Through The Tulips Words of 'Wiz'dom

Today’s quest for honesty is a little challenging for me.  Not to be honest- but to actually quantify something that is so much more than a label. 

BUT, I accepted this challenge, so I’m going to do my best.

Day 7- Describe your best friend in great detail.

As I mentioned above, this is difficult for me on many levels.  The main reason being because it says ‘friend’ and not friends, assuming that a person can only have one true best friend.   I find that to be inaccurate in my case.   I have several people that I would consider amongst my best friends.   Some of those people I see quite regularly, and some I don’t see often at all.    My mom is one of those people, but that is a given.   She’s been a constant in my life from the day I was born and always offered her love, support and opinion, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to hear.  

There are others- and I’m sure they know who they are without being named.   I love all of my friends and cherish each and every one of them.  Some of us have a better connection than others, and some friendships are different than others, but each one bring something special and unique to the table that only they can.

I’d say that if I had to choose a single person that is my best friend- it would be Samantha.   We were best friends when we were teenagers and lost contact after having a stupid fight (which was my fault) right before her wedding.  We lost touch for almost 18 years and then in 2006 she sent me a message on MySpace.   I knew it had to be her when I saw the MySpace email that said I had a message from Samantha and before I ever opened it, I cried.

We started talking and truth is- we haven’t stopped.   She has twin girls who graduated in the top of their class and are now headed off in less than a week to college-  both received scholarships.   She has a great husband named Tommy, and a doggie named Dixie that I adore.   Samantha and I grew up with very similar backgrounds.  We went to the same church and we think a lot alike.  

In fact, even though our lives are very different, they are still parallel in many ways.   We love many of the same things and I know that I can tell her everything and even if she doesn’t get it, she’ll still be there for me.   I admire her as a mother, a professional and as the beautiful person that she is.   

When we got together in 2006 for the first time after so many years- I wondered if it would be odd or even awkward, but it was as though those 18 years had never passed and we never skipped a beat picking up where we left off.   She’s a tower of strength and has taught her girls to be self-confident and to always strive to be the best that they can be.    I see her in both Ainsley and Olivia and I love them both dearly.      I could say so much-  but mostly, I am happy that she took the initiative to message me that day.    I know for sure that as long as we both shall live that we’ll never lose contact like that again, and I’m very grateful.

Today’s (actually yesterday’s, since I’m a day late with this one) 30 days of honesty was another one that was easy, peasy for me.  It was one where we are supposed to describe our day and  that’s something that most of us can do without much thought.    It’s actually late because I got busy and decided that it could wait until this morning, so for those of you who were sitting on pins and needles to hear about day 6, my apologies.

Day 6-  Describe your day in great detail.

I don’t think I’ll  bore you with a complete blow-by-blow of my day, but I’ll hit the highlights.    I was up at 4:45 to get Marcel off to work for his last morning shift, but since I’m not a morning person and I don’t think anyone should be up at that time of the day, I went back to bed.

I ended up getting out of bed around 8:30 and I had a bath while my steel-cut oats were cooking and the coffee was brewing.    Dried my hair, had breakfast and then went for a long walk with JJ before heading out the door to the train station.

There, I helped two tourists figure out how to get to their destination since the train they thought they needed wasn’t the one they needed.   From there, I hopped my own train for a whole 4 minutes to the next town so I could visit my dear friend Bobbi.  She invited me for lunch and a visit since we hadn’t seen each other in a while (because she’s been traveling).      Since that also meant I hadn’t seen her darling son in a while, it also meant I could spend some time with him.  Unfortunately, since he’s a little guy, he’d forgotten Auntie La-La and he started to cry (real tears) when I tried to hold him.    (He later warmed up to me again and remembered why he loves me so much- because I’m so goofy.)

Marcel picked me up from B0bbi’s and we made a quick dash to the store.  He napped and I took care of some things around the house- such as dinner.   We initially thought we’d go to the beach, but in the end, we decided that we’d like to go to Starbucks and that’s exactly what we did.   25 minutes later we arrived- drank our coffee’s and headed back home. 

We took JJ out for a long walk and some play time and ended the day with a movie, where I fell asleep on the couch before half of it was over.  

Like every day- it was a great one!

Today is day 5 of my 30 day adventure into honesty.  Each day I’m supposed to share something that is on the list for that particular day in great detail.   Today is about one of my favorite subjects- LOVE.

Truth is-  love is everywhere we look and without it the world would be impossible to live in.   No matter who you are, where you live, what your background is- love is something we all need.   There are many different types of love, and quite honestly the best description you could ever find on what LOVE is all about can be found in none other than the Bible.

August 5-  Describe love in great detail.

1 Corinthians Chapter 13 is known as the ‘love’ chapter in the Bible and below is the NIV (New International Version) of what love is.   This sums it up in a nutshell.

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 ¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Simply put-  God is Love- and Love is EVERYTHING!

Day 4- Describe what you ate today in great detail.

This is easy-peasy, especially since it doesn’t require much thinking, just a recollection of what I’ve eaten today. I’ll break it down into meals.

Breakfast- Steel-Cut oats with a sprinkle of cinnamon, a vanilla Splenda stick and a dash of fat-free coffee cream. Two cups of coffee and 1 1/2 liters of ice water.

Lunch- Two whole-grain crackers with hummus that has taco sauce mixed in with it for a little ‘spice’.

Dinner- Baked chicken breast seasoned with garlic- steamed broccoli with low-fat spicy cheese melted on top, steamed green beans, honey-dew melon.

Snack- 1 cup of fat-sugar free strawberry yogurt with a few raw almonds and some whole-grain muesli.

That’s it folks.

Day 3- Your parents in great detail.
I have to say that this one is a piece of cake for me. I am sure that most people probably feel the same about their own parents, but I personally think that my brother and I have been blessed with the best parents in the world.

My mom and diddy married in 1965, not long after mom graduated from high school. Diddy is 7 years older than her, and two years after they married, I came along. Two years after that, my brother made his appearance. I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to describing my parents.

Mom was a stay at home mom for the entire time I was growing up. It was great knowing that when we came home from school that she’d be there. Diddy worked shifts, but in his free time he always spent it with us. He kept the yard clean, the house in pristine shape and he and mom had a delicious garden in the summer where we got lots of fruits and vegetables. Diddy was a great provider and they’ve always been there if we needed them.

Growing up, I will admit that they were stricter than most of my friends’ parents, and sometimes I did try to get away with things, but even when they punished me, it was with love (even if they were secretly wishing they could strangle me). They’ve always been there to cheer us on, to love and support us and even been there to show us a little tough love when we needed it.

My parents taught us many wonderful life lessons and values that we both still carry with us today. Our house wasn’t the Cleaver’s and we did have disagreements, and sometimes still do. My parents are less liberal thinking than I am, and I guess I tend to toss something different into the mix. But I like that we all respect each others opinons even on those times when we don’t agree.

I call my parents every single day because I know the importance of ‘being there’ without actually being there. Some people may find that to be a bit dramatic, but I honestly don’t care. I love them and don’t ever want to be filled with regrets of the things I wish I’d done.

Thanks mom and dad for being an example of love, truth, and friendship. You both are amazing, which is why ‘m sure you have so many ‘other’ children who have adopted you as their parents. Matt and I are blessed to have you as the real thing and I thank God for that.