The Long Road Left Behind

I once wrote in a book to my son:

"In the autumn of my days, I will look back on the changes in your colorful life and know it was a good season."

Before I became a mother I was often heard saying "all the forks in my road have been spoons."  Though I made many mistakes over the years, I don't regret a single one.  Had I not chosen the wrong path once in a while, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Sure we often look back and wonder what it would have been like.  What if I hadn't majored in (this) in college?  What if I had moved to Hollywood?  Whatever happened to that photo that will keep me from being President?  What if I had never said yes to that first date?

I'm only in the mid-summer of my life and I reminisce like many do.  Facebook brings back people I hadn't thought about in years and makes me remember a silly girl in my youth with a bit of a wild streak.

But the road home is filled with mistakes and bad choices.  I often don't want to literally return to where I'm from, much less revisit it in my dreams.

My road has led me to a wonderful son that means the world to me.  Brilliant, funny, and handsome and I was blessed to have him because after giving birth, I no longer could.

Friends, family, and a husband of eighteen years, many ups and downs like most, but a good start to the second half of my life.

I sometimes feel like I missed out on something, mid 40's can be scary, but when I think harder, I realize that I'm only halfway through my life.  It's not a half empty glass.  

I made it to the top of the mountain and it's all downhill from here!  My son goes to college in a couple of years and I have some time to make up for and more than willing to give it a good go.

I look forward to taking in every aspect of my surroundings and enjoying the second half of my life to it's fullest without regrets or stopping to look back down that long and winding road back to where I started...

Man Turns His "Beloved" Cat Into A Hovercraft

This is not a new story, but every time I see something touting this "breakthrough in taxidermy" it sickens me.

The Dutch "artist", Bart Jansen turned his dead cat Orville, named after Orville Wright, into a remote-controlled helicopter, after having him stuffed and mounted propellers to his legs.

The Orvillecopter, which Jansen built with Arjen Beltman, was on display at the Kunstrai art festival in Amsterdam.

Art?  Really?

Orville died when he was run over by a car and now supposed to receive more powerful engines for the Hague expo.

Orville's owner says he loved birds and he can now fly with them.

Seriously?  

Ok, those are the facts.  Let's look at the hideousness of what he did.  He claimed he did it to honor his so-called beloved feline friend because he could now chase birds.

Can he?  He is now a toy, operated by his one-time owner, who I would chance to guess wouldn't chase birds with his fancy new Orvillecopter because it would be cruel to the birds.

Ironic?  I wouldn't bother to post a photo except I know you'll just Google it anyway.

I hope someone turns that guy into a hover craft when he's dead.  Or that he just gets hit by a car.  Either way, I think it's sick what he did and it angers me.  Now it's a joke and other artists are talking about turning different things into hover crafts.

Where's the Dutch version of PETA?  Spain has one.  Of course aren't the Dutch the ones famous for legal drugs & prostitutes, oh, and euthanasia?  

Shouldn't this qualify for animal experimentation?

I saw a story where a sushi restaurant served with these drones instead of a waiter having to walk ten feet to deliver it to a table.

Poor Orville, I hope he is either resting peacefully or haunting the Hell out of his former owner!

No Rest For The Weary

My grandmother used to tell me that.  She was up long after we went to bed and awake before the chickens.  Looking back, I think she was the rooster's alarm clock.

I never understood what that meant as a child and I was always so frustrated when she'd say it.

I'm tired.  Not exhausted, not depleted, just tired.  What's the difference?  I can go on, I just don't want to.

I wake up and I start my day immediately, no snooze for me.  I feed everyone, I get laundry and dishes started, make beds, lunches, but I feel like I never get anything accomplished.  The floor is always in need of vacuuming, there is always more laundry and dishes piled up.  My calendar is full of appointments, jobs, and errands.

My oldest had his wisdom teeth removed the other day and we have been battling swelling.  He is no longer hurting, but he can't eat because his cheeks are between his teeth, he can't talk right and he is miserable.

As a mother I worry.  About everything.  I called the doctor and was told "give it time".  Easy for him.  He's not losing sleep at night!  Things are piling up as I give my son the extra attention he needs and as I took a few moments to sit, I just said to myself, "I'm so tired."

Then I heard Maw Maw faintly reply, "No rest for the weary," in her cheerful voice.

So I rise and start again to do the things I do, without expecting praise or appreciation.  Just like my grandmother did.

I go to bed well after everyone else and I'm the first one up, before the sun, and I suspect if we had a rooster, I'd have to wake him...

What's A Writer To Do?

I think I've been telling stories since I was a kid.  Not the tall tale kind to get you out of trouble, but the kind to entertain.

One day I sat down and started typing and three months later I had my first manuscript.  I felt accomplished for the first time in my life.  Up to that point I had discovered about twenty professions I couldn't stick with for any length of time.

It wasn't long after that I started a children's series.  Slowly, the demands of life got in the way and everything has been piling up on a back-burner since.

I take care of my kids, my home, my husband, and everyone around me.  I volunteer several days a week.  I think I stopped sleeping about five years ago.

So one of my jobs was as a photographer.  I volunteer with an animal rescue group and they asked me if I would take pictures for their website of the adoptable animals.  Then they asked me to shoot their charity calendar.

Then my photos started to become so popular that people started asking me to photograph birthday parties, their pets, babies...

Now I'm opening my own photography business.  I think I've been taking pictures as long as I've been telling tales, but I never thought much about it.  

I still feel weird when I get compliments about my work.  I didn't go to college for this.  It's a hobby for which I've suddenly started making money.

I don't believe in altering a photo.  I'll fix a blemish on your face, but I don't alter the integrity of a photo.  I think that's why I'm becoming so popular.  I just take a picture and it is what it is.

Maybe I'll make a go of it, or maybe I'll bust.  My cousin is a wedding photographer in New Orleans and very popular.  I've taken some hints from her.

Either way it'll just be something else to add to a very lengthy resume that I have been building for quite some time now.

Wish me luck!