Sweet Shoppe Designs

January Challenge # 35 These Days by the Foo Fights

My take on this song and this challenge.

I know the journaling is incredibly long, but it is the heart of this page:

Some times it must feel like I don't really listen to you or understand what you are going through. I always say that things will get better, or that they aren't as bad as you think or that happiness is a choice; chose it and you will be happy. I always tell you to look for the good in the situation, to make the most of what you do have and not bemoan what you don't have. You probably get tired of listening to me mouth the same old platitudes. It's easy for me to say this stuff because I am not going through it. I'm not twenty and trying to decide what to do with my future. I'm forty-five and settled into a home, a job and a life that seems so boring to you, but is precious to me because I worked hard to get here. I'm not exciting or especially talented. My job doesn't change lives, it just pays the bills. So how can I possibly understand your desire to be a writer, to share your stories and poems with the world, to touch lives and move people with your words? Why do I always tell you to have a back up plan that will support you while you write instead of telling you to chase that dream, no matter what it costs you? Because I have been twenty years old, dreamed of being a writer and changing the world with my words. But writing takes talent and dedication and not everyone is successful, so it pays to have a second choice to fall back on when the bills need paid and the baby needs fed. How can I understand your anguish over ending your two year relationship with a girl you loved and I never particularly liked, when I haven't been in love in over twenty years? How can I be so sure that you are better off without her and that she is not the one for you. How can I know that time heals all wounds, if you let it, and that it is not worth spending one moment of your time pining for a girl who did not appreciate you? How can I be so certain that there is someone much better waiting for you out there and that when the time is right you will find each other? How can I know that you will love again, when I have not? Because you are not me. You are so much more loving, giving and trusting. You are not afraid to open your heart to those around you and let them see the remarkable man you are. You have a huge capacity for love and you will share it with someone special some day. Why do I play devil's advocate when you are complaining about your friends and how they spend all their time with their girlfriends instead of you? Why do I tell you to make other friends where you find them, but to keep in mind that during your lifetime you will have only a handful of true friends, so recognize and cultivate those relationships and let the others go? Because while I only have a few close friends, they are the kind of people I can count on when the chips are down. They are the ones who know when I need help, but am too proud or stubborn to ask for it, so they just help. They are the people who know me and accept me for who I am. They are the ones who make me laugh. Why do I push you to have relaltionships with your father's family when they have failed you so miserably over the years? Why do I try to make excuses for them all when I should be the first to condemn them for their selfishness? Because I know the value of family and I know that people make choices they later regret. I know that forgiving people who hurt you is the most rewarding and freeing thing you can do. And I know you can never have too many people who love you. All the advice I give you is easy for me to say now, but only because I have lived forty-five years, seen my share of hard times and heartbreaks and know that things do get better. It may take time, faith, hard work and a back-up plan or two, but trust me, you are bound for a beautiful life.

Supplies:
Cindy Schneider NSD2011 Template
Zoe Pearn One for the Boys
Misty Cato Gear Head
Julie Billingsley Fearless
Angie Briggs Being With You