Undoubtedly Debra

The older you get the more you tend to contemplate the meaning and direction that your life has taken. Some of us tend to be content with the knowledge that we are loved; others tend to shrivel up in an endless struggle of wondering who they are and what purpose exists in their lives. I've been there. Towards the end of my college career, my entire identity was wrapped up in being a teacher and working with kids;all at once my life took an abrupt shift in direction. One day I had the ephipany that pride and arrogance allowed for lack of growth and if you weren't happy with who you were in life, then all of the titles and allocades bestowed on you meant nothing. Some of that was due to September 11th, some of it due to student teaching and some due to finding a career that I fit into like a glove. I think I also finally began to accept who I was as a person. Do you accept who you are? We are all flawed; no one is perfect. How many times have you been told that? Do you really he

Babies, babies, babies......that's all I seem to be listening about or seeing lately. My sister, my best friend, a work friend, my cousin, my husband's friends wife, my other cousin; everyone it seems wants to have babies right now. Don't get be wrong, I LOVE KIDS.......I adore sitting down to read a book to a child and having them fall asleep in my arms. I love dressing them up. I love feeding a bottle to a baby. I love their homemade pictures, grubby little fingers and youthful innocence. Kids gravitate to me or so it seems and truthfully I feel most comfortable with kids. They accept you for who you are, all the flaws, all the idosycracies that exist in you, they could care less as long as you read to them, color with them or if you give them life experiences. I've pretty much raised or had a part in raising the following: My sister-I gave her baths at night, tucked her into her bed, helped her with her homework, cooked her dinner, disciplined her, coached her, hugge

Looking back over my life, I think back to that innocent childhood youthfulness where trust is a given and love is absolute. As you experience life ,you tend to lose that innocence and trust in others and their innate goodness. Some of us lose it much later than others. What causes us to lose that trust typically stems from a betrayal of some type. Obviously the betrayal is determined by the paradigm that you view life and the values that you have for your relationships in life. Whether it is a friend who steals your toy or pushes you down, a spouse who neglects your needs or a parent who doesn't support you; all of these things can cause your reality in life to become slightly altered. You might feel hurt, abused, neglected, unloved, crazy, fearful, shocked and angry. The multitude of emotions running through your heart and mind might drive you to cry in agony or to scream in anger. Those tend to be the typical reactions to the specific situation that stimulated the current situa