Letting Go

I don't wanna be left behind
Distance was a friend of mine
Catching breath in a web of lies
I've spent most of my life
Riding waves, playing acrobat
Shadowboxing the other half
Learning how to react
I've spent most of my time

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now

Addicted to the love I found
Heavy heart, now a weightless cloud
Making time for the ones that count
I'll spend the rest of my time
Laughing hard with the windows down
Leaving footprints all over town
Keeping faith kinda comes around
I'll spend the rest of my life

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now

YOU helped me see
The beauty in everything


Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of this show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told what's supposed to be right

Catch my breath!

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now (it's all so simple now!)

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now

Homemade Salsa

     You might stop buying jarred salsa once you taste the homemade kind. This is a simple and delicious Kitchen to Kitchen recipe: Chop 5-6 Roma tomatoes,1 small onion and 1/2 cup fresh Cilantro. Mince 2 seeded Serrano or Jalapeño peppers and 1 clove of garlic. Add 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together and let sit overnight for flavors to meld.
 

Gideon Goes to the Movies?

     Gideon's story in the Bible popped out at me this morning. He is about to enter battle, and God tells fearful Gideon that he can go to the border of the enemy camp to receive encouragement for his task. He sneaks up behind two heathen soldiers, overhearing one telling the other his bad dream, of an enormous boulder rolling into their camp and smashing everything... and the dreamer goes on to say that he interprets his dream to mean that Gideon's army will defeat them.

     I wonder why God didn't give that violent dream and interpretation to Gideon or to one of his men? Instead it was given to a pagan foreigner? Fearful Gideon receives faith from that dream, and bravely returns to his specially-selected 300 men, and defeats the enemy in an intriguing, God-led way. The events are absolutely, unbelievably fascinating.

     Warning! I am entering veiled, questionable, uneven terrain; I dare to liken Gideon's story to my "Julie & Julia" -like relationship with particular Hollywood movies (Ever After, You've Got Mail, The Matrix, etc.). In select movies I see key challenges to which my spirit identifies, with follow-through and hope-filled outcomes that I embrace: Is this practice similar to overhearing a film-maker's...  "dream" and "interpretation"??

     Gideon's story gives me unexpected pause. Have I, just maybe, allowed my cautiously-viewed-repertoire of "faith" movies to provide me, situation-specific, hope? In other words, does this sometimes fearful follower of Christ gingerly "overhear" needed inspiration, from regular movies? and are you welcome, maybe and perchance, to be inspired in the same way as well?

Annoying Earworms

Not nose worm; earworm!

     Earworm (not to be mistaken with earthworm) is a trendy word that brings to MY mind creepy-crawlies. It falls into the same category as the words moist, slimy, slithery and slug. What on earth are earworms? Why do we get them? and, most importantly, how do we get rid of earworms?

     Now that your interest is piqued (not picked), a definition is in order. Earworms are the sometimes silly, catchy tunes we hear on the radio that crawl into our minds and stay for hours, repeating over, and over, and over, and over again.

     The Today Show reported that life experiences or memories relating to a song invite earworms; 70% of the time it is a song we like; 65% of the time the song has a catchy tune.

     Two earworm songs to which I am vulnerable are: the boy band One Direction's 2011 silly hit "What Makes You Beautiful" and Carly Rae Jepsen's catchy "Call Me Maybe."

     One way to help remove obnoxious, involuntary music take-overs is to become involved in a challenging task. If you wish to experience an annoying earworm, this quirky song's repetitious tune just might do the trick!

 

Put out to Pasture? Hugo-cious

     Lately, it has not been unusual for me to begin randomly crying (maybe it's allergies). During my afternoon walk (oh, I needed that walk) I started tearing up thinking about my old job, and how I tried to be a better-than-good employee. I initiated creating a manual with instructions for my different tasks; organized, and re-organized the office; edited and revised my IT boss's lengthy, technical, detailed emails to help his ideas communicate clearly and effectively; and many more tasks and relational intangibles.

    I felt, however, that after 7 1/2 value-adding years, the department desperately needed a "techy" programmer reinforcement… so after a year of fighting that uncomfortable idea, and finding no compelling jobs for which to apply, I was urgently drawn to a writing "sabbatical." It was sort of a win/win, as memoir-writing seemed to be calling my name. Unfortunately, no salary came with that calling; yet, I dubiously resigned, and now ask: Why after a year do I still feel so sentimental and useless?

     I miss the coffee-break chats and the purposeful sense of being a part of something important and bigger than myself. Writing has been beneficial, yet I now ponder: "Are my children and husband proud of me?"

     I so wanted my “career” to end on a high note, and earning an income would certainly help our budget. Isn’t age 57 a bit young to be put out to pasture?

     I arrive home from my walk and the tears subside. I remove my walking shoes, spray my hair and nostrils, and clean my face. Passing by the living room's red chair, I stop and earnestly pray "Please send a 'Hugo' to reveal my renewed purpose!" (I've been stopping at that chair a lot lately), and the embarrassing, sobbing, ugly cry begins...

     In the movie "Hugo," a forgotten, disillusioned, put-out-to-pasture elderly couple's valuable, lost silent film creations are re-discovered by persistent, precocious Hugo. Hugo realized that his purpose was to fix things, and that he did for a grateful couple. I long to rekindle my value and purpose, and I identify with forgotten, broken, aging, disenchanted feelings. Oh, I dreamily and reticently yearn for a "hugo-cious" redemption.

     After 20 years of working outside the home, this year-long "sabbatical" is making me a bit "looney-tunes." Maybe this whimsical, vintage IT Help Desk cartoon will help to reboot my morale today with a desperately-needed chuckle.