Hatching.....

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird:

 it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.

We are like eggs at present.

And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg.

We must be hatched or go bad.”

CS Lewis

It is comfortable you know,

all balled up and warm, 

 within the confines of our own comfortable boundaries,

our own little home,

our own little space,

not bothered by anyone,

anything,

just incubating over time and space

ready to hatch out, break forth, spread our wings,

but

 fear keeps 

us 

confined.

 true,

balled up inside our space,

we feel safe,

guarded,

at ease,

but

confined there

even a bit uncomfortable at time,

legs need to stretch 

and

we never learn to spread our wings,

their muscles twitch with anticipation just waiting for the moment

when 

we will safe enough just to stretch,

strong enough to try and flap them a bit,

anticipate

the first full stretch

and feeling the exhilaration of the first lift off....

but

holed up,

hunkered down inside an egg,

safe,

none of that happens.

As we begin our week,

may we all 

muster up a bit of courage,

peck our way out of our protective encasing

given to us,

may we experience the light flood into the darkness,

let our eyes get used to it,

let the warmth dry our wet newly exposed feathers,

let our muscles take over

spread our wings

and

go out into the world

as

a 

fully hatched individual.

Go on,

spread your wings......

Happy Monday

and

Hugs,

Go on.....fly...

Radical Rambler

Getting through it....

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!"
- Movie Quote from 'Rocky Balboa'

Every once in a blue moon,

while walking the path

we humans

encounter obstacles,

bumps along the path

that trip us unexpectedly,

cause us to fall down and skin our knees,

we rise up,

look forward and try again,

knowing for damn sure

that sooner or later

another bump will rise up along the path

and

the falling down,

skinning the knee process begins once again.

The clock continues it's tock to match the ticks,

life moves forward

pulling us with it,

the sun shines,

rain comes to an end,

we climb from the darkness of the valley to the top of a mountain and head back down again,

when suddenly,

without rhyme or reason

or 

cause,

it happens to us all

we come to an obstacle placed on the path by someone else,

or something else,

and

we can't find a way around it,

can't move it out of the way because it is too big and too heavy,

too bulky to master alone,

we don't have materials to climb over,

and

the ground is too hard to burrow under in some sneaky kind of way.

The only option left is

to put forth a foot,

get down on our knees and

start the long hard journey

of 

going through it.

It "ain't no" fun at all

actually

it sucks up every ounce of energy

makes us muster up strength when we think we have none left

and 

invites us to evaluate 

our path...

do we want to live here

in a spot selected by someone we don't even know

or 

do we take care of us

and

make the decision

to keep on going,

dig our heels in,

trust that when the light is out,

our instincts are strong enough guide us...

we get dirty,

sweat out every ounce of fluid inside

and

yet

if we trust

in 

who we are

who created us

who guides us

and

keep on going...

no matter how hard...

eventually

we get through it...

get to the other side

and

continue on

the 

journey called life.

We will get through it...

if 

and

only if..

we keep going.

Have a great night,

blessings and hugs,

The Radical Rambler

off-color updates.....

"Families are like fudge--

mostly sweet with a few nuts."

I have a unique family.

We have lots of fun, but truth is you never ever know what might happen next.  With big daddy and off color daughter, one never knows what one will say or how off color it might be. 

Off color son has been busy turning seventeen and his sister turned sixteen (no she doesn't want to get her drivers liscence but we are going to make her--big daddy made her drive the other day she didn't know the difference between the gas and the brake---off color son said.....I was behind them...it was scary.

Off color son has finished his basketball seasons but is already practicing for the next...he might be short but he is sneaky--he can steal from the biggest man on the court---and can shoot a mean 3-point shot or drive up the center amongst the big men.

Here you will find some highlights of the past few weeks to catch you up on all the off color tales.....





 

A Sunday afternoon hiking trip with big daddy and his crooked stick.....looking sexy hot with his new water pack...although it did take him quite awhile to learn how to suck the water up through the hose....but finally he mastered the technique with a bit of help from his sexy hot mama......

ooo...la...la......look at those muscles!!!



