Bloggity,Blog,Blog

Blogging originated, according to a search, around 1997 or 1999. It started as a way for people to express themselves using personal journaling or an online diary. http://hyku.com/   People, through these personal diaries, expressed themselves, however they felt, each day, in sometimes very personal ways. And in doing this, sometimes, opened themselves up to very thoughtless comments.

I got to thinking about, just how personal blogs can be, after visiting a fellow bloggers site.  She told of a very personal and private moment on her online blog. She'd had a Colonic done,- http://www.colonhealth.net/ - and told of her experiences, and how this helped her feel better, along with a few pictures. Instead of a thanks for sharing this, she got,"why did you take those pics, you look old" and "you look bald in that pic", as part of her readers comments.

So even though blogging did start and continues to be very personal journaling experiences, now days, blogging offers so much more- to online readers. Some of the blogs include art blogs http://artblog.net/, personal blogs, http://willysr.blogspot.com/  and genre blogs, http://www.networkedblogs.com/ just to name a few-of the many-that can now be found in cyberspace.

These blogs are fun, helpful,tongue-in-cheek, and sassy, even when being really informative or technical.  Feelings are strong about products, technology and every day life. Vibrant words that can change a person's day, make them smile and bookmark a site for many return visits.

Some may see blogging sites and think "Bloggity, Blog, Blog, "What's all the fuss?",but blogging is really a great and  powerful tool.  It can be used in so many ways, and always the heart is there, used to bring us a visual picture, as if we were actually there.

So to this lady- whose site I visited-who had the thoughtless comments posted-and to other bloggers -out there- keep up the great work.  Blogging is still a personal diary online, but now, in the years since blogging started, it's become so much more.

To Relive That Magic

The kids scream in excitement, pushy as any adult can be.  Eyes shine, as bright as new pennies, as they gaze in wonder at all they see around them. I am shiny eyed and filled with awe too- but I'm a bigger kid.  I'm 17 years old and I am visiting- for the first time- a very magical place.  The place of dreams that come true.  The place that makes kids young and old alike look at the world in a new way.  This wonderful place that I got the chance to see was Disney World. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

It's been twenty-eight years but I can can still see the park like it was yesterday.  People -like an explosion of humanity- fill the park from the early morning hours until closing time each night.  Smiles fill each face, all the problems,all the reasons to be an adult, have disappeared.  Adults and kids hold hands tightly, and eyes big as saucers take in all the colors and smells of popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, drinks, and wondrous treasures, a different kind of bling- on every corner.

Of course, a lot has changed in the years since I've been there, but my memories are as real to me as if I'd just left the park.  It's "A Small World" still rings in my head, and I can recall those chirpy words, on a continuous loop, like it was yesterday.  I can still see feet dangling off of a ledge-pirates no less-before we go under an archway-on our boat ride-and breathlessly wait for the next adventure they have in store for us.

I still have the photos of that magical time with my mom.  I am probably the most care-free that I can remember-in those pictures.  I look young, happy, and life still has many possibilities in store for me.  I remember that night mom and I -and the folks that were with us on that bus tour-lined up outside of a Burger King and waited to order at an outside window-for bus tours, such as ourselves.

The wind was just right, blowing my hair which tickled the side of my face. It is the perfect weather in my mind, and a temperature that would be fantastic anywhere, year round.  The automobiles-are a background humming noise, they are so unobtrusive, and the murmur of the other people in our group-to this day- remains a pleasant background music in my mind.

My mom and I went on many tours-over the years-but this memory, as a teenager- remains one of my favorites. So it's no wonder I found- in a search- that Disney world was one of the top attractions for kids to visit in Orlando, Florida. http://travelwithkids.about.com/  

This memory was special, in many ways, but I remember too-my mom and I are at our closest-no disagreeing, which was something, as I was a teenager at the time.  We are the most relaxed.  And our inner child, that  longs for no responsibilities, and the ability to let our imaginations go where they wanted to, was alive and well.

It was my mom's dream -long ago- to take my daughter to Disney World, and it's a dream I hope to make come true, because to relive that magic -of that day with mom- and to make new memories with my daughter would truly be special.   So to Disney World I tip my hat and say "Thank you".

