bodies in motion

I've been in a sort of funk for a while.

But then I went to New York.

And I discovered something while I was there. You know that physics law that a body at rest stays at rest and a body in motion stays in motion?

It applies to people too.

This weekend I realized something: the Mid-Atlantic is jam-packed with places to explore. New York is only 3 hours away. From Philly to Gettysburg, there are places to day trip to for any mood. You know what else?  I have a car & a camera. I can travel.

On Saturday, I went down to DC after my haircut. I wasn't there long; Mom had asked me to take a picture of the DAR building for the scrapbook she's working on (Mom's state scrapbook chair back home). After my haircut, I realized that the sun was shining and I had a wide-open Saturday. So I grabbed my camera and hit the road.

After snapping a few pictures I headed back towards home. On the way, I made a pit stop at the outlet mall for a new Easter suit.

Today is Easter Sunday and in light of my new revelation about bodies in motion, I paid a visit to the church that brought me back to the Church and got me to attend mass regularly again.

The Basilica is still one of my favorite churches. There's an emotional connection there that I don't have with many other churches. It's where my adult faith took root and began to grow. It's where I fell in love with the Mass itself.

I love the city of Baltimore too. As I was driving up Charles Street after mass, my heart felt full to bursting. This city got under my skin somehow and it's still there. There aren't many cities I feel that way about, and Baltimore is definitely one of them.

But this new-found motion hasn't just led me to go more places. It's also led me to come out of the shadows in other ways.

Lately, I've been mistaken several times for someone much older than I am. People often frequently assume I'm married with children. But I'm not. I'm not even 30 yet.

I'll always be an old soul. I was born that way. But there's no need to dress and act that way.

The changes started a few weeks ago. I started wearing brighter lipstick. I stopped crawling into bed at 9 pm every night.

Yesterday, I bought shorter skirts than I've bought in a long time. They aren't mini skirts or anything but they don't reach my knees like every skirt I've owned recently. I've bought new shoes, shoes that wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for someone older than me.

But yesterday I did something else that I'm still somewhat surprised at myself for going through with.

I love all these pictures of women with beautiful, colorful hair. I would add some purple or blue to my hair in a heartbeat. But unfortunately, I'm at a stage in my career where colorful hair just isn't an option.

For Christmas I received a Groupon for a haircut & highlights. Normally I just get some soft caramel colored highlights that look beautiful but very natural.

Yesterday I told the stylist I wanted to do something edgy (but still professional). I told her to do what she thought would look good.

I walked out with a statement streak as she called it. Nestled under the top layer of my hair near my right temple is a streak of blond hair. It doesn't look like a zebra stripe. Instead, it just plays peak-a-boo under the dark brown hair around it.

I love it. So so much.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't have to stay stationary. Even if you don't change jobs or cities, you can still change.

After all, a body at rest stays at rest.

But a body in motion?

It keeps moving on to better and better things.