weird and wonderful girl, you have set me free.
you pushed me over the lines into that scary expanse and endured those funny looks. you dressed me in all the "wrong" clothes and got me to sing loudly before I could think to contain my voice. you gracelessly blurted your truth, our truth, for all to see and hear. you pushed me right out there into that awkward spotlight for all to see. and at first i cowered and cringed. but i found that i could still breathe. and i could still be loved.
some people walked away. others, my favorites, stayed. and new people... wonderful people, and even some like-minded freakaziods appeared out of the woodwork. i would never have known them but for you and all the strange frequencies you sent out into the universe.
thank you for continuing to think when i stopped. thank you for refusing to follow the rules that didn't make sense. thank you for pushing back when i tried to push you down. thank you for speaking up.
i thought you were brave than me, but it turns out i'm actually you.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Three cheers for murder?
I feel a little queasy over this whole thing. I heard my son's 9 year old friend proclaim that he was "psyched that they killed Obama". People on TV are announcing to the world that they have never been prouder to be American. After seeing that, I couldn't be more embarrassed for us. Our proudest moment is a murder? Seriously?!
Politicians are absolutely glowing as they hold up newspaper headlines that read "Rot in Hell" next to photos of Osama Bin Laden. Is this who we're proud to be? I'm really struggling with this. It looks like a parody to me.
I'm not joining anyone for a $2 beer to celebrate an assassination.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
To Do
write to camera companies re: "picture this" idea.
research recycling in Zimbabwe - talk to shantha
Write something!
get to car wash (with kids)
clean out drawers and get some of this crap out the house.
declutter kids' window sills
get to michael's for mermaid stuff for tate's party
Party favors, swedish fish, goldfish crackers
plan ben's party
call a dermatologist about that dark freckle
refill essential oils for cellulite and varicose veins
research camps or make plans for August
replace broken recorder
summer shoes?
baby gifts for acupuncture babies
revisit t-shirt designs and logos
dietary write-ups for patient charts
walk/yoga
salt bath
research recycling in Zimbabwe - talk to shantha
Write something!
get to car wash (with kids)
clean out drawers and get some of this crap out the house.
declutter kids' window sills
get to michael's for mermaid stuff for tate's party
Party favors, swedish fish, goldfish crackers
plan ben's party
call a dermatologist about that dark freckle
refill essential oils for cellulite and varicose veins
research camps or make plans for August
replace broken recorder
summer shoes?
baby gifts for acupuncture babies
revisit t-shirt designs and logos
dietary write-ups for patient charts
walk/yoga
salt bath
Monday, March 7, 2011
I'll BE the hero
I'm not waiting anymore.
A cause walked into my living the day Shantha Bloemen came to visit with her four year old son. She'd just received the call that her husband, Munyaradzi Gwisai, and 44 others had been arrested for watching videos of uprising in Egypt. For meeting to see what they could do to change their circumstances.
Until that day, I had not given Zimbabwe much thought. I didn't think about Robert Mugabe. I didn't know enough to care.
But now I care.
Robert Mugabe, my friend is suffering. Her son is missing his father. And his father has been imprisoned, tortured and charged with treason. Children are without there parents. Families are without their breadwinners. People are without a voice and they live in fear. But I have a voice, and now a reason to use it. And I will use it to help set my friend's husband free.
And though I have felt the twinge, I will not act out of hatred. Or anger. I will come from love and conviction. I will share a truth... over and over until people notice. It's already happening. With empathy. Creating solidarity. I am making friends and learning their stories. And sharing them. We are finding common ground and supporting each other. We are sharing good ideas and giving a voice to people who are too scared to use their own. We are growing. And we are everywhere.
So far, 39 of the 45 have been released, and I am very happy for them. But I will continue until the other 6 are free. And I won't go back to sleep. Because I know there are others now. And I care about ALL of them now.
I'm awake now. I'm paying attention. And I'm on a mission.
A cause walked into my living the day Shantha Bloemen came to visit with her four year old son. She'd just received the call that her husband, Munyaradzi Gwisai, and 44 others had been arrested for watching videos of uprising in Egypt. For meeting to see what they could do to change their circumstances.
Until that day, I had not given Zimbabwe much thought. I didn't think about Robert Mugabe. I didn't know enough to care.
But now I care.
