It is really kind of funny how your brain makes connections at it's own pace, and how we all learn so differently. Like how I can't remember names unless I really focus, or how I had trouble with memorizing things for school, BUT, I can remember the lyrics of every song I ever heard. The words just stick because my brain uses music as a tool. History was always a challenge for me. Sooo many boring facts to remember. When the teacher would speak, all I could hear was blah blah war...blah blah 1716.....blah blah defeat....blah. So you can imagine, come test time, I was not victorious. I have always loved to read fiction though. My taste has changed over the years. The first series of books that really grabbed me was The Anne Rice Mayfair witch books, then the Vampire Chronicles. What I love about them is that they have so many rich layers, from characters, to beautiful descriptions of period places, clothing, architecture. From there I realised, I loved historical fiction. A story woven into a history lesson. If only my college professors could have figured that out. I could now discuss The great Roman empire, the Wars between the Plantagenet's & the Tudors, The Elizabethan era, Early America, and more, because of fantastic authors with a passion for history. Historical fiction has also brought the bible alive for me. Books like the Mark of the Lion series, help give me a visual context that helps me understand more fully what I am reading. HBO & Showtime aren't doing such a bad job either. With incredible shows like Carnivale, Rome, Deadwood, The Tudors, it is amazing how history comes alive. Kudos for decent TV! (Not for the kids though, a lot of sex, but most of the time it makes total sense in the story and isn't just for the sake of getting sex on the screen). You know what they say..... if we don't know our history, we are doomed to repeat it!
I am helping to prepare a baby shower for a young woman at our church. She is young, just 22. Thinking about her, and what the future may hold for her and her little family, got me to thinking about life at 22. Much has changed for me since I was 22. That was really a difficult time. I didn't realize at the time that it was difficult. I had graduated from college, was having a post college, pre-real life, super good time. I was bar tending, partying, picking up and traveling to far away places to party some more. I didn't really have much in the way of financial responsibility yet, and my parents were living in Egypt-- leaving me in charge of the house and my younger sister. It was an "out all night, sleep all day", kind of life. To be honest, I was setting a pretty poor example for my sister, who at the time was working full-time at a nursing home, and was far more responsible than I was. Looking back at that time, and even later, till about age 25, it make...
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