Monday, May 31, 2010

Thank You


Being Memorial Day I wanted to blog about the hero's in all the arm's of the military.

About how thankful I am to them for all the acts of heroism they perform everyday. Either on the battle field or back in the states behind a desk on the many bases in small towns across America.

I wanted to thank all the family's for the love and support they give their family members in uniform. The family's are sometimes the forgotten hero's. They give everyday, wondering if their loved one(s) will return home safe. And if they do return what horror's of war will they bring with them that may haunt them for the remainder of their days.

My father was in the Air Force until I was 15 or 16. Up until then I had never lived in the same town/house for longer then 2 or 3 years. I never went to the same school long enough to make friends that lasted more then a few years. It was our way of life and I didn't know any better.

Many of my friends now have lived in the same house / town since Jr high, or before. They went to the same church for so many year's the Pastor knows them by name. Sometime I wonder what it would be like to return home and drive by the house I grew up in, to walk in the park that I let my dogs run in. To return to school and talk to all my teachers about growing in the same town.

Then I remember the 2 years we lived in Germany and how we would vacation in the Alps or on the beaches of Spain. How we lived in Mississippi and my dad and I went gigging for flounder, and how I ran screaming out of the water and onto the safety of the beach after I saw an eel. I remember how I was in charge of raising the flag at school in Oklahoma City and the day the Governor visited and I raised the flag upside down.

That's when I remember what a lucky kid I was to have been brought up as an Air Force brat.

I guess it's true ... Home is where the heart is. And right now my heart is in Austin Texas with my mom and dad, or wherever they live.

Thank you for giving me such a rich and loving childhood.

I might have strayed from my topic but bottom line is THANK YOU to all the member's of our armed forces. It's because of you that I live in this great country of ours. And I'm able to have a blog and write whatever I feel.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Time ...


I recently had 3 and a half weeks off from work. Well, I didn't really have it off I was on a medical leave of absence. Stress. I'm not a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon. I work in the entertainment industry. I know ... what kind of stress could I possibly have. Plenty. No matter what we do we have stress, all of us. Its part of the fast life we live. Get the kids ready for work, pack lunches, drop your mate off at work then drive 10 miles to get yourself to work. Get that paper on the lives of army ants in on time. Have dinner ready when the family gets home ... and so on. All stress makers. And we all deals with it in different ways. Drugs, booze,gambling.

Again, I'm going down a different road then I started on.


Time.


The first day that I was off I make a list of all the things I wanted to do. Paint. Write. Act. Blog. Work out. Walk the dogs. All great ways of elevating stress. The second day I turned on the TV. Need I say more. 3 and a half weeks is gone in a blink of an eye. Whoosh ... gone.


Now I'm back to work with no time ... no time to do anything I wanted to do.


Lesson learned? Yes ... next time take 4 weeks off.