Buma's house has always been a wonderful place. When I was a kid, we always had a great time together. She always took me on magically fun adventures and her home was always perfectly decorated, welcoming, and filled with the best food smells. The world would be a better place if everyone had a Buma.
Now that I'm "grown up", with a wife, a crazy busy life, instead of spending every last dime on vacations, often times, we go to Buma's house. She lives in the Sierra mountains in a cute little town called Graeagle. She's lived here for years and the neighbors and acquaintances of the community have become like an extended branch to our family. Buma even encourages us to come up and use her home as a motel of sorts when she's away.
This Thanksgiving was one such occasion. It's been family tradition to do Thanksgiving with friends, not family, and for years my parents did just that until last year when Keli and I decided to break off and start our own non family, friends only Thanksgiving. Plans to hang with friends ON Thanksgiving this year ended up falling through, so we decided to head up to Buma's to get away from it all.
Our three day getaway was just what I needed. We took a walk with Kyu, our Dachshund and collected rocks and pine cones (for crafts...Keli IS a fourth grade teacher, after all), enjoyed great food and drinks, and even got to see some local wildlife (racoons) visit the back porch for leftovers we'd tossed out.
Now, as I sit finishing my coffee on the morning of our departure, I'm getting a chance to take in a little more nature. The sun is rising over the yard behind Buma's house. She has a bench right at the edge of her lawn which drops into a ravine where, after the rain begins, has a quiet stream that trickles by. From the dining room table, I can see the dew dripping off of the bench as shadows of pine cones dance on the living room floor. No cars are driving by, no fire engines, no rumpus salsa music is wofting across the street. Just us and nature as the fallen pine needles and dirt warm under the rising sun. As a matter of fact, the only noise i hear right now is coming from an old pendulum clock Buma has had hanging on her walls since I was born (probably before that).
I wish everyday could start and end like this. If it did, though, I may not appreciate it as much. What's your favorite quiet gettaway?
Friday, November 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Thumbs Up Chris Christie, Thumbs Down Conservitive Religious, Ignorant Parents
SPOILER ALERT: Contraversy ahead
Reading the news is a great way to get my blood pressure to careen out of control. I read an article this morning about Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey. He has recently come under heat in the media for not passing legislature that would legalize gay marriage, but the law eventually/recently went through without his consent (you probably heard about this). Apparently, he also recently did something a little out of character in comparrison to his stance on gay marriage (mentioned negatively above). He voted down a bill that would allow “gay conversion therapy” which lets people attend counseling to help them “get over” same sex tendencies and sexual “confusion” (obviously a religiously backed idea and he actually voted to keep this kind of counseling from happening).
There is a married, straight couple who is suing him, stating the illegality of this type of counseling violates their rights. Their son is showing “unwanted” sexual confusion and tendencies and has contemplated suicide and without this counseling, they fear for his safety (from himself). How about this: He doesn’t feel welcome in his own home; in his own world; amongst those of his own bloodline, who should be loving and accepting him UNCONDITIONALLY. Maybe THAT’S why he feels that suicide is the answer. The world they've raised him in has led him to believe that the way he is and feels is wrong and he feels helpless so he sees suicide as his only option for peace. Flip your ideas on their end and try LOVE for a change and change YOURSELVES instead of trying to get your son to accept YOUR ways.
Even the most minimal knowledge in commmunication and conflict management teaches us that ONLY YOU CAN CHANGE YOU AND IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS TO CHANGE OTHERS. This makes me absolutely sick and I feel for the child AND for Chris Christie, who has done something to alter the public’s opinion of him and now is being punished (potentially) for doing what’s right. To some, this may have been a ploy to gain votes considering the upcoming election, I certainly see the potential for that, but let's look at it for what it it instead of what it could be.
Organized Religion is poisoning our sociey. Just because the masses say it’s right, that doesn’t make it right. Just because it’s “what we’ve always done and been told” doesn’t make it right. Obviously, hate kills. I wish I could giv ethat poor kid a hug and let him know that someday, he’ll rise above adversity BECAUSE of his struggles and should never succomb to the hatred of others. Obviously, this issue has me a bit heated.
Reading the news is a great way to get my blood pressure to careen out of control. I read an article this morning about Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey. He has recently come under heat in the media for not passing legislature that would legalize gay marriage, but the law eventually/recently went through without his consent (you probably heard about this). Apparently, he also recently did something a little out of character in comparrison to his stance on gay marriage (mentioned negatively above). He voted down a bill that would allow “gay conversion therapy” which lets people attend counseling to help them “get over” same sex tendencies and sexual “confusion” (obviously a religiously backed idea and he actually voted to keep this kind of counseling from happening).
There is a married, straight couple who is suing him, stating the illegality of this type of counseling violates their rights. Their son is showing “unwanted” sexual confusion and tendencies and has contemplated suicide and without this counseling, they fear for his safety (from himself). How about this: He doesn’t feel welcome in his own home; in his own world; amongst those of his own bloodline, who should be loving and accepting him UNCONDITIONALLY. Maybe THAT’S why he feels that suicide is the answer. The world they've raised him in has led him to believe that the way he is and feels is wrong and he feels helpless so he sees suicide as his only option for peace. Flip your ideas on their end and try LOVE for a change and change YOURSELVES instead of trying to get your son to accept YOUR ways.
Even the most minimal knowledge in commmunication and conflict management teaches us that ONLY YOU CAN CHANGE YOU AND IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS TO CHANGE OTHERS. This makes me absolutely sick and I feel for the child AND for Chris Christie, who has done something to alter the public’s opinion of him and now is being punished (potentially) for doing what’s right. To some, this may have been a ploy to gain votes considering the upcoming election, I certainly see the potential for that, but let's look at it for what it it instead of what it could be.
Organized Religion is poisoning our sociey. Just because the masses say it’s right, that doesn’t make it right. Just because it’s “what we’ve always done and been told” doesn’t make it right. Obviously, hate kills. I wish I could giv ethat poor kid a hug and let him know that someday, he’ll rise above adversity BECAUSE of his struggles and should never succomb to the hatred of others. Obviously, this issue has me a bit heated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)