Appetizing Louder Now

** For those of you who didn't make it to see me Wednesday (where were you?!), read Tuesday's post first. Then you can read this one. It makes sense like that... duh. Oh, and I actually said something interesting enough in Tuesday's post for Lis to mention in her blog. Although I had to read it, like, 20 times just to kind of understand what she was saying (Lis is a smarty, if you don't already know that about her), you may enjoy her take on my take on life's little lesson. Listen to me saying "you may". (If we were in Pennsylvania again, it's possible I might've just said "listen AT me saying "you may"!) Of COURSE you will. Lissy's an excellent writer and will someday be so published she won't be able to store them all (her books and articles, that is). So check out the Toothless Wonder while you're in the neighborhood. (Silly rabbits, the toothless wonder isn't actually Lis. She has all her teeth!) Oh, and congrats on the big decision, boys & girl! **

And shoot... while we're talking about the Toothless Wonder... I stole a pic off their blog to share with you, my loyal readers. This is my beautiful, beautiful godson. Isn't he the cutest?!?! That's right... already styling the glasses like his favorite godmother! A playa fo' sho'.

So, I was driving home from Sonic today & I remember why I started thinking about "maybe if someone would've told him that he meant something to them, just maybe that could've saved his life" (from last night's post). I remembered primarily because the same song (from the same cd) came on again & I started thinking basically the exact same thing. Then my consciousness kicked in & I realized that my thoughts were repeating themselves... almost verbatim. Dang, I hate it when I start being redundant in my own thoughts! Blah, blah, blah... get to the point, Heidi... oh yeah. The song that sparked my thoughts yesterday (for last night's post) and today is "My Wish" (track #5 on Rascal Flatts' Me and My Gang). If you haven't listened to it, you should. But of course I'll repeat some of the lyrics that struck me here.

Well, first of all, I love the first four lines.

I hope that days come easy and moments pass slow,
and each road leads you where you want to go,
and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.

Days coming easy and moments passing slow? Who could ask for better?!?! How many times have I even said on this blog that I wish time would slow down? It seems to just rev up to warp speed the moment you meet up with someone you love... or the moment a smile spreads across your face, when you laugh a little, when you actually feel good.

Anyway, the second stanza is also fabulous... and where the repeating-thoughts originated:

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

In case it's not as evident to you as it is to me (by the 50 millionth listen), the idea that grabs ahold of me is the wish that you'll never have to carry more than you can hold. The train of thought always begins with something like an image of someone carrying bags of groceries into the house. Then it shifts to the mental burdens of unhappiness and dissatisfaction that someone could be carrying quietly. And then, inevitably, my thoughts always turn to my friend who committed suicide. Somehow, whatever he was carrying got to be too much for him to hold. And he didn't know how to get out from under it.

Anyway, the song is NOT that sad. It's a fabulous song... very uplifting, inspirational, and hopeful. So, I hope you'll overlook my overanalysis of the thoughts it evokes in me and give it a listen yourself... if you have the cd. If you don't, give me a call (or a comment)... I'm glad to share!

So, I started talking to Haley tonight about the "principles of public relations". For her, it's her present... she has an interview for a PR job tomorrow. For me, at the moment, it's more of a past... it was a class I took at Carolina. I pulled out my old notebook for our discussion. And MAN, reading through those notes sure brought back a TON of memories. I LOVED college. I sooooooooo wish I could go back and do it again. It would be different this time. It really would. It was actually quite amusing to read through an essay exam I had to take for my PR class. I was like... who wrote this crap?!?! And why did the prof think it was A work?!?!

Anyway... for this class, the prof gave us an ultra-fun project consisting of creating a series of public service announcements. I made my PSAs about farming (hello... Dad's a dairy farmer... or was, before he retired!). I was so proud of the tagline I created: "Give us this day our daily bread... and milk and corn and beef...". Remember it? Yeah, I thought you might. Ha! Man, I loved that campaign. Maybe I should re-do the whole thing and actually DO something with it!

So, hopefully Haley's 'view(s) -- yeah, that's right... she has more than one -- will go well tomorrow. Thinking of you, bestie. Oh, and happy 10th anniversary of your 21-er, Mikey! I can't, for the life of me, figure out how you got so much older than me! Anyway... hope it was a great one!