No Small Feat

The Inner Voice

 

I just finished reading Speak, a novel by Laurie Halse Anderson about a 14 year old girl named Melinda who is an outcast in high school after an incident that occurred over the summer which I will not reveal here and spoil.  If you have not yet read this book, please do.  This book does not contain fairies, vampires, werewolves or angels. What it does contain is far more frightening as it brings you back into that intensely uncomfortable skin we may have worn as teenagers.

I sobbed at several parts of the book and, no, I did not have the same experience as Melinda but I did have the isolation, awkwardness, and loneliness.  I was bullied and made fun of relentlessly and I specifically remember being in the gymnasiam in elementary school where everyone was signing yearbooks and almost no one signed mine.

Which brings me to my last point. Bullies. I was bullied. They exist in every generation from the Cleavers to the world that our children currently live in.  I wish I could blink my eyes like a genie and make them all disappear, but I do not have that ability. What I can hopefully provide a child who thinks death is better than being bullied is this.... persepective:

All the kids who made fun of me in elementary school are now "Facebook friends."  We all casually keep up with each other's lives and all the hurts have been healed. And my primary bully is said to have somewhere around 5-6 daughters which I find to be perfect revenge for him.

Look for the signs in your own children that something is causing them to withdraw.  Please remember; it is just as important to listen to what your child does NOT say as what they do.

Rewind In Review

Still here. *waves to everyone*  There hasn't been much going on. First week of school was as to be expected, busy, and the kids spent the weekend at their Grandpa's house where their aunt and younger cousin were visiting from Texas.  I don't have photos but reports from the kids last night tell me that they had non-stop fun; they certainly were exhausted.  Little Man fell asleep on the couch WAY before bedtime and lil girl called it a night before I had to call it for her.  This worked to my advantage as both children were tucked in before:

I will not post spoilers (you are welcome) but OMG!! is it September 12th yet?  I cannot wait to see how they close the third season. I'll say it once again.  The show is a great departure from the books, and that's a good thing.  Speaking of the most recent book in the Sookie series, I have not begun it yet.  Why?  Well NOW it is because I am consuming THIS:

This is the final book in this Hunger Games series:

I am halfway through the last book and still don't know what "team" I am on but I will say this.  The books are impossible to put down.  I will post some updates later this week #whenifinishmockingjay

I heart Snape.

As far as literary characters go it is no secret that I love Edward Cullen but there is another fictional man that has taken hold of my heart in a way that even Edward never can.  It is Professor Severus Snape.  As much as I loved (and continue to love) the Twilight series (and movie) there is nothing that has captured my interest in recent years like the Harry Potter series has (books and movies).  For some reason, Professor Snape has truly won my heart -- he was such a well-written complex character that you never really fully knew who he was and what drove him until the end.  The actor who portrayed him (Alan Rickman) was perfectly cast.  The man was simply born to be Snape.

I must thank one of my best friends Julie and her amazingly talented husband Marshall for creating this incredible portrait of me with the one and only wizard who has won my heart without the need of a love potion. ;)

 

Where is God?

"The one thing, on which we can all agree, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor. God is in the slums and in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. 6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality." --Bono

On the Move is a book written by Bono which is based upon the speech he gave at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast.  It delivers an inspiring and powerful message.  Here, in Bono's own words, is a reflection on his own faith and a challenge to people of all faiths to reach across boundaries and come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call "the least of these."

  On the Move features B&W photographs that Bono took of Africans during his first trip to Ethiopia in 1986. Profits from the sale of this book will benefit the One Campaign.

Can you handle the truth?

Do you think that by adopting our son we have somehow done something really noble and great to help the plight of orphaned children of Ethiopia, and their surviving families?

Do you think America is doing some great things to help developing countries around the world?

Do you enjoy gourmet coffee from places like Starbucks?

Do you?  If so, watch this 3 minute excerpt of a speech given Melissa Fay Greene, author of the book There Is No Me Without You.  Once you do you will begin to learn the answers to these questions and you will know the truth.  But this is not a truth that will set you free... it will burden you, haunt you, anger you and call you to action and, ultimately, it will change how you see the world and your place in it forever.