Rond de jame en l'air

Sometimes I wish I danced through life a little more gracefully. I wish endlessly that all my i's would find themselves dotted and t's crossed. But sometimes, things fall apart and by the time you realize the end has come it's too late.

So maybe I'm a late bloomer. But I bloom. And life was just as beautiful yesterday as it is today even though its different. Nothing can change that. Experiences with their range of outcomes can only bring more lessons learned, and that is my true objective--not a 99 percent success rate. Perhaps "be ye therefore perfect" is best read as "become ye therefore perfect." Don't skips steps. Enjoy the highs, the lows, all that comes in between.

Well I'm back, and without my black badge. I can no longer hide behind the shadow of transition from one phase of life to the next. I am loving this phase as much as the last, but certainly not as much as I will love the next. If you keep moving forward, you are moving the right direction. So when you attempt pirouette and loose track of where the corner of the room is, simply land and start again.

You are stronger than you think.

Love,

Amy

Word Wise

Sometimes I forget power of words.  Words eloquent spoken or carefully organized on a page can change lives.  How could I forget this?  I was reminded of this in a 1922 letter from Heber J. Grant.  The letter's ivory color, though browned by the passage of time, gives me a glimpse of this prophet’s heart and the ink impacts my soul just as it surely did the recipient's on New Year's Day when it was received.  The letter's penmanship is perfect.  For a man that struggled with writing legibly, this is impressive.  "The man without excuses" was coined to describe his tenacity.  President Grant was ridiculed about sloppy penmanship early in his life, but he wanted to become a bookmaker, so he simply practiced.  I have no trouble reading his letter.

 But speaking and writing aren't the only ways to communicate and use words.  Just ask Ashley Fiolek.  In motocross, a sport dominated by loud bikes, Ashley hears silence.  When she makes it to the podium (yes, when ... not if) she signs "thank you" to her respective sponsors.  Can you imagine shifting or finding neutral, when you can only feel the vibrations of the bike?

This life is not so much about what you are given, but what you do with what you are given.  Everytime I hear about an individual who has beat the odds, I smile.  Don’t let anyone ever tell you can do something.  Your words can comfort, uplift, and share, so chose them wisely.

The Big Apple

Greetings from my New York high rise on the Upper West Side.  Anthro curtains, pillow top mattress, vintage dresser, a dozen white roses.  I love this city.  It is home. 

Metro to Wall Street, Times Square, anywhere really.  72nd street is my favorite so far because it has Trader Joes and ballet.

Plenty of suits in the closet.  A few shirts at the cleaners.  I am officially a city girl.    

Soi 13

Soi 13. The cab driver makes a sharp right turn. I find myself standing in the slums of Bangkok. Everyone who walks by stares at my skin, but I'm not alone.

Here live the refugees. Here is where they wait - some of them for years. Persecuted for the ethnic background in their home country, they are here. Off the beaten path, hidden. They don't want to be separated because the most important thing they have is each other. Well, actually that is all they have. I am greeted by a warm smile and a countenance that shines with peace; the type of peace that I am constantly searching for in my modern flat. Yet I find it here in a one bedroom living space with 6 people, a small fridge, a balcony, and ...

"How long have you been waiting to be relocated," Jonathan questions. "About 4 1/2 years," says the 18-year-old daughter smiling. She smiles because everyday she hopes. "And what about your schooling?" Mom chimes in. She alludes to her desire to begin it in her Home country. "God will help us," she says. As she speaks her mother and sister crawl into the back part of the apartment and reappear with biscuits and an refreshing cold orange drink. If you needed a shirt, she would give you the one off her back.

Four and a half years without a home. Four and a half years knowing that any day someone could be sent to IDC (detention camp for immigrants). Yet, living in fear that police could come in the middle of the night and take women, children, or just a husband away is better than where they came from. War rages, countries are dividing, and blood boils all over the globe. These people who live in fear and in shambles have the inner peace that the rest of the developed world seeks so desperately.

As I step over the threshold of the door, I smile. Life is good. I can help. I can love. I can give. I want to love and give like these refugees. I want my countenance to shine. As I left Soi 13 that day I realized again that I was not alone. As King Benjamin says in the book of Mosiah, "aren't we all beggars?" Aren't we all refugees in one way or another?

Blue Note

Some girls fall in love with boys, I fall in love with horses.

http://www.havenfarmsllc.com/haven-farms-horse-sales.html

Petite Seersucker Skirt

Yes, please. With classic blue stripes.

Periwinkle blue driving loafers. Oxford t-strap heals.
Rose quartz beaded bracelet.
Vintage floral lace white summer dress. Imported.
Chic warm teal classic shift.

Lilly Pulitzer color. J Crew style. Anthropology art. Brooks Brothers classic.

Ballet

Soft and supple arms. Effortless. Expression. In motion. Fluid.

Lines. Structure. Position. Poise.

Control time. Slow it down.

Strength. Resilience. Overcome.

Natural beauty. Grace. Joy.