VISITING THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value." - Einstein 

I'm chewing on this.  There is so much I want to do, but also sometimes I am so tired.  I have many dreams, but I am also very happy with what I have going on here right now.  I try not to get too knocked down when things don't work out, reflect on why I feel discouraged, flex my trusting muscles, and find value in the overwhelming wealth that is my life. Einstein was probably warning against the success that seeks out fame and prosperity, and I'm agreeing with him, that pursuing those kinds of successes does not do anything for character or true joy. So becoming a woman of value is having my own, possibly counter-culture, definition of success. Nothing wrong with fame or prosperity, but those things in themselves hold little intrinsic value and my 30 year old self has been defining success these days as: getting through my to-do list for the day, really seeing my daughter, making her feel loved and praying for her, having patience towards others, being open, giving as many thanks as I can possibly squeeze in a day, being still before my Maker, writing, day dreaming and putting forth plans for the future but holding on to them loosely.  I'm learning as I go; transformation through the renewal of my mind. 

And now without further ado, our trip to the museum, in photos... like I do.

I was near giddy to take sloane to the natural history museum last weekend. It's probably become one of my favorite hobby these days- introducing Sloane to new things.  Ken and I felt like such parents, like the kind of parents that do things like take their kid to the museum.  I see why this is a thing, everyone wins. It's for the benefit of the kid, sure, but also, it reminds the grown ups of the wonder that we once had when we were kids.  

Taking pictures on such trips is another thing we do here right? To prove to them later that we did such things, but more importantly to remind them that there was a point in their lives when they first saw things like a giant stuffed elephant, stuffed birds, the bones of a dinasoar, a replica of a blue whale, and tanks of live hermit crabs and beautiful fish, they considered it absolutely and utterly amazing.

taking a deep breath before exploring: sitting down at ground level, having a clementine for energy and observing the crowds

we started with the elephant on the main floor and sloane's mind was blown