Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Open for Sharing

This blog is now open! It is intended for those who would like to share their art, whether it be writing, photography, painting, or sketching. You may want to share your dreams, bits of your life's journey, grief, hope, joy...and whatever else comes to mind.

Go ahead! Log in and share your creative mind!

NOTE: This blog is avidly monitored by its creator, so please be aware that inappropriate language, unwarranted criticism of another blogger's post (unless opinions are requested), and/or pornography will not be tolerated.

2 comments:

Todd said...

My Life With Rain.

As a child rain meant being cooped inside the house. Driving Mom crazy, wishing my brother belonged to someone else and he would be sent home soon, but it also meant playing with Lincoln Logs, Erector Set, and actually glad that I had a brother to share this with. It also meant that lunch would be hot soup, a grill cheese sandwich and Mom might bake a cake. Of course this always leads to who gets to lick the bowl and the egg beater. Again wishing I didn’t have a brother. While each of us would get one or the other, there was always the question of who got the most.

My pre-teen and teenage years. Oh no it’s raining. Mom will make me go to school looking like a freak. Those ugly rubber boots and the dreaded yellow rain coat. Going to look like a duck with oversize feet. Would get to school and there were the kids with no rain coat or rubber boots. How cool must their Mom be? She understood, not to embarrass their children. Only years later did I understand that Mom just wanted to protect us from the elements. Rain also meant ruined dates that were all planned around outdoor activities, but sometimes lead to being inside and becoming much closer to the one you were sweet on at the time.

As a young man and being in the military, rain took on a whole new meaning. First of all the military doesn’t let you stay inside when it rains. If outside work was called for, you worked outside, rain or shine. It was at this time I was introduced to a whole new rain coat. They called it a Poncho, basically a rubber skirt for guys that started at the neck down. Now this kept you dry, but if the wind came up you looked like a cone that had arms and legs. Only way to avoid this was wear a belt on the outside of the Poncho. No self respecting man would dare do this because of the ridicule that would ensue from your buddies, plus wearing a belt made you look like a girl with a rubber blouse and skirt.

Moving into my young adult years and rapidly towards middle age. Rain now took on a whole new meaning. Married, children, house with a yard. Rain was need for yard s and gardens, now dealing with my own child that had to stay inside. Snuggling up with your mate. It also meant cancelled BBQ’s, outside parties, delayed lawn mowing, not washing the car and sometimes a real fear of flooding. It also around this time that I start to see God’s beauty in rain. Without it none of us would be here, The fresh clean smell after a rain, the almost serene calm listening to it beat on the roof.

Now that I have entered the last phase of my life I have come to appreciate rain in all its forms. Rain, sleet, hail and snow. Rain, to cozy up with a good book, or reflect on the life I have lived. Hail, feeling the stinging ice needles against my skin by being caught outside in a sleet storm. Hail, like bouncing white marbles and so glad I was inside as I watched. Snow, my love, hate relationship. The beauty of waking up to Mother Nature’s pure white blanket on the earth. So pure and white. Then having to shovel it, drive in it and track it all through the house.

So all in all, I would say my memories of Rain are fond ones that I will always cherish. We only pass this way once. Enjoy all that life brings.

Todd Kinzle.

Todd said...

So why Am I not on this blog?:-}