We welcomed a beautiful little baby boy into the family this past Wednesday. Nooooooo!! Not me, thank goodness! My brother and sister in law welcomed their son Bo into the world and he is a looker, let me tell you! :) I'm so proud of them and so excited to watch them grow as a family.
I've been lucky enough to visit with them twice since they've been home and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I can remember having Walter and feeling like my house was just a revolving door of visitors and being completely overwhelmed. I see it in their eyes when I look at them and remember being them. Exhaustion is a terrible thing, but it also results in getting funny videos of them sucking helium out of balloons at 1 a.m.!!! At least they're remembering to laugh and enjoy one another, right? It made me smile. It is so scary to bring your first child home and you're convinced you're going to kill them any second or at least screw em' up pretty good! I know I remember feeling that way. Haha! Did you all feel that way as well?
I am so happy for them and the beginning of their family. I can't wait to watch the boys grow up together and make wonderful memories you can only make with your cousins. Walter has been so sweet to Bo and told him right away how much he loved him! (It melted my heart right on the spot <3) So... Cheers to the Foreman family, may you be blessed in ways you can't even begin to imagine! Xoxo
-ejw
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
"I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!"
I've recently come to find out that I am a control freak. That might sound weird, like it should be something I already knew about myself. Well, I knew... I just didn't know how bad I was. Let me tell you first hand that being a control freak is not all it is cracked to be. In fact it's downright awful!! Without even realizing it, I was living my life in a constant state of stress and anxiety. Annnnnd what for? I mean, it can't really be called living when you're not leaving yourself time to enjoy it.
A couple weeks ago I came to the realization that I couldn't live like this any longer. Well, truthfully I had a pretty good anxiety attack and I couldn't even tell you over what. It was like my body was screaming at me, "Emily, WAKE UP! You CAN'T keep living this way!!!" So, I took the hint and started to do some soul searching. When I started really examining the things that I got so stressed and anxious about, I realized it was only things that I couldn't control. That kind of made me chuckle because I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed this before. It kind of reminds me of that quote about not arriving to your grave in a neat little box, but rather that you should come skidding in sideways shouting, WHAT A RIDE! Or something like that. But seriously though, you can't enjoy life or relax when you're trying to make everything fit into your nice little controlled environment. I mean what's that thing all the kids are saying these days? YOLO? (You.Only.Live.Once.) Seems a little silly saying it, but I think they might be on to something. (Also, don't feel bad if you didn't know what it meant, it took me awhile to figure it out and I'm only 25!!!)
I can't say I know when my controlling nature took such a hold on me or why I feel the need to control everything around me, but I can say that I am actively making an effort to no longer live that way. And so far... so good. I'm living the easy, breezy, beautiful cover girl... Wait that's not where I was going with that! See, I'm already starting to loosen up! Okay, so that was a pretty lame attempt at a joke, but I haven't had enough coffee yet. Maybe with my new found carefree-er life I can do something crazy like sky diving or zip lining, I mean after all... YOLO! Happy weekend to you all :)
-ejw
A couple weeks ago I came to the realization that I couldn't live like this any longer. Well, truthfully I had a pretty good anxiety attack and I couldn't even tell you over what. It was like my body was screaming at me, "Emily, WAKE UP! You CAN'T keep living this way!!!" So, I took the hint and started to do some soul searching. When I started really examining the things that I got so stressed and anxious about, I realized it was only things that I couldn't control. That kind of made me chuckle because I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed this before. It kind of reminds me of that quote about not arriving to your grave in a neat little box, but rather that you should come skidding in sideways shouting, WHAT A RIDE! Or something like that. But seriously though, you can't enjoy life or relax when you're trying to make everything fit into your nice little controlled environment. I mean what's that thing all the kids are saying these days? YOLO? (You.Only.Live.Once.) Seems a little silly saying it, but I think they might be on to something. (Also, don't feel bad if you didn't know what it meant, it took me awhile to figure it out and I'm only 25!!!)
I can't say I know when my controlling nature took such a hold on me or why I feel the need to control everything around me, but I can say that I am actively making an effort to no longer live that way. And so far... so good. I'm living the easy, breezy, beautiful cover girl... Wait that's not where I was going with that! See, I'm already starting to loosen up! Okay, so that was a pretty lame attempt at a joke, but I haven't had enough coffee yet. Maybe with my new found carefree-er life I can do something crazy like sky diving or zip lining, I mean after all... YOLO! Happy weekend to you all :)
-ejw
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Lyric Lover
I am a music lover! Honestly, don't know what I would do without it - seriously. But even more than being a music lover, I love lyrics. I fall in love with a song based on the lyrics. Lyrics are my poetry of choice. I have a few favorite artists simply because of their lyrical ability. One of them is Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes. I think I could write a thesis on his lyrics. There is just something about the way he words things and his outlook on life in general that speaks to me. He can pack a 3 minute song with some of the post powerful lyrics you've ever heard.
I have mentioned before about how I would prefer to live in the past. I don't want to live in the past for any reason other than the fact that life was much more simple. I would prefer living in the 1950's or 1960's because of the way of life that existed then. I look around and see so much damage in the world today. It seem that people are just so much more careless and reckless. Obviously, I don't mean everyone- just in general.
Conor Oberst ties these two subjects together perfectly in his song, "Make War." In just a few lines he says everything there is to say about it... in my opinion. It really hits home with me every time I listen to it. He doesn't specifically make mention of the past, but he alludes to how quickly we let things change without even noticing and when we do - it's too late. I hope you'll see why I am so keen on Conor Oberst and his lyrics after reading them and giving it some thought.
