Mad Gab

This is dedicated to my dad, who told me yesterday that I should write a post about how certain words like "the mall" and "them all" sound the same when you say them quickly enough. So, yeah, this is for him.

     One of my favorite games is Mad Gab, and I don't think it has anything to do with my love for English, because I'm awful at this game. But that's part of what makes it fun! I'm extremely competitive, but as long as the competition is fair, I love losing. Winning is better, yes, but losing is still a lot of fun (as long as it's fair).
     For those of you who don't know, the point of Mad Gab is to see cards like these and say what's in the bubble as quickly as possible, trying to figure out what the gibberish is saying. For instance, the message on the top left says, "A practical joke." You can figure the others out. :) My fiancée and I came up with a few more examples, such as "It's not/It's snot," "Would've/Would of," "The snail/this nail," etc., but here's some more official ones:

     Okay, so here's the deal. I'm tired. I almost didn't write this at all, but I can't let myself not do it. But I don't really want to write much, so I'm gonna cut to the chase (you won't believe how ironic this is).
     The world is a jumble. It's fast-paced and hectic and stressful, and it makes me want to sing "Mayberry" by Rascal Flatts. I'm working twenty-five hours a week, taking fourteen credits at one of the nation's best universities, contributing (in my own small way) to planning a wedding, and it's killing me. I know, I'm a wimp and so many people have it way worse than me. But that's my point! People keep taking on more and more, and the only way to get through it is to go as quickly as possible. But when you do that, when you speed through everything, it all just starts to blend together. Everything becomes a messy blur, and at least for me, the monotony makes me wish my head would explode.
     My head is about to explode, so this is my point: figure out a way to slow down. I have no idea how to apply this to my own life, as I've been getting four and a half hours of sleep or less (usually less) for the past two weeks, but it's so important. In fact, this is gonna take a shift from my normal route:
     I don't have the answers on this one. I don't know how to slow down, reduce stress, simplify, none of it, Thoreau, gosh dang it! I found a meme I like:

     I'm not quite to that point yet, but you never know. ;)
     So this is my new point: what can you tell me? How can you help me? I don't have the answers, but maybe you do, and I want them. Instead of trying to teach right now, I want to learn. What have you done? How have you improved? How have you learned to enjoy the little wonders without neglecting those things that you don't want to do but are obligated to? How do you prioritize? I'm really interested for you to tell me. I'm confident that you have something to teach me. Please do.
     Someday soon, I hope to make sense of all this. I know that God loves me and has my back. I know he hasn't abandoned me, and I know that this will all be for my benefit. It's just that right now I'm not entirely clear what He wants me to do with everything He's given me. But I know He'll tell me, and He may do it through you.
     Life can sometimes feel like Mad Gab, but every word has meaning. And when you take it all at the right pace, hopefully you'll start to put the pieces together.

This is a video about the little moments, and I need to learn to live more like this.

The second video is Little Wonders by Rob Thomas, as featured in Meet the Robinsons. :D