Everybody...

I cannot wait for this new song to be available for download on iTunes...



Sometimes in the morning
When I wake up I see your face
But you are in a new life
In a new love
In a new place
Oh the heart holds many hands
My dear it's time I let yours go
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
I'm fine now
It just took time now
You can see how much I've grown
Made room love, for a new love
Now my feet won't walk alone
Oh the heart holds many hands
My love it's time I let yours go
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
I am ready to love
I am ready for love
I am ready to love
I am ready for love
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
Everybody wants to love
Everybody needs to love
Everybody wants to love
Everybody needs to love
Everybody wants to love
Everybody needs to love
Everybody wants to love
Everybody needs to love
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
Everybody Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh
Everybody
Everybody wants to love
Everybody Everybody wants to be loved
Oh-oh oh
Oh-oh oh

FEAR

How would I live my life if I was not afraid?

I can't answer this definitively since I never have.

i imagine freedom.

fulfillment.

mistakes.

success.

failure.

bliss.

love.

Maybe tomorrow...

Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!

Your children need your presence more than your presents. ~Jesse Jackson

August is the month that both my parents were born. At 32, I still need my parents. I don't need them to kiss skinned knees, wash my hair or remind me to clean my room (okay, maybe I still need that last one). As an adult, the wounds can cut a bit more deeply and need more than a band-aid to heal. This means you need your parents presence more than you did as a child.

The presence you need as an adult isn't always physical. Sure, when I walk into my parents' home and smell something cooking, get a greeting at the door (and sometimes on the porch almost before I even get out of the car), and receive those hugs that always make tears well-up in my eyes the physical presence is something I would never trade. However, living 500 miles away, the voice on the other end of the phone is life-saving - literally. The card in the mail for no reason, just so the walk to the mailbox was not in vain and just merely accepting me and the way I have chosen to live my life, different from them, has made all the difference.

Growing up as a middle child in a house full of girls, I never heard that women were weaker, less worthy or should expect less. I was (and still am) fiercely independent. I have my parents to thank for this. As an adult, I have their presence in my life to be thankful for. They have been my biggest cheerleaders, my closest confidants and the most present people in my life - never missing a swim meet, graduation, birthday or holiday. They have been generous with presents but the thing that has meant the most is the generosity of presence.

I love you mom and dad!

My Quilt

"Love is the thread that binds us together."



Yesterday I was seated at my desk daydreaming (which I tend to do quite a bit) and when I caught myself and became conscious of my thoughts, I realized that I was cataloguing and reminiscing about all of the beauty and spirit that is present in every facet of my life.



I have likened my experience and the people in my life to a quilt. The quilt, as it exists right now, keeps me warm and cozy, is beautifully colorful and bright and provides a tremendous amount of comfort. If my quilt were to grow no bigger than it is presently, then I would be more than satisfied. However, if the past has taught me anything, my quilt will continue to grow, become more intricate and colorful and provide additional shelter, warmth and comfort.


To give you an idea of where this warm fuzzy feeling comes from, let me share a snapshot of my life. Last weekend I enjoyed a trip to Carolina Beach with 2 special guys. We laughed more than I have in some time, splashed in the ocean, shared stories at our campsite and learned new things about each other. Monday I shared a delicious dinner with one of the newest but most treasured fabrics in my quilt. Tuesday I shared lunch with a girlfriend who enriches my days with laughter and challenges me to think then caught up with mom on the way home from work. Wednesday night after a 20+ mile bike ride with a friend, 8 intelligent, successful women sat in a circle on the floor and discussed a book, life, love and laughed until we cried. Last night I crawled into my bed at 9 pm, after sharing chinese food on the couch with my roommate and talking with my younger sister on the phone and hearing about all the exciting changes in her life, and opened a new book, which carried me off to sleep. This morning I received a phone call from my older sister and we spent an hour catching up, then my dad emailed me kind words and stories about time he is spending with his grandsons on "the farm."



My cup runneth over...

Reversing Perspectives

"Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you."

~Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Most people go through life with the same perspective. We do have minor changes in perspective as we go from child to parent and student to teacher, but these changes usually happen subtly and without notice. The perspective that doesn't often change is the one you have in the constants in your life. If you are the "mistreated" you may tend to play that role your entire life. If you are interacting with your partner, parents or siblings you may never consider what the photograph may look like if they were holding the camera instead of you. OR, better yet, what if a third person was holding the camera?

Having the unique experience recently of carrying a camera most places I go, observing this in the human condition is amazing. When a person knows the camera is pointed at them, their behavior changes, their perspective is different. They think that someone is "watching them." The joy of taking a good photograph comes from photographing someone when they have no idea you are photographing them. Their perspective is their own and you are able to gain insight about them without any "performance." My perspective is what is captured in that photograph, but you can see things much differently when you sit back and observe. Moving around to find another camera angle or vantage point adds to the ability to view the situation. This act of observing is similar to considering others' perspectives.

Stop, breathe and look at situations and people from other angles and perspectives. You'll be shocked at the perspective you'll gain and the things you'll learn about yourself, your loved ones and the world around you.