Lessons From Noah's Ark

Recently I received an e-mail from my father-in-law containing pictures and ending with lessons from Noah's Ark...

While the pictures were cute, it was the lessons that really struck a chord with me. Especially number 4: "Stay Fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big." Most people usually assume that all the great things we're going to do in our lives will be done by the time we are 40. At the very least, we will be (or should be) on the right track to doing whatever it is we're going to be doing by then.

For some of us though, we may have switched tracks at some point and/or have still not found the right track. It's nice, even affirming, to hear about people who have gone on to do great things After the age of 40. One of the examples that always sticks in my mind is Winston Churchill who didn't even pick up a paintbrush until very late in life and found that not only did he love it but that he was quite good.

Another thing about Noah is that he listened when God spoke to him. How many of us sit still long enough to hear that voice? Especially if/when it's telling us to try something new, hard or even seemingly impossible? That's definitely something I need to work on...

Bottom line is that while I might not yet know what I want to be when I grow up, there's no reason to give up hope that I can and will contribute something more. In fact, I have to believe that God put me here for a specific reason. I just have to listen and act in order to figure out what it is.

Here are the "Lessons from Noah's Ark":

ONE: Don't miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark .
FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Things I Love A to Z

There's a new book out all about things this guy hates...he is such a grouch he wondered if he had something he disliked for every letter. Sad thing is, it will probably be a best-seller. When I saw the book, I wondered if I could list something I love for every letter. (We recently went to someone's house and they had a really cool A to Z wall art thing - I wish I had taken a picture. If you're reading this, can you send me a picture!?) So here's my attempt at things I love A to Z:

A - aquariums, airplanes and art (both the making of art and the seeing of art)

B - balloons, babies (human and others) and bowling

C - crafts and cats (have you seen that YouTube video about the girl who loves cats? The song is even funnier...)

D - dogs (and warm cinnamon/sugar donuts like the ones my sister-in-law made us the other day...YUM)

E - elephants and Easter eggs

F - family (especially Bubba and my husband!) and french fries...the crispier the better, but not burnt.

G - giggles (especially the deep belly laugh kind of giggles that Bubba does) and games

H - hydrangeas and helping people

I - Ireland (I also thought of adding igloo just as a away to say that I love homes - not just my own but you know how sometimes when you go into someone's house and you know right away that it's more than just a house, it's a home? I love that!)

J - jokes (especially kid jokes...favorite: What kind of insect do you find on the moon? *See answer at bottom)

K - kites (and pretty much anything that flies - regardless if it's alive or man-made)

L - the library (I can't wait to visit the Library of Congress!! and one of my favorite cheesy movies is "The Librarian"...is it just me or is Warehouse 13 pretty much the same thing? Either way, love them both) 

M - museums and movies

N - new things (even if they are only "new" to me - hand-me-downs & heirlooms rock!)

O - the ocean! 

P - pictures (Photo albums), pools and pretty things

Q - Queens and the monarchy...especially European - although the Queen Noor biography is still one of my favorites

R - reading and reenactment (Renaissance fairs, places like Williamsburg, etc)

S - singing, swings and science

T - travel, TV and telling people I love them 

U - underwater...though I've never gone scuba diving or even snorkeling

V - values (also, feeling as if you and others are of value to the world...)

W - writing and water (being on it, in it, around it, near it....)

X - XOXOXOX (does that count? I do really love hugs and kisses but also couldn't think of anything other than X-rays and xylophones...both of which are cool in their own way, I'm just not sure I love them...)

Y - yellow (it's actually not my favorite color but it's so cheerful and as an accent with blue is completely refreshing to me)

Z - the Zoo

This turned out kind of random (or is it rambling?) but fun. Most of these popped right into my head and are things I enjoyed as a kid too. Somehow along the way of growing up I forgot about a lot of these. I'm  blessed to have the opportunity to relearn them.

* Answer to my favorite joke ever: Lunar Ticks!!

Appreciating Veterans

Lately, there have been a lot of articles written about how to "Thank a vet" on Veteran's Day. I even read an article that implied thanking a veteran for their service was a bad thing. The article turned out not to be as bad as I expected but I think part of it was poor choice of words for the title. (You can read the article here. Interestingly, the title has been changed from "When 'Thank you for your service' falls flat" to "For Veterans, is 'thank you for your service' enough? Big difference).

I never really knew what to say when people thanked me for my service. I felt I was just doing my job - and maybe not even doing enough when I was stateside instead of "in the AOR" or the front lines. I think of all the answers I've heard to being thanked my two favorites are a simple "Thank you for your support" and "It's my privilege to serve."

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There are numerous organizations out there where veterans can find support. There are actually so many it's sometimes hard to figure out where to go or who to turn to. It's also hard to figure out which are for real and which may be scams. I had hoped that the Joining Forces initiative would help address some of these issues (see previous post here). However, Joining Forces doesn't seem to be focusing on what is already available and is instead focused on creating job opportunities for veterans and getting big names from Hollywood to make their commercials. If part of their mandate is to "give service members and their families the support they've earned" wouldn't it make sense to create some kind of clearing house kind of thing where people can go and see what all is available for them? 

The only place I've seen anything like that is at Operation Homefront Missouri, where they try to help people figure out which organization or service best fits their needs. Unfortunately, it is more of a local level thing. I had hoped "Joining Forces" would do the same thing on a national level. Maybe they have a plan for it? Might have been good to start with that in my opinion...

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One of my recent pet peeves is how a lot of the new veteran organizations (sometimes even the old ones) specify that they are here specifically for Iraq and Afghanistan vets. Now, I know there are a lot of them. I also know they they have a lot of issues including a high unemployment rate and high rate of homelessness. However, I am not a vet of either Iraq or Afghanistan. But I did deploy for SOUTHERN WATCH and ALLIED FORCE. Does my service not count because no one remembers those missions? That's sure what it seems like...

I may not need the same help that some of the men and women returning from Iraq or Afghanistan do, but telling me (and thousands of others) that we don't qualify for aid because we served in a different part of the world or at a different time doesn't seem quite right either. Is it wrong of me to think that way? I'm not saying there shouldn't be something just for them, just as we have organizations for Vietnam Vets and Korean War Vets. But, why does it seem as if so many of the new organizations established to help and/or support veterans specifically say "for Iraq and/or Afghanistan" vets? Where is the support for the "I served but didn't deploy for any of the high-visibility stuff" veterans?
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Well, I don't want to get any deeper into my pet peeve for fear that I'll start sounding like an ignorant dufus...I love my country; I love that I served and wish I could have done more; I love that people out there support the troops and our veterans..that's all that really matters in the end.