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i wanted to post an adendum to last nites blog.

new mornings bring new peace. and new oppurtunities.

and new persepectives.

now, yes. i still want to go home. but im also realizing how much i should be thankful for. ive got a job. an apartment and a car that runs. and on top of that, a family that loves me and would do anything in their power to bring me home.

so all in all – although it sucks to be so far away…. and although i still want to go home….

God is good.

save me….

we live our lives desperately yearning for the next distraction. searching, trying, clinging to the next thing that helps us lose focus of the depravity of our lives. we fight with all we have, against all we know to be truth, to simply lose ourselves in something that only hurts us in the end.

and it is in the end that we realize… that we were never the only ones were wounded.

what we need is not safety from our enemies…

its salvation from ourselves.

wake me up inside
wake me up inside
call my name and save me from myself

somewhere along the way… i lost something. i forgot something very vital. somewhere, somehow… i stopped believing that i was a warrior.

that has just changed.

this life is not just a road to travel…. its a battle to fight. and to win.

these wings may be broken and shattered… but they wont be forever.

soon, very soon… you will see me fly.

this is something i ended up writing a week ago or so. and the pain with which i right it…. with which pen leaves impression on paper… is overwhelming.

so ill leave you with it.

introspective… in retrospect.

you grow up thinking that you’ll be the big brother who will always be there. swim meets. first dates. prom nites. and stupid boyfriends.

i wasnt that kind of brother.

i wasnt there.

and now she’s engaged.

she’s engaged and ive not even met my soon to be brother in law.

i want to go home.

i want to spend whatever time my sisters have thats actual “growing up” time… with them.

sometimes it takes your life being jarred in a manner you didnt think would happen… for you to begin to look internally… and see how much things have changed.

ive spent 2 years up here on my own. and i suddenly realized late saturday nite that ive proved to myself that i can make it on my own. i did it. i am my own man.

and i miss my mom. so much.

its been more than a year since ive seen her.

what happened? where did the time go? and why wasnt i there?

how can i call myself a big brother… when i wasnt there. was it really just my own greed… wanting my own way that kept me up here?

its amazing isnt it? she’s grown up.

and im not there.

why?

so im not sure why im deciding to post tonite.

ive been thinkin just a little bit about a question someone i care for asked me a few days ago.

why do we have winter?

now understand, tthis question was posed during a period of subzero windchills… (minus 30 tomorrow)

i ended up speaking with someone else earlier this week about a cello we had gotten a chance to listen to. a 300 year old, $40,000 cello. and we ended up talking about the Stradivarius Violins. about how pure and beautiful they sound…

and how, they just figured out why these specific violins outshine all others.

its the wood.

the wood they’re made with was taken from the tree line of a mountain region. the trees at this altitude were the first ones to fight through the cold ground and actually thrive… just a few feet higher in altitude and all plant life stops.

this is where the wood came from.

and it was because of the insane winters, the gale force winds, the blazing heat from the sun…. the overall harsh living conditions, that created a wood that was more dense than anything out there. the very cellular structure of the wood was different than that of violins made from the same type of trees from less intimidating evrioments.

this wood, in the hands of a master, becomes something of beauty. something that now is valued in the millions of dollars. something that was more than the simple sum of its parts.

so to answer the question…

our winters force our roots to go deep. we either fight through what we’re going through… or we die.

if we choose to fight, we’re forever changed. and one step closer to being something beautiful…

when played, in the Masters hand.

i wanted to be sure and complete a few things before the weekend ended.

first and foremost, a shout out to valery for sendin me some love via her blog for my birthday:-)
if you dont usually check out my link section, you should. especially the one marked “val”.

neat how i used her name as the link huh?
heheheh

in other news, i stuffed my foot down my throat quite deeply with my boss on thursday.

during our weekly meeting i happened to remark on a plant that a friend of his had given him. the plant was a flamingo plant. its leaves turn pink… like a flamingo… it was cool. anyway.

as i sit down i happen to see the little card on which was printed the name of the plant. except… misread it. i didnt say “flamingo”. with a completely straight face, i told him i liked his flaming plant. now please… understand my boss is gay.

needless to say, that didnt go over well…

but he did understand and, thankfully, originally thought the card said flaming as well.

anyway.

one of my leads at work sold this week.
praise Jesus!

i just had a whole two paragraphs typed up regarding my struggles with the past few weeks.

i dont think its worth delving into right now.

on a different topic… one year ago this time, my mom and sisters were in rochester. that wa the last time ive seen them.

i cant wait for february. i simply cant. ill be headed home then.

🙂

-nite

so im sitting here to post… not because ive anything pressing on my mind or heart, but simply because im beginning to think that my blog – and the world of faithful readers out there – were feeling akin to the ignored friend. well, please… know you’re not.

dawn, im sorry ive not been online and able to talk more. i miss ya:-)

courtney, thank you so much for my Christmas card. it made my holiday lots brighter!

skip, thank you for your support, friendship, and the dvds. you’re yovey!

so the holidays are over. is it wrong of me to say im actually thankful? im not sure.

