Mama Speaks

Oh my goodness, I love Pandora.  I've been listening to it each evening on my laptop whilst I check Facebook, e-mail, and various whatnots.  I put in the title of the song "Bad Day" (the Fuel version, not the Powter guy), and every song that comes on is full of nostalgia and emotion for me.  Love it! Originally I was going to title this blog something entirely different, and now I can't even remember what it was except that it was entirely negative, not because I'm feeling entirely negative, but because of the content I had in mind for tonight's blog. Over the weekend, I tried on wedding dresses for the 2nd time, and even though it started as a total failure, fate had a hand in things.  Just as we were getting ready to go to IKEA for surely some shopping success, a girl came in and tried on a dress that I've been eyeing via internet for some time now.  Of course, my mom told me I must try it on, and I took the timing of it all to be my sign to actuall...

Brr-this chilly weather is getting to my poor, broken body.  Thank goodness my brain functions better than my body does (though that's not saying much).   I've come to the conclusion that it is so difficult to be someone who tries to be fair and stand up for what's right.  By no means am I perfect-I'm far from it.  I fail often, and my shortcomings are many.  There have just been some instances lately where I have tried to handle situations diplomatically, and I am not sure why I try.  It doesn't involve anyone that I'm close to, and it isn't anything that affects me in my personal life.  Why, I wonder, do we have guidelines and procedures if we aren't going to follow them across the board?  I suppose that this is life.  On a grander scale than the woes of my day-to-day frustrations, I know there are people who commit crimes and get away with it.  A young man drove drunk, killed my grandparents, and got to live his life.  No ...

My mom has always told me that I have a story to tell.  A book to write.  Of course, she's my mom so she has to say that.  Incredibly, this spur-of-the-moment blog I created has been well-received.  I wasn't even sure if I was going to put it out there, but I've gotten such encouragement and even praise that I'm driven to continue.  Somehow, my thoughts out there on the 'net have been validated by the people in my life who took a moment to read something I wrote, for whatever reason.  I'm a terrible critic of myself, so it is no wonder I find it surreal to experience such positivity out of the rubble and ashes and ramblings of my exhausted, incoherent mind. Honesty is so important.  This is a lesson I learned from my mom.  Many parents of her generation have detached themselves from sharing who they are with their children.  On the other hand, my mom has told me everything from the tragedies in her life to the greatest joys and triumphs....

What other sensible non-sexy costume would a mom wear?  I could have been a sexy kitten or sexy witch or sexy pirate or sexy fill-in-the-blank, but I wasn't feeling it.  I have to say, the dirty laundry costume is one of my favorites so far. We were all set and psyched to go "party" with our friends after going to Eau Gallie Baptist's Fall Fest/Trunk or Treat. Ayla had fun, her costume was lauded greatly, and she was excited to see the scary costumes, but somehow terribly afraid of the Santa costume she encountered.  I passed out on our new couch while (exhuasted) Brandon finished his robot costume.  We headed out at midnight, and we managed to make it until 2:30.  It was really wonderful to see our friends who we love dearly.  Things are different now, though.  I had this conversation with a father friend of mine-about how being a parent changes a familiar scene.  For many of us, there is no simple transition between "parent" and the other part...