Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.

We have lost another too soon.  On February 17, 2011 the world lost a wonderful person by the name of Perry Moore.  He was only 39 and a force to be reckoned with when it came to pure honesty, creativity, love, and so many other things that this world needs more of.  Perry's death comes soon after another Chanco family memeber.  Katie-Fenton Vicellio took her own life on November 15th, 2010.  She was an amazing young woman and is missed terribly.  Katie V was only 29 years old. 

This blog is difficult to write because I don't really know what to say.  These two people meant a lot to so many people that the emotions of it all, well it's overwhelming at times.  Sometimes I find myself drifting off into my memories to try and experience them again and remember the times when we were laughing, hugging, talking, just being together and enjoying life.  Enjoying life....sometimes I forget.....I forget to enjoy the life that I have.  I have said before that life gets in the way of having fun but we should all make our lives as fun and meaningful as we can.  The loss of Katie and Perry makes me realize how little time we have here and that we should make it worthwhile. I realize that in my heart but it's hard to make my head realize that I need to live life in a meaningful way.  What does that mean?  What does it mean when people say live live to the fullest?  Live life like there is no tomorrow?  What does it all really mean?  What I think it means is that we need to love in our lives, we need to show compassion, we need to experience new and wonderful things, we need to notice the beauty and ugliness that is around us, we need to not forget about where we come from, live a life you can be proud of, realize that what you do as a job does not define you as a person, we need to experience fear, sorrow, despair to realize how wonderful it is to experience bravery, happiness, and elation, and we need to have lasting friendships to share all of these things with. 

Katie and Perry were people that inspired, loved, and experienced life.  I am just lucky to say that they allowed me to be a part of that.  You will both be missed more than you know.  LOVE

Baby or Bust?

So the husband and I have talked about some things and we are putting off the move to Vegas in hopes of moving into the world of parenting.  We all know that I am no spring chicken and that we both want to try for at least one baby.  We have come to the conclusion that maybe we need to focus on getting prego.  We have started the ball rolling for Ken to attend the Culinary Institute of Virginia and if everything works out he will be attending in April. 

Some folks may think that having a baby is easy or that it is an easy decision but having a baby is scary.  Exciting but scary at the same time.  So many what if's come into play but I am trying to Let go and Let God.  I can only do but so much so I am trying to not get so stressed about it.  I am going to go with the flow and see where this decision takes us.  Time will only tell at this point so wish us luck.  I mean we haven't even started trying but it will happen soon......let's go BABY!!!!

Take a moment and be grateful

I am grateful for the way I was brought up and the life that I have now. I ask my students in ENG 110 (composition) to write a narrative essay about an event in their life that has changed them in some way. The things that some of them have experienced is astounding. I just read one where one of my students witnessed his mother being shot and killed by their father when he was very young.  Another student grew up with two brothers and a single mom who raised them.  She did everything she could to survive and that included selling drugs.  She sold crack in NY and was able to provide a house and nice things for her sons until she got caught and was sent to jail.  Another student was beaten up so bad she was in a coma.  The man of her dreams was the one who was doing the beating. Another student lived in Liberia when she was young.  Rebels invaded the country and she watched as they killed her brother and uncle.  She then traveled across the country to live in a refugee camp for 5 years.  Another student suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from being deployed 4 seperate times and lost so many friends while at war. Another student lost a child to sudden infant death syndrome and then lost her husband.  The amazing stories are just beyond my comprehension.

I cannot even come close to understanding their experiences but I am appreciative to them for sharing their stories.  Everyone has a story and everyone has their own triumphs over adversity and I am no one to say that one person struggled more than another but I will say that my students are individuals that are trying to improve themselves through education and opportunity.  They have lived a life that many of us will never know and I believe that someone is raising them up to get over those obstables and memories that can destroy a person's spirit.  They have shared their stories with me and I felt compelled to share them with you.  There are people in my classroom that have endured immeasurable pain and evil yet they are still sitting in my classroom.  Be grateful and humbled with the life you have and the blessings you have been given.