growing up...

the other day, i was havin a conversation with a friend, and i was saying how i was growing up, and learning...
was kinda funny...
being i'm 45, and still not grown up in so many ways.
haha!
but, oh, well, right?
i've decided that growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be on some certain occasions.
yes...it is cool to be able to do what you want.
yep...totally.
bills...hmmmmmmmmmm...not so cool...but then again, i always feel a sense of satisfaction when i can pay them...
that's always nice.
there's even a truly goofy part of me that loves to look in my fridge or cupboard, after i've gone grocery shopping, and look at my food.
yeahhhhhhhh, for some reason, that makes me feel good too.
just knowing that i have food. that's a big thing for me.
but then again, i just love grocery stores...there's something about them that makes me feel safe and happy...weird, i know...but it's something i've learned about myself.
i know what you're thinking, you're wondering what in the world a grown woman is thinking when she has a sense of satisfaction at the most common of things of being a grown up?
and to explain that...wow...there would be a whole lot of things, you'd have to know about me.
things you probably wouldn't want to know.  haha!
my thought though today...well...it's a pretty simple thought, as most of my thoughts are, i have to admit :)
i guess i figure in this ever changing world, we have to sort of stay on our toes, and learn the things that drive us...
the things that don't work for us at all...
the things that hurt us...
the things that make us feel joy...
the things that make us nervous, in good ways and bad ways...
it's these things that we should pay attention to.
in order somehow survive and learn and grow.
i'll be the first to admit though that this whole process can be a painful one.
a really painful one.
but i guess the cool part of that is that some days, i'm just rolling along, and i run into to something that i've seen before, and just then, i know what to do, and what i want.
that's when i realize that i have learned something.
but here's the thing...every situation that we encounter is different, right? 
and supposedly, if we let too much of our past rule how we make decisions now, we won't have an open mind to what's actually happening...we won't see things for what they are, if we live off the past.
it's a fine line to tread...
and i'm trying as i might, not to be jaded by things that have happened to me before.
gosh...that's when this being grown up thing is for the birds, eh?  haha!
decisions, decisions, decisions.
bargh!
haha!
the lucky thing in my life is though, that i haven't had to make huge decisions like most of my counterparts.
it's what comes with the fact that my life is pretty damn simple.
and i have not a whole lot of ownership of things in this world...truly, i don't.
i do find that sometimes, when others are having conversation with me about these kinds of things, that they look at me as if i could not possibly know where they are coming from, being that i do live this life of simplicity.
i can honestly say that there have been times that i've been offended by this...
being talked to as if i wasn't a pertinent member of society,
just because i have chosen this lifestyle.
thing is though...we're all living here, experiencing things...at the same time...
just down the street from each other.
and yes, they are different levels of stress...
and we all deal with it differently as well.
we all feel failure and hurt and dissapointment.
i think that maybe if we could just see that in each other and know that it's all important...
maybe there would be some common ground between the haves and the have nots.
i'm looking at this as i type, and it's not actually what i had woken up to write...
but it's what's coming out of me, so, obviously, it might be what's on my mind.
seeing eye to eye with another living soul is something to strive for in this life time.
to try and understand someone else's plight, even if it's not your own.
i think that could be a way to end a lot of the pain of growing up.
it's taken me a long time to get to this place in my life,
where there is satisfaction in the smallest of things.
for me, i live in a pretty small way, really.
i get up...i have coffee...i work out...i go to work...
and then...a whole lot of small things in between, that make my life what it is.
i know that there's more...and as i grow and as i learn...i'm tryin to figure out what other small things i'd like to add to the mix of my life.
now, i have to tell you, i have no idea if that means at all that i'm growing up.
haha!
but that being said...i've found myself as of late, understanding a lil more...and trying to make decisions according to what's good for me and what's not.
this, my friends, has taken me a long long time to get to.
yes, i may be a slow learner...and quite immature in a numerous amount of ways.
but...
and this is a big but...(yeah, i said big but...haha!)
every once in awhile i notice myself doing something that i haven't done before, and i realize, 'holy shit, i am learning!'
for me...i don't know about you...
i'm pretty stoked, elated, and jazzed up, when i know i've actually moved forward and figured one little thing out.
so, yeah, for me...baby steps...that's my ticket.
maybe the secret in life is to figure out what our ticket is to growing and learning.
and just go with that.
it may not look at all like the person next to you...
but the funny part about that is...sometimes all those different ways of growing up, take us to the exact same place as the guy next to us.

