Momma's journal of all things monster
This is quite possibly one of the worst renderings of the National Anthem that I have ever heard. I thought the Rosanne thing years ago was bad but she was not a professional singer with a recording contract. They tout this girl as a “pop sensation”. I am so glad Lullibell likes country…
Our house in Colorado Springs is officially not ours anymore!
It is a good feeling except now we have to find a new place to live…and a new school…
A funny thing happened in ColSpr yesterday. Somebody saw an African lion running around loose on the prairie at the edge of town. So they called the people at the Big Cats of Serenity Springs Sanctuary who promplty went out and counted their lions…4 times. Nope, not one of theirs.
So check out the video here for the local tv station and see if you agree…lion or gigantic dog?
Today the monsters went to a one day Vacation Bible School at my momma’s church. It is a teeny little white church on a windy little road affectionately known as the dam road (no, not misspelled, the road ends up at a hydroelectric power dam). The morning dawned terribly foggy but the sun rose with such a vengeance I definitely knew it was July. The fog burned off quickly but there were remnants left as we drove to the church, shimmering under the boughs of the trees and making every thing look just a little greener.
After depositing Lullibell and a very weepy Bubba at the church I headed toward town to drop off some slightly overdue library books. Another winding path of a road. In one curve I slowed down for animals crossing the road—a beautiful doe and twin fawns. The mother stopped and looked at me with all the authority of a crossing guard. I waited and watched her and the beautiful babies finish crossing the road and scramble up the bank.
On the way back from the library I decided to go back the same way. A bit further up the road from where the deer had crossed there were 6 turkeys flapping and fussing on the side of the road. There was one that was at least 3 and a half feet tall. Amazing.
There is a piece of property along the road that I have long admired. In the front corner of the lot, by the road a stand of turk’s caps lilies grows. I had slowed to check those for blooms when I realized there was a very large chimpmunk sitting in the one sunny patch on the road looking at me.
I am constanly amazed by the beauty that surrounds me. I felt truly blessed by the simple show of nature this morning.
So sorry to just drop off the face of the planet. So little to do and so much time…Strike that and turn it around…
I think more than anything the reason I haven’t been keeping up with everything and everyone is that I really have been isolating. I promise I will try to do better. I know I will when I have my own routine agian. Hopefully that won’t be too long from now!
Meanwhile the monsters are growing and swimming and playing and running the show for all of us. Hubby monster has made his departure to the middle east. My brother’s wedding plans seem to be rolling right along. La la la la la la life goes on…
In my ladies book and Bible study the other day we read a story called “Love Casts Out Fear”. It was a short story written about Mary Magdalene and her trip to the tomb on Easter Morning. The story describes Mary’s fear of being arrested for tending to Jesus’ body, her deep sadness at seeing his body broken and bleeding, the first time she met Jesus, and his appearance to her first after His death.
According to this story, their first meeting took place on a day when Mary was suffering terribly. The seven “demons” that were possessing her were in full force that day and she had broken free of those tending to her. At this point Mary was the lowest of the low in society, a woman, and a sick one at that. Mary was contemplating hurling herself into the well in the town when Jesus saw her, wiped the blood from her face and cast out the demons. After that, Mary became what some call the disciple to the disciples.
For me Mary is the ultimate example of why God sent His son to us. The first person to see Jesus alive on the first Easter morning was Mary. Before Mary women had very low position in religion. And now, the Son of God is appearing to a woman and asking her to spread His message first. Before this no one uttered the name of God because it was too holy and above the common man. Jesus brought the grace and love of His Father to everyone. I don’t need to go to a priest or rabbi or whatever to converse with my God. He is always right there available to me. Open to me.
And I don’t need holy relics. The history is there to be seen. Much of what is written can be backed up with archaeological data. That’s great. I find all of that very interesting and fun to learn about, read about and study but it is not a necessary part of my spirituality. I can accept much on faith. And I can do this because I have felt the grace and love that is what God gave me when Jesus appeared to Mary on the first Easter morning.
As many of you know I have a little brother. Now like many little brothers he had his share of buddies that he dragged home to spend the night and play ball with and war and whatever little boys and their buddies do.
There was this one kid that came around a lot. Scrawny little red haired thing that could consume more food than I have really ever seen any one eat. That little kid grew up to become “the most accurate kicker of his generation”. Shane Graham of the Cincinnati Bengals is that kid…and that is how I often still see him…the scrawny little guy with the huge appetite. But read this article about him and see how my mind changes when I see him all grown up.
Last year I ran into the house after errands and taxi service to hear a message on my machine. My friend was just calling to see if I was okay and to make sure everyone in my family was safe. Not sure what she was talking about I called my mom to see what I was missing. She told me to turn on the tv to one of the news channels. And then proceeded to tell me that there were at least 2 people dead on campus and probably more.
