Je T'aime

I love the French language. Despite the obvious advantages of learning Spanish (considering that I live in California, and about three hours from Mexico) I decided to take French in high school. I loved the way it sounded, and how I felt speaking it.  I daydreamed of visiting Paris, and traveling across the French countrysides with it's vineyards and chateaux. As it turned out I did get to visit France, and absolutely loved it. I'm sure the people I met there thought my French was atrocious, but I think they appreciated the effort. I was thinking about this wonderful language because..for one thing, I really want to brush up on it  (why? I have no idea. I just want to).  The other reason is that I was thinking about friends and how thankful I am for my friends.  The word for "friend" in French is "ami". The way to say the verb "to love" in french is "aimer". Looks pretty close to me.  It's like they are saying that love is part of the meaning of friendship.  In English, it seems the word "friend" is thrown around and used for any mere acquaintance.  I suppose we have other words that qualify the term. There's "best" friend, or "close" friend, but I like to think that those I love could just be called "amis".  Works for me. So....Adieu Mes Amis! Au Revoir! Je T'aime!

Dog Heaven

Last weekend we took our dog, Whiskey, to the dog beach.  He was so happy running around on the sand, free of leashes and fences, chasing his ball, splashing in the surf a bit, sniffing other dogs and making friends.  He was in dog heaven. Of course, I love that he loves the beach, because, well, I love the beach. It's my favorite place. He's my favorite dog.  Okay, he's my only dog. But hey, it's fun to say that I'm going to hang out on the beach with a little Whiskey.

If It Ain't Broke...

Through a somewhat random train of thoughts (which for me is not unusual) I started thinking of that phase: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  I always had mixed feelings about that, because while on one side I sort of agree with it, I also think it assumes that anything that is broken can be fixed.  So what about a broken heart? I know there are people who, though they won't admit it out loud, believe they can "fix" their friends or relatives who have been hurt by matters of the heart.  Unfortunately healing one's damaged emotions is not a one-size-fits-all application.  What works for one person is unlikely to work for another. This is frustrating to most of us. Its always hard to see someone you care about in pain, whether it's physical or emotional.  We want to help, we want to fix it...but we can't.  So what do we do? Sometimes we say the wrong things. Sometimes we don't know what to say. Sometimes we throw up our arms, exasperated.
What we need to do is just shut the heck up, listen, offer hugs, love, prayer, and support, because when it comes down to it, that's all we can do, and it's probably the hardest thing to do. 
So if it ain't broke...just thank your lucky stars. And sometimes... if it is broke...don't fix it.