"could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?"
~from 'walden' by henry david thoreau~

being ridiculous...

well, here we are...
just a few days from the new year, and it happens to be a lil over 2 months since i've sat myself down to write on this here, HFD blog site of mine.
lazy right?
yeah, i'd say so!
it's funny, this mornin, when i got up, i thought, 'okay, honey, you're gonna write today'...
and i proceeded to find lil things to do in my apartment...ridiculous! 
i am ridiculous!  haha!
i recall several years ago, this girl i was havin a drink with at a local bar, tellin me, just that...
that i was ridiculous...hahahhahaha!
i can't lie to you, after she said it the third or fourth time, i was over it, and wanted to tell her off...
but...
the more i think about it, the more i know it's true :)  haha!
the actual reason she was telling me i was ridiculous is because of my thoughts of love and of not giving up on people.
so, yeah...in that sense...i'm definitely ridiculous...without a doubt!
haha!
was thinkin as i was doing my dishes this morning, and avoiding writing, about all of the things that i've written about as of late...
and i'm thinkin, yeah, most of them have been love related, family related, dream related, or faith & hope related...
which in a sense, all fall back to love...
love, love, love.
geeeeeeeeeeeeez!
makes you wonder...what is wrong with me, right?!  haha!
yeah,  i wonder the same thing, believe me.
but here's my thought...
you know how at the end of a year, everyone sits down and thinks about what they want to change...
and how they're gonna make that happen...
about lists and goals...
all of that.
yeah...i think i've written about that as well...
and it's what i do too.
looking back on this year...wow...it's been some kind of year.
i've been on a few trips...fallen for a couple girls...danced a lot...toasted here and there to fun nights...sweated grossly to loads of spin and yoga...boogie boarded many of the summer days...laughed and talked my way into the night...and some of the mornings :)  haha!
i wouldn't change a thing...really!  i wouldn't!
i know though, that life must continue to go on...
that we must continue to learn...to seek...to make mistakes (as for me, crazy amounts of them, it seems! haha!)
i was talking to one of the kids i work with the other day...and we spoke of the life long search...the search that doesn't seem to ever end...
and we were figuring, that if you stop searching, then maybe you're not learning.
and when you're not learning, you're standing still.
as i see it, i feel as if, since i graduated from college...way back when...i've been searching non-stop for what it is that i should do with my life, where i fit in, what makes me happy, who are the people that make my life better...
all of those questions...they've been answered...partly...
but then more grow from there...
that's the funny thing about life, eh?
we can stand still for a few moments...
look at the view...
but then...we just have to keep moving...keep walking forward...
and sometimes run.  yep...even slow, like me.
haha!
i think that maybe i'll never know some of it...
but i know i'll feel it.
what it feels like to be happy in a moment.
      to know that i fit in, here and there.
              to know what love is...wherever it comes from.
                        to laugh with my family.
                                to laugh at myself.
                                           to feel absolutely high as kite without a drug inside of me.
i know this because my search for everything...
            is never-ending.
so, at this point in my life...i'm 45 years old.
i forget that as soon as i hear music...haha!  and raise my hands in the air, and start dancing.
i don't seem to notice it when i'm flying through a spin class or in a tree pose in yoga.
i absolutely feel like a child when the waves are carrying me through til i hit the sand.
yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
the truth is...
who cares?!
life will always be what you make of it.
always.
i pledge to keep seeking...to keep falling in love...to keep growing...to keep reading...and to keep living...
i'm figuring...
if i do all that...well...who knows what will happen...what will come along?
and who will come along to teach me?
i don't know...
but am looking foward to seeing!
so, with all of that...
i say to you...
here's to another year...
of everything! 
and another year of being absolutely ridiculous :)

"i thank you God for this most amazing day:
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky:
and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes..."
~e.e. cummings~

strangers...

