artist, designer, educator, sharer of resources, supermom of 2, soulmate of 1, daughter of the King, faithful lover of life, making the world a better place.
Is there any way to block these long, fictional, dramatic, cheater stories that are being dumped on @x right now? It’s every other post. I got sucked into reading a couple and now the algorithm unloading them on me.
@DuckieLouise Ugh! There are too many creative people to use ai, especially for a group about growth in creativity and education. Have the kids design it!
If the sign says "right lane ends 1 mile" the correct course of action is to keep driving until you have to zipper in or until the sign says "lane ends merge left."
Almost nobody seems to understand this.
This is my little sister.
She was born on Christmas Day, the youngest of six children. She had Down syndrome. Doctors said she would never amount to much and suggested that she could be aborted or sent away to live in an institution so my parents wouldn't be burdened. My parents disregarded that advice.
She endured multiple open-heart surgeries before she was three years old. She came through that and grew into an amazing human being. She was an accomplished speaker, advocate, and actor. She has an IMDB profile. She graduated with honors from high school and attended college classes. She learned to drive, got married, and lived a full, independent life. She was an inspiration to tens of thousands of people who attended her speeches.
She was an incredible daughter, sister, aunt, and wife, and a dear friend to countless people. She passed away recently and left a huge hole in so many people's lives. As she once said, "People who have Down syndrome can change the world. Being smart is not always what makes people happy. Loving and being loved is what makes people happy." She was so happy, and she brought so much happiness to others because she loved (and was loved) unconditionally.
I wish you had met her. You might not have murdered your baby.
@ThrillaRilla369 Yes. Dear Heavenly Father. You know what this man needs. Bring him peace beyond understanding and help him feel your presence in his life. Thank you for the peace, abundance, and provision on its way. Amen.
USA. A potluck. Everyone brings one dish. I have never been so out of my depth in my life.
I was invited to a gathering. "Just bring a dish to share," they said. Simple words. I did not sleep for three days.
Because I understood instantly what this was. A summit. Every guest, a lord of their own house, arriving bearing tribute. And tribute is judged. Tribute is ranked. To bring the wrong dish to the wrong table is to fall in standing before your peers, possibly forever.
So I prepared. I made my finest dish. I carried it to the door with two hands and a straight back, braced for the weighing of my worth.
The first lord arrived with a bowl of orange powder noodles. Macaroni and cheese. The crowd roared. He set it down at the center of the table. The CENTER. I noted this. The center is the seat of power.
The second lord brought a tower of small brown meat orbs in red sauce. "Meatballs," he announced, like a man laying down a sword. They were placed beside the macaroni. A strong showing. An alliance, perhaps.
I studied the table like a battlefield map. Potato salad: defensive, reliable, old money. A vegetable tray, untouched, clearly a hostage offering no one expected to win. And then a woman walked in, raised a flat box overhead, and the entire room turned and CHEERED.
Pizza. She had brought pizza. Store-bought. Still in the box.
I was stunned. She had not even cooked it. And yet the people rejoiced as if a king had entered. I revised my entire understanding of the hierarchy on the spot. Effort means nothing here. Only the roar of the crowd decides rank.
I placed my dish down, humbly, near the napkins. A peasant's position. I accepted it.
And then a man tapped my shoulder, pointed at my dish, and said the words that changed everything.
"Whoa, did you make this? This is amazing. Everybody, you GOTTA try this guy's thing."
The room turned. The room came. The room ATE. My dish vanished in ninety seconds. The pizza woman herself took a second helping and looked at me with respect.
I had won the summit. By accident. With a dish I placed by the napkins.
I understand nothing about this country. I have never been happier. I am hosting the next one.
So tell me, America.
Is there a system to the potluck? A secret rank? A hidden law?
I have decided there is not.
You just bring the thing you love, and everyone eats it, and somehow everybody wins.
It is the most insane way to hold a war.
I will fight in every single one.