Letter To Copper

I’ve been scared to write to you,
Because nothing seems sufficient to say.
I can tell you that I miss you more than life,
And that I think about you each day.

The hole in my heart is continuous,
As I feel you everywhere around me.
I come home, waiting to hear you bark,
And looking around the house, you are all I see.

My dreams are empty chases and when I wake I cry,
I simply can’t sleep, without you snoring by my side.
Waking up each morning your absence is immediately known,
I would stay in bed all day and weep, but I rise only for my pride.

I would give anything to see you again,
I need you in my life. You’re still my best friend.
If only I’d have talked to God and made a special deal,
Then here you’d still be, instead of at your life’s end.

Almost a whole year without you doesn’t seem possible,
There’s no way I could have survived.
Our walks, talks, memories don’t really feel over.
In your wake I am completely deprived.

I hope more than anything that a Heaven exists for you,
With your rawhides, babies and our Oreos galore.
It’s that Heaven that I’ll go to, to be with you someday,
And all day we’ll cruise in your wagon along the beach’s shore.

Marriage in Your Twenties Isn’t So Abnormal Anymore

Past Divorces Push College Students to Sincerely Say Their Vows

Most college students aren’t thinking about marriage. Or they are but for the “future”, you know, “after college”. I’m not one of those students. I have been dating my fiancé since my junior year of high school. I didn’t see marriage in my near future at the time, but when he asked me last June, I couldn’t imagine saying no. Talking to others both older and my age about my engagement causes me to wonder why young marriage is so looked down upon?

I understand that attending college and getting married don’t normally go hand-in-hand. They are two major events in a person’s life that both require time, effort, thought and a lot of money. College is an important time of personal growth and development in life, while marriage is the act of choosing to spend that life with someone you love. To older generations, getting married while in college may be the equivalent of getting married too young, but in today’s society more college students are deciding that taking the plunge shouldn’t always wait on the matter of time.

In today’s world marriage vows aren’t often as sacred as they used to be compared to my grandparents era. During that time, vows spoken were meant and both people went into the marriage believing that they could, and would, work through problems and difficulties together instead of utilizing the fall-back plan of divorce. Since divorce is so very common, it may be the hidden pushing factor for people in their twenties to get married with confidence instead of doubt. A large majority of students come from families who have suffered from divorce and instead of allowing their past to create a fear of marriage, they declare instead to be stronger than the generation that raised them, both being certain in their choices.

I completely understand the reactions I receive occasionally when college students my own age realize that I’m getting married. Though most express joy that I seem so confident and happy, others are curious as to “why now?” I personally don’t think I should have to wait two more years to marry my best friend when we’ve already spent three years together. One common “mistake” people claim is made by getting married in their twenties is that those tying the knot will grow apart as they continue to mature. I agree that is a valid point, on the other hand though, growing with someone I love from a younger age gives us more time to grow together. For example, I will have a partner to help my moral when classes get difficult and giving up on school looks good. When the time comes to search for a permanent job, I will also have someone to aid my application completion for the perfect location and salary. Speaking of money, it is also nice to know that I will have financial support with an extra income right after I graduate and not have to live in an apartment with roommates until I have enough saved up. Plus we would have a few extra years to save, adjust and plan for starting a family. Though not all college students are thinking about marriage, I am and I feel lucky that both of these major life experiences can be shared.

Tagged

So since I was tagged in Carrie's blog I have to tell my 5 obsessions. Here we go!

1) I try to read at least 100 pages of my current book everyday before bed. And if during those 100 pages I finish my current book, I read the first chapter or two of the one I have lined up to read next.
2) Even my text messages must have excellent grammar or it really bothers me.
3) I love a sparkling clean sink with no dishes in it so I'm obsessed with placing everything immediately in the dishwasher or hand-washing it.
4) My mini library must be organized by author and then publishing date even if that means I have to shift all the books to make room for a recently finished one.
5) I have to have my camera with me always. I feel that one could never know when a key moment needs to be captured on film.

Margarita Is Dead

Well, the money pit can't get any deeper really. First, we have the wedding bands to pay off, then the regular monthly bills including morgage, phone, electric and water. Of course we need food for us and the dogs too. With the addition of the wedding costs this year, we've been saving and pinching where-ever we could. (Please note that when I say "we" I mean "mostly Josh".) Josh is really good at it too. Took me making him watch a couple Dave Ramsey DVDs but he caught the saving bug and hoarded as much as he could in the safe. With the new Domino's part-time job he's been happy to receive some generous tips and gripe when he receives a dollar fifty. He had a significant amount saved, not millions, but enough for an emergency which is exactly what occured when I was driving home this weekend. The "Check Engine" light came on about 30 miles from Mount Pleasant.

