I'm from...

(Disclaimer: I saw this on another blog and thought it sounded fun. Hopefully it will be!)

I'm from chasing lightning bugs. Putting them in jars with holes poked in the lids. Running barefoot in the grass on summer nights until it was time to come inside and go to bed.

I'm from being a big sister to one brother. Hamming it up on our one tape of home videos. Playing "Big X, Little X." Writing words with our fingers on each other's backs. "Drown Your Cows." Lots of road trips. "Mom, he's on my side!" Playing school using upside-down laundry baskets as desks.

I'm from reading a novel while we drove through the Rocky Mountains. Book-It at Pizza Hut. Book collections. Library cards.

I'm from corn country. Tornado land. Sunflowers dotting country roads in August and September, as far as the eye can see. Small towns. Loretta Lynn. Anne Murray. Carole King. Crushing on my great-aunt's neighbor's nephew at 5 years old. Purple and white VS red and blue.

I'm from missing my mom when I was at school. Stomach aches. Trying not to imagine the worst happening to my parents when they left us with the occasional babysitter. Being convinced that the Tabby Cat poster on my wall turned into a wolf at dusk. Watching car headlights shine through my bedroom window at night and fighting the fear that there were robbers with flashlights on the ground below.

I'm from special candy at Christmas. Yum-Yums. Peanut Brittle.

I'm from Country Cheese Potatoes.

I'm from playing MASH in order to peek into my future. House. Husband. Two kids. Purple.

I'm from a Mennonite and a (former) Christian Scientist. A Midwestern girl and a West coast boy. Six week-acquaintance before becoming engaged. Romantics. Commitment.

I'm from writing diaries. Dating my pastor's son. Going to senior prom as a freshman. Going out with an older boy from a different school in a bigger town. Loving his tender heart. Marrying him at age 20.

I'm from sunrise services on Easter morning. Church potlucks. Cantatas. Candlelight services on Christmas Eve. Hymns.

I'm from the Mennonite church. The Presbyterian Church. The Community Church. The Christian Church. Getting sprinkled at 14 and immersed at 24.

I'm from Amy Grant. Sandi Patti. Michael W. Smith. First Call. Steven Curtis Chapman. Rich Mullins.

I'm from many things. Moving toward one eternal future.