Pride and Thiry

Over the years my friend Thiry has been the source of many emotions. She has made me laugh, she has made me crazy and from time to time.....she has even been a bit frustrating, but this last week and weekend, the only emotion that I can really feel towards this woman is....pride!

I would not say that life has ever been particularly easy for Thiry. Much of her life she has had to fight for what she has. I think she probably came out of the womb fighting....as she was the youngest girl of 12 kids.....six of those kids being brothers. Thiry has always lived by her own rules (good, bad or indifferent) and this too has caused her to struggle from time to time.

A couple of years ago, after being laid off from aircraft for the second time...Thiry decided enough was enough. Still having two of her five kids left to raise and knowing that a second income was probably always going to be a necessity in their home....she decided that it was time she finish her degree and figure out just what she wanted to be when she grew up. After playing with ideas from psychology to radiology.....she finally hit upon the OTA (occupational therapy assistant) program at one of our local universities. It had a time line she could live with and semi-fit into the education program that her lay-off package would help her to pay for. (That too turned out to be a struggle which turned into a fight.....which Thiry ultimately won.)

Once choosing her new found educational program and getting all paperwork and funding into place....Thiry began her new journey into the world of occupational therapy. Again....there was struggle involved. Her husband had just gone out on his own starting a new business, she had two young kids still at home.....and she had no idea just what she was getting herself into or what new challenges life was going to throw in her path during the next two years.

From the moment she headed down this path, there was constant schooling. Thiry's summers (which she has always lived for) were no longer her own. Suddenly schoolwork and studying were a seven day a week challenge for her. While working her way through the program learning muscles, bones, manipulations and various other facts about what OTA is and who OTA"s help.....her mother went into the hospital for heart surgery. This surgery was to both repair and replace heart valves which it was felt were the culprit of her not feeling well and having no energy. Ruth (Thiry's mother) had been living with Parkinson's for several years.....but they felt this surgery was the key to her feeling better and having a much better quality of life. Again...there would be unforseen struggles.

After Ruth's surgery....nothing was ever really right again. Over the next six months....her health went down hill and between hospital stays, attempts at taking her home and rehabs.....Thiry and her sisters and brothers were kept busy almost around the clock. Still Thiry never let her studies slide and was even able to use some of the OT techniques she had learned to help in her mothers recovery. At the end of her fall semester in 2010....Thiry's world was rocked when she lost her beloved mother.....but as is always the case when we lose someone we love, the world around her did not stop for her to have time to fully grieve. And being in the OTA program....they could only afford her a few days as semester testing was thrown in amongst the holidays. Thiry persevered and only God Himself knows how she survived that period in her life and still made excellent grades.

The spring semester of 2011 was Thiry's last of the OTA program and also her toughest. Her family resigned themselves to only seeing Thiry in brief moments as her world was all about the studying. The end was insight....but again....not without struggle. Her friends such as myself had grown accustomed to hearing from her only on rare occasions and seeing her simply just did not happen. Everyone though knew that soon it would be over. Soon it would all be worth it.

That time came this last week. Thiry finished up her last class. She came through all her finals with flying colors and this weekend she was pinned in a ceremony as an official OTA. I know Thiry is so relieved and so ready to be out of school and that her family is so glad to have her back full time. And me....well I am so proud of Thiry. I have watched her grow over the years from a young girl who had no idea what she wanted out of life....to a woman who is a  phenomenal wife and mother and over the course of the years has taken on all that life has thrown at her with both grace and an attitude that have served her well.

I am especially proud of Thiry because of the career path she has chosen. David (my youngest) has needed occupational therapy since he was born, and it is very likely that an OT or an OTA will be a part of his life forever. Because of this therapy and the therapists and therapy assistants that he has had, he has been able to become independent despite his disabilities. And because of this crucial therapy.....these therapist give people back their independence everyday whether it has been lost through disease, illness or accident. It is an amazing field and one where I know Thiry will make a difference in peoples lives for years to come.

So I am all about giving credit where credit is due and when it happens to be due to one of my very best friends.....well then I feel it should be shouted from the rooftops. Thiry....maybe I don't say it enough....and I am sure you don't hear it enough, but you are an amazing woman. You have accomplished so much and I am so incredibly proud of what you have achieved. More over....I am incredibly proud to call you friend.

