From My Fish Bowl To Yours...

 Dear Fishes-         Today was the 4th of July and it was a lovely day for fireworks, food, family, and friends. What it is to have good friends! I am always amazed at how awesome my friends are. They have helped shape me into the person that I am today. I'm grateful and I try to bring out the best in my friends.         Besides taking in all of the accouterments of today and making an effort to stand with a humble heart to take a moment and reflect on how lucky we are to live in this land of the U.S.A..and blow up some stuff with sweet fireworks to make it a day of remembrance that freedom isn't free. People have died for this country, bled, and silently suffer the scars of war in their minds. Too many of our Veterans that live after serving tours in foreign lands and fighting America's enemies end up with what was once termed "Shell Shock" (PTSD) and sometimes end their lives prematurely due to not being able to express themselves fully. M...

 Dear Fishes-        It's that time of year again where all of the pyros come out of hiding and legally get to blow up thousands to tens of thousands of dollars and more of fireworks. Nothing says "MUR-UH-CAH!" like blowing up stuff. In all honesty, I'm grateful for those that have fought, bled, and died for this great country. While it isn't perfect, it's the free-est ( did I just make up a word?) nation out there and we have liberties that other countries take for granted and despise.         I realize that a lot of people don't like patriotism these days for whatever reasons, which is sad. It shows a lack of respect for a country that has done more good than harm for its constituents. I think of my father that served in the Armed Forces through the Army and what he had to go through to protect, honor, and cherish this country because he was willing to die for it. He later was in the government and continued his service there for a tot...

 Dear Fishes-        When it comes to sharing on the internets, one can never share too much or can they? I have this certain feel that I can share on the interwebs because I know that there are others out there hurting as well. I write mainly because it amuses me and helps me to get my thoughts out about subjects I don't feel I can fully explain in person. If you have gentle ears or delicate eyes, don't read below...it's probably for the best...for all of us.        Today I went to the urologist at the University of Utah. Going to the doctor is about as much fun as getting a shot and having hemorrhoids--but it's a necessary evil, let alone a specialist that looks at genitalia all day. Would that be considered porn? Asking for a friend...Going to said urologist in the past has involved "Urodynamics" on the bladder--which is like a track and field day for your bladder in the Olympics. I never thought I could be prostrated in such ways and be m...

 Dear Fishes-        I love how families work sometimes, with a heavy sarcastic tone. Some families work together, some play well, while others implode when something arises. I don't know about you, but my family is a lot like the latter. I've taken care of my ailing parents for 10 or so years by myself without much help from my siblings. I've done a lot of things that most kids will just turn their parents over to the nursing home to do, but I did it because I thought it was my duty to do such. I THOUGHT, nay I was expected, to be a caregiver, to my parents because that's what I watched them do with my father's mom when she became stricken with Alzheimer's disease.        I was thought of as the spinster at the time because I hadn't gotten married by my religious culture's usual preference of when to get married, which is in your late teens, or early twenties. Plus I have M.S. and who would want me, with that? Or so that is what I led myself...

 Dear Fishes-          Today was a good day. It was again a lovely shining day with the sun brightening up the world yet another day. I got to take my bridal photos--which is something that is particular to Utah. No where have I ever been to a place (and I've been to lots of places) such as Utah, that has its own set of cultural norms/vernacular as pervasive as Utah. To take "Bridals" in Utah means that a bride, in addition to engagement photos, takes pictures in her wedding dress before she is married along with her fiancé to be able to have said photos at the wedding reception on display. Granted while most brides are in their early twenties, I am not. Due to having been sexually abused as a young child, by a babysitter's husband, I have had problems with relationships with men in the past. I've not picked out great men before, until now. The man that I'm marrying is an amazing man that understands me and still loves me anyways. lol     ...

 Dear Fishes-        Today was a beautiful day for a few reasons; the sun was shining gloriously, I got to hear from friends and see their talents being displayed, as well as my own. Today I woke up late (also because I deal with with M.S. and all of its side effects daily) because I work late and so it wasn't until the afternoon when I got together with a friend to go sing at a local nursing home, called Stonehenge in American Fork.        Whilst at Stonehenge in American Fork, my friend played her violin with earnest (and if I knew by which magic how to place videos on here, I would have. She's that good.), we sang together (sans violin and con violin) and I read Harry Potter to the residents in different accents--people may say that's racist, but I call it hogwash. When you're reading, you're trying to get the character down and sound like what they would in the book, given the intonations and dialect of the character--that's part of the m...

 Dear Reader (to your fish bowl from mine)-         Tonight I went to get my hair cut, along with seeing four friends of mine. Upon arrival to the salon, I was warmly greeted by my close dear friend and hair stylist, who also procures the title of being a therapist as well as being a close confidant. We may be a few decades a part but our hearts and spirits are the same. She's the younger version of me; twice have we gotten the same phone case without the other one knowing what the other one was getting. It's always pretty spectacular spending time with her. When we see each other it appears that no time has elapsed and we pick right up where we left off.          Upon seeing my "hairuhpist" she was with another client/friend that I then was chatting with. This lady was telling us that the "mob" had infiltrated her husband's company in Ohio and that people were dying off like flies there a few years back. I won't say what company because...