Where Is The Love?

Last week I announced I wanted to have a week of positive love posts & wanted to do a giveaway to share that love. I was sidetracked. Valentine's Day happened to be my dad's 70th birthday.

I received a text from my sister that they wanted to share funny stories with dad for his birthday. I asked her to clarify. She proceeded to talk about a memory jar she'd made for her mother-in-law's 70th birthday. Memory jars are wonderful gifts. We made one for my inlaws. Someone had the idea to include photos. Guess what I spent a lot of time doing?

While sifting through photographs, I smiled & laughed a lot. But I noticed a feeling of sadness begin to settle into my soul. The pictures caused me to miss my family that lives in Arizona, and what happend to all of those little kids? Time passes so very quickly.

On Friday, Christopher phoned. One of the groomsmen from his wedding, and best friend from high school's mother died. She committed suicide. The day before Valentine's Day. I couldn't help but wonder if this day, set aside for romance and love, contributed in any way to whatever drove her to wanting to end it all. So sad.

And maybe, I am trying hard not to think about Christopher and Lauren leaving next Thursday on their grand adventure. I'm excited for them, but it isn't easy knowing they will be on the other side of the globe. It will be a life-changing experience for sure.


Watching our current government has also shifted my focus.

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.”

—Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address

Compare that to our current president's idea of government:

“It is only government that can break the vicious cycle.”
-President Obama.