MANANANA

The Muppets have brought me back to this place of childhood curiosity this Thanksgiving break. I grew up with them, I pretend like I am them, I even dressed up like one of them for Halloween this year. The movie brought back this cast of characters that I felt like I knew already, even though I hadn't seen them in a while. They have grown, Animal has gone to Anger Management, Fozzie has tried gigs in Reno, and Miss Piggy went to Paris. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Jason Segel tells his brother Walter, "Growing up is becoming who you want to be."

That's my theme right now. I'm growing up, becoming who I want to be. That means I've worked really hard on an apartment that I want to be the way it is and I have to say, a month later, I'm proud of how hard I've come solo, individually, independently (another line from the movie).

But I've also had a lot of help and I started to tear up during church today when Fred was talking about letting other people help us. My friends Stephan and Kimberly drove a Uhaul around with me one Saturday in search of furniture, my friend Shane filled my water cooler and helped me hang things that I couldn't reach, my friend Julie helped me get the lights on my tree, my friend Barclay went with me to the art store to get my last can of Malachite spray paint, the list goes on and on. This Thanksgiving, like the Muppets, I'm learning what it feels like to grow up but also to let other people help me along the way.