Can't sleep...I want a pinwheel.

So, it's 2 a.m., and I am yet again wide awake. My attempts to become an early bird have obviously failed thus far, so I guess I'll just have to try again next week. All of you people out there who don't have sleeping troubles...any suggestions??

Tomorrow, though, I will be forced to be an early bird. My dear friend Jess Padgett is getting married tomorrow, and she asked me to do some singing at her wedding. I'm pretty excited and honored to be a part of her big day! The wedding is in Kentucky, so I'll be getting up bright and early, along with my buddies Kristen and Jacquie, to head north to celebrate Jess's big day. I'm excited to spend quality time with some of my UTRI sisters. I met Jess and Jacquie last summer while I was interning at UTRI, and I love it when I get to spend time with them. :-) So, we're off to see Jess get hitched tomorrow, and we're praying for no rain because the wedding is supposed to be outside. No rain please!

On a more sentimental note, I said good-bye to my bro tonight for 6 weeks. I always get sad when I know I'm not going to see him for a while. Of course, he's not exactly sentimental, lol, guess it's not very cool. Him leaving, though, means I'll be chilling at Montezuma in 6 weeks...this makes my heart happy. :-)

So...lately I've been trying to be less thoughtful and more surface level. This sounds shallow, I know, but the more thoughtful I am, the more I analyze things, and the more I drive myself crazy. Anyway, the highlight of my day today was extremely thought-provoking, and today I was okay with that.

While I was at work, my boss's granddaughter was frolicking around the store just being a normal 6 year old. When she goes to the downstairs part of the store, she's always supposed to tell someone so that we can keep track of her. Today, as she was about to head downstairs, she yelled, "I'm going downstairs!! Hey, wait...what's that?"

She was pointing out the front door and windows, made entirely of glass, at a black and white polka dotted pinwheel stuck in a large flower pot right outside the store. She said, "Come hold the door for me!"

So, I followed her out the door and stayed there to watch her. The wind was blowing because it was pretty stormy this afternoon, so the pinwheel was spinning wildly. She just watched it for a while, then when the wind died down for a second, she blew on the pinwheel and moved it with her hands to make it spin again. This is where the highlight of my day comes in...

The wind picked up again, and the pinwheel started to spin. She looked at it, looked at me, and then just started to clap her hands, jump up and down, and laugh happily. I wish I could have taken a picture of her face. The sheer look of joy was indescribable and for what? A pinwheel? How many of us would be excited or happy to see a pinwheel spinning in the breeze?

I want this childlike fascination in my life again. Can you imagine how much happier our lives would be if we enjoyed little things more? A pinwheel...I want one...just so I can see that little girl's face in my mind and know that happiness really can come from the little things.

Well, I guess I will attempt to fall asleep now. 6 a.m. is going to come really early...

Hope all is well for everyone!

Love and peace,

Amelia