Discovering loyalty, which, fingers crossed, will come bundled with learning to forgive betrayal- is a BIIIIIG part of my journey. Forgiveness is something I struggle to do the way my family demands grasp. Or maybe I fully understand it and am ill-at-ease with the fact that my definition not accepted, by those who do not accept me differs from those who think it means pretending It never happened. Deep sigh. (more…)
Not stoic enough to be silent or aloof, I am practicing saying and doing nothing in response to underhanded invitations to enter into indirect conflict. While I
now set boundaries for only myself, without arguing to be heard, my abstinence from standard entanglement is labelled abandonment—“cutting them off” because that is how silence is used in my family. I just say No. Or Sorry that won’t work until it no longer makes sense to say it again.
Wow...I think this is worth sharing--maybe not their prayer, just their story. Always.
Thank you, Joel Osteen, for a reminder that life is about making memories. Shared experiences and connections….rather than required and posed photos with others in close proximity. I have too many photos suggestive of good times and connection and have been often saddened that the lack of posed photos in recent years is proof of the opposite. Truth, I hide from the camera because pictures can lie…or worse, they can tell the truth! For OUR 2016 Thanksgiving, however, it would have been nice to have someone snapping pictures on the down-low, of us just doing our thing, laughing, playing, being who we are. Journalistic photos are my fave. Posing genuinely 100% pains me. I wouldn’t mind some photos of us, in action, enjoying ourselves each other.
In addition to OUR sweet Thanksgiving Day, today, the Sunday after Thanksgiving (maybe the start of a ritual-memory making) we decorated both Christmas Trees, while listening to COUNTRY holiday music- taking breaks to throw football, walk dogs, and eat pizza. I experience the joy in simple moments when I am present enough to just show up. I don’t recall too many good moments in my life. I recall pretending but not feeling truly good, present, visible, and welcome. For special occasions, I must ride only with those who will help me push!
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