Choosing to believe

Some days, when it seems like it’s impossible for anything to go right, when it seems the odds are stacked against you, when it seems as though, despite your best efforts, things are still f*cked up…some days you just gotta believe that it will all work out just fine. Even when it seems logistically impossible.

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My little view

Saturday night we went to a birthday party for a family friend’s 10-year-old daughter.  Double digits means, apparently, that one is too sophisticated to play with mere children.  At past parties, Zoe was snatched from her parents and sucked into the world of free-spirited play with all the cousins of this large, loving family.  Expecting much the same this time, I took her hand and climbed the steps to the playroom, where two of the girls had hidden from the boring adults.  As soon as we entered the room, I felt the chill as they stopped talking and looked at us.  I ignored it.  “Hi!  Would you guys mind if Zoe played up here with you?”

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Honor through helping

Ten years ago, I worked at the American Red Cross.  I was a measly little marketing specialist, doing my part to help my chapter raise money and awareness so we could help local families impacted by fire and flood, and send out volunteers and supplies to communities hit by natural disasters.  We trained folks in first aid and CPR and how to use an AED.  We helped people be prepared, and even learn how to swim.  Hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes were regular occurrences, and I was proud to work for a large, national organization that could quickly spin into action to help others while doing the daily work of making our communities safer.

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