X is for...

Welcome to day twenty-four of the A to Z Challenge!

Today's topic is xylophone.

I was ten when we left Berlin and moved to Misawa Air Force Base in Japan. I was not thrilled with Mom's new assignment, because I got to experience an earthquake and a typhoon in my first week. I was more than ready for this particular tour of duty to be over.

I was in this music class with a teacher whose name I can no longer recall at my elementary school and we got to play with all these instruments to try to play a song. I got to play the xylophone. I loved it. I loved its sound. It kind of reminder me of this album Daddy used to play called Tubular Bells. So awesome.

Anyway, my love of music found a new outlet that day. I went from there to singing in the choir. Ah, the good old days. I sang in choir from 8th grade on (7th grade wasn't allowed in the choir, so I played the oboe in band that year). My poor parents went to choir concert after choir concert.

Do you have a fondness for an instrument or book or film that ignited a passion?

L is for...

Hello, and welcome to day twelve of the A to Z Challenge!

Today's topic is Lughnasadh, or Lammas.

Well, that was the original plan for this post, anyway. Yesterday, I traveled to my alma mater, Roanoke College, for my ten year reunion. I didn't go to my ten year high school reunion; I didn't feel compelled to do so. Somehow, though, I found myself anxiously waiting to see who would be at 'dear old Roanoke,' who I might get to catch up with during the whirlwind of activities.

I spent the evening at FOTQ (Friday on the Quad, a cookout/picnic event with a band) and at my sorority house. Then I ate dinner with some good friends at my home away from dorm room, Macado's.

It left me thinking about the kinds of love we encounter in our lives: friends, sorority sisters (or, for some, fraternity brothers), family, spouses, nieces, nephews, children, and places. It's the latter that struck me the most today, seeing all the familiar haunts from four amazing years in my life.

So, I'll leave you with a moment from yesterday where I was reminded of the beauty of a place and the love it can hold.

standing on elizabeth campus feeling the warm breeze
a stillness
     not just deep within
     but carried on the wind

a peace
     so potent in the moment
     that all is right with the world and you

laughter and music drifting
lazily in the fading sunlight
scent of spring
     soft
          gentle
               tickling

juxtaposed

with memories
     of other days just like this
so long ago

face turned
     catching the last rays of twilight
that glint off the windows
that once shielded you

now...
looking in and seeing the past
     as the future looks backr

F is for...

Welcome to day six of the A to Z challenge!

Today's topic is one that is near and dear to my heart: family.

Family can be blood and genes: aunts, grandmothers, sisters, uncles, brothers, nephews, fathers. It's people that are bound to you, maybe whether you want them to be or not. They're the people you love no matter what they do, partially because you have to and partially because you just do. They know all the stories, all the tears, all the dreams, all the happy moments. They're the reminders of our own mortality and, sometimes, that insanity is only a breath away.

Family can also be created. It's the close friend we've had since high school, the roommate in college who came home with us on all our breaks, and the coworker that is your work spouse. The family we choose is so totally different from the family we're born into because we feel like they understand us better. Family of choice supports our decisions and ideas, mostly because their beliefs are similar to our own. Especially in cases where we feel singular or alone (due to religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or other lifestyle choices/experiences that cause us to feel socially isolated or separate), family of choice is a critical element to our emotional well-being.

I have both - family of origin and family of choice. I am an only child. No siblings. Yet, I have seven sisters and two brothers, all through my created family. Through my "siblings," I have six nieces and nephews. I love them all as if they were my own family. My siblings call my parents Mom and Dad. They know everything that's important in my life, because I couldn't imagine not sharing everything with them.

Do you have an 'extended' family? Where have you met some of yours?