Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Golden Moment #1

 
I love fresh tomato sandwiches; so much so, that I eat them despite the fact that I get that dreaded little but painful acid bump on my tongue. If you have never experienced this...it is very painful, but I love them and I suffer through it! I had thought that I'd finally found the answer to my dilemma this morning when someone very dear to me (I dare not name names), told me "why don't you put a condom on your tongue?" I thought for a mere second and said to him...well I don't do that for the same reason a man hates to wear a condom during sex. Dang...finally I can relate....go figure!
 

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Loss and Lost

     I recently lost someone that I loved; Ali's death was sudden...so unexpected. I felt as if my heart was being ripped from my chest and I was powerless in stopping the pain. It was not as if I had not experienced the sting of losing a loved one before, I lost a brother, father and mother; I was with them when they took their last breath. It was different with Ali, he had not been ill, he was strong, energetic and full of life....then gone with no warning. He was a prolific wordsmith that had a searing passion in waking up the masses to change their course in life. He hated the ugliness, the greed, and selfish acts that has consumed this world. He made no apologies to any that were offended by the truth. To many, he came across as being arrogant and rude. Yet, to those few who accepted him into their world, he had a heart full of love and compassion. He would send kisses, love and hugs to all he communicated with each and everyday. 
     He took me into his heart at a time when I feared life itself. He brought me from a dark place in my life that had become my safe haven. He taught me how to breath again, how to feel and love. It was not an easy endeavor, yet he never let go of my hand even when I fought to let go. His words echoes in my ear..."I would rather die with you, that to live without you."Now he's gone, and the most tragic of all, I was not with him. I can never forgive myself for that. There's no medication, no name or cure for the pain that has become my second skin; I am lost without him, I am devastated and homeless in my home.

Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (NIV)



Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Nanowrimo

November is shaping up to be a most challenging month for me. Up until 3 years ago, I was an avid poetry and short story writer. This love of words and the use of imagination started when I was 11 years old. I loved to sit and write for hours upon end, and when I entered junior high school,  English Literature was my gateway to heaven. Geoffrey Chaucer, James Joyce, Edgar Allen Poe to name a few, enchanted me. Writing takes one places that are seemingly out of reach and it opens up the heart and spirit to collaborate together on a plane not dictated to by the world.

I have read the verses of the old masters to modern day poets and felt the essence of their emotions, and have peaked through the looking glass of their eyes. Its how I learned that poetry is more than dreams and imagination, it is a healing balm in times of confusion and frustration, it a bridge that helps one cross over the grumbling waves of anger and fear; it gives rise to the shine that pours from the spirit. For me, I think Audre Lorde captures the heart of poetry well in this quote;

For women . . . poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of light within which we can predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action. Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.
Graduate school however, took me away from the writing realm and now that my workload is much lighter, I am braving the wild ride of the Nanowrimo Challenge. It's 50,000 words in 30 days....are you up for it? If so...Lets do this!

  

Hey, I am a mom after all!


Babies are cute and cuddly, they emit an essence of pure sweetness. I love how they nestle themselves close with a tiny ear to your chest being nurtured by the rhythm and sound of our heartbeat. I got to experience that scenario with my nieces and nephews; I would have loved to have had one of my own. Nonetheless, I became a mother of sorts two years ago through the adoption of two brothers (8weeks old at the time). Their names are Charlie and Eddie; two Bishon Poos.



Eddie is the one on the left and Charlie is on the right side. They are both very disarming and highly intelligent. Now Charlie is very mischievous, has a very curious nature and is the wanna be alpha dog    (or so he thinks), over Eddie. Eddie is shy and totally a mamas boy. To him, I am the center of his world. He follows me from room to room and keeps me in site from the time he awakens, until he's put to bed.
My boys are smart, totally house broken in less than 2 weeks. Their understanding of the human language has increased to 56 words. Skeptical??? According to animal planet, " It turns out that the language comprehension of some dogs rivals that of apes and parrots, not to mention the average 3-year-old." McGrath, Jane.  "How many words do dogs understand?"  14 April 2008.  AnimalPlanet.com. <http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/dogs-understand-words.htm>  31 October 2012. Like I said, they are smart! These are some of the words that they respond to without fail are: commercial is on, bye bye, who wants to go outside, go get mama's shoes, go get your toy, go get your brother (only Eddie responds to this...he will take off running to find his brother and brings him back every time), bath time, and go to your room (they get in their kennel crate). They know when it's time to go outside, when its snack time, meal time and bedtime. If I forget the time, especially bedtime (9pm), both boys will come to get me. Last night I was busy typing away on a research paper and forgot to put them to bed. Charlie jumped in my lap and put his left paw to my cheek as he whined. I responded, "bedtime," and they replied by leaping up and down to be picked up and carried by mom to bed. Yeah I have a good life, I love my 2 poo's, my butt looks good in jeans, and I am the alpha mom in my house.