The Trams Have Doors?

Yesterday I spent the 18th anniversary of my 35th birthday (do the math yourself) at the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland.
After parking the car we made our way to the loading area for the trams to be transported to the entrance to the parks.
And that is when I saw them and had an epiphany...the trams have been retrofitted with DOORS. Doors.
I have been riding the Disneyland trams for the majority of my life. I have never fallen out, never dropped a bag. I have always seated my children in the middle of the bench seat and kept my feet and hands inside the car at all times. I have removed my children from their strollers before boarding and I have NEVER sat on my husbands lap because lap sitting is only for small children.

Our society has grown increasingly undisciplined. This lack of respect for rules, laws and safety puts EVERYONE at an increased risk for harm.
Evidence of our society's lack of discipline can be observed in many ways - parents transporting their babies in strollers on escalators, grandmothers 'driving' ECV's (Electric Convenience Vehicles) with their grandchildren on their laps, using a cell phone while driving.
It is simple really. Follow the rules. They are there to keep you and others safe. Follow the rules because I don't want to be a victim of your lack of discipline.
The trams have doors. I feel so much safer now.

My Birthday

BEAUTIFUL Birthday at the Happiest Place on Earth with my favorite peeps....my hubs and kiddles!!!

In front of the FAMILY HOME...

On my FAVORITE Ride...Indiana!!!!

MOJITO TIME!!!

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY DYLAN MARK

APRIL 27, 1989
Dylan Mark Wallace
8.8 pounds, 22 inches
Big Brown Eyes, LONG Eyelashes, GREAT LUNGS!



Happy 21st Birthday Baby Boy!

Cherish the thought of always having you here by my side;
Cherish the joy, you keep bringing it into my life;
Cherish the strength, you got the power to make me feel good;
Oh baby I'll perish the thought, of ever leaving-I never would!



I love you Dylan...smoochies, toad xoxo

April 24th, Brown Eyed Girl Day!

6 years ago tomorrow, April 24, 2004, Zuzu's Petals, my brown eyed girl, became a member of my family.
Happy "Welcome to the Family Day" Zuzu! I love you so much!
Enjoy some photos of my beautiful brown eyed girl!

SPARKS FLY

Recently a 'friend' on facebook sent me a message stating we should no longer communicate because our views are too "divergent" and the causes I support make her... "uncomfortable."

She should be uncomfortable. Suicide, bullycide, discrimination, inequality, civil rights....these are causes and issues that SHOULD make EVERYONE uncomfortable! Unfriending people and burying your head in the sand does NOT make these issues go away. And divergent? It is by listening to others and their 'divergent' views that we learn and grow. When we look at things from another persons perspective, with an open mind, we may find ourselves becoming enlightened. We may also find our own beliefs and convictions strengthened.

She concluded her message to me with "and are you involved with a church family?" Thank you for asking! I am involved with a wonderful church family - the GLOBAL church family. I love, serve and pray for this family everyday.

This is not the first person to unfriend me on this social networking site, nor do I believe she will be the last. It is interesting to me that in every case, every unfriending, has been at the hands of a person of faith. And I can't help but feel badly for them. For their sad, dark, small, fearful world.

This situation and each one before it and those yet to come have strengthened my convictions that I am indeed doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. Loving, serving and praying for people. Lighting fires under people. Causing them to think. Sparking change in their world.

Let The Sparks Fly!!!

Day of Silence

Yesterday, April 16, 2010, was the National Day of Silence. Young people across the country participated in this GLSEN sponsored event to raise awareness of the forced silence of the LGBT community by ANTI-LGBT bullying, harassment, name-calling etc. My daughter participated at her high school and endured the ignorance of others. I participated in my own way by NOT posting or communicating on Facebook or Twitter for 24 hours. Our hope is that the silence creates awareness. What will you do to end the silence?

MY WORLD IS CHANGING; IT'S REARRANGING.

CHANGE. Is inevitable. Leads to growth. Growth is good. They say...

I have a tendency to be resistant to change - I don't really like it. I like to do the same things year after year on holidays; I like to watch the same old movies repeatedly. I like the OLD Jungle Cruise boats and Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and I miss May Company and Bullock's and Buffums and the Broadway Department stores! And don't get me started on the grocery stores! I like to sleep on the same side of the bed every night. It is comforting. It is my world.
But things change. My world is changing. It is rearranging.
I resisted learning to drive, setting up an answering machine in my home, using a computer and cell phone. Today I have a 130 mile daily round trip commute for work, my answering machine has been replaced with voicemail and I am tethered to my imac and my iphone! I keep in touch with my kids, loved ones and friends via texts and emails and I use Evites (electronic invitations!)
Mother's pass away and Father's remarry - adding more names to my Christmas Card list (and email addresses!)
Children that once needed someone to wipe their noses and bottoms are now young adults - purchasing kleenex and toilet paper for their own home!
A son breaks up with his girlfriend - leaving an emptiness in my heart that only time and more change will fill. Change that I resist.
A son that brings so much laughter into our home, is found at home less and less. The house is so much quieter these days...
A daughter that once played in her grandmother's high heels now wears high heels of her own. And looks great in them!
Thanksgiving - a time for family to be together, was for the first time in 27 years, a time when my family was NOT together.
Friendships that were as solid as rock for years begin to crumble into pebbles, then into sand and then disappear in the wind. Winds of change...

Change. Things change. Seasons Changes. People change.

My world is changing and rearranging. And although I am not the most willing participant in this makeover, I keep trying. Because CHANGE IS GOOD. Right?