This Is For You

“Daily Strength for Daily Needs” by Mary W. Tileston is by far my favorite devotional book. You can get it for free on your kindle. So go do that right now.

I feel the majority of my last couple posts have been all mushy about how much I love my mom and my family – so maybe I just really miss you guys, and even in danger of losing some followers I am still going to write this.  Today’s reading is for my Mom, Brett’s Mom, for all 3 of my Sisters (counting a soon to be) and for all three of my Grandmothers.

“Are they not all ministering spirits?” – Hebrews 1.14 (KJV) 

Certainly, in our own little sphere it is not the most active people to whom we owe the most.  Among the common people whom we know, it is not necessarily those who are the busiest, not those who, meteor-like, are ever on the rush after some visible charge and work. It is the lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us the calm light of their bright and faithful being, up to which we look and out of which we gather the deepest calm and courage.  It seems to me that there is reassurance here for many of us.  If  we can do nothing for our fellow-man,  it still it is good to know that we can be something for them; to know (and this we may know surely) that no man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.  – Phillips Brooks

The Sound Of…

Silence.

Quiet as possible we stepped out of the Peace Corps vehicle.  Luckily we were almost at our front door and only had to pass by a couple of neighbors. They weren’t at home, or didn’t see us, so we made it inside without so much as a “Hamjambo.” Not that we were hoping for that :) However, it was nice to get inside and relax from our long trip.

A Birthing Cow.

I was looking forward to a nap.  To lay on my very own bed, actually next to my husband because its cold here! I made the bed with clean sheets put the pillow cases on, laid my sleepy head down and closed my eyes.  ” MoooOOOOOOooooo,  Ahhhhweeewwowoeenjend, MooooooAHHHHHfeehenanahdhdlhahalkhjdio!” The cow is dying next door, and I want to help it out.  Bad angry thoughts fill my mind as I look over and see that Brett is fast asleep. Figures!  There is nothing else to do but pull out my handy dandy ear plugs and eye mask and soothe my mind.

My Brother. (Love You)

“Let me borrow your car Brittany!!! Why do you have to be such a (bleep)!”
“You didn’t fill it up with gas last time Blake, why should I help YOU out!”
“You never do anything to help ME out! Ever!”

Then suddenly I was woken up from my dream by…

Children Singing. 

“Shake, Shake the Mango Tree.”  Giggle Giggle Giggles.  The cutest little kids are outside of my front door. I don’t even have to get out of bed to see who it is.  Eric is there with his snotty nose and missing front teeth. Waboi is with him and it’s her shrieks I hear as she knocks on the door and dashes away as quick as she can, just in case I can see her :) Solome is the oldest but she doesn’t help to keep them quiet. I know she has taken charcoal and made a painting of my house walls, or turned it into a writing board to practice her numbers.  Finally, Ian – my favorite – is waiting quietly for me to come outside with sweets and holding his hand is Nicole. Only 1.5 years old she just wants to play with our kitten.

Kikuyu Music.

Mercy has made it home from work and she is relaxing and making dinner with the distinctive sounds of the Kikuyu Tribe playing in the background. I would never tell her that sometimes I can hear her singing along… its one of my favorite things.  We are so lucky to have such a great friend and neighbor.  Eventually we will go say hello but for now we are enjoying the sounds of…

Indiana Jones. 

You know we have made it back to our quiet home in village when we pull back out all the old movies we loved growing up.  I proclaimed an Indiana Jones marathon was in order.  We cooked pasta, tried to get comfortable on our plastic chairs and switched on “Raiders of the Lost Ark“

Big Sigh.

We are back “Home.” The sounds of life here are like nothing I have ever had. I am glad to feel complete with them.

I am officially taking my one foot out of the United States.  Planting both feet firmly on Kenyan soil.  Dancing to my own music. 

Saying Good-Bye… Bitter Sweet!

We have said goodbye to all of our family and friends more than a handful of times over the past couple of years. We are nomadic people and have moved across the country and back now 3 times – so we are no strangers to the sadness and excitement that comes with moving.  Moving across the world is very different though.  We are not saying goodbye just for a couple of months – until we can come back for a holiday – we are saying goodbye for over 2 years.  There should be different feelings now… but I can’t conjure them up. I think that maybe I don’t understand the severity of this move or maybe I don’t want to… and I am not sure I need to either.  Right now I want to enjoy the next couple of days with our best friends and perfect families and I want to be excited about making new friends and living with a new family. No tears involved. —-> Well, we will see if that happens.