And on that note....I leave you with one of Thiry's guilty pleasures of the 1980's. Here is Kenny Loggins and Footloose! Have a great Monday!

Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To

Apparently there is a book out that is called something like "Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To!"  Father spoke of it at church this morning and said that one prayer God always says yes to is: Please Lord....help me get through this. Father said that this is an unfailing prayer in which God never leaves unanswered. I myself have prayed this prayer a thousand times in many variations and have never yet been left hanging.

You know....prayer is a funny thing....and people are even funnier. Often people pray with a certain outcome in mind and if their prayer is not answered in the time they think it should be answered in and in the way they think it should be answered.....then they automatically assume that God is neither listening nor answering. Both assumptions could not be farther from the truth. People seem to forget that Gods view of life is much broader than our own and like a parent with a child.....just because we want something with all our heart and just because we believe that it is what is best for us........does not mean that God see's it that way. If we are truly honest....how many times have we prayed for/wanted something that we did not end up getting.....and in the end it turns out had we gotten it.....it would have been all wrong for us? Thank God literally that He did not allow me to have a lasting relationship with every guy I prayed about. Ultimately He gave me a guy I didn't even know I wanted and who turned out to be the best one for me. God knew what I didn't and when I finally put things in His hands and quit trying to handle it all on my own.....things worked out  the way they were suppose to. God is just good like that.

So for anyone who is reading  this and has written God off as not listening or not answering....I challenge you to try praying again. This time pray with an open heart and an open mind trusting God to do what is best for you.....not just what you think you want at the moment. You might end up very surprised at the outcome.

It is Sunday.....and I feel better....sort of. The allergies are playing games with me, but the headache seems to be gone. David is 100% better and today we are all going to trek up to see my dad. Yes....it should be a good time had by all. Fear not though.....I have donned my mental armor and I am practicing what I am preaching and putting this day into God's hands. If I don't like the outcome.....maybe I can at least learn from it.  Maybe it is a test. If I can make it through today without a mental breakdown, a tantrum brought on by complete frustration or a brain hemorrhage....then the rest of the week should be a piece of cake. Sigh! Perhaps I should just ask you all to pray for me!


And today I leave you with a little Blood Sweat and Tears.....And When I Die! An old time favorite!

Migraines, Endings and Beauty Sleep

Well the soap box is safely put away today and I can't blame blogger for the late posting. I can however blame a migraine that has kept me down today and in non-blogging mode. Tonight I feel some better. In fact I feel good enough to color my platinum gray highlights....which are not attractive at all. Of course now the smell of the color is aggravating the headache again...but I will trudge forward. The price we pay for beauty....sheesh!

Tonight is the last night of Z's play. This will bring to a close MHS theater season and mean that there will be no more plays or play practices until the fall. I can't speak for him....but I am a little melancholy over the whole thing. While I will admit that play practice can be a bit intrusive on family life......the shows have ended up being well worth every second of the practice. I will miss seeing Z perform.....although I am sure he will find something to keep his musical and theatrical talents in practice this summer. And if you have read my blogs in the past....you may remember that Z gave up going to his first concert (Avenge Sevenfold which is playing tonight) to be in this play. I have not heard a word of regret....even though he knows that the house maybe a little less packed tonight because of all the concert goers. Sometimes he just makes me pretty darn proud.

David and mom have spent a lot of quality time together these last couple of days. Yesterday he was having issues at school (new med related) which the teacher felt warranted a call to me. Feeling like the bottom of someones shoe myself....I gladly went and picked him up and got him into the dr. Low and behold it was discovered he had a infection which antibiotics were immediately prescribed for. David and I then proceeded home and spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing.....oh and sleeping. Today.....David has acted like he felt fine, but still staying close to bed watching every episode of Spongebob known to man. I too have moved very little nursing my headache which I think is a hold over from feeling bad for the last few days. I am hoping that this weekend will get everyone recovered and ready for next week. It would also be really nice if the weather started behaving and quit giving us extremes of 100 degrees and then dropping to 40. That is not healthy for anyone!

