Happy Veterans Day

Yesterday was an important day in our house, and across the nation. Even before my husband enlisted, I've known that veterans were people to be respected and honored (without them, I don't think my mom would've even considered coming to the US). But, this Veterans Day someone got me thinking. One of my friends told the story of how her father suffered physical injuries and PTSD after his experiences with war, and asked, with so many of our men and women experiencing maladies that range from PTSD to loss of limbs and everything in between, "why do we say 'happy' Veterans Day?"

Here's my answer to you my friend:

Everyday we respect our veterans. Some of us personally take care of them. In our house, we stand with our veteran, support our veteran. We thank the ones me we meet for their service. Every day. But, on Veterans Day, we celebrate our veteran. We celebrate him, and his brothers and sisters in arms. We take that extra step out of our daily bubble to let them know how much we appreciate them, with parades and ceremonies and programs in the schools. That celebration, that appreciation, that creates a good feeling. A happy feeling. That is why, in our house, November 11th is always a HAPPY Veterans Day.

Thank you to all the veterans that might read this.

And good luck to those men and women thinking about enlisting.

Much love,

To Help or Not to Help--What are the Consequences?

What's happened to common sense? Seriously?

So recently, near Boston, a female high school student went to a party, where they were serving alcohol, when her friend called for a ride home. The cops showed up, kids that drank were ticketed, and then there were some (the girl in question) that didn't drink, but were warned they were going to get tickets for drinking just because they were there.

Find the article at CNN.com.

Here is where I have issues with all this:

• The cops on the scene made a statement that the girl was sober, and had not been drinking. Why did she have to get a ticket?
• Since she was ticketed, her school's Zero Tolerance policy kicked in and she was demoted as the Captain of the volleyball team and suspended 4-5 games. I don't believe Zero Tolerance policies work. There are too many situations that fall into the grey zone--like this case.
• She went to that party not to imbibe, and not to encourage others to be delinquent, but to help out a friend in a potentially dangerous situation. Now that this girl has been punished, what kind of message are we sending to other kids? Don't help out your friend, because you might get in trouble just for being there? That's horrible.

Kids will make stupid decisions, but this girl is obviously not one of them. If my girls were ever in the same situation, I would hope that they'd go help their friend. I don't want them to have to think twice about doing what their parents would think is right.

I hope the underage drinking charges are/were dropped. I hope that her school administrators change their policy and reverse her punishment. I hope that the adults dealing with our children will use their common sense instead of leaving things up to some black-and-white policy that ends up doing more harm than good.

That's my two cents.

Much Love,

Things That Make Me Smile

With so much conflict and negativity in the world, here are (in no particular order) some things that make me happy. I hope they make your day brighter, too. :)

1.) Baby ANYTHING.

Infants, puppies, kittens, bunnies. I love them all. I even squee over mini cupcakes and baby corn. I may have a problem, but I'm okay with that.

It's a fuzzy bunny hiding his face.
How can you not love this?!

2.) New books at the library.
I love seeing a new book from a favorite author on the shelves at the library. Crisp, new pages and the knowledge that I may be the first of hundreds to experience a novel.
Pure. Awesome.

That is happiness waiting to happen, right there.

3.) Flowers.
I like pretty things, like Flowers. They're colorful, some smell great, and they
attract other pretty things like birds and butterflies.
If only I weren't allergic.

How would you like to come home to this?
I know I would!

4.) Men with tool belts. (More specifically, my man.)
There is just something about a man that can fix and build things that gets to me.
The Hubbs doesn't just make the home--he can, literally, make the house.

(Unfortunately, The Hubbs wouldn't pose for a pic. Dang.)


5.) Footie-pajamas.
Kids in footie-jammies are frickin' adorable. And, they remind me of the days I spent "skating" around my basement--
sometimes knocking myself silly on the concrete.

Pink. Cupcake. Footie-pajamas.
Seriously?! Is there an adult version?

6.) Old People in Love.
They give me hope for the future, and remind me that if I want that with The Hubbs, we need to constantly work at our relationship. A sweet elderly couple makes me picture The Hubbs and me years from now, drinking sweet tea in our rocking chairs, and that makes me smile.

