The Power of a Voice

Little Voice (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last night I got to speak to some of my favorites that I talk to frequently at work. We don’t see each other but we know each other’s voices.  Sometimes we are each other’s cheerleaders, sometimes we are somewhat phone therapists, sometimes each other’s  biggest fans.

As I stated earlier in the week, I have been tired and somewhat weary. Last night I spoke to some great people who made the extra long shift and the seventh out of eight day stretch of work so much easier. I laughed with people who are just good people. I was told that I was appreciated. That is exactly what I needed to hear and it meant the world! I was also told I am semi-crazy by one that is as crazy as me and we laughed.

The moral to the story is that your voice and words can be powerful. Use them wisely. You never know when your words can make someone’s day better. So many people use their words to tear people down. I think it is much better to build people up. Last night people I have never seen, but who I hear so often built me up when I was tired and felt like I wanted to crumble. It’s amazing…the power of a voice.

I Like Kid Movies

Beezus and Ramona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yeah, I’m an adult. I don’t care! I like kid movies! So there!

What prompts this outburst? I just finished watching the movie “Ramona and Beezus” and I loved it. I grew up reading Beverly Cleary books and to see this lovable character come to life was great. I always loved Ramona’s antics. I will admit there didn’t seem to be too many repercussions for some of her behavior but in general she was a fun character that I loved reading about.

I think this movie really lived up to the books. I know people are thinking, “They’re books for kids!” Yes, they are. But if you think about it, it really could have gone in the opposite direction. They could have totally ruined a childhood favorite. Not this movie! If you ever read the books, you’ll love it. With Selena Gomez as Beezus, John Corbett as Dad, Bridget Moynahan as Mom, Ginnifer Goodwin as Aunt Bea, and Josh Duhamel as Hobart Kemp you had a great cast. Then add Joey King as Ramona. Well, what can I say? She was the perfect person for this lovable little girl.

So in case you wanted a walk down memory lane that is pretty easy to sit back and smile at, check it out. The time watching it was like a time machine and I was instantly a kid again.

Related articles

• Review: Ramona and Beezus Pleases (seattlepi.com)
• ‘Ramona and Beezus’: Sisters come to life in sunny series of escapades (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Review: ‘Ramona and Beezus’ (mysanantonio.com)
• Ramona grows up, just a little bit (theglobeandmail.com)
• A family film with a dose of reality (thestar.com)
• Ramona’s journey began in 1955 book (mysanantonio.com)

Don’t Know What You Got Til It’s Gone

Isn’t it sad that most people don’t know what they’ve got til it’s gone? Sometimes we lose something good. Sometimes we lose something bad. And it is sad that we have to lose it before we realize it.

Why do I bring this up? (Thanks for asking!) Well, I was having a conversation with a friend and we were talking about a multitude of things, as we always do. She brought up the fact that I now laugh and how for a while I didn’t. Actually, I couldn’t. I didn’t find much funny.

So how does this relate to the title of the blog? Well, I realize that now the black cloud that was over me is gone. And I didn’t even realize I had a black cloud over me. There is gray over me from time to time. Everybody has that. But the black cloud that hid the sun from me all the time is gone. From time to time I see the sun and I feel the warmth kiss my skin. It reminds me of the goodness of life and that makes me smile. Then before I know it I am laughing at the most ridiculous things.

I’m glad my loss was something negative. Some people lose something positive and then are truly sorry they lost it. Then they don’t know what to do about it. They self-medicate. They self-analyze. They self-hate. They hate the person or thing that is gone. None of that helps. Sometimes the best thing is to say, “I really screwed up.” Then do your best to make amends and move forward. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get what you lost back. It just acknowledges your part in the loss. That’s a big deal in life. At least it is to me. I have seen so many people fail to acknowledge how their actions have impacted their life and other people’s lives.

All in all most of us don’t know what we’ve got til it’s gone. Maybe we should quit being so self-absorbed all the time and start looking at how our actions affect everyone and everything around us. Then maybe we wouldn’t lose what we really care for and we wouldn’t hold onto the things that hurt us.

Cat Craziness

There has been recent cat craziness at my house again. And stop with the crazy cat lady jokes. You have to have more than two cats to officially be a crazy cat lady. I only have two. So now that we have that straight we can progress. I was in bed the other day and was so exhausted. I hear this loud thump. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I wasn’t expecting noises. I look over and there is Soleil standing on top of the chest of drawers (in Southern speak: chester drawers). Then there was the obligatory and extremely loud MEOW! (Yes, Soleil is s a screamer.) So I figured she would lay down and settle in. Then I heard another thump. I looked and didn’t see her. Then something caught my eye. It seems I left the bi-fold closet doors open and guess who was standing on top of the closet doors. Soleil! And yes, on top. Just standing there. “Hey Mom! How ya doin?” I nearly fell over. I knew she was going to freak out getting down. So I made her get down. She is such a mess. And I don’t understand this whole mess. I don’t get the reason for getting up there or how she did. Let’s just say Soleil is not a light weight kitty cat. So the physics of this feat are beyond me. I wish I had had my camera. It was hilarious. Anyone else’s cats do this kind of stuff?

Have People Lost Their Minds?

There are days when things happen and I just wonder have people lost their minds? Why do they do the things they do? I suppose you’re wondering what kinds of things I’m referring to. I was driving this morning and a car just decided to get in my lane. They didn’t look. They didn’t signal. They just got over. Now I happened to be in the spot they wanted to be in. So I had to slam my brakes, honk the horn, and then some choice words were yelled and a hand gesture was made. What were they thinking?! I mean it’s not like a car is some invisible object. I’m not Wonder Woman in my invisible jet. I was in a Taurus for goodness sake!

Another driving incident occurred recently in Biltmore Village the other day. I had the light and was driving slowly because it is the Village and all of a sudden a pedestrian just decides to walk across the road. First of all they were not in a designated cross walk. Second why would you just walk in front of a moving object that could kill you? I just wanted to stop the car in the road and ask them if they had lost their mind or taken a momentary leave of absence from it or what. Just because you are a pedestrian does not mean you can just walk whenever and wherever you please. There are rules. And no, I am not going to run over you because there is all this legal paperwork I would have to fill out, but for the love of God use your brain!

Another pedestrian issue is in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Why is it that people seem to think it is ok to walk as slowly as they can diagonally across the parking lost when there are cars waiting for them to move? Can’t they walk behind the vehicles? Or would that be too bothersome? I don’t get the whole holding up traffic thing. Again, I try to avoid mowing down the pedestrians but they don’t make it easy. It’s like they are playing chicken with the cars or something. I guess they know you won’t hit them. But what if there was this crazy person who one day just got tired of it?  Or what if there was someone whose brakes went out? Or what if there was someone whose foot slipped? Quit tempting fate, people! Find your mind and put it back in your head where it belongs!

The other day I was speaking to someone on the phone and was trying to explain something and we kept saying the same thing over and over. I finally had to tell them to shut up and listen to me so they could actually hear what I was saying. I told them if they kept talking over me they would never understand what I was saying. Was this such a hard concept to grasp? I don’t think so. Do they think saying the same thing over and over is accomplishing anything? I don’t. Have they lost their minds? Quite possibly.

I know we all do some things where people wonder about our sanity from time to time. But if it happens on a daily basis we need to rethink what we are doing. I have come to the realization that some of these things happen just so I will laugh. I don’t have enough laughter in my life. But some of these things are so irritating that I can’t laugh. Thankfully most of these are while I am driving and I can say bad words and make hand gestures and move on.