Tale of Two Blogs

In the past week, I read two different blogs- which actually had nothing to do with each other- but they each got me to thinking. The first blog entry which started my brain turning was about Memoirs by Annette Gendler. The other blog entry which continued to grease the cogs in my brain was about Enjoying life where you are at by Pastor Matt. As I said, both of these entries had very little to do with each other but they were like book ends in my thinking process.

The first blog entry clarified the difference between a memoir and an autobiography. A memoir being about an event, series of events, or a theme in your life. An autobiography being a complete overview of your entire life. I thought about how people are always asking me to write my memoirs- and I was thinking it would be hard to choose one particular theme or time period in my life. There has been so much I've experienced and done but what would you choose to write about?

After reading the blog entry, my brain rumbled along thinking about all the options in my life which I could highlight. This is when I read the second blog entry about how often as children we are made to look forward to things, with unrealistic expectations. We don't learn to just enjoy the season or period of life we are in. We keep thinking, "Oh when I finally start working..." or "When I finally get married..." There is always something dangling ahead for us, only we find when we arrive at our 'when I..." moments we discover the mundane and ordinary are interwoven amongst the amazing. Often we have to trudge in and out of day to day life.

How do the two blog entries tie into each other? The first one prompted me to think of writing about various events in my life. The second blog entry, made me realize that no matter what event or time period I chose there would still be boring bits. No matter what we go through in life, there are the days which are mundane and ordinary. 

I remember when I was offered an internship at the White House. I imagined changing the nation with my great researching capabilities. I thought I would walk in and discuss politics with my co-workers. The first day I was called into the office, my boss handed me a watering can and told me, "Now please make sure those plants along that window are watered." I was also 'in charge' of buying sandwiches in the cafeteria. There were other miscellaneous errands I was called on to run.

When I was offered an internship at a senator's office, I expected the same type of assignments. I went into the office fully prepared to run the same type of errands for the other workers in the office. To my surprise, the office manager put me at a desk and told me to start researching major issues. Time was spent reading and writing critical letters to constituents.

If I were to write a memoir about that time period in my life, I would definitely include both internship experiences. Although one consisted of mundane tasks, it taught me so many things. If I had not found happiness in the 'here and now', of that time, I would have missed out on the joy of being there in the White House. Walking through underground passage ways and meeting amazing people almost every day I went to work. 

We don't have to travel to the White House or around the world to enjoy life. Wherever we are, we have memoirs in the making. In the midst of washing dishes, scrubbing floors, and doing laundry, we can be making a difference. Every day is another chance to do something amazing in our own lives and in the lives of those around us!

If you were to write a memoir, what time period in your life would you write about? Or what theme would you choose to write about?