The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn

10 boxes of pancake mix and I still have no maple syrup. If I had a waffle-iron and some whipped cream, maybe I'd be obliged to use some of the mix, but noooo; I. Have. Nothing.

Some people just don't understand the neccesity of syrup. Nevertheless, I did have my daily helping of pasta---something I think I need to lay off of sooner or later. I can barely live the day without pasta. That's not a good sign. We all know that the first step of addiction is, well, addiction. And the benifits of being addicted to carbs can only last so long.

Well, I've been inching along the past few days. Freezing, in contrast to sweating like a pig during soccer practice AND a mile run during PE on Thursday. Oh, the irony. Friday I went out to dinner with a few friends. We were quieted by the waiters at some point. Heh heh. Well, wha'dya know? Teenagers. (It was only once, Momma :D) Yesterday I went to this Youth Group movie night down the block from my house. Laying down on beanbags and chowing on popcorn, we watched End of the Spear. It's based on the true events of 5 missionaries being killed by a native tribe, the Aucas, in the jungles of Ecuador, and how the family of one of the missionaries came to live with the people. It really is an amazing movie. Half of it was in the Auca language, so we had to put on subtitles. Despite my head being in an awkward position to read the subtitles around a kid's head, I really loved the story. Just the nonjudgemental sublty of it.

Being more than a little off the fundamentalist track, I enjoy watching a "Christian" movie that is actually more about that compassion one human feels for another human than people trying to convert savages. Not that I have any gripes with movies like Facing the Giants (to tell the truth, I really liked that movie), I just think that God/Goddess lays down paths for us to get to know and understand our fellow man moreso than for drawing our eyes to the heavens. I get warm fuzzies when I see that spiritual connection between people, in real life or on the big screen. No matter if you're Christian or Pagan, Muslim or Buddhist, Hindu or Atheist. It's really nice that we share one thing in common; love. Not the conditional, selective, attractive, easy, Mr.-Bingley-has-five-thousand-pounds-a-year kind of love, but the true, meaningful, simple kind of love. The kind of love that permits you to look past the black gauze of differences and old grudges at a family reunion. The kind of love that opens the door for a stranger.

The kind of love that allows a person to forgive the man who killed his father.

Everyone makes mistakes. Most of us makes some pretty darn big ones. But at the end of the proverbial day, we are able to find a way to remember that woman who eyed your husband, that punk who cut in front of you in the ticket line, that kid who picked on you in grade school, that guy who gets on your nerves every day; you remember that they are human just like you and me. Okay, so maybe tomorrow they are just waiting to tick you off again, but that's the way this crazy world of ours turns. You meet people, you deal with them as you will, and often you forget to wear deoderant. Those bumps in the road are learning experiences. Beat them bloody, glare, cry, yell at them for a good long while...and move on. I love every one of you guys visiting my page, even if you are some deranged maniac.

Okay, maybe there is some pity thrown into that love. But I'm not telling. ;)

Before I get off my soapbox, I'd like to announce that I am a TEENAGER WHO LIKES TO THINK SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING. Unfortunetly, there are those who enjoy opposing that sentiment. I'd like to thank them, even though I simmer with rage when they do. Wisdom and arrogance have a fine line drawn somewhere, and I know I deserve to fall off my high horse when I start to linger on the latter.

So, kisses and hugs and a touch of vodka for those of age. I hope you enjoyed my splurting. If not, blame my mother. She nagged me into writing another blog today. ;)