Hugs & Dinner

I'm a part of a very special family. The kind of family you aren't born into, but they make you feel just as special as if you were. The kind of family whose door (and kitchen) is always open; the kind of family who makes you feel so at home, you forget for a while you're not.

Meet the Sovereigns:

Recently, I had to write an essay on my faith. Within the essay I had to describe people who have impacted my spiritual journey. This is an excerpt I wrote about Greg and Ashley:

"I must mention Greg and Ashley Sovereign. This couple ministers full time to college students at Arcadia University. They raise 100% of their support as missionaries, and do so while raising three children. Their faith is massive, and their lives are reflective of their faith. The Sovereign’s ministry to my life has been instrumental in shaping my college years, and I do not know what I would have done without them. They have helped me see that every single part of my life belongs to God and can be used for him."

This is just a small piece of what Greg and Ashley have done and continue to do for me, and many students at Arcadia University. I know their home is a place where I'm always welcome for dinner (whether they have enough food or not), and their hugs are always available, whether I knew I needed them or not.

These people live raw, real lives, often sacrificing privacy and comfort in exchange for others to know about this God they serve. The commitment and tenacity with which they follow Jesus is incredible to see. I am privileged to call them my friends, and I am down right lucky to know them as family.

Ash Sov & I at an Arcadia Alumna's wedding.

What peace it is to know I have a family like this, what peace it is to know that no matter what, I am welcome to a hug and some dinner, I am welcome home.
 


To hugs, dinners, and family,

K

Accept, Embrace, Let Go

My lesson as of late is this: Accept, Embrace, Let Go. Sounds like a pretty good life lesson overall, but it's in dancing tango that I am able to understand what each statement means to me.

In tango there will be a moment. That moment. I may be sitting alone, or with friends, and a man [or woman] comes over to me. This person sees me and no one else but m-e. And for whatever reason he asks me to dance. It could be a formal request or a look he gives me. At that very moment this person is extending me an invitation, an invitation to share space together, time together. This moment could be fantastic, it could be awful, I could mess up terribly, or fall! I could also have the best dance of my life.. Anything could happen in this moment. I am left with a choice, will I Accept?

How odd it is to touch and be touched; to hold and be held by a stranger. How odd, how liberating, how confusing, and exhilarating all at once. My mind races most times when I dance with people I don't know. I think about what they are thinking about, I wonder if they feel this awkward and yet oddly comfortable all at once like me. I wonder if they can tell when I tense and when I relax. I suddenly realize I am no longer I at all, but here in this space and time I becomes we it becomes us instead of me.  

We create this space between us, and as we embrace we both accept with our bodies that this space is ours for a time, and ours alone. It is through this embrace that the very dance itself is translated. We begin to dance, and at times eliminate the space between us until we are heart to heart, cheek to cheek. How very odd a thing it is to embrace another human with whom you have no other tie to other than the fact that you both breathe air and bleed blood and dance..

 Then comes the last step, the final note has played and we stop. For a moment, we stay in our embrace, drinking in all that has transpired between us. We soak in all the mess we made on the floor, or all the beauty we created. And just like that, we becomes I and you. Two separate people who just so happened to share something together. Maybe something wonderful, maybe not. In letting go however, I discover what it is I miss or don't miss about our shared time. In letting go- I see all I have gained.

To really Accepting, Embracing, and Letting Go,

K

Argentine Tango

About a year or so ago I was gripped. More like swooned, really. I fell face first for it, not that I would admit it at the time. I fell for a dance that made two people effortlessly glide around a space with just enough grit and earthiness to leave me wanting more. I couldn't help but be in awe of the new world unfolding before me, this world of raw sophistication, with all of it's flair and culture; the world of Argentine Tango.

After this initial meet-cute, I found myself oddly attracted to the dance. I went to social tango dances here and there, watching the other dancers move about the room with ease, all the while frustrated by my own uncoordinated feet and an impatient need to master a dance which seemed to be mastering me. 

For various reasons [mostly my inconsistency] I had never actually signed up for a class. All that changed a few weeks ago when I purchased a 10 week introductory Argentine Tango class. Now it was time to face the music, and I am.

Currently, I am in week three (I think) of my introductory course. While I still get very frustrated with myself at my lack of skill, I also witness teeny tiny victories at my skill progression from week to week. Also, now that my eyes are not [constantly] glued to my uncoordinated feet, I get to notice things. I notice the way other dancers feel in my arms, what their dancing styles are, how patient (or impatient) they are, and most importantly I get to notice what I am feeling and learning as I make my way into uncharted waters with every step and pivot.

I cannot wait to continue to share the lessons I learn throughout this Tango experience. Stay tuned.

To dancing, and living,

K

Delivered

Just finished a book more noteworthy than just about any other book I've read. Ever.

This book is not a literary masterpiece, nor is it capable of changing the world at large. This book, however, changed me.

I have not found a single other piece of literature that so eloquently captures all the pieces of this "disorder" from it's fundamental aspects right down to it's quirks.

I cannot describe what reading this book did for me. All I can say is I found myself one day I sitting on the floor of a Barnes and Nobles crying over this book. "Finally," I remember thinking, "finally someone has put into words what I have felt my entire life. Finally, I'm not alone." It was fate.

As an adult with diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder, I am so thankful to have read those pages and to have gleaned all I did. I have been inspired to pursue a career in mental health and I hope to be an expert in this field so I too can bring hope to those who are suffering with A.D.D.

Because of this book, I realize that I am not living with a disorder. I am living with a specific way of thinking, dreaming, creating, and envisioning. My way of thinking has the capacity to take me to the moon if harnessed correctly. I intend to continue sharpening my strengths, and mitigate anything else.

If you have Attention Deficit Disorder, or know someone who does.. please read this book, and share it. It's brought so much hope and healing in this specific area of my life.


To Better Tomorrows,

K

Beginning

First.

I used to think blogging had to be about a particular subject. The notion that I could only theme my posts around a specific topic always bugged me.

Within these posts you will find a myriad of ideas, photos, fashion editorials, stories, recipes, rants, raves and the like. Think of them being written as you might envision an artist too loose with a brush, or a drunkard too loose with his tongue.

This blog is a result of musings from a dynamic, creative, often distracted and easily mixed up mind.

You've been warned.

I hope you will enjoy whatever comes to be of this space I inhabit.


To bright days, and starry nights,

K