Fragile! Handle with Caution...

I am reminded today of how fragile life is. 11 years ago many of us were mourning the tragic loss of Kasey Overton in a car accident. A year later the loss of my mother knocked my train of it's track for nearly a decade, I think I am just now starting to drive my own train again. As the years have gone by more and more friends lost and buried...I can remember how shocking death seemed when I was a child and teenager, now it only leaves me with a sad aching reminder of how limited our time is here on this Earth and the absolute need to make the most of it. Autumn always brings bittersweet memories to me. Perhaps it's watching the the leaves die and fly away, and the magical way the earth creates it's own little temporary grave for the season.

Leaves crunching under my feet, and the brisk breezes that whip around me this time of year always seem to give me the strange need to take stock of my life, where it is going? What am I doing to better it?  Many of my major life changing events occurred in Autumn. I didn't really realize how many until I started writing this. Engagement...pregnancies...nervous breakdown...divorce...  And here I am today once again preparing for a life changing event, moving. A decision that was hard, scary and exciting.

So as Mother Earth packs up her treasures and tucks them away till Spring, I am packing up my meager belongings (I like meager...Live Simply, Simply Live) to start over once again, with a thankful heart that I have been given another day to enjoy my life and love my loved ones. Hold your loved ones tightly, show your friends they are treasured, and pray for your enemies...life is far too fragile for any less. 

I could name them all, but it would take too long...the list of people on my heart today who I will never wrap my arms around again is long and tragic...

Jesus Wouldn't Like It...

Since my children were old enough to stare at the talking box their father and I have tried very hard to shelter them from excessive violence, disturbing images, even commercials...cause lets face it, the little fuckers behind all that advertising know our little angels will pester the ever living SHIT out of us until they get their Cookie Crisp.

Despite our best efforts, alas they are getting to an age where we simply try to keep them from killing each other, or at the least, bleeding on the carpet. (Yes, I jest...sorta) They truly are very loving to each other, however I have come to the conclusion becoming accustomed to violence is inevitable. Bubby has just come home from his PSR class (Weekly Catholic tutoring, required to belong to the church, even if you are just a child...more on that later, my son loves it so it's cool, whatever). Anyhoo...Bubby is telling Boo about the most exciting movie he watched at "religion" (our old fashioned slang for this weekly class)

"There was this little boy named David, and there was this big Giant named Goliath who was mean and killed everybody. The people were scared to fight him...the soldiers I mean...but David took a rock and put it in a sling shot and hit him in the head with it. It even STUCK in his head and blood was everywhere...it was so cool! And he was just little like us!"

Boo's response to this is "Mom am I big enough to kill somebody?"

Sigh...."I'm sure you are son, but I really hope you don't. ...... Jesus wouldn't like it."

Whatta ya gonna do??