Let People In Your Life And ...

Source: Quotefancy.com

In my previous two posts, I shared I had just finished reading the adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and that three scenes really stuck in my my mind after closing the book for the last time. 

Scene No. 1: The concept of metaphorical boners 

Scene No. 2: The dreams we all hold in our hearts

Last but not least, Junior's realization that ...

If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.

Whew ... such a scary, hard truth for me. 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.  

 

Where Do You Want To Go? Everywhere

In my previous  post, I shared I had just finished reading the adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and that three scenes really stuck in my my mind after closing the book for the last time. 

Scene No. 1: The concept of metaphorical boners 

Scene No. 2 touched on my ideal reality of seeing the world. In the book, Junior (Arnold), and his kind of girlfriend Penelope about dreams and how everyone in her town had small dreams.

Junior: "What do you want to do?" 

Penelope: "I want to leave here as soon as I can. I think I was born with a suitcase."

Junior: "Where do you want to go?"

Penelope: "Everywhere. I want to walk on the Great Wall of China. I want to walk to the top of pyramids in Egypt. I wan to swim in every ocean. I want to climb Mount Everest. I want to go on an African safari. I want to ride a dogsled in Antarctica. I want all of it. Every single piece of everything."

Same. And I have no idea how to make it happen. I have felt so stuck for so long. Not unhappy. Just stuck. 

What about you? What's your ideal reality? 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real. 

Be Open to Life's Metaphorical Boners

Source: Max Pixel

Last week, I finished reading the young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It's a book I've been wanting to read for years, and I stumbled across a copy at Once Upon a Time Books on our mini vacay to Bentonville, AR, earlier this year. It's a funny, engaging, heartbreaking yet hopeful story about life on the Spokane Indian reservation told from the perspective of a 14 year old boy. Give it a read. 

I marked three scenes that really stood out to me because they spoke to my never-ending quest to merge my ideal reality with my real reality. The first scene was part of a conversation between Gordy and Junior about books and the mysteries they hold. 

Gordy: " ... you should approach each book — you should approach life — with the real possibility that you might get a metaphorical boner at any point." 

I don't know about you, but for the past 18 months, nothing in life has given me a metaphorical boner. In my ideal reality, I'm full of hope and curiosity and excitement for what life holds. In my real reality, every day is filled with the same responsibilities, obligations, tasks, arguments, fears and exhaustion. When I realized that, it made me sad. 

So, here's to seeking, discovering, being open to, and embracing life's metaphorical boners. I know they are out there. 

What about you? I hope you've had a few metaphorical boners lately, and I hope you'll share in the comments. 

Looking for my insight from my other two scenes? I'll share in later posts. 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real (and keep your boner radar on!)

Discovering Wanda Ga'g and Millions of Cats

Four Wanda Ga'g books from the library

The Rabbit hOle is creating an exhibit around Wanda Ga'g's children's book Millions of Cats. I'd never heard of this author/illustrator so I let my curiosity be my guide and did a little researched and checked a few of her books from my local library. 

Turns out Wanda was a pioneer in children's literature, both for her writing and for combining illustration and text. Apparently, Millions of Cats (copyright 1928) is the oldest American picture book still in print. 

I really enjoyed Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, not only for the illustrations, but because it's a version of the story I hadn't heard before. Decidedly darker than Disney, and Snow White didn't wake up because of a prince's kiss. No spoilers here, so be sure to check it out for yourself! 

I forgot how much I enjoyed reading children's books. The peeps and I used to bring home stacks from the library and pile onto the couch for a good long reading session. If you have littles at home, I encourage you to pick up a few of Wanda's books. 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real (and keep reading).