Blogging???

Today I saw the movie "Julie & Julia"... What a wonderful movie! Besides the simply enjoyment of a really good movie, the best thing about it - I came away inspired to "blog" more. Wow! I'm not even a writer but yet, something about this movie created inspiration inside of me to actually "WRITE MORE"! So, here I am, blogging away...

What inspires you to reach beyond the ordinary? To aim for something just beyond reach? Is it your faith? Your desires? Your ambition? Your boss? Your Mother/Father? What drives you to accomplish your dreams, hopes and desires? I have always had goals, but not so much ambition. I strive to be the best I can at whatever endeavor I've attempted. And yes, there have been many times I've failed miserably. Yup, fallen flat on my face! But you know what, I've always picked myself up and tried again. And if failure continued to slap me in the face - well, I moved on to something else. I don't necessarily call all my thwarted attempts failures - I refer to them as true learning experiences... and I've learned some hard lessons over the years.

So tell me, is it that hard to reach out and grab for something you really and truly want? I don't think so... I think it's all in how you look at things. If you go into something, knowing you're going to fail, well, chances are, you will... but, if you decide you're going to succeed, odds are, you will. Is it that simple? Probably not, but in the grand scheme of things, isn't it better to have tried and failed than to never had tried at all...

Twists & Turns

Have you ever noticed that just when you think you have everything figured out and all is going well, something happens and all of a sudden you're heading in a completely opposite direction? I've heard it referred to as the roller-coaster of life. You're traveling along on a nice straight section of life then, poof... next thing you know, you're heading south! I've had some abrupt twists and turns throughout my life, some were relatively seamless and some... just about snapped my head off! It's those that make me wonder if I, at age 45, really have a clue about what life truly is about? Many years ago, Tuesday, July 13, 1982 to be exact, was a major turning point in my life. Up until that point in time, I was a fairly quiet, shy, reserved young girl of 18. On that day, one year after graduating high school, riding in my 1966 Ford Mustang with my, at the time, boyfriend... BANG! Head-on collision!

This wreck put me in the hospital for several days and again later for a skin graft. Beside traveling half way through the windshield, cutting my face horribly, I had a concussion, a gash on my leg that was 4 inches wide and 8 inches deep into the lower part of my calf, bruised kidneys, and numerous other cuts, scrape and bruises. My boyfriend was injured also, but not as seriously and required no hospital stay - somehow, he landed in the backseat! This was the turning point for several things... after regaining normal cognitive thought - it dawned on me, had I died at this moment in time, would my family and friends know that I loved them? From this point on, I've made ever effort to let people know how I feel - it isn't always easy but, it's better than leaving things unsaid forever.

Some people never learn the importance of being open and honest and being able to express your feelings to those you love and care about. I learned this the hard way as well as other valuable life-lessons.

Because of certain circumstance due to this accident, I lost my first real job and my first real boyfriend... even though we're now friendly acquaintances. But then there were the blessings in disguise - I found my real career calling (drafting), found love, lost love and found it again... with all the ups and downs, twists and turns that come with living this life. And what a ride it's been and continues to be...