I am sure there are a lot of reasons why in our culture people get married & have kids later & later in life. I got to thinking this week that maybe our ancestors had it right to marry earlier in life. The younger you are, the more energy you have to parent.

The teens & 20-something years are very formative years (and maybe 30,40,50's etc are- but since I'm not yet there, I can't yet speak in that experience.) So I wonder maybe that's also the formative time for relationships. I'm just thinking here, of course.

You know how it's hard to teach a dog new tricks? Well, I think that's true of people... and it seems the longer people are unmarried, the more used to being indepdent they get... and perhaps the harder it is for them to meld into a relationship. I could totally be wrong...

Also, in other cultures, as soon as it's aparant a young man or woman has gone through puberty, they are then able to get married. Of course age-wise that varies, but that's much younger than most people get married in our culture. I think that in our culture if I had a 14 year-old daughter who I agreed to marry off most people would think that is wrong. (I don't have a 14-year old by the way & don't plan to marry off my daughter when she is 14.)

I read a book last week called "Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Agaist Low Expectations" by Alex & Brett Harris (foreword by Churck Norris). I found it really interesting that the word "teenager" wasn't used until the 1950's. Before that, as soon as people were physically able, they would work... or biologically ready, they would be or could be married.  They talked about  how teenager was more of a cultural mindset , than a  biological state. A good book, by the way, if you know any teenagers who need a new or fresh outlook on life.

Though in your teens & even in your 20's you may not be mature enough to handle a marriage relationship, maybe that's more of a cultural thing too... where teens & 20-somethings are allowed to be almost babied and grow-up very slowly.

Just thoughts from my cup of coffee this morning.

Who makes the best coffee in town? God knows it's not Starbucks. Thoughts?

Dagny's?

Seattle's Best?

Starbucks?

Coffee Coffee?

Any others?

My favorte coffee place is back in Minneapolis called Caibou Coffee. DELICIOUS!! It is the second largest chain in the country. However, while Starbucks has thousands of locations; Caribous has hundres- mostly in the twin cities. They had the best. My favorite-- a medium mint condition.

larger view

If you could do ANYthing and money or time were no issue, what would you do and why?

I don't know why, but for some reason, if money and time were no issue, I would love to sit in a coffee shop all day to dream, think, process, organize, and be creative. Just sit and dream.

My husband & I are INFP's. (Not know what that is? Search Myers-Briggs) Anyways, we're imaginative.

This last summer we took a karate class. When we read our instructors bio, we thought it said that he was an black belt expert in karate and also received his doctorate in physics. We thought that was definitely the making of a real-life superhero. I mean, really, who would mess with that? (Turns out we read it wrong. He actually had a doctorate in philosophy... Which makes more sense.)

As we waited in line for Star Wars in 2002 (we waited a LONG time), we saw a guy with a sneer on his face. Decidedly he was Sneer, the making of a real-life villain. I knew he was cooking up something vicious with a look on his face like that!

Do you think like this? Can you think of a time when you spotted the making of a real-life super or villain?

I'm not talking some country song! I'm talking about when you are trying to reach a destination by walking & you cross paths with another person. You wanna go this way, they wanna go that way ... and for a brief moment, you dance. Oh man, no more dancing!! From now on, I will proudly announce "I AM COMING THIS WAY!" "HERE I COME!" "LEFT SIDE!" "WALKING TOWARDS THE BATHROOM"