Saying goodbye to Brett’s family is simple.  They are so excited for us… Travelers themselves they understand why we are leaving and why we want go. When we say goodbye to them (as we have his Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents) they pray over us and wish us many adventures – smiling ear to ear.  Brett’s friends are the same way… we give one another great big kisses and pray together and scream our “I LOVE YOUS” as we are pulling out of the neighborhood… Smiling and happy.

My family is a little different. I haven’t had to say goodbye yet… but I am expecting lots of tears and worry. I can’t blame them  - they just don’t know that Kenya really isn’t that far away, and that there really isn’t anything to worry about.  Family being together for every holiday and major event is really important to them. I am so lucky that everything monumental and even trivial in my life has been shared right next to about 20 of my closest relatives.  It makes me smile and laugh thinking about it… I am so blessed to have those relationships with my family- but it makes times like this hard.  Two Christmas’s and Thanksgivings I will miss, All birthdays, Easters, 4th of July, Memorial Day… Wednesdays, Thursdays, Mondays…. Seriously, even the mundane… :) It is going to be hard for them, and It is going to be really hard for me… I hope they don’t forget that. But- No Tears…. I don’t really cry any more over these moves. I’m just excited.  Although they can’t see it through wet eyes, I hope they know that I will miss all of them so much and will be sending them happy thoughts from the bottom of my heart!

We have 4 days left in Georgia.  Tonight we say our final goodbyes to Brett’s Dad and Brother. Tomorrow we spend the last night with my Dad, Brother and Grandparents. Saturday our friends are throwing us an amazing Send Off and we will get to party all night and drink our last American beers! Sunday, the final day will be spent with my Mom, Brett’s Mom and Sisters and my Grandma Cecily.

Its so soon now!! It’s Bitter Sweet!! We are hoping for days and nights that last longer then they are supposed to and don’t plan on getting much sleep :) We have 16 hours on a plane for that ;)

We Love You All!!

 

International Dilemmas

Filtering, Heaven’s Reward Fallacy (Past Post) … That is what is going on in my head these days.  What is happening in Mali has not even trickled down and affected me yet, but I am still worried about it.  It has sent me in a dash to find all available back-up options… which is only making me more stressed as I realize I am qualified for almost zero placements. <— That is not distorted thinking, that is the truth.  Not to mention, the opportunities I might be qualified for will have several hundred applicants more qualified than me.This explains why it’s so difficult, and its not the first time I have read these words.

I have to face the truth… Although I would be a great addition for any domestic job, I haven’t put in the time at the bottom.  In college I worked hard in many avenues related to my degree (Psychology) and did well.  However, since college I have roamed, and played, and spent all my time traveling. While I do not regret those experiences, it looks pretty flaky on my CV. Internationally, I know I would be a great asset but I don’t have any international experience and no one will pick me over John Smith with 5+ years doing relief work in third-world insert country here.  See my dilemma??

Not to lessen Peace Corps, but this is why the organization is so fantastic! It takes 20-50 somethings and gives them a shot! You need minimal experience, but a whole lot of motivation, heart, and persistence - I surely have this – and they give you your chance! Peace Corps, for me, is a way to expand my skills and knowledge, learn cultures, grow as an independent woman and HELP THE WORLD!  While also giving me the experience I need to obtain the before mentioned jobs — nothing is truly altruistic. Oh, and did I mention that I won’t have to pay for it??? It is so frustrating how many volunteer/intern positions there are out there that cost $4,000-$15,000 + for a basic 8 week program!

Now, family and friends don’t start getting concerned at my current psyche. I’m not trying to be dramatic, and I am not hopeless, just concerned.  All I can do is put in the time and effort for God to open some doors and guide us through the right one. I just ask for your prayers that He’s with us on this one and we do what is right.  Brett and I have decided that whatever happens, we are leaving the country July 1st.  Hopefully with Peace Corps, but I am coming around the ideas of different options. Just the other day Brett found this PERFECT opening with Invisible Children… I would love to go to Uganda :)

Who knows what is going to happen over the next 59 days – All I know is that I am going to stay as prepared as possible for any and all outcomes. That is all I can do!

My Disillusionment… The Lies We Tell Ourselves

15 Styles of Distorted Thinking : How do you live??? 

Filtering: You take the negative details and magnify them, while filtering out all positive aspects of a situation. A single detail may be picked out, and the whole event becomes colored by this detail. When you pull negative things out of context, isolated from all the good experiences around you, you make them larger and more awful than they really are.