"And so we've learned to be as faithless,
stand behind bulletproof glass,
exchanging our affections through a drawer.
And it was always horribly convenient
and happening too fast.
You should count your change before you're even out the door.
Yes, you should"
I find these lyrics to be so powerful because they say so much about what we have become as a society. We walk around pretending to be trusting and even go out of our way to be kind of our fellow man, but not without taking all the right precautions. Now, I'm not saying we should ever throw all caution to the wind and blindly trust everyone, but what kind of world has to have convenient stores lock the doors at night and put cashiers behind bulletproof glass? I am honestly lucky enough that my town doesn't do this just yet, but all the towns around me do. We can't trust that people aren't going to hurt us. We have taught ourselves to always have our guards up and we teach our children to do the same. That is just so sad to me. And what's even more sad is that the society we are live in actually breeds the kind of people that make these types of precautions necessary.
I think the most powerful line is, "and it was always horribly convenient and happening too fast." That sentence is so deep and thought provoking. We live in a world where convenience is placed above everything else. We're on the go constantly... so we ask how can we streamline life? Which in turn makes it more efficient but less personal? I'm not sure if that's the goal, but it sure seems to turn out that way. Our need to make things more convenient forces us to do things so quickly that I don't think we fully examine the consequences.
Technology plays a huge part in that, but it has, unfortunately, become a necessary evil. Social media has done almost as much to hurt this world as it has to help it. Some days I would argue it definitely has done more harm than good - even though I am so fond of the blogosphere? But that is too big a topic to discuss today.
I don't want to live in a world where we have to have armed guards at the schools and where every teacher has to have a gun in their desk. I don't want to live in a world where people feel the need to stockpile weapons.I want so badly to live in a world where we don't have to be nervous that someone is going to jump you at night. I want to live in a world where it's okay for the neighborhood kids to play outside until the street lights come on I want to live in a world where neighbors still speak, become friends, and actually trust one another. I want a world where it's okay to send your kid on their bike down the road to grandma and grandpa's house without having to worry. I long for a more simple time, when things weren't so scary. I long for the past - for a world that isn't so fast paced that humanity gets left in the dust.
I have mentioned before about how I would prefer to live in the past. I don't want to live in the past for any reason other than the fact that life was much more simple. I would prefer living in the 1950's or 1960's because of the way of life that existed then. I look around and see so much damage in the world today. It seem that people are just so much more careless and reckless. Obviously, I don't mean everyone- just in general.
Conor Oberst ties these two subjects together perfectly in his song, "Make War." In just a few lines he says everything there is to say about it... in my opinion. It really hits home with me every time I listen to it. He doesn't specifically make mention of the past, but he alludes to how quickly we let things change without even noticing and when we do - it's too late. I hope you'll see why I am so keen on Conor Oberst and his lyrics after reading them and giving it some thought.
"And so we've learned to be as faithless,
stand behind bulletproof glass,
exchanging our affections through a drawer.
And it was always horribly convenient
and happening too fast.
You should count your change before you're even out the door.
Yes, you should"
I find these lyrics to be so powerful because they say so much about what we have become as a society. We walk around pretending to be trusting and even go out of our way to be kind of our fellow man, but not without taking all the right precautions. Now, I'm not saying we should ever throw all caution to the wind and blindly trust everyone, but what kind of world has to have convenient stores lock the doors at night and put cashiers behind bulletproof glass? I am honestly lucky enough that my town doesn't do this just yet, but all the towns around me do. We can't trust that people aren't going to hurt us. We have taught ourselves to always have our guards up and we teach our children to do the same. That is just so sad to me. And what's even more sad is that the society we are live in actually breeds the kind of people that make these types of precautions necessary.
I think the most powerful line is, "and it was always horribly convenient and happening too fast." That sentence is so deep and thought provoking. We live in a world where convenience is placed above everything else. We're on the go constantly... so we ask how can we streamline life? Which in turn makes it more efficient but less personal? I'm not sure if that's the goal, but it sure seems to turn out that way. Our need to make things more convenient forces us to do things so quickly that I don't think we fully examine the consequences.
Technology plays a huge part in that, but it has, unfortunately, become a necessary evil. Social media has done almost as much to hurt this world as it has to help it. Some days I would argue it definitely has done more harm than good - even though I am so fond of the blogosphere? But that is too big a topic to discuss today.
I don't want to live in a world where we have to have armed guards at the schools and where every teacher has to have a gun in their desk. I don't want to live in a world where people feel the need to stockpile weapons.I want so badly to live in a world where we don't have to be nervous that someone is going to jump you at night. I want to live in a world where it's okay for the neighborhood kids to play outside until the street lights come on I want to live in a world where neighbors still speak, become friends, and actually trust one another. I want a world where it's okay to send your kid on their bike down the road to grandma and grandpa's house without having to worry. I long for a more simple time, when things weren't so scary. I long for the past - for a world that isn't so fast paced that humanity gets left in the dust.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
No excuses.
I've haven't been using this space lately even though I think it about it daily. I keep up on all of your posts and enjoy reading, I just haven't found the time to update myself. I have many rough drafts started and promise to get them to you soon. I hope everyone out there in the blogosphere is doing well!
Over and Out
-ejw
Over and Out
-ejw
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