A little Imagination...

I've always known that I have a vivid imagination. Whether my love of reading created this imagination, or my imagination is the reason I love reading, I'm not sure. It's like the chicken and the egg. Which came first?
I had a discussion recently with a couple of family members and my husband in which "day dreaming" was the topic of conversation. My dad is literally the world's biggest day dreamer, followed closely by my husband. My dad revealed that the object of his day dreaming is usually Yosemite...as well as a a plethora of other hiking destinations. Random, I know. But check out this hat. Any man that is comfortable wearing this kind of hat is bound to be an original:

Haha...anywho, we then went around the table revealing the things that fill our imaginations, and what each person day dreams about. For my husband, it was riding motorcycles. My brother? concerts.
To my horror, I quickly realized that I am not normal.
While the rest of my family's thoughts are consumed by dream vacations, possessions, pastimes, etc, my mind travels down a different path. I construct stories in my head: characters, hypothetical situations, conflicts...you name it. At any given point in time, I have about ten stories in the works, at varying degrees of completion. I was hesitant to reveal my day dreaming escapades, and I realized that my fears were quite well-founded. My family, especially my husband, looked at me like I was crazy, and my Dad flat out told me that I am most definitely abnormal. I can't tell you how many times my husband said over the course of the night, "Whit...I'm worried. I don't know you at all." While he said this as a joke, I think there was at least a figment of truth in his statement.
My husband thinks I'm weird.
Oh well, at least I have my stories to turn to; either the ones written by others, or the ones I construct in my head...

Christmas...in Pictures

Christmas always seems to come and go way too fast. Here's a quick recap in pictures...

The "Ford" Family in their Sunday Best

The "Russell" Family

Aimless

My husband tells me with annoying frequency that I am an old woman trapped in a 25-year-old's body. While this seemingly brutal pronouncement may seem harsh to some, it is my boy's way of telling me that I lack the ever inherent confusion and misdirected fumbling associated with youth. Instead, the path that I have relentlessly pursued was decided at the tender age of 8. I would be a history teacher. And I haven't deviated from that goal since. I have always been sure.
Twenty years. TWENTY years, I have been a student. It's my one talent in life; the one thing that I've been good at. While most people count down the days until they can shrug off the title of "student," I have been dreading it. That day came this week. I attended my very last day of school. If I wanted, I would never have to return to school again.
I'm DONE.
And yet, I don't feel the expected elation that most people would experience. What do I do now? Well of course I find a teaching job, but in the meantime...what am I supposed to do with my time? There's only so much cleaning, laundry, exercising, reading, blogging, TV watching, etc, that a person can do. There has never been a point in my remembered existence in which I haven't had to think about school, or some looming assignment. Now I'm free of that.
But I feel aimless.
Graham thinks I'm crazy. I should be excited. I know that. So...I'm working on it. I'm starting down a NEW path in life, and while I'm not very enthusiastic about leaving my old one behind, I am excited about the innumerable possibilities that the future has to offer. So here it goes...