Thanks, but No Thanks.......

OK...word vomit commencing. Bleah. The "time to be thankful" posts. Completely absent the other 11 months of the year, but conspicuously OVER present in November. 

Why is November so special? Probably because there isn't much happening. The men have "no shave November", the kids have "no school November", so the women had to have SOMETHING to occupy their time besides the current disappointment over Starbucks holiday cups and gender-neutral toy aisles at Target.... and obviously anything beginning with an "N" would be too obvious, right? So, its Thanks--Thanksgiving? Thankful Thanksgiving?

I am starting my OWN movement, because my OCD says that it HAS to be in the same form as the men and munchkins....

No Shave November and No School November.....

MOVE OVER for "NO THANKS NOVEMBER"

Things you could definitely DO WITHOUT. I'll start:

Horrible diseases taking great people from those who love them.

So called parents who think kids are disposable.

People crying about their Starbucks Cups not being Christian.

People who Grinch.  Taking the whole tree back to their workshop because of one freaking light. 

(more on this in a later post....I kinda like this analogy).

Murderers and thieves having more rights than their victims.

Illegal immigrants having more rights than citizens.

Kardashians.

Working hard for what you have, and watching others

sit back and get free stuff while YOU pay for it.

People who are paid to work, but choose not to, so others work double to cover for their laziness.

People who think the world is better off without them (trust me, it isn't); people who act on it.

Miracles that only happen for other people. 

Epilepsy. Tremors. Headaches. Nausea. Exhaustion. And all of the above. At the same time.

Doctors who pretend to care as long as you intend to pay.

Doctors who make you provide your own diagnosis.  Web MD anyone?

Watching children suffer. Making children suffer.

People who think suffering is funny. Or better when ignored.

Blatant favoritism. Who you know over what you know.

Part time friends. At least with full time enemies, we know where they stand....

Offstage drama.

People who think a rainbow or a ribbon on their profile pic will solve the world's problems.

People who think going to church makes them a good person.

People who quit church because someone else decided they didn't belong there.

Corrupt politicians. Inept leaders. Power paid for by certain people.

Overpaid entertainers and athletes.  Underpaid teachers and public servants.

$15 minimum wage for minimum skills and effort.

NO THANKS

NO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.......

It's not that I am not thankful -- believe me I am.  With all the trauma and drama in my life, I still believe I am blessed immeasurably. 

This year, I will sit with my family at Thanksgiving and we will eat delicious food that I made. I will invite new people to join our gathering as we welcome more people into our circle. Usually people ask me if I want help with anything, to which I always reply, "no thanks, I got it".  But this year...this year will be different.

This year I am not going to wait for them to ask so I can say, "no thanks".

This year, they can help. I might even make some of them.

Because maybe, just maybe....I am denying someone ELSE an opportunity by saying "no thanks".

Maybe, just maybe, someone needs to be lifted out of their no-thanks November by being asked to join the circle and help someone else. I know that's what helps me the most, helping others....but a lot of times I am not wanted. Or asked. Or let in the circle.

This time of year is difficult for a LOT of people without having all that thankful and blessed crap shoved in their faces like turkey-day leftovers. Gobble.  That's right.  Sometimes, being outwardly, loudly, overly thankful for what you have is just plain selfish.  Being self-sufficient and not wanting help, or bragging outright on FaceBook that you have it all is a slap in the face to others who don't.

You instantly conjured up an image, a face in your head when you read that last sentence....

Don't lie -- you did. I know it, because I did too. Actually several.

They are the adult equivalent of the playground bully, or popular full-of-themselves kid that always had something better.  "You got an A?  Well, I got an A+".....you just got a mental image again, didn't you?

Guess what?  Join my movement.  NO THANKS.

I am not joining your pity party.  No Thanks....

I am not buying your blather that the star on your belly makes you the better Sneetch.  Thank you, NO. 

I will not change my FB status to talk about slugs sliming all over the floor, the color of my bra, etc., or change my profile picture to giraffes, or ribbons, or rainbows just because everyone ELSE said to. Sure, if you are truly into slugs or underwear, I guess you can do that, but why?  

No, no, thanks. Not a sheep.

