Saturday, September 28, 2013

"Young" Adult

Happy fall, dear friends! Hope this finds you well, as usual.

Thank you to those of you who called to sing “Happy Birthday,” wrote on my Facebook wall, sent a text or card, and/or helped me celebrate last week! I spent my birthday weekend with some of my very, very favorite people, and felt so blessed and loved to receive so many well-wishes, thoughtful gifts, and kind words on my special day!

Amidst the (embarrassing amount of) cat cards I received in the mail last week was a letter from the YMCA. After thanking me for my membership, it stated that according to their records, I am “no longer eligible for a Young Adult membership” (people ages 19-25), and therefore, my “membership will be converted to an Adult membership” ($10/month more than I was paying as a “Young Adult”).

Was it wrong for me to be slightly offended/disappointed/saddened that they didn’t at least wish me a happy birthday in this letter?! I know it wouldn’t change the fact that I’ll be paying more for my membership, but couldn’t they at least have softened the blow by saying, “Hey – we noticed you turned a year older…happy birthday! By the way, this means you’re an adult, now, so we’re increasing your monthly fee.”

I don’t know if they think adults use (or need to use) the gym more than young adults, or if they simply assume individuals magically make more money once they turn 26 and apparently enter adulthood. Which brings me to the question: When does adulthood begin?

Is it when you can vote?

When you can rent a car without the unnecessary amount of extra fees?

When you get married? Have children?

When you reach your ultimate career goal(s)?

When you can eat certain foods without gagging?

When you can no longer be claimed as a dependent on anyone’s tax returns?

When you can change your own flat tire?

When you no longer find “childish” things funny or appealing?


As of this month, I’m officially on my own, as far as health/car/life insurance goes…except for my phone bill – I’m still on our “family plan.” At least the cell phone companies understand – family is family, no matter how old you are…good to know some things never change.

Back to the topic at hand, though: What does “young adult” even mean? I mean, I know it’s the stage of life after being a teenager…but why does the “adult” phase come so quickly after the “young adult” one? I think a “young” adult should stay “young” as long as a child stays a child…let’s say 12-ish years. So, by that calculation, adulthood shouldn’t set in till age 30, right? Who knows…

Please know I’m mostly being facetious about most of this. In all seriousness, though, it feels kind-of weird to be considered a “real” adult…to be completely self-sufficient and to only really have to worry about myself when making decisions and/or life changes. (Charlie’s pretty good about going with the flow.)

What I know for sure is this:
I am loving this season of life and am trying my best to not take any part of it for granted. I love being able to stay out later than planned (after not planning to go out, in the first place), being able to keep such an abnormal work schedule and continue doing what I feel called to do, and being able to be available to help/encourage/spend time with others at any time of day or night. I love not planning meals, being the only one on my budget, and sleeping with more covers than the average person. I love days with no obligations and endless possibilities, nights spent with my closest girlfriends (eating food-that-shall-remain-nameless, painting our nails, and watching chick flicks), and the hopeful anticipation I have for meeting my future husband. Most importantly, I love being able to continuously realize and increasingly understand how fully and completely I am loved by the Lord – He never ceases to remind me that He is all I need – everything else is just frosting. ☺

To quote a dear friend (and Emily Dickinson), I am “dwelling in the possibility” of whatever adulthood will bring, but in the meantime, I’m living in the beautiful reality of what it has already brought.

♥,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:
free birthday items
pending trip to the apple orchard
dark chocolate M&M's and popcorn (fresh from the microwave, of course, so the M&M's get melty)

Sunday, September 15, 2013

♪ I'm Feelin' Good ♫

Hey, all!

Hope this finds you well!

You know how I feel about fall, so I won't gush too much about the fact that our windows have been open all day, and I'm (comfortably) wearing fuzzy socks and a sweatshirt. ☺

Wanted to quickly share something pretty cool with you:
This past Friday (the 13th), a couple girlfriends and I attended the opening concert at the Pinnacle Bank Arena here in Lincoln. (If you haven't seen/heard about the arena, you should check it out.) We'd hoped to get in on a concert there at some point, and when we found Michael BublĂ© was the premier performer, there was no question we'd go to the first concert.

