Tag: humanity

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Christmas Vacay

by SymoneF2 Comments on Christmas Vacay

Happy New Year!

I don’t even know why I put vacay in the title. I went on a trip that left me feeling like I need a vacation. This won’t be a long post. I have too much going on mentally to give a detailed account on my experiences but I just want to share the gist of it.

I was “home for the holidays” and the trip started off with us missing our final flight to Barbados via Miami because our Dallas flight was delayed. As we got off the jet bridge we heard our names being called and started to sprint. Unbeknownst to us, sprinting or taking the Skytrain from gate D19 to D48 wouldn’t have made a difference. We learned that if you aren’t in your seat 15mins before the plane is set to take off they can legally give up your seat. Technically, if they don’t think you can make it in time from your connection, they would rebook you but with all of the oversold flights for Christmas, this was not an option. And standby is a bitch – watching a three planes take off and knowing you should be on one of them can do some shit to you especially when you have to wait up to 15mins before it takes off to know whether or not you’ll get on it. We left Dec 23rd and arrived after 2pm on Christmas day. To say I cried would be an understatement. I balled. The agents at the gate all had awful attitudes and just made a shitty situation worse. But it was those whom we encountered at the Rebooking Center and at the Admirals Club at D30 (special thanks to Tacia) that gave us hope in American Airlines and in humanity. Due to this experience, to say I’ve become more paranoid about flying won’t even begin to cover it and we have made some rules with regards to travelling home for Christmas.

Because of the day and a half set back to an already short trip, the trip felt rushed. There were some lovely moments, as is expected when visiting family and friends but it felt like there was toooo much to do in such a short space of time. We left on the 4th for Orlando for a wedding that my husband was the best man in. That part of the trip went smoothly. We had one delay returning to Seattle (in Dallas again) but at least it was our last flight and we were home.

You can check out my Instagram page for a few photos but I didn’t take a single photo with my camera. I forgot I had it sometimes and it seems I didn’t pack the charger either. Womp.

We have two more weddings to attend this year out of the country and my in-laws are planning to visit as well. Hubs and I still need a vacay just for us as we haven’t had one (where we didn’t know anyone where we went) since our honeymoon in 2010! Hopefully that will happen this year as well. I’ve posted on my other blog what I hope to achieve this year and there are other personal goals I’m keeping to myself because I don’t want to look back at them if they aren’t achieved.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to kick 2013’s ass and know that things can only get better :).

xx

Life, Quotes, Uncategorized

Did you know..

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on Did you know..

Did you know that you are in control? You have the control over your tongue, that spews words that even if they aren’t meant, can’t be taken back? You have control over your body language, your thoughts and actions?

Did you know that you can lose control of all of the above – intentionally and unintentionally. You can’t take back a lot of what has been done. You can’t take back what has been said and the effect it had on someone or even yourself for thinking it. You can’t take back the past, but you can make a greater effect on the future.

People argue all the time. Even the most perfect relationships have their ups and downs but do you know know what makes them last? Acknowledgement – Yes, I was wrong and I’m sorry. No, I didn’t like how I spoke to you and I’d like to change that because I don’t want it happening again. Yes you hurt me, but can we work on this not happening again? Forgiveness is a cure that isn’t often prescribed but works better than any other pill. Accept that something hasn’t been done right and know that it will not define you as a person. Forgive the person who has done you wrong and know that they will not control you with their invisible puppet strings from a distance.

One of the hardest things to do is acknowledge when you are wrong, and oh the world of a difference it can make when you do. Lord knows I’m trying to right all the wrongs from my past and it’s a work in progress. But I’ve accepted the errors and I’m working to make sure they never happen again. I don’t want to be who I was before, I want to be better. I’m not erasing my character on the whole and becoming unrecognizable, I’m working on tweaking those negative factors… Did you know change is possible, but you have to want to make that change? It’s not about looking for someone who has done you wrong and casting the blame on them for how your life turned out. It’s about looking inside, finding out how you contributed to it and changing that aspect of your character to make sure it never happens again. The track and field runner who had a weak running start doesn’t get better by bitching about it, but practicing and changing his technique until he finds one that works for him and improves his race. What do you need to change to help you run a better race in this journey of life?

Did you know… it’s never too late?

“In the end, what affect your life most deeply are things too simple to talk about.”― Nell Blaine

This quote is deep. I’ve re-read it so many times in my head and it still baffles me how much deeper it goes with each read. It keeps bringing to mind the kind acts someone has done for me and how they made me feel. Simple, kind acts. Like the other day when I told you about the person who paid for my tea at Starbucks and how speechless it left me. Or when I feel like I’m very out of it and someone smiles a genuine smile – not the hey-how-can-I-help-you-today-smile that’s part of your job description. Or how you feel when your partner calls to just check in on you out of the blue because they were thinking of you.

Did you know that sometimes, it’s the simple things that have made the most impact on our daily lives? Like the relationships that have formed and blossomed because it started with a smile or a kind gesture. We can easily be swept away by thinking of what people have not done for us, but think of what they have done and how it has made us feel and why they are still in our lives (except for family). Find the simple things, talk about them and be amazed by your true feelings. You never know what tomorrow may bring.

Life, Uncategorized

“Top Ten List”

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on “Top Ten List”

About two Sundays ago, we had a visiting priest and his homily was so good I had to get a copy to share with you. I was really touched listening to this homily and I thought it would not be right for me to keep such a wonderful message to myself. The really good thing about this is, even if  you aren’t Christian so to speak, the majority of these ten things are good rules to live by as a human being.

TOP TEN LIST

10. Believe in each other. When we believe in people, we empower them.

9. Make love real. Love is a great idea, but if it only remains an idea, it won’t make any difference.

8. The Eucharist is not a reward for being good. (this I will list the entire passage as it’s a common misconception and beautifully interpreted here.)A doctor doesn’t tell us when we’re sick that taking a medication will help us get well, but then add, “You must be well before you take it.” Yet, we give that impression to people about Holy Communion. It is nourishment for people who are flawed, weak and in need of God’s help. Once and for all, let’s settle it. We are never worthy to receive Holy Communion, but that doesn’t matter because it’s not about our worthiness. It is about God’s unconditional love for us. The issue isn’t our desire to receive communion, but our desire to live in God’s love.

7. Stewardship is a way of life. We are stewards of God’s creation, of God’s gifts and grace.

6. It’s all a gift. Everything is God’s gift to us. We earned none of it, especially the love that is shown us by others. When we try to earn love, whatever we get in return will not be love, for love is always pure gift. The mystery is not death but the absolute wonder we call life.

5. We are called to unity with one another. But not just so we feel together. It is so the world may come to believe in Jesus.

4. We are made for relationship. It’s ultimately about us, not me or you.

3. We must love people the way they are. We cannot love a dream or a memory. If we do not love people the way they are, we don’t really love them at all.

2. Without forgiveness there is no future. If we do not forgive, there is no hope for peace.

1. We are on this earth to learn how to love. Since we were created in the divine image, and since we believe that God is love, the more loving we become, the more we image God and the more true joy we will find in life. Some of it’s lessons are difficult, to be sure. But if we fail to learn to love, we fail Humanity 101.