Everything Stays the Same....but You and I

I built a house on my property which had 100 year old trees.  I did everything I could to save those trees during excavating...moving drive ways and property lines and giving away small tracts of land.  In the end, with all the engineers and town hall administrators...it did not work. Two beautiful trees that had been planted by my grandfather....had to be cut down.  It was a day of grief for my father who had actually planted those trees with his father.

Those trees had marked that property with the gift of history.  On that day history was changed. The trees were removed and were no longer there for my father to see daily.  However, two small children now inhabited that land that before was completely unbuildable.  Laughter replaced the leaves changing color.  Giggles replaced branches covered in snow. Grandchildren ran into Poppy's arms and hugged him....a man who before was like the oak tree....stoic and unmoving. I have said it before. Perspective is a beautiful thing.

The Year of the Storms: From Nature and the Heart

A hurricane and a blizard graced our land this year.  Winds, rain, high waves, wet snow, and loss of electricity frustrated us but also fascinated us.  Nature is beautiful and frightening at the same time. Sometimes that is also an adequate description of a character in our life.  The frightening part needn't be dangerous frightening like a tsunami, but more like a reaction that does not make sense to the average thinking person. 

There are people born with a disease that doesn't allow them to feel pain.  Imagine if you had a child who put his hand on a hot radiator or stovetop?  As a mother your first reaction would be to tell them it's hot and to grab their hand away from the danger.  It is intinctual and it is the right thing to do; it makes sense.

When there is an emotional storm in our lives think about the way you react.  Do you eat extra food? Do you cry? Do you fall apart or are you the one that holds the family together? My most recent character is riding the waves of the aftermath of a "tsunami-like" disaster in her life. Death surrounds her best friend and it breaks her heart and she wants to comfort her, knowing only time can heal this deep wound. It is frightening to her that she cannot take the pain away from her friend who is lost in an abyss of gut wrenching pain. Will it ever go away?