Some mornings it is watermelon. Some mornings it is eggs, turkey scrapple and double fiber bread. Some mornings it is leftovers from the night before. Occasionally it is… yes… I admit it… Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops. I wake up every morning very hungry.

Oh my… that is a lie!! I met him on match.com… don’t want him to read this and think there is another man out there somewhere I met on myspace. I haven’t had my morning coffee yet…

I met my current man on myspace… I know, I know… but anyhow…. My intro started out with something like, “Would I look good in your shirt? My man needs to think me wearing his shirt is sexier than black leather and heels.” His response: “I have lots of shirts.” One of them hangs on my closet door right now….

I am acutely aware of my actions. I have always been and I don’t know why. My conscience must be that extra ten pounds I am carrying around.. it is huge. I have no recollection of ever stealing anything. This is a perfect example from yesterday pertinent to this question: I was shopping yesterday with my daughter and when we entered the store, I realized that both my purse and hat had come from that same store and still looked relatively new. I took my hat off and shoved it in my purse and had a moment of panic thinking they might think I was stealing it. Fortunately, the inside of the hat had some bug spray remnant in it and that was my defense if questioned. But, can you believe I even thought to look at that? I believe that I was given a gift (?) of being aware of how my actions affect others and ultimately the universe. Most of my life I have tried to evaluate my actions and their ramifications. Do you really get something for free by stealing it? No… you pay higher prices to cover the cost of thefts and the security people and devices, etc. Thanks for the question. I have the day off and was sort of dreading a mindless drifting day of housework… now my thoughts are churning…

My two favorite pieces of advice from my dad… 1) Break ‘em in the way you’re gonna drive ‘em. (I think he meant cars but I applied it to just about everything in life.) 2) Never go to bed with anyone you wouldn’t want to marry.

During the school year I walk to and from work each day. I relish the opportunity to clear my mind and switch gears no matter which direction I am heading. This summer I will ride my bike because I will be working throughout the district. I am a little bit concerned about the ride home in the evening if it has been a particularly physical day at work. It will all work out. If it doesn’t kill me, it will make me stronger.

Retrospectively, the best job was my four years in the U.S. Army where I served as a medic, battalion clerk and eventually a respiratory therapy technician. I didn’t see it as a great place to be at the time, but when I look back on the experiences, enlisting was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. But the job I loved while I was there… the one I have now. I am a technology assistant in a local elementary school where I spend my days teaching teachers and students how to integrate technology into their daily lives while making sure everything is always up and running in my building.

I love starting my day with a laugh and this hit the spot!

I will spend almost the entire weekend (beginning in just a few moments) hiking and biking in rural Pennsylvania. So many times, not just on an official holiday, I am reminded how fortunate that I am while I am out there galavanting. I am free to walk these hills and bike these dirt road without fear of land mines, road side bombs, suicide bombers, snipers… an occasional stray dog might attempt to thwart my enthusiasm, but that is a mere nuisance compare to what our veterans have done to allow us this freedom. I am a veteran, serving four years in the U.S. Army and these holidays are incredibly emotional for me. I can barely attend a parade because the disrespect while our nation’s flag passes is infuriating. People talking on cell phones, not wanting to stand or take off their hats… they don’t know… they just do not understand what it means… I’ve been to The Wall and the other incredible war memorials in DC and I must say my experiences have always been beyond words. I am always overcome by pride and despair and a love for my fellow soldiers that only veterans can appreciate. Phew… that is enough emotion for me for today!

Yesterday morning when a girlfriend told a group of us she was not worrying about her weight anymore but sometimes she does get a little concerned that her casket will weight too much. After a hearty laugh, we all assured her we have never heard anyone complain about the weight of a casket after a funeral. Just our unusual sense of humor I guess.

Dear Edith Ann: Would you like to come to my house? Please wear really old clothes because we will go outside and play in the creek, building a small cove that will catch minnows. We’ll name them and find some tadpoles to play with them! Then we can pick dandelions in the field and make crowns and necklaces and bracelets with them. You can be the princess first and my dog loves to be the prince. He even sits still long enough for you to get married (just pretend you know… you don’t get to take him home). I found an old blanket in the garage and we could put it in the yard and have a picnic and then just lay there and look at the sky and decide where we would fly to when we are birds. If you do that every day with me for a week (I cannot do it on Tuesday afternoon though because I clean my room then) I think that you will be happy. It makes me really, really happy and I am 44 years old!

My philosophy on resiliency… “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” Eleanor Roosevelt Does it change the way I put my pants on in the morning? There are very few events in life that will do that you know… Time’s role in this scenario… I feel a bit frustrated, yet more motivated by a keen sense of urgency, because I know I have less time to get my act together. When I was 22, I had twice as many years ahead of me to “fix it” than I do now. (Marlo: I will be passing on your words of wisdom to a dear friend who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. They are exactly what she needs to hear right now.)

I hear the birds just before sunrise. Then the traffic slowly builds. This is my first spring living “in town” in over 15 years and the sounds are so different for me. I miss the crowing of our rooster. His name was “Coffee” because he woke us in the morning.

I was sitting here this morning blogging about this very subject. How do we make others aware of their collective power and then rally them into action? This situation is keeping me awake at night. Who is responsible? Those that can change it… you and I and our neighbors who shrug their shoulders and get in their car and drive to the movies where they will spend $75.00/night for a movie and treats for four people or maybe they are going to the local professional sports team competition and paying $100/ticket. Hmmm… yet they cannot afford health insurance? Americans have their priorities screwed up. Yes, we need entertainment but I am a firm believer in the fact that the best things in life are free… a moonlit walk, an afternoon by the river reading a book… We need alternative, renewable energy research and investment. When I think of the money spent on mud slinging in these current election commercials and how that could be spent on researching alternate fuels, it makes me turn off the television. Okay… I am off my soapbox now. Heading out for a walk.

Currently… “Intellectual Foreplay” by Eve Eschner Hogan. It’s like having a therapist in my room. Last summer I revisited some classics, “Treasure Island”, “Swiss Family Robinson”, “Tom Sawyer”… This summer I’ll be cracking the spines on textbooks as I head back to college. The Kindle… I have been eyeing that each time I log on to Amazon. My apprehensions lie in my love for the turning of the pages, the smell of the paper, the passing on of a favorite to a friend, the beckoning of the cover as I walk past it on the coffee table and the mounting anticipation as I see I am nearing the end of the book yet so much remains unresolved.