Let Us Pray

I was brought up with good values and a strong Christian background and believe this was the foundation of our great Country. However, over the years I have sadly seen that strong Christian foundation begin to crumble. Everyone is so worried about being "politically correct" or "open to all walks of life". Now, I'm not chastising anyone for their personal beliefs here, however, I think if we put God back into the schools, we wouldn't need the metal detectors and drug-sniffing dogs there. I mean our children can pray and read the bible in prison, shouldn't they be doing that in school so they don't end up in prison?

When I was in Ohio, I remember my daughter taking cookies for her class on her birthday and when she came home that day she told me, "Mom, there was a girl in my class who asked our teacher if we could pray before we ate our cookies and she told her we couldn't but she could do it silently to herself if she wanted to. Mom, why aren't we allowed to pray at school?" Needless to say I was appalled!!! My response was this, "honey, you can pray anywhere you want to anytime you want to as loud as you want to!" She replied, "but mommy, I don't want to get in trouble!" I explained to her that she wouldn't and if there was any problem with it, I would deal with it and her school, to go ahead and pray anytime she wanted to!!

I've been here in South Carolina for almost 2 years now (no regrets!!!), and am proud to say that my daughter has made A/B Honor Roll for both school years (yes, I'm a proud momma!). But just as I am very proud of my daughter, I have to say I am even prouder of the school system for which she attends. Now this may be a "southern" thing and seen quite frequently down here but I was very shocked and pleasantly surprised when her school held an academic-focused awards banquet for the students (I'm use to sports-minded banquets). This was my first surprise. Second and the one I admire most, is that before the meal, they said, "Let us pray". WOW!!!! Prayer at a school function? No Way! It literally brought tears to my eyes to know that there are still some schools out there that put aside the idea that including religion into the public school system is a bad thing! I felt very proud of this school for putting aside all the "political correctness" and "someone might be offended" idealism. The school also offers a course outside of the regular curriculum that students can take in lieu of a "study-hall" or "free-elective" called CCLC which is a Christian based study and yes, my daughter chose it and chose it again for this coming year.

So, to this school system I say KUDOS, WELL-DONE, and LET US PRAY!!

The Roadkill Club

Ok, I have always been a huge lover of animals of all kinds. I'm the person you see swerving all over the road barely missing the ditch on the side to save the little squirrel from doom. However...something else I've learned about living in South Carolina...it's inevitable, no matter how many times you swerve, no matter how many times you honk your horn, flash your lights or swerve again, you are bound to eventually become a member of The Roadkill Club.

Now, this is not an actual club (at least not that I know of, but you never know), but I believe that it could be and membership consists of having unintentionally causing at least one wild animal to become a bump in the road. Your membership status would of course continue to rise depending on the number of animals you smack down. I know that someone from PETA or an animal right's activist is probably going to read this and chastise me for it, but please realize, I did not become a member of this group by choice! Sometimes, it just can't be prevented!

Mind you, I grew up in the city, lived in the city most of my life, the liklihood of my hitting an animal of any kind was very slim. Now that I live in the country....OMG! Every single day on my way to or from work I find myself swerving at 55 mph trying to avoid a squirrel, a rabbit, a dog, a deer, a turtle and yes, even a chicken! You know my aunt said they have deer crossings, why don't they ever use them? Here's an idea...you know the signs you see on the highways that say "construction ahead slight delays possible for the next 30 miles?" Why not post those signs before every country road that says, "roadkill potential every 3 miles for the next 15 miles," then we could be a little more aware that these cute, furry or feathered little creatures may jump out at us at any given time? Just a thought.

It's A Slower Pace

For a large part of my life, I became use to rushing from one place to another, rushing to get to work on time, rushing home from work, fighting 5:00 rush hour traffic, rushing to get errands done, rushing to get dinner done, rushing to take my daughter to practice. Rush. Rush. Rush. Seems like our lives just get busier and busier.

Then, I moved to South Carolina.

This is where I discovered, not everyone is in a rush. As a matter of fact, no one (except those of us from up North) ever seems to "rush" to do anything. Back home, I use to hate standing in line at the grocery store. Did I really need to wait for the person in front of me to count out the correct change? Can't they just break another dollar and move on? Afterall, I was in a rush! Now, I wait patiently in line, pick up a magazine from the rack and skim through it, no mumbling "c'mon, hurry up people" coming from under my breath! I just wait and it doesn't totally stress me out!

I will admit, before I adjusted, and sometimes still, I would get a little frustrated with this new found slower way of doing things. But, I do have to admit, it's kind of nice. Rather than fight the 5:00 traffic, I enjoy the calm 45-minute drive home from work. It's mostly country roads and it's actually kind of peaceful and pretty relaxing. I can have a stressful day of work (because no one else is in a hurry to do anything) and instead of driving home in heavy stop-and-go traffic and my stress level escalating, I can sit back, make the drive at my own pace and enjoy the scenery of blue skies, cotton fields, lush green trees and bright pink and purple flowers.

Yep, definitely a slower pace. But...why rush?

South Carolina Stole My Heart

I recently had a good friend of mine say to me, "so, South Carolina has stolen your heart huh?" I could only respond by saying, "your absolutely right!" I moved here about a year and a half ago and it was one of the best things I could have ever done. Sure, I miss all my friends and family that I left behind in Ohio, but, someone else recently said to me, "this is your home now," and they too are absolutely right!

Since moving here I've learned a lot about life in the south. The people definitely are friendlier and yes, strangers will wave to you when you drive by them as if they've known you for years. They like shrimp with their grits, you can never have too much hot sauce and yes, they like their tea sweet!

I'm fortunate to live in a small, quiet town that's close to a lot of attractions and we even have a Shoney's and a Walmart. It's just a short drive anywhere to get a piece of history, some sun at the beach or just a really good meal that reminds you of grandma!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sit on my front porch with a good book, a warm spring breeze and a glass of that sweet tea.