I also won't stoop to your name calling, bullying, or senseless drama over some media-made non-issue that calls attention to stupid stuff. Or your loud, holier-than-thou yelling IN ALL CAPS  over something we disagree about. Seriously???? Nope.  Not gonna do it. Not a troll. 

I will help you and serve you, whether outright or in secret silence, because THAT is the way to become truly thankful people. By serving each other and trying to help figure out and muddle through some of life's sludge that NO ONE is really thankful for. Because that's why we need each other. And that's what I do, even if you don't.

This country became great because people refused to conform to the norm.  They thought outside the box and stood up for what they believed in. People hated them.  People thought they were crazy. Some stood alone. Some of them created great inventions, cured diseases, solved crimes, taught and learned lessons, corrected injustices, and just plain LIVED. Some of them -- a LOT of them -- died for their convictions. And most of the time, it wasn't for themselves or for their own personal glory.  It was for someone else.

Our generation can be proud that we stood up for a stupid Starbucks cup???

No thanks. I prefer my T.H.A.N.K.S.....

To Help A Nation, Keep Serving.

With The Program Comes the Play

Nope. Not going there.

Not when all the cards are in your hand

Not when it means someone loses, even when they win

Because in your game

Even winners lose.

Changing the rules

Changing the stakes

Hiding the aces

Stirring the pot

Can't even change what you can't know.

That I already win

Because games aren't life

And I learned that long ago.

I learned that a true friend laughs with you, not at you

Supports your beliefs, not mocks them

Dances for your joys and stands silent for your pain.

I just don't get it.

I don't get why we want so much to be adults

To grow up --

But behave like children when we arrive.

Or why a helping hand, given in love,

Can be pushed away with jealous hatred.

Has the world hardened you so much

That your voice cannot sing unless it hurts someone else?

I sing for you, but you don't listen.

I dance, but you turn away

Sometimes I catch you watching

And I get caught up, thinking you've changed --

But your eyes turn cold

If just to look for another wound to make,

Or thing to take,

Or heart to break --

Because that's the only way your heart stays whole.

Don't expect me to change.

I still sing, because it brings me joy

I dance because it makes my heart sing,

And I will still do them because it's who I AM.

In a perfect world, there is room for all

I just wish I could make you see

Because the world would be a better place

If the truth didn't hurt

And the blind chose to see

That there is enough for all to have a role

Run their show

And take a bow.

Once the curtain is closed

You'll see

That I'm so much more than you supposed me to be. 

SUPERMAN

    
S U P E R M A N

 by Michelle Nelson for Randy Humphries

No Fortress of Solitude can protect anyone

From an enemy like this;

Insidious, sneaky, shifty and silent.

Uglier than Lex Luthor.

            No secret identity can hide you.

            No phone booth to change you.

No damsel in distress to take your mind off the world's problems.

The definition of a hero

Is not measured by the size of his shield

Or the color of his cape.

A true hero is one who meets a battle like this head on....

            Faster than a speeding bullet,

                        More powerful than a locomotive--

Surrounded by loved ones

From which he gathers his strength.

It's not about winning, or fairness --

But showing the world that good guys can still win.

That the cure can poison your body but it doesn't have to poison your mind.

That a positive attitude and a sense of humor are the best superpowers.

That truth, justice, and the American way still prevails.

Values matter.  Friends matter. 

Toes in the sand matter. 

Chocolate matters.

Daughters dancing, boys sporting and acting and just being boys....matters.

Making memories matters.

Heavenly Father and prayers and faith matter.

Being married to Wonder Woman not only matters, but means more than this world.

            (and you don't need the Lasso of Truth to know THAT)

Because Families Matter.....Forever. 

Sometimes it takes an insurmountable challenge

            Given to ordinary people

                        (like leaping tall buildings with a single bound)

To cause extraordinary things to come to pass.

And not just for them, but for those they have taught or inspired or loved....

Some people have to watch their heroes on TV or in comic books;

But Superman is a personal friend of mine.

And there isn't enough Kryptonite on the planet to make me forget that.

You are a  SUPER  MAN......

You are our hero.

#TeamRandy