When hearts are breaking

I often wonder why bad things happen to good people... I suppose bad things happen to bad people too, but perhaps their hearts are so hard they don't get beaten to the ground by it. 

When your friends and loved ones are down and hurting, and you know the pain is almost unbearable, what do you say? What do you do? How do you help? I sit here wishing for a magic wand that would take away the tears, while knowing that the tears need to flow for true healing to begin. 

I have spent the last several years away from people who have known me forever - these are the people who hold the pieces of who I was before I came here to become who I am today. And I have wished so many times to be there for the happy times - the weddings, the births, the celebrations. Today I sit here wishing I could be there most of all for the sad times to lend a shoulder, to hold a friend in need. 

Life's lessons come wrapped in tears and pain. And yet, we have faith in the future. I guess one of the biggest lessons we learn is that this too shall pass, and down the road we will remember the tears, but we will have grown from the experience and found our way again. 

When the day is dark and the road ahead of us seems to stop, there is still tomorrow. And day by day, we learn to go through life until we find the motivation to live again. 

To my friends - I am with you even though I am here. I have faith in life, and I have faith in you. 

Today is the day...

I'm sitting here typing instead of making the bed, putting the dishes away, and figuring out what to do with (or to) my hair... the significance of the moment requires that I type, even if eloquence might elude me this early.

Today is the day... the day Lindsay Renee Rebholz was born, after much expectation, to two beautiful people - my dearest friends Bob and Janice. He is a quick-witted guy who loves to debate and argue, so we get along famously. She is the purest soul I've ever known, and destined to be a wonderful mother.

But more significant yet, today is the day... the day when America will change yet again. Today will be defined by historic moments - just as this year's presidential campaign has been defined by historic milestones between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Sarah Palin (love her or hate her, she is still defining a moment).

Today is the day when we either will elect the first black President (sorry, I don't go with the PC crap and definitions...), or the first woman vice-president (and yeah, she'd be elected by running on the ticket, not by her own effectiveness as a VP candidate).

Today is the day... the day when Californians might amend their constitution to redefine marriage and inadvertently cast a vote to make a fundamental distinction among citizens, effectively creating two tiers - first and second class.

Today is the day that will mark a shift in America's perceptions, prejudices, and hopefully, just hopefully, bring another significant wave of change to a country founded by people who wanted change, equality and liberty for all.

In favor or against - know the facts on Prop. 8

Lately most of the discussion on the propositions up for vote in the November ballot in California has centered on Prop 8 - a yes would amend the California constitution to redefine marriage as a union between a man and a woman only, a no would leave things the way they are.

Supporters and opposition are out there giving us all arguments why we should or should not support this proposition. Very few people are doing their homework.

Morris Thurston, of the Mormon church, wrote a very enlightening document rebutting what supporters of 8 see as the six consequences of prop 8 failing. I'm not Mormon, I'm Catholic - practicing and believing. And Morris Thurston, while he offers a rebuttal, doesn't offer or neglect support of the proposition. 

His point and mine - in this blog - is: whether you support it or not, understand the facts, research the issue, and make a decision based on that and your own beliefs/moral code. Don't just follow the herd in blind acceptance of "consequences" that do not apply to the issue. To understand what I mean, please read this document. Very well written, by the way.

In her own words... (cont.)

During the morning ride to the daycare...

"Daddy, let's go to Costco!"
"Why do you want to go to Costco?"
"Because they have food there."

A few pet peeves...

1. "Please rsvp"... drives me up the wall and back! Rsvp is the acronym for the French phrase "please respond", therefore, an additional "please" is redundant - and, imho, in poor taste.

2. People who think your time is theirs and won't even bother consulting with you to see if you have time for them and their petty tasks... umph!

3. Bad use of fashion - where should I start??? If you're built like a barrel, avoid the form-fitting top and the low-rise jeans. It really is disgusting. If you're cold in the morning, wearing hot-pink leg warmers with your flip flops should just be illegal! Etc., etc., etc. If you don't have an eye for style, as evidenced by your choices, arm yourself with at least one good, honest friend who'll tell you when you look like crap.

4. People who equate Muslims with terrorists... hello!! There are more similarities between the Koran and the Bible than there are differences. And really, the most fundamental difference is: our "dude" is Jesus, theirs is Mohamed (but they do believe in Jesus as a prophet, and in Mary as an important figure). This brought back to light with the current electoral process and one of the candidates running for president - and by the by, my husband was born in the Muslim faith and was raised as such for the better part of his childhood. He's a convert Catholic, and frankly, it's not an issue at all. 

There are more, but I'll bore you senseless... and I'm done ranting for now.