The Important Decisions In Life

After talking to a friend of mine-today-I started thinking about some of the important decisions we'll all face, at some point in our lives.  Decisions like, how to pay for college http://www.collegemadesimple.com/ , for a wedding with a low budget, http://www.lowbudgetwedding.com/ , and probably one of the most important and heartbreaking in our lives-how to help our elderly parents,when the nursing home may be the next stop for them. http://aplaceformom.com/

Years ago, when I was younger, my mom offered to pay for me to go to community college -many times-, but as I'd just finished twelve years of school- I refused.  It was a decision I lived to regret, as at 45 years of age, I'm just now starting  my 4th semester of college. 

But for most young people today college may be beyond their reach.  Prices run into the thousands-each year- for tuition, books, food, lodging and all the extras.  And most parents, if struggling, just cannot afford the amount needed to be paid-each year-for their kids to have a chance at a better life and future.

This can sometimes bring hurt and resentment.  And these feeling are compounded if a parent can't afford to send all the kids to college.There are of course grants, if you qualify, but if not, your back in the same place you started from.

We also face, as the years go by, the prospect of marriage when we meet the one we're meant to spend the rest of our lives with.  Then you pray -again-that your parents can help.  The price of a wedding today can be ridiculous.  You have to pay for a wedding gown, the brides maids gowns-in some cases-the wedding cake, the invitations, the flowers and decorations, the photographer, and- in some cases- lodging for out of town guests.

There are some like myself, that were blessed to have a mom that was able to pay for my wedding.  Though the marriage didn't last but three years, my gratitude for what my mom did for me remained with me all my life.

But I think the most difficult decision we'll have to make in life-as I had to-is deciding what to do when our elderly loved ones face the possibility of having to go to a nursing home.  This difficult decison carries the weight of years of pain and guilt that'll remain with us always.

"I never want to be a burden to you, if the time comes I want you to put me in a nursing home." said my mom years ago.  It was adamantly refused as I never, ever considered that choice for my mom no matter what was said.  But life took that choice away from me, when mom could no longer walk or get up on her own and dad and I had to have mom admitted into a rehab- so that she could get the help she needed to come home again.

There will always be decisons and choices we have to make in life and they won't always be easy.  But for the lucky, college will be paid for-easily, the -low budget-wedding, will go smoothly- as planned, and their parents will always have a healthy life and never see the inside of a rehab-assisted living home. 

I guess you could say my life worked with a two-thirds chance of success.  Mom offered college, she paid for my wedding, but I faced her going to a rehab twice.  May life be for most of us, happy and with decisions that are easier, not the choices that no one should ever have to make.

The Worm Fiasco

We opened the tent flap to find a wriggling mass of worms strewn across the tent floor and crawling inside a bag of Doritos. My planned snack had become a buffet for lunch happy worms.  Hysterics are followed by giggles.  Rain pours down on our heads.  With a disgusted shake of his head, dad grunts and turns away.  We follow, a soggy mess of humans.  The pea-green station wagon sniffs out a motel and another adventure -gone wrong- finds us in the beautiful moutains of Cherokee, N.C..  http://www.cherokeemountain.com/

We'd had a wonderful time that day, looking at local scenery. Trees with leaves as bright as the green giant, and as tall too.  People, open smiles, welcome to strangers that were just passing through.  The rain, forecaster of a sodden day, had us heading towards our tent and the promise of an end to the driving rain.  The opened tent flap revealed other local residents-not so polite-but definitely willing to share the warmth and the feast of an opened bag of Doritos.

Mom and I had giggled and giggled.  Dad had been frustrated.  Nothing worse than a vacation gone bad.  We'd ended up having a fun time- still.  Not all vacations have to stop being an adventure because something goes wrong.  That in itself can be an adventure.  Where will we stay?  Where is the next motel that's not filled to capacity?  Where are the restrooms, I really have to go! When do we eat- the worms ate my snack.

Over the years many things have brought fond memories to mind.  This is one of them.  I can still feel  the cold drops of rain on my head, before they slide down my neck.  I can still feel the hysteria, the bubbling of laughter, as hundreds of worms had taken over the safe haven we had been running to, at the end of our day.  The worm fiasco is one of my fondest memories for this was a time of adventure, of laughter, a time of togetherness for our family.

In the end this adventure led me to realize life is one adventure after another, whether we have things go the way we want them to or not.  We can giggle about it- as mom and I did- or we can turn away in frustration as dad did.  Either way life will go on in the pattern that it's meant to go in.  I think of the worm fiasco, sometimes, when I need life to balance out.  When I picture those wriggling worms in my Doritos bag again, I break into gales of laughter and all is right with my world once more.