Serendipity

“Dare to Be" "When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully. When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light. When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it. When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway. When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back. When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some. When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going. When tim es are tough, dare to be tougher. When love hurts you, dare to love again. When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal. When another is lost, dare to help them find the way. When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand. When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile. When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too. When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best. Dare to be the best you can – At all times, Dare to

bouquet of flowers After the ordeal in Wisconsin almost 20 months ago  (found in my earlier blogs from 2 Summers ago)  , I swore I was done with men and relationships. I had enough of the lies and deceptions; I'd had enough of making bad choices and no longer trusted myself to make a 'good' decision where men were concerned; I needed time to "find" me again...dealt with the knowledge that if I never met someone, I would be content to remain single until my last breath.  And really...who would want "me"? That's the biggest thought I lived with all of this time.  Then...something happened that changed everything for me. Mike and I went to school together, so many years ago...and had become 'friends' on Facebook almost 2 years ago. We had moments of conversations over that time, nothing more than a comment here and there, and I could see that he was living a good life down South. (Between Florida and New Orleans.) He seemed happy i

window looking outside...7/5/13 A new story has begun in my life...one of beauty...one of sorrow. In the week ahead, I will begin at the beginning, but for now, I am starting here, where the biggest travesty is occurring. Michael, my boyfriend, has hit rock bottom. In the last 6 months or so, things evolved which were completely out of his control. His own brother attempted to kill him while high on crack; he lost his unemployment weeks ago; was evicted from the place he was living because he couldn't pay his rent; had to surrender his car because he was unable to pay for it; and now...he's had to turn to welfare for help.  (As a side note, he had been living in New Orleans up until 6 months ago, returning 'home' to New York.) I was with him when he applied for emergency help at the Department of Social Services...and watched as it tore him to pieces to have to be this low in his life, and saw how the whole process of applying and being interviewed shredded