Goodbye 2011

2011, you really sucked and I’m glad you’re leaving tonight. You’re kinda like a bad rash that just won’t go away. There was no amount of ointment that would cure you. You just were there and red and painful and itchy. Well, finally! It is December 31st! And it is almost midnight and it is almost time for you to go!

So as you go I’m sending with you a lot of bad memories, a lot of tears, a lot of curse words, and probably a lot of other things that I am not even aware of. I just want you to pack your crap and go. You brought a lot of pain to me and a lot of my friends and we didn’t like you. You were the enemy, 2011.

Goodbye to you!

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Crossroads

‎”We know we’re coming full circle with God when we stand at a very similar crossroad where we made such a mess of life before, but this time we take a different road.” – Beth Moore

I saw this quote this morning and was touched. How many times have we gone what seems to be round and round and come back to the same spot? It seems so simple to say that we need to do something different yet many of us don’t.

Change of any sort is hard. But so is making the same mistakes over and over. Have you ever done that and ended up asking yourself, “Why? Why did I do that?” Most of the time the answer is pretty easy. It is a lot easier to do what is familiar than it is to do something unfamiliar.

Change is not only hard, but it is scary as well. What adult wants to admit they’re afraid? We are supposed to be adults and saying we are scared of something or that something is hard is to most of us failure in itself. I wish people would quit thinking that way. If we all quit trying to act so unafraid when we’re actually really scared then we might be able to help ourselves and others out.

So if you are at a crossroads and you are looking toward the same path that you always take, consider the path you haven’t taken before. It might lead you out of the mess you’re in.

Pre New Year’s Eve

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It’s Pre New Year’s Eve. I am not feeling well. I have been sick yesterday and today. I have to get feeling better ASAP. Not because I am going to be partying to bring the new year in. No. I have to work. I know a lot of people think, “What?! You have to work?” I don’t save lives in my job, but I do help those that do. So yeah, my job is kinda important to others.

This is just a note for those getting ready for New Years Eve and New Years Day. I am begging that if you are partying or celebrating that you don’t drink and drive. If you’re going to drink, stay where you are drinking or have a designated driver you can trust. Life is too precious to do something that could take it away. In the last few days I have heard of three different families who have lost four loved ones. It wasn’t due to drunk driving, but it was death. And once someone is gone, there is no bringing them back. It doesn’t matter how sorry you are for being so reckless and foolish. Yes, you can celebrate a new year and a new beginning! Just do it responsibly.

Happy early New Year!

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Southern Movies and TV Shows

Do you ever watch movies and tv shows specifically about the South? When I do I can’t help but listen closely to the accents and see how real they sound. Some of them make me roll my eyes so far back in my head that I wonder if they’ll get stuck. And it is like I am drawn to those shows and movies. I can’t help it. I think it is because I would love for something to finally accurately portray life in the South.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta do NOT represent real life in the South. So please don’t ever think that. Southern women can be mean as snakes but they typically aren’t as brash and loud about it. We don’t wear 50s style clothing and smile like a Stepford wife, but we sure can get our point across. Bless your heart for thinking otherwise!

I think some examples of movies that I think of as Southern movies are Steel Magnolias, Hope Floats, and Sweet Home Alabama. Now the women of Steel Magnolias are true Southern women! The accents may not have been great, but they had the attitude of real Southern women. I was actually kinda surprised that Julia Roberts’ accent was worse than some of the other actresses, especially considering she was raised in Georgia.

Sandra Bullock in Hope Floats was the epitome of a Southern woman. She had a real accent that wasn’t over the top and was just right. I think she lived in Virginia for a while. That might have been quite helpful. I loved her character.

I think Reese Witherspoon is adorable but she got a little twangy in Sweet Home Alabama. But I will say that the scene where she punched Candice Bergen and said, “Nobody talks to my Mama like that!” was perfect! Just about any Southern girl who was raised right would do that. I also liked the references to the state of Alabama in the movie. People who aren’t from Alabama wouldn’t get them, but Alabamians (yes, I’m from there) got them. The dog’s name, Bryant, was after Paul “Bear” Bryant. There is really a motel down in South Alabama called the Golden Cherry Motel. (My ex-husband had a friend whose uncle owned it.)

I’ve just started watching Hart of Dixie and some of the accents make me gag. I also don’t like how they portray the majority of Southern women as simpering twits. We’re not. We may speak slower but we aren’t stupid. I do like that they show Southern hospitality but we aren’t all up each other’s butts. (well, most of the time anyway.)

I guess the my point is, when you watch the shows with Southern characters take it with a grain of salt. Some of those accents might not be real and most likely the characters don’t represent true Southerners. Laugh at the art but not at the real people.

Loss

What is supposed to be the happiest time of year is turning into the worst time of the year for some people I know. In the last couple of days both of an old friend’s parents have passed away. They had long-term illnesses that finally took them on the same day. It was a testimony to their love for each other I think that they left this earth on the same day. I hurt for their daughter, though. I lost my parents a year apart and thought I was going to fall apart. I can’t imagine what she is going through.

Then today I learned through Facebook that an old friend who had been injured in a car wreck on Halloween had died today. I grew up with his brother. He always stepped in when his brother and I were arguing and made things right. It’s hard to believe he is gone. I hurt for his family. I knew them all so well years ago.

Another friend is suffering. She and her husband had to carry out the wishes of her brother-in-law and basically take him off life support. It’s so easy to say that we know that this or that is what we would want when the situation isn’t upon us but when it is at our door it is hard to actually do it. She knew what he wanted but I can’t imagine having to say the words or sign the papers.

Today I cry tears for all of these families. I cry for their pain. I cry for my own. It stirs a lot of memories. I don’t know that I would wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy. It’s a pain that leaves a hole in your heart for eternity. My prayer is that God will bring peace to these families knowing that their loved ones are no longer suffering. That is what helped me when I lost my parents. I knew they would never hurt anymore and that was a comfort I treasured. I pray that they get through these days the best they can and that they have support throughout it all.