A Georgia Angel

I originally wrote this for the Facebook Fans Exchange Forum on Mom Bloggers Club.  I’ve been visiting/liking a lot of fan pages lately that are fairly new, so I thought I would add this post to my blog.  I hope it is helpful to all those new fan pages out there.

Facebook states that “All Pages are eligible to claim usernames if they have more than 25 fans.”  Claiming your username for your fan page allows you to promote your page with a shorter URL.

For Example:

This will change your fan page link from looking like this…
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bonaire-GA/Georgia-Angel-A-Southern-A…

To this…

http://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaAngel

1.  Go to:  http://www.facebook.com/username/
{DO NOT change “username” to your user name, copy and paste the link just as it is}

You should see a link that says something like

“Set a username for your Pages”

I have 13 fan pages, so I had to select the page, then type in the user name I wanted.

2.  Then click “Check Availability”.

A message will display if the name is available or not.  Then just follow the instructions from there.

For more information, here is the Facebook Help Center page on “Usernames: Facebook Pages”

http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=896#!/help.php?page=900

and on “Usernames: Usernames” http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=896.

I have a few fan pages in need of “likers” so that I can claim my username.  If you have a moment, and you are interested in the content, please stop by and like my page.

• I’m a Blog Reader
• Karen.Penpals

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EDITED:  Just a note, this isn’t my daughter.  I was babysitting for the day.  I guess my post was just a little too “wordless”, lol.

View other Wordless Wednesday participants:  5 Minutes for Mom, Wordless Wednesday HQ, By Word of Mouth Musings, NOLA Mommy, Mommy Moment, For the Love of Baby, Moms Own Words.

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 Tonight, as we were preparing for bed, our dog, Sara, decided to leave us a present on the floor.  Not an accident, she has been house trained for months.  I think the phrase I used was “Oh my word, she is puking”.  Not one of my favorite words and it just came out because I was startled.

I ran to go get some paper towels and a plastic bag to clean up with, and Leah is hollering “she’s puking again”.  The drama then ensued of flopping around and screaming.  I had to tell Leah to calm down, everything was fine, all we had to do was clean it up.

I shooed Sara out the door and finished cleaning up.  I was on my way to get the spray spot remover, when Leah said we need to pray for her.

Here is her prayer (I had to start it):

(me) “Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight with our prayers…”

(Leah) “… for Sara.  She puked on the carpet and Mama cleaned it up.  Please heal her.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

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Fabulously40

“ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  James 1:17 (NIV)

I am a member of an online group called Fabulously 40 & Beyond, and I recently joined a group called Gratitude Diary.   Every day, the members of the group post a list of 5 things they are grateful for that day.  I am joining in for the first time, and I am using this for my post for today.

I am extremely guilty of not taking time out each day to be thankful to God, our Heavenly Father, for the small things in my life or even for the big things.

Today’s small things I am grateful for:

• the first day of school
• the opportunity to work from home
• power naps
• AC
• my job

It’s not a hard thing to do, being grateful, and it only takes a few moments.  Why is it such a difficult thing to remember to sit down and actually list those thoughts on a daily basis?  The answer is, we are human, and it’s not a top priority in this day and age of endless debt, marital stress, the task of raising children, or caring for family.  Exhaustion overtakes me, and pain, and a desire to escape life sometimes.  That desire is so deep that it overpowers everything else at least once a day.  I am calm, I am resolute, I am determined, but I still want to escape.

My bonus big thing that I am grateful for today:

I have 4 days left until I can “escape” to a By the Brook Retreat at Faith Baptist Church in Monroe, GA, sponsored by Rising Above Ministries.  The retreat is an opportunity for mothers raising children with special needs to gather together for a weekend of pampering, inspiration and encouragement to refresh, restore and renew.

I so need to “escape” to take a moment to breathe in deep and let it out slowly.

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While we were getting ready for church this morning, my 7 year old daughter kept asking me if I was okay.  For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why she kept asking me that.  It finally dawned on me later in the morning…  I had “scrambled brains” today.

Last night, I carefully calculated what time I would have to get up this morning in order to get both of us dressed, fed and packed up for Sunday School and Church.  I have to do this every Saturday night.  You would think I would have this down pat by now, but it’s a ritual I go through every time I am planning on something.

