Lessons from my Fall Trip

        I learned a lot of lessons on my trip to the east coast. I went with a bunch of older people and they would be like grandmas and grandpas to me. It was a whole bus full of those people so I got a lot of wisdom on the trip but most of the lessons came from my old babysitters. I don't know how much more simple you can get when you are on a trip with a simple country women as a "grandma". I just saw my whole life flash before for eyes on that trip with her.
          When I say my life, I mean my childhood again and my future. I really saw that what researchers say about children learning things and their personalities before 5 age of years is so true. Someone that I really cared about, which was my babysitter's husband, we talked a lot about him on that trip. There was something that my babysitter said about him and that was: "He was sweet and outgoing just like his mother." That brought me back to all the times I would go out and do farm work with him or just sit on his lap. She had a mother in law that was sweet and outgoing, if you know what I mean.
          My babysitter also said: "He would take things as that came nice and calmly." Now for some reason I missed that part but I would love either to live that way or find people that do. She also said that "no matter where he went, he would always dress up to go there." She also asked me, probably the 2nd or 3rd night, "What do you miss about him?" My answer was "driving in his truck while we were selling and giving things like eggs and milk to people they both knew."
          Then there was a lot of things that I did and hear on that trip from my babysitter, herself and here are some of those things. All of them were really encouraging. Every time I see her, she keeps saying those things over and over but they never get old. One of the things were: "that Mr. Right is out there and he is sorry that he is missing you." Another one was: "You are beautiful and smart." Usually, I just shove those two things off but since the things that have been happening in my life, those were things that I really needed to hear especially the "smart" part.  She also called me "Sis" a lot on the trip. I think it was more "Sis" then my name.
            Those are some of the lessons that she reminded me of and here is some more.

                      -"Don't ever say I'll do it, just do it because you will regret it as you get older."

                      -"The only thing that will keep you young is your mind."

                      -"You know what makes you beautiful? The inside, your sweet heart."

              That is it on the talking lessons. Now for the action and personality lessons. There were a lot of things that she did during the trip that made me think of myself now, when I was little, and how I want to be in the future. I will say that she talked to every dog she saw on the trip because she missed her 5 dogs at home. If it wasn't dogs, it was of course, children. She loves dogs and children. It was funny but fun for me because the only things she would watch on the TV when we had time were children shows like "Sophia the 1st" and "The Muppets" and there was another one that she watched but I can't remember the name of it now. Then one the bus one day, she played a little game with me that she use to play with me, when I was a little kid. That game was where she would pretend a spider was climbing up on my arm and it had a saying to go with it and then at the end of the saying it would tickle me under the arm. Guess what!? It still gets me to this day.
              I also found out that, when she was going to church and she still is some, she was really involved in the decorating for holidays or just every Sunday, meal preparing, and anything behind the scenes work like that at church. Does that sound like someone? :) The church called the"club"" The Glind". She teased me a lot about taking pictures of the pretty Fall leaves and mountains we were passing on the trip but then I told her that she helped make me that way. Loving the outdoors. I know that comes from all areas of my life.
              I also found out that she isn't very sociable and things get awkward for her easily if it's not something she is very passionate about. Hmmm........? Does that sound like someone too? Remember I spent the 1st four years of my life with her during the day. There were mornings that I would just lay in my bed very quietly and watch her read her Bible before I got up. The first night on the trip she read Palms 23 and the chapter about the widow giving all she had to Jesus to me. She explained how the widow had little and simple things but yet she gave everything and I thought that was a really good way to explain "farm life" especially for her.
            Then the last thing is the games that we played on the bus while we were riding around. She played tic tac toe with me and we drew pictures, not very good ones though. We, even, looked out the window and looked at the clouds to see if we could see any shapes or pictures in them. I remember my babysitter finding a dog, a horse, and some other things. It just, also, reminded me of the summers I use to spend with her. I use to go to her house for a week during every summer when I was little. Even though we were on the road, without the dogs around and not in my "blue" room, it reminded me a little bit of those weeks. Those weeks when I use to get up at 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning because the dogs would come jump on my bed to wake me up. To tell you the truth, I missed that every morning while on the trip. I missed walking the dogs and doing chores and things on the farm.
            To me, the whole trip was about how simple life could really be if we just let it and not worry about anything even how much money we have. To my babysitter, she told me that I showed her how to be content in where we are in life. I guess we both helped each other out then. It took me back to my childhood and how simple things were back then and I want things to be that way again especially for my future children, God Willing, if not just for me yet. It also helped me understand a lot of who I am and why I am the way that I am. The first 5 years for a child does make a huge impact on them.
           All this to say: I miss the simple, farm life and I'm, for sure, this kind of life is what I want for my future life.