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Just shooting the poop with Lori |
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He travels the world on the backs of others Insignificant in his stature and size His journey carries no mission Randomly roaming at the will of his host Sated enough to never question his trek Life is an open adventure without worry If the excitement of his dusty trail dulls Another bus awaits to grant passage With a furry friend to carry him home Ah the wonderful life of a flea |
| Something that I hadn't passed on, is that my daughter was chosen to sing at a concert in Carnegie Hall. I will be traveling to New York next week. I can't keep from thinking of myself as the country girl lost in the big city. My daughter and my husband have been there but I am trying not to panic about the vastness of the city. Hopefully they won't ditch me while we're there. I wouldn't miss this for anything and am very proud of my girl. Obviously, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for her and every vocalist's dream. So we will travel and we will make great memories. I'm already taking pictures in my head, so wish us safe travels and a fun journey. |
| There is the hint of fall in the air and with the first whiff of crisp air, it feels refreshing. But I can't help but think that we are now going into our second winter of hopelessness and fear. I want to sniff the pumpkins, sit by the bonfires, huddle with friends and family roasting marshmallows, once more. I yearn to see fully the faces of those I cherish.I so long to have a mask burning party, like in the 60's we burned our Bra's because of the restrictions they represented. My mask has come to be a symbol of the segregation, anger, turmoil, and the dysfunction of our society. We have become solitary and isolated in our lives.Our joy is being suppressed by this virus, but also by the in-fighting among one another. I wear my mask because I believe in the science but never shall I attack someone because they choose differently. I got my shot because I am exposed to the virus on a daily basis. In this world of uncertainty, it gave me a measure of peace My greatest fear was bringing something home to my family. It was a personal choice, no one else's. So as our beautiful autumn unfolds, seek joy and share love with each other. Spend the moments of life laughing and not arguing about the events of the past two years. Let us move into the future together, eager to put away the masks by next Spring. But more importantly to return to a society of respectful and caring individuals. Just a side note of stories, to emphasize how much we have lost. I went to the store today and reached the door at the same time as another woman and I stepped back, held the door for her and let her enter first. It is a simple courtesy that I've always engaged. First, she looked at me as if I were nuts, and then she gushed kindness at me as if I had given her a bouquet of flowers. Second, my son was over visiting and we were sitting in the backyard. We noticed an elderly woman three doors down struggling to mow her overgrown lawn. My son hopped up and offered to finish her lawn, but sadly she rebuked his offer. I am sure it was out of fear and not being able to trust people. I long for the days neighbors were able to help one another without fear of being robbed or mugged. Having to be on guard at all times is more tiring then the masks we wear. |
| Spent the day yesterday with my two sisters. It was so wonderful to see them both. We laughed ,joked, and reminisced.It was good for my soul. It is easy to forget how important the connections of the past are to our current lives. We are who we are and where we came from. Thankfully, I was blessed with some pretty fun people to grow up alongside. Our childhood was graced with a bit of strangeness, but we somehow managed to grow into our own skin and find the ability to celebrate the goodness we were given. And as adults we enjoy each other and look forward to seeing each other.I count it as a blessing that we are not trying to hide from one another at holidays, as so many families do. No, I could probably never live with them again, but toasting one another is still enjoyable. It is comforting to talk about the same people that we all knew and loved. Yesterday. for me was like a mini vacation, and rejuvenated me. |
| Our Family is a circle of strength and love. With every birth and every union the circle grows. Every joy shared adds more love. Every crisis faced together makes the circle stronger. This framed saying hangs in my bedroom and has for many years. I don't know who wrote, as the author is listed as anonymous on the picture. But it gives me so much comfort and the truth to it all is powerful. |
| I was in nursing school and 6 months pregnant, on September 11th, in 2001. I was a mom already with an almost 3 year old and a 6 year old. That morning I was at my clinical's for the psyche rotation of school. We, student nurses were in the lounge talking with the patients for our needed school reports. We were tasked with gleaming an understanding of mental health issues in our society by spending time just listening to the people we were caring for. An over-sized television was playing in the background but muted to allow the conversations, when a view of the news popped on the screen. The room became hushed as the vision of the first plane crashing into the tower played on the television. Quickly, we unmuted the set and the chaos of what we were seeing took shape. I will never forget the pain that gripped at my heart, but then the panic of what happened in the moments and days that followed are ingrained in my memory. The scene kept playing over and over on the television as newscasters kept trying to report the event, until the second plan hit the second tower and the small room I had been locked down in erupted in a chaos of it's own. I was sent to this hospital to learn about mental health issues that afflict many of our most vulnerable people, and here I was watching one of the most stressful events of society unfold before our eyes.The reactions were varied and wild among our patients. There were both cheers and anger. Some became violent directing