once again, i've decided to work from my beach steps... it's the coolest, crispest mornin we've had so far this year, and the ocean is beautiful and welcoming... the sun was rising just as i was walkin up my steps... perfection, i have to say :) today, i come to you, a person that has no idea, but is full of wonder and amazement about life, and the reasons that things happen the way they do. i have just returned from a trip to puerto rico, my birthplace, and my mom's country of origin. you know, i try to describe it to people that haven't been there, and it's so hard to explain the feelin you get when you go there. or, at least, when i go there. the difference of life, culture, and view is somethin that is palpable when you're there. i smile, just thinkin of it, just like anythin or anyone you love, you just can't help but smile when thinkin of it. that's how i feel about puerto rico. a smile on my face :) so, here's the story... and my purpose for writing this mornin is to work through the funny shit that's truly unexplainable about life... our first day, our flight, or maybe i should say flights, were delayed several times, that we didn't make it to la isla de encanta til 10 at night, missin our first day there...but during this wait we had interactions with several different passengers, tryin to make it there as well... one of them had randomly told me that he was goin to my mom's hometown, and we talked about the fact that we were goin to the same place. it's funny how complete strangers count on each other for support and hope that maybe we'll make it there...haha...but we did... so, fast forward to the next day, we're in my mom's hometown, goin to grab a drink after a day of lounging and hanging out...when we were parking, i made a joke, saying, 'hey, wouldn't that be funny, if that guy from the plane was here, when we walk in?'... and i'm guessing you can guess what happened...he was there! hahhahahhaha! my mom and i screamed out together, like he was a dear old friend. he ended up sitting with us for a couple of hours/drinks, and as it turns out, lives in a town nearby us in florida...and we even know a few of the same people. crazy! we exchanged numbers, and as i walked away, thought to myself, 'how insane and random life can be'...almost like this guy was placed in that exact spot for us to meet him. wow. okay, so now let's backtrack...when we finally made it on our flight to pr from miami, we were seated on the absolute last row...one seat open next to me...a girl ended up sitting there that had talked to my mom in the line for check in...she was young, looked like a student...and as i quietly looked over to what she was reading, i noticed it was in spanish, and she had her pen and highlighter out, markin up her book like crazy. i assumed she was a student, and at a certain point, i asked her if her book was good...from that moment, we talked the rest of the way to san juan...turns out she had just run the chicago marathon, so, that, of course, sent our conversation in many directions...we had loads in common...and it was genuinely a truly lovely and fun conversation. and my assumption of being a student wasn't correct, by the way, she just reads like that, which was another great reason to talk to her, i knew as soon as she said that, that we were kindred spirits. i ended up giving her my blog address and told her to check it out. fast forward... when i made it home, i jumped on my blogsite, and noticed i had a new member... yep...it was her...even a nice comment at the end of my most recent posting. it made me happy to see...a complete stranger, goin out of their way for you. makes me know that in this world, there is still kindness and general interest in communion of spirit. which brings me to my last day in puerto rico, my aunt drops me off at the airport, and i walk in, begrudgingly wishin i had a lil more time to do a couple more things in my beloved puerto rico... but, at the same time, knowing my time was just as it should be...full. of everything possible, most definitely, because when i go there, it's not a touristy type visit, it's a visit of family, of love, and of life...lots of life and laughter :) so, i made my way to the gate, and waited to board...during this sit, i listened to the conversation of the young people next to me...it was pretty hilarious, and it gave me entertainment for the wait. i don't know about you guys, but i have to admit, i'm like 'big brother' when i'm at a restaurant, or bar, or in public, generally, listening in randomly to people's conversations...i can't lie, it's quite fun and interesting...and sometimes, makes me realize how connected and similar we all are. anyways, it was time to board, and as i walked down the aisle, i wondered, 'who will be next to me?'...and as soon as i sat down, the lady the i had to sit next to, began with, 'would you like a piece of gum?'... out of sheer habit, i took it, but then thought to myself, 'i hope this lady's not crazy and has drugged this lil chiclet that i'm shoving into my mouth'...hahhahahhaha...but shoved it, i did :) as i pulled out my book, she looked over and asked it what it was... and here we go... the trip was 2 and a half hours...and there wasn't a silent moment. i can't begin to explain to you the conversation that we had... but long story, short...it was like the twilight zone...i kept thinkin, how is this possible that this woman is sitting next to me, speakin of the exact things that i needed to hear in this moment in my life? the subjects spanned from finances, to dreams, to love, and to faith... she was insanely passionate about life, and for some reason, kept telling me that she could tell that i could do all these things that i've dreamed of, and what was i waiting for... like this absolute stranger believed in me, more than i believed in myself... god, i gotta tell ya, as she spoke to me, i was taken aback by the fact that what she said was all too true...i wasn't sure what to think, honestly, but was thankful and scared, all at the same time... like where the hell did this woman come from?! hahahhahhaha! i walked off the plane, a lil bit dazed, and told my dad of the conversation that i had just had with this woman, and he quickly agreed that the woman was right. so, there you go... 3 strangers on a trip to see people i've known all of my life... and yet...they made all of the difference on this lil vacation i was luckily given. it does make me wonder about how people come into our lives... and how it seems that sometimes it feels like perfect timing... that it is all happening for a reason...that nothin is a mistake. i'm astounded by this more often than not...but in my recent days, i can't even begin to explain to you how often i think that. wow wow wow... life is surely a mystery! but what an intersting mystery it is :) so, i guess what i'm saying is pay attention...be aware...cuz honestly, crazy shit is goin on all around us...amazing stuff! funny stuff! stuff worth writing about...stuff worth thinking about...life is right in front of our faces, rollin by, askin us to come along... go with it... live it... love it... because after all, it's our one and only life to live. laugh, love, live, eat, drink, be merry, run, walk, sprint...but go there...it's all yours... people come and go... and maybe they do, to remind you of what you're missing or maybe where you need to be going. i fear of a lot in life...but here's the thing i keep learning...that holding onto these fears i have, it only gets in the way of living. it takes away the juice that life is so full of... as for me, i don't want to let that fear have even a drop of my juice of life. screw that... keep fighting, my friends...and live :)