Christmas was ok, spent the morning of on the phone with my family while they opened gifts. then it was off to my moms side for a late afternoon thing. spent that evening with skip. all in all a good day.

spent the 26th at my dads side for a few hours. ended up losing it and just balling in the parking lot of Sams club later that day.

you see, my dog angel… who is now… wow, 11 years old… resides at my grandparents farm now (dads side). she (angel) is the only immediate family i have within a 1000 miles. and it had been months since id been out there to visit. of course she still knows me… happily said hi. she loves it there. its like a 500 acre retirement home for dogs.

seeing angel…. all the memories… wow.

after my dads side, and hangin with the dog… i ended up in the parking lot of sams club. balling my eyes out on skips shoulder. i miss my family. i miss my dog.

my sister said that this Christmas was the first time in 2 years that mom actually had a smile on her face when she woke up that morning.

they actually had a christmas dinner. no dennys this year.

and honestly, those two things right there… are simply put… the best two gifts i received this year.

they say you can see God in the little things in life. they say He works in mysterious ways sometimes. i think, that for this anyway… they are right.

i dont have any christmas spirit.

im not announcing this in some form of rebellion or raging against the commercialism of christmas. its a simple factual statement… almost said with resignation. i simply dont.

ive tried. ive fought… i just dont have any.

i also realized that ive spent the majority of the past month running from all things that cause pain. ive shyed away from situations, people, places… all of which cause me some level of discomfort.

this whole thing is beginning to bother me. for nearly a year, my focus has been on learning to trust again. on pushing through the scars and reaching out. on being vulnerable… and on learning to love again. and to be loved in return.

but somewhere along the past 4-6 weeks, i stopped. i dont know if it was something i did intentionally… or if it was more of the simple progresison of things.

i feel old. thats the only way i can describe how ive felt the past few days…. past week maybe. simply, old. like my insides suffer the weight of more than a simple 23 years on this earth. i spent friday using every ounce of strength to simply hold my emotions in check. by the end of the work day, i was exhausted. spent. emotionally had nothing left. and i feel like ive only hardly recovered.

ill be honest. im not looking forward to Christmas this year.

my coworker… the 40something woman who was nice enough to ask some pointed questions left me a voicemail that, if i could save forver, i would. she simply said that i deserved to have a wonderful holiday this year.

now, im not trying to push myself… or say “look at me”… i am saying… that id like that. id truly enjoy a nice holiday this year.

there is something to this holiday right? there is some current that, although hidden by the waves crashing on the shore, it moves unseen, powerfully below the waves… changing the face of the oceans themselves… there is something real underneath all this wrapping paper and tinsel isnt there? God help me not to lose sight of this.

i dont know what to do next. ive honestly thought about setting up some time to talk with my therapist again. its been more than a year. all i know is that it feels like im falling backward. im waking up feeling the stress on every ounce of my back.

im fighting… im fighting myself.

im realizing that somewhere, inside of the me that is now “me”… lives the old me. the me that existed 2 years ago. the me that loved large crowds of people. the me that could enjoy talking with anyone and everyone. the me that loved being around lots of close friends. the me that had lots of close friends… the me, that basically died… when the world caved in.

im realizing that the reason i clung on so hard to skipper during that time was because she was the only person who DIDNT know the past me. i knew, although i didnt understand it at the time, that my life had changed. i had changed. and i wasnt ever going to be the same person. no one else understood that. none of the friends of the old me seemed to be able to accept that. and i needed someone who would accept me as is. skipper was that person.

im realizing now, that that is why i dont spend much time with a number of people. being with them rips apart my emotions… and it tears me up inside. i feel as if im trying to resurect whomever i used to be to them, simply to make them feel comfortable. why? im not sure. maybe its because im afraid they wont like the new me. maybe its because im afraid i dont like the new me.

maybe… just maybe… its because i am actually pushing them away. maybe its because i figure that there going to leave anyway… so why not make it easier on me for once… and be the one doing the leaving, instead of the one left to pick up the pieces.

i hurt. and sometimes its so bad i cant breath. i dont want to celebrate christmas this year. i dont. knowing that i wont be home. knowing that my dad… wont be opening anything.

i just want a break. is that to much to ask?

its amazing isnt it. as i sit here, i am literally staring directly at the keyboard. watching as my fingers put together something that i hope has at least one thread of cohesive thought.

26 simple letters.

its all were ever given in this life.

our greatest accomplishments… our worst failures…

all will be conveyed, shared, remembered, and forgotten using naught but these 26 simple letters.

so maybe as i sit here and watch my fingers… maybe im allowing myself to learn something.

maybe this season isnt so much about each individual aspect. maybe its not specifically the Christmas cookies, or caroling, or eggnog or presents under a sparkling, colorful tree… its not giving, receiving or any of the other things we do that make this season so special…

its not one specific thing. the spirit of Christmas doesnt reside in cookies, or presents or eggnog… the spirit of Christmas is in each of us. and to the extent we allow ourselves to love, and be loved… is the extent at which we see the spirit of Christmas.

as of right now, 9 days, 55 minutes is all we have till Christmas.

and all we have to communicate our love to those lucky enough to receive it, is 26 simple letters.

my prayer for tonite?

simply this.

that i make the most of both

within the past 4 days, my plans for christmas have changed probably as many times.

first, i wasnt headed down to texas for the holidays…
then, i was.
then i wasnt so sure…
then it was january
now were looking at february or march

i dont know. i just dont know anymore.

Take this blindfold off of me
I’m walking but I cannot see
Mysteries fly at my feet
The answers come with no relief

tonite, my prayer… is one that i feel ive forgotten how to pray. its a simple prayer. a prayer of surrender.

Take this blindfold off of me
I’m crawling, grabbing, breathing for the way I can see
Hold me, take me, run with me, I know you’ll ignite
A battered flame that once was bright

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