Love Wins

I was afraid when I went to church today that the service would be a huge 9-11 memorial.

Instead it was a service on balance and how we need balance in our finances to have balance in life, which was something I needed to refocus on.

At the end, though, our music minister did an amazing job with a one song reflection on the anniversary of the tragedy of 9-11. Or at least, that’s what I thought it was going to be.

It wasn’t.

It was a  beautiful anthem about how we’re resilient and how we won’t bow to hate and how LOVE WINS.

I’m embracing that message and, hopefully, doing my part to share it. Because in the end, when you get to the core of the hurt and pain and anger and hate that’s out there in the world, LOVE does win, if you let it.

 

Dear DD’s Landlady

1. Thank you.
2. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
3. Thank…well, you get the idea.

DD’s got an apartment. A real apartment. And it’s cute and a policeman lives across the street and close to her work and school and kind of perfect for her.
Can you tell I’m excited?
When DD moved back home, it was rough. We’ve gotten to a place where things aren’t really so rough any more, but she’s going to be 21 in two weeks, and it’s time for her to fly.
When she went away to school, I was devastated. I never dreamed it would hurt so bad.
This time, it’s different.
The biggest difference is how much more mature she is today than she was in August of ’08. She’s learned about money and she’s grown a bit of a shell. When she left the first time she was so naive, way too trusting, stubborn.
She’s still stubborn, but she’s learned something about people. I wish that weren’t necessary, but the reality is people can be mean, they can be users, they can and will hurt you. The flip side is just as true. People can be amazing friends. But she’s learned to hold back trust until people have earned it.
I’m happy for DD. She’s ready for this.

Love Your Work, and it won’t feel like work

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Confucius
I don’t jump out of bed the minute the alarm goes off, throw on my clothes and hit the door running like I’m Wonder Woman out to save the world (although, if I looked like Wonder Woman, I might!).
BUT
I love my job.
I love the deadlines, the whiny kids, the strange directives from “down town,” the parents, the HORRIBLE new grading software. I love it. Every bit of it makes it my job. And my job is awesome.
If I teach my students nothing else, I hope I teach them to find a job they love so it feels like life instead of work. And I hope they truly believe they’re capable of changing the world.
We’re down to another few months before awesome kids walk to stage and start on their futures. I hope they take this knowledge with them.

Words of Wisdom…no, not from moi

“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.”
Albert Einstein

I thought I knew all the big Einstein quotes, but then I found this one and could NOT stop laughing. The man had a way with words!

“There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough.”
Nicholas Sparks

“There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”
Sarah Dessen

You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
Dr. Suess

“Love doesn’t just sit there like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.”
Ursula K. Le Guinn