it's friday, it's raining, and it's a wonder i've made it this far this morning...

the following conversation from this morning...

the duke: "mama, can i join the army?"

"you have to be eighteen"

"well, actually, you only need to be seventeen to sign-up"

??? i don't want to know...deep breath

"well, seventeen then...you've got awhile to think about it"

"hey wingman, do you want to join the army with me?"

"no way!"

"what, you want to work in a pizza shop?"

"no, i don't want to work at all"

"so, you're just gonna live on the streets?"

"duh, i'm gonna live here"

great.

and so it begins...every immediate blood relative male in the duke's family has served in some capacity...his father, my father, my husband's father, my father's father...

there is more to say about this, but that conversation is on-going and will unfold...but i will say this, if one or both of my boys wants to join the military i will share my views and my opinions but i will in no way shape or form stand in their way or not support them...it is their decision...

though i must say the rest of the conversation today went like this

"you know, duke, joining the military to serve your country is admirable...but i want you to know too that when you join the military there is the expectation that you will defend your country by force or sacrifice...among other things you will be expected to shoot an enemy and/or be in a position to be shot by an enemy...this does not always happen, but it is a real possibility"

silence.

"also, you will not get to pick and choose your battles...when you are in the military your commanding officers and the president are your bosses...it's up to them the wars we fight...and those wars are not always right or fair...when you choose to serve your country in the military you choose to do as the government says, even if you think it is wrong..."

more silence...then

"well, i'd like to serve my country, but maybe in a different way?"

"there are a lot of ways to serve your country...a lot of strong and important ways"

"i know instead of joining the army i think i'll invent world peace!"

that's my boy.

and on that note a little something from anne lamott:

"when you don't have a clue what's going on, maybe it's better that you not be in charge of a lot of things, which is something i keep meaning to point out to george bush"

which brings us to today's $1 menu tao...which, by the way, i don't write myself, just comment on, and is pre-set for the day...yet they are always so timely...kinda creepy, really...

destruction

mute black night,
sudden fire.
destruction.

now, this is no way to start off the weekend!...but there is a gem here...and it follows the same principal as many of the others...disaster and destruction are part of the fabric of our lives...we can look at them as punishment or opportunity...

we can choose to be mired down in the ashes and flames or we can choose rise above them...

everything is just as it needs to be...it's up to each of us as individuals to move through this world with as much acceptance, grace, humility, and love as we can muster...to change what we can, accept what we can't, and move on...

hey, i do believe that's the $1 menu version of the serenity prayer!...and look, you didn't even have to do all that pesky heavy drinking and join AA to use it!!...

x.