I’m afraid my blog can be a bit odd at times. I post a lot about planners…and then I’ll post about American politics, or life…and then I’ll go back to posting about planners…
So far I’ve left it this way, because I consider this a personal blog, which means I can get away with that, right? At the same time, I’m not sure politics/life posts really mix well with planner posts.
Thoughts?
Some Christians argue that marriage is supposed to be something religious and created by God, and as such gay marriage is impossible. Well, according to their belief system, that is true….
But even so, even if the word “marriage” shouldn’t be used in regard to civil marriage/unions (for straight and gay people), there NEEDS to be a way for every individual to arrange who will be able to be with them in the hospital, who will be able to make the final decisions if necessary, who will make medical decisions for them in an emergency, who inherits…etc. That way needs to be foolproof and respected by others, so that no one’s loved one experiences being shoved aside and disregarded by other relatives. Civil marriage is the single easiest way to have all that happen. I know that one can do power of attorneys, but I don’t know how many hospital visiting privileges those confer.
This is simple human decency. It’s non-negotiable.
Each of us has a way of looking at the world – a paradigm. We each have things which we see as reprehensible, as regrettable but necessary, and as good. The problem comes when the paradigms run into each other. In those cases, our first reaction is to lash out at the other person who is supporting what we see as so reprehensible. We write them off – how could anyone possibly think that? There must be something severely wrong with them.
It takes tremendous effort to pull ourselves out of our paradigms enough to see the other’s point of view, even if just a little bit – to understand that perhaps they aren’t reprehensible, perhaps they do have good reasons for believing as they do, even if they are reasons that we reject. It takes so much more effort to understand than it does to dismiss – but understanding is so much more rewarding, if sometimes more frustrating.
Abortion, gay marriage, what constitutes free speech, what constitutes hate speech…etc. etc. It all falls under this problem of differing paradigms. We talk past each other instead of talking *to* each other. Paradigms make it so hard – when one talks about rights and free speech, one person’s reprehensible is another person’s must. Who gets to draw the lines? What’s what? This is what makes politics, and life, so hard sometimes. We have to draw lines at some point, to protect those who need to be protected. But where are the lines? It’s this sort of thing which makes me want to go hide my head in the sand…and sometimes I do, for a little bit.
Then I continue trying to understand – as much as I can, in my limited way. It may not change my mind, but it can definitely change my heart.
I’m not entirely sure that everyone who reads my blog knows what a bluebonnet is, so I’m going to explain it briefly – since it is part of my blog name and all!
A bluebonnet (it’s one word :) ) is a flower. If you click over to my blog, you can see a field of them at the top of the page! They are the Texas state flower, and grow on the sides of highways and in fields. They bloom in the spring, usually close to Easter. It’s a Texas ritual to take pictures in the bluebonnets every spring. The flowers smell a bit like licorice candy, in my opinion. Bluebonnets are related to the lupine, but I don’t think I’ve seen a lupine in person before, so I’m not sure how similar they are in person.
Bluebonnets also happen to be my favorite flower, and I happen to be a not-quite-native Texan. Hence how they ended up as part of my blog name.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief chance to read about bluebonnets!
My Finchley is all set up for the new year, with pretty new dividers and a set-up tweaked to perfection! There are lots of photos on Flickr of it all.
I made new dividers with some cardstock that I found at Michael’s, and decorated them with stickers. I just traced each Filofax divider onto the cardstock, cut it out, and hole-punched it. I didn’t even have a Filofax hole punch – I used a single-hole punch. I’m very happy with how they turned out, especially since I’m not a very crafty person! So, now my Filofax is beautifully decorated and coordinated along with being particularly useful. :)
I’ve actually written on my dividers, so I’m not planning on changing my set-up anytime soon. This is what I’ve got:
I also have some things at the front – photos and pretty things, my info page, stickies on a transparent divider, and tabbed monthlies from DayTimer. I use them to keep track of bills and write down events, especially if it’s more than 2 months away.
So really I haven’t changed my set-up much, just moved things around, but it’s made a difference.
Now, go look at the photos!
I received my Finchley in the mail today! I guess the mailman came twice, because other mail had arrived before I left to visit my mom…and when I came back much later, it was waiting on my desk chair! I actually waited to open it, as baby required my attention.
The imperial purple color is absolutely beautiful, rather dark. It’s one of my favorite shades. As for the leather, my jaw literally dropped when I touched it. I had no idea leather could be so soft!!
The Swedish inserts were so much fun to look at. It came with a 2012 weekly calendar (in Swedish of course) and lots of extras. I was especially happy about the 10 to do sheets and 30ish sheets of notepaper!! I can set up my Finchley fully now, without waiting for a package from Filofax USA! It also came with a lot of address sheets. I have so many of those now, and I don’t use them! The dividers are black which is exciting.
I have added the Apex extras to the Finchley and replaced the calendar with the English one that has US holidays on it. Now I’m going to finish setting it up and arranging everything. I am giving the FC binder to my mom, since she loves the calendar pages which weren’t really working for me. So that means I need to clear everything out and re-copy various notes pages. I will be using the Apex and the Finchley for now, and probably the Domino as well – though the Finchley might take over the Domino’s purpose. I’ll post about that once I’ve got it all figured out.
Many thank yous to Sandra, who sold me one of her Swedish Finchleys! If it wasn’t for her, I would still think the Apex is kind of cool. After seeing a real Filofax, I understand why no one likes the Apex…and don’t worry, it won’t be going out in public. ;)
flowers cut and brought inside
black cars in a single line
your family in suits and ties
and you’re free
the ache I feel inside
is where the life has left your eyes
I’m alone for our last goodbye
but you’re free
I remember you like yesterday, yesterday
I still can’t believe you’re gone, oh…
I remember you like yesterday, yesterday
and until I’m with you, I’ll carry on
adrift on your ocean floor
I feel weightless, numb, and sore
a part of you in me is torn
and you’re free
I woke from a dream last night
I dreamt that you were by my side
reminding me I still had life
in me
I’ll carry on
every lament is a love song
yesterday, yesterday
I still can’t believe you’re gone
so long my friend, so long
-”Yesterday” by Switchfoot
—
in the next two days, i will be going to the visitation and funeral of a girl i went to high school with. she died a few days before her 23d birthday, in an accident. she left behind an 11 month old son and a lot of hurting hearts.
but she’s free.
rest in peace, Natalie.
I may be brand new to this blogging thing, but I want to keep it going. I feel like it is important to me to have a creative outlet..and actually use it on a regular basis. I have a busy life, and it is easy to do things for a short time and then drop them. Blogging should not be one of those things.
Because of this, I was very excited to discover The Daily Post and their Post A Day/Week Challenge. They offer ideas for new posts, as well. I’m looking forward to answering some of those prompts!