Polarized Thinking: The hallmark of this distortion is an insistence on dichotomous choices. Things are black or white, good or bad. You tend to perceive everything at the extremes, with very little room for a middle ground. The greatest danger in polarized thinking is its impact on how you judge yourself. For example-You have to be perfect or you’re a failure.

Overgeneralization: You come to a general conclusion based on a single incident or piece of evidence. If something bad happens once, you expect it to happen over and over again. ‘Always’ and ‘never’ are cues that this style of thinking is being utilized. This distortion can lead to a restricted life, as you avoid future failures based on the single incident or event.

Mind Reading: Without their saying so, you know what people are feeling and why they act the way they do. In particular, you are able to divine how people are feeling toward you. Mind reading depends on a process called projection. You imagine that people feel the same way you do and react to things the same way you do. Therefore, you don’t watch or listen carefully enough to notice that they are actually different. Mind readers jump to conclusions that are true for them, without checking whether they are true for the other person.

Catastrophizing: You expect disaster. You notice or hear about a problem and start “what if’s.” What if that happens to me? What if tragedy strikes? There are no limits to a really fertile catastrophic imagination. An underlying catalyst for this style of thinking is that you do not trust in yourself and your capacity to adapt to change.

Personalization: This is the tendency to relate everything around you to yourself. For example, thinking that everything people do or say is some kind of reaction to you. You also compare yourself to others, trying to determine who’s smarter, better looking, etc. The underlying assumption is that your worth is in question. You are therefore continually forced to test your value as a person by measuring yourself against others. If you come out better, you get a moment’s relief. If you come up short, you feel diminished. The basic thinking error is that you interpret each experience, each conversation, each look as a clue to your worth and value.

Control Fallacies: There are two ways you can distort your sense of power and control. If you feel externally controlled, you see yourself as helpless, a victim of fate. The fallacy of internal control has you responsible for the pain and happiness of everyone around you. Feeling externally controlled keeps you stuck. You don’t believe you can really affect the basic shape of your life, let alone make any difference in the world. The truth of the matter is that we are constantly making decisions, and that every decision affects our lives. On the other hand, the fallacy of internal control leaves you exhausted as you attempt to fill the needs of everyone around you, and feel responsible in doing so (and guilty when you cannot).

Fallacy of Fairness: You feel resentful because you think you know what’s fair, but other people won’t agree with you. Fairness is so conveniently defined, so temptingly self-serving, that each person gets locked into his or her own point of view. It is tempting to make assumptions about how things would change if people were only fair or really valued you. But the other person hardly ever sees it that way, and you end up causing yourself a lot of pain and an ever-growing resentment.

Blaming: You hold other people responsible for your pain, or take the other tack and blame yourself for every problem. Blaming often involves making someone else responsible for choices and decisions that are actually our own responsibility. In blame systems, you deny your right (and responsibility) to assert your needs, say no, or go elsewhere for what you want.

Shoulds: You have a list of ironclad rules about how you and other people should act. People who break the rules anger you, and you feel guilty if you violate the rules. The rules are right and indisputable and, as a result, you are often in the position of judging and finding fault (in yourself and in others). Cue words indicating the presence of this distortion are should, ought, and must.

Emotional Reasoning: You believe that what you feel must be true-automatically. If you feel stupid or boring, then you must be stupid and boring. If you feel guilty, then you must have done something wrong. The problem with emotional reasoning is that our emotions interact and correlate with our thinking process. Therefore, if you have distorted thoughts and beliefs, your emotions will reflect these distortions.

Fallacy of Change: You expect that other people will change to suit you if you just pressure or cajole them enough. You need to change people because your hopes for happiness seem to depend entirely on them. The truth is the only person you can really control or have much hope of changing is yourself. The underlying assumption of this thinking style is that your happiness depends on the actions of others. Your happiness actually depends on the thousands of large and small choices you make in your life.

Global Labeling: You generalize one or two qualities (in yourself or others) into a negative global judgment. Global labeling ignores all contrary evidence, creating a view of the world that can be stereotyped and one-dimensional. Labeling yourself can have a negative and insidious impact upon your self-esteem; while labeling others can lead to snap-judgments, relationship problems, and prejudice.