friends

hello there, everyone... and welcome to a pretty lovely thursday, if i do say so myself... i'm sorta ending it by writing this here lil blog of mine :) anyways, just a lil while ago, i was sitting on my beach steps... yes, i know, i said my beach steps... they're really the city's steps... but for all intents and purposes, i'm goin with the fact that i think they're mine. haha! so, i got to watch the moon rise... and damn, damn, damn...what an amazing sight it was! wow! insane really...i was just sitting there, chatting with a friend of mine, not totally paying attention to what was happening right before my very eyes, and there it was...in the palest of blue skies...with lil whisps of clouds, and some very tiny orangey pink streaks... geeeeeeeeeeeesh! just can't get enough of that, i can't lie...it's one of the coolest things to see, and be blown away by just looking up and seeing this thing of beauty, thousands and thousands of miles away from us, and yet still, can take your breath away! god, that makes me happy! so, now, here i am... and i'm thinkin about how these things of beauty just appear.. out of nowhere...then all of a sudden...there you are... speechless...and saying 'woah!'...'check that out!'... that's kinda how life is isn't it? out of nowhere, things happen... people happen... greatness happens... grace happens... destiny. that being said, i have been thinkin back a lot about my childhood... and about friends...from my past...and...from my present. how they're all so different...but in the greatest of ways... ways that change a person...teach a person...make a person grow. the reason i've been thinkin about the importance of friendship is that very recently, one of my best friends moved to california. about 3 weeks ago, i would say...and building up to that moment that she drove away, i knew that my life would be so different without her here... that it would seem less full. you know what i mean? i mean...think about it...think about those friends of yours that change the scope of your day...that are there for everything. these people that talk you out of what you need to be talked out of, whether it be a horrible outfit, a girl/guy that you don't need to call back, that extra drink that you may or may not need, or even talk you into havin fun when that's exactly what you need. the list goes on... but you get what i mean... these people...these friends... they make all the difference in the world... and yeah, even some days, they are just that...your world. i know that for me, i've been really lucky. i've had amazing friends throughout my life. so many great times...so much to look back on and smile. i was telling a kid i work with about the things we used to do when i was growing up, right down the road in hilliard. if you haven't been there, when i lived there, from 3rd grade to 12th grade, we only had one red light in the town. life was different then. we lived on a dirt road on 2 acres of land. our house and barn was on the front acre (which, by the way, was huge, the barn, that is, well, the top portion being a bedroom, which i got to move into when my brothers moved out...sweet, eh?), then we had a back acre that housed a chicken coop with cackling hens and roosters, a stable for our cow, martha, and my lil horse, rusty...and a running track for my dad... we also used that for our motorcycles...yeah...we each had a motorcycle. haha! i can see it now. i had a cool white helmet :) the thing is...in every house on that dirt road, there were two kids, at least... we had the biggest games of football, basketball, flatball and jugball (two games we made up when we didn't have a use-able ball, bike races, and some weird game that we used to play in the neighbor's yard trampoline, like it was a battle ship and our bikes were the planes...hilarious! there were bonfires and cookouts and fellowships after church. we had everything we needed right on that road. when i think of it, i smile, because i remember those friends with fondness. it's one of the reasons i ended up an athlete...besides the fact that i think i came out of my mom's womb, ready to throw, catch, and shoot whatever ball was near me (haha!)...i was surrounded by friends that loved to play and play always... until our parents were calling us inside...and we were mad when they did, begging for more minutes, even though it was so dark and you couldn't see a ball anyways. haha! when i became old enough to ride a 10 speed, i was off to the races, riding over to my friend's house to play tennis for hours on end...or ride to the jiffy to play the pinball machine with the pocket full of quarters i had saved up, just for that purpose. the fun birthday parties that always ended up with 'spin the bottle' or '7 minutes in heaven', or a crazy game of hide and seek at the high school across the street... skate parties in folkston, a town 15 minutes down the road from us. the high school dances, that somewhere in my memory, i can remember my older brother playin in a band, and the big songs were 'free bird' and 'i went back to ohio'...for some reason i can't remember any other song they played. hahahhahaha! oh wow...the times we all had! mcdonalds in callahan, hardees in folkston after youth group. my list goes on an on... and all of that...none of it would have been possible or much fun at all without friends... good ones. and they were great. the greatest. when i tell these stories to this kid, he says to me, 'wow, it sounds like you had a really fun time when you were growing up', because while i'm telling these stories to him, i'm smiling the entire time and laughing at myself, wrapped up in the warmth of the memories of it all. looking back, i can't believe how great i had it. and looking at my life now, i know that i have it great now too. my entire life i've been surrounded by a melting pot of the best people possible. people that push me, that pull me in, that scold me when i need it, and believe me, i need it more often than not, that remind me who i am, and sometimes just give that much needed 6 second hug. these friends are what get me through the moments in my life that i'm unsure where i'm going or what i'm doing, or, lets be honest, they have a few drinks with you just because it's friday night. it's these people that make all the difference. and that have made all the difference. in my life. as you get older, you begin to realize how special a good friendship is... and how difficult it is to find a truly great friend... my friend that just moved away...she had a way of just walkin into the room...and somehow on somedays, that's what would save me...just that she was there. so, with that being said... if you have friends like this, whether it's been awhile or it was just an hour ago that you talked to them...make sure you tell 'em how you feel...how important they are to you...what they've done for you. because in that... you're showing them one of the coolest parts of friendship... your heart. so, don't be afraid to show your heart, because here's the truly genius part of this whole friendship deal... if you show your heart and it gets handed back to you in crumply pieces, that's where the good friend part comes in handy... because there they'll be, to help you stand again, to help you get it back together, to make you laugh when you think absolutely nothin is funny, and to put their hand on your back and force you through that door you thought you'd never walk through. so, yeah...as for me...to all of you people that did all that, and continue to do so...thank you, a million times over, for being that simple, but perfectly outstanding thing we call a 'friend'. i'm honored and lucky to have you throughout all the chapters of my funny little life. without you, i'm not so sure i could call it a life. but a life it surely is...a full one.

