shower the people you love with love

I'm watching one of those star-studded pre-inauguration specials and I just saw James Taylor singing Shower the People. A song I haven't heard or thought about in quite some time. But what a great song! I admit that this whole inauguration thing has me pre-disposed to being overemotional and sappy (I mean even more than usual!), but tonight this song really resonated with me and it felt like it was delivering a really important and simple message. I hope that I'm living my life in a way that showers the people I love with love. Being so far away from so many of you that I love sometimes makes it a challenge, but I hope you all know how important you are to me and how much you are loved!

I have to admit that I'm a little giddy about tomorrow's inauguration and plan to rush home from work tomorrow to see the swearing-in and inaugural address. It also happens to be my birthday tomorrow and I can't think of any greater gift than the renewed hope of our nation that our new president brings!

As we celebrate the new leadership of our country, I would ask you all to also take a moment to think of the men and women who serve and protect our country through the armed services. And to include in those thoughts the people who serve by the sacrifices they make as family members of soldiers. Living the life that I live now makes me a little embarassed and ashamed of myself and how I viewed soldiers in the past. While there's always been appreciation, I never took a moment to put myself in the shoes of a soldier and it certainly never occurred to me to put myself in the shoes of a soldier's wife or child. It took living it to make me understand what our soldiers and their families give to this country and how precious that really is. There have been times that Jerry has traveled in uniform and has been stopped and thanked by a civilian for his service to our country, but rarely does that person turn his or her head to acknowledge the spouse at his side. If you have an opportunity to thank a soldier for what he or she does for our country (which I encourage you to do...it is something that soldiers can never hear too much), tell them that you appreciate their families too.

Wow...hadn't intended to get all soap boxy when I started this entry! I did, however, want to share some of my purchases from an outing to IKEA today! I've been eyeing this mirror every time I've gone to IKEA. Today I finally purchased it! Now I just have to wait until I can make an appointment to have it hung on the wall!

I also got this great vase and decorate-y stuff! Between the flash and the curtain, the centerpiece that I created looks a little overwelmingly red in the photo. But in real life it looks great!

Now I'm off to bed, a little later than I had planned. I hope that you will all go and shower some people you love with love!