Have a wonderful and happy Turkey Day. Full of friends, family, and endless amounts of food.
R.S.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
On My Weekend
On Saturday the Marine and I attended Lexa's memorial. It was both heartbreaking and healing, but I guess that is the point, right?
So many people came out to say good-bye to the young girl who'd made their lives better. Outside on the green lawn that was scattered with leaves, people told their stories. Doves were released, and people laughed when the doves decided to do their own thing--something we're sure Lexa was responsible for.
I won't lie and say I'm healed from the pain, but I'm not as angry as I was. The sadness isn't taking up as much of my soul as it did in the beginning. Lexa never wanted people to be sad. She believed in happiness and living. Following dreams and attaining goals.
It's time for me to get back to that.
And I've started.
Sunday we joined some friends at the Olive Garden to celebrate Veteran's Day. It was nice to get out, eat delicious food, and laugh. People who know me well, realize if I don't get out of the house once in a while, I'll fall into a pattern of living, much like a hermit.
I like being a hermit. Things get done when I stay home.
Usually.
Okay, not much has gotten done since I started staying home after working at the pool. I've been taking it easy. Spending time with my family, helping the Munchkin with homework, and catching up on all the hours of snuggling I missed out on.
Housework can wait.
How did you celebrate Veteran's Day? Did you thank a Veteran for his or her sacrifices?
R.S.
So many people came out to say good-bye to the young girl who'd made their lives better. Outside on the green lawn that was scattered with leaves, people told their stories. Doves were released, and people laughed when the doves decided to do their own thing--something we're sure Lexa was responsible for.
I won't lie and say I'm healed from the pain, but I'm not as angry as I was. The sadness isn't taking up as much of my soul as it did in the beginning. Lexa never wanted people to be sad. She believed in happiness and living. Following dreams and attaining goals.
It's time for me to get back to that.
And I've started.
Sunday we joined some friends at the Olive Garden to celebrate Veteran's Day. It was nice to get out, eat delicious food, and laugh. People who know me well, realize if I don't get out of the house once in a while, I'll fall into a pattern of living, much like a hermit.
I like being a hermit. Things get done when I stay home.
Usually.
Okay, not much has gotten done since I started staying home after working at the pool. I've been taking it easy. Spending time with my family, helping the Munchkin with homework, and catching up on all the hours of snuggling I missed out on.
Housework can wait.
How did you celebrate Veteran's Day? Did you thank a Veteran for his or her sacrifices?
R.S.
Friday, October 19, 2012
On Returning To the Real World After An Extended Absence
Please, please, no need for applause. ;)
After four long and exhausting months, I'm finally back and ready to get down to the busy and sometimes lonely business of writing. I've had characters and plots poking and prodding me for months now, and finally I'll have the time to do something about it.
As of today, I am no longer employed by someone other than myself. The experience of being a lifeguard, while rewarding and enlightening (not to mention physically active), just isn't what my life needs at this time. I made the decision to step away from the poolside after many days of introspection, and weighing the pros and cons.
I made a few amazing friends and a bunch of pretty cool acquaintances. There are people I'll miss deeply, and some I'll never think of again. The last few months have been an educational experience, and the changes I've made in myself and my surroundings will continue to show throughout my life.
There are many reasons I chose now to go back to my quiet and mostly orderly world. I'd made the cut and had been kept on for the winter, and yet I have chosen to leave. Some of those reasons are easy to understand, some I will share at a later time, and some reasons will never be known by anyone but me.
While lifeguarding filled a void in me I hadn't realized was there, it was never my passion the way writing is. Though I love physical fitness, and in the next couple of years will realize my dream to become a personal trainer, it isn't the focus I need right now.
I need to focus on my family. On the Marine who should be getting orders to who knows where, shortly. On the Munchkin who is experiencing new things every day. I want to be there with her, I want to be awake enough to help her with homework, to make her lunch, and to spend quality time with her more than just two days a week.
