Words

You know that old saying "sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me". WRONG. I'm not sure people realize the power their words have on other people. I was told very recently that I was "fat and ugly" and basically that I just didn't measure up as being worthy to be someone's friend and heaven forbid anything beyond that. This particular person says they believe in telling the truth even if it hurts. The bible says to speak the truth. But it says to do so "in love". There isn't one thing loving about telling someone they are fat and ugly or that they do not measure up.

I can remember a significant person in my life touching my stomach when we were out in public and telling me to "hold it in". The message I got from that - "I am ashamed of you. Hold your big stomach in so if someone I know sees us at least it won't look quite so big."

I was told all of the time by another person in my life that I was 'fat'. The sad thing was, I was not fat at the time but I believed that I was.

Words like this spoken to others often have lasting impacts and deeply wound the people that they are directed at.

People who think they must always speak the truth overlook a better option - to simply shut up. Just shut up. If you can't say something nice do not say anything at all.

Words spoken to others have tremendous power - both to build up and to put down. Use your words to build others up rather than to put them down. To do anything less is being a bully and a coward.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Goofy!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday was Mrs. Goofy's birthday so Tweety Bird and I took her out to get her toes done today. Tweety Bird didn't get hers done because of a sore on her foot but maybe she can next time.

Memories of 9-11

I remember getting in to work a bit late that day and as soon as I got there a coworker asked if I knew what was going on. I told him no and so we went back to our break area where there was a television and I saw the twin towers in NYC were on fire and then learned what had happened. This day was personal for me because my brother worked in one of those towers. I remember going back to my desk and trying to reach my parents to see if they had heard from him or my sister-in-law. Thankfully they had and he was okay. Later on I watched in horror as one of the towers collapsed and later the other and wondered each time if he was still okay. I knew that he wouldn't be just standing around or trying to get home but that he would be trying to help people get out of the towers and so I worried all day long as to whether or not he was still safe. They lost one guy that day and I learned later on that my brother was going back into the tower just minutes before it came down to look for the guy that was still missing. Thankfully his boss was made awafe of his plans and would not allow him to go back in because he knew the tower would be coming down soon. I can't even imagine what that day was like for his wife. They had one child at the time and I was told that she didn't believe that he was okay. He had to get someone else to call her and assure her that he was okay. She knew he was alive since she was talking to him but I guess she didn't believe that he was all in one piece. Thankfully he did survive and is doing well and doesn't seem to have any long term issues related to the horror he saw that day right up close and personal.

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Preservingthemoments gave us a challenge to do a scrapbook page about ourselves. So, I decided I would accept the challenge and do it. I used our challenge kit from last month (4th of July looking theme) that I wasn't able to complete and it was appropriate since the picture that I used was taken on our cruise and we were on the cruise over the 4th of July.

You're up tweety bird!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answering the wrong question....

I was talking to my friend tweety bird (I LOVE that nickname!) the other day on the phone and was having trouble hearing her so I started walking to the back of the house to use the other phone that I can hear better on. She was talking and then I could tell that she asked a question. I thought she wanted to know if I could hear her so I said "hardly". I got the phone switched out and she is rambling on and on about how she used to care about me too but not anymore. Oops!

This whole situation reminded me of my grandmother. She never admits that she hasn't heard you and so she will respond anyway like she has heard you and watch you real close to see if she has given the right answer! One evening when we were having a big family gathering my Aunt all of a sudden looked over at my grandmother and said "You are looking pretty sexy over there woman". Gramma looks at my Aunt and said "Yup". You would have to know my grandmother but we just about died laughing. Gramma looked rather confused and said "What....I didn't give you the right answer??" More laughter! Poor Gramma. It took awhile before anyone had enough composure to talk to tell her what she had agreed to!

Sometimes He Calms the Storm

Colin & My scrapbook challenge

This month for my scrapbook challenge I decided to use pictures of my nephew Colin at the beach in the summer of 2007. He is one of the twins and he is a mess. He turned 6 not long ago and is in kindergarten this year. He and his twin sister have been in mother's mornings out programs for a few years and have always been in the same classroom. This year, they are in separate classes. I'm sure the separation will be hardest on him.

A few years ago he was in a mother's morning out type program and the class was supposed to be 'dancing'. I don't know if they were practicing for a parent's program or what but Colin refused to participate. He, like me, is an observer and often will not participate himself. His teacher sent a note home with him and when asked about it he said "I was dancing in my heart". I thought his response was funny/cute but sad in a way too. I find myself so often sitting on the sidelines of life - refusing to participate. I enjoy watching and I learn by watching but many times I find myself participating "in my heart" and not jumping in there when I really would like to but something holds me back. Sometimes it may be just that I think I can't do whatever it is or that I can't do it well or that I will get made fun of. I pray that he will start coming out of his shell and doing it earlier in life than I started. It seems like the older I get the harder it is in some respects but I am trying to get out of my shell a bit more and do things that I really want to do and not worry about what others think. I find myself enjoying myself a lot more when I just relax and am not focused on who might be watching or what they are thinking.