mad

summer is flowing along here, in this lil island town. some days it's easy to forget to eat, when you're havin such a good time... thus... i've sorta forgotten to write... not truly forgotten... but neglected, is more like it. there are so many stories in my head, at the moment... not sure where to start, and hopefully make some good 'moral to the story' kinda thought... or...i don't know. that's where i've been lately, it seems... i don't knows-ville... not a bad place to visit... but you definitely don't want to live there :) haha! anyways... have thought about the different ways we have to inspire ourselves... and how those ways just come up quite naturally, while you're living your life. the funny thing is... i've told you guys many stories of walking through publix... makes me sorta laugh, because well, so many things happen there. haha! it seems as if at least 4 days out of the 7, for me, are spent, walkin into that place... you'd think i was feeding a family of five! haha! that's what the cashier must be thinkin :) where does this girl put all of her food? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... i may be a publix mystery :) ahahhahahha! well, okay, onto my point or story, whichever the case may be. before goin to publix i was at work, and this man came off the course, we went through the usual 'how'd it go?' and 'did you have a good time?' kind of questions... and then i was standing there with him, waiting for his friend to pick him up and somehow we came to the subject of life and how good it is here. and he said to me that everyday that he's alive is a good day, because 25 years ago he had cancer, went through an insane amount of chemo and everything else, and yet, here he is...still alive and kickin...so literally, for him, everyday is a blessing. there's a saying on the golf course, 'a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work'... well, i usually am not totally sure that's a correct statement... and i sometimes bring it up, when a golfer mentions it to me... maybe because i'm hot and sweaty and lugging their 50 lb. bags around, or maybe too, because i've had holes in tournaments that have literally brought me to tears... so really, i could go either way...which is pretty damn funny when you think about it. but this man had been through hell and back, in the old school days of cancer treatment as well...25 years ago...and he was thankful that he made it out alive. that'll definitely change anyone's life, ya know? he was funny and honest and full of energy... and it was a delight to see a man so sure that life was good, any way you put it. i walked out of work that day, inspired, thinkin, 'if this guy had the fortitude to make it through all of that, then whatever is bothering me in my life, well, i can handle.' so, i jumped in my cube, full of vimm and vigor, and rolled on to publix, of course :) i always seem to walk the same route, when i go there... i make a bee line to the bakery, then the veggie section, and so on and so forth. well, that day, i walked up to the bakery section and there was an older woman there, that i used to play golf with years and years ago... i'm not gonna lie to you, it's been about 20 or so years, and back then this woman was old in my eyes...so, you get the picture :) anyways, she was always quite spunky, full of shit a bit, and not afraid to say what was what. but seeing her that day, i asked her how she was doing and if she was getting out on the course anymore...she replied no, but that she still had her clubs in the car. i told her that it was a good sign that she still had 'em in there, that it meant that maybe she'd play someday soon. i asked why she hadn't been playin, and she went on to tell me that since her second husband had died, she hadn't really felt like doing anything. i, of course, told her that i was sorry to hear that. then she went on to tell me about her life a lil bit. she told how much she had enjoyed her husband and how wonderful had been to her. that right at the end of her first marriage, when she had decided to ask her husband for a divorce, because she just couldn't take it anymore...she went home to tell him that she was going to leave him...and before she could...he died...literally. she had a bit of a sparkle in her eye when she told me it was the biggest blessing in the world...i know that sounds bad...but she chuckled at how strange life is, that finally when she had had enough...and was ready to stand up for herself...he was gone. and she was able to live life, in a better, happier, sweeter way. and the crazy part of that is that, all this time i had known her, i had no idea she had a heart... but with teary eyes, she told me, that she went from this man that she could do no right with, to a man that saw her as a woman that could do no wrong. it's making me tear up just typing this. to see the look in her eye when she told me that...well...it makes you kinda think that in this world that seems so lacking somedays of love... well there it is. i can't imagine spending my days with a person that viewed me like that, and when they're gone...to get up and move forward and keep living. oh, wow, that's gotta be such a struggle. what does a person do? okay, maybe that doesn't seem inspirational to you... but here's how i look at it: life and love, they're out of control sometimes, ya know? we're going along, thinking, feeling, doing...at every turn, we make decisions that we think are the one's we should make... the right one's... we think. but who's to know? really. to somehow, fall in love, or run into it, or run away from it, or feel it at all... well, shit, sometimes that's all we can hope for. yes... we'd like it to stay... out of fear, we grasp at everything that we can that even closely resembles it, because it makes us feel good. or excited. or less numb. something. i, for one, want to have it and feel it, as much as possible. it seems like its the thing that puts the color into life. i have this horrible tendency, in my life, to over-share... and believe me, there are definitely people that can attest to this... then again, these are the people that i choose to over-share with... i guess because in my life, i'd like to share my heart, and i feel like you have to do that with the people you love... don't get me wrong though... it's quite annoying for others and also a bit too much. but i justify it in my head and heart, thinking i'd rather be a bit too much, than be less than enough. which, i don't know about you, but there are enough times in my life that i feel already that i'm less than enough. so, i figure, put it all out there...show your heart. i was thinkin recently...'one day, honey, it's gonna happen...there'll be that person that takes what you're giving, and turns around and gives it back to you.' i don't know if i was thinking that so much as hoping that, i gotta be honest. i confessed to one of my good friends the other day that i wasn't sure i could remember what that feels like anymore...and how scared that made me to think that it had been so long...and how i wasn't totally sure how i would re-act to it. but here's the thing. no one knows how we're gonna re-act to anything... til it happens... i guess that's when all of what you know, what you've been through, and who you are takes over. i'm hoping, that i've learned enough to re-act well... to look straight ahead and not be afraid. everywhere i look, i'm inspired by regular, ordinary people. inspired to love, to fight, to live, to be happy, and to hope. i leave you with these few lines by jack kerouac about the kind of person i want to be and the kind of people i want to be surrounded by... "the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everyone goes, 'Awwwwwwwwwwww!" so, me? yeah...i want to be mad :)

