Katie’s Musings: Memories and ‘Dos

The start of June marked my one year anniversary here with you all in this town and church and corner of the world.  So that’s cool!  I feel so very blessed to be a part of this community, so let me take a moment to express my gratitude for your love and openness over the past year.  I started here in the midst of a rather difficult time in my life, and I can’t begin to express how glad I am that I came here.  At that moment, in general, always and every day.

So thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

*end sappiness.  for now.  😉 *

It’s funny to think about the people we are now versus the people we were even a year ago.  Lessons learned, possessions acquired, weight gained or lost, understandings of the way things work that have shifted.

I am fascinated by the things with which we delineate our time on this planet.  Places lived, perhaps.  Relationships.  Jobs.  Age of children.  When we got that dog, and when we lost that dog.  Illness.  Recovery.

For me, it’s hair.  Particularly the more drastic changes.

A few days ago, a picture popped up on my Facebook memories.  It was 2013, and I was spending my first of two summers on the Resource Team at Kaleo.  I had a platinum pixie cut that I’d spiked up with multi-colored hair gel for “Wacky Hair Wednesday”.  In a day or two, I should get the Facebook memory of that week’s mission night, when my hair got spiked up with whipped cream, the result of a mission goal met and a pie taken square in the face.  I see that picture, and I’m reminded of the summer and the fun and all the music I wrote, but also how my hair got to be platinum in the first place:  a snap decision made in the aftermath of learning that a dear friend/nannying charge’s mom had died.

The long auburn hair was when I was trying to be an actor and thought I needed “castable hair” to get jobs.  The short dark hair (the first time) was when I let that dream go and decided to focus my passions elsewhere.  The less-than-platinum hair was when my sister got married and didn’t want me platinum in the pictures.  The black hair was when the platinum went awry and highlighter yellow wasn’t quite what the Shedd Aquarium people had in mind for their Holiday Fantasea performers.  The cherry red, camp year 2, because… well why not at that point?  I never did full on funky colors, no blues or pinks, though I make no promises for the future……

I guess my point is that we are all on journeys.  Sometimes they most certainly lead us down paths we do not expect.  But those journeys are important.  Hair color, life experiences, places moved, people encountered, decisions made… they make up who we are.  They’re important.  Even … holy.  On Sunday morning we say it – “no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are most welcome here.”  That has most certainly been my experience, and I’m so glad my journey led me here, walking this portion of it with you all.

(I mean, my hair has stayed relatively the same color all year, so that should say something!  🙂 )