Let's kick the dust up

On my mind today -

Marriage Equality.
   It's been quite the discussion this week. Everyone wanting to put in their 2 cents on what's right and what's wrong. What the Bible says, yada yada yada. Here's the thing:  leave people alone. If you are not at all effected by their choices (which you definitely should not be) STAY OUT OF IT. Let those people decide what is right for THEM and YOU decide what is right for YOU. I've decided that until a person is actually caught, for lack of a better word, doing something that is "wrong" then they'll have a very strong opinion  about what is right and what is wrong. Because I guess they think they're perfect....
Dig deep for a minute. Think. Openly. Have you always done the "right" thing? Have you broken one of the 10 Commandments? It's no secret that I have, and guess what that did? Changed my life. No one knows what a person is dealing with inside their soul. Until you walk in their shoes, get off your high horse. They'll be "judged" later, if that's what happens (WE REALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN, YA'LL) and you have absolutely NO say in the matter. You don't count. So instead of worrying about who is marrying who, focus on yourself, keep an open mind, what counts is that people are happy living the life that THEY chose for THEMSELVES. You make choices about your own life.   And I'm a Christian, by the way, and believe in the Bible. (Just in case anyone decides to go there.)

Side note:  People will always have something to say about what you do with your life. who cares? I am most certain someone has thought of me as less of a person for what I did. But here's a little secret for you: I don't care. I'm the person I am today because of the junk I did. Not proud of it but I am SO proud of where I am today  :)

Moving on......

4th of July weekend.
     I can't freaking wait. Days at the lake with my family are some of the best memories ever made.

Confederate flag thoughts

Random thoughts about the removal of the confederate flag.

I don't know enough about politics to back myself up. So rarely do I ever think too much about it. Nor do I have a confederate flag. However, I feel like it all boils down to how people are raised. Why does one race get grouped together and all get accused of being the same? We aren't the same. We're all totally different. Don't go after one group, whether it's Caucasians, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, etc. because of what ONE person in that group did.

 I find it offensive. 

It isn't fair to be judged as a whole, not in this case.

Monday

I swear we need a day in between Sunday and Monday.

Damion comes home tomorrow night. I'm ready. It's been a long 5 days. Here's where he's been....rough life, I tell ya. He did the plans for this house; obviously didn't build it because it's in Canada.

this is seriously the front yard of the house....

I'm super excited for Memorial Day weekend; can't wait to go to the lake  :)

I watched 50 shades of Grey last night. Don't judge. It was good, although I didn't like the way it ended. Gotta have a cliffhanger though, I suppose there will be 3 movies, just like the books?

Ya'll ever notice how when your "friends" are mad at you they won't like your Facebook or Instagram picture? HOW CHILDISH IS THAT? Who needs FRIENDS like that? What is the point of being "friends"? oh that's right, WE AREN'T. Stop being nosy. It's ridiculous. (I actually see this everywhere, with lots of people. You always know when someone is mad. SO DUMB.)

The voices in my head...

- Wednesday mornings are extremely slow at the office. Gives me way too much time to think.

- I went back and read a few of my first blog entries from 2009...embarrassing. But dang time flies and my kids are big :(

- Damion leaves for Canada in the morning.  Ugh.

- New Kids on the Block, TLC and Nelly are in 3 weeks  :)

- Why don't people ever leave comments on blog posts?

- It annoys me when people give me their phone number and say "828" first. That's a given. If it's anything other than 828, you can tell me.

- I was able to hold a new baby boy yesterday :) I had forgotten what that felt like.

Madison & Cameron David Hodge

- Went for a job interview 2 weeks ago. Although I didn't know it was an interview until I actually got there. Flattering but a little strange. Don't worry, Dr. T knows. But I think I'll stay where I am :)

- I can't wait to go to the lake.

Don't compare yourself.

