You Look Like One

I'm not sure where I was this week, but probably Curves since that is pretty much the only place I have been besides work, play practice, and my softball game. Anyway, a "stranger", upon learning that I was a nurse responded with "You look like a nurse." And, that definitely was NOT the first time I had heard those words, but this time it did make me stop and think (apparently, this is a week for "thinking", but not much "doing"...ha ha!). I mean, how many times has my mom heard "You look like an executive assistant", my dad "You look like a letter carrier", or my sister "You look like a bank teller"?!...probably, I'm going on a limb here and say "never"...or, very close to "never"! And yet, when I heard those words spoken to me, they some how made sense, and were also very gratifying...not only do I think I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, but other people, even those I do not even KNOW, think so too. That really is a great feeling!

Of course, my job comes with its challenges, but the rewards seem to come MUCH more often...at least they do for me. I do, however, think that I look for them, which is something I have learned to do along the way from the amazing people God has placed in my life. I seek to find the good even when it would be easy to judge, get discouraged, or become apathetic. (I'm not sure I'm quite "here", but Gitz wrote a post surrounding the quote "Too many people miss the silver lining because they are expecting gold.")

I do think this kind of connects to the post I wrote yesterday. You know you have awesome friends when they actually were able to make some sense out of that :o)

I tend to have a "here I come to save the day" kind of mentality. I rather enjoy it when I feel I am "needed". Helping people is what I do, and I think I am good at it. I think maybe this is one of the reasons I needed to mention all those friends. While some of them were hurting when we first met, it was not a "rescue mission"...and yet I was still drawn to that friendship. It could be, as one of my friends pointed out, that maybe subconsciously they knew they could find comfort if ever they needed it. Or, that I was a person whose ears were open to listening, and it was safe to share their heart with me. (At least I HOPE I am that person...that is the person I WANT to be!)
As it turns out, it was/is THEM who helped me, and continue to help me. I "needed" them and didn't even know it!

Going on "rescue missions" is fine and dandy, but often really amazing things come when you aren't actively seeking them.

I look like a nurse, and in 7 1/2 hours I need to go be one, so I should go to bed.

This quote arrived in my "inbox" today...I thought it was worth sharing.
"We cannot give what we do not have. We cannot bring peace to the world if we ourselves are not peaceful. We cannot bring love to the world if we ourselves are not loving. Our true gift to ourselves and others lies not in what we have but in who we are."
Marianne Williamson
American Activist, Author and Lecturer

And, in the spirit of Kelly's "show us where you live Friday", I will re-post the slide show from when I painted my "play room" last summer. I actually think it looks even cooler now, and recently added a neat saying under the window, above the table and chairs, that says "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly." Over in that corner there is a bean bag chair, some pillows, and books (I don't think those are in the slide show.) Now I just need a kid to come over and play!