Peak Experiences

So I sat front row at the Rush concert last night. No, not front row as in "Row A" but front row as in Pit Row 1, Seat 1. This was a huge checkmark off my Bucket List. Been a big fan since I was 15...I'll be 40 next year - you do the math. Yes, it was amazing, life-altering, indescribable, new happy place making. But as usual, I have to analyze it to death.

As anyone who has been a fan of a TV show or movie, we get to feel like friends to these folks. We get to know their eccentricities, senses of humor and a bit of their personal lives. I'm sure they don't really dig that kind of stuff, but hey - we're human. So I wore my "All Hail King Lerxst" shirt (guitarist's nickname as we were sitting near him) and got my 2 or 3 smiles and a thumbs up. I was disappointed not to get a shirt that was being tossed or a drum stick that was being handed out, but I have absolutely no reason to complain. It's the anti-climax that is really bumming me out.

I guess that's the thing about events. They pass so quickly. And with the "holy trinity" in their 50's, who knows if I'll get another chance to see them again? I'm sitting here trying to come up with my point, but nothing cogent is coming to me. So I'll say this: last night was the second best night of my life after the birth of my baby. My wedding was great and all but I don't like the spotlight all that much. So yes - I am happy. I hope it lasts. And I hope all of you reading have either had or will have such a moment in your lives. I really do.

True Freedom

Happy 4th of July, America! With all the BBQs and fireworks, we celebrate the freedom of our country. But that doesn't mean that we all, as individuals, enjoy total freedom as well. We are all bogged down with one thing or another - guilt, loss, depression, anxiety...it happens to all of us. The best that we can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other in spite of these things and see what good things life brings us. Put the guilt in your back pocket and go to that party anyway. Shelve you crazy thoughts and light that sparkler. The thoughts and the guilt will be there in the morning, should you remember to retrieve them. Immerse yourself in the moment, because you never know how many more of them you'll have in this life. Be here, now. Be alive!

Happy Independence Day!

God's Cake

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong. She's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'
'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter.
'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'
'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?'
'Mom, those are all yucky!'
To which the mother replies: 'Yes , all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! '
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

A Loss

One of my dear friends just lost one of her pets to heat stroke. I was looking on the 'net, trying to find some inspirational something-or-other when I came across petloss.com. What a great website!! So if you need any cyberhelp for yourself or someone you know, check it out. It's a very sensitive and inspirational site that will definitely be of help.

Rest in peace, Spaz the Ferret.

10 Rules for Being Human by Cherie Carter-Scott

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period. 
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life." 
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work." 
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson. 
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned. 
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here." 
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself. 
8.  What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours. 
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, isten, and trust. 
10. You will forget all this. 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Shane and I took Punkin and her BFF Muffin to the Astros game tonight. We had a great time and we won against San Diego!! Go 'Stros!!

Happy News

I love reading things like this. Yes, there is tragedy...but there is also love. Love that was born out of pain, grief, empathy and humanity.

I'm So Proud!

My good buddy Bette Barron Cyr is in her first off-campus art show!! I'm so proud of you, Bette!!

New Year's Resolutions: The Two Lists

From the DailyOM:

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I was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man named Robert during a very special period of my life. Robert taught me many things during our days together, and this time of year reminds me of one particular interaction we had.

"Now that you are becoming more aware," Robert said, "you need to begin to set goals for yourself so you don't lose the momentum you have built."

"Like New Year's resolutions?" I asked.

"That's an interesting idea," he smirked. "Let's do that."

By then I was used to his cryptic responses, so I knew something was up because of the way his eyes sparkled as he let out an impish laugh.

"Tonight's assignment is to make two lists," Robert continued. "The first is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper."

That night I went home and spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do if the burdens of life hadn't gotten in the way. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful.

The next day, I met Robert in front of the local food Co-op, where we seemed to have most of our enlightening conversations. "Tell me about your two lists," Robert said as the familiar smirk crept onto his face.

"The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead."

"Let me see the second list," he said.

I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered.

"And now, the first list." Robert bowed his head and held out both of his hands.

I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it.

"What did you do that for?!" I couldn't hide my anger any longer.

Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. "What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do."

He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page:

"Love."

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Happy New Year, y'all. I love you!