Well....I have whined and bragged....so I guess that just about covers everything. The sun is shining and although the wind is still blowing....at least you can stand up in it. Soon it will be time for me to go wash the hair color out of  my hair.....and then lay down again. The headache is starting to get more obnoxious again. Perhaps David and I will simply call it an early night and get a little more beauty rest (he's already fabulous....but I can use all I can get!)

I guess now I will leave you with one of my favorite Foo Fighters videos of all time. Everyone needs to laugh a little and even in my headache state....Learn to Fly makes me laugh!. Hope you have a great Saturday evening!

Man in the Mirror

It is Friday the 13^th! Since I am not in the least bit superstitious…..I have no real worries on this day.  However…I hear Mulvane High School may have a problem. Apparently they have been inundated with…………..Zombies! Normally I would ignore such a crazy rumor…BUT last night I saw them with my own eyes! They were fantastic. MHS is putting on their spring theater production of Night of the Living Dead. Parents of the cast and crew were treated to their very own night and I must say……I was not disappointed. I was also rather impressed with my own personal zombie. He seemed to get into the role quite comfortably complete with undead movements and low guttural growls. He did good! They all did in fact! If you don’t have anything going on tonight or tomorrow night and are in the mood for a little scary/campy fun…..you really need to head to MHS and see Night of the Living Dead!!!!!

Okay…..moves soapbox to center stage and jumps up on it! I am mad! No….I am beyond mad! I am angry and frustrated and I guess ultimately disappointed. I am going to pose the same question to you that I posted on fb. The question is: Have you ever been bullied? As a kid? As an adult? Or how about this....have you ever bullied? Now all that replied (and there were quite a few) were adults. Most everyone who replied had at one time or another been bullied. Some were bullied as kids in school, some at home and some as adults in the workplace. ALSO….many admitted that they too had bullied at least once in their lives. If bullying is put into perspective and definitions are put into place….I would almost bet those numbers would go up.

Someone once told me that bullying was subjective and that people chose to be offended or not. I was really rather shocked at such a simplistic statement and had to wonder if in fact this person was not a lifelong bully himself. Granted….we can choose how we allow someone or something (even bullying) to affect us, but bullying is in my opinion a little more defined than that. Also….there have always been bullies. You are always going to run into people that are so unhappy and so insecure in their own skin, their own life and their own sexuality that they have to pass that unhappiness and insecurity along to others. But today….it just seems like bullying has taken on a whole new life of its own….especially in the schools. And while I have a pretty good understanding of where it comes from and why…..I have to ask….when are we going to take steps to make it stop?!

I live in a small community with many people I have known for decades. I was bullied in school. Middle school was the worst of it. Back then bullying mostly consisted of name calling, backstabbing and gossip amongst the girls and pushing and shoving amongst the boys. In most cases a girl would hate you and talk about you behind your back and call you names to your face one day and by weeks end….she would have moved on to someone new. The guys often times would push and shove and maybe call a name or two until one or the others teen hormones boiled over. Usually there was a fist fight and then by weeks end the boys were buds again….the fight was forgotten and life moved on.  Only once do I remember a situation getting out of hand. There was a girl who was both a jock and popular. She hung with our version of the “cool” kids and she seemed to have her place in the social stratosphere of school. I have no idea what set it off or why her friends turned on her….but they did with a vengeance. This poor girl was so ostracized that she turned to my social group for comfort (and believe me…..as social groups go....I am sure to her we were a huge step down the ladder.) We accepted her….heck we accepted everyone. Our world though….was not hers and her previous social group were not happy with her finding solace anywhere…so they bullying continued. Finally it got so bad that this girl was to the point of at least threatening bodily harm to herself. This is where our gym teacher stepped in. I remember her calling all of us girls in and reading us the riot act over how this girl was being treated and how we treated each other. Apparently the message took, because by days end our group had lost its newest member as she happily was welcomed back into her old clique....and the bullying never seemed to get out of hand again. Don’t get me wrong….there was still gossipy stuff, and girls stealing other girls guy fights, and even a little nastiness from time to time….but never again was the line crossed by our girls where someone was pushed so far. Reading my fb answers though…..some of the people who were in different classes than myself, but still at our school, ended up with a much different experience. Many felt bullied, humiliated and cast out by their fellow students their entire jr. high and high school years. My question here is….why didn’t someone step in and stop this? Why didn’t just one teacher (not unlike our own gym teacher) stand up and say ENOUGH! Why didn’t another student stand up and say STOP! Do teachers feel that boys should be able to handle it better than girls? Do teachers feel that kids need to work these things out for themselves….or are teachers simply afraid that if they step in…..that they too will be bullied?

