A Good Job

     This.....just watch it. And know that during this time, whoever you are and wherever you live, you're doing a good job. Just know that you matter, because you do.

I LIke Who I Am

     I like who I am. I like my blue eyes because they are a part of my mother. She had blue eyes, too. I like my lips because they remind me of my Grammy. When I was little my Grammy would tell me, "Your lips look like a rosebud." I like my hair because it is like my Grampy's, thick and wavy. I like my chin because it is like my Dad's.
     Most of all I like the inside of me. It was formed by my parents. They role modeled ethics, kindness, generosity, love and grace. I watched my parents. My father who loved music, played his guitar every day. My mother would often sing with him as she cooked. I learned to love music.
    My parents were incredibly hard workers. We were not rich, but somehow my parents would find extra money to buy me books. They fueled my love for reading. When I was in 4th grade I won the spelling bee. My father folded my certificate and put it in his wallet. I remember seeing him take it out to show his friends. He was very proud of me.
     My mother let me go at cooking. I learned from trial and error, and it wasn't always pretty. I decided to bake my brother, Tommy, a birthday cake. I learned, one must never make a cake and open the oven door several times to check and see if it is done. That cake fell in the middle. But my mother never said a discouraging word to me about my failure to bake the perfect cake. I learned it was o.k. to fail because it taught me to get back up and try again.
    Through all the mess of life there is a joy inside of me that cannot be crushed. Beautiful things can come if we open up our hearts to life, even when it's not perfect. Part of me wants life to be perfect for everyone, but I know this one thing, if I keep my heart open to experience the love in this life, and to share it with others, that is about as perfect as it gets.
    I shall conclude with the chaos theory, a favorite quote from the movie of the same name.    "Ever hear of chaos theory, Ed? It's a science, tries to determine underlying patterns in chaotic systems. Weather, ocean currents, blood flow, that sort of thing. But it turns out that there are few things more chaotic than the beat of a human heart. Its beating up, slowing down. Pretty face, flight of stairs. It's always changing depending on what's happening out there. It's an erratic son of a bitch. But underneath all of that bump-da-bump mess, there is in fact a pattern, the truth, and it's love. Most important thing about love is that we choose to give it, and we choose to receive it. Making it the least random act in the entire universe."