The movie has been more successful than could have be imagined.

More importantly, however, it has inspired many, many people to reflect on their lives and ask that all important question, “Are my priorities where they should be?”

I hope you enjoy this movie and share it with those who are important to YOU. I know I just did!

Click here to view: http://www.dashpoemmovie.com

May it bless you as it did me. Or just as importantly…. may it *get you thinking*!

So when the conversation rolled around to when we had our first cell phones and what it looked like - they were amazed (and so was I, actually) that I found the old thing lurking in the garage. (We’ve moved at least 3 times since we actually used this phone. Do NOT ask me why I still have it. Seriously. I do NOT even know.) You should have heard them laughing when they laid eyes on it… a Motorola bag phone, circa 1996.

Lordy wasn’t it HUGE? (Can you see that dog hair stuck to the bag flap? Yeah, isn’t that the story of my life? Some things never change.) Even with that antenna raised, it dropped the call about every 5 seconds and was generally more trouble then it was worth. My hubby got it for me when I was expecting Beebo and commuting each day to college - which is the only reason I remember the year I got it!

And… my! was it bulky in the hand too! Sheesh… how times have changed.

Currently, I have a Motorola Razr. Slim, sleek (read: slick - I’ve dropped it a gazillion times) and best of all: it’s PINK! It has a camera for picture texting, which I do a LOT of the time.

I love it. Mainly because it is PINK. Shannon used to have one just like it until she just upgraded to a different one that has a keyboard which makes texting simpler. It was fun to know that we had matching phones, even if we lived a million miles apart. Guess I’ll have to upgrade soon to one like she got huh?

Between the bag phone and the Razr… there were a few Nokias. A fat flip phone with and extending antenna (but it wasn’t it a bag so it was a huge step up!) A slimmer Nokia, with a built-in antenna that stayed in one position. Then back to Motorola - a smaller flip but no where near as thin as the Razr. It had a built in camera and the ability to go online. (If you wanted to look at everything in that dinky little screen.) I think the phones between the original bag phone and my current one have been donated to a local battered women’s shelter to be refurbished and used as needed. So, I don’t have them laying around to take pictures of them. (Gosh. Thank GOODness! You’d think I was really a pack-rat if I did, huh?)

So… do tell. What was your first cell phone?

A little weird, huh?

Won’t that be FUN???

when you feel as if you’ve lost something - something that wasn’t yours to lose in the first place
sadness overwhelms a life
but you didn’t really lose it, it’s just different now
and it NEEDS to be different, of this you are sure.

And yet,

sadness hovers like a fog, clouding your mind.
it’s like the rain outside, pouring down hard and fast, blinding your vision for a bit.
then it eases off a little, just a dull drizzle. happy pleasant thoughts creep back into the mind and
you think, ok, I’m ok…I can do this.

and before you know it, the heavy rains reappear.

a steady downpour.

visibility is minimal.

you have to find the little room inside your mind that you go into when times are hard. The room that offers you solace and comfort… from the depths of your very being. the room is always there for you, it’s a lonely room but a necessary one. without it, the mind and the heart are unable to heal.

avoid the sad songs, avoid the love stories, avoid the details of another…. focus on breathing. in and out, everyday.

This too shall pass.

They must surely practice a LOT to do this…. amazing.

And now, temporarily…. Bernard.

Suki is moving to Florida and can’t take this little guy with her… so he is on his way back to his previous owner, TerriAnne, after a few days hanging out with us. We picked him up this past weekend and have enjoyed watching him … well…. just sit there. He doesn’t actually DO much unless it’s time to eat. Then… he is quite the little rambunctious hunter. He’s kind of a cutie, actually… I never really thought I’d have one of these guys but… I could get used to him. (I don’t think I could get used to his dinner, though. Keep reading… you’ll see ‘em.) The girls would LOVE for him to stay… but Terri is picking him up after work today.

Meet Bernard:

Handsome fella huh?

Can you see them? Those little icky crickets would be…. Bernard’s dinner.

Bernie’s dinner is …. ummmm… eating dinner.

(a piece of raw potato… who knew crickets ate that?)

Guess who else thinks Bernie is a handsome dude? Lillie was about to bust a gut to get a sniff of him…. he just gave her the evil eye, not remotely scared. What a brave little green guy he is!

Night-night kisses for Bernie. You cool dude you.

She was born in Italy, where her dad was stationed as an active duty Navy man. We’d been to the theater to see “Fletch” the night I went into labor… I can never see that movie replaying on tv without thinking of counting minutes between contractions that night. When she was a teeny little thing, she was so sure of herself. She’d never hesitate to speak up when she wanted something or wanted to do something. She was early to talk and early to walk…. eager to get her life going, I suppose. She was all smiles and sweetness as a young girl, melting my heart in a jiffy.

Her dad and I were young and clueless. Raising a child was hard work, when we were mere children ourselves. Of course, it’s the beauty of hindsight that I can say that now… at the time, I thought I had a pretty good handle on life. Ha! What did I know?

We lived in Naples, Italy until Suki was a little over 2 years old. Far too young for her to remember any of it, unfortunately. I’ve always wanted to take her back someday to see where she began her life… maybe some day that can still happen. After Italy, we lived in Panama for a few years before returning to the US in 1989. Since then, we’ve lived in several different towns, but all within the state that we are in now. After her dad and I split up and much later I remarried my darling hubby - Suki lost a little of that confidence she had in herself as a youngster. She became a reader and a dreamer, with her head often in the clouds, lost in thought. She was quiet and reserved during her high school years. I’ll never know how much our divorce affected her and how much of that would have happened as she entered her teen years - but I would like to think that someday she can understand the whole divorce situation. I wonder how badly she feels I failed her. Someday I may be brave enough to ask. But…. I digress. That is not the story I want to visit today.

This week will mark a HUGE change in our lives. Even during the past few years when conflict has kept us at a distance from each other - we’ve always been close in proximity. She’s been in college in a nearby town since she graduated high school in 2004. Those days that passed without us talking were tough for me (and for her, I would hope) but it was reassuring to know that she wasn’t that far away, only about 35 miles. I could still drop in to see her or meet her for lunch sometimes.

On Thursday, all that changes.

Suki joined AmeriCorps and will be leaving our fair state for the next year. She will be headed to southern Florida, with plans to work with Habitat for Humanity, as her assignment with AmeriCorps. It is a wonderful opportunity for her and I am so very proud of her… but the Mom in me knows this is going to be a tough year. Probably much harder for ME than for her! Every time I think about it - I waver between being overjoyed for her and being so incredibly sad to see her go. That is nothing but sheer Mom-selfishness on my part… so I am trying hard to focus on the joy of the occasion. (as I sit here with a giant lump in my throat thinking of her being gone for a YEAR.) It IS indeed a great opportunity and experience for her… and one that she can learn and grow from, while allowing her to work in an arena that is geared for serving others. I know she will be fine, the Lord will watch over her. She is once again full of confidence in herself … I’d say that is definitely a step in the right direction. She CAN do this.

LOL LOL LOL

I can’t even be serious today… too much on my plate over the past few weeks is turning me into mush-melon head and I just can’t post anything else today but THIS made me seriously

Laugh Out Loud!