Of course....if you have read my blog for any period of time....you might surmise that this particular subject stems from experiences at school....that Z has had. While this year has been much better than his middle school experiences....the bullying is far from over. In middle school Z was bullied to the point of being in tears every day he had to go to school. And the bullying went much farther than just a little name calling. Practically every day of school Z was threatened, shoved, pushed, called a fag, hit and made fun of in some way. One kid told him he wished Z were dead and another started a rumor that Z killed his dad (Z's dad died of a brain aneurysm when Z was five.....he was alone in the house with his dad when it happened!) Z was at the end of his rope and much of this was happening and he wasn't telling anyone.....not even me. Finally it came to a head and he just exploded. When I realized what was happening....the school and I collided.  And here is where the schools stand:1) Over half the kids that are bullied in school never report it and if it is not reported....nothing can be done. 2) If the teachers/principals don't see it happen.....then it becomes one students word against another and sides cannot be taken. Therefore....if a kid reports another student bullying them....and that student denies it, basically nothing can be done unless the bully is seen or caught by others. This means the bully gets off scott free and the kid who was being bullied usually gets bullied twice as bad for telling. Great system....huh? Sadly though....with the way the world is today.....I kind of understand it. 

I ended up pulling Z out to go to Eschool (online school) for a year and a half...and life went on. Z actually thrived in his school work because he didn't dread doing it every day and he could actually spend his time on school work and not worry about who was lurking behind every corner or who was going to go after him physically or verbally. 

This year (his freshman year) has been much better for Z. He chose to go back to school and he has become friends with alot of kids. He has excelled in his passion of music and theater and has done his best to find his place in the big world called high school. His hs classification is probably theater geek or music nerd which he wears proudly. Unfortunately even in the somewhat matured world of hs.....bullying is alive and well and apparently Z is once again a target. He says rarely a day goes by that he is not called a fag or assorted other names. And he has spent more time in the office fending off false stories that have been started about him than he has actually spent in class. Practically the whole theater crew for their newest production was ready to kill him because a couple of young ladies who do not like Z went and told everyone he was walking out on the show. Even the teacher/director was mad until Z finally was able to explain to everyone that he in fact had never said or thought that. The final straw was the other day when Z went to school and he had kids coming up touching his face to see if he was bruised or beat up. For some unexplainable reason some kid that Z rarely even talks to came to school with a broken hand and said that it happened when he beat the sh!t out of Z in the hallway at school. He went so far as to say that "the whole school" saw it and that Z's face was beat to a pulp. Needless to say.....Z's face was fine and no one had really seen it happen....thus the curiosity with Z's face. Again....Z spent time in the office explaining that he hadn't even talked to this kid....let alone been hit by him. But the wildfires of gossip are burning brilliantly at MHS and because Z denied it happened....now the kids is threatening that it will in fact happen before school is out! Please!

Z has about had it....as have I. I AM ANGRY! After talking to the principal at the high school....who I like and think she has a pretty good handle on things.....one thing became abundantly clear: Hands are tied until kids speak up and kids are not going to speak up as long as they feel threatened, feel that they are going to be treated even worse if they do speak up.....and as long as bullying is accepted by the majority! And this goes above and beyond school and into the real world. Any place in life where bullies reside whether it be school, work, home, etc.....as long as there is acceptance...there will be no change.

So here is what I told Z. First of all you have to define bullying. When asked what he thought bullying was, he said....being mean to other kids, calling names, lying about them and starting rumors about kids. I agreed and added: any time someone threatens another person, physically or verbally abuses another person, lies about or gossips about another person and finally....anyone that stands by and watches someone else bully someone and does nothing about it.....that is bullying! Z immediately realized that as bullied as he has been....he has also done a bit of bullying himself by gossiping and yes....watching someone else get bullied and doing nothing about it. 

