Every now and then, when I’m watching a movie, I see something that catches me off-guard and makes me want to slide between the cushions of the couch. I see myself. I see a character doing or saying exactly what I would do or say. The specifics of the situation may differ, but the idea is the same.
Take, for instance, Julie & Julia, a charming and funny movie about two women learning about life and food in two very different times. Julia Child (played to perfection by Meryl Streep) is a wife in Paris, trying to break into the man’s world that is Cordon Bleu cooking school. After a particularly difficult session of dicing onions, she determines never to be embarrassed again. (more…)
Hi, you. Yes. You. You’re fantastic, you know that? You’re pushing toward your goals, balancing work with life and friends. It’s exhausting, I know.
It’s easy to lose sight of things, to feel like you’re drowning in tasks and a never-ending to-do list and a pile of laundry that grows exponentially by the minute. But you’re more than those details that beg your attention. You’ve got ideas about things, dreams for the future. There’s no one on this earth quite like you. Your life — it means something to this world. You may not know exactly what it means yet, but it has its own special significance.
(Plus, you read my blog which makes you a thousand times cooler than those oblivious people out there. ;))
So here’s to you—to your dreams, to your life. Here’s to your unique place in this world that desperately needs you. Get out there and do incredible things. And know that I’m cheering you on.
Growing up in a military town, honor had a very specific meaning to me. It meant service to country. It meant being a good citizen. It meant respect for others. In that town, military men and women were respected as heroes.
I was sorry to find that concept of honor wasn’t as widespread outside military towns. Oh, there are plenty of people who feel as I do. But there are also plenty of people who think soldiers are war-obsessed idiots or were tricked into serving. Those views demean the people who protect us.
Yes, sometimes I wish war didn’t exist. I wish everyone in every country was given freedom. But that’s not the case. And freedom—it’s worth fighting for. (more…)
