When Dana mentioned to me that she was starting a blog about being intentional in the relationships in her life - I was so excited! Then she asked me if I wanted to contribute, and that excitement turned to nervous in a matter of seconds! What to do - what to say - who am I to put my opinions out there for the world - all of these things (and more) running through my head. Then I began to focus on the purpose of the blog itself. To be more intentional in our relationships...to live an intentional life...to live a simpler life. We all get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of our day to day lives that we often forget that it is the relationships, the choices that we have in being human, that truly make us who we are and bring us the most joy. I am sure that most of you have seen the below quote, but it came to mind as I was thinking about this post. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world it is best to hold hands and stick together.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Kristi