♪♫Red as the Bloodshed, Blue as the Wounded, White as the Crosses on Our Soldiers' Graves;

Through the rain, through the sun, these colors never run.♪♫
     Well, not much has really been happening with me over the last few days. The only thing note-worthy, really, is a project in which the high school's social studies department is participating, due to my teacher, who has a tendency to start things like this. It's called "Shoeboxes for Soldiers" and is actually a localized branch of the national organization of the same sort.  Shoe boxes or an equivalent are filled with supplies, food, puzzle books, etc. and sent to soldiers overseas. Each box is addressed to an individual soldier, not a company or other intermediary.  A local radio station in the area, KTTS, sponsors two drives every year - one at Christmastime and one around the Fourth of July, which is the one that is going on right now.  It costs about thirteen dollars in postage to send a box, and my teacher has agreed to pay for the boxes her classes fill.
     I've always wanted to get involved in this sort of thing, but never have. Now, I'm finally getting a chance to do so, and it's made me start thinking; our military fights every day for our rights and freedoms: shouldn't we be using them? If we don't that invalidates all that they do and thus makes their sacrifice futile. Because of the men and women fighting for our country, we have the freedom to think, feel, say, and be whoever we choose. Shouldn't we be doing more to honor that fight?
     I know I should. I need to take advantage of the fact that, because of these sacrifices of these soldiers, I have every right to live my faith and uphold my values. This is not the case in most countries, and I feel that, should we choose to "roll over and play dead" to every whim of society as a whole, we are nullifying the sacrifices of our military past, present, and future. So, I am going to start walking the walk. If God has blessed us with a nation in which we can be free to live and believe as we see fit, I think He means for us to use it to its full advantage.
     So, that's my brief thoughts on the subject. Also, I obviously think that we should be honoring those that serve our country and put their lives on the line for us every day. And this project is just a tiny way in which I can do just that.
     That's about it, so I'll talk to ya'll later! :)

Mother's Day 2011

   As most of you know, I've gone through a lot o changes in the past year.  One of those changes is that, for reasons not pertinent to this discussion, I now need make no pretense of observing Mother's Day.  This also means hat I am now free to observe in a fashion that suits me.  And this is that fashion.
   Over the course of my short but eventful life, I have come across many people of many different beliefs, backgrounds, and temperaments. Among these people, there have been difficult, vindictive individuals judgmental exclusivists, and sacrinely loving givers.  A personage that has been severely lacking, however, is that of a loving, caring mother.  Because of this unfortunate void, Mother's Day , in the past, has meant but little to me; it was a mere formality with which I grudgingly complied. 
   This year, as this holiday approached, I began contemplating the prospect of making this holiday mean something for the first time in my life.  This idea sparked as exploration of the meaning of the word "mother."
   It seems that the word "mother" can be defined in three distinct ways; the first is simply the biological maternal parent of an individual.  The second is the legal female guardian of an individual (this definition is, really, questionable at best; I threw it in for the argumentative types like myself).  The third definition, however, is vastly different; it is, I believe, the definition most proper in regards to Mother's Day.
   A mother is a woman who loves you unconditionally. She is a person that has helped, in some way, to raise you and make you the person you are today.  She is a woman that pulled you through difficult times in your life and hast stuck with you through good times and bad.  A mother hast taught you lessons that have become vial to you and your outlook on life, and she has bee willing to tell you when you were wrong and needed to change.  A woman who has done these things is someone that certainly, in my book, deserves recognition on this day.
   These sort of women are the women I wish to recognize.  Some have simply pulled me through a difficult time in my life or taught me a few important lessons; others have made sure that I never got "too big for my boots;" others have been with me through thick and thin, never backing down from the truth and never letting me give up.  Many of these women are still an active and vitally important part of my life.  Without these women, I don't know where I would be today.  Each and every one of them have shaped me into the person I am today.  Though I live to be thousand years old, I will remember these women and the things they have done for me. They have taught me about love and loss, pain and perseverance, and faith and fortitude.  They are my reason for celebrating Mother's Day.  At some point, they have all been a kind of mother to me.
   Am I going to recognize the same people over and over again every year? Maybe; but probably not. Obviously, I won't know exactly what I'll do next year until next year rolls around.  But I'm thinking I'll probably recognize women who have been important to me over the past year.
   But that's for me to know (eventually) and you to find out :)

My Most Heartfelt Apologies....

  But for the past two days, I have been completely and utterly uninspired. Alas, it happens to the best of us :P  Anyway, I will post again, but it will probably  be this weekend.
   "Till then, think of the world."
   Or whatever you usually do.