REALity

Park fun in Brooklyn, including views of the Brooklyn Bridge, a train, and a helicopter spotting.

"When all is said and done, all we are left with is our story.  I am just trying to create a great one."--from the movie Australia. 

One morning while we were in New York, there was a news cast on the elevator television (yes, a television on the elevator!!  No more figuring out how to avoid eye contact with all the other passengers!)  The news story was about finding ways to get out-of-work veterans jobs.  One of the elevator passengers scoffed and said, "Out of work veterans, we're all out of work!"  I was flabbergasted.  I thought to myself, really?  Really?  ALL of us on this elevator are in a fancy hotel in midtown Manhattan and you are saying we are all out of work!?  That did not seem to be what was happening.  It was as if he was believing the news over the experience we were having together right then.  Made me wonder what stories I am telling and continuing to tell even in the face of contrary evidence.  Am I telling an old story that no longer applies?  Am I telling someone else's story instead of my own?

When I was in the hospital and sending out e-mail updates one of my friends had a hard time believing the authenticity of my e-mails.  She could not fathom that anyone could be that in joy when their child was in the hospital.  Recently I read about Rashida Jones's Aha! moment in the April Oprah Magazine.  She wrote about the time her mom was undergoing chemotherapy.  She said, "I decided my job was to find joyful moments during what could have been a terrifying time for both of us...Just because a situation is grim doesn't mean you don't have every right to smile.  It isn't about "being strong" and pretending everything is ok; it's about finding joy where you can (p 54)."  

 Blogging forces me to search for those things in life that I find interesting, that entertain me, make me laugh, move me, and uplift me to share them with you.  When I blog I get to be the person I strive to be, I get to create the world as I want it to be.  That is what I adore about blogging, I get to write the story I want to create.  The stories I want my children and nieces and nephews to remember and retell long after I am gone. My legacy.