A Moment in the Mind of Me

You know for being someone who has spent most of their life trying to be what I thought people wanted… it makes it really difficult to just stop and try and be who I am. Once deciding to stop living for “other” people and finding that I am not quite sure who this “Leah” girl is the only plausible conclusion is to find what the options are… so let’s find people that I like or admire… there are SO many great people in this world let’s just chose which one I want to be and then do it!! There are artists, singers, performers, leaders, travelers, builders, entrepreneurs, mothers, cooks, farmers, teachers, etc… this great idea worked really well!... for awhile… then comes the problem of, once you find a great person to be then you end up trying to live someone else’s life without the tools they have for their own.. not a good plan! You start not knowing the answers to simple questions like… What is your favorite music? Favorite foods? Let alone: What do you want to do in life? I tried this path for a few years and found that I am actually quite good at being a chameleon of sorts, and in many ways did learn things about myself along the way… but I feel as though I have come to a pondering point in my life… not necessarily a huge decision time or anything of the sort, but looking back over the paths, trails, streams I’ve tried I stand still wondering, who is Leah?

I have a theory that really who we are does get formed by the people around us in many ways but I can’t say that I know that for sure because I never experienced life from a different side. Maybe there are those people that are just born with an understanding of who they are and in what ways they are going to reveal the kingdom of God on earth in their own unique flavor. My theory is I really do think that God made us moldable so that we do influence each other. I look back over the years and see places where the people around me left their fingerprints on me and my personality and I can’t say that I truly believe it was all bad. I do think that ONLY copying those around you can be a bad idea… but aren’t we made to influence each other?
I think that the reason why I have had such a hard time finding the “Leah” is because I keep dismissing anything that I may have “picked up” along the way… not realizing that maybe God put certain people in my life to actually pull out something that was ALWAYS a part of me?! I have recently found the joy of “thinking my own thoughts”… I know that sounds pretty ridiculous… but honestly, I have just been on this quest to let me be me EVEN IF someone else may think it does look just like a copy. Everyone has to start somewhere, but as long as the journey is bringing life and joy then it’s a journey worth taking!

The Scary Things In Life

I have decided that it is about time that I share with you some of the scary parts of living in DC… They are called Thousand Leggers.. dun dun dunn. I heard rumors of them before I came but once here didn’t have to wait too long for an encounter of my own. Let me share a typical scenario..
It starts with a scream…. “Or a Leah..LEAH!!!” I come into a room where Michelle usually is perched uncomfortably on some piece of furniture as high off the ground as she can be… I automatically look at the point that is farthest possible from Michelle and most often that is where the bug is located. Melissa is a little braver, so she will actually get close enough to point out the bug itself.. but usually she points with some sort of an object.. just in case it decides to move quickly towards here… because they are very VERY fast little guys.. after all they do have a thousand legs. Then comes my part…

I get a clear container of some sort so I can keep my eyes on it the whole time.. my biggest fear is to have one of them squeeze out and crawl up my arm!! So usually I my tool of choice is a nice large Tupperware. Then I get a hard thin object that I can slide underneath. Now for the catching part.. always gets my heart rushing… even after ALL the times I’ve done it cuz in the back of my head I can imagine the horrible feeling of this thing crawling on me and it gives me the heeby jeebies just enough to get my heart rate up every time I go to catch one of these little guys.
Melissa will usually take one side of the room or object and stand guard in case it tries to escape.. and her job is to help scare it towards me so I can catch it. A quick explanation as to why we are “catching” this horrible critter instead of just “squishing” it on the spot is because if you miss:
1. It will run away and you chance losing track of it.. which can never happen because then Michelle with never come off of the furniture and everyone will be slightly on edge for the rest of the day.. Imagining that every little thing that happens to touch them is a Thousand Legger!
Or
2. There are much higher chances that you will end up with one of them crawling up your arm when you are trying to quickly thrust you arm at it before it escapes… You end up with it climbing up your arm as a means of escape from the crushing hand!! (That’s the scariest!! )
So… I catch it. Once it has been caught I go to the kitchen sink to do the dirty deed… at this point Michelle is insistently telling me “make sure you KILL IT!!”.. “Leah, make sure it is totally dead!”.. I assure her I ALWAYS kill them. I release it into the kitchen sink because then it is trapped and I can easily execute quick execution. I use a wet paper towel.. that way I don’t feel the crunch… cuz THAT I cant handle. Once done, the Tupperware goes into the dishwasher the remains and paper towel go into the trash, although im sure Michelle wishes we would burn them :). And we go on with our day.
My tally of how many of these horrific creatures I have killed is up to 27!! That’s way too many if you ask me! We did finally get the exterminator to come and spray and I think it might be helping.
...And Now you know ;)


The other day I killed one and its guts were PURPLE!!