Vermont- My Punch in the Gut

Have you ever seen a place so beautiful, that the moment you saw it, you felt immediately like you had been punched in the gut? For no explainable reason, that is the way I feel about Vermont.  My inner being aches with the hopes that one day I can set foot upon and enjoy just a piece of the wondrous state of Vermont.  Frank Sinatra sang about it, Ben and Jerry call it home; Maple Syrup became famous there, and John Deere made his very first tractor there.  Since first hearing about Vermont, I have always wanted to go. Not as a party of 1 mind you, but the only way that Vermont can truly be enjoyed in all its glory, with the love of my life, as the song by Old Blue Eyes so romanticized in his song. 

Of course I had no Idea even where Vermont was. Sure I studied it and the other 49 as a youth in school, but the years deteriorate the mind fast, and it wasn’t long before I couldn’t pick out more than merely a handful of Eastern states by appearance alone.  When I found out it was way out East beyond New York, I was humorously flabbergasted! I could not believe that in order to get to this amazing Heavenly dot on the map, one had to pass beyond the Northeast border of New York to get there! In fact, depending on what tiny town of visual excitement within Vermont I chose, Maine and Canada were only a hop, skip and jump away!

           “…People who meet in this romantic setting, Are so hypnotized by the lovely...

            Ev'ning summer breeze, Warbling of a meadowlark…Moonlight in Vermont…”

Never before had a state bewitched me so, other than what is now my most recent longing,  the constant sites and over the top (but effective) blatant marketing for the sunny Aloha state of Hawaii as seen through the new Hawaii 5-0 drama series. Vermont is beautiful for so many reasons. It is what the West is not; lush, quiet, secluded. The West in all it’s excitement from Vegas to L.A. can not begin to offer the romanticism that Vermont pours out abundantly from it’s fingertips at the southernmost point in Brattleboro, to the Northernmost edges of Vermont, including Lake Champlain.

Whatever the hold that Vermont has on me, I am hopeful that one day I can exercise the yearning that is within me to drop in from a very long flight, rest my feet on some of God’s most beautiful country, and take it all in; the colors, the sights, the romantic glow that seems to drip steadfastly from every tree, every covered bridge and every piece of antiquated architecture. 

So there you have it, Vermont, my punch in the gut. A place that is so fantastically beautiful, my fear is that once I arrive, I will never want to leave.  I will chase my dreams; my wish is that you have the opportunities to chase yours!

-Lou

“…Falling leaves, a sycamore, Moonlight in Vermont…”

Are You an Island?

…there are days, it seems where we are all our own little islands, each standing for something different with our own individual flags.  And although we might for a brief moment, hop from one island to another or view another’s flag from afar, we in reality are far… from each other.  Maybe that is why our world is so messed up.  With the loss of community we have inherited the gift of ostracism. Our communities of neighbors have been transformed into individuals living through social networks on the internet.  When is the last time you remember getting into the car with your family and just dropping by to visit the neighbors or friends?  Now, if the get-together isn’t driven by some major event, it is deemed that there is no reason to get together at all.  That thought provokes this question in my mind; are we more happy now that the semblance of select-privacy has taken a front seat over a cooperative relationship with friends and family? Or that the motivational banner above us screams, “Life is Really About Us!”  We have all had great times of laughter, but can any of us remember the last time we had a prolonged period of unabated joy?  I for one can not recall such a pure and honest time like when my family or friends got together for a weekend camping trip or an evening out on the porch simply to pass the time away.  With that thought slowly becoming a harsh reality, I am saddened thinking to myself that if I don’t snap awake, if I don’t take those times to do that now, I will surely find myself on my death bed, wishing I had gotten the chance to those very same things I longed for. 

            In life, we have two choices.  One is to lower our head, firm up the chin and head straight into the storms of life, battling as we go, and with each victory moving further and further towards what our perceived dreams, goals, hopes and aspirations might be.  The 2^nd choice is to defer from meeting the storm head on, and pick the unusual route of the vantage point on the hill; measuring what is most important to us and letting the mirage of what people only think “success” looks like pass us by with the sober comprehension of what “success” can really be disguised as; a dangerous distraction that will eat away at the fabric and core of our lives until we are but a shell, wishing we hadn’t missed the train on so many of life’s really important events.

            I am not against the idea of success, but in chasing our goals, have we ultimately lost sight of what is most important?  I for one will pursue many of my personal and professional goals albeit knowing that what is most important to me are the times I miss the most about growing up; the times when we broke away from the daily rituals of the rat race, took off the uniform and invested in an antiquated notion, community.  

10 Things that Scream "I am a Parent of a Small Child!"

      

  I was hanging out with my kiddos the other day, and I thought to myself, "These crazy times are flying by so fast." Although it seemed that my wife and I were on a perpetual cotton-candy carousal where the music always seems a little too loud and just a little too wacky, and where the collection of horses, hippos, dragons, and zebras never cease from going up, down, up, down, it was bittersweet because I knew that this time would never be as long as I would like it to be. Still I hope the following makes you laugh a little, here goes: 

10 Things that Scream "I am a Parent of a Small Child!"

1. The toothpaste cap lasts about a week before becoming permanently “lost”
2. Your daily shower routine involves some type of action figure, Disney character or Barbie doll staring back up at you
3. You always put on your shoes twice- the second time is after you shake out the loose marbles, barrettes, toys or coins you find in them the first time
4. If your normal “cruising” songs on the radio on the way to the mall have anything to with barnyard animals, monkeys or other zoo animals, and some sort of exercise like clapping your hands, turning around, or jumping
5. If you find that it is perfectly normal to watch children’s programming in the evening
6. If you know what “being the horsie” means
7. If your cupboards are stocked with a surplus of sippy cups, silly straws, and various restaurants “kids menu” glasses
8. If you can not remember the last “Big Person” movie you watched in the theater
9. Each morning your feet are greeted by various pens, pencils, crayons, legos or Hot Wheels
10.  All you really crave is to have one adult meal, at a grown- up restaurant sometime before they turn into teenagers!

 Enjoy this time my friends! It won’t last for long!  Life will become much more serious and much faster than you want it to, and these comedic times, where your house looks more like the staging area of a clown’s closet than a home, will grow quiet once more, and I know you will wish you could have this time back again; a time when they are still small, you can still hold them in your arms, and they still look up at you like you are their whole entire world.  Well guess what, you are! Hug them now, kiss them now, and let them squeeze your neck, mess up your office, wear your shoes, create disasters in the kitchen, and dig up your yard while they still have the chance. I promise that these days will be some of the best ones of your life.  Now, isn’t it great to not have a toothpaste cap?

-Live Inspired, Lou