Sounds of Hope

People say we travel a lot.  I guess that's true.  Today I am in Fairfax Virginia.  On Wednesday I'll be in Connecticut.  Thursday I'll be in New Jersey.  Back home in Tennessee on Sunday.  This fall I've been to both coasts seeing the Empire state and the Golden Gate bridge in the span of one week. I've been to Florida and Atlanta twice.  Are you tired?  I'm not. I love it. I think it is the Viking in me.  I love to meet people. I got to know the wife of one of my husband's colleagues.  We talked and shopped til we dropped in San Francisco.  It was a wonderful day.  I hope I see her again.  I think we'd be good friends. Last night, as we exhaustedly checked into our hotel, I met someone new. I guess a five minute conversation doesn't really qualify as meeting someone but he will stay in my thoughts for a long time.  No I haven't become star struck rather the mother instinct took hold.  Tall, thin, blonde,with an infectious smile, dressed in

In 800 yards, turn right. At the end of the road, turn left on to garbled street. Go 300 feet and turn around. A GPS is a wonderful thing and it is persistent.  It never relents.  It never listens to our rationale that we think this is a better route.  This weekend, we were on a quest to find a cul-de-sac on the outskirts of the small town of Thomasville NC.  We missed the GPS instructions to take the exit.  Without missing a beat, the GPS rerouted.  At first it tried to get us to turn around, then it planned another route. Sometimes when following a GPS you see a “sign” – the sign seems to contradict the GPS.  Such was the case on Saturday.  We saw the sign for Thomasville – we looked at each other.  I said, “It’s your choice, you are the one who is driving.”  He followed the sign. The GPS persisted.  We kept going ignoring what the GPS was telling us. Soon we realized that we were far off course. We had not listened to the GPS and yet the GPS never relented.  It kept rerouting

You ever hear the expression, "Well, I'm just going to take my marbles and go home ."  I feel a lot like that a lot of the time.  While people usually think that person who wants to "pick up their marbles and go" is a bit of a spoiled brat.  You know, the one who always wants their way-doesn't like to share, always wants the power and to be in charge.  It's easy to think that.  We all know those type of people. I don't need to have my way all the time.  In fact, I rarely get my way.  I tend to be the one who is most willing to give in - to say okay, that's fine.  Most of the passion has been sucked out of me in life so it's become easy to acquiesce.  I like being in charge but I don't have to be.  That assessment of why I want to "pick up my marbles and go" has nothing to do with having power. But I do want to pick them up and go.  I want to retreat from conflict.  I want an end to frustration.  I want to be able to contrib