Welcome to the new home of the blog formerly known as The Newlywed Naslunds!
After some thought, I decided that it was time to graduate from "Newlywed" status, after all, we will have been married for 3 years this coming November. So, please excuse the "construction" as I transfer everything over....and don't forget to click "follow"! :)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Heroin on the Mind : A repost
It was a strange week in my hometown of Flower Mound. To give a brief background, 17 young adults (ages 17-24) were arrested in connection with a heroin ring. In, what my parents used to coin, "Crime Free Flower Mound". Of course, that wasn't true, there is no such thing. But, I digress.
Upon learning of this huge bust, the news circulated quickly, and before long I learned that I had a direct connection to one of the young adults arrested. I used to babysit for him. Of course, that was many years ago, but it didn't matter. My heart was so heavy - not just for his family - but for the families of all involved.
As I state in her comments section, I have known people who fought serious addiction, from both alcohol and drugs and have witnessed, first hand, the devastation left in its path when one cannot survive this addiction. It's so easy to judge addicts when you don't understand it and it saddens me that the majority do just that - judge instead of love.
Upon learning of this huge bust, the news circulated quickly, and before long I learned that I had a direct connection to one of the young adults arrested. I used to babysit for him. Of course, that was many years ago, but it didn't matter. My heart was so heavy - not just for his family - but for the families of all involved.
In the link directly below, you will find the blog post that prompted this one. My dear friend, Lindsay, who I link to often, wrote an absolutely beautiful post about the goings on this week. I urge you to read her post, because it closely reflects many of my feelings as well:
http://lindsayelise0527.blogspot.com/2011/05/heroin-on-mind.html
http://lindsayelise0527.blogspot.com/2011/05/heroin-on-mind.html
As I state in her comments section, I have known people who fought serious addiction, from both alcohol and drugs and have witnessed, first hand, the devastation left in its path when one cannot survive this addiction. It's so easy to judge addicts when you don't understand it and it saddens me that the majority do just that - judge instead of love.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Hippy
Last night, two of my best friends & I had a fabulous movie night with Lindsay and two of her friends. It was such a fun, laid back night with a lot of laughter and love. Toward the end of the night, we were all trading stories and somehow got on to the topic of Lindsay and I being judged for our "free spirits". Lindsay's story is not mine to tell, but I will share mine.
I was at a local grocery store picking up a bundle of (organic) bananas. I was wearing a shirt with several peace signs on it and had feather earrings in. A lady walked up behind me, looked me up and down, turned up her nose and muttered "F---ing hippy." I was IN SHOCK. I could not understand how my standing there had caused her enough harm to spew those words. I gathered myself, gave her the biggest, cheesiest smile I could muster, threw both hands into peace signs and said "Peace" before walking to another line. Now here's the point of this story...lately I've been called a hippy a handful of times, and each time it was meant as an insult. I am still trying to wrap my head around this. Now, without stamping a "label" on Lindsay, I will just say that we are very similar in heart and spirit. She, too, has been called "hippy" with a negative connotation. So, after we left her apartment she sent me an email with the definition of "a hippy".
Here's what we think people, who are using is negatively, think hippies are: "The recent term hippy more commonly refers to drugged out dirty teenagers, or later joiners of the movement who just wanted to be cool and did not really care about all the issues. Most 'hippies' will not be offended by the term, because in its originality, it was interchangeable with the term 'flower child'... There tends to be a very misunderstood association of hippies with hard drugs." <- That right there could not be more wrong.
Here's what we think of as hippies: "The original flower child movement was made of people who promoted love over hate, wanted to end the war, were very intelligent and politically active, were unsatisfied with today's culture and wished to expand their minds and those of the people around them. They tended to be very liberal... They were very concerned with the world around them, not just war, but poverty, women's rights, civil rights, youth's rights, and the preservation of the environment."
Yup. That pretty much describes me to a tea. And you know what? I'm PROUD of my free spirit. I think it makes me a more open-minded, loving person. (And no, I am NOT saying that if you aren't of a hippy mindset that you don't have an open-mind or that you aren't loving.) So, call me a hippy all you want, lady at the grocery store. I'll smile and wish you "Peace" every time.
I was at a local grocery store picking up a bundle of (organic) bananas. I was wearing a shirt with several peace signs on it and had feather earrings in. A lady walked up behind me, looked me up and down, turned up her nose and muttered "F---ing hippy." I was IN SHOCK. I could not understand how my standing there had caused her enough harm to spew those words. I gathered myself, gave her the biggest, cheesiest smile I could muster, threw both hands into peace signs and said "Peace" before walking to another line. Now here's the point of this story...lately I've been called a hippy a handful of times, and each time it was meant as an insult. I am still trying to wrap my head around this. Now, without stamping a "label" on Lindsay, I will just say that we are very similar in heart and spirit. She, too, has been called "hippy" with a negative connotation. So, after we left her apartment she sent me an email with the definition of "a hippy".
Here's what we think people, who are using is negatively, think hippies are: "The recent term hippy more commonly refers to drugged out dirty teenagers, or later joiners of the movement who just wanted to be cool and did not really care about all the issues. Most 'hippies' will not be offended by the term, because in its originality, it was interchangeable with the term 'flower child'... There tends to be a very misunderstood association of hippies with hard drugs." <- That right there could not be more wrong.
Here's what we think of as hippies: "The original flower child movement was made of people who promoted love over hate, wanted to end the war, were very intelligent and politically active, were unsatisfied with today's culture and wished to expand their minds and those of the people around them. They tended to be very liberal... They were very concerned with the world around them, not just war, but poverty, women's rights, civil rights, youth's rights, and the preservation of the environment."
Yup. That pretty much describes me to a tea. And you know what? I'm PROUD of my free spirit. I think it makes me a more open-minded, loving person. (And no, I am NOT saying that if you aren't of a hippy mindset that you don't have an open-mind or that you aren't loving.) So, call me a hippy all you want, lady at the grocery store. I'll smile and wish you "Peace" every time.
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