I wish everyone could be more like a dog

This thought crept into my head as I sat on the deck with my dog last night. Think about it:

- They don't hold grudges. You can ignore a dog who is wanting you to play with her and five minutes later she'll have totally forgotten that you ignored her.

- They are always wanting your attention. You know how there are some people that you have to practically jump up down and juggle six balls at the same time to keep their attention? I've never walked over to my dog when she hasn't thumped her tail on the ground, happy to be getting some attention.

- They are good company when you're sad. When I sit down on the deck and have myself a good little cry, Charlotte comes over to me with her sad eyes and just licks my hands.

- They are very good listeners. They let you talk and talk and never try to chime in with their opinion.

- They are always loyal. You never have to worry about a dog hurting your feelings. They love you no matter what (goes with the second one I listed).

Yep, I think everybody should be more like a dog (well, in some ways!).

Remember Me?

One of my things to do in 2009 is to stay up to date on my blogging. I will say that I have had a Children's Christmas Musical and my mother's fiftieth birthday party to plan in the last four months- so I'm blaming those things!

Stay tuned.......... lots coming in 09 I promise!

2008 Presidential Election

I was lucky. I had one of the best high school history teachers. His passion for history (both present and future) was contagious. The Gore/Bush election came alive for me, and I caught the importance as a citizen of this country to have a strong opinion and part of every single election.

I’ve met more people in the last few weeks who don’t care about the election than people who do. I just can’t imagine how anyone, regardless of their age, could not care about the person who will be leading our country for the next four, maybe even eight years. If not for you what about your kids or grandkids?

It concerns me- the lack of interest with many people for this election. Now if you ask people who they like, Obama or McCain, they won’t hesitate in telling you their disdain for one of the two, but ask them to vote? How dare you! I agree, if you don’t have an opinion then don’t vote, I just don’t understand not having an opinion (an education opinion).

Faith has been a vital part of discussion the past few months, both Obama’s and McCain’s faith. Many people have said that faith should be left out of political conversation, but I’d have to disagree. Faith plays (or should play) a vital part in one’s life. Every decision they make, big or small, will be based on their faith. Why wouldn’t we want to know what our future President’s faith is like? It doesn’t matter if it’s your faith or not, you have to know.

If you feel a little behind on the whole Obama vs. McCain agenda, ask yourself this, what are the most important values I want to see our president have? Then, find a credible source (not the media, but a credible source) and find out what each candidate believes or doesn’t believe. Don’t be ignorant; it’s not pretty.

If the issue of faith is important to you, check out both candidates with Rick Warren at Saddleback Church (transcript available at http://rickwarrennews.com/transcript/).

From the Desk of a Single Girl

*writer’s note- I hesitated in publishing this, not wanting to offend anyone. Then, after two minutes, I remembered that part of being a writer means being completely honest. So here it is, I’m laying it out on the line. This is for my favorite single girls*

“So, Stephanie, why aren’t you married?”

I don’t believe in the institution of marriage.

Seriously, I am so tempted to respond with that. Why am I not married? Are you kidding me? I’m not exactly sure what sort of reply they are expecting from me. There aren’t any good single men out there. I’m happy being single. Men are scared of my twenty toes. I mean really! What do they want?

I love how so many people (and by people I mean some of the married ones of course) separate the world into two identities: those who are married, and those who are not. The ones who happen to be lucky enough to rope in a spouse are the wise ones, and those other, scary non married people are just inflicted with some sort of anti-marriage virus.

Moral of the story: don’t ask a single person why they aren’t married. Instead try to find two people they might be interested in (bet it’s harder than you think!).

Heroes Have No Age

For those of you who didn't watch the opening cermonies of the Olympics, I want to introduce you to this little boy.

His name is Lin Hao and he is nine years old. He is a survivor of the earthquake that devestated China this past May.

He was in school walking with two of his friends through a corridor when the earthquake hit. He was injured but managed to break free and then carry his two friends, both unconsious, to safety. He then sang to his other classmates to try and keep their spirits up until help came. When someone asked him why he would do this he told them that he was a leader in his class, he was the hall monitor and he was just doing what he was supposed to do.