This morning, I got up (after hitting the snooze a couple of times, which I did allow for in my “calculations”), showered and dressed.   Next it was my daughter’s turn, getting her to eat a small bowl of cereal took close to 20 minutes.  Then getting her dressed was not so smooth either.  She put her dress on backwards, so we had to start all over again.  And the repeated instructions of “brush your teeth and brush your hair” was getting old.

I felt like my eyes were so tired, like I didn’t get any sleep at all, but I know I did.  I thought I slept pretty good.  But I knew I was feeling sluggish.

So we hop in the car, and I think I am doing pretty good and keeping to my time schedule.  We were even leaving 15 minutes early.  YAY us!

After I get about 15-20 minutes away from home, I realized I forgot my Bible and my Sunday School Lesson Book.  I had Leah Rose’s, but I forgot mine.  Shucks.  Well, I decided not to turn around to go back and get it.

It takes me about 45 minutes to get to my church, and when I was 15 minutes out, I realized that the clock said 10:28 a.m.  My eyes got big and my jaw dropped.  We were going to miss Sunday School.  I should have left the house at 9:00, not 10:00.  Whooops!  My “calculations” were way off.  We got there just in time for “Coffee and Conversation”. 

So, I guess Leah had good reason to keep asking me if I was feeling okay this morning.  I was walking around with Scrambled Brains and she knew it.

I hope this doesn’t extend into tomorrow morning.  It’s the first day of school.  That’s all I need is to still be sleeping in when the bus arrives at our door at 8:00.   I have all my alarm clocks set, with allowances for “snooze” hits.  Bad habit, I know, but I have a very difficult time waking up in the mornings. 

Maybe I will have one of those mornings where I will hop right out of bed.  The excitement of having 8 hours to myself without the non-stop chatter of a 7 year old accompanying me everywhere I go, could be just enough incentive for me to jump up and shout “Hooray, let’s get this day going”.  

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I haven’t had a vacation in so long.  Yes, I have been on trips here and there for various reasons.  I’ve driven my mother to Indiana a couple of times, we’ve been to Mississippi to visit family, and to Arkansas to visit a friend.  I think the last real vacations I’ve had was when I took my son to Disney and to Branson.  I did take two short trips with a friend – one to Florida and one to the Mountains.  Those were good trips, but I have to admit now looking back on it, those days were laced with a little bit of stress.

Every night that goes by with a lonely ache in my heart, and the only thing I have to look forward to is the never ending chatter of my 7 year old, at least until school starts…  3 more weeks, WOOHOO!  My grumpiness seems to escalate day by day, but that could be due to extreme insomnia.  Of course, my doctor will attribute that to the number of Dr. Peppers I drink in a 24 hour period.  Hmmm, maybe.

I have one friend who is having an involuntary staycation at a local motel because they are having plumbing problems in their house, a water leak in the slab, and they have holes in their walls.  I have another friend who is battling fatigue from caring for three boistrous children and a husband who was recently seriously injured in a motorcycle accident.  My troubles seem inconsequential next to theirs.  Still, I need a vacation.

So, I am going to try the next best thing.  A virtual-cation, just for me.  No tag alongs, no visits, just me and the world.  My first stop on my virtual-cation would be my favorite place to be….  on the beach in Destin, Florida at night.

After packing and gassing up my 2011 Lincoln Navigator, I head down south on Interstate 75 at about 5 or 6 am, arriving in Fort Walton Beach around 12 or 1:00 pm.

 A quick bite of lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant, Asian King Buffet.  Then to check in at the Ramada Plaza Beach Resort.

A brief photo opp from the balcony overlooking the Gulf.

Time for a nap, no tv, no phone, no computer, no blackberry, just a time to unwind after driving on the interstate for 8 hours.  Waking up just in time for dinner at the Coach n Four Steakhouse.

… and then a leisurely drive back across Oakloosa Island to the hotel.

Grab a blanket and a light jacket, a couple of Dr Peppers, the camera, and scout out the perfect spot away from the tourists, the hotel, and the bars.  Spread out the blanket, take off my shoes and roll up the hem of my jeans.  Yep, I wear long jeans to the beach.  I then settle in for a couple of hours to watch the sunset, listening to the waves, then watching the moonlight dance on the waves.

Finally, strolling back to the hotel and making preparations to leave the next day.  Setting the clock for just before sunset and then hanging out on the balcony to watch the sunrise with my trusty camera in hand.  Reflecting on the beauty spread before me and taking deep breaths to clear my lungs.