It was such an entertaining, fun, amazing show, and I'm so glad we were able to go.  Growing up playing in big bands, I was just as impressed with his band as I was with his vocals and stage presence.  I could go on and on, but for now, will let some pics from the night speak for themselves:
The lights were changing as I was taking this panoramic picture, hence the two-tone effect.  You get the idea, though.
The opening act was "Naturally 7" - a vocal play/a capella group of guys who were phenomenal!  Click here to check them out.
Yes, Michael made his way through the crowd to that second stage, too.
OMG - there he is!!

See those panels on the stage?  They were actually screens that were sometimes used a continuation of what was being shown on the big screen, and they moved individually (reminded me a bit of piano keys).  Michael even slid down one when he entered and was lifted into the air on one at the end of the concert.  Hard to explain, but very cool!

Heart-shaped confetti for "All You Need is Love" - one of my favorite parts!!  (Mostly because it genuinely surprised me - it's hard to do that.)

Such a breathtaking show, all around.
See that black Husker jersey...?  ☺
Perk of going to the VERY first concert at the arena!
My dad and I went to the arena to watch the first football game (if you're in Lincoln and they open it up for a game watch, again, I would definitely recommend going), and I was able to get a picture of some of the artwork there (without hundreds of people trying to do so at the same time):

Definitely a good experience and so, so worth the ticket price.

That's all I've got, for now.  Happy Monday (almost)!  

Cool-ly,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:
birthday week!!
impromptu plans
Papa John's pizza (with coupons, of course)


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Huskers, family, friends, the lake...doesn't get much better!

Happy Tuesday!

I trust you all enjoyed the 3-day weekend, regardless of what you did during it... ☺

I had a really excellent weekend, all around, and thought I'd share a bit about it:

I'm not ashamed to admit that I spent some time at the office (Arts Inc.) on Friday evening after I got done teaching lessons.  I didn't get to everything I'd wanted to earlier in the day, so just decided to spend a few hours there for my own sanity.  The blow of such a lame Friday night was slightly lessened by the build-your-own Runza I picked up on the way.  ☺

Saturday went as follows:
Zumba...with my roommie!
movie and nail-painting with one of my favorite cousins
game-watch with friends, complete with pizza...and fruit pizza!
half-time and 3rd-quarter excursion to the new arena and surrounding area with my dad

The goodness continued on Sunday:
church
lunch with family and friends
POOL TIME!! with the girls
stamping (card-making) at my aunt and uncle's
yummmmy brown sugar pound cake (right, Mom?)
car-washing with Dad

Perhaps the highlight of the already-great weekend, though, was Monday:
A couple from the young adult Bible study I'm attending at church (it's called "Young Roads") invited us all to their family's lake house for the day!  25+ of us made the trip there Monday morning, and spent the near-perfect day together.  We had no agenda, BEAutiful weather, tons of good food, yard games, a sandy beach, plenty of sunshine, water floaties, a paddle-boat and kayaks, and a speed boat...with tubes, skis, etc.
If you know me well (or know me at all), you know I'm not very good at narrowing down favorite things.  That said, I think boating/tubing is probably in my Top 10 favorite things to do.  I don't know why, but I just really love it...and I got in on quite a bit of it yesterday!  It had been a year since I'd last been out in a boat, so that was definitely the highlight of the day (and weekend), for me.  Not to mention the blessing of such quality fellowship time - getting to know new people in the group and having great conversation with everyone in attendance. ☺

Quick student story for you:
I wore my hair in a ponytail to work the other day (not the first time).  My last student that day was a sweet kindergartner who has been known to cuddle my scarves, play with my necklaces, and tell me he likes my shirt.
When he walked into his lesson on the ponytail day, he asked, "Why'd you change your hair?"  I said, "I didn't - I'm just wearing it in a ponytail today."  He considered my answer for a couple seconds, then asked, "How does it feel?"  I told him it wasn't the first time I'd worn it like that, and it felt like it always does.  Then, he asked, "Does it feel like a hundred turkeys scratching your head?!"  No idea where that came from.  I told him that, now, it didn't feel like that...

That's all, for now.

Enjoy the short week!
-Kensy

Favorites of the day:
open-windows weather
pumpkin season!