til the end...

well... here we are... once again i've labored over what to write and how it will come across... geez... somedays i do wonder what in the world is wrong with me? haha! okay, don't answer too quickly, my friends :) haha! anyways, the truth is...there have been, oh, so many reasons to write lately, but i've found reasons not to write... because of being unsure of how i will sound or how i will be taken. maybe that is something normal when one is writing and putting it out there. this worry...this concern...this hope for the next one being as good as the last, or better, hopefully. or if it's any good at all, in the first place. that need for acknowledgement or acceptance. pshhhhhhhhht...who knows? it's like i'm havin a competition with myself... which is one of those human conditions, isn't it? always more critical than what somebody else would be. i love putting it down, and sending it out... it's like freedom... like, 'here i am'...'take me as i am' scary but exciting! so, why don't we just roll into this together, shall we? i was tellin my yoga instructor the other day that i had an idea for a topic for my next blog, but wasn't sure how it was gonna come out... that maybe what i was gonna write about was sorta like, 'beating a dead horse'... it's been talked and talked about...what would it resolve really? but it's what has been on my mind lately... so, he said to me...'just write what's in your heart...that's what it's all about...don't hold back...be truthful and honest...after all, that's what makes reading your writing, interesting and you.' which i agree with whole-heartedly...it's the reason i started writing really... to get it out. originally, i planned on making it totally anonymous so that i could write whatever i wanted to, and not be afraid... but then i thought, how could i do that? i need to stand behind what i say and have the courage to say it, no matter what people are thinking... it's so easy to veer into the other lane, writing what you think other people are wanting to hear... but then... that defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it? funny thing is...that's just the back story to it all... here's my thought... and i hope it's not too long of a thought for you guys... i'm kind of a long story teller...some people tune out, quite early... like a long voice mail...i am that :) some of my friends, just delete me before they get to the end of it... but that's just it...the end might be the most important part of the message... some days we just have to have the patience to wait til the end...because it might be there...that thing...that hook...that love...the p.s. part :) the end could make all the difference in the world... but we're so in a hurry, we skip parts...god, why do we do that?! they say the journey is the reward... so freakin journey with me, you guys...don't skip to the end... just ride with me for a few minutes :) it might be worth it...but then again...maybe not. haha! that's kind of up to you, isn't it? haha! well, here goes...and yes, i know this is gonna be a long one... i'll apologize right now...should have gotten to the point faster... but it's just not who i am or how i feel today, so i'm goin with that. sometimes, in life, i've decided, that there's nothin we can do about just being ourselves, that we should be exactly just that...plain and simple...ugly...honest...long-winded...goofy...embarassing...whatever it is...be ourselves. it's so tiresome not to be, ya know? so, here's the thing... as you know...i'm gay...i know, big surprise right? the topic of gay marriage has been pretty heated lately... for some reason, it really gets to me... to listen to all the arguements...all the reasons that a person like me shouldn't be allowed to get married... well, i have to be honest...it really pisses me off...it really picks away at my soul...it disintegrates the faith that we all want to have in this world we live in. although i know that i'm surrounded by people that love me for who i am, and yes, despite who i am, i am so unbelievabley bothered by this issue. that even though i'm not dating anyone or have even the remote chance of dating anyone, it seems like this issue just wears away at my heart. people are always making the comment, 'so what, so you can't get married, it's not that big of a deal anyways'. just sayin that, well, that just means that they don't care and they don't understand, they don't get it... that they don't care about human rights...this is not