How To Find Your Waist And Some Less Motherly Advice

Olga, Cassie, and a mildly compliant Lady Margaret

This weekend I had the pleasure of some friends staying with me… one of my Gettysburg friends, Olga, was here over the weekend until she flew home to Finland Sunday, and another friend of ours, Cassie, came down Saturday and then drove Olga to the airport. I felt positively spoiled because I got to play with friends a mere week after graduation and I didn’t even have to drive anywhere. Well, technically I did drive over to my grandparents’ farm so that Olga could drive my car, but that was just for fun.

On a completely unrelated note, there seems to be some confusion among unnamed friends of mine about the location of one’s waist. Contrary to what some might think, your waist and your hips are actually not in the same place. I understand that this might be confusing, so let me go ahead and clear this up for you. Plant your feet on the floor. Now bend to the side. Put your hand on that spot where you just bent, just under your ribs. That’s your waist! Your hips are considerably lower than that… presumably, if you are wearing pants right now, they are covering your hips. If your pants ride low, the waistband is probably right on them. (In women’s jeans, this cut is called a hipster, but it is not at all related to the café frequenting, not-yet-popular band listening, thick-framed glasses wearing hipsters. Like your waist and your hips, these two hipsters are totally different things.)

On an actually unrelated note, I had the bright idea to clean out my room before moving my stuff from school back in… I can’t possibly fit all my books on the bookshelf here, and its time to take down those embarrassing posters that were on my walls. The only problem with this plan is that I have been various stages of sick since I came home—mostly allergies, although I don’t remember ever having them this badly before—so I have been somewhat lethargic and unmotivated, and I am still not unpacked. The sinus headache I have had for three days now seems to be best when I keep my head in the same position relative to the ground, which is not helpful for unpacking. So, I am talking the time to enjoy some of the relics of my childhood that I am getting rid of. Monday, I found some scented markers in my closet as well as some coloring books. So here is my advice: do not under appreciate the benefits of coloring. Coloring can happen in conjunction with a number of other activities, including watching tv, having long phone conversations with your college roommate, and listening to Mark Driscoll podcasts (all tested and approved). And I know you probably think you are too old to color, but I have found that it really makes these other activities more enjoyable because it is easier to focus on them. This is the same reason that I have a reputation for knitting a lot—it helps me concentrate on whatever I am supposed to be sitting still and focusing on. Even if you are not a multitasker, I still recommend you try it sometime. Sit down and color with a friend, since you would be having chats with them anyway. Just slow down for a minute and enjoy the simple pleasure of making a white page colorful. You don’t have to wait until you have a headache that keeps you from moving your head.

Lady Margaret is helping my unpack
because she is just so helpful. Or
because... boxes.

I will eventually finish cleaning out my old stuff and unpacking, don’t worry. And if someone can help me figure out whether to throw out all of my childhood rock collection or keep the calico rock, maybe it will happen a little sooner. ;)