 My favorite 'goddess' from the African exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum. I took off color daughter and two of her off color friends there and we spent the day.  The highlight of the ride was getting lost and driving past a barber shop with the name

Lil nappy hair Barber....

we would have taken a picture but we were really lost and trying to find the street sign to get us to the museum.

off-color daughter's friends--Katie and Dru---tagged along.

We enjoyed the exhibits by Nick Cave and the African art.

I also enjoyed listening to them talk about everything and everyone.  K. taught us all that "when you gotta go...you gotta go....even if it means to go behind a tree in a parking garage in a plastic cup. ...way to go Katie.

D. was the quietest passenger in the car.

It was a very enjoyable trip except for the constant rain all day long.

 Off Color daughter in Leather and Lace.  She is almost as sexy hot as her mama....

almost.

Norman (Noah) was not her date...I made them pretend for just a moment...though they do look cute together.  That is their fake couple hug.

Basketball season ended for off color son....he is intense as you can see....short but talented.  He scored 35 points in one of his games this season....not bad for a short white boy....and not bad for a boy with some of my coordination genes.

The pics below are from "off color daughter's birthday celebration"

 Hannah tard...otherwise known as the dog whisperer...the only person I know who brings her dog to a party at the park....way to go Hannah tard!!!

 the crew plays some basketball....Olive and Norman play

off color daughter stands and watches

and

her friend

"Raquel" spent her time

trying to be in every picture and

begging me to put her on my blog....here you go

Raquel welch...

 Katie came

as a incognito movie star....

orange eyeshadow and all...

she is quite funny.....

A tree climbing contest...looks like Olive has you beaten Norman...

Norman...are you standing on a trash can????

 Vegetarians unite....

Cesar and off color daughter....

guard the table keeping the carnivores away.

That gets us partially up to date...

it has been a busy month...but one filled with lots of fun..

The off color family is really sweet...

but

a bit nutty too..

makes life worth living..

Hope you've enjoyed a mini-update of off color family tales..

you never know what will be in the next post...that is for sure....

Happy night...

the radical rambler



Write your own adventure.....

“Then, one day, when you least expect it,

 the great adventure finds you.”

The Men Who Stare at Goats  

Ewan Mcgregor

I've been absent for some of this month....
never fear it's not that I wanted to neglect my readers but

Between the off-color birthday celebrations and

my unwelcome friend called "depression", I've not had the energy nor the creative spark to write or engage or participate in life anymore than I have too---which means I haven't blogged much and so as off color daughter would say....sorry, sorry, sorry for my absence....

But I'm back tonight....

so let's get on with an adventure in words.....

Life is one big

on-going story,

written each day by contributors of all walks of life,

from and by and because of

all we encounter.

Sometimes

without even knowing it,

we become so absorbed in the tale of others

the story put in front of us on the TV,

the

gossip of the neighbor across the street,

that

we forget to

forget to live our own tale and just become a character used in someone Else's story book.

From the onset of our first breath,

we are carried into the continuation of another's tale,

experiences,

cultural beliefs,

religious bone infusions,

and

parental expectations

all rolled up in one,

it all
begins our saga
and

plays an intrinsic part in how the rest of the story will be played out...

we become comfortable

with

what others have written for us,

what they have projected for us to be

and

so we follow the route on the map

without veering from the path

laid out for us to walk.

After a bit,

if we are aware,

we are awakened

to

the possibility

of

the world,

carnivals along the way

attract us with their lights and smells,

and

we get a hint of what life

invites us to experience.  It is a bit scary to venture off---but oh...my it is so worth it once the adventure of our own tale begins.

One day

if we are lucky enough

to trod down the unbeaten

road less taken,

dust rises and falls,

leaves crunch under our feet,

and

if we dare to keep walking,

believe in the adventure that invites us forward

one

day

when we least expect

we come to a place in the road

that offers us a choice..

a choice to turn around

head back to where we started

until we hit the familiar once again,

or

we can trust in the invitation

to experience

a unexpected

unknown

adventure

where we are invited to cross over

rushing water,

and head into

the lush forest

adventure that will take us to somewhere we have never been.

Today...

Today

I choose the unknown

and

enter an adventure on a clean page

where I will write my own tale.....
and
you dear readers are privy to the adventure.