Now to clarify, I know that cars need the oil changed often, the tires require air to roll and the basic theory of changing one, and which tube to pour the windshield wiper fluid in. Sadly, that's majority of my knowledge though I am learning more with Josh's instruction. After taking the car to the AAA down the road on Sunday, we learned that the transmission needs to be replaced, the radiator needs to be replaced, the timing belt needs to be replaced, the car needs a general tune-up and the oil is about due to be changed again. Keeping in mind that my car is 12 years old, it could be worse. The main thing is that we don't have the $3,000-$4,000 needed to repair it. So my faithful, freshly-cleaned Margarita is basically dead to me.

Josh's plan now is to buy a used transmission that would fit my car and fix some of the minor things, then sell it for what we can get and move me up to a newer car. Dum dum dum. I'll survive, but I'll miss Margarita. We had some great times together; learning to drive, going to school every morning, taking dogs to the park or doggie wash, driving to Charleston from home and home from Charleston, and trips to the beach with college friends. But now that I guess that our time together is coming to a close, I suppose that I should wish for another faithful and reliable car just like Margarita has been. Off to cartrader, craiglist, kbb and all the others!

When We Smile

Today was a very pleasant day that seemed to combine exactly what I am now as a college student and what I will become as a fireman's wife. This morning I woke up to my best friend and roomie, Katie, playing me a funny birthday song on her computer. (Though my day didn't revolve soley around my birthday, it was lovely.) After classes ended at twelve, Mom and John visited and Josh drove over the bridge from Mount Pleasant so we could all go look at the ceremony / reception locations and enjoy a lunch at Sticky Fingers with some of my friends for my birthday.

The moment that seems to stick with me most from today was visiting at the Palmer Home. As we moseyed through the antique-filled room with large windows over looking the bay, planning where to place chairs and how to walk with grandfathers, I realized that I have already moved into my own life just as any little girl would wait to "grow up". I am there. And then I realized that everything, person, situation and event before the moment I stand up there and say my vows to the most amazing man I have ever known, has made me who I am today. Taking pictures of the room to remember for the small additions of decorations, we snap a picture in front of the alcove where we will become man and wife. Looking back at those pictures at the end of today I realized that I am the luckiest woman on earth in every aspect of my life. I have many parents and grandparents who would go to the moon for me, as well as aunts and uncles. I have genuine friends who take care of me and help me to keep my sanity. I have my health, a roof over my head every night, food in my stomach for each meal, and I am getting a valued education. Mostly though, I am planning my life along with my best friend; a man who understands me and accepts me for exactly who I am, but also loves me for it.

While we posed for the picture to test the light, background, and placing of everyone, Josh and I look at each other and smile. Not only are we smiling though, I'm near laughing I'm so overcome with wonderful emotions and looking into his eyes I see it all. We are exactly were we want to be. We are lucky, loved and happy. It won't always be this way but we expect that. If it isn't rough or bumpy along the way, it won't be worth sticking through. Walking with him today, and plotting reception details with Mom and John just makes me all that much happier as I see our day. The wedding isn't my whole life this year, in fact I wish I had more time in each day to look for things I like or dislike in various senarios, but the little bits and pieces I have and Josh's smile today say it all. Anyone can read anything we think when we smile.

It's All Coming Together!

Wednesday, Mom and I looked at and booked the Charleston Yacht Club for mine and Josh's wedding reception! The Starlight room is a lovely large room with seven floor-to-ceiling windows, golden wood floors, and large wooden rafters from which hang delicate white Christmas lights. As we roamed around the room and talked about decorations and how to set everything up to "flow", I realized that I can "see it" now. I can look at that empty space and see the multiple different ways to dress tables and chairs, where the gift table and cake would go. It feels so good.

After the Yacht Club visit, we went to the Palmer Home B&B where we will be married and viewed what we could from the outside. This Wednesday, (my birthday) Mom, John, Josh and I will go back to both locations and decide whether to get married inside or out, how to place tables and chairs, and just be happy that we were lucky enough to find each other... By the way, if anyone has any decorating tips for draping on windows or unique ideas for tablecloths just send me a quick message! I'm open for ideas. :) Life is good. Be happy.

Cigarettes Will Eventually Kill You

Reasons to Quit Smoking besides Death

Most people who smoke cigarettes are aware of at least some of the reasons smoking is considered bad for their personal health, including death. Health issues aren’t the only thing to take into consideration though because in this economy smoking doesn’t just concern your lungs but also your wallet. Cigarette prices are on the rise and still climbing but those who are addicted continue to spend hundreds every year keeping up with their habit. Why is smoking so appealing? Why would someone want to risk the major health issues involved and spend $100,000 to $200,000 during their lifetime (60 years) on what is essentially unclean air?