their anger at the television and the staff. We, student nurses were whisked from the room for safety, left to watch through the windows as the uprising was controlled. Our instructor greeted us in the hall and filled in the details of what was happening in the rest of the world. She told us to call our families, but told us that we would have to remain for the rest of our clinical's. I live in the midst of a military community and the response of the local base was swift. My oldest child was at a private school and my youngest was at daycare. We were told that we had one hour to pick up our kids, as the base was going on lock down and all military families had to return to the base immediately. I was petrified not being able to leave. I remember calling my husband in tears to see if he would be able get to the kids. It brought to the forefront the enormous amount of fear the families at the center of it all must have endured. Thankfully, he was able to get to them but my then little kindergartner now a grown man still remembers being so afraid. The kids were not allowed to take their backpacks home and a bus with armed guards from the base was sent to retrieve the military kids. They herded them on as quickly as possible. When I finally got to talk to my son he just kept crying because he was so worried about his little friends and his new backpack that he had gotten for school. This momma's heart was broken for a little boy who couldn't understand the pain and misery surfacing in our country. We did our best to answer all of his concerns and questions at the time, but the one returning thought through it all was that I was so very thankful that I wasn't having to explain how his father or mother were killed at ground zero or in the plane filled with heroes.I didn't have to tell him that his family member wouldn't be returning home. From the incredible sadness grew pride for my fellow Americans, both the fallen and the men and women called to serve, the ones that willingly took their posts to keep us safe. There were the firefighter,EMT's, and policemen that ran toward the danger while my only worry at the time was my little family at home. I will be forever indebted to these men and women for the price they paid. |
WE REMEMBER Where were you when the sky turned to ash? Where were you when the towers crumbled? Did you cry at the site of our nation in pain? Did your heart break as the multitude searched for loved ones? Were you there when so many gave their all? Were you there to see the helmets buried in the rubble? Did you see the American flag flying in the haze? Were you there when the faces worn and weary sought safety? Were you there when strangers became comrades? Where were you when the American spirit soared? Where were you when our nation came together in fear? Where were you when we cried for all that we lost so dear? Did you pray for all the souls lost at the Pentagon? Did you feel great pride for the ones who stormed the plane? Did you see the firemen and police run toward the danger? Were you there to witness the rescue of so many? Were you there to catch the images of the people in the stairwell? Were you there to watch one person help another? Were you there when our servicemen willingly took their post? Were you glued to the television in hopes of seeing the good come from the bad? Did you see the boats filled with people in the New York harbor? Did you see the citizen’s rise up to mourn and honor the people lost? After 9/11 did you hug your children tighter? Did you ask God to never see another day such as this? Were you thankful for a President so strong? Did your sadness turn to anger at the evil cowardice of this act? Did you remember what it is to love America? Where were you when the sky turned to ash? Where were you when the towers crumbled? |
| Ah, the workload is intense and the stress is heavier than a gold nugget tipping the scales in an awkward slant. It seems like I have ridden on this merry-go-round before. The horses on the carousel are all tired and weather beaten, but there are some of the same faces I have known and loved the past 2 years. Our troops have diminished for a multitude of reasons, the first of which is fatigue. We are tired, we are scared, and we are incredibly sad. We have watched the same movie from beginning to end over and over again, knowing that the ending could have been altered, if only just maybe, the politics of healthcare were different.Can we please work together to change the outcome? Get your shot, wear your mask, quarantine if necessary, and be kind to others. If we do this for one solid year starting now, and it doesn't work than you've earned the right to say I told you so! And more importantly, you can provide the answers of what will work, but fighting will do nothing but increase the stress for our country. The price is too high and we will be paying the toll for years to come. |
| The world has gone crazy once more. We are masking and garbing as we did in the beginning. And the worst are the keyboard warriors fighting on social media. I have noticed when out and about in the world that manners have slipped to an all time low. My theory is that these same people have spent almost two years saying anything they wanted or thought about with the keyboard and no behavioral filters in place. So now that they are out in the world mingling once more the kindness factor has disappeared. My personal goal is to ensure that I do not allow the Pandemic to take kindness and manners away from me. I will still say please and thank you. I will still give people the benefit of the doubt. I will still root for the underdog. I will still give love where needed. I will remain proud of our military and our country. I will return my shopping cart to the bin and pick up the trash that I see. I will remain patient when waiting in line instead of yelling at the girl behind the counter. I will offer kind words instead of angry ones. This is a pledge I make to myself before I leave my home and has become my new mantra.We never know what others are going through when they snap at us for seemingly no reason, just breathe and repeat the mantra while offering kindness. |
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