just politics...it's a belief in humanity. of letting people live their life. of letting people love who they want. at the end of the day... what's happening, what we're sayin as a human race is that 'you, as a gay person, are not worthy of this basic human right...because you are gay...we do not believe in you...and we do not believe that you should be able to have the chance to have the kind of life that we live.' i'm gonna call that...and i'm gonna call it bullshit...all the way. let me just say this... just put yourself, as a straight person, in our shoes... someone is telling you, "i'm sorry, you can't shop here... oh, and it's okay, you can be who you are, but you can't be part of this society, because what you are is going to ruin the 'sanctity' of this establishment. you can pay taxes, you can be a good person, but we won't allow you to say 'i do' to the person that you're in love with. because it's just not normal...it's just not right. you are not right. we hate you because we don't understand you..." the list goes on and on of the things that i hear or that i read about me, as a gay person...i know, not necessarily me...but it may as well be. being discounted is sorta like being told, 'you are not important' or 'you are not worthy of our time'. there's a wide array of gay people...and yes, we are like the colors of the rainbow...ranging from total butch/dike girls, to flaming men, to lipsticks, to tomboys, to bears, to quite plain and ordinary... but that's the human race, isn't it? thing is... we love...just like anyone else... and although i think my love is special and untouchable, it truly is like what anyone else wants at the end of the day... i just want to have the chance, just like anyone else, to screw up, to make mistakes, to love, to be loved, and yes, even to get married. so, yeah, i've babbled and made this quite long... but, i gotta be honest here...so what? don't you think that life and love are the most important thing in this world...ever?! i think it's quite worthy of pages and pages of writing...infinitely worthy! so, if there are a few extra paragraphs here... then, please, blame me, curse me, hate me... but hear me... this is NOT a moral issue, as some would say... this IS a human rights issue... and it needs to be fought... and, as for me, it will continue to be fought... because yes, i want what you have...whether that sounds ridiculous or not... i don't actually care. when are we all going to just finally understand... we're in this together...on this planet...living and breathing. hate me, despise me, throw things at me, kick me out...whatever... i'm here and i'm not going anywhere. i don't want to be tolerated, i want to be accepted. you don't have to like it or agree with it. but all it is... all it really is... is love. so, get over it. it will not be the end of the world, if two gay people can get married. believe me. it will be like the opening of the world! a humongously big closet opening! haha! who cares?! the thing is...love will not wait...it cannot wait... through out history there have been struggles and fights for rights... this is just another one... and here we are in 2012...hoping for a simple right of passage. it encompasses soooooooooooooooooo many things...and it means so much. a little while back, i think it was on mother's day, i watched my parents dancing together to 'you look wonderful tonight'... we were outside, it was breezy breezy florida, summer night... and there they were, dancing...it was sweet and beautiful... they will have been married 50 years next year...i don't know how they've done it...how they've survived each other...through 4 crazy kids...grandkids...great grandkids...through the aches and pains of growing separately and together...through old age (sorry, mom and dad...haha)...but that's the thing...they have...survived it...and continue to do so... while i may not be able to do that or have the opportunity to, how nice would it be if my other 'family' could? i think it would be amazing. just to have the chance. so, those are my thoughts and feelings on that subject... just one gay person's view... or better yet... just one person's view. thanks for being here with me til the end...i hope it was worth it :)(: i leave you with this... "the moment you say that any system of ideas is sacred, whether it's a belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible." ~salman rushdie~ we need just that...freedom... freedom of thought...of love...and of life.