The main question one needs to ask themselves before they light up is more or less if they want to become a smoker because there really isn’t much choice after beginning. Most people who make it to 25 without becoming addicted to smoking cigarettes will more than likely continue the rest of their lives cigarette-free. Those who do begin smoking will soon see how living life as a cigarette addict alters their choices as they must find time to have a cigarette before, during or after events through-out their day. A habitual smoker isn’t just killing off their own lungs but affects non-smokers around them too. Unhappily non-smokers must live in an environment they aren’t choosing and attempt to avoid it at all costs to keep their lungs clean. They must change course on the sidewalk to avoid a smoke cloud, request a different part of the restaurant to avoid tasting Camels with their meal, and roll up the windows on a nice day because someone couldn’t wait until they got home from work to receive a fix.

Smoking, as a health hazard, will reduce the average lifespan of a person by 12 years. “400,000 deaths each year around the world are caused directly from smoking” says online source Wrong Diagnosis. The serious effects of smoking or what every elementary class is warned about include a long list of illnesses one will receive with age but one thing is common for every smoker and is noticed from the first second the habit is picked up; shortness of breath. Once a smoker reaches old age, or if they reach it, a vast array of diseases and cancers await them including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, strokes, tongue cancer, lung cancer, and heart attacks just to name a few. Most people in today’s world die during a hospital stay instead of at home bed with simple old age.

Lifestyles also vary greatly for smokers and non-smokers. Today’s economy is costing a lot of people their jobs or at the very least the “extras” like Friday night movies or eating out once a week, but something most don’t consider is the $4 they spend on just one pack of cigarettes. Even marital status can depend on cigarettes because non-smokers don’t enjoy smelling and tasting a spouse’s latest craving. Non-smokers also try to limit their children’s exposure to the “tar air” since their lungs aren’t complete in growing and even more defenseless than an adults. To take it a step further, pets and other animals have no say at all about the type of air they breathe in. Why do you think dogs stick their heads out of a car window?

The overall notion behind smoking and all of the information facts about smoking is plainly that it will eventually kill or harm you in some way if not right away. Anyone who smokes and has the ability to read can also plainly see the Surgeon General’s warning right on the side of the box informing all that smoking cigarettes is a health risk for everyone. Cigarettes have had criticism since the late 1500’s when they first began to become popular, but even now that all the risks are known people still continue to produce them. The reason laws have been made restricting smoking in hospitals, restaurants, schools and most public places are because most people don’t want to inhale it. Making the choice to smoke is like deciding to drive your car over a cliff on purpose; it’s a risk that if not killing you, will seriously you impair you for the rest of your life.

Health Awareness Is Rising In America

By simply typing “health” into the now ever convenient World Wide Web, one will instantly see news, advertising, and tons of medical information on various sites. One such site, known as WebMD, will even give you a basic diagnosis of your symptoms should you be feeling sick or general health tips such as how to avoid a cold. Fifty years ago health concerns weren’t a number one priority for people in America. In today’s world, we have commercials about the Butterton’s telling us we shouldn’t eat so much saturated fats and McDonald’s adding apples to their Happy Meals. What has changed? Why within the last fifty years has health become so important to America?

One of the largest, more prominent reasons health has become important to the American people is the widespread disease called cancer. It comes in many forms, some are even inherited, and as many people watch their family members die from it, they feel a growing fear that it could actually happen to them. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this year the founders celebrate twenty-five years of spreading information on symptoms, self-checks, and when to see your doctor about this disease that has taken so many loving and needed family members, co-workers, and friends from our mists. Though cancer is incurable it can be treated with radiation, chemo and sometimes surgery if discovered soon enough, but for a countless amount of women it’s often too late.

Majority of cancer survivors chose to devote the remainder of their lives to educating the population and encouraging others to get themselves checked routinely. Generally it seems those who care about it most are the ones who have had a personal experience with a family member hospitalized or pass on. Smokers that have witnessed an elder lifetime-smoking relative receive the news that they have lung cancer, as one fourth of the population does, may be influenced to put down the tobacco sticks themselves. Because the information is so easily available, the cancer survival rates in the last few years have been slowly declining as stated in the National Cancer Institute online.

Health awareness has changed the way in which Americans look at food, exercise habits, and socializing. Today we teach our children about calories, fats and the differences between fast food and food prepared at home. Families attempt to spend more time together outdoors playing physical games instead of staying inside with movies or videogames. Most importantly we talk with those we care about and extend our knowledge to continue lowering the number of disease- or cancer-related deaths. Being acquainted with the major illnesses in the world also brings people to help in whatever ways they can to repress their continuation. After all, awareness to the important health issues is what helps people discover that they have it and receive the proper care in time.