Let's Pretend

       As a child, I loved to pretend...I would often pretend to be a fire-fighter, a workman, a soldier, a mother, etc. One day, my sis and I climbed to the top of our swing-set, pretending to be hard-working-construction workers. We used our crochette mallets as hammers...that late afternoon, we thought we'd mix it up a bit. I pretended to have fallen from the swing and began screaming, "HELP! HELP! I THINK I'M DYING! HELP!" Then, my sweet little sister followed my lead and began screaming, "HELP!" as well...we had an older neighbor lady who was very tired of our antics. She used to watch us out of her curtain as we acted up and were mischievous! That day, she marched out onto her porch and called us over to her house. Sheepishly, we walked over there. (mind you, I was about 9 and my sis was 5) She proceeded to scold us, telling us about the boy who cried wolf and how he was eaten because nobody believed him due to him lying one too many times. She even told us that if we continued, she would tell our dad! (insert laugh here! that last threat usually worked with us cause we knew if dad found out, we wouldn't be laughing anymore)
       So, pretending as a child was our way of going into another world. Why is it that adults don't pretend anymore? Is it because we are "too mature" to relax and just have fun? I love listening to my children play pretend. They often love playing "Max and Ruby" a fun rabbit cartoon. They don't know that I listen to them and their cute little voices...I love it. It brings me back to my childhood and the hours I would play with my sister. She was my best friend and still is even though we live four hours apart.
       I often sit and pretend that all is right in the world, even though I know that it's not...I could get all worked up over the economy. I could get worked up over the war in the Middle East, upset with the oil spill in the Gulf, become irrate over our country's direction, but instead, I choose to pretend that all is right in my little world. I have two healthy children, a man that loves me to the moon and back, friends who mean the world to me, a family that loves me for me and not what they think I should be, a job that is rewarding, and I could go on and on...so, go ahead and "pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars" and wish for whatever you want. I ultimately believe that our words become a reality in our existance. So, choose your words wisely.
       I don't have to pretend that I will see family who have gone on before me. I know where I will spend eternity. I know Who made that belief an existance so we don't have to pretend there is a Heaven. There really is a Heaven and the exact opposite, a Hell, no matter how hard that is to believe. I believe this with all of my heart, and it's not a fairytale but a reality. So, I don't have to pretend there is a God...there always was and is and is to come...
      

While Sitting on a Rock...

       So, I'm sitting here typing with one hand, something that isn't easy at all. Yet, I have so much on my mind it's not even funny. Last night was something you'd see on TV, a movie in slow motion...it all is kind of blurred in my mind as radios were blaring for assistance, glass was being broken, tempers flaring, poles being swung, rooms being stripped, a run that injured my wrist and shoulder and so on. I removed myself from the situation for approximately twenty minutes, and as I sat there on a rock, my mind began to race thinking about our soldiers overseas, and how they are in crisis mode most of the time. They are dodging bullets, shrapnel, bombs, terrorists, etc, and for a brief moment I felt like a coward leaving the scene when I did...my little brother probably had nowhere to run as bullets flew his direction and I was outside sitting on a rock...those thoughts tortured me for a brief moment before a co-worker came and talked to me reminding me of our training and how it's good to remove yourself if you feel unstable....and boy did I...I held my ground until the pole-swinging began...then I was seriously done for the time being...I recovered in time to have to run what seemed like a quarter mile to assist a different situation. My run sent me crashing into the doorway, injuring my wrist and shoulder; only I felt nothing as I focused on calming a resident down who was crying and upset. I felt nothing still as I watched my own resident later on and we talked about the bats flying too close to our heads...my heart is broken for how it all went down...she told me she really liked me before she left and she wished me the best....
       Today is three years since Mamaw Hamm went to Heaven...my heart is with my family.....she is truly missed by all. I loved her sweet, Southern grace...always a smile, always a hug and hospitality. RIP Rosita Bercier Hamm...you aren't forgotten.