Being Right: You feel continually on trial to prove that your opinions and actions are correct. Being wrong is unthinkable and you will go to any length to demonstrate your rightness. Having to be ‘right’ often makes you hard of hearing. You aren’t interested in the possible veracity of a differing opinion, only in defending your own. Being right becomes more important than an honest and caring relationship.

Heaven’s Reward Fallacy: You expect all your sacrifice and self-denial to pay off, as if there were someone keeping score. You fell bitter when the reward doesn’t come as expected. The problem is that while you are always doing the ‘right thing,’ if your heart really isn’t in it, you are physically and emotionally depleting yourself.

*From Thoughts & Feelings by McKay, Davis, & Fanning. New Harbinger, 1981. These styles of thinking (or cognitive distortions) were gleaned from the work of several authors, including Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck, and David Burns, among others.

Everyday Rainbows

The world has PLENTY of color, we just aren’t taking advantage of it.   Everyday we wear “drab” we think “drab” we even see “drab.”  The most important nouns in our world are covered in head to toe black and white.  Why the lack of color? Who ever decided that we needed to take away the beautiful colors God has given us and replace them with Black and White? Take a look at your closet, just a quick look and most of us will see a wide array of black, white and grey options… True for you? Of course we also have dark brown, and dark red and dark green… The professional attire if you will.  I don’t know one person with a “Real Job” who would wear rainbows. No shame, I don’t even have rainbows in my tiny wardrobe – they are silly.  Right?

Well, yes they kind of are.  Brief story : This weekend Brett and I hightailed it far away from Gwinnett County to a little place called Johnson City, TN.  We went to see friends from Yellowstone… Hippies and Gypsies - They are my favorite. When I tell you that these people constantly smile and laugh I am not exaggerating, I wonder (and sometimes ask) how they manage to stay so uplifted… It isn’t natural. In my opinion, its laughter a room sized closet filled with a gigantic prism of colors.

Color is a gift from God.  - Or more technically speaking a gift from the sun, which God made for us. The sun emits a great deal of energy and sustains our lives. Without sunlight our moods drift ever so slowly into the depths of despair and when that bright light shines on us again its as if we are magically catapulted into bliss. The vibrations of color are a source of power and fulfillment. By not taking advantage of them, we are wasting a gift.

All of the colors have different psychological meaning attached to them and from mounds of expert research this is what they have come up with.

Blue – Peace and Understanding             Yellow – Clarity and Orderliness

Red- Energy and Enthusiasm                 Orange – Creativity and Playfulness

Green – Harmony and Sympathy             Indigo – Awareness and Wisdom

Get out there and put on some color… I bet you’ll feel better :)

New Perspectives

Brett’s uncle and aunt live near us now for the first time! Last night they invited us to dinner to meet some close friends of theirs that had lived in Africa. While working with Wycliffe they traveled back and forth from Cote D’lvoire and Mali over a period of four years.  It was really exciting to meet them and pick their brains about life in Mali and how the culture is so different from our own.

Interesting Insights From Their Perspective:

They confirmed my feelings that Mali is going to be the hardest place I will ever have to live as a potential missionary.  (Although I am not in Peace Corps as a missionary, eventually this is part of our future life goals) I have been trying to come to terms with this for awhile now, “prepare myself for the worst hope for the best.” In terms of living conditions, climate, and overall pace of life it will be very difficult.  However, I am lucky to be surrounded by loving people and that is what makes all the difference.  Although I will be in a tough environment, life won’t seem as troublesome because the people are abounding in grace and kindness – and when travelers come back from Mali this seems to be all they can talk about.

Malians seem to have a difficult time with goodness… This was a bit confusing for me and I hope to portray it in a correct way.  From what I gathered in the conversation, Mali natives don’t understand how everyone can be good. In their community every person knows everyone else on a personal level and this aids in helping them to survive.  Essentially, you are accountable for the whole – If  a man is sick he has to rely on neighbors to help, and then in turn he will be asked the same courtesy later on. Without having their own savings and checking accounts this is the way of survival. So when Peace Corps volunteers come in and want to help for “free” its confusing. Obviously, we won’t ever have to call in a favor so why do we insist on becoming part of their community and helping? I am going to try and find some clever answers for this… hopefully I can expand on God’s goodness and how He has shown us unconditional love and expects us to do the same.  God, help me find a way to do this in a Muslim country :)

Clothing in Mali was not a major concern. I have just assumed I would bring a bunch of skirts and some t shirts - American clothing that would be acceptable in Mali.  Now, I have a different outlook.  Imagine this, you are walking down the street and you see an Indian woman wearing a saris or you see a nun in the traditional habit. Normally I would notice them and chances are I think that they are proud of who they are, have no need to change, and want to be set apart. Well, now take that to Africa and wearing your own clothes. What have you done? You are saying I am American, I like that, I have no need to conform and no desire to be different.  Chances are it is going to take you a lot longer to become part of that community than if you had just dressed the part. Plus, really if I think about it, wearing skirts in African fabric is legit! I should be excited about supporting their economy by buying clothes that they make themselves. It wasn’t that I had a problem with it before, I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal… Now, I know it isn’t really a big deal, but I should try to do everything I can to relate to the community I will be serving.

