Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Color of Hope


Though I missed the early part of today's concert celebrating Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama, I was able to catch most of it. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a "Kodak Cryer". Yes, I do get misty eyed at sappy commercials, songs and movies. But nothing gets me more sapped out like a hope & history.

JFK died almost twenty years before I was born, yet I still cry whenever I hear him speak. In fact I even own a compilation of the speeches he made during his political career on DVD. The same goes for Martin Luther King. For years on my desk at work I had a framed picture of MLK with some of his most inspiring words printed on it. I carry it with me in my purse still.

Movie stars, singers and writers can inspire us. But the inspiration that comes from a sincere politician, well that's different. That's magic. That's fate. That's history.

Though U2 singing Pride in the Name of Love was a goose bump inducing moment for sure, for me the most incredible moment of today's celebration was when President-elect Obama came up to the stage and addressed the nation. I was inspired. I was in tears, as were thousands of others.

After September 11th, the one positive thing that happened was the great feeling of community that spread through the nation like wildfire in those days following the attacks.

With the Golden Autumn colors in the fall of 2001 came a wave of Red white and Blue that made our beautiful landscape rich with Pride, love and patriotism. We all cared about one another and our country and our future. All of it was tainted with sadness though. Sadness because it took something like the 9/11 attacks to bring about such change.

Time passed. Over the course of the years since 9/11 those good things that came out of those horrific attacks were again buried. Buried beneath war, civil unrest, economic turmoil, job loss and a complete and utter loss of faith in our Government and each other.

But no more. With one election, that all of us took part in, faith has come creeping back in.

Today, here in California, it felt like Spring. The sun was golden, the air was crisp and the smell of flowers and BBQ were in the air. The sky was a perfect shade of blue and as I watched my kids play outside I took a deep breath. I inhaled the smell and feel of Spring after what had been a long cold lonely winter (yes, I'm quoting Beatles). On TV the sights and sounds of Red White & Blue filled the screen.I swear I could even hear the cries of hope that were coming from the Lincoln Memorial all the way here in California.

Spring is coming. And as the green leaves of Spring return to trees across the country, the Red White & Blue colors of hope also return to the hearts of America.

Happy Inauguration Everybody!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Why I Hate the Internet... Sometimes

So there I was minding my business today, tweeting away, working and doing stuff around the house. Someone sends a tweet, What are your thoughts on the end of the world, w/a link to a YouTube video. OK, so my thoughts on the end of the world are pretty simple. It sounds pretty crappy, and scares the crap out of me. Seriously. You want to know what the scariest movies in the world are to me? Red Dawn & The Day After Tomorrow. That's right. That end of the world, World War III, earthquakes, tsunamis and stuff makes my skin crawl every time.

So when I saw this tweet with a link about the end of the world it peeked my interest. So I watched this video about the end of the world, which as it turns out is December 21, 2012. Right before Christmas. Bummer.



I may joke, but this stuff really does scare the hell out of me. December 2012 is like 4 years away. That's not very far. And from the looks of the video it's going to be straight out of Day After Tomorrow. Holy end of days Batman! So I got myself all in a tiff over this stupid video. In my head I sounded like a little Red Hen. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Then I got online and found that there were a number of sites dedicated to 2012. Many of the most popular run by people selling "survival kits".

Selling. Survival. Kits.

Suddenly I'm not so scared. As it turns out a big part of the whole "12-21-12" thing is people making money off other people's fears. So what else is new? Anyhow if the end of the world is in 2012, you won't have to worry about me. I've seen Red Dawn. I know how to live off the land. Wolverines!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Life Moves Pretty Fast

It seems so strange to sit and watch home videos of my little guy when he was just a baby. When I think back on what my life was like and what it's like now. How does 5 years just happen so fast? I think the day-to-day life is just so damn busy that we totally let time just slip through our fingers. Do you ever have those "once in a lifetime moments"? You know the song from Crowded House? Those moments when you just stop and look around, and wonder how the hell did I get here?

7 years ago I was just a chick who worked in an office and lived in a one bedroom duplex, who chain-smoked and liked to stay up late. Now I'm a mom of not just one but two kids. I own my own daycare, live in a 4-bedroom house and get paid to write. And haven't had a cigarette in 6 years. Holy crap.

I have been letting the days go by. I think in the early years of my son’s life I tried to hold on to as many days as I could. But as life got busier, I let more and more day’s just slip by. Not anymore. One of my goals for the year is to not let that happen as much. I need to not get caught up so much in other stuff and just enjoy these days with my kids. They're five and six, but they won't be forever. And 7 years from now when I look back on home videos of this year, I don't want to wonder where the time went.

I want to know exactly where my time went, and I want to be happy about it.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from one Mr. Ferris Bueller.
"Life moves pretty fast, and if you don't stop and look around once in awhile you might miss it."