Z and I decided that from this moment on.....stopping bullying cannot be left up to the principal or the teachers. It has to start at the student level. How do you start and what do you do? One person has to say NO! I will not allow you to bully me or anyone else! It has to be said loud and it has to be said often! If one person has the courage to stand up then maybe another one will and another one, until maybe one day the bullying will stop. It only continues because it is accepted. The minute it quits being acceptable....then it will dwindle away. These kids need to learn to respect both themselves and others and they need to treat as they want to be treated. If not....they are going to continue a pattern of abuse and bullying throughout their lives. It will follow them into the workplace and their home and they will pass it onto their kids and as we have seen....each generation seems to be getting worse.

How's this all going to pan out? I am not sure, but last night....I took my own advice and decided to start being the change I wanted to see in the world. I stopped a family bully dead in his tracks by first pointing out that his behavior was that of a bully and always had been and that I would no longer tolerate it. To my shock and amazement....he backed down. He had never before seen himself for the bully he was and I think he was shocked to his very core. Today....Z went to school prepared to be the change. He is not shy and he is tired of the abuse. I have no doubt if bullies were present today....they were called out!

There are bullies in all walks of life. We all know at least one. Maybe we work with them, go to school with them or even live with them. Maybe they know full well they are a bully but continue on with their bullying ways.....because they are allowed to. Maybe though....they don't always realize the effect their actions have on others. Maybe they don't realize they are bullies. And maybe it was never made clear in our lives or maybe we simply forgot that standing by and watching bullying without making an effort to stop it.....is nearly as bad as the act itself. Whatever the case maybe.....isn't it time we took a stand and taught our kids to do the same? All we have to do is say: No! I will not be bullied...nor will I allow anyone else to! Who knows.....those words could be the key to one less bully in the world...and a world with one less bully has got to be good! 

So I am now jumping off my soapbox and ending this. I think I will end my blog today with a song that pretty much sums up how I feel about my part in all of this, Z's part in all of this....and yes....even your part in all of this. I leave you with Michael Jackson and Man in the Mirror. Happy Friday!

****** sorry for the late posting! Blogger has been down a good portion of the day!

Confirmation, Faith and Lead Me Lord!

Z is confirmed! It really was a wonderful Mass and I have a whole new respect for our Bishop. Today though...I have mixed emotions about this whole day. First of all....I woke up feeling horrid. I think I breathed in a little too much incense last night or maybe my body is trying to fight off a virus. At any rate....I don't feel well...thus the late blog. Second....Z was pretty upset this morning over an incident that happened at school yesterday. I have been torn as to what to do about the whole thing. I don't necessarily think that parents need to jump in every time a kid (especially a high school kid) has a problem at school, but this goes a little above and beyond and it really has him upset. So upset in fact...that even though today was the day that all the theater kids go to school in full costume (something Z lives for) he just didn't even care. His enthusiasm has hit rock bottom and he is just so over the insecure and unhappy youngsters at that school that go out of their way to try and make him just as insecure and unhappy as they are. And the fact that he refuses (in most cases) to  react to their incessant bad behavior is just fueling them. They seem to be taking his non-reaction as a challenge to see how far they can push. At any rate.....I decided to talk to the principal and get this thing taken care of....before someone does push Z too far and he does decide to react......and then HE gets in trouble. That is the way it always seems to work in our world. To top it all off...this is my short/long day. Short at work but long with meetings and then Z's play tonight. Oh...and did I mention that I don't feel well?! Ugh!

As I said, last nights confirmation Mass was wonderful. There were quite a few kids getting confirmed and Z was just so excited. He was all dressed up in a suit and tie...and of course my camera chose this event to not want to work right. Have I mentioned how much I hate technology? The church was decorated beautifully and it was packed. That mixed with the incense and my head was spinning by the time it was all over.