I need to focus on R.S. Emeline, Author. She's been sorely neglected, and I'm afraid to see what damage my absence has done to that part of my life.
I need to just Breathe.
Something I forget to do sometimes.
So, starting today, I'm breathing life back into myself. I'm taking the bull by the horns, and I'm jumping back into the saddle (and any other quaint phrases you can think of). It's time to let those stories out, to refresh my blog, to make new friends and network again.
It's time to get back to me.
R.S.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
On Weekend Fun with Family
This weekend was spent hanging out with my family.
The Marine was home, the Niece worked shorter hours, and the Munchkin was surrounded by love.
Friday night, after a quickly prepared meal, we got the Munchkin ready for bed, did the story thing, and sent the menfolk out to get fixings for smores.
Since we live in an area with an almost continual burn ban, and we don't own a fire pit on legs (though I've thought on more than one occasion to acquire one) we made our melty, marshmallow and chocolaty goodness in the microwave.
It's a rarely known science.
An art, if you will.
We sat around the kitchen table, chatted, laughed, and relaxed while inhaling our weight in sugar.
It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and I'm so glad I got to share it with people who are important to not only myself, but to my daughter.
Here is to many more nights of sugary bonding, and to family--not only of blood, but of the heart as well.
How has your weekend been? Did you do anything fun and exciting--like sky diving, or did you sit home and relax with loved ones?
R.S.
The Marine was home, the Niece worked shorter hours, and the Munchkin was surrounded by love.
Friday night, after a quickly prepared meal, we got the Munchkin ready for bed, did the story thing, and sent the menfolk out to get fixings for smores.
Since we live in an area with an almost continual burn ban, and we don't own a fire pit on legs (though I've thought on more than one occasion to acquire one) we made our melty, marshmallow and chocolaty goodness in the microwave.
It's a rarely known science.
An art, if you will.
We sat around the kitchen table, chatted, laughed, and relaxed while inhaling our weight in sugar.
It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and I'm so glad I got to share it with people who are important to not only myself, but to my daughter.
Here is to many more nights of sugary bonding, and to family--not only of blood, but of the heart as well.
How has your weekend been? Did you do anything fun and exciting--like sky diving, or did you sit home and relax with loved ones?
R.S.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
On Building the Future
What's tickling my ears? Eminem: Cleaning Out My Closet
There are days when I seriously wonder what the future is going to be.
Not my future, but the future of my child and her peers.
Whitney Houston once sang that she believed our 'children are the future'.
If that is truly the case, shouldn't each parent strive to give their children every possible benefit they'd need to make their, and in turn our, future strong and bright?
Why is it then, so many children go without the proper love and guidance they so desperately want and require?
Why is it harder to get a driver's license than it is to become a parent?
Why are there so many child abusers getting away with bruising their children both physically and mentally?
Why is it still so hard to protect the innocents from the horrors, and traumatic experiences they suffer at the hands of an abusive mother, father or caregiver?
Abuse and neglect come in many forms. You never have to lift a hand to your child to injure them, to beat them. All it takes is casual disregard or negative words, and it can be as damaging as a physical slap.
The worth of a true parent doesn't have to come from what you can buy your child, but from what you give them of yourself.
Your time, patience, love, understanding, and forgiveness.
A true parent puts their child's wants and needs before their own.
Take this story for instance.
"I don't know what to do, Jess. Val's been acting up, not listening, and I'm at the end. I can't deal with it anymore."
Jess sighed. She'd heard this before. "Why don't you let her come here for the summer. She could stay with her uncle and I, and you could have some time to relax."
"It's just too expensive to buy a plane ticket. We can't do that."
She logged onto her laptop and brought up a site specializing in inexpensive flights. "A round trip ticket is only two hundred dollars. I'll cover half, and it won't be so bad. It's what's best for your daughter. She'll have responsibility, and a chance to be away for a while. It won't be a vacation, but you'll both get the space you need."