After the sun has come up over the horizon, a quick stroll down the beach to look for sea shells is in order.

After a leisurely late breakfast at the Waffle House, I should review the map and plan the drive to the next destination…

Check back to see where the next destination will be

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I do not often write about my status as a single person, often I talk about being a single mother and the difficulties I face, but I don’t often include my life as a single “person”.  It’s difficult and the loneliness is overwhelming to say the least.  I have been divorced since 2002, almost 9 years, and I have been involved in 3 or 4 relationships since my ex-husband and I divorced.  Needless to say, none of those relationships have worked out.  The one relationship resulted in the birth of my daughter, and the biological father has chosen not to be a part of her life.  I have chosen not to have him be a part of MY personal life, but I have to say that if he presented himself, I could not deny the opportunity for him to be a part of my daughter’s life, even though she may endure some unhappiness because of him.

Out of the other 3 relationships, the question of marriage was raised for 2 of those, but it just didn’t feel right.  Although, the idea of marriage appeals to me, I am hesitant to take that step because I have learned over the past few years that I don’t handle being with someone constantly very well.  It’s exciting, the first rush of the relationship to get to know each other, but eventually I had to take a step back and reevaluate what was happening and I didn’t like what I saw.  There was an implied rush to experience everything, including intimacy, which I am not willing to do.  That creates a lot of friction and it almost felt like that they didn’t seem to care about my feelings in the matter.

From conversations that I have had with these men, their fear was not of intimacy, but of being taken advantage of.  That women were only looking for someone to “take care of them”, as in financially and wanted an immediate commitment to fix their problems.  I can understand that.  I think every woman has that desire, and I think it is a human trait, not just a female trait.  We all want that significant other that can fix our problems for us.

I am an independent sort, and I don’t look for someone to fix things.  I might ask advice or look for reassurance that all will be well, but I don’t “ask” for help.  If it’s offered, I consider accepting, hopefully, in the spirit that it is offered.

Recently, I have had an opportunity to chat online with someone who is going through that exact same thing.  He feels that everyone is looking to him to fix things, not only in his professional life, but in his personal life too.  I believe he is going through a very difficult divorce, and he returns home to an empty home, and, in his words, has “no one to fix his problems for him”.  I have such sympathy for him.  I know exactly how he feels.

I have tried to reassure him that I only offer friendship, and I am in no hurry to enter a “relationship” with anyone.  I enjoy pleasant conversation and that is what we have shared, just conversation.  In our most recent conversation, he stated that “nobody knows how to be a friend anymore”.  I feel that I have failed miserably in showing that I have a kind heart and a sympathetic ear.  I am a good listener and I may not have any advice, but I listen quietly with full attention.  My heart aches so for him.  I only want to show him that there are good women out there who live a good Christian life who do not take advantage of others and don’t expect things that cannot be given.

Earlier, this was weighing so heavily on me that I was browsing the internet for articles on Christian faith and wisdom and hope to uplift me and keep my spirits up.  I came across a poem from a blog called Shooting the Breeze.  This poem just spoke to me and has had me in tears ever since.

Does anyone care?

The ache is there, does anyone really care?
The tears they fall, they fall to deaf ears,
Does anybody see our breaking heart
Or care to understand and do their part?

The ache is there, does anyone really care?
We beg and plead, and our souls we bare,
We tell them exactly what we need
But instead of helping they stand and watch us bleed.

The ache is there, does anyone really care?
If only they knew, If only they would dare
To reach out and listen or touch our hand.
Don’t they see we are in sinking sand?

The ache is there, does anyone really care?
Yet I finally found one so rare,
The one who would dare to stand
To be that listening ear and lend a hand.

Will the rest dare to understand
Or learn to reach out their hand?
The ache is there, does anyone really care?

Author Unknown

The author of the blog also has a quote that says “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable.” and he asks the questions,

Who can you be a listening ear to today?
Who can you lend a hand to today?

Dear Lord, give me the wisdom to be that listening ear for this person who seems to be hurting so.  I only want to be a blessing in this person’s life and not a burden.  If it is Your will to open that door, allow this person to accept my kindness in the spirit that it is given.  I ask for Your Light to be shown through my spirit to maybe renew his soul and his faith.  Amen.

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