Yep. 10 ways.
Do you think I can come up with 10 whole ways how to stick out like a sore thumb?
I would imagine that I could come up with more than that…but let’s stick with 10!
- Marry a man from a totally different country than you. (He is not only from that country, but he is immersed in the culture and lifestyle as well).
- Have four sons. Throw in a comment or two about how you don’t mind having 4 boys, and you will stick out even more! (My four boys right after my youngest was born)
- Dress counter culturally. Well, this one is a big one. What is really funny is that I forget about it myself. I don’t generally feel like the odd one out until someone reminds me..”Hey, you dress weird. Why is that?” I generally have to take a minute and remind myself “Oh yeah, I look different on the outside than what I feel on the inside.” and proceed to tell them why.
- Attend a church where no English words are spoken the whole time. If they are, it is usually a word that they learned here, something to describe Americans, or such like. I have attended this church for over 8 years, almost 9. I have attended almost every Sunday for about 4 years and many of them before that. Almost everyone in that church building, their relatives that live in other states, families that have no idea anything about me know my name, who I am etc. because I am that “American girl that attends a Russian church.” However, I can tell you who usually sees me on Sunday and who pretends I am invisible. You really feel like a sore thumb then!
- Love to read…Yup. I got this one down. I have read only 46 books this year. Yes, I do mean only 46 books. I have been way too busy, I don’t like it, but it makes me read less. I usually read between 30-50 books a month, not in three months!
- I have solar panels on my roof. We have a solar water heater connected to our water heater that runs on gas. The solar helps heat the water when the sun is shining, and supposedly saves us money! I get cars that slow down, walkers slow down and stare as they go by.
- I homeschool my boys. I get all kinds of comments on this one. From “Good for you!” to “You are nuts.” and the ever popular “You should just put them in school. Think of all the time you would have.” I think what they don’t realize is that while homeschooling is not a picnic, the pros of it really outweigh the cons for me right now. I get to spend all this time with my kids, they keep me young and make me old all at the same time!
- I love to hike the small mountains around my hometown. I don’t want to do anything too bad, but just enough to build my muscles, help me feel energetic. On the plus side, we can make anything into a homeschool lesson. Just ask our kids!
- I have a fairly small family in my opinion, but I am one of eleven. That makes us stick out like a sore thumb as I have brothers the same age as my boys, there are tons of us! We are a giant happy bunch! My children never lack for friends in the family though!
- Last, but not least. I don’t drink coffee. I drink tea. I don’t just drink a little tea. I am a teaoholic. I love tea and will drink all your tea in the house if you let me! Thankfully most of it that I drink is herbal though! So that is all….10 ways to stick out like a sore thumb. You know, I am pretty good at it too!
Pshaw whatever just be who you are. And I think the solar panels are cool.
“They keep me young and make me old all at the same time!” Perfectly said. That’s exactly it!!
Sore thumbs are awful, you are cute and fun, energetic and crazy smart and I’ll feed you tea all night light to visit and cheer each other on! :)
I wouldn’t say sore thumb because you are a beautiful and smart woman and I’m sure many just love every little unique thing about you!
What country is “that”?
I marvel at your capacity, Martha! You are an amazing example to all of us, not to mention an example that speaks volumes to our surrounding culture! Go with God…with all your heart….as you are doing! :)
Oh, I am the same way about tea! When I visited my parents for a month, I drank tea all the time, probably like 100+ tea bags worth :O while I was there. I told my mom, “Not many people could have me over for a month and not see a dent in their tea stash!” because she has sooo much tea and she doesn’t drink it herself, it’s mostly for guests. :)
Do you speak/understand Russian?
I am glad to meet someone else like me about tea! Yes, I understand about 80% of Russian, but don’t speak very well.
I love you for all of those reasons! :)
I’m jealous about the solar panels! I want some. :) I’m a tea and coffee drinker. If you’re ever in my neck of the woods, I’ll make you a cup of tea from the herb garden and we’ll got hit the trails up Sauk Mtn.
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hi from a fellow sore thumb…I am the mum to 12…8 sons & 4 daughters. dress funny too & wear a headcovering :-) love tea & reading… living in Ukraine now…It’s ok to go the opposite way…fitting in isn’t all good…who really does. God Bless you & your family
You don’t seem different to me! :) I found this post through your post on Jessie’s blog. I love it! Homeschooling is great, big families are awesome, and I would love to have a solar powered house. I often feel like the odd one out, too. Between how I dress, the fact that I’m really shy, I was home schooled, etc… I get it! This post was really encouraging :)
Well, I’ve never met you before, wandered over here from Jessie’s blog, but I think we’d get along fine! I’m married to a pastor (like being from a different country), I have four boys (and 2 girls – oh the looks we get), I read whenever I can, we are farmers who want to go off-grid (solar, wind, not there yet, but one day), and my tea cupboard would welcome you…it is very well stocked, no coffee! Come visit anytime…http://freshflowers01.blogspot.ca
I’m thankful to know you and to me you don’t stick out like a sore thumb!
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Howdy just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a
few of the images aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure why
but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show
the same outcome.
I think it might be a hosting issue, as the images are all hosted by the same server and for some reason, they wouldn’t let me fix them. Some are fine and some are not! I will work on it more later, thanks for letting me know!
Face it Martha….you Rock! ( its a good thing :) )