"No... We can't afford that. She'll just have to get over her attitude. Her father and I are going to buy a new seventy-two inch flat screen, entertainment center, and surround sound soon. It's more important for us to put away that hundred bucks than waste it on a ticket for that ungrateful brat."
Too often parents consider it more important to have the newest, most exciting and expensive toys, than to put that want off until their children were happier, healthier, or safer.
This behavior isn't the only sign of bad parenting.
Bad parenting also appears when you show negativity towards your child. Calling them stupid, or dumb, or worthless--it's abuse, and eventually will have an equally negative affect on the child.
Nobody is a perfect parent, but being a positive role model who puts their children's happiness and well being before their own needs and wants is a good start.
Showing you love them, and making sure you say the words is just as important as providing a roof over their heads, and enough food to nourish their bodies.
I love you.
Three little words.
Powerful. Healing. Empowering.
As long as you truly mean them and back them up with your actions.
Every day I make sure I tell my daughter I love her. I make sure she gets hugs and kisses whenever possible, and no matter what, I never show negative actions towards her. She will never hear anything except loving and positive words from me.
She will get every opportunity to thrive in a happy and loving environment, to become the best she can be. No matter what that is.
I believe my daughter is the future.
I will teach her and let her lead the way.
I will give her all the love she needs to go out on her own and be strong.
She will never have to walk in anyone's shadow.
She will never have to be afraid to talk to me, because she will know she is loved.
Love your children, and teach them how to love themselves and others.
It's the greatest gift of all.
R.S.
**I am not a psychologist, but I am a parent. I may not have a fancy degree, but I know what it feels like to not be shown love...and what it feels like to show it to my daughter.
There are days when I seriously wonder what the future is going to be.
Not my future, but the future of my child and her peers.
Whitney Houston once sang that she believed our 'children are the future'.
If that is truly the case, shouldn't each parent strive to give their children every possible benefit they'd need to make their, and in turn our, future strong and bright?
Why is it then, so many children go without the proper love and guidance they so desperately want and require?
Why is it harder to get a driver's license than it is to become a parent?
Why are there so many child abusers getting away with bruising their children both physically and mentally?
Why is it still so hard to protect the innocents from the horrors, and traumatic experiences they suffer at the hands of an abusive mother, father or caregiver?
Abuse and neglect come in many forms. You never have to lift a hand to your child to injure them, to beat them. All it takes is casual disregard or negative words, and it can be as damaging as a physical slap.The worth of a true parent doesn't have to come from what you can buy your child, but from what you give them of yourself.
Your time, patience, love, understanding, and forgiveness.
A true parent puts their child's wants and needs before their own.
Take this story for instance.
"I don't know what to do, Jess. Val's been acting up, not listening, and I'm at the end. I can't deal with it anymore."
Jess sighed. She'd heard this before. "Why don't you let her come here for the summer. She could stay with her uncle and I, and you could have some time to relax."
"It's just too expensive to buy a plane ticket. We can't do that."
She logged onto her laptop and brought up a site specializing in inexpensive flights. "A round trip ticket is only two hundred dollars. I'll cover half, and it won't be so bad. It's what's best for your daughter. She'll have responsibility, and a chance to be away for a while. It won't be a vacation, but you'll both get the space you need."
"No... We can't afford that. She'll just have to get over her attitude. Her father and I are going to buy a new seventy-two inch flat screen, entertainment center, and surround sound soon. It's more important for us to put away that hundred bucks than waste it on a ticket for that ungrateful brat."
Too often parents consider it more important to have the newest, most exciting and expensive toys, than to put that want off until their children were happier, healthier, or safer.
This behavior isn't the only sign of bad parenting.
Bad parenting also appears when you show negativity towards your child. Calling them stupid, or dumb, or worthless--it's abuse, and eventually will have an equally negative affect on the child.
