On moving forward

So my husband has finally decided to pursuit a career we can both agree on: being an officer (and maybe even a pilot!) in the Coast Guard. I am excited for him because he has been struggling for two years with the big picture of who he wants to be, and how it will reflect on us as a couple. Having grown up in an Army family, I am excited to follow his dreams and represent the country in a branch I know very little about. Of course, this all begs the question for me of what I will do when we move. I love kids, but I cannot imagine having a family this early in our lives. If I can make the most of these changes that are coming about at St. George's, then maybe I will have a good foothold to move up in the business end of something really inspiring in the non-profit sector. I have no problems with the business world in general, but I am learning more and more that I have a heart to help people who need an extra hand, and I think I am certainly capable of providing what they need to thrive.

What inspires me?

• The earth, and talking/encouraging others/learning about small differences everyone can make to make a big impact for ours and future generations.
• Reading books about people living in parts of the world that have managed to retain their cultural values, where people actually eat dinners together, grow their own food, and share in very special family traditions.
• Helping teenagers experience parts of society for the first time - watching the wheels turn, their world grow, and their hearts grow in new ways.
• People who seem unaffected by the pressures and preconceived notions the world has on their lives, what they're supposed to be and do, and what they will be able to contribute to make the world a better place.
• Music. Not from the audience, although that is a special experience. I am most inspired from sitting in the oboe section, creating music from a piece of paper that looks like gibberish to so many people. If you know what it's like to feel touched by a scene in a movie accompanied by great music, then you know only a tiny fraction of what it actually feels like to create music's magic moments and send that emotion moving out into the world.

I am also inspired by living my small life with my husband and our puppy. I have a small impact by working at a church nearby, and I try to take pleasure by living minimally, enjoying the tiny joys of everyday life. My life is nothing to be ashamed of, but I hope I can have the courage to take opportunities to do bigger things.

Okay, enough with this philosophical nonsense!

What happens now?

Well, I learned yesterday that my fabulous boss is leaving for another job. This is a little sad because we will all miss her, but it's the right decision for her to make at this point in her life.

I am going to be interested to see what happens now, because there is no way they will be able to find someone who can effectively do all that she does. It's like being the CEO, CFO, and HR manager for a growing company all at once! And the drama continues....

So now what?

Is this enough?

The only problem I have with Facebook and blogging is that you spend so much time reading other people's amazing stories that you wonder what YOU are doing with your life.

Am I actually changing the world? Because I want to be...

If there were nothing to hold me down, what would I be doing with my life right now?

And how do I get there from here?

All this thinking made reminded me of something I wrote my freshmen year in high school:

Experience is the greatest teacher of all, and some of life's most valuable lessons are learned from it. Over the past year, I have learned that straight-A students can fail, and that failures can change the world. I've learned that from winning you can gain the most amazing feeling of success, but that from making mistakes, you can learn what success really means. I've learned that children are much smarter than the world gives them credit for, but that true intelligence is hard to find. Mostly importantly, however, I've learned that life is about passion, and that achievement is worth a lifetime. Everything is possible. Anything can be achieved. The sky is no longer the limit.

Reality

You know what? I get tired of hearing people talk about these debates and this election. But when they finally got around to health care tonight, I just can't stay quiet anymore. I see people everyday who need health care. We are practically the only industrialized nation that does not have some kind of government program to offer health care to people who would not otherwise have it. I'm talking about the single mothers with children whose 1st job only negates the cost of daycare required for her to be able to go to work in the first place. What about seniors who don't work and don't qualify for medicare or get the amount of help they truly need? Businesses pay an average of $12,000 each year for employees to have health care, and then there are still co-pays, medicines, visits and procedures not covered by insurance, and deductibles to meet. Five thousand extra bucks will only help the people who already have health care. It will not provide adequate health care for the people that cannot get health care otherwise.

I know we send a lot of money to other nations, but can we start investing in the lives of Americans who have been waiting for this country to pay them some attention?

Grrr.

McCain makes me want to scream...

I can't help it...it's true: John McCain makes me want to scream. I don't think he's a bad person, and I don't think he has bad intentions, but we are 1 hour and 3 minutes into the first debate of this electoral season, and he has barely talked anything but the war in Iraq. Okay, there was an oil reference here and there, and some discussion about spending (with no specific examples or references about anything but the military).

Let me clarify by saying that I grew up in an Army family, and I loved it! I loved the pride of being a part of something bigger, and I almost cried the day I turned 21 and my military ID became invalid. But there is so much more to this country than involvement in military conflicts. And McCain doesn't genuinely demonstrate that he cares about us "little people" down here waiting on each pay check.

My favorite John McCain quote of the night: "If you have to do things, you have to do things." Sounds like someone learned his speech-giving skills from Bush.

I also enjoyed the part where he said he would hate to see health care in the government's hands because those decisions should be made between family members and their doctor. As if the role of the government would ever be to decide for you what health care you would receive. The government would only be making it possible to pay for certain health benefits for everyone, not mandate that you wouldn't be allowed to pursue treatments beyond what would already be supported with your health care.

This is terrible for my stress level...and this debate is a terrific example of why the rest of the world thinks we're all a bunch of idiots!

Food for Thought

Quick facts about the food Americans eat:

• A generation ago, three-quarters of the meals consumed in the U.S. were made at home. Today, three-quarters of meals are prepared outside the home, mainly at fast food restaurants. A fast-food kitchen is merely the final state in a vast system of mass production.
• Many of you have already consumed genetically modified (GM) foods. Between 50 million to 70 million acres of farmland are currently sown with GM seeds- mostly soya, corn, cotton, potatoes, tomatoes, and wheat. Four years ago, the acreage was zero. The FDA does not require food labels on GM foods.
• According to the Pesticide Action Network, more than 20,000 pesticides are registered for use in the U.S. About 75% of the chemicals (some 2.2 billion pounds annually) are used on more than 900,000 U.S. farms at an annual cost of $8.3 billion.
• News reports recently noted our exposure to man-made chemicals through our food is suspected of being a major factor in the increase risk to cancer, nervous system disorders and endocrine system disorders.
• Groundwater contamination caused by pesticides has spread pollutants to our world’s rivers, lakes, and oceans- often killing wildlife and aquatic plants.
• Some experts believe that certain agricultural chemicals can be toxic to fetuses.
• 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides, and 30% of all insecticides are considered carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• In 1987, the National Academy of Sciences reported that an estimated 20,000 cases of cancer a year can be linked to U.S. pesticide use.

For more information, visit The Turnip Truck.

Puppy!

So even though I am not in school anymore, I suddenly am involved in all kinds of things all at the same time! I finally have a regular sub spot in the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra, and we are playing a concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Oct. 4th (It's free!). I am pretending like I remember anything about playing the violin by playing in a bluegrass band at St. George's. (They don't know how terrible I sound!)

And there's the youth group at West End UMC, which is tons of fun, and our new addition to the family: Lucy, who is a 13 week-old Schnauzer. Schnauzer is code for "big, ferocious dog in a tiny, adorable puppy's body."

Chris and I are pretty much entertained all the time by Lucy and her antics. She's always trying to get extra treats by doing tricks at random times. She also likes to bring treasures home in her mouth when we go on walks...things like: clumps of grass clippings, pine cones, sticks that are at least 3 times her size, and any piece of trash that is totally inappropriate for her to eat. She's fabulous! Everyone should have a puppy!