Hi, I'm back. It's been about a year now since I've been in here. I admit it; I got sucked in by Facebook. It seemed like such a good idea: one line entries, no more time consuming posts, quick thoughts, quick catch-ups with friends. But... all the time, I knew I was cheating - cheating myself and all my "friends" too. I've connected with lots of long-lost friends, but I've not developed deep relationships with any of them. We were not meant to thrive on speed; fast food, text messages, facebook updates: none of them will give us long-term satisfaction.

So, with that said - here I am - coming back to my first love. I've had an itch to write lately. I've never considered myself a writer, but I enjoy reading clever and well-written things myself, and always dream of writing something significant myself someday. I read a book a while back that asked the question: "What were you anointed to do?" Joshua has started drawing again. It's been encouraging to see him doing something he loves so much and that he is so good at. I've been mulling over that question for my life ever since. I suppose everyone wants to feel like they were influential somehow in their lives, and I'm no different, but HOW will I be influential? I realized that my goal in life is to make people smile. And I love words - I'd love to be able to write things that make people smile with the realization that they, too, relate to that aspect of life. I think I've tried before to be a good writer/blogger, but I end up with writer's cramp as I make valiant attempts to be poignant and poetic. The problem, obviously, is that my life at this point is hardly poignant or poetic; it is rather loud, hectic, and borderline destructive! Perhaps someday my journal entries will be full of sweet revelations on the truths of life, but for now, I think I must adjust my focus to looking at the life I have and the "smile-ability" that it offers. A mother of two special needs children once told me that she had learned that "anything in life can be funny." That's my new approach to life. If I keep trying to make it fit into my neat, sweet, poetic box, it frustrates me; if I look at it and laugh, life is still good, and if not neat, still able to be a different type of sweet and poetic. There must be some humor in the fact that my dryer switch is broken (I'm not naming names - after all, he was being such a helpful man while I was gone!) and that I now have to pull out my pliers every time I need to start the dryer. I admit, it does make me feel very capable and masculine to have an excuse to use a "man-tool" so many times in one day! Surely there can be a good laugh at the end of a day that includes having cleaned up human feces off the floor more times than having needed to use the pliers to start the dryer. I'm not sure how relatable that is to most people... but it's certainly not boring! Growing up, we always said the family motto was, "Never a dull moment" (I always wanted to translate it into Latin and post it above the fireplace). I think I brought an element of that into my own family as well. Things may be hectic, smelly, chaotic, and broken - but certainly not dull! Thank God, for mediocrity is of all things to be avoided in life, if you wanted my opinion on the matter.

It is midnight. Half my family is still up, sprawled around the living room floor and drawing with Daddy; but my energy is spent for the day. I hope to be back soon with more posts to make you smile.

Blessings, - Kerrie Berrie

PS Google tells me that the phrase I am looking for is "nunquam a plumbeus vicis" that would look great on the mantlepiece! Might have to do it yet!