Reflections and Moving ahead. Challenge 2.

Warning: the first bit of this is just a reflection of the weeks events, if you want to see challenge 2, scroll down to it.


So overall the week went pretty well. I got a chance to have lunch with my great uncle and my grandfather in a little greek restaurant near my school. Getting a chance to speak with people that are much older than you are can really be a blessing. They give you point of views that you do not often hear and they put things into the context of life as it was when they were young. My uncle told me, " Oh when I was 22 I was in Africa for the millitary", that not only made me feel old, but incredibly uninteresting.

But people that are older than you can often give very sound advice, and in the case of my grandfather and uncle, I know that they are very sincere about what they tell me. My grandfather told me how he feared that my generation would be the one that no longer thinks they will be better off than their parents were finicially, and I think his words are becoming facts. But with that being said, my grandfather also loves telling stories of his youth when his family had nothing but the shirts on their backs, and ya know what, things sounded pretty good. Perhaps its all perspective...

I did have some meal plans cancel on me, but I plan to make those up with my friends. I also had a little surprise visit with my cousin. I got to visit him at his college campus and just chat for a bit. Seeing family or friends on their own turf can tell you a lot about them, and I can honestly say I do not think we walked by a person in the halls that didnt say hi to my cousin. He's pretty much the man.

The breakfast at home was amazing as expected. Fruit, Oatmeal, Eggs, Focaccia, coffee, yogurt, etc. My mom treats me like the prodigal son when I return, so whenever friends complain about going home I really have to stay out of those conversations. My mother even gave me an early birthday gift, something that I really really wanted. She took a little bit of all the house plants in our home and put them in a pot for me, so that I could have a peice of home at school ::tears:: Thank god for moms, seriously, they rock.



CHALLENGE 2- be a person of your word.

While I was sitting in church this sunday, i decided to skip ahead and look at the gospel. Just to summarize for those who do not go to church, or are not catholic/christian/religious, or just couldn't pay attention (it happens), Jesus tells those listening to him to make your yes's mean yes, and your no's mean no. I thought this was so great. Simplistically beautiful, and yet for me so hard to follow. I am THE KING of sending last minute texts saying, " i don't think i'm going, sorry" or leaving voicemails with sometimes good and sometimes bogus excuses. So for my experiement, I am going to be a man of my word for a week.

 Now that doesn't mean I am going to say yes to everybody, infact it will probably mean more no's, but I will be firm with my scheduling. I am also going to attempt to be extremeley genuine with my words, trying to say exactly what I mean and not misguiding others (this will be tough). Its an attempt, its an effort, and i think its worth a shot. Being a man of my word for a week is going to lead to a lot reflection, and try to be mindful of where you do end up saying yes, and where you end up saying no. It may be interesting...