My Favorite Night of the Week...

Mondays used to be my favorite night of the week... it was the night that Little House on the Prairie came on.  

Given that it was the only television I was permitted to watch -- aside from the PBS after-school line-up of Mr. Rogers, The Electric Company and 3-2-1 Contact -- it was a really big deal.

Then Little House went off the air, I grew up and Monday night was just the first night of the regular week.

Until last summer.  We wanted to start a Girls Night and Mondays seemed the most logical time to hold it, in light of the pre-existing schedule at the center.

Over the last nine months, I've grown to anticipate Monday evenings again.  No week is exactly the same.  We gather, we chat.  We talk about things like food and fashion or whatever is on their mind.  We also try to do something creative, all the while building friendships.

A few months ago we started planning for the annual visit of our regional directors.  As we discussed potential dates, I told Becky that if she was here on a Monday, she could visit  Girls Night, and if she had an idea of a craft we could do, we were eager for something new and different!  She immediately replied with photos of some lovely items she knew how to make.

Yesterday the Zirkles arrived and Becky blessed us with an activity she learned from nearly 40 years of life in Japan... origami!

We learned about the kimono, the sleeves, the sash, the collar...

And we learned some greetings in Japanese too!

Below, my neighbor didn't want to be photographed (she came straight from a 10-hour shift at a factory), but she let me take a photo of our 'best friends'. 

We'll  just say that after last night I have a new appreciation for this form of artwork! :-)  It requires a special level of patience and attention to detail.  And like any skill, once you attempt it, you have a new admiration for someone who has mastered it and can do it well.

The craft reminded me of a story I heard about the development of the Disn*y princess line.  I shared that with my friends as evidence of how God has wired each of us as girls to yearn to be princesses -- treasured and special, and that's just how our heavenly Father sees us.  If we allow ourselves to be adopted into the family of the King of Kings, we are princesses too!

Thank you, Becky, for taking the time to plan this activity and for sharing your adopted culture with us!  It was another lovely, memorable Monday night!