dreams and realities

have been givin thought to the next thing i wanted to write about for the last several days. and as i've probably already told you, i finally reached my 3000 hit mark, which in the the grand scheme of it all, really isn't a big deal, but, for me, i'm pretty stoked about it. after all, it's all relative, right? right. anyways, now where do i go from here? that's always the question, isn't it? what's next? it's been the waking thought in my mind lately, to be honest. i sit here, on my beach steps, and truthfully, there could be no other place that i love more than sittin here, on a sunday mornin, for a may day, it's quite cool (i actually have my favorite old hoodie on, deep grey with a hole in the shoulder), the waves are quite surf-able, or in my case boogie-boardable :), brandi carlile playin on my pandora, coffee next to me... my eyes get watery just typin that for some unknown reason. there's something about a mornin like this that makes me feel as if i have exactly everything i need right now. and as i've explained before, i don't really have anything. that's the funny part. in the somewhat near future, one of my best friends is moving across the country. when i hear her talk about it, i can relate to all of the things she says about the reasons why she's going... because i've felt and thought those thoughts before...and yes, i still think them now sometimes. i've set off a few times in different points in my life, thinkin it was the answer, most definitely, the answer. and you know, maybe it was the answer at that point in my life. i did grow. and change. little by little, i learned more and more, what were the things i wanted in my life. i guess that's all we can do, right? just keep getting out there, and trying to answer some of those questions in our hearts and souls. learning from our mistakes and successes. i read recently that we feel our losses more than we feel our successes. that we hold onto them longer. while that is most likely true, because who am i to argue with seasoned thinkers and writers... but how crazy is that, eh? i'd like to just say we throw all of that out the window and change our human nature and view of all of it. yeah, that's what i'm sayin. after all...we are the captain's of our own destiny...haha...right right... i had a thought the other day, while i was drivin down the road... it was about dreams. about the dreams that we have as we are growing up. the gist of my thought was this... as we grow older, it seems we have to give up more quickly on our dreams. or maybe more honestly, our dreams become smaller or more gathered or planned. different from being young, and havin humongous, deliriously stupid, unrealstic dreams. just think about this... how many dreams have we had to give up on, and grow up? god, so many right? sit back and think about it... all those things you dreamed about while you were a child, a teenager, a young adult, an adult... and as for me, i'm in the middle of it all...mid-life...wowzers! how did i get here?! i look at people as they walk by me, and wonder what their dreams were. how life sometimes, just beats those dreams out of you, sorta like waves against a sea shore, slowly wearing it down, then before you know it...dredging must happen to build it all up again. i propose that we all make a lil plan for ourselves that allows for a lil dreamin each day. or maybe if you can't fit that in...maybe each week... for an hour or so... just sit down, or go for a run, or surf, or paint, or be yoga, spin, read... whatever it is... give yourself a chance to dream... dream without boundaries...without fences...without chains...without anyone holding you back. what i've noticed in this funny world we live in... it's the dreamers that are getting things done, that are changing the world, that are makin a difference. that's the crazy part eh? in every part of life, there should be dreams...even just to get you through the day. yes, many of these dreams will not come to fruition... but maybe if just a few of 'em get to sneak through and become reality...holy shit... how cool would that be, eh?! so cool! we have to at least allow ourselves that, don't we? a chance even...geez... they say 'necessity is the mother of invention' right? well, i don't know about you, but i need dreams...desperately...furtively...insanely...and maybe, sometimes unknowingly. as for me, on some days... they make life bear-able... like there's a lil hope just lurking around the corner, waiting to surprise me. so, this friend that is moving...she has big dreams... and i hope for her...because i know that we need to have dreams, but we also need them to come true sometimes. i know that it's like goin out on a golf course, and playing horribly the whole day, until somewhere out of nowhere, you hit an amazing shot... it's one of those things, we golfers love to say, 'it's that one great shot that brings you back.' yep... all we need is that one great shot to bring us back. in life... hell yeah :) it's what moves us on to the next one... that next dream. right on. so, whatever it is you're dreaming about, or your friend, next to you, is dreaming of... don't give yourself a hard time about it...just keep dreaming. but while you're dreaming, get up, and meet it half way...that's the only way you'll get there, by doin the work, payin the dues, and trudging forward. there are enough things in this life that will get in the way of what you want, what you dream of in the middle of the night, that will steal your happiness away... but... there are also a whole lot of reasons why you have to keep going... keep dreaming... keep living... keep being who you are... and keep doin the things that make you happy. i look around me, this very second, and i know why i keep goin... it's these steps, my family, my friends...this life...this love...this ocean. as small as it all seems...i'm in love with it all. deeply and clearly. i want dreams...i need dreams...i love dreams. so, go... dream... it can't hurt... or maybe it can... but that's just it, isn't it? you know you're alive when you're feelin somethin... it's when you stop feelin...that's when there's a problem. so freakin dream the shit out of each day...why not, right? why not? don't talk yourself out of it. don't we do that enough? i'm not only sayin this to you, i'm sayin it to me too. dream. ask yourself...what would you do if you could do anything? what do you want? where do you want to go? and then... go from there...each day.