The "Wish List"

(A little longer than expected, but I promise you it is worth the read)
This time of year is tough. It is filled with pressures and obligations that often lead to severe stress and can make a person act just downright awful to someone else, just to get that last toy that a daughter, son, nephew, niece or grandchild said they just had to have. Or it is the gift that you want to buy for your mom, dad, sister or brother, aunt or uncle and grandparent because you feel you "owe" it to them or maybe you are finally a financially stable adult and you want to show them that you can rightfully participate in the holiday gift-giving and not just be an extended name on the card of a gift that your parents bought for someone.

What does it all matter in the end?
What happens to the toys on little Timmy's "Wish List" that he just had to have? Maybe he still gives them attention or maybe they are already buried at the bottom of his closet or toybox without a second thought. You'll never know.


I can tell you what does matter.

What matters is relationships, honest relationships. Honesty between us and our children, parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, etc., but most importantly the honest relationship that we have with ourselves.
How many of us can honestly say during this time of year that we stop to think about ourselves? I know I don't, well except for when my husband asked me to make my "Wish List."
I quickly scrambled the Internet to decide what material things I wanted that could satisfy my "Wish List." I wrote the list with hyperlinks and sent it in a hurry to my husband.
A few days later, I received a new journal update from a friend and it was titled "Wish List." I have read every journal entry that he and his wife have posted and they are each inspiring in their own way but this one in particular stopped me in my mid-season chaos. It was like God reached down and ever so lovingly gave me a slap on the back of the head to help me readjust the screws that had gone loose and messed up all the wiring in my head since about mid-November.
I have received permission from Big Tony to post this here so please take your time in reading his words:

"Wish list.

This time of year those two words get used very frequently. Everybody has a wish list for Santa. Toni copied me on an email that she, Mimi and Robin had exchanged their wish list and they wanted to know mine. As I pondered what I "wanted" the following w
as realized in my heart;

I want many things but, I NEED NOTHING! - Our Lord and Savior has supplied for me all my needs this year. As I began to ponder the year that was, the thought hit me to ask Jesus what his wish list is. I began to read the bible and several different versus spoke to me. So, this got me to thinking and I was urged by my heart to share this with you;

Take time this holiday season to ask Jesus what he wants from you. What is His wish list? Jesus may have been asking something of you for a long time. Does He want you to quit smoking and get in shape? Does he want you to share your talents with a church or non-profit? Does Jesus tug at your heart and is He asking you to give it to him............?

My wish list for you: LOVE, PEACE and JOY that knowing Jesus will bring.

My wish list: Living a life well enough that when I die I can hold Jesus' hand and kiss Matthew's face.

Merry Christmas.

God's Love, Big Tony 300"

If you are wondering who Matthew is, it is Big Tony and his wife, Toni's beautiful son who was "given permission by God to fly with the Angels on Friday, June 20th, 2008" (Big Tony).

I haven't quite figured out what Jesus wants from me yet but I do feel Him tugging at my heart to pray a lot more. And, maybe that is my purpose for now - simply to pray.

So, in keeping with the theme of this post, below is the beginnings of my "Prayer List." Each of you are a part of it and this list is in no particular order:

• I pray for my husband and the start of our new journey.
• I pray for my daughter's health and pray that I am not causing any long-term mental issues.
  
• I pray that my cousin and her boyfriend will find a home to start their lives together.
• I pray that my husband and I will finally find a place to call home.
  
• I pray that my nephew lives forever in the best possible health and defies all statistics.
• I pray that my brother and sister-in-law continue to stay strong enough to make that happen.
  
• I pray for the health of all my friends who are pregnant and their baby's health.
• I pray that for all pregnant women and unborn children.
• I pray that my cousin always welcomes us with open arms to her home and I pray that she knows how loved that makes us feel.
  
• I pray for anyone who has lost someone in anyway: expectantly or unexpectedly. I pray that you believe no matter the circumstance your loved on IS with God and you will see them again.
• I pray for the woman I had the privilege to meet who had the strength to give up everything and leave the abusive situation she was in with only the clothes on her back and begin to make a life of her own.
• I pray for the women who are still too afraid to leave.
• I pray for those women who sacrificed their lives trying to leave.
  
