Thanks Tahoe

In the fall of '01 I met a co worker who I will refer to as Tahoe, due to his affection for the Chevy Tahoe he drove at the time. One day, Tahoe and I were talking in one of our offices, about grad school. I was 24/25 ish.... and I was complaining that if I did go to grad school... I would not be done until I was 28... the shock and horror bc apparently 28 is old?!?!?! Tahoe looked at me and said "Heth, you're going 28 one day, one way or another. You might as well have a master's too." As soon as the angels finish singing the Hallelujah chorus, I enrolled in graduate school. I have never regretted taking Tahoe's advice. Today, I heard a couple of women, 50ish discussing certain pursuits they felt they were too old for. Pursuits that would enhance their lives for AT LEAST another 20 years. SO SO sad. Thanks Tahoe... that will never be me.

a old favorite... with new meaning...

So at work, I listen to pandora the ENTIRE shift... what can I say, I have agreeable coworkers. My current station plays a lot of DMB. I have heard this song several times, but didn't realize I had it on my computer until tonight... and I have listen to it over and over and over again this evening. I met an old for drinks this week... and it was so ... refreshing... comforting... what I needed. We shared our thoughts, experiences, and perhaps misadventures of last 10-15 years. And what I took away from it is difficult to articulate. But it was good and soothing. This song sums up my current feelings...

My best friend... my Gramps:)

They call them the greatest generation.... regardless of what generation he is from, my Gramps is the greatest man I know. This is a clip from the local news station regarding Honor Flight. It's a non-profit organization that takes vets to DC to see their war memorials. It is free to all vets and no one is turned away regardless of medical condition. Isn't he precious?

Everybody Loves a Polish Girl!!!

I have, for a long time, been a Stampin' Up! gal... while I still love and sell SU!, I'm branching out a little. Want to get more in destressing and altering items. I bought a box of a couple 100 random postage stamps. All international, all post marked. It arrived this week and I found a couple of polish stamps... so I decided to make cards for my favorite polish girls in Chicago... Hope they 'em:) (it's kind of hard to tell, but on the bottom card, that is a little cupid charm)...

take me out to the ball game

This is my friend Aggie... probably the funniest person I know. On a recent trip to Chicago, I got to attend a Cubs game with her. Yesterday I was at the grocery store wearing my Cubs hoodie sweatshirt... A man in line said "how are those Cubs doing?" I looked at him confused and said "I don't really like baseball... I just love wrigley field." He laughed. Long and hard.

hot mama

This is a pic of my friend Sara and I when I recently visited her for her baby shower:)

Happy Mothering Day

So Mother's Day and Father's Day have long been awkward times for me...as I don't have the "traditional" mother and father.... I have many people who fill components of parents... but have never had parents as we understand them in western culture. That is always a little ... um, well, awkward to discuss initially with people, bc THEY don't necessarily know what to say. Most think they should apologize with the "I'm sorry to hear that." That's nice of you to say.... but it just makes the conversation stiff. Just move on and say or ask other things you would like to say or ask. However this isn't my point, my point is to talk about all the people that mother us. When we hear 'mother' I think our first thought is the woman who lived in our house growing up, be it biological, adoptive, step-, or even grand-. I'm not talking about the noun though. I'm talking about the verb. When you mother someone, you see that their needs are met... physically, spiritually, emotionally... and you often see to it that they stay out of harm's way. How you do that changes as the child grows and matures. A mother of a toddler starts with a slap on the hand for getting too close to the hot stove, but the mother of a college student offers advice on making healthy choices (and I have found too, that most moms pray--whether or not they believed in a higher power prior to the birth of a child). The way a person mothers changes as mother and child mature and as life changes.

I am have been blessed to have many women in my life who love me and provide much emotional support. Incidentally, should they ever read this, the first to come to mind are my beloved Losers--that's right ladies, you're capital L losers.

What I have recently found to be wonderful though, is that while I have the mothers of my friends, youth leaders, and older friends (I am often drawn to friendships with women 10-20+ years older than me), peers often mother us as well... today I posted the following on my facebook "I have been thinking.....the friendships of women are very special... unlike any other connection.... sometimes even a peer can wrap her arms around you and make the monsters under the bed go away... she can cheer for you when it seems like no one else in your section is cheering... and she can give you a good swift kick in the pants when you need it most.... I think all women mother other women in a way which they might never understand or acknowledge...". Well at this point, it's after midnight, so it's no longer Mother's day... can we call the Monday after Mother's Day, Mothering Day? Regardless of whether you have/ still have your biological mother in your life... be sure to pause and consider ALL those who mother you, who bring you comfort, support, or honesty... and just like Mom, remember to tell them all year long... not only one day of the year:).

Some day I'll change the layout

OH. MY. WORD. Am I finally starting this thing? I have so much to say right now because I guess I feel like this has to be some grand introduction to the world... HEY WORLD, I'M BLOGGING... what do you think of that? I always thought I was above twitter, or tweeting, as the case may be, but the last couple of days, I apparently have been posting "tweet like" comments on my FB... WHO DO I THINK I AM?... that world cares about every thought that flutters in and out of my mind? Well my friends comment, so I guess they think I'm funny... LOL. What is the point of this blog, you may ask yourself? Dunno.

I feel like I need a theme... but I can't narrow it down... so, if you should choose to read this... you can expect a few topics...
1. Pictures of my crafting
2. Pictures of friends and I where I say, wow, that's a good pic of me, i'm going to post it.
3. Musings about love and dating. Well, right now, I'm officially on a "break" from dating... aye aye aye is all I can say there. Although I'm on a break, if you just happen to know a cute single fella, over 6', darkish hair, knows there is a world beyond the end of his driveway, smart, kinda geeky, and sweet... send him my e-mail--shoot, send him to my house.
4. The pursuit of healthier living
5. Nursing school/ health care
6. Random graphically personal stories... since I'm in nurseing school, I have lost any filter I had about bodies and nature... let me know if you want to hear my most recent adventure in menses.

PLEASE DON'T JUDGE MY OVERUSE AND ABUSE OF THE ELYSIS. I LOVE DOTS AND REFLECTING IN STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

OK, I think I'm going to hit publish post and see how this little ditty turned out...