Heroes come in all shapes, sizes, colors and even ages. There are all types of heroes, whether it's the woman donating blood, the man giving away his organs, the young man heading off to defend the right of freedom, or the young woman who trades her high paying job to go teach in an inner city high school. The thing about heroes is that they don't just shine in one couragous moment. Sure that's how they get their much deserved glory, but they are heroes everyday.

Because anyone who's been through a tragedy will tell you that in that moment of fear and pain, who you really are shines through. Your adrenaline kicks in and you can't even control what you're doing. In other words it's your instinct.

As much as we love hearing stories about people who exemplified true heoric efforts, we can take comfort in knowing that in most of us lies a hero. Like one of my favorite Rascal Flatt's songs, Everyday, goes, "You could've bowed out gracefully, but you didn't. You knew enough to know to leave well enough alone, but you wouldn't."

We can be a hero in the every day things of life and know that if the moment should ever come to be an epic hero, we will.

Dreams Meet Reality

So one of the realizations I am coming to in my ascent into adulthood is the reality of reality. Why is it that kids aspire to be firefighters, astronauts and professional ice skaters (oh wait, maybe that was just me). Yet when those kids grow up they trade in their dreams for a 9-5 desk job. I never understood it until now. You see, I’ve realized that there is a comfort in dreaming, because those dreams seem so far away. So what happens when you graduate from college with nothing holding you back any longer? You stare your future right in the face and you realize; dreams require a leap of faith.

I’ve never been afraid of leaping because there has always been a cushion waiting to catch me. I went on that trip out of the country because my friend went with me, I zip lined hundreds of feet in the air in Costa Rica because I was attached to a safety cord, and I hiked that waterfall because there were trained professionals guiding me. But what’s my cushion now?

We all know life is short, yet I wonder if we’re too scared to live it the way we really want to. Do I just pack up my bags and move to the beach with my girlfriends? Do I quit my job and go backpacking in Europe? The problem is, for most of us, it really isn’t about the leaping. Sure, I can throw caution to the wind and move to Florida, but where I am going to live? How am I going to eat? Practicality meets reality.

So that’s where I’m stuck, somewhere between dreams and reality. The goal: find a way to bring those two things together.

Is our life a little too covenient?

It never ceases to amaze me the great lengths that our culture will go to make our life easier. Long gone are the days of the pony express and telegrams. Now we have everything right at our fingertips. One electronic device alone will hold everything we need to make our life run smoother and faster. A cell phone is not just a means to talk to someone, it’s a place to check our e-mail, make business deals, listen to our favorite music and send pictures to our friends.

I have to wonder, is our life too easy? People seem to forget how to write a letter of thank you these days. Simple manners like holding a door open for someone or helping someone carry their bags have gone out the window. Everything is so convenient and so easy that going out of our way to be nice people just takes too long to bother with.

You can hardly spend quality time with anyone these days; we have too much to distract us: phone calls, text messages and i-pods.

I remember the days when you had to plan your life around your favorite television shows. I couldn’t do anything on Thursday nights because that’s when ER came on. Now we can record our favorite shows and watch them anytime we want, and in case we forgot to record them, we can always go on the internet and watch old episodes. Sometimes I laugh as I find myself pausing the episode of I Love Lucy I’m watching. I mean doesn’t it seem just a little ironic that you can pause, rewind and fast forward through a 1950’s sitcom television that only aired in black and white?

I bet most of us have forgotten what our own handwriting looks like since everything has gone electronic. Walk into a college classroom and you'll see a row full of students typing on their laptops, most of them haven’t seen a notebook and pen since grade school. The only papers we receive in the mail are bills and ads. Even birthday wishes are sent via online greeting cards.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love technology just as much as the next person. I just wonder if we’ve become so dependent, so accustomed to it that we forgot how to live without it, or how to be happy with out it. Next time someone does something nice for you, write them a note. Forget sending them a thank you on e-mail or your community website. Go grab some starbucks with a friend and sit down with a friend for a long conversation. Face to face, and not via text messaging. Oh, and leave the cell phone at home (or at least turned off and in your purse).