Literally Speaking...

My niece's son Bryson just turned 7.

He also just joined the pre-Cub Scout entity known as Tiger Cubs.

Tiger Cubs are distinguished by the presence of the color orange amid the traditional Cub Scout blue.

I stopped by to see him last week following his first ever Den meeting.  With a serious expression and "matter-of-fact" demeanor - he said that he had something important to tell me me about the meeting.

He explained that it wasn't held in a "den" at all(!) - but in a big room at the school!

This from the mouth - and thoughts - of a youngster... 

...This youngster however has tested at the college level for language and word comprehension.

I'd wager a bet that no other Tiger Cub that day noticed that there appeared to be a discrepancy in the proposed venue...

You amaze me, young sir! 

(Not so) FAQ's #7

Got Jabberwocky?

We all do - in some form.  Just ask Alice.

How do we "slay" it?  I guess we do what Alice did.

 
We surround ourselves with amazing friends.

Then we face the journey and do whatever it takes.

Sometimes we discover that those we thought were against us - are really watching our backs.

Sometimes we learn that adversaries can become friends.

We can also find out that those we thought were in our corner - are not.



The challenge is to figure out the Truth.
 

Above all - like Alice - we need to believe in ourselves.

When everyone was saying otherwise - she always trusted that she was the "right Alice".

When done resisting and ready to commit - we don our "armor" of choice and make our move.

I have to believe that in my own Wonderland - I'm the right Alice too.

It's a struggle at times - but eventually I hope to figure out that my Jabberwockies of life are no match for me!

Then I too will Futterwacken - just like the Mad Hatter!

(All images courtesy of Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland")

A Day Gone A 'Fowl'

In light of the last several posts...

...I felt the need to lighten up my world a bit.

In early January I spent a lovely day with my niece and her family at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. 

  


There were many species of birds to see and enjoy. 

Here are some photos of a few of the slower ones.

This guy walked right up to my feet...

...looking for a handout no doubt.

 
I got a kick out of the legs on this dude. 









They looked like they were hand-drawn under its body by a pre-schooler with a gray crayon.

Nice birdie...

...gives new meaning to taking a flight with only a "carry on".

(ahem)

This little guy looks a bit 'owly'. 

Guess I can't blame him - except that he was injured and was fenced in for his own protection. 


He doesn't look convinced.

This is the Lorikeet. 
 
If you dare - you can enter its enclosure with a cup of 'nectar'. 
 
This is equivalent to waving cocaine under an addict's nose.  This is not for the faint of heart.

Excuse me....Did I say birds that were slower?

...Except of course for this amazing little hummingbird!  This photo was a gift...a lucky shot. 

Aaahhh...   Lightening up feels good.

Permission to Wallow

Once again - I'm grieving the loss of a special relationship.  It's been a rough time and feels way too familiar.
 

Like before - I have a wonderful support system of family and friends - once again picking me up and helping me through it.

What would I do without them?  I'm so grateful - you know who you are.  

There's another special Angel in my life as well.  She's been my guide and my advocate - accepting and validating my ways of coping - or not coping.

She has given me permission - even encouragement - to truly grieve.  To wallow - and rally - and then wallow again if that's what I need to do.

No rules.  No judgement.  No expectations.  No time table.  No constraints or limits.  No strings attached.  In my own way.  At my own pace.  In my own time.

When I tell her how much I appreciate her...she downplays it.  She says it's just a "been there...done that" kind of understanding.

But it's more than that.  It's more like "old soul" wisdom that goes beyond her years. 

She listens intently, may comment or validate, but rarely offers advice.  Advice she does give is helpful.

She assures me that it's okay for me to be in my self-absorbed world - because it's truly the only place I can expect to be right now in order to heal.

Last week I found a job - a huge relief.  I was telling her about it - apparently giving a less than convincing performance at attempting to be upbeat.

She noticed my underlying sadness though and asked me if I wished I could call him and tell him about my new job.  How did she know?  It was a comfort to be understood without having to try to explain....

Thank you sweet Lady K - for your love and for being so patient with me.

...For giving me hope that there will be calm again after this latest storm.

"Anchors Aweigh" (literally)

...I almost missed a call on this Friday morning, January 14, 2011, at 5:00 am.

I was in that sleep place where it takes a while to realize that the ringing is not part of a dream - but is actually the cell phone on the nightstand.

If I'd been more coherent about the time - I might have panicked to receive a call so early.

Any maternal instinct worth its salt would immediately assume that something was wrong.
In this case - being oblivious to the time of day was a good thing.

It was my sailor son Ryan - telling me they would be underway shortly.  The beginning of his 6-month deployment to the waters off Africa had arrived.    

God I'm grateful I didn't miss that call!

Several hours later I found myself at the Marine Corp Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego - celebrating the boot camp graduation of my sister Julie's 19-year-old grandson Alec.

Regardless of ones political leanings or the pros/cons debate of the US military presence around the world - there's really nothing that will get the patriotic juices flowing quite like a military graduation. 

It was a moving testament to 471 committed young marines (19 being the average age) who survived 12 weeks of rigorous training.  The needle was high on the Pride-o-Meter.  Well done, Alec! Congratulations!

To Ryan, to Alec, to Steve, to Michael J., to Jason - and to all those serving our country....

...Thank you for your service.  We wait for your return home.

We love you...

...Be safe.

Instinct (& Some Dumb Luck)

Well....my instincts were right!  1/11/11 was a good day to have a job interview!   

In August 2010 - I used Craigslist to job hunt.  I responded to about 35 job postings.  Of those - I felt totally qualified for about 90% of them.  Of those 35 responses - I received no calls for interviews.  Disheartening was an understatement.

This round of job hunting  - I emailed 4 resumes last week.  Yesterday I got a call for an interview.  The interview today went well and I just got a call offering me the position.

I guess it was meant to be.... 

Putting my picture on my resume was a gamble. 

The first thing my new boss said when he met me in the lobby was "Hey - you look like your picture".

He thought adding a picture was a gutsy thing to do.  Of over 300 responses to his posting - only 6 of us included our picture.

I guess it made an impact and proved effective - a change of pace for someone wading through hundreds of online resumes.  

I'm glad I resisted the temptation to use a picture circa 1973.  I would have had some explaining to do....


The kicker?

When I closed the lid on my cell phone after the call offering me the job - the time was 3:11.

Sweet!

1/11/11 @ 11:11

I have an insane number of times each day when I happen to check the time and it's 11 minutes after the hour. 

It can even be in the middle of the night and I'll wake up to 2:11 or 4:11.

Weird.

I had a job interview this morning...

...1/11/11.  

It feels like a good day to have had one.