How old am I?

What is it about family that they have no confidence in you to take care of your nutritional needs? I am home for Thanksgiving break, and my parents and grandmother have all come to the conclusion that they need to tell me how to eat. This does not fall under the category of control issues, because they have no complaints about how late I stay out or how I behave. They simply nag me about what I am ingesting. Honestly, aren't my behavior and attitude more important than my digestion in terms of parental nagging? However, this subject seems to be a common factor amongst many people's relatives. For instance, my mother's mother nags her about what she eats and my parents nag my sister about what she eats. In addition, all of the evidence of my friend's families shows that their parents bug them about what they eat as well. Is this just an Ohio thing? Or do all parents nag their children about nutrition? Good grief.

New York, New York

I love New York City. I wouldn't necessarily want to live there, but I would be game for visiting there for two weeks every year. After all, they are the center of culture for the nation, not to mention that there's ALWAYS something going on there.

I went for a 30 minute walk in the city this weekend and walked past over 20 theaters showing musicals and plays. And that was just the theaters right along Broadway! Where else in the U.S. is there a theater district of that size and variety? I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has the largest collection of art in the Western Hemisphere. I also drove past the Frick and the Guggenheim. I would LOVE to be able to just visit all of those museums and see those shows.

The only strange thing about NYC, though, is that people seem surprised if you're friendly to them. I mean, I hold my head up and smile at people as a general rule, but the people there were practically blown away by that. Most of them smiled back, with an amused look in their eyes that said, "What is THIS?!?!"

As I said, I would love to visit there for 2 weeks every single year, but I don't think I would like to live there for a long period of time.

The biggest news of my weekend, though, was this: MY SISTER PLAYED IN CARNEGIE HALL! AND SHE WAS GREAT!!!!

Void?

Do you ever feel like there's something missing? As though nothing is wrong in your life, but there's simply something lacking? Confession: I went to see a romantic-comedy tonight, and it made me really lonely. Even though I'm young, I still fear that I'll be alone forever. That I'll wake up at age 35 and realize that it's never going to happen for me. That I'll find myself alone at age 70 wondering where my life went. I don't even want a movie romance, I want a real relationship. I want what my parents have, that secure, loving partnership. I see my aunts and uncles, the married couples at my church, and wish I could find something like that. I'm not aching for magical romance, I'm searching for someone to match me like those couples match each other.

There is no such thing as a perfect relationship. I know this. All relationships have problems, conflicts, differences... but they're strong enough to survive anything that comes their way because both partners are determined to make it work and convinced that the effort is worth it.

Is the right guy out there? Is there someone out there who I will like who will actually like me back? Did God make someone to walk alongside me? I have no idea. But I hope. And I wait. And if you're out there... I'm searching and waiting for you.

Wow, that's sappy. I've got to stop before I go into emotional overhaul and start acting like a feminine girl. We all know THAT can't happen.