May each of you

have the courage to

trod down a path less taken

and

let adventure

meet you where ever you are.

I double dog dare you....

Happy Saturday
and
Hugs......

Notice it....Life that is!

 “Life is full of beauty.

 Notice it.

 Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. 

Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

Ashley Smith

The Easter Eggs have been hidden,
found,
candy eaten
and
basket tossed into the pile of things we don't need--at my house that means it is stacked out in the garage.
The church trumpets have sounded,
the resurrection has been preached
and
here I sit....
wondering how it passed me by this year.
I feel withered,
sort of like the Easter Lilly's that were on the altar at church,
all dried up,
flopped over,
wondering if
I'm about to be tossed out on the lawn for the sun to finish me off --placed with the paper from the bunny and the empty bags from the jelly beans.
I ponder...
surprised a bit to even miss it..
miss the rhythm of what used to turn my crank,
wind me up,
rejuvenate my spirit.


I sit here on my couch,
coolness from the overcast day reaches my bones
and
I dig deep inside myself 
reflecting upon life.


It moves and turns
begins and ends
and
I suppose,
the real wonder of it all bombards every day all the time
mixed within the ordinary moments that tick away 
 never to be captured again.


I sit some more...
I listen
and
without rhyme or reason
I hear 
a whisper
it bubbles up from somewhere deep inside my heart space
and
it simply says...
stop...
look...
be..
notice it....
life that is...
it 
is right there in front of you....
flowers bloom,
children laugh,
strangers share a smile,
a touch on the hand from a lover,
 a friend calls unexpectedly.


The sun
it 
rises and sets,
moon glows and goes through cycles
and
all the stuff that happens
in the midst of the ordinary
is the good stuff.


Perhaps today
I will notice...
notice
that 
from out of the depths 
something calls me forward
out of the tomb-like haze of 
"something"
toward
a life
of awareness....


may I embrace it
notice it..
life that is.


happy Tuesday
hugs and blessings.


the radical rambler

Happy Birthday Off Color Son....

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or [Braham]
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!

Oh the Places You'll Go.....Dr. Seuss

Another year passes,

another year gone,

and

it seems like only yesterday...

we were on our way to the hospital,

hours and hours of labor,

your dad driving everyone crazy with his video camera...

a crazy emergency C-section

because

of your Big shoulders....

I remember your dad saying upon his first sight of you...

Oh my God...

We've got to change his name...

we can't call him B.......,

we are going to have to call him Beldar..

now if you don't know

Beldar comes from the TV show

Saturday Night Live...

he's a "cone head"

and

I do mean cone head

and

yes baby..

when

you were born

you looked just like

an

off spring from another planet with your

long cone shaped head

that you got from getting stuck---but that didn't matter to Big Daddy....

I can still hear him yelling at every nurse that passed...

Hey did you see that M......baby?

Isn't he the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?

and

no you weren't but we loved you like you were!

Now your on your way to adulthood

and

I know your not rushing it

neither am I

but

you are growing into such an

incredible young man.

You have a great head on your shoulders

and

I know you will mess up...after all you are human and all

but

life will go on when you do...

I hope you know

how incredibly proud I am to be your mom, incredibly proud of all that you are!

I celebrate

who you are today...

cute

sexy hot--just like your mom---

athletic--I guess you get that from your dad

kind and intutitive---

a great friend

a good brother

an exceptional grandson

 and

a wondeful human being.

I love your heart,

your quick thinking ability

the fact that you are comfortable in your own skin

and

that you think you are

God's gift to the world

and

guess what

You Are!

Always

do your best

strive to change the world

one moment at a time because if you try....

just a bit..

you will....change it you know...

I wish you nothing

but happy times in your life,

but

know

you'll have an array of events along the way....

that's what makes the good times so wonderful

going through the tough times, the sad times, the rough times.

Always know

Big Daddy and I are in your corner..

we may push

and

applaud

and scream from time to time...

we are your coach,

your instructor

your teacher

and

friend...

we love you

and

as you grow

we

eagerly

watch

and

and wait to see what

unfolds from you.

Happy birthday

off color son!!!!

Oh the places you will go.....

happy 17th birthday!!!!

you are loved.