1 post tagged “is peace”

Show us peace

I thought about peace from a personal, private perspective. I could be thinking about what peace means from a global perspective, but that would require more brain cells than I have to give at the moment. And I need happy thoughts at the moment like I need oxygen. So...here are a few things that bring me peace, my simple pleasures in life.

Knowing somebody's had my back for the last 30 years. There's nothing like a sister that brings peace to your life. If you have a sister you know that there is no other person out there in the world who "gets" you more. You have your own language even, where every sigh, intonation and gesture means something only to the two of you. My sister can tell by the way I say "hello" when I answer the phone if I have news to share, family gossip to pass along, if I'm sad, if I'm about to complain about our mother, or if I want have a husband gripe session. All from hello. Sisters are caped crusaders for one another too, which means this might be the only other person in the world (besides a spouse maybe?) who knows when you need to be scraped off the floor and put back together again. Or when you need some ass kickin' done. They're not afraid to put the cape on and take care of business for you, especially when you just can't do it yourself. Somebody knowing that without you having to ask is the real measure of love and friendship. That's why my sister brings peace to me... Maybe this section should be more appropriately labeled "war and peace" though, because in any relationship this close, one always has the power to wreak abject misery on the other...which does occasionally happen. Only about once a year, though. That's why I thought it apt to include the last photo, of her choking me under the sink when we were very young. It seems to somehow say it all...

Here are some others, that probably need less commentary:

Ohio fall

a healthy Alexa

a good bottle of wine

Travel with my husband. There's nothing more peaceful and grounding for me than traveling the world with my best friend. We have had a "working" marriage, as I like to call it, thanks to the hardships of the military and a highly complex relationship with his daughter, and stealing away to soak up a new culture, environment or just some sun is always a centering experience for both of us.

And, of course,  my friends. Who needs psychotherapy when there's a phone line or email to purge my soul, and know someone's on the other end, rooting for me when I need it, and giving me a swift kick in the ass when I need it, too. There's nothing more joyful for me than continuing to share the joys and sorrows of life with these people. Friends become your roots, too, and especially in the military lifestyle, they become synonymous with "home."