It has been a lot of years since I have been to a confirmation. Honestly...I think mine when I was 9 or 10 was the last one I have attended. (That could be wrong....but that is what is coming to mind now!). Things were a lot different back then. I went to a Catholic school where the academics where taught by lay teachers but the religious ed was left up to the nuns. I remember those nuns well although I am not sure I remember their names well. I believe they were Sisters Ignatius and Sylvia. Sister Ignatius I believe was our confirmation teacher. We started in the fall preparing for confirmation and we were given a list of 100 questions about God and our faith which came directly from the Baltimore Catechism and which we had to know before we were allowed to be confirmed. I am not sure if this is true or not....but I seem to remember Sister "implying" that the Bishop would be asking each of us all 100 questions. Of course that was not to be the case....but you better bet I knew all 100 answers. Every day Sister would go up and down the rows of kids firing those 100 questions at us and by spring.....everyone of us knew every answer. Sister did her job well. When the actual confirmation took place, I remember being very disappointed. The Bishop only asked a couple of kids a couple of questions. I felt a bit let down that my big Soldier of Christ debut didn't include me being asked and me answering all 100 questions beautifully. 

The religious instruction of that time in my life has proven to serve me well over the years and I can still remember Who made me and Why He made me!  It also helped me to help Z prepare for both his First Communion and now his Confirmation. And last night I loved the way the Bishop was with the kids. He is a very humorous man who put the kids at ease immediately. All questions he asked so that no one was left to feel embarrassed if they were nervous and forgot an answer and yet I am pretty sure that he left those kids with a memory they will never forget. The biggest thing that he left me thinking about was this:

He said even as a priest and now a Bishop, he doesn't know everything there is to know about religion. He said there are always people asking him questions that he doesn't have a biblical response right off the top of his head for....and that is okay. He said you simply say "I don't know, but I will find out, and I will get back to you!" I believe those words are pretty much good for anything in life....after all...they have been my personal mantra for years. He went on to say though....that some questions like "Why do bad things happen to good people?" are without an earthly answer...and that is where our faith comes into play. We have to have faith that God has a purpose and a reason for everything and in the end....whatever happens is what is best for us, whether we understand it or not. 

When all was said and done, I believe we all walked out of that church feeling proud of these young ones who all looked so beautiful and so happy and possibly.....maybe us adults walked out having an even better understanding of our own faith having this mini refresher course. I know when it was over....I felt as if a weight had been lifted from me and I simply couldn't be prouder of Z if I tried! I promise there will be pictures at some point. Since my camera refused to work.....I left it up to the professionals and so soon I should have pictures in hand!


Today I leave you with a beautiful song of faith. It is one of my favorites and pretty fitting for this blog I think.Hope you have an awesome Thursday! Here is..... Here I am Lord!

                                                                                          

The Journey, Confirmation and Stoney End

Have you ever been following a path (a theoretical one....not a real one) and felt that you were headed in the right direction....but you still needed a breather? I am talking about just a little time and space from the path and all that it implies, just to collect yourself and maybe even re-evalute the path. That is where I am at right now. For 5 months I have been headed in what I feel is the right direction, and there have even been a few times when I felt I was spot on to what I needed to be doing and where I needed to be doing it. However.....maintaining those moments has not been easy and although the path has been consistent.....the journey has not! Make any sense? Don't judge me...it is early and these are the kind of thoughts that plague me before my eyes are even open. Another reason to be glad that you are not me.

In essence though.....I am pleased with the path and not with the journey. Therefore I am stepping back today. I am using today as a day to reflect......breathe.....and then with any luck......move forward. It just feels like something I need to do. I don't feel like I have all my ducks in a row, my eggs in a basket or as my mother used to say.....my sh!t together (I loved my mom!) When you have been so out of sync and had so little together for so long......pulling it all back in is no easy task. So maybe a re-evaluation is in order. Sadly....I am only alotting myself 24 hours. The good news is....I seem to do better in a time crunch than when I have an abundance. Lets hope this time is no different.

Maybe one of the reasons I am so thoughtful today and so in need of a path adjustment is because tonight Z gets confirmed. Confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church is a big thing. It is one of the seven sacraments we received throughout our lives.....each one bringing us body and soul....closer to Christ. Through confirmation we not only accept Christ in our lives but we truly acknowledge His presence and become His true soldiers. When I was young....you were confirmed at 9 and while we knew our catechism forward and backward and had some understanding of the importance of confirmation.....it was not until I was much older that I fully understood the magnitude of this sacrament. Now....the age of confirmation has been raised. It is usually those who are 14 or older that partake of this sacrament. At this age they have a much better grasp and understanding of what it means to be a soldier of Christ and how this will affect them spiritually throughout their lives.

