And That's the Way of Life

Some days you wake up and you just know what you want to write about. And some days you wake up with TOO many ideas swirling around your head almost like the leaves. Do I write about the obnoxious landscaper next door who has decided that the leaves in that yard are labeled as mine and as such deserve to come back home? Maybe I should write about the funny "American Idol" comment made by my younger teen while watching it. Or I can write about the incredible improvement at assignment completion we've seen from the older son since the famous 'no Xbox for you' incident of 2011. Then there is my trip last weekend to the parents and the bittersweetness of it all or watching our older son walk into his school wearing his junior ROTC uniform and the wonder of how he got that old. I know I could get empathy for the fact that hubby is taking a vacation day today, and bless his heart, he really believes that my days are so open ended that I can accompany him anywhere to do anything his heart desires with no impact on my schedule...


The idea of writing today is sorta the way life is...there's the good, the bad, and the ugly all mixed in with the huh, the why's, the why not's. So maybe I'll just expand on a couple of things:


American Idol - it's our one and only reality show. The teens are musically inclined (they've been in band since 5th grade and there's no end in sight). My home state of North Carolina continues to do me proud. There've been several contestants, and even winners (Scotty, Fantasia, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry are a few), and the other night three more moved through. Prompting the following comment from the 13 year old, "So are you the ONLY North Carolinian who can't sing?" For the record, my Momma can't sing either so I am in FINE company. So there. Oh, and I totally recognize that while he did NOT get his ability to sing on key and play an instrument from me, that snarky, sarcastic sense of humor...oh, I KNOW where THAT came from.


The Xbox incident, well, I wrote about that in "Possum Momma Lives". And it worked. The child brought home straight A's (which was NOT the point, but he won't understand that until probably his 40's), and he is doing a MUCH better job with keeping straight his requirements. All it takes is the ability to unplug and to tune out the whining...incredible parenting skills which are totally underrated.


I'll touch on my parents and the ROTC uniform when I feel ready for a cry. Because that's how life is - you touch on what you're ready for, and you work your way through the other...while accompanying hubby to Best Buy and sneaking glances at your own to-do list.

Good Night, Irene...

As Hurricane Irene barreled her way to my beloved home of eastern North Carolina, I sat far enough away to never personally be at risk. But my heart was at risk, the risk of losing so many I hold dear. I can take you all up and down the coast of North Carolina and name family and friends. I can name slightly further inland counties like Halifax, Pitt, Bertie (pronounced Ber-TEE, please), Lenoir, and on and on with family and friends who live there. I spent Saturday calling, texting, and messaging trying to track down ones I love and see if they were still safe, did they have damage, how much...all the stuff you do when you can only be there in heart.

On Tuesday as I write this her death toll stands at 47, and each and every life lost is a sadness for all of us. Yet the insensitivity strikes me. I've heard comments such as, "Well, that was a big bunch of nothing." My personal favorite was, "It's only a category one now. That means it's just a rainstorm." One politician even had the gall to say that Irene and the earthquake were meant to be a wake up call to Washington by God. Idiotic, methinks - the politician, not God.

If you lost a loved one, if you lost your home, if you are now realizing that the insurance you never got because you were told you were not in a flood zone, is the only insurance that would have covered you, then this is catastrophic.

Some will step forward now and offer their homes and help. Some have already done this. Others of us will offer what we can in donations. Some have already traveled to hard hit areas to volunteer or repair. Often we all are given an opportunity to show our best and so many of us will. But to the ones who show their ignorance or insensitivity, all I can say is, "Bless your heart, you need to hush your mouth now." And to the politician who thinks the devastation of my beloved home state and to Vermont and every area hit by the hurricane or earthquake was a wake up call to politicians, well now she claims it was a joke. Honey, if you have to explain the joke, that's a true sign that it wasn't funny.

Our love, thoughts, and prayers are with every one who has been affected by Hurricane Irene and the earthquake. We are with you in your time of devastation.