As I sat in front of the tv watching images of very familiar places go by the count went up to 32 victims of a shooting rampage in Norris Hall…Norris Hall…where I took a couple of math classes and all of my foreign language classes…students locked behind the doors of McBride Hall…outside of West AJ…how could this have happened? My world seemed to tilt off its axis.
As the day wore on we came to know that all of our friends and family that were students and employees at the campus were safe…truly a blessing…but we felt the pain of the other families and friends that lost someone.
The victims were chosen at random, no particular pattern could be seen except for the community that they were a part of. There were musicians, dancers, engineering students, language students, professors, grad students…a completely random act of senseless violence.
As we sat captivated and awe struck by the violence it became clear that the gunman was not only attacking the student body and faculty but the entire university. How sad that this young man felt the need to take the lives of 32 people. How beautiful, the stories of heroism…Dr. Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, blocking to door to his classroom to save the lives of the students there with him…
But we were not destroyed. We rallied. We prayed. We wrote poems and songs and tributes. We made videos to honor the injured and the dead. We lit candles and we gathered and we held on to one another. We chanted…Let’s go Hokies!…Let’s go Hokies!…Let’s go Hokies! And we all showed that we were strong and united…a maroon and orange nation, held together by love of where we came from and where we are going. We showed that we could weep…We showed that we could stand in the face of adversity.
And now a year later…we still remain strong, united, saddened by the tragedy but stronger than ever…
I read earlier today that at freshmen orientation students were told that people will ask them the perpetual question: What is a Hokie? The correct answer is I am, I am a Hokie. If you said a prayer or sent out a good thought or shed a tear that day one year ago then YOU are a Hokie now too.
I know I quoted her in my post yesterday but the words of Nikki Giovani really sum up how I feel today. The same short excerpt here but if you didn’t watch the video yesterday please do because what she said is more than profound, simply stunning.
“We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be.”
We are the Hokies! We will prevail! We are Virginia Tech!
Update: Here is the link to the Day of Remembrance webcasts
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We are Virginia Tech! The Hokie Nation!…I love her thoughts on how our lives fit into the world as it was and is. How things happen…terrible things and that it is ok to be sad and embrace it. I listen to this when I start reeling from sadness about the world. I sometimes get overwhelmed by the sadness of the world we live in…so much so that it becomes impossible for me to see the beauty in the world. I get down and wallow in the sadness and while I know it is ok to feel the feelings I also know that there has to be balance and life in the living (not just going through the motions). Nikki Giovani’s remarks or poem, whatever you wish to call it remind me that we are strong and we do build he future and we will laugh again.
“We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be!”
We are the Hokies! We will prevail! We are Virginia Tech!
Let’s go HOKIES! Let’s go HOKIES! Let’s go HOKIES! Let’s go HOKIES!
Today I wanted to post on a subject that many people find incredibly distasteful. I feel a terrible sadness when I think of the sick young man that perpetrated one of the most painful experiences that in my memory.
The gunman that took thirty two lives nearly a year ago at Virginia Tech was a sad sick shell of a person. There had been complaints against him…counselors were called in…a professor in his department was appointed as a mentor…he was assessed and reassessed and never found the help he so desperately needed.
Many people have asked the question, why wasn’t he locked up to protect himself…to protect other people? How could the system let someone who was so obviously sick fall through the cracks? Why didn’t someone do something drastic before it came to this?
The system is flawed…but flawed in such a way as to protect the rights of everyone. It is to protect people who are not mentally ill from being hospitalized or institutionalized. And the system is a many armed beast…so much so that one arm rarely knows what another arm is doing. Definitely not perfect and frequently a recipe for disaster.
What I want to point out is that this young man was a human being with a family…that is what is the most heart wrenching for me. As a mother I cannot imagine the depth of sadness experienced when losing a child. But to find that your child is responsible for not only his own death but the deaths of thirty two other people would be crushing at the very least. I am so very sad and heartbroken at the sense of loss that I feel every time I think of the mother of the shooter and the mothers and families of the victims. You have to think, as a mother, how did this come to pass…what did one mother do that raised a son to be a musician, a daughter to be a dancer and another to be a murderer?
The massacre at Virginia Tech and other such tragic events put in motion by human hand highlight the need for a better system…a system where people who are mentally ill receive the help and education about that help that they need…a system where the average person on the street is educated and can recognize the signs and symptoms of such illness…a society that is willing to look for answers and not look away.
The future Hokie monsters
Just a cool bird!
What do you suppose they fed that bird?!?!
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September 16, 2008
wineymomma
Wineymomma and the monsters 