one belief or opinion that you’ve done a complete 180 on?
Oh man, I used to be the staunchest pro-life supporter. Like, I was the person who would snidely respond to pro-choice supporters with, “If a woman doesn’t want to get pregnant, she should keep her legs closed.” Yeah. Look, I’m not proud of that and it hurts for me to even write that, but that’s my truth. (And, also, that’s what happens when you spend the first 18 years of your life in an evangelical church.) Thankfully, my opinion has changed dramatically after doing a lot of research and listening to women’s stories. Now, I’m staunchly pro-choice and I believe women should have control over their own bodies. I don’t believe you should be forced into celibacy if you don’t want to have babies. Sex is about a whole lot more than making babies.
But honestly, it’s amazing what happens when you break out of your bubble and just start listening. Once you start to pay attention and hear what women are saying, it can completely transform your worldview.
5) What’s one place in your city that you really recommend people to check out if they travel there?
Oh, I’d totally recommend Datz! It’s this funky little restaurant with the best food. You’ll probably want to skip lunch beforehand because you want to come to Datz starving and ready to eat a lot of good food. (Also, please throw out your diet for the night. You don’t want to think about calories here.) And, afterward, even though you’ll be totally stuffed from dinner, pop into Dough next door for a sweet treat!
What’s a place you often recommend for your city?
The menu for Datz looks amazing and now I’m hungry! I promise, if I ever happen to find my way to Florida one day, I’ll be sure to go there!
There are so many amazing places here, I think my recommendation for lunch or dinner would be Mittz Kitchen. Their food is amazing! But then there’s Frenchies Poutinery and O.M.G.. They take the phrase “I can’t even” to a whole new level.
I can’t tell you how much I applaud you for changing your mind (and talking) about pro-life to pro-choice. I always like to remind people that pro-choice doesn’t mean pro-abortion (obviously, NOBODY likes abortions), but that access to legal abortion, contraception, and sex education will dramatically reduce the need for abortions in the first place (and isn’t that what we’re after!).
I feel similarly about thinking more about our impact on global warming and how we can live more cleanly. Part of the reason we went with cloth diapers was to reduce the amount of waste we would generate. Paul was too small for cloth diapers (at least the ones we owned) until he was about 2-2.5 months and man did we generate a ton of garbage in those first 2 months. Besides using cloth diapers we also use cloth wipes, which I actually much prefer to disposable ones. I imagine some people think we are crazy to do this – and to wash them ourselves – but it’s something that has been way easier and less gross than I thought it would be. It helps that Phil and I aren’t grossed out too easily.
A place I recommend in our city is Wild Rumpus book store! It’s a kids bookstore but I recommend that adults check it out because it is a one of a kind type of place. Plus there is a local ice cream store a block away and a lake that you can walk around about 1/4 of a mile away so you can easily make an enjoyable afternoon of it!
I’m so glad you went to the silent reading party! Tell us more! How long was it? What was it like? Sounds so cool! I honestly would have been scared to go by myself too.
I want to hear more about what the silent reading party was like too!
It’s okay that you were pro-life before! And it’s okay for people to be that way now, as long as they, as you said, LISTEN. I think doing that 180 is a good reminder when you encounter someone who thinks so differently than you – they could change too. Hopefully. Maybe. (I am pro-choice as well, I’m pretty liberal with a few things, but don’t talk about it much!)
Hmm, a place I recommend for my city would actually be the local forest preserve right by home, I love our preserves and greenery!