Some quotes to live by...

I've always been a huge fan of ANYTHING done by Jim Henson. My favorite movie is still "Labyrinth" after all these years (and I will admit that when I saw it as a little kid, I definitely thought that David Bowie was a girl. I was too innocent to notice the bulge in his spandex pants); I'm not a fan of manga, but I've gone out of my way to purchase the new manga series "Return to the Labyrinth" and "Legends of the Dark Crystal" (and they're pretty good too)! I've introduced my husband to some of Jim's lesser-known works, like his "Storyteller" series (both the original and Greek myths); I read books about Jim Henson's creature shop, biographies about him, his work on Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and more!

One of my favorites is a small book called, "It's not easy being Green and other things to consider" by Jim Henson, The Muppets, and Friends. It's a collection of quotes, stories, anecdotes and songs and I always find it inspiring and uplifting to read. I'm not a religious person, and I believe in helping people and always trying to do good things in life. Since I first read this quote by Jim in undergrad, I've always tried to live according to it (sheesh, it's like the Muppets are my Bible!):

"When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here. It's a wonderful life and I love it." -Jim Henson

Now this doesn't mean that you have to do BIG, GINORMOUS, AWESOME THINGS (like Jim Henson accomplished) to make a difference and leave the world a better place. It can be as simple as volunteering every now and again; making donations to your local shelter or food bank; tutoring; reading at night to your kids; walking/biking/taking public transportation; sharing your art with the world; helping a stranger; adopting a pet; and just being kind and understanding! All these things may seem small in the grand scheme of things, but they all make the world a better place little by little. And maybe you'll inspire someone else to do kind things.



Hope that gives you a little uplifting boost for your weekend! I'll close with a graduation speech made by Kermit the Frog:
"I really do believe that all of you are at the beginning of a wonderful journey. As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you're going to are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you won't be able to refold it no matter how smart you are.
So forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can, pull over and have a picnic with a pig. And if you can help it, never fly as cargo."

Random Acts of Kindness and almost ending up with a baby

So a few nights ago it was absolutely pouring rain here in Maine. I'm talking pouring cats, dogs, ferrets and possibly a llama or two (or maybe an alpaca. I get them mixed up), along with thunder and lightning. But my husband and I needed to go to the store, so we drove to our local supermarket, picked up what we needed and headed for the exit.

At the exit we could really see that it was coming down even harder than before (it's raining hippos now!) and the lightning was pretty much right on top of us. Also looking in dismay at the current weather conditions was a mother and her young daughter in a loaded shopping cart. I heard her say quietly to her daughter, "I can't take you out in this!"

Now I know how sketchy it may seem for two perfect strangers to offer to watch your baby, and I considered that she might react angrily at the suggestion, but I figured, why not offer and see how it goes. So I said, "would you like us to watch your child while you bring the car around?" Her face lit up and she said, "really?!? Would you? My van is just right over there!"

Now I know that many people would balk at leaving their kid with two strangers, and maybe if this had happened while I was living in Boston, the mom would've immediately declined, but I'll give two theories why she trusted us: 1) Portland may be a city, but it feels more like a large town in many ways (good ways). And 2) My husband and I look like very friendly and trustworthy nerds. Seriously. I was at a club in NYC with some friends, sitting at a table and a stranger asked me if I would watch his drink for him while he went out for a smoke. My NYC friend said, "you're not afraid she'll roofie it?!?" (meaning put drugs in it) and he said, "you look trustworthy." This gets me in trouble sometimes because homeless people ask me for money all the time and if there are any drunks or crazies around, I'm apparently fair game to talk to. But hey, it comes in handy on occasion!

So she ran out into the rain to her van, which we could see from the exit and started to pull around. Unfortunately, this made it look like she was driving away from the supermarket and my husband said, "great. Now we have a baby...(looks at the food poking out of the shopping bags) and a package of M&M cookies. Sweet!" But within seconds she was right in front of the exit! Phew!
It felt good to do something nice for someone on the spur of the moment, and not only that, it felt good to know that someone was willing to trust us with her most beloved possession (if you can call a kid a possession), her child. Warm fuzzies all around! It made our soaking mad dash for our car not feel so bad! And I hope you enjoyed the awesome drawings I made to illustrate the story!