Fairy Tales

It's a set up you know. Cinderella, the glass slipper, Prince Charming, and most of all the happy ending! What do we expect. We grow up hearing these tales of happily ever after and then reality just isn't quite that. Now don't get me wrong my Prince Charming is pretty Charming! In fact I wouldn't trade him for anything, its the happily ever after part that takes work. Sure there is a ton of happy, but it is give and take. There is also compromise. So here we are self respecting
women who are teaching our little girls that it exists. You don't ever here at the end of the story, and Cinderella and Prince Charming lived happily ever after with a few compromises and a couple of bumps along the road.

So my question for you is what kind of values are most important. Do you teach them that magic really exists. That there is someone out there who will melt your heart and make you forget that everyone else exists. Do you teach them that although life is scary and frustrating the magic is always there all you have to do is believe.

Or, are you a cynic who teaches your children that while glass slippers are nice to look at imagine having the shards surgically removed from your foot if one of them broke. Reality is harsh and cruel and while there may be some exceptions Cinderella stories don't exist.

I myself believe in the magic. I don't need a glass slipper or a white horse to know that tomorrow will be okay. Sure there are bumps in the road and we face the unknown, but that is life. Sometimes part of making the happily ever after real is having the courage and audacity to face life head on and find no fear in tomorrow. If you can dance like no one is watching, love like there is no tomorrow, and believe in magic when you can't see it then you will be okay. Sure the cynic in me says Cinderella is a fool, but the little girl in me is clapping!!!

"There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy
And believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
There's nothing left now
There's only grace"

Happily ever after is a little bit of work, a lot of love, and the faith to make it happen!

Are you invisible?

Sometimes I feel like screaming. I wonder if I just stood in the middle of a crowded room and screamed would people see me? We all know the answer, of course not. People would see a crazy screaming woman.

Seriously though, what do you have to do to get noticed? To be something more than invisible. Did you know that I live in a community of just under 60,000 people, a fairly small town. Of those people 30,000 are female, of those females 9,000 are approximately my age. Statistics are a funny thing. We can use them to outline data, to explain and reason, but in the end being a number is very lonely. I recently applied for a job, not even a high paying job. Surprisingly enough I was one of 108. Of course that data I choose not to analyze, because statistically speaking the odds are...............

How do you stand out in the crowd, are you invisible? What is it like to be invisible? Are we all so caught up in ourselves that we don't see each other? I look at some of the people I work with. Some I like and some I don't and I wonder: What are they thinking or feeling? Are they okay, or even better off? Sure they have a job, but will it make them happy? I know mine didn't, and the absence of a job while stressful is better than not truly loving what I do.

I would love some statistics. How many of those 9,000 are happy? How many feel invisible? How many are even employed?

In the end I realize life is what you make it. You choose, you can be as invisible as you want to be. Granted there are better ways to gain attention then standing in a crowded room and screaming. I personally recommend reaching out. Because if you feel invisible, then I bet you know someone who feels the same way. All you have to do is reach out and you will make a difference. Then for a magical moment in time you will not be invisible, but will become something more. We are all capable of great things, but sometimes its the little things that we do that make us heroes. I dare you to reach out, and if you really want a challenge reach out to someone you don't like.
Matthew 5:44
But I tell you love thy enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

A Haze

I really don't have anything to say. I know it is a strange combination of writers block and the fact that I got sucked in by that Twilight series.

I have been so busy this year that life has sped by in a haze and now as the year is winding down I wonder what I missed. I also look at my children and realize how much they have grown this year. Olivia used to be terrified of horses, but she climbed right on Rusty and rode him around.

Jack is eating solid foods galore and loves goldfish! He also has two teeth. The first tooth arriving over spring break and the second popped through on Friday.

Jaeg is ever my clutz. He tends to run headlong into walls, tables and chairs. He has grown so much and now he tells me exactly what hurts using full sentences.

Time flies even when you are looking, don't blink or turn away. I know that just yesterday I was holding each of them for the first time!