• I pray for everyone who is in the middle of an argument that they try to understand the other side - maybe then the argument will turn into a conversation.
• I pray for married couples to start communicating more and remember why you love your spouse. Don't you think if we really knew all the quirks in each person we might all stay single or not have any friends :)
• I pray that my husband and I stay true to our wedding vows, for better for worse.
  
• I pray for people to accept others for who they are and not judge a person by their appearance.
• I pray that I can love others for who they are and mend all relationships long before death is my excuse.
• I pray for the strength to do that.
• I pray that each person I know, truly knows how much I love them.
• I pray that my daughter continues to see the song in everything.
• I pray for all suffering to end.
• I pray...
  

Love to you all.

Happy Holidays

I agree it is a little too early to start saying "Merry Christmas" but I am sooooo ready to get into the holiday spirit of the season!
Yes, until January 2nd you will only hear holiday-related songs on this site! Please let me know what your favorite holiday song is and I will add it to my playlist for your listening pleasure whenever you come to my site!

Lost and (I hope) Found

This is to the father at the park who I watched frantically walk from here to there in a panic, holding one scared, crying child while screaming at the top of his lungs for his other, obviously missing child.
All I did was stare at you while I helped my daughter get into her carseat.
"Should we do anything?"
"No"
"Are you sure?"
"We can't"
Thankfully someone did come to your rescue and ask you what was wrong and then they sped off with purpose towards the ranger's office as you continued to scream for the missing child, while the one you were holding grew more scared and cried louder.
At one point we made eye contact.
Then I got into my seat, closed the door and we drove away. We left you there alone and scared.
What kind of person am I? I am still thinking about you and praying that you found your other child and that the child you were holding was comforted.
This is to the father who was scared and alone - I'm sorry.

This Woman

By Butternose
(Check out song #23 "Daughters" to get the feel for this entry.)

It’s a shame that you’ll never understand,

The woman I became,

The woman that I am.

To you I’m just a girl,

But to me I’m someone else.

A wife,

A mother,

An individual if nothing else.

I don’t know how to explain

Who I’ve become,

Or who I want to be.

But I want you to know,

This woman that I am,

There’s more than what you see.

Maybe one day we’ll meet on common grounds,

And we’ll

Listen, and

Observe,

Value, and

Esteem

Each other.

Until then I’ll stay your little girl,

And you can stay my mother.

Something to make you laugh today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJxehS0wJrU

Wasting Minutes

(Check out song #17 "Carry Me" for this entry)
I was talking to my friend today and she called me on my cell phone. We were talking for some time and she stopped in the middle of our conversation and asked me if she was wasting my minutes.
I was taken aback.
Why would she be wasting my minutes?
I told her that there's no such thing. She asked what I meant, what kind of phone plan did I have?
I started laughing and explained to her that I wasn't referring to the phone plan I have. Instead, I was referring that talking with my friend is never a waste of my minutes.
She thought that was sweet but I also hope that she knows I was sincere.
I recently reached the ripe old age of 32 and I've had a lot of experiences with people of all walks of life.
There have been people I've loved and let go and there have been people I've loved and lost and there have been people I've loved and are still close to my heart, who I talk with often (or as much as I can).
For those of you who know me and for those of you who have yet to meet me, I always trust and love the person you are at first meeting, maybe a bad thing for me but I'll take my chances. It's where our paths cross after that, that will either build that relationship or dwindle it.
I think I can say that throughout my years I have built more relationships than those I have let dwindle.
I'm the friend you can trust when you ask, "Please don't tell anyone."
I'm the friend you can count on to tell you the truth, but gently.
I'm the friend you can turn to when everyone else has turned away.
So, if you're ever wondering if you're wasting my minutes my answer is :
I'm the friend who listens.

Hunger Pains

To hear other people's thoughts is what we all, at least some of us, think we would most desire.
"I wonder what she really thinks of me as a friend?"
"I wonder what the hesitation in my husband's voice meant when I asked him how I looked in this outfit?"
"I wonder why that stranger is staring me up and down from across the room?"
Things of this nature.
I've had the recent privilege to have that desire filled and it wasn't anything that I desired to hear.
A little background info: Over the past two years for reasons unknown to me, I've gained about 30 pounds, most of it in the past year. I can tell a huge difference in my body where as others politely tell me that they haven't noticed a change, that I look the same. While I appreciate their kindness, they're full of it!
In 2007 I was active, going to the gym everyday and wearing a size 10. Now, I'm slightly active, don't go to the gym at all and wear a size 16 on a good day.

