One Freaky Friday the 13th

I’ve never believed in superstitions, witchcraft or séances but instead been a firm believer in things happen for a reason. However that still doesn’t mean that having the rug pulled out from underneath me repeatedly one day doesn’t make me wobble. Today has been one of the ‘endless carpet rides.’

Despite having to dye my hair from brown to blonde, pretty soon it will be instead from the grey of this repeated up and down turn of events. I’m hoping this weekend will lead straight on to forging the decision making.

Confronting the past, present and future all at one time can make a girl dizzy. I know indecision can lead to a decision but if you’re powerless to determine its outcome can confuse matters completely.

One part is pushing for leaving, another to stay behind while a third is offering two different choices where one perplexed individual, me, is saying what now? If I ever think I’m starting to understand life, please feel free to smack me!

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

James Dean said it best with dream as if anything is possible but live life like each day is your last. Throw caution to the wind and embrace life’s challenges. Too many times we reach the end of our lives with not I wish I had never done that but instead, why didn’t I take the chance.

Mistakes are not the end of the world, we all make them but they mark and allow us to keep growing. We should not be the same person we were at the start than at the end of our lives. What makes us unique is the circumstances and the challenges we’ve faced.

The expression ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’ I find to be most telling! Do you want to come to the end of your life with battle scars or unblemished? The choice is yours, but I’ll take the bumps and bruises life dishes out.

I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”-Frost

Royal Wisdom

Royal Wisdom

By Amy Carothers

Things are changing so fast

From Osama gone to the Royal Love Nest

History is in flux, where do we go from here

Wondering with overseas, do we need to fear?

Chants of celebration can be heard outside my wall

Flags waving, people crying, our anthem playing proud

Remembering what happened those ten years ago

How life has changed and with it our ability to let go

This monster’s death brings back to life

Those sirens, screams and terror of that morning's sight

Although this gives families and our country some closure

We must never forget the very thing that brought us closer.

The Alarm Tolls and I Answer Its Shrill Call

LET ME THROUGH

I woke up this morning with such a sudden sense of clarity (not due to the fact my alarm clock didn’t go off, that had me making a mad dash to work) but instead a rush that put everything into perspective.

Almost like a puzzle, all the pieces that were once unable to fit were doing so with such ease. I wondered why I had been trying to jam them into spaces that didn’t belong for such a long time.

Sometimes a friend needs to confront you with the truth and just say plainly, "what do you want and that you have a fine line where that window is cracked open just long enough that you can see your dream and it’s able to be pushed open to make it a reality."

Once that proverbial window closes, a dreamer is locked out of that possibility and might spend the rest of their life wondering how to shatter its unbreakable glass. It’s funny how the window is also see-through and reflects what you really want. The question becomes, do you make the vision, actuality?

I’ve spent a long time wondering how to make my dream come true and I now know the answer is just to believe in yourself. Whatever obstacle you face, if you confront it and work hard, anything is possible!

Family Fascination: Trying to Climb the Family Tree

I’ve always had an interest in family history as knowing your roots gives you a deeper understanding of yourself but with shows like ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ and the easy accessibility of records on Ancestry.com, I’ve been seeking the tree tops.

I’m trying to understand my fascination with a family that I will never meet and now has become such an importance in my life. Greeting names, stations and unique situations, I find as the page turns, it’s better than any mystery book I’ve read. This time, the ending is me but what’s before is anyone’s guess.

The more I thumb through history the more my curiosity grows. I’m so intrigued about what can be unturned that I get frustrated when I can’t get past a certain ancestor and my family can’t understand my passion for this research.

Calling them on my progress, I know their feigning interest but in reality, I know they don’t care. Bless their hearts, they listen to me prattle on. Good thing too as I never shut up!

It’s time to confront the past with the present and like the current theatrical production, ‘Anything Goes!’

The 33 Slippery Slope

Lemony Snicket got it ‘write’ when he called his novella the Slippery Slope as that’s sometimes how I feel when I'm getting ready to plunge into my next adventure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m ready to slide but at the same time when you’re perched on top of that jagged point there's a brief moment of hesitation as the tiniest step will suddenly have you spiraling & sliding without control.

Things in life change so quickly. Do you stick with the plans you set in motion or do you re-address since circumstances have changed? Looking ahead and behind can both mean saying goodbye and am I ready? That slippery slope continues to confront my reply.

Life is funny as making the decision should be the hardest part when in actuality sticking to it, I find even more difficult. I keep pushing against a glass wall that’s taking a long time to shatter; waiting for months to break through is the hardest part. What to do when you’re ready to leap but circumstances require you to stay and

It’s a game of

F

R

E

E

F

A

L

L

I

N

G

until then! I know my choice, now I just need to wait to make it happen so I don’t make it a ‘Series of Unfortunate Events!  

No Kidding Around: Kids Really Do Say the Darndest Things

I find it funny how kids have such a different perspective on things. As jaded adults we tend to see the glass empty while kids say it’s still full. Their take on certain situations, although they mean to be serious can be instead seriously funny!

Mistaking the meaning or their own innocent interpretation results is a deadpan comedian that doesn’t realize how funny he or she is being. Here are some great examples and feel free to share some of your own favorite kid experiences.

1) NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, 'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'

2) OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, 'The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.'

3) KETCHUP

A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.

4) MORE NUDITY

A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room.. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, 'What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?'

5) POLICE # 1

While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, 'Are you a cop? Yes,' I answered and continued writing the report .  ' My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?' 'Yes, that's right,' I told her. 'Well, then,' she said as she extended her foot toward me, 'would you please tie my shoe?'

6) POLICE # 2

It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked.
'It sure is,' I replied. 

Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do?'

7) ELDERLY

While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs... One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'

8) DRESS-UP A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, 'Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit.'
'And why not, darling?'
'You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.'
 

9) DEATH

While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cottonwool, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased.
The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes.' (I want this line used at my funeral!) 

10) SCHOOL

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'

11) BIBLE

A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it.. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.

'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out...
'What have you got there, dear?'
With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear!'



Things to Make You Go Hmm?