Monday Wisdom: Just open the door!

At dinner the other night, my family sat around the table telling jokes.  After several pretend laughs on my part, my nine-year-old son, Henry, decided to tell a joke to his youngest brother, Trevor, who is four.  Here is their conversation:

Henry: Knock, knock.
Trevor: Who's there?
Henry: Orange.
Trevor: Orange who?
Henry: Knock, knock.
Trevor: Who's there?
Henry: Orange.
Trevor: Orange who?
Henry: Knock, knock
Trevor: Who's there?
Henry: Orange.
Trevor: Orange who?
Henry: Knock, knock
Trevor: JUST OPEN THE DOOR!

He may be only four-years-old, but he is wiser than me!

I'm seriously still laughing . . . My clever four-year-old, though he probably didn't mean to, taught me a great lesson at the dinner table:  Sometimes in life we are waiting for the people around us to do something or for opportunities to come to us.  But just like in the joke, it may be time for us to turn the table and make things happen.  One of my favorite quotes of all time is, "If you continue to think as you've always thought, you continue to get what you've always got."  So true. 

How many times in life are we frustrated that we don't have enough money, we can't fit into our skinny jeans, our house is disorganized, we have no direction.  Nothing is going to change if we don't help it along.  Most of the time I think I am cautionary as to how I repond to people, careful to think things through so I can make sure that no one has hurt feelings.  But sometimes, I just want to shout like my son did, "Stop talking about it and make a change!"

That's not to say I don't just stand at the door and wait for someone to open it for me now and again.  I am still learning. I just hope that we can all learn some wisdom from a four-year-old and make our dreams happen by opening the door for ourselves.

Book Review: The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

Star Rating: 4/5 Stars

A curl-up-in-your-window-seat-kind-a book.

Summary: Abby thought she was perfectly happy with her normal, scheduled life - good friends, reliable boyfriend, and awaiting to hear from her planned college.  But when Dante shows up at her play rehearsal, Abby is mysteriously drawn to the Italian foreign-exchange student.  Time literally disappears the first time they are alone together and other unsual things begins to happen - like seeing flashes of the future. When she finds out that Dante isn't exactly the person he claims to be, Abby discovers a dangerous secret invention that sent him forward in time - and somehow she is connected to it. 

Review: Cute, sweet, and attention-grabbing until the very end.  I love the character of Abby and how she is willing to give up her seemingly perfect, but average life to "Live without Limits."  Of course, Dante is the dreamy male hero that makes my heart palpitate.  I loved that this novel had romance, but also a mystery that I had to keep reading to find out more clues as to Dante's arrival and past. 

I'll admit, I was a little thrown off by the whole time-travel side of things, but I love that Mangum used Italy and da Vinci in its explanation.  I am definitely reading the next book!

Content Rating: PG
Language/Profanity: Mild if any
Sexuality: Mild (kissing, hand-holding)
Drug/Alcohol Use: None (in fact, Leo at the Dungeon prohibits it)
Intense/Scary Scenes: Mild
**Approved by Robin for teens**