Adventures In Friendship: Day 1

My best friend Marie came to visit me on my spring break so I decided to document the occasion. :-)

She arrived today and being inspired by my half of the friendship necklace she gave me (my half says "weirdo #1") I held up a small sign that simply said "weirdo #2, which made her laugh. We had a late lunch with my husband and did a bit of gift shopping for some of her family that we'd be seeing the next day. It was really funny to see that we were wearing the exact same socks. It was totally not planned and neither of us knew that the other owned the socks but apparently great minds do think alike. Ha!

Aren't these great?!

Once we got to my house, we delved into a blast from our childhood: dyeing some Easter eggs. Even though I dropped a couple, they still turned out pretty good.  Since my husband isn't too fond of hard boiled eggs, Marie and I will be turning them into deviled eggs for tomorrow's lunch with some of Lee's family.

Our masterpieces

I've been looking forward to this visit for weeks and I know that we'll be having a lot of fun in the days to come.

Why Should I Trust You?

I got to thinking this morning about trust.  Trust is something that we should have in a lot of people in our lives; both in people that we know personally and people that we don't.  Now, according to dictionary.com, there multiple definitions of the word trust when used as both a noun, adjective, and verb.  I want to focus on the definition that we most commonly use when we relate to people: to have confidence in; rely or depend on.

I say that we apply this to two different types of people: trusted friends and trusted strangers.  Those that would fall under the category of trusted friends are people that we really know well: close family members, best friends, spouses, etc.  These are people we have spent time getting to know well.  We have more in-depth knowledge of them that the average person walking down the street.  These are people who, for the most part, could trust with our mental and physical well-being.

The second group are the trusted strangers.  These are people we don't know on a deep level or maybe just know by name only.  This level of trust that we have in these people sort of goes against our nature.  We don't want to trust them but, for one reason or another, we need to. When we go to a doctor, we know nothing about them except that they went to medical school and passed their board certification.  We have to put our trust in them that they will do what is best for us and not try to put us through anything that we don't actually need.

And that second level of trust goes way beyond the local level, if you think about it.  We have to trust that the governor of our state won't allow companies to pour toxic run-off into our water supply. We have to trust that our president won't launch a nuclear strike just because another country's president said that he looked like a bloated dead fish.

This web of trust links every person, all across the globe.  It is a bit scary to think about how much trust we have to have in people, beyond who we know, to be able to live our lives in a relative safe frame of mind.

To be honest, my trust doesn't stretch as far as most due to a lot of negative past events.  When a negative event happens, it does erode away that trust in others and it is very hard to put it back.  Perhaps this is why so many societies are struggling: because of this trust that has never been fixed.  And it is something that needs to be fixed, desperately, or else our lives and the lives that are connected to ours, will continue to erode away to nothing.

She Sang For Me

When I was seven, my dad died and I went from a private school to a public in the middle of second grade.  I was a smart kid but not the most popular and I had issues with fitting in.  My new teacher was Mrs. Garcia and she made me feel so welcome.  She was great at getting me acclimated and never made me feel bad about not knowing something.

One big moment that sticks out in my mind of her kindness is when we did a play of Jack and the Beanstalk.  I got to play the harp that sings the giant to sleep. A lot of people wanted that part and I felt really lucky to get it.  Sadly, during the performance I got a very bad case of stage fright and couldn't sing.  Mrs. Garcia came to my rescue and sang for me,  I remember that kindness to this day.  I always look back at the love and warmth that she not only showed me but to every student under her care.

So, to Mrs. Garcia, wherever you are, thank you.  You will always have my love and a special place in my heart.

(Prompt 284 out of 300: Write about a teacher of yours who did something noteworthy.)




















(Photo from: https://belvedere.sbcusd.com)

Spring is In the Air

In my neighborhood, the trees start to get new leaves, the grass starts to turn green, and dandelions start to appear.  (Which I don't pull up since I like them and they are good for bees.)  The real spring magic for me is my backyard.  My backyard has a lot of trees, which doesn't allow for a lot of grass to grow.  What does grow is a bunch of different weeds that have really beautiful flowers.  This brings a lot of young rabbits and birds to my backyard, which my cats love to watch.  It is like having my own little wooded glade in the middle of suburbia.

The spring goddess from Fantasia 2000

Prompt 285 out of 300: What does spring look like in your neighborhood?)
















(Photo from: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/File:Fantasia-disneyscreencaps.com-7263.jpg)

Free At Last

The first phrase that came to mind was "Your student loan debts have been completely paid off."  Now, I took those loans so I could get the education I wanted (due to circumstances that I could not control, I was unable to get to my true goal) and I understood that they would have to be paid back.  However, the payment that I make each month is over half of whatIi put towards my rent, which is crazy.  It would be a great relief to no longer have that debt and be able to complete all the repairs needed on my truck.

(Prompt 286 out of 300: What is one phrase you would really like to hear right now?)














(Photo from: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechallenges/managing-money/breaking-free-from-debt/breaking-free-from-debt)

My Link Is Not Severed

Having a child is a big responsibility and it can be a very rewarding one for those you truly want to undertake the task.  Many see it as a path to immortality of a sort.  The links from the past will carry on into the future, the family line will continue, someone will care for you in your twilight years, etc.

But what about those people who can't have kids, for one reason or another, or who don't wish to have them at all.  Are they to be objects of pity or scorn by those who have them?  Will they be left forgotten in their old age, a lonely individual laying on a bed in a nursing home without a single visitor?  My answer is no to all of these.

I am, for reasons that I will not discuss here, not able to have biological children of my own, even though they are wanted.  But I do not consider my link to the future severed by any means.  My children are many, more than anyone person can birth on their own.  My children are my students, the readers that read the stories I send out into the world, the offspring of mine and my husband's siblings, and the offspring of those I consider part of my family.  Part of who I am will live on in them and those that come after them.

Yes, I will admit that I often worry about who might care for me when I'm in my twilight years but I try not to dwell on it.  What happens will happen.  Time will continue to flow forward into the cosmic expanse & nothing I do will change that.  I must trust that when my time comes to cross the veil, there will be those who love me to wish me farewell.

(Photo from: http://www.thethingswesay.com/i-like-to-think-that-the-universe-brought-us-together-for-a-reason-that-were-supposed-to-help-each-other-grow-into-the-people-we-were-always-meant-to-become/)