Robert Mugabe, my friend is suffering. Her son is missing his father. And his father has been imprisoned, tortured and charged with treason. Children are without there parents. Families are without their breadwinners. People are without a voice and they live in fear. But I have a voice, and now a reason to use it. And I will use it to help set my friend's husband free.
And though I have felt the twinge, I will not act out of hatred. Or anger. I will come from love and conviction. I will share a truth... over and over until people notice. It's already happening. With empathy. Creating solidarity. I am making friends and learning their stories. And sharing them. We are finding common ground and supporting each other. We are sharing good ideas and giving a voice to people who are too scared to use their own. We are growing. And we are everywhere.
So far, 39 of the 45 have been released, and I am very happy for them. But I will continue until the other 6 are free. And I won't go back to sleep. Because I know there are others now. And I care about ALL of them now.
I'm awake now. I'm paying attention. And I'm on a mission.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
I need a hero!
The bat phone is ringing - red light flashing its urgency. "DO SOMETHING!!!" it screams.
I'm stumbling around, looking for my cape and my magic tiara, tripping on dirty laundry until I remember... Wait, I'm not a superhero. Damn.
People I care about are suffering. I've been watching them suffer for ages it seems - hoping for them, praying for them, quietly rooting for them. Waiting for someone smarter or more important to help them, or at least say something... maybe turn on a light so they can stop struggling in the dark. But no one has. And now it feels like the car's about to go off the cliff. The raft is fast approaching a waterfall.
I'm dying to jump in. I so want to help. But I'm not exactly invited. It's not really my place. And, perhaps most importantly, I'm in over my head. At best, I'll fumble through a dramatic entrance before coming to a halt and announcing from the sidelines, "um, there's a cliff over there...so, um, you might want to do something about that..." And then there's the distinct possibility that I could make things worse.
So before I take this irreversible plunge, I'm trying to sort my intentions...
Do I think I have the answers?
No. But I think I see a real problem that no one is dealing with. And it won't go away on its own.
Do I want to be the hero?
Hmmm.. Can never say no entirely, but I don't think that's it.
Do I just want to be a part of something?
Always. But this is a scary something and I'm not particularly brave.
Is there a better person for this job?
DEFINITELY. But I have no idea who or where I might find him/her.
Can I help?
It's possible.
Can I hurt?
Also possible. More likely, just make people very uncomfortable and maybe piss them off.
Am I prepared for the consequences?
Nope. I'm not really even sure what they might be.
Do I know what I'm doing?
Maybe not.
So, basically, I just think the truth kind of urgently needs to be out in the open....
And truth is not objective, is it? And I may not even have the whole truth.
Damn. I think I need to put those Clark Kent glasses back on until I hatch something closer to a plan. With any luck, a real hero will appear in the meantime.
I'm stumbling around, looking for my cape and my magic tiara, tripping on dirty laundry until I remember... Wait, I'm not a superhero. Damn.
People I care about are suffering. I've been watching them suffer for ages it seems - hoping for them, praying for them, quietly rooting for them. Waiting for someone smarter or more important to help them, or at least say something... maybe turn on a light so they can stop struggling in the dark. But no one has. And now it feels like the car's about to go off the cliff. The raft is fast approaching a waterfall.
I'm dying to jump in. I so want to help. But I'm not exactly invited. It's not really my place. And, perhaps most importantly, I'm in over my head. At best, I'll fumble through a dramatic entrance before coming to a halt and announcing from the sidelines, "um, there's a cliff over there...so, um, you might want to do something about that..." And then there's the distinct possibility that I could make things worse.
So before I take this irreversible plunge, I'm trying to sort my intentions...
Do I think I have the answers?
No. But I think I see a real problem that no one is dealing with. And it won't go away on its own.
Do I want to be the hero?
Hmmm.. Can never say no entirely, but I don't think that's it.
Do I just want to be a part of something?
Always. But this is a scary something and I'm not particularly brave.
Is there a better person for this job?
DEFINITELY. But I have no idea who or where I might find him/her.
Can I help?
It's possible.
Can I hurt?
Also possible. More likely, just make people very uncomfortable and maybe piss them off.
Am I prepared for the consequences?
Nope. I'm not really even sure what they might be.
Do I know what I'm doing?
Maybe not.
So, basically, I just think the truth kind of urgently needs to be out in the open....
And truth is not objective, is it? And I may not even have the whole truth.
Damn. I think I need to put those Clark Kent glasses back on until I hatch something closer to a plan. With any luck, a real hero will appear in the meantime.
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