Web Site

Patrick, my 14 year old whiz kid, is helping me build a web site:

http://www.aetmediaproductions.com/

May Mackinac Choir Trip

In May I had the pleasure of chaperoning the school choir trip to Mackinac Island.
Just thought I'd share a few pics:





Friends at the Fort




Canon fire...pretty cool



We got to have lunch at the Grand HotelAnd when you're there you have to have priorities : )

February

This video was taken back in Feb at a church fundraiser.
We aren't the best but we tried : )

Detour Ahead

We are driving along, minding our own business.We know exactly where we are going.We have it all mapped out.What is this?Up ahead, there is something wrong!Now what do we do? We wring our hands; we are confused.We have to take the detour because the road is blocked.This is Life.

I always did well in school.I had it planned.I would graduate and go on to college.Instead I came to a detour.I met a boy who turned my head.I, or rather we, became pregnant.We loved each other and decided to get married and provide a home for our child.For many years and another child all that came our way was the occasional but sneaky pothole or two.We would always be together; that I could count on.Unfortunately he came to the final detour of his life and mine and my children’s continued.

Years later I met a man. He had a little boy together with my two boys we merged our roads together. It wasn’t long before we added another one to the mix. The road is not without its flaws but it’s a great ride.

My detours are uniquely mine and by no means special. Everyone has a story to tell. Stories of smooth highways, gravel roads, or paths we forge ourselves. The real story lies not in the detours but how we deal with them. There are whiners who spend all their time complaining about the road they are on and miss the beauty of the ride. Blamers want the road fixed but they do not want the responsibility of fixing it; it is always someone else’s fault. There are those who deny that they have come to a detour and go on trying to pretend everything is still the same. These people are particularly sad to me. They struggle harder to stay the same than they would to change. We do not have to like the detour but it is easier to deal with if we accept it.

As long as the journey lasts there will be detours to face. We never know when and we never know how many. We can hope for the courage to accept, the strength to change and the grace to go on. Enjoy the ride.

Exercise

As a child I was as active as most, no athlete, a bit chunky and almost always picked last.We rarely sat around inside and we always seemed to be getting into something we shouldn’t.We played tag, hide and go seek, kick ball, baseball, football, rode bikes and swam in the community pool.When I was younger there was a pond down the road we could ice skate on until they fenced it off.We played in the creek at the end of our road and were always walking somewhere.As I got older we headed to the Shenandoah or the quarry to swim.I joined the high school ski club one year and learned to ski.We’d go to Great Falls Park and walk the trails.Doing something was always better than doing nothing.I am still no athlete and still a bit chunky but I love to exercise.I know for a fact that I will never be a sexy super model but that’s not why I do it.I do it for me - my mind, body and soul.Aside from the sweating it makes me feel good and the older I get the more I appreciate that my body can still move when called upon.And of course – Doing something is always better than doing nothing.

I went for a walk today.My mind started filling up with all the negativity of the world: high gas prices, high food prices, all the people in need, wars, riots.I had to wonder if there was more bad than good in the world.

A voice inside cried Stop!
Just because the so-called bad things seem to make more noise doesn’t mean there are more of them. Good things can be so quiet they are often over looked.The warmth of the sun on my skin, the blooming flowers, budding trees, birds singing while making their nests, the muscles in my body that propel me down this wondrous trail.

Wow!

Here it is June already. Where does the time go? I started volunteering at ONTV, a public access station, last fall and I absolutely love it. This spring I got involved with the middle school play painting backdrops and general behind the scenes help. Then came the end of the school year whirlwind. One son graduating high school and one son leaving middle school. Planning, parties and visitors. Now here I am. My garden is planted and growing nicely. I have started a web site and opened a store on Etsy. This week we leave for vaca; a week and a half without internet, a needed break from the hustle and bustle.