Just some quick insights! Thanks to Elizabeth and Jeff for a great night and a lot of discovery!

The Upside of Giardia!

Brett’s mom is going to give a huge sigh at this post  :) She is always telling me to stop worrying, stop being scared, and most importantly stop saying those things out loud! Spreading negative thoughts in the air is like wishing for them to happen… I should know this. I preach about it any chance I get! I can just hear me counseling on it now…”You are what you think you are, if you say it out loud chances are it will happen.”  Your brain is a very powerful “machine” no one knows what it is fully capable of and I am positive that you can control the outcome of your life based on what you let yourself think about.  So, that being said… I am going to “Walk the Walk” and turn those “Woes into Pros!!!” ( I just made that up! How clever… Thanks )

Things I am Nervous About and the Positives I Will “Think” Into Happening :)

• Being Dirty
  • Well, its no secret that I have tendencies towards being dirty already. Africa is a whole different kind of dirty though and the possibility I will have to take bucket baths is SKY HIGH! I have been thinking about this a lot and my solution is quite romantic- at the risk of too much information- Brett and I will be able to wash each others feet as Jesus does and take time out for one another.  Bath time at night will hopefully turn into something relaxing and loving.  Heaven knows I need to try and make this positive otherwise I will be so irritated that dirt keeps getting in the bed or that I  can never get the middle of my back clean :)
• Bugs
  • One day I am going to be a supermom when it comes to getting rid of creatures!  Living in a hut is going to be no sanctuary from bugs!! I am going to see them, sleep with them, probably eat them and by the time my 2.5 years are over I am going to learn how to be friends with them!
• Dysentery/Giardia
  • Every volunteer writes about these awful diseases, and really not much good can come from them… BUT I will be able to stay at a consistent weight regardless of how much rice I am forced to eat ?!!? I am trying here :)
• Pooping in a Hole
  • This is gross! I have already begged Brett to build me a portable seat.  Chances are if I cry enough about it he will build one :) However, in the meantime this gives me great motivation to strengthen my thighs!! Hey, look at that… Motivation to work out and have better legs- YES PLEASE! My goal is to be able to squat without breaking a sweat for at least 5 minutes. Haha – no it doesn’t take me 5 minutes to do the deed… but first I have to relax my mind into not thinking about the monsters and critters that can come and snatch me at up any moment! Seriously!
• Being In A Muslim Country
  • We have a bad taste in our mouth about Muslims, we have feared them, and definitely do not understand them… I am going to have the opportunity to learn all there is to know about their customs and religion and I hope there will be some transference.  I hope I grow as a person from what they teach me and I hope to teach them in turn.
• Learning French/Bambara
  • This is easy… I am going to develop the skills to seduce my husband by just saying things like “Le Poisson Nage Rouges” (Which means… The Red Fish Swims – Sexy Right?? Well in English, NO – but in french it sounds great!)
• No Electricity
  • I will be able to play all the hand and foot I want! Card games are going to rule the world – Dominoes are going to be my new TV and Reading – well reading has always been one of my number one past times! I am just hoping with all this extra time I can teach my neighbors about Munchkin!
• No Water
  • Again, my arms are going to be gorgeous with how much effort I am going to have to put into carrying water back and forth from what ever well I live closest to! And balance, I will probably learn how to carry it on my head. That seems exciting!
• Only Having Brett Who Talks/Walks/Looks Like Me
  • Finding ways to relate to another culture is going to be difficult!  I am lucky to be going to Mali though and I keep reminding myself of that.  I am told over and over that Malians are the most welcoming, kind people and I am going to fall in love with them… From the stories my mom hears about this she is worried I won’t come home… It is mostly exciting to get to experience a culture with such a HUGE community aspect!
• Money
  • Although we have been saving I am still worried that we won’t have enough money! Peace Corps basically pays you enough to survive.  I just want to be able to have some freedom to roam and have some creature comforts every once in awhile- but at the same time this is going to teach me that money isn’t everything and that I don’t need things to make me happy! I will be surrounded by people without and through them I will learn that it is still enough.
• Missing Family and Friends
  • There isn’t a positive to this, lets be honest.
• Babies
  • I might be 30 before I have my first child!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhh!! This haunts me! However, I keep telling myself that I will go into kids with NO regrets, I have tried many things, I have had hundreds of adventures, I have been extremely poor, I have traveled the world, and by this time I will be wiser and mature enough to have children! I will have gotten MOST of the travel ants out of my pants and might be ready for a stable life- in a real house… Lol. We will see!
• Work
  • How am I going to work in a country where I don’t know the language or the culture? How am I going to motivate people to learn and be educated when their entire lives are spent farming and most never go to school?  I am going to learn patience! I am going to learn discipline! I am going to be better at teaching motivation and hopefully I am going to be able to inspire! Who wouldn’t be excited about that!

