At the preschool my son attends, I see the children in the monogrammed shirts and Orient Express outfits, and in my head I sigh, “I used to be you! Really! I did!” I remember those days with my older children.

Now? Well, I’m a little different. If I find two matching socks for my three year old, I’m all, “SCORE!” And the mornings I don’t? Well, we just go with the ones I do dig up. And I know it’s not the end of the world. I tell him it’s cool now to have mismatched socks. He rolls with it. Good boy, he is.

I’ve noticed other things are a little different nowadays too … here are a few things I never thought I’d do:

1.) That I’d ever go out of the house without makeup. Oh boy. {Now, as far as hairspray goes … that probably won’t ever be happening.} I actually sit in the preschool parking lot most mornings and apply it there — because that’s where I have time. And on the rare morning I don’t have time because God puts a post on my heart that has to get written — well, then I scare small children and go makeup-less.

Whatever.

2.) Not care if my children’s clothes match perfectly. If it’s clean, that’s good enough. I’ve released the idea that my worth comes from how they look. Or even, how I look apparently, since this week, I wore the same shirt on Tuesday and Wednesday, counting on the fact that for the most part, the mommies at preschool that I saw on Tuesday would be different from the mommies I would see on Wednesday. 

So, so whatever.

3.) Sit at She Speaks, surrounded by people who are stepping out in crazy ways and not feel small or out of place, or just plain weird, or sweaty, or otherwise freaked out. Rather, that I would rest in the fact that God had brought me to that very place for a wonderful reason.

4.) Be a prayer warrior. I struggle with even typing that one, since those seem like some mighty big words. I have a heart for prayer. {I like that those words a lot more.} And yet, I am nothing like The Church Lady from “Saturday Night Live.” Not even close. Unless she had conversations like this with her children:

“How are you getting to your friend’s house?”

“They’re coming, with their parents, to pick me up.”, says son.

(panicked) “Great, JUST GREAT … now we’ll have to act normal.”

5.) That God would show me that I am indeed a leader. Apparently they aren’t just born. Or the type-A, hard-charging people I always assumed a leader had to be. A lot of it is just saying, “Yes” and trusting Him to teach you as you go. Who knew? My saying had always been, “I don’t lead!” Well, “I don’t write!” either, and now I have a blog … so uh, saying yes, can change a lot.

6.) That I’d ever be brave. I’m a chicken at heart. Of everything. The dark. Big things, little things. Imagined things. Real things. You name it. Now? Oh, now, I’m still scared. Almost all the time. The smaller things don’t scare me anymore like they used to, but the big things do. Here’s the difference, I have my little freak-out, then I do it anyway. And I’m amazed at all God does.

What are you doing now, that you didn’t think you ever would?

I’d love to hear!