Recently, on a trip to visit family that I haven't seen in a while, someone who thought I was out of ear's shot made a comment after I squeezed past them at the dinner table.
"Man, her ass got HUGE!"
That shot a pain in my stomach. Funny thing, it felt kind of like a hunger pain.

Within the same week I was told first-hand that someone was looking at some pictures of me from about 2 years ago and made this comment:
"Wow, Butternose used to be skinny!"
This time the comment punched me right in the gut and made the top 10 list of things that have made me feel horrible in my life. I cried and the hunger pains shot back through my stomach.

Maybe some of you will say this might have been good for me to hear so I'll get off my ass and finally do something about my weight but it truly didn't have that effect. What it made me want to do is rewind back to right before the first comment where I was happy with myself and content with my weight for the time being.
I had been working on exercising more and eating better the week before all of this happened and, not that I'm going to stop now, but those comments just made my efforts seem worthless.

I'll get past this, I get past most everything.
Time is a burden to memories.

Like a diamond

I visit you one last time.
You shake your head in defeat,
"You're leaving us again."
As much as it hurts you,
I know in my heart you understand,
You're forgiving that way.
What can I do, this life I must follow
And my feet on this road they travel,
Sometimes closer, sometimes further
A hope that things will settle for the best.
As I leave, I look behind me several times.
Once for you,
Twice for me,
Thrice to remember,
Four to never forget.

Sustaining Innocence

(Listen to the song "The End of the Innocence" to get a feel for how it set the mood for this entry.)

In Don Henley's song "The End of the Innocence" he talks about how as young children we're poisoned by fairytales. My interpretation is that he's not talking about Little Red Riding Hood or Cat in the Hat but, instead, he's talking about what we're told is the truth by those whom we place our trust in during our most innocent years - childhood.
As I get older, the fairytales that are told to me get more vivid and it's hard to differentiate the truth from the bitterness. I guess because I'm way past my innocent years (31), the elders in my family think it okay to tell me odds and ends about what was going on or continues to go on behind closed doors - I wish they wouldn't.
I try as hard as I can to wash away these sad stories that mean nothing to me and, as far as I know, never effected me directly.
But, it's hard when you know.

That being said, I'm sustaining innocence within. It's not about being naive, it's about allowing myself the memory of any person in the way I want it to be, as I remember them.

Inspiration

(Listen to the song "Growin' Up" from the songlist to get a feel for how it inspired this entry.)

I was watching my much loved Palladia music channel this morning and one of my favorite musicians was on - Bruce Springsteen.
Now, I have heard and listened to many of his songs but never put much thought behind what they meant to him as an artist because, let's face it, I don't have his number on my speed dial to ask him.
Knowing what a song means to its artist is a rare privilege, but especially when the artist him/herself is the one explaining the significance. The show on Palladia this morning was Bruce playing his song for an intimate audience and explaining the song's significance to him.
At one point he played and defined his song "Jesus was an only Son." He made an astounding point that just opened my eyes and inspired a new wave of thinking, immediately. He simply stated that "Life is a path of consequences and that we all follow one."
As simple as it sounds, it had a profound impact on me. Life is filled with decisions based on choices. And, depending on what we decide there is a consequence - positive or negative. Or, going even deeper here, maybe there is always a positive and negative consequence with each decision. How can one truly know the impact of his/her decision except for how it effects him/herself?
I've been dissatisfied with the title of my blog for a few months now because my entries aren't always cozy (due to my path) and I needed a way to express that to you all. I mean truly, it's life. And life ain't cozy all of the time.
With this new title I'll be more apt to blog because it's just about life with no expectations. I felt obliged to provide you with a cozy atmosphere at all times before but now it's time to get real!
I will continue using my pen name, Butternose, because it is a consequence of my path. It holds sentimental value for me because it is the nickname my maternal grandpop gave me in my youth.

In addition, here's the beginning of a new story that these words inspired in me today:

A Path of Consequence

A path of consequence is a road that we’re all certain to follow. It’s inevitable that everyone has one.