Afterglow

It's hard to believe that Christmas is over! Where did 2008 go?? As I look back on the year, a few things stand out:

• Punkin had her 2nd year of straight A's
• Great vacations to San Diego, NYC and Massachusetts
• Shane started his own company that is doing extremely well
• I have expanded my practice and am looking at moving into a new office soon
• I have taken more time for me this year and have discovered new hobbies, TV, etc.
• Punkin started up dancing again
• Punkin went to summer camp for the first time
• I've sold all but 5 copies of my book
• I've taken the time to deepen several friendships and have cut ties with others
• Shane and I celebrated our 14th anniversary

I'm sure there's more that I've left off, but those are the highlights. In fact, I am going to look at my potential new office this afternoon. It's both exciting and scary to think of moving. I have been in my current office since 2004. But what's life without risks? Boring.

My New Toy and Other Stuff

So this is my latest obsession - the Pantech Matrix dual slider phone. After dropping my Razr in the toilet the other day, this is what replaced it. Now, I sit and text people instead of blogging...eating...sleeping...you know, the little stuff.

I don't know why I can't seem to find a middle ground with my little obsessions. I was literally afraid to get an iPhone. I think my entire social life would have become virtual with it. Not that I have a huge social life anyway, but still...

Speaking of social life, I attended Reggie's annual Christmas bash last night and had a great time! There was a really hot guy there, too. (Shhh...don't tell Shane) Go check out his blog to see what I stuffed my face with all evening. Yeah, I just went for the food. (Shhh...don't tell Reggie).

Blunted

Punkin, Tami and I went to the Sheryl Crow concert last night. It was very enjoyable as usual, but I did get a surprise in the opener, James Blunt. I had heard his somewhat-cheesy song on the radio, "You're Beautiful," but the other songs he sang really spoke to me. So, I am sitting here on the bed, blogging and listening to his latest CD, All the Lost Souls. If you like Elton John with a touch of Zebra (IMHO, of course), check him out.

I tend to add respect to real musicians like Blunt, who actually play several instruments and perform live with lots of passion. This guy even ran into the audience, down the aisle and up onto the lawn (for those of you familiar with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, that's no easy feat), greeting fans and slapping hands. That is pretty darn cool.

My Gratitude List

One of the strategies for combating depression is to list your blessings. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are the things I am most grateful for:

• My husband and daughter
• The many friends who check on me daily (you know who you are)
• My spirituality
• The knowledge that "this too will pass"
• Anti-depressants
• My assistant
• Modern technology that can distract me
• My therapist
• My mom and dad (who I really included in the friends category)
• My job, which helps me feel useful
• Hot showers
• My doggies and kitties
• The sunshine
• My general good health

Mini Hot Dog Eating Competition

Back to the vacation soon, but I had to post this hysterical video written by my pal Kambri Crews. It's PG-13, but check it out without the kiddos around!

Excited

Tomorrow we're off to the sunny shores of California. Today will be of the domestic sort - laundry, packing, entertaining children. These special things are what make life gleam, though the little things (if you take the time to notice) have their own glitter too.

Happy Hump Day.

Lazy Summer

I love summer. At least the beginning when we don't take sleeping late and loads of free time for granted. When there's no "I'm bored"s (well, maybe a few). When we use the phrase, "Let's play it by ear" a lot. 

The pool is getting lots of use and we already have nice tans. We're looking forward to our trip to San Diego in a few days. 

Yep, life is good.

What We Did on Sunday

Conference Debriefing

My brain is mush from that conference. But it was wonderful and totally worth going. It was so empowering to hear 200 women come together and talk about how ridiculous society's, and even our own, expectations of mothers are just undo-able. 

How did we get stuck with being in charge of child care, house, social calendar, medical and sometimes working 40 hours + per week on top of that? It's really no wonder so many new moms get postpartum mood disorders. We just can't meet those unrealistic expectations.

I really enjoyed listening to Representative Jessica Ferrar (D). She made a point that really stuck with me: By not getting involved in a political passion, you are deferring your power to someone else. By God, I may just register to vote for the first time in my life.

I also sold about 15 books and won one of the silent auction items (a big basket full of girly bath and body stuff). I stayed in the ritzy hotel Friday night with a friend, which was a lot of fun. I may be biased since I was on the conference committee, but I think this conference was one of the best, if not the best, one PSI has ever had!

Beautiful Bride

The pictures are in from my beautiful friend Cynthia's wedding. Check them out!

Happy Mother's Day

To all you muthas out there! Take a load off...you deserve it!