Time: Kathryn Bronn

Slowing down can be extremely difficult to do.  My schedule is constantly on the verge of overwhelming me, and I am simply feel like there is not enough time to accomplish everything I want to do in my day.  This is the American way at its best.  When I was just out of high school, I spent 18 months overseas—3 months in Northern New Zealand, 3 months in Thailand, 3 months in Spain, just to mention a few.  I was forced to learn the art of slowing down (siesta!) and enjoying a few moments/hours of quiet time.  At first, this drove me absolutely crazy.  People actually take a nap or just lay around for a few hours every day??

Now, several years later, I find this a necessary practice.  At least once a week, or more often if I can manage it, I slip away from the daily grind. It's my “old-fashioned girl routine” as I like to call it, since I am the absolute definition of a girly girl.  I put on a sundress, make some sweet tea in a mason jar, find an old book (oftentimes Pride and Prejudice), get my faded quilt, and find a tree to lay under for a few hours. Sometimes I don’t even read, I just lay on my back and daydream.  I let myself relax and practice the art of doing nothing. I'd say that is time well spent.

Mirrors: Kathryn Bronn

Have you ever watched a girl, young or old, walk past a mirror, stop, back up, admire her reflection, fix her hair, and then move on?  Vanity is something that is wired in us females.  In the same way that no one needs to teach little boys that any and every object (from their Legos to their graham crackers) can be used as a weapon, no one needs to tell girls that their reflection is worth stopping for.  In my childhood home, we had a full-length mirror at the foot of the stairway.  On many occasions, I was known to stumble and fall down the stairs because I was trying to walk and look at myself simultaneously.  I was completely unable to walk by that mirror without stopping to admire the view, a subject which my family teases me about to this day.  

This habit should not be blamed as a result of cultural wrongs or something amiss in our society.  On the contrary, I find it rather humorous to watch, both in the young and the grown females.  It’s in our DNA; girls are enamored by their own reflection.  

Old School: Kathryn Bronn

Tinytown is a village near Conifer, Colorado, made up entirely of model buildings.  This old school stands at a grand height of 3 feet.  It is a miniature amusement park designed for families with young children-- they can walk around and observe each building, or take a ride on the miniature train that weaves its way all through the village.  Tinytown is open daily from Memorial Day thru Labor Day.  For more information and to plan a trip, visit their website.