It's something I always say. "Don't compare yourself to others." But it's something I often do, it's hard not to.  Everyone has a story, what may seem like greener grass to someone on the outside looking in, doesn't mean it always is. Here's my story:

I was working full-time at a doctor's office making about $8 an hour and going to AB-Tech at night.   I opted not to go to UNC-Charlotte because I was in love. With Beau. You see how that turned out. An ugly break up and about 8 months later, I was 19 and pregnant with Damion's baby. I was a good girl, never got in trouble, always told the truth, but here I was 19 and pregnant by someone I barely even had a chance to get to know. Things happen for a reason, I swear they do. I couldn't have been more lucky.

So here we go - 20 and about to have a baby in 3 months. So Damion and I move in to an apartment together, and Madison Paige is born 2 weeks later. I had no clue what I was doing. Luckily my mom and Damion's mom were always there to help. Damion finished college at UNC-A with a mechanical engineering degree,  made nothing lower than a B and worked full-time at Wilsonart, absolutely killing it so that I could stay home with Madison for 3 months. We started building a house and moved in February 1999. We still live there. Back then, it was a big deal to be 22 and 26 years old and building your own home. We were thrilled! We still live there. Not the original plan, of course. Our dream was for Damion to build us a house and move by the time Madison was in high school. Things don't always work out the way you plan.

In 2001, we decided to get married. 14 months later, Emma-Leigh is born. These two are so very different. I can not imagine life without either of them. Looking back, I don't know how we did it. But I'm so very glad we did.

So...back to my point. My girls compare what they have and what they do to what other people have and do all the time. We're all guilty of that. Having a baby so young, I feel like we were behind everyone else in their circle. Other parents are 8-15 years older than us and had their lives all figured out before throwing kids in the middle of it. I wouldn't have it any other way though. My girls don't ever hurt for anything. They wear nice clothes, eat good food, get to do whatever they want and don't need anything. That is what matters.

We all have a story. No one should compare, no one should judge. It may look like someone "has it all" but they don't. Someone in their family is probably sick, either mentally or physically. They may have some family conflict, you just never know what other people are going through.

I'll be 38 when Madison graduates from high school. And 42 when Emma-Leigh graduates. Crazy, huh? Compare that! ;)

Social media and technology

Our kids are ruined. Their generation is ruined. Social media and technology have ruined them. I remember days of playing outside with my friends, riding bikes, shooting basketball, reading outside. You don't see that stuff anymore. Everyone is inside on their phones or iPads, or in front of their computers. They don't even know what it's like to not have their devices. And if the wi-fi were to go out for a minute, ALL HECK BREAKS LOOSE. Trust me, I've seen it. Our router malfunctioned a couple weeks ago and we needed a replacement. My kids had to go a full 24 hours without  wi-fi. You would've thought the world was coming to an end. Somehow, they survived.

Being behind those devices has also made our children more brave. What they say in text messages they would NEVER say to a person's face. They've lost their communication skills and could clearly care less how the message may make someone feel, especially since they don't have to face them in "real" life.

It's quite sad, actually.

I hate having a conversation through text messages, unless it's absolutely imperative. Just pick up the phone and call someone, it'll save you time in the long run. Lord knows there's not enough time in the day for everything anyway.

Village people

What does it mean for a friend to "have your back"?

Conversations with a friend last week reminded me that it "takes a village to raise a child". I realized that I have been kicked out of someone's village, when I was only trying to do what a true friend would do. See, when I think about having "someone's back" that includes watching out for their children too, especially when asked. After all, that's what I would want one of my friends to do. 

Emma-Leigh said to me the other day - "mom, all you ever say is People change, people change" that surprised me because 1) I didn't know she was reading my blog and 2) I hadn't realized that that's all I blog about. I can't help it. People always say that people DON'T change. Well guess what? They DO. It IS possible! That can be either good or bad of course but it does happen. 

I know who's in my village. And I know now that sometimes people don't really mean what they say. So while I may have been "manipulated" in to thinking that I was the bad guy, I know better.

I had your back.