Ready? "Awwww!"
They are so sweet!

7.) Things that sparkle.
I've been known to wander off in stores after exclaiming, "Ooh! Shiny!"
It's not only jewelry, it's anything sparkly. I'm just as likely to be entranced by a bathroom faucet as I am a 2karat diamond.
What can I say? I'm easily sidetracked.

$2million earrings.
Not just bling--Ka-bling!

8.) Journals and Pens.
I'm a writer, 'nuff said.

9.) Kid Art.
Kids say, do, and make the darnedest things. Some is beautiful. Some is indiscernible.
And some, look horribly "inappropriate."
Those are the best.

Medium's early work. A dress and necklace for Mommy.

10.) Clean Sheets Day.
Aside from Thirsty Thursday (Hey! That's today!), and maybe Wine Wednesday,
Clean Sheets Day is my favorite day of the week. Crisp sheets, the scent of my
detergent and fabric softener--it's comfort and luxury. I love crawling
into bed on Sunday nights.

A baby and clean sheets! Double win!

These are a few of my favorite things. What are some things that make you smile?
I wanna know!

And for more things that make me smile, check out my Pinterest board, aptly titled
Little Things To Make Me Smile.


Much Love,

One more for the road:

Large with an armful of puppies. Squee!

9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance

12 years ago, thousands of people lost their lives in a horrible attack on our nation. It was one of those tragedies so awful that I will forever remember where I was the morning it all happened. Despite the shock that was felt, Americans all over did what they do best. Banded together and reached out to those in need.

To honor the fallen, and show respect for the loss the nation felt, September 11th has been dedicated a day of service and remembrance. Basically, we all should go out there and do good today. I'm already a huge fan and advocate of volunteering, so this is a day that speaks to me.

There are things that we can do everyday, not just today, to help out others. And those of us that can--should. If you need help finding ways to volunteer your time, I came up with a short list of links to get y'all started:

• A list compiled by the VA of Veterans and Military Service Organizations (Inclusion on this list does not necessarily indicate association with, or endorsement by the VA.)
• American Red Cross
• VolunteerMatch.org (This includes a link to volunteer with the Salvation Army.)
• Volunteer.gov
• The American Legion
• 9/11 Day of Service (find 9/11 service projects happening in your area and across the US)
• Youth Service America (a place where our young people can find ways to volunteer.)

There are so many other places and opportunities out there just waiting for you to share your time (and expertise in some cases) with them. Your local Chamber of Commerce would be another great place to look. And if you or your spouse are currently in the military, check with your  (or your spouse's) Family Readiness (or Welfare) Team (heck, you could volunteer with them!).

Get out there and do some good people!

Much Love,

Always Remember. Never Forget.

World Suicide Prevention Day

Quite a few years ago, someone I knew committed suicide. It wasn't somebody that I knew very well, but this stuck with me nonetheless. Why? I was one of the last people to talk with this young man before he took his own life.

Within hours of our conversation, he hanged himself.

To this day, I wonder if I could've done more for him. I wonder what was in his mind and his heart as we were talking. Was he reaching out to me, and I missed it? Was there something I could've said that would've made him change his mind?

He was a quiet kid. Not really much of a talker-a little awkward sometimes. I was always nice to him--I hope he realized I never thought or spoke ill of him. He laughed, he smiled, he had people he hung out with.

So what in his life made him take his fate into his own hands?

I don't know. I'll never know. The memory of our last encounter haunts me, and always will. 

I learned a very important lesson from him, though. Because of him, I try to be a little more friendly to the people I meet. I put myself out there more when I pass people each day.

Because you never really know what someone may be dealing with behind closed doors. Your smile, your interest, your genuine concern could more than brighten their day. You could help bring them back into the light.

But also, if you think someone you know and love may be considering hurting themselves, don't try to help them on your own (unless you're licensed to). Please make sure they know you care, but help them seek out professional help.

Here are just a few resources:

• International Association for Suicide Prevention
• Helpguide.org
• National Center for PTSD

Much Love and Big Hugs,