Nobody is a perfect parent, but being a positive role model who puts their children's happiness and well being before their own needs and wants is a good start.
Showing you love them, and making sure you say the words is just as important as providing a roof over their heads, and enough food to nourish their bodies.
I love you.
Three little words.
Powerful. Healing. Empowering.
As long as you truly mean them and back them up with your actions.
Every day I make sure I tell my daughter I love her. I make sure she gets hugs and kisses whenever possible, and no matter what, I never show negative actions towards her. She will never hear anything except loving and positive words from me.
She will get every opportunity to thrive in a happy and loving environment, to become the best she can be. No matter what that is.
I believe my daughter is the future.
I will teach her and let her lead the way.
I will give her all the love she needs to go out on her own and be strong.
She will never have to walk in anyone's shadow.
She will never have to be afraid to talk to me, because she will know she is loved.
Love your children, and teach them how to love themselves and others.
It's the greatest gift of all.
R.S.
**I am not a psychologist, but I am a parent. I may not have a fancy degree, but I know what it feels like to not be shown love...and what it feels like to show it to my daughter.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
On Today's Happiness
I find that I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to blog about, and half the time nothing I come up with seems interesting enough.
Today, while I was contemplating a topic, I realized something.
I'm happy.
Yes, it's still relatively early to most people, though I've been awake since six--just like everyday when my three year old daughter/personal alarm clock, wakes up, but to me it's well toward 'mid-day'.
I'm feeling good about myself, and with myself (and yes, there is a difference).
I have an amazing daughter who even when she's driving me batty, is still the most amazing person in my life. I've got great friends who love me, even though they're hundreds of miles away; family who loves me--both those who live with me, and those who also live their daily lives in various states across the country.
I'm happy.
I'm happy, because I realized all the choices in my life have led me here.
Right here.
To this day.
To this blog post.
To this city in the middle of the desert that most people have never even heard of, let alone visited.
Every bad decision, painful experience, emotionally dark period, and wonderful highlight, has led me to the person I am today.
A mother, a wife, a writer, a photographer, a friend, and a confidant.
I'm not the world traveler I someday want to be, and I haven't been published...yet, but all of those are on my personal horizon.
If I had a chance to go back and change anything in my past... any of the horrible experiences, the loss of innocence, the dark days after the death of my son, the heartbreak I wasn't sure I'd survive... I wouldn't change it.
Why?
Because I wouldn't be where I am, who I am, or what I am today.
Today wouldn't be... today.
Life is a precious, precious thing. Don't take it for granted, and don't regret the experiences in your past. Always remember who you were, where you came from, and who was there to help you along...
R.S.
Today, while I was contemplating a topic, I realized something.
I'm happy.
Yes, it's still relatively early to most people, though I've been awake since six--just like everyday when my three year old daughter/personal alarm clock, wakes up, but to me it's well toward 'mid-day'.
I'm feeling good about myself, and with myself (and yes, there is a difference).
 |
I'm happy.
I'm happy, because I realized all the choices in my life have led me here.
Right here.
To this day.
To this blog post.
To this city in the middle of the desert that most people have never even heard of, let alone visited.
Every bad decision, painful experience, emotionally dark period, and wonderful highlight, has led me to the person I am today.
A mother, a wife, a writer, a photographer, a friend, and a confidant.
I'm not the world traveler I someday want to be, and I haven't been published...yet, but all of those are on my personal horizon.
If I had a chance to go back and change anything in my past... any of the horrible experiences, the loss of innocence, the dark days after the death of my son, the heartbreak I wasn't sure I'd survive... I wouldn't change it.
Why?
Because I wouldn't be where I am, who I am, or what I am today.
Today wouldn't be... today.
Life is a precious, precious thing. Don't take it for granted, and don't regret the experiences in your past. Always remember who you were, where you came from, and who was there to help you along...
R.S.
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