Z has really grown this year taking his confirmation classes. He is at an age where he is starting to ask questions about everything....including his faith, and this has left us open to some amazing conversations. While I don't pretend to know all there is to know about religion, faith and God....I do know what they have meant to my life. I know how my church has always been there for me....even if I didn't always show up for it. Through my church and the teachings of my religion I have learned faith and because of my faith....I have learned to trust in God above all else. I have personally experienced in my life things that were made possible by only sheer faith and the mercy of God. I have been given the grace to maybe not always understand, but always to accept God's will and to be able to find the blessings and the lessons....even in the worst situations. This is in great part due to the fact that I am a soldier of Christ. Perhaps this is the Catholic equivalent of being "born again!" This is our acknowledgement and complete acceptance of Christ in our lives and my mother always taught me that once confirmed.....no matter how far off track we got in our life, we had the grace to always find our way back.....and we always eventually would. And this is the culmination of the many long hours of conversation Z and I have had this year. Because of these talks....Z and I have grown closer and Z has grown much closer to his faith. It has been a good year!

Which brings me full circle back to my path and my journey. (Yes....it always comes back to being about me!) I can think of no better day to realign my vision and adjust my path as necessary. A breather where I can focus on both the importance of the day and the importance of my goals is both necessary and I believe deserved at this point.

Wow! This was a bit deep. Gosh....I just never know where these blogs are going to go first thing in the morning.....before my eyes are even opened and my thoughts are even formed. But you can always bet.....somehow, someway.....they will always find a way to be about me!

And today I leave you with a little Bab's. I woke up hearing this song in my head. I haven't thought of it in years but I really do love it. So here is Barbara Streisand and Stoney End. Hope you have an exceptional Wednesday!

Quick Reactions and Lynyrd Skynyrd

I think the only thing that will be long about this month.....was last night! I had to break down and turn on the air (it was 90 degrees in the house) and even with the air on....it was still fairly warm. I tossed and I turned all night. I woke up at least four times and today I am tired. Still and all, I much prefer this weather over cloudy, chilly and dreary. Of course.....unless it was a constant 75 degrees during the day and about 55 at night with only a breeze (no gale force winds)....I will always find fault with the weather.

I found a cool new (new to me) thing for my blog. You know I am always about what people think of my blogs, but lets face it....not everyone wants to write a three page comment at the bottom of the page....so I found these "quick reactions" that I have now attached to each blog. Rather than have to actually comment you can just check a quick reaction box. Don't get me wrong....I still want your comments, emails and messages if you so choose to give them......but if not, you now have a quick alternative. As I said...they are new to me. I have seen other bloggers using these for awhile and when I read their blogs I always try to check a quick reaction box as it is always nice to know that people were actually there and had even a quick opinion of your blog. It simply took me until last night to figure out how to add them to my blog. You know.....the whole technically challenged thing and all! So anyway.....I look forward to seeing what you think....and as always....be kind....I have a fragile ego.....NOT!

Yesterday didn't turn out too bad. I accomplished all the phone calls and bill paying that I needed to, but the pool did not get opened. And of all days.....yesterday would have been perfect. The guy who does it got held up, but I was assured he would be out today. I sure hope so as that is where I plan to spend all my evenings and weekends from now until late September. In fact I plan to get more use out of that pool this year than we have in the 30+ years we have had it. There may even be a few bbq/pool parties this summer. You just never can tell!

Well....today will be another busy one filled with all the fun and craziness that is my life. There is actually a whole lot more crazy than there is fun, but oh well. I have Davids IEP and drs. appts., cheesecakes and of course.....work! I am really not sure how I actually find time for work, but I am thinking my boss is happy that I do! And if I play my cards right and the pool guy comes.....there may even be pool time later on. That may just push fun way ahead of crazy today!

Today I am going to end this blog with a song of nostalgia for me. I have always loved Lynyrd Skynyrd and that love has never changed. As a kid summer would not be summer without going to a party, sitting on a tailgate, or laying by the pool and listening to Sweet Home Alabama. So today....I leave you with the great Lynyrd Skynyrd and a song to get your summer started!