Things You Hate To Love...

Otherwise titled, "Grow Old With Me."

My ladylove, Lisa, recently wrote a post detailing how, in days gone by, she disliked a variety of things such as avocados, Aerosmith, Justin Bieber, and me. And then, crazy thing, life passes a bit, and suddenly you realize that maybe the things that so turned your stomach now bring you great joy. And while you kinda hate to admit it, at the same time, you feel good about your new found discoveries.

Do you have such a list? I do. Ohhhh boy, I do.

1. Water. My mom used to drink water all the time, and I thought it was so unadventurous of her. Glass of water with supper? PLEASE. There was juice or milk! Why would I choose water? And now... my 48 oz stainless steel bottle and I are seldom parted.

2. Going to bed early. I don't know about you, but my lame parents spent their weekend nights lounging on the couch, watching some tv, and then went to bed by 10 or 11:00. They DIDN'T EVEN GO OUT WITH THEIR FRIENDS! Seriously. Appalling to a 15 year old. Now, at 37, I find it brilliant. Indeed, I look forward to it.

3. Marvin Gaye. He sang Sexual Healing...ewwww... gross!!

-Not no mo'.

4. Beans. They made me gag. Red beans especially. One night, a certain female parent I know may have even forced them down my throat.
God bless the hamhock, which made the beans flavorful, which gave me great joy in ladling them over piping hot white rice sometime within the past 15 years of my life.

5. Frugality. Humiliating and STUPID as a teen. Brilliant, necessary, logical, satisfying to me now.

There are more, but it's 10:10 and as per aforementioned item number 2, I gotta go to bed.

How about you? What did you roll your eyes at and now sheepishly embrace?

Secret Admirer...

Either I need to wash my dishes faster,

or take my car to the car wash.

But until I do, I'm appreciating the love.

Healing. And Not.

Adele. Her voice wraps around my head like velvet. This song is "Hiding My Heart" and it completely captures the complexity of falling in love with my husband, and the fear that lives in my heart that he will be taken from me. When you choose the military as a career, you are supposed to learn how to live with that fear in a manageable way. I'm not so good at it. It has become increasingly difficult since Ann lost Conrad. It is compounded by recent hateful comments about the hope for his death and the money that comes with it. I have been so angry lately about the inability of certain people to put aside their own issues and focus on a bigger picture. Anxiety has returned as my constant companion. I find I have to start back at the beginning in my search for peace, assurance and understanding. Perhaps all of that is not mine to receive just yet. I worry so much about our kids, being caught in the crossfire of the insanity.

Anyway. Lots going on in my mind right now. Listen to the song, and see what it makes you feel.

Philadelphia Youth Solutions Project

Do you have people that you secretly admire? And by "admire" I mean "seriously wish you could live the life of..."? I am currently identity-envying my amazing cousin, Maria. She is from Massachusetts, like me, but now lives in the Philadelphia area where she is a sociology professor at St. John's University. She has written and published books on poverty in our nation, and she gets to deal with significant issues on a regular basis. She makes a difference.
She founded a project called The Philadelphia Youth Solutions Project. I want to do things like this in my life. I often wonder how my life's goals and aspirations fit in to my actual life. I guess time will tell.
Please check out her website. I realize if you don't live in Philly, it's probably not that important to you. Are there issues in your community that you can help tackle? Find a way to get involved.

Day TWENTY ONE... It's Finallly OVER!!

So we didn't tell the kids that Skip was coming home today. Observe:
(enter password HOME for the first video. the rest i locked up, sorry.)



It was so awesome. I could hardly stand to videotape it because I wanted to jump on him so bad. Noe has not left his side. See:







And now, I'm on blogging holiday for awhile, savoring this honeymoon phase while it lasts. Honestly, thank you to everyone who checked in on us, sent texts, emails, messages, called, etc. I have been blessed with out of this world friends. I'm a lucky woman in a lot of ways.

Day Twenty

Today's highlight:

This is the last night I will sleep alone.

Nuff said.