My grandfather, for example, until the day he died vowed that he was born of Irish blood although his family heritage proved otherwise. He would study Gaelic at the dining room table for endless hours with his Irish cap on, a pipe in his mouth and a glass of Irish whiskey at the tips of his fingers. He traveled with my grandmother to the Emerald Isle each year, immersed himself in the Irish culture and made many friends along the way. In his life, he wrote vivid poems, stories and painted life-like visions of his numerous journeys to the island. I often think that my grandfather, in his death, is living his dream across the Atlantic on his beloved Emerald Isle. Being Irish is the path that my grandfather chose for himself. The consequence of this is that he truly believed he was an Irishman.

You Don't Know How It Feels...

Or do you?
You know, I wonder what Tom Petty was thinking about when he wrote that song. Maybe he was thinking that his listeners would never know what it felt like to be a rock star whose life is made on the stage, one tour after another.
I shouldn't speculate but I am curious about the lives of other people. Sometimes I find myself wondering what it would feel like to live life in another person's shoes. How would I want other people to react to my situation? There is so much hidden emotion behind the obvious body signals in the people I encounter each day.
The other day I happened to be in a hospital where I happened to catch a person in scrubs, donned in a surgical cover, hair net and surgical mask attempting to control a complete meltdown of tears. This person, whether it was a surgeon, nurse or parent, was a concerned person at a minimum. They tried to conceal and control their obviously strong emotional state but couldn't help letting go the tears.
It was only a matter of 5-10 seconds from the time I turned and saw this person trying to hide the explosion of grief ensuing him/her to the time he/she composed him/herself but it was just enough time to make me wonder what it must be like to be them at that moment. I felt so bad for that person I just wanted to go up to him/her and give them a hug and maybe that wouldn't have made a difference but it would have made me feel like I was letting them know they weren't alone and that it was okay to let go.
Although I can't know for sure how it feels to be "you," you are not alone and what I hope to do is to be there for you, listen attentively and gain an understanding.

Today

Today
by Butternose

Today I want to be anyone but me.
Today I don't feel like being
A Woman
A Wife
A Mother
A Daughter
A Sister
A Friend
A Writer
Today is just one of those days.

Prettiest Girl in the Room

by Butternose

The prettiest girl in the room,

I am certainly not.

Five-feet, seven inches,

Weighing more than a lot.

Though my boobs are big,

And they get all the stares,

They're nothing but fat,

And I'd lose em' if I just took the stairs.

My butt is silky smooth and pleasantly plump,

Just like J-Lo's,

As long as it's squeezed into queen-sized, control top pantyhose.

My arms are too manly for any sleeveless shirt,

And my thighs are too lumpy,

So forget the mini-skirt.

My feet are so dry,

And my toes are too long.

Only sneakers for me please,

No open-toed stilettos or cutsie summer thongs.

My hands are not feminine,

Not one insie bit.

My nails are all brittle,

And my fingers are short, knuckly and thick.

To top it all off, my hair is somewhere in between,

What it was fifty dollars ago,

And the two-inch dark roots that are easily seen.

I never wear make-up,

All natural gal here.

Besides,

My rosacea would shine through any foundation I smeared.

The prettiest girl in the room,

I am certainly not.

But I have personality for miles,

Which, I've been told, counts for more than a lot.

January

It's amazing what creativity comes from a concoction of little sleep and too much stress. Although I'm way off this morning I am grateful for the result - enjoy!

January

by Butternose

A storm is brewing

It's alive.

With every breath,

It feeds and thrives.

A storm is brewing

Out of control.

Beyond my body,

Poisoning my soul.

A storm is brewing

I'm caving in.

Nor strength or faith,

Can conquer this sin.

A storm is brewing

And once it has passed,

The skies will open,

But that will fade fast.

A storm is brewing.

In Love

by Butternose
(Click on the song "Life Ain't Always Beautiful" and get a feel for how it set the mood on this entry)

Though a mountain's peak soars beyond the clouds,

And can be seen for miles around,
It is a mountain's valley,
The lowest point,
Where true strength is often found.
Such as life,
At our lowest points,
We are quick to look above.
But above it all,
Where true strength is found,
Is in two hearts that are one,
In love.