traveling light

I cleaned out my closet and attic last weekend.

Hi, my name is Brittany and I am a hoarder.

I've been feeling the need to rid my life of all unnecessary junk, and Saturday was the perfect opportunity. Like with any huge cleaning job, things got a lot worse before they got better. It wasn't pretty, and at one point I found myself in the fetal position. While the process was painstaking and miserable, I did find some wonderful treasures along the way.

Like my beloved Tomagatchi Game Boy,

Don't pretend you didn't have one.

a "My Bundle Baby" pouch (that ACTUALLY KICKED),

I never realized how bizarre this toy was until now.

and my life's work from fifth grade.

1) Flying to London over the Pacific Ocean? Come on, Brittany.

2) This Mack character sounds like a creep.

And then there was this:

Just hangin' out in front of a waterfall with Simba.

I'm not including a picture of the small jar of my baby teeth that I found. You're welcome. I was really proud of those.

Even though it's been a joy to rediscover these lost relics (minus the teeth), I don't mind letting some of them go. I have the urge to purge, a desire to simplify.

I want to travel light.

It is becoming more clear to me every day that this world is not my home. And with the earthquakes, wars and disease, I'm really thankful for this. I know I've mentioned Donald Miller on this blog before. I don't take everything he says as absolute truth, but I do appreciate his perspective on a lot of things. Like his perspective in a blog post on Grappling with Control and the Fear of Dying:

"This whole following Jesus business is largely about giving Him control, or more, realizing we don’t have control to begin with. And a great way to measure whether or not we’ve given Him our lives is to ask ourselves if we’ve given Him our death. By that I mean are we are okay with the fact that some day soon we are going to part with all that we’ve made, all that we’ve done, and no longer have an ounce of control over what happens on the earth?"

How I went from Tomagatchis to death, I do not know. But I do know this: the grass withers. The flowers fade. My Newbery Award-Winning book will turn to dust. And that's okay with me.

I do love my life and I have been abundantly blessed in my short time on this earth. But I have also heard the Lord whisper, "Don't get too comfortable, kid. You ain't seen nothin' yet."

I'll trade my Game Boy any day.

JibJabbin'

Last year I thought I had the smartest, funniest, most thoughtful idea. I would make my friend a JibJab video for her birthday. I giggled to myself as I thought about her reaction. It was going to be her favorite Facebook post, for sure.

For more than an hour I sat in my apartment and chose a video template, uploaded pictures, and meticulously cropped our heads to look proportionate to the bodies. As I clicked "Done" and looked for the URL code, I was greeted with a nice message that congratulated me on my new video. It also told me that it would only cost $12 a year to become an exclusive member at JibJab. It also wouldn't let me post the video without paying said $12.

You're now looking at a card-carrying exclusive member of JibJab. Be impressed. Or tell me I'm the biggest sucker in America.

I've decided to take full advantage of my credentials and make as many of these babies as possible. I know, JibJab videos were so 2009, but I'm still entertained nonetheless. I'm riding this fad train to the last station; I've invested too much time and money to turn back now.

Please enjoy my latest creation. Kenneth Parcell and I had a blast at Soul Night at our community center last weekend. Hope you like our moves (as well as our many wardrobe changes).

So how did my friend like her video? Unfortunately I had a mild lapse in judgement and decided on the "Farting Office Birthday Song." Turns out that's not the most tasteful video to be posting on someone's wall. But I know she appreciated the thought, even if it was crude and a little unbecoming.

Be on the lookout for more videos in the future, and don't be surprised if you get one of these for your birthday. I'm about to go do some ribbon dancing with Justin Beiber. Peace!