MUSINGS

How much catharsis does one have to go through before the spell is finally cast??  We're about to find out I suppose. I think everyone has those days where they doubt their very existence, I assume it wouldn't be normal if we didn't.  What happens when the doubt permeates your daily routine?  There are tons of chipper, happy people wandering the Earth.  It's a safe bet that they can't be that happy constantly.  There have to be low moments to balance out all that sunshine.  Being one such person, when I'm down it throws people off.  I have friends who can't wrap their heads around why I wouldn't be up and chipper and off the cuff...I mean, she's always happy....right? Yes.  As an overall idea, I am always happy.  There are moments however, that I am not the shining example of Pollyanna.  This doesn't mean I need a lecture or a "boosting up" chat.  Maybe I just need a low moment.  Life isn't all sunshine and light all the time.  

I got remarried this weekend.  It's been 4 years since my first marriage ended with my ex walking out and moving in across the road.  We sat and had a talk later that week and he told me we would never get back together.  When he told me that, I said, "OK, it's over".  I haven't looked back since, and after some recent events, I'm grateful I haven't.  I was told several times that the second time around is the best, so far, I believe every word of that. In the last couple of years, I've been called names, my spirituality has been questioned, my resolve has been tested, and so has my faith in it all.  I went from believing that love was just another 4-letter word, to knowing that it is real.  I have found friends in unlikely people, seen the true colours in others, and rekindled relationships that were long overdue.  I walked into my divorce with the notion that I would never, ever remarry.  I assumed that he was the best I would ever do or that I was

When you think about the South what comes to mind?  Pretty women in fluffy dresses sitting out on big porches drinking mint juleps?  Cotillion parties, Civil War reenactments, Southern gentlemen opening doors for ladies and children.  Or maybe, it's backward hangups on race, breeding, and family ties.  Well, all of that plays a part in our culture in some way or another. Having been raised in a diverse community, I've seen both sides of the Southern coin.  I know families who wouldn't allow their son or daughter to date outside of their class or community standing.  I'm not talking about the classic father moment, "no boy is good enough for my baby girl".  No, I mean, "well honey, his daddy is a 10th degree Mason and his grandaddy owned half the parish, I reckon he can take you out for a coke."  There have been plenty of unions over the decades where a son marries the local white trash daughter and the family is shamed beyond repair.  They come hom