It’s such a strange thing to have to watch a person slowly drift from one realm to another.  It’s something I was hoping to not have to witness again… especially this soon.  It digs up all of the anxiety and frustration, the questions and the mystery… everything that I experienced while watching my Mom pass last Christmas.

When does letting go become easier?  What makes such a difference that one day we are praying that there is miraculous healing to suddenly wishing for the end of the suffering to come.  It’s a wobbly tightrope I find myself on.

More than likely, within the next few days my family will be saying last goodbyes to another loved one.  This can’t, and shouldn’t, be minimized by a few rambling words on a blog post.  It is a heart-breaking, gut-wrenching sort of situation, but it’s comforting to know there is more happening than we realize.

The hospice nurses gave us some things to read about the process.  It struck me as sort of eerie that people, other than those that pass quickly, generally go through the same sort of process, reaching various steps of transitioning along the way.

One thing that really helped me was a short poem that was in one of the little books.  I can’t remember it word for word, but the analogy that really spoke to me.  It compared the process of death to watching a ship slowly drift toward the horizon.  We watch yearningly… helplessly… until suddenly the moment comes when it is no longer the dot on the horizon line.  It is just out of sight, but it is still there in all of its glory.  There is comfort in that.

It is my hope that in this season of loss we can all experience it in that way.

I recently began reading Max Lucado’s new book, Fearless.  I think all of us have fear in our lives.  In our society, it is something that is used for even entertainment purposes, especially this time of year.  But when we take away that protective screen of make believe and look at real life fears, it’s something all too frightening.  Many live in daily fear… for their lives, for their loves ones, for the uncertainty that inevitably will creep in.  What we do with this fear says a lot about our character.

Max does a great job reminding us of the simple truths about fear, especially how it relates to God.  He is always able to strip down the pearls of wisdom that we often overlook.

There are two installments of the Addams Family movies.  I think they do a nice job at representing this famously creepy family.  The movies are humorous and harmless.  They may bring a chuckle or two, and are nice alternatives to other awful children’s movies that are painful for the adults to sit through.

Continuing my spooky (but not too spooky) movie countdown to Halloween, here are a couple of movies I couldn’t leave out!

This movie is such a classic. I remember watching this as a kid and getting really freaked out by it. Now it’s just a fun little movie to watch. Not a whole lot of substance, but what can you expect?

The 2nd installment picks up the story a few years into the future. The ghost factor is a little more intense in this movie. I can remember watching this as a kid and being really freaked out by this one, even more so than the first one. There’s a little more “evil” sorts of ghosts, which may be a little too much for younger kiddos.

Apparently there’s a Ghostbuster’s 3 in the making! That will be exciting!

My cousins and I had our annual Pumpkin Carving Contest this weekend.  We need your help to cast your vote on which one you think should win and take the title of 2009 Pumpkin Carving Champion.

If you know which one is mine, please don’t tell!

Vote here!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sallykent2006/4045818402/

**SPOILER ALERT**

I think this was the first time I actually watched this movie all the way through.  It seems like my Mom didn’t want me to watch it when I was younger.  Much of the older generation does not truly appreciate the magic of claymation.

I had a basic idea of the plot, and I knew of the main characters.  This movie is generally enjoyable.  It is an interesting approach to the commercial holidays of Halloween and Christmas, smashed together in one movie.  The way the two are intertwined is original and entertaining.

Being an animated film, the PG rating is surprising, but it is warranted.  There are some scary scenes that may be frightening to very young viewers, as well as a somewhat morbid theme in general (think “Igor” and “Coraline”.)

It’s enjoyable and makes a great addition to the countdown to Halloween…and Christmas!

*SPOILER ALERT*

With it being the Halloween season, I thought I would watch a few scary movies over the course of a couple of weeks.

I was expecting this movie to be your usual creepy movie with a typical suspense plot.  It began as just that, slowly building the story around a couple of vaguely interesting characters.  I could immediately relate to Kate Hudson’s character:  a simple girl looking for a change.

The story is set in the deep south, which is obvious from the first few scenes of big trees covered with spanish moss.  As it became more clear that the actual setting was New Orleans, I assumed that things were going to get a little more intense since there is such a prevalence of Voodoo in that area.

My first instinct was that it was going to end with an unsuspected character being responsible for all of the mayhem.  As it turns out, I was right… but I was way off on who the character actually was.

I found the glimpses of the past to be an interesting touch, though I feel like it could’ve been carried a little farther than it was.

There were a few startling moments that made me jumpy, but nothing too “horror” like.  The unknown seemed to be what really kept me interested.

As the movie reached its climax, it became clear that the spirits of the past were actually responsible for the happenings to the other characters.  It became some sort of reincarnation spell that would allow the spirits to zap the remaining life from the main characters.

I enjoyed the twist that I didn’t see coming.  I am also thankful that it was not overdone.  It was just creepy enough without any of the gore that most horror flicks have these days.

All in all, I would recommend this movie if you aren’t looking for something super scary.

Cool. Just testing this out. Now I can make blog posts from anywhere! Maybe that will help me to keep this thing updated

I’m in the process of figuring things out.  Like that is a big shock.

Working on blogs runs almost parallel to life.  You tweak it until you get it just how you think you want it, and then something about it just doesn’t feel right.  You change more, only to want to reverse whatever you just did, but you can’t figure out how to get there.

We have the advantage of making a customized life for ourselves.  Not everyone has that freedom.  Let’s use that liberty to the best of our abilities and make something good come from it.

Have you ever come to the realization that your life is mediocre, at best?  You sort of wake up, look around, and wonder how in the world you have become so content with just existing.  It didn’t used to be this way.  Little by little, the mundane took over, and without setting goals and putting a game plan into place, you wake up to the same day, everday.  Time and time again, you are frustrated by the sense of stagnation that surrounds you.

I find myself here.  It’s something that I’ve experienced before, and had made a vow to never let it happen again.  I blame myself, but then I also realize that only blaming myself will make it worse.

It’s a combination of factors, really.  They add up over time, creeping in and grabbing hold of the part of you that wants to stay in bed all day.  It makes me find justification by the many excuses I can come up with that all make sense.

There is a theory I’ve had for a while.  It’s about unintentionally being unintentional.  If you fail to be intentional in your life, then the unintentional mediocrity is bound to take over.

The first step in overcoming this is recognizing it.  This is where I am today.

With so much potential and so much possibility, it’s really a crime to just sit back and let this happen.

And so with that… I am taking the first step in putting a stop to it.  Join me.