I couldn't say it any better. Having lost a daughter and newborn granddaughter just three years ago, this article appeared at a perfect time in my Facebook news-feed. My thanks to the writer. May it provide you insight as well as it did me.
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Dear Readers,
My humble and heartfelt apologies for not having written and shared thoughts with your for some time now. My family has been dealing with illness in loved ones and sudden and unexpected death of two dear family members. I firmly believe in family first. With that, all other things fall into place. Our grieving process continues and we continue to worry about those with illness. Grief and worry take their own sweet time. I ask your patience during this time. My love for writing will return along with many topics to cover (they are building up on my list). I will be back, hopefully sooner than later. In the meantime, I humbly ask for prayers for a dear family as they strive to find a new course in life while adjusting to the absence of two precious family members. Thank you for your loyalty to this blog and your kind words. --Rita Hello Dear and Faithful Readers --
My apologies for the time gap since last post. Long story short, November has been a difficult month for many people I know and others whose stories I've been hearing. We had two deaths in my family on the same day earlier this month, along with the two funerals on the same day a few days later. A charity event in our community, two emergency trips to the veterinary for both our dogs (not the same day), 3 trips a week for neck and back treatments, and other family worries occurring. Please accept my apologies for my not having been in the mood to write. I hope you voted on November 6th. I did. After the two funerals that day. I am not satisfied with the outcome of the election and find it to be a sad turn of events for our country as a whole. I pray for those who have not yet realized the folly of their voting decision. I pray for our country. This is the hand we've been dealt though, and find a way to survive, I pray we can. I mourn for the sad financial state of our country and those who would lead us to believe the mounting debt and lack of jobs is improvement. (Some have told me I'm a sore loser and I need to get over it and move on... Our country cannot move forward no matter what the sitting president's logo was. You cannot move forward when unemployment continues to rise, national debt continues to rise, and healthcare is so pitifully lacking and getting worse.) So, in short, I am dissatisfied with November 2012. I don't like to lose people I love even though I know they were Christians ready to move to a better place than here. I don't like watching people and animals suffer. I don't like seeing my country in turmoil and the wrong leadership in place. I don't like being chastised for loving my family. There's a lot of "I don't likes" going around, not all mine! People seem very grumpy this month, especially since the election. Not just me, but others. They've had family crises, heartaches, frustrations, job losses, health worries, scares, and frustrations. I'm hoping December will bring back the spirit of Christmas into our hearts and allow us all to see the light of God in our everyday lives, to see the love around us, from those we love. I'm hoping we can find a way to aid our country. I'm hoping we can find a way to ease grief (heaven knows, 3 days off work doesn't ease grief). I'm hoping we can work with others rather than immediately finding fault in their words and deeds. I'm hoping for a merry Christmas (not the secular happy holiday, but a Blessed and Merry Christmas for all!)!!! And, it is time to light the lights, let our lights shine and celebrate! May November go out like a lamb to usher in this glorious time of year! Prayers for all tonight. And so, I try to write once again. Intended to yesterday. Thought about it. Thought about it this morning. Thought about it this afternoon. Thought about it at dinner. Trying it again.
Listening to the Grammy Awards tonight in the wake of Pop Diva Whitney Houston's death yesterday. How odd that her autopsy occurs on the day of the Grammy Awards, an event she ruled over. Her life ended too quickly, cause officially unknown, but it seems there is much online chatter as to "our" suspicion of her abuse of illegal substances shortened her life and ruined that fiery angelic voice of hers. Performance by the much newer artist Adele this evening of her song "Rolling in the Deep" added to my feeling of trepidation in writing this weekend. Love the song. As a fan of hers also, I am glad her voice has been returned to its performing state. The song has a driving force, rhythms reminiscent of various moments in time, of cultures, of lives, of existences and situations gone by the wayside. By now, I bet you, the reader, are wondering what just happened to this blog. Nothing happened. Not every entry will be political in nature. There may be political overtones. There may be philosophical studies. There may be social issues discussed. There may just be sentiment. I, too, was wondering most of the weekend where this blog might be going. Having experienced some surprise of my own this weekend along with the national "news" of Whitney Houston's passing, my mood has shifted to melancholy. I am saddened for the loss of a beautiful talented woman from our musical resources in this country. I pray for comfort for her children and family members. We fans think we are family, but realistically we are the fan base that puts these gifted people so high up there is nowhere to go but down. I am saddened for every flag-draped casket that returns to this country, bearing the precious weight of a soldier who died giving his or her life for our way of life on this planet. There is no national production for them. I am saddened when I think of the heroes parade that was given in New York City last week to honor the New York Giants on their win of this year's Super Bowl. They did their job and climbed to the pinnacle of success in their job, for this year. Next year is a new year. Soldiers write a blank check to this country up to and payable with their lives. Singers do not. Football players do not. It seems we get our priorities out of line. No parades for soldiers coming home. A few parades now & then in smaller communities, but how many towns organize them? Usually it is a small group of proud citizens. It seems our government officials get their priorities out of line too. Can you imagine being the crisply dressed officer knocking on a mother's door to tell her that her son was killed in the line of duty, but the services will have to be delayed because there is a parade for football players that day? What do we hold precious? Talent? Life? Honor? Life? Money? Power? Life? Status? Nationality? Friends? Family? Life? Parties? Living in the moment? A moment is all any of us have. Within a second life could be gone for you, for me, for a singer, a soldier. You get the idea. Whitney Houston sang "One Moment in Time." What true words for someone who reached a pinnacle so very young. "Give me one moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be." (I believe those are the words, my apologies if I have misquoted the writer or the performer.) When soldiers return, draped in the colors of this country, they have become more than their families wanted for them. They have become the unsung heroes of this land. They leave behind grief, emptiness, pride, anger, and love. How very tied together we all are, yet so many times we focus on our differences. Our political parties, our religious affiliations, our ethnicities, our viewpoints on things as simple as fashion styles, musical compositions, food menus, car efficiencies. Such trivial matters in the essence of a moment. This weekend I felt various levels of melancholy, thinking of old dear friends and family to whom I've had to bid adieu, thinking of new people in my life and wondering where those friendships will go, missing family who've passed away and were excellent advisors (wise beyond my years that's for sure!), and cherishing my long-time friends and family. How often do we take pause to contemplate these people, these fleeting moments? As a (step)mom of a United States Marine myself, I think I contemplate these things more frequently than some, but not as much as if my son were in a combat zone. And yet, moments are fleeting. One second here, another a memory. A breath gone, a breath inhaled in shock. Whitney is gone. So are thousands of soldiers. May we each inhale a breath, sharply and in shock, on their behalf. Each was a life to be remembered. Let us never forget them. |
AuthorThis is MY blog. For my thoughts, my opinions, my views. Get it? Self-centered, this is for my outlook on life, politics, religion, family, friends, and any other topic I choose for my ramblings. Archives
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