Just Another Date

This past Saturday was a tough anniversary for our country. September 11 has so much power over those of us who love this country.

Usually, when Saturday rolls around, we're doing work around the house. This past Saturday was no different. We're not constantly going and going on a normal basis. We tend to sit down and play a game or two on the computer before moving on to the next chore on the list. The Man and The Boy were out doing a little Build and Grow at our local Lowe's with a hair cut to follow. I knew they were going to be gone for a while, so the girls and I weren't running ninety miles an hour to get things done. I decided to put the channel on the television to shows dedicated to remembering that fateful day.

I listened to the stories of survival while I play a few games of Bejeweled Blitz until I had to stop and just watch. The tears kept leaking out of my eyes as I watched grown men talk of the horror and devastation they witnessed that day with their own tears rolling down their cheeks. I found myself getting a tad bit irritated at Makenna because she was reading one of her stories online and was totally ignoring what was being said on the television.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I initiated conversation with her about September 11. She was two years old when this occurred so I knew she was unable to recall any emotion from that particular time period. I told her how I watched the twin towers fall right before my very eyes on the television. I told her how I saw people running for their lives, not knowing what was going on...just knowing they had to flee. I needed her to ...I don't know...UNDERSTAND just how awful it was. I needed her to know how I cried that whole day because I was scared.

Things happen in our lives that we have no control over. I wasn't here for that fateful day in December when Pearl Harbor was viciously attacked. I can't even begin to imagine the fear our country felt in the face of that particular uncertainty. I know I sat in my living room that day with the children I kept playing on the floor and I couldn't take my eyes off of that television. I had recently met The Man and all I knew was he was active duty military and I just knew he was going to be heading that way immediately. Thankfully, he was on a shore duty rotation and not up to be sent over. (I was right ignorant of how the military works then.) All I could think of were the old movies I had watched my whole life with my Daddy. The war movies. Where cities were destroyed by enemy fire. Was this going to happen to us? Were we going to become one of those war movies where nowhere is safe? Were our borders going to become our prison bars? Was there anywhere safe in this world anymore??? It was a hard day as I looked at my child and wondered if I needed to go to the school to get my oldest and bring her home with me so if we had to do something, we were together. Looking back now, it might have seemed crazy. Crazy, huh? All I knew was that if they could do this to buildings in New York....there was no telling what could happen to the rest of the country. (That was before learning the fate of the other planes involved.)

I was blown away by the high security that I encountered the next time I visited The Man on the base where he was stationed. I appreciated it even though the long lines for car passes moved slowly. I still appreciate the security the I encounter when I approach any military base/post.

I can only hope and pray that I never have to experience another tragedy like this in my lifetime. I am scared that I probably will.

All I know is that I don't want September 11 to be just another date in history. For me. I want to cry every single year as I remember that day. I want to cry for those who lost their lives. I want to cry for those who lost a family member and had to carry on after that day. I want to cry for the military members who continue to fight the good fight to defend this country from another senseless tragedy because they're making supreme sacrifices day in and day out for the citizens of the United States of America.

As long as I am alive, this will never be just another date in a history book. It was real. It was hard. It was life changing. God Bless America......please.

Judgement

I am obviously aging at an alarming rate, Internets. Time is starting to fly by me rather quickly and I fear it won't be long before it hits warp speed and I wake up one morning dead. I'd like to think that if a person has a good life, then it will fly by. Think about it, would you? People who are depressed and such moan and groan about how slow life is. Like they can't get through it fast enough to be done with the whole deal. I feel like it's flying by and I'm not catching every single detail like I would like to.



That being said, I'm going to change the subject some what. Let's chat about personality flaws, shall we? I am 100% human, so I am full to the brim with character and physical flaws. I know this and pretty much embrace it because...ha ha...I don't have a choice, now do I?



Are you judgemental? I am. I have tried and tried so hard not to be. All my life I have heard that sweet little passage stating "Judge not, lest ye be judged." I know it's wrong and I will end up repenting for my transgressions, but it's like an addiction at times. You've done it before you realize and you sigh, slump your shoulders, and realize you've gone and done it again.

I'll give you a few examples of what I'm talking about:

• I judge ladies who wear white shoes after Labor Day and before Easter (at the earliest). I watch you walk by with this superior Southern Bell attitude and believe you to be a natural born Yankee. If you are Southern and making this major fashion faux paus, then I assume you are rebelling against your Mama and your Grandmama will have the vapors if she sees such a thing from HER flesh and blood.

• I judge ladies who wear extremely tight clothing out in public. Dear Girl, wearing tight clothing does not make you sexy. It makes you look like you gained weight and are trying very desperately to make everyone think you truly meant to look like a sausage with a busted casing. We, the public , would applaud you for just giving up and buying decent clothes that fit.

• I judge older ladies who wear mini skirts. I don't care if you're single again and in a cougar state of mind. Be a LADY first and foremost, please. Show the younger generations that it's okay to have a hem flirt with your knees instead of your crotch. Have you seen your legs crossed in a mini skirt? I have and I would state matter of factly that 4.9 out of 5 of you have veins and loose skin that I could have gone to my grave not ever seeing and be happy about it.

• I judge young men and older men who wear hats in a building. Just don't. It's improper and on the redneck side. I don't care if you're going bald. I really and truly don't. I don't care if your hair is all messed up. My husband has had some wild hair going on, but that hat comes off upon entering a building. Yes, I know this has been ingrained in him because of the military, but come one! Use manners!

• I judge parents if their children don't use manners. We all know Miss Hope is 100% Southern and is all about some manners. We are supporters of the "yes ma'am" and "no sir" protocol. I don't expect this from everyone because, obviously, our society is diverse and not all regions require such strict requirements. I do NOT, however, tolerate a lazy "yeah" from a young person. If you are meaning to say "yes"? Then say YES. Be precise and polite in your answer or I will call you on it. Yes, I surely will. Just ask my teenager's friends. Miss Hope is all fun and cool (ish), but if you don't act respectfully? She will immediately correct you. It's the price you pay to visit her daughter. Thing is? All the kids who visit now use manners. How about that?

• I judge people who have massive amounts of brake dust on their front tires. I know this sounds crazy, but if your vehicle has an inch of brake dust on the wheels? You can't drive. You drive too fast and ride the brakes. That's not good for anyone on the road. I tend to avoid you on the interstate because I just don't care to mess with a foolish driver. If the brake dust isn't an indicator of your driving? Then you have something wrong with your vehicle and might need to get it fixed. That Man of Mine tends to hit the brakes with more force than I prefer at times. At that point, I will throw myself forward and grab for handles like we're getting ready to flip at least 10 times. He rolls his eyes and ignores me. I have informed him that brake dust accumulates on my wheels? I will have issues.

There you have it. A few examples of what Miss Hope is thinking about at times. I know. I know. It's shameful and wrong of me to be this way, but what can I say? I need to work on being nicer, if only in my mind. And I will. Because life is too short to worry about things or raise my eyebrow as you walk or drive by me.

Okay...I just went and re-read what I've written. I just don't think there's going to be much help for me in these areas. This list of grievances are my addiction, I do believe.

~sigh~

Just dress decently, don't wear white shoes at the wrong time, clean your tires, and speak nicely and I promise, from the bottom of my heart, we'll be the best of friends!