01/08/2017 – J-Dub's Grin and Bear It

WITHOUT prompting ask your child these questions and write EXACTLY what they say. Lulu age 19 replies:

Me: What is something I say a lot?
Lu: What? Repeat that.

Me: What is something I say a lot?

Lu: What? Repeat that.

Me: oh, that’s SO true. Lol

Me: What makes me happy?

Lu: Writing

Me: What makes me sad?

Lu: Me being sad.

Me: How tall am I?

Lu: 5’3 or 5’4

Me: What’s my favorite thing to do?
Lu: Read

Me: What is my favorite food?
Lu: Fried Venison, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Me: What is my favorite drink?
Lu : Mango Tea and you should indulge in it more often.

Me: If I could go anywhere, where would it be?
Lu: NYC

Me: Do you think you could live Without me?

Lu: No

Me: How do I annoy you?
Lu: Asking me to repeat things I tell you.

Me: What is my favorite TV show?
Lu: too many. All the sitcoms you record or cooking shows that you guys watch.

Me: What is my favorite music to listen to?
Lu: recently 80s on 8

Me: What is my job?
Lu: She named my employer

Me: How old am I?
Lu : you just turned 52

Me: what’s my favorite color?
Lu: Purple

Me: How much do you love me?
Lu: The Most. Mean it! Or to the moon 🌙

Copy, paste and change my answers and see what your child says!
You will be surprised how much your kids pay attention to you!

Based on Initial Thoughts and There’s About To Be A Revival it’s clear I was pretty excited about this book. I finished it a few days ago and have been unable to formulate a review until now. I was hooked until the very end and then fizzle.

This is fiction, I get that but seemingly realistic went far fetched at the end. That was the disappointment for me. I wanted answers and closure to the hereafter. Then I stop and think how else could this be resolved. What happens after life’s end remains a mystery. This version or any other for that matter would read fantastical.

I still recommend a read. I enjoyed the character depictions which created empathy and a feeling that I could actually know the Morton family and Charlie Jacobs aka theRev or Pastor Danny. I was influenced by a few lines that hit close to home … they’re real gems and I will repeat them now:

Dick Morton: “reverend was right about one thing: people always want a reason for the bad things in life. Sometimes there ain’t one.”

While reading this I was blaming myself for how life turned out for someone else. The guilt is overwhelming and sometimes I still feel to blame even though I know I can’t control anyone else or how they react to things life throws their way.

“Sometimes death is natural, a mercy that puts an end to suffering. But all too often it comes as an assassin, full of senseless cruelty and lacking any vestige of compassion.”

Hmm let’s see CANCER sucks! Death by suicide. The list goes on … losing my sister-in-law, two family friends, a coworker all before their time. I stop short of blaming 2016 but I will state a simple fact: 2016 was the year in which I experienced significant loss and pain.

Claire was wild with envy. She wanted to see how the other half lives. “They live just like us dear” Mom said “whoever said the rich are different was wrong”.

I can relate. Other people’s lives are seemingly perfection. Wondering how I stack up personally. Which half am I in?

“Andy and Terry went into the kitchen to serve the Neapolitan, which we called van– choc – straw… Funny how it all comes back.”

For us growing up, green Kool-Aid was army juice. Army juice was our van-ch0c-straw. There are more examples that I can’t think of right now. Do you have any? If so, what are yours?

“That’s just the way your brother is built Jamie. He lives on his nerve endings, and when people do that, their minds can turn against them.… Frightened people live in their own special hell.”

Welcome to my world. Or as a man called Alice used to sing “welcome to my nightmare.”

Jamie: “I’ve taken enough drugs to sink a battleship since then, but not even the best of them could equal that first rush. We were playing. They were dancing.”

This one really resonates with me! Some things are worth more than gold. They cannot be quantified. What motivates us and why do we do the things we do? In this line, being in a band and hearing the rush of the crowd was the high and motivation. Even more powerful than drugs. What’s your motivation? When you find that, you have the keys to the kingdom!

For anyone who makes it down this rabbit hole with me, thank you for staying. I hope you have a wonderful day, week, month and year!

As always, more to come.