Well there You have it… Its a good start – I keep telling myself.  Honestly, It hasn’t even hit me yet that I am leaving… But I do take a couple minutes a day to sit and make myself think about it.  The last thing I want is to be blind sighted at the airport with all of my family and friends around to see me clawing to stay in the car!  Oh, just kidding that wouldn’t happen… ;)

You’ve Got A Friend In Me…

Throughout this experience I have had one constant dread- Losing Friends. It may come as a shock to you – but this is a common difficulty among volunteers.  I don’t think it is necessarily anyone’s fault but chances are we are going to grow away from people we never once thought we would loose touch with.  2.5 years is an awfully long time to be separated from one another, but on a totally different level we are separated by cultures and worlds that no one will understand until they have lived that life themselves.  So the problem comes down to not being able to communicate and relate to each other.

For example, in the first 6 months of my 2.5 year stint I am already missing my cousins wedding and two of my best friends weddings.  Then, I still have basically 2 years left to miss other weddings and bigger than that, babies! I have no idea what it is going to be like for all of my friends to start having children and begin new lives that have no connection to mine.  I will rarely be able to speak to them and when I can, there is only so much you can do in a hour long conversation with splotchy connections.  Not to mention, during those short conversations I have to also be able to relay my life in a third world country with a people and culture they can’t relate to. Needless to say, it is very possible that when I get home my friends, family and I might have a hard time reconnecting and I have to start preparing myself for that… and hopefully find creative ways to make that gap smaller.

In thinking about these upcoming hardships it makes me sad to think about how here in the States I have already lost touch with so many friends that are right at my fingertips.  While working today I ran into the beautiful mother of one of my old middle/highschool friends.  It was amazing catching up and getting to share stories, but also very sad because I have not seen them in years. Sometimes, you just loose touch. I guess I can see how people just get busy and can’t find the time- of course I am a culprit of that excuse… but other times – far worse times – friends have a “falling out” over  issues that really shouldn’t matter.  Now that we are all getting married it seems that these “falling outs” happen more and more often… How sad is it that you can be friends with someone and over small mishaps just write them off like you never had a care in the world.  Let me tell you, I don’t know a single friend who hasn’t had this happen at their wedding.  It could of happened at mine… But why do we do this?  Why do we write off important people in our life like we don’t need them?

The truth to the matter is one day we will regret this.  I think about my long lost friends all the time. Check on them on Facebook… wish we kept in better touch.  Facebook should be a  tool in helping friends stay in touch but in most cases it doesn’t get put to good use.  I wish it were easier, staying friends for years and years and years… but it doesn’t happen much. I am lucky to still keep in great contact with a few of my friends from highschool.  I sneak up on many others by looking at pictures and sending happy thoughts but I should try harder to write a quick message… Hopefully I will.

In the meantime,  To all my best friends -I hope that we make valiant efforts to stay close - I promise you I will try my best… and to all my old friends – I still think about you and hopefully we can have lunch sometime :)

"They"

Reblogged from Lady Harrelson:

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by Cortney

Boy, have we muffed things up.

The information is out there. But to put it simply, our country, our government, the very place you call home...it is killing you.

Pink Floyd once asked, "Mother, can I trust the government?" Well, no son, you can't.

I'm ashamed to work in a country that doesn't even want to assist me in being healthy enough to do so.

Read more… 1,865 more words

From my beautiful cousin! Always inspiring...