I VOTED!

Well it was just Election day in Florida and I exercised my privilege to vote. My candidate did win Florida, however I am not pleased with the property tax amendment that passed. It is a half-assed attempt to pacify the citizens of Florida instead of really offering a reduction of the ridiculously high property taxes we already pay. Furthermore, it does not help new homeowners, such as myself. Unfortunately, since this amendment did pass, the focus will shift from this issue and thus put most of the homeowners back in the same situation.

The 2007 ToInspire Writing Contest: "How I Will Inspire the World"

Hey all....I havent had a lot of time lately to update my blog....I promise I will be back in the swing of things this week keeping you updated on my life, but I had to share with everyone some wonderful news of my sister. A very talented teacher, gifted writer and one of my closest confidants. She was selected as the winner of a writing contest and I wanted to share with you her wonderful piece! Congratulations Denise!!!

"How I Will Inspire The World"

By Denise M. Janssen

In the past 6 months, I have buried a cousin, only a few years younger than me. I have sat in a chapel with the doors wide open, watching as my best friend says good-bye to her brother. I have listened to news reports about a boy who was shot by cops as he ran towards them with a hairbrush, not a gun. I have heard my grandmother pleading, "Take me home. I want to go home," as she lays in bed after surgery on her hip. I have felt the cold hush of winter on the day she finally dies.

How will I inspire the world?

I will remember the kindness of my cousin Maria, who was the manager of a store that sold chocolates and sweets. I will practice kindness when a neighbor stops me in the middle of the sidewalk, the one whose daughter has ovarian cancer, lost her hair to chemo, and probably can't hold down her morning eggs. I will remember that all of us are lonely and looking for connection. I will stop what I'm doing, pet her dog Stitch, and ask, "How is your daughter doing? And how are you?"

I will remember the words of my best friend Cheryl who said, "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and may we be blessed to see it." I will lay my hands on the earth and feel the cold of the melting snow, the water that seeps through my fingers, and the sun that warms my face.

I will try not to take my relationships for granted: my family, my friends, the cat who warms my bed, the God who touches my heart, and the one I have with myself. If it is true that all things are impermanent, then I will give my relationships time and attention.

I will listen to my mother when she tries to give me advice,well meaning words that I sometimes dismiss but later prove to be dead on true. I will soften the corners of my heart and let her in, let us be.

I will listen to the sounds of children playing and remember a boy who used to run, jump, laugh with his friends, and write poems, an endless series of rhyme. This boy they now call a statistic, another homicide, was a student at my school.

I will be there in the morning when my 3rd graders come into the classroom and I will remember to call them by name: Hello Joshua, Chalil, Sojourner, and Brandon. Delahnie who dreams of playing professional soccer and Alanis who reads well into the night. I will remember the words of a poet called Langston who tells us to safeguard our dreams, hold on to them tight, away from the too rough fingers of the world.

I will thank the little boy who shyly offers me a present: a mug that says thanks a million and a bottle of perfume for sitting with him at recess and listening to him read and telling him the words every student should hear: "Don't give up. You can do it. You're almost there."

I will listen when they have problems: the end of a friendship, their parents' divorce, who said what about their dress. I will listen to their jokes, even the one about what happens to everybody when they eat beans for lunch. I will remember that childhood can be a slippery passage filled with moments of laughter, discovery, and joy but also times of struggle and hurt.

I will apologize when I've hurt them, when I have been unkind so they will become adults who say words like, "I'm sorry. Let me explain. What can I do to make amends?" Words we need today for reconciliation and peace.

I will try to be at peace with myself: what I have done and what I have failed to do. I will not find peace if I see my life as a series of gains and losses because the scoreboard will always change. Peace is found in the middle, in the living, in the choice to live after a series of losses: to celebrate Christmas after your grandmother dies, to laugh in the company of family and friends, and to live each day with love and purpose.

This is how I will inspire the world.