Features from the Rhiannon3 eZine, Monday, April 16, 2001 edition:
(due to the Easter holiday, this month's edition is being issued on the 16th)

Celebrate the Little Things Passing Thoughts, by T.W. Winslow Announcement - Kim Eyer's eBook, "Dear Lord, Deliver Me From This Hell" ~~A Domestic Violence Survivor's Cry~~, is now published and available in the Rhiannon3.net Bookstore

Lessons from a walk in the dark Author: Lindsey Mason Just my friend Author: Lindsey Mason

Celebrate the Little Things Passing Thoughts, by T.W. Winslow, © 2001 Looking at the calendar on my desk, I see that two days from now my wife, Diane, and I will celebrate our nineteenth anniversary. The date is circled and there are little red hearts filling the square. "T+D" in thick black letters and the number "19" is written over and over, outlining the date-square. Silly, I know. It's like filling your notebook back in junior-high with the name of your girlfriend. I guess I just can't help myself. I should mention that this isn't our wedding anniversary. It marks the date I asked Diane to "go steady" - a term, by the way, which didn't exactly get the response I had hoped - not at first anyway. Back then, I wasn't aware that I was so uncool and old fashioned that asking someone to "go steady," was somehow funny. This was something which wasn't lost on Diane, however, for when I finally mustered the courage to pose the question and nervously mumbled, "Will you go steady with me?," she erupted with laughter. Not quite the reaction I was going for. Fortunately, after she sufficiently calmed herself (which took considerable time, I might add), she agreed. When I think back to that night, in some ways it seems like forever, and in other ways, only yesterday. Some of the most wonderful and memorable times we've ever had together came in those four years prior to our getting married. We faced more challenges and obstacles in those few short years than in any other time in our relationship. Perhaps that's why I'm so careful not to forget this anniversary, and why I decorate this date on my calendar each year like some lovesick schoolboy. Maybe I'm just being silly, but I don't care - that's just me. Sometimes it's the little things in life and love which hold the most significance and are remembered with particular fondness. So why not celebrate these as we do the more grand events of our lives? It's amazing how focusing on the positive aspects of our lives - no matter how small, can make life just that much more special and worthwhile. For me, remembering and celebrating our "going steady" anniversary serves as a reminder of where we came from, and what it took to get us to where we are now in our relationship and life together. Maybe it's not as grand an occasion as our wedding day, for example, but in my book it's just as important, and I'm determined to not let that special time be forgotten. So I'll keep decorating my calendar each year - drawing silly little hearts and writing "T+D." In doing so, I'll remember that awkward kid asking his best girl to "go steady," and being thankful she said, "Yes." And my wife and I will continue celebrating our "going steady" anniversary each year with the same love and excitement we felt that special night so long ago. I'm looking forward to it already. Perhaps being uncool and old fashioned isn't so bad after all. ----------------------------------------------- About the Author: Passing Thoughts is a syndicated column published on quality web sites, in electronic magazines and various print media around the world - read by millions each week. You can get Passing Thoughts FREE each week by email - subscribe by sending a blank email to: passingthoughts-subscribe@listbot.com or go to http://www.taddgroup.com. For reprint information or to contact the author write to twwinslow@taddgroup.com ----------------------------------------------- Back to top

''Lessons from a walk in the dark'' Author: Lindsey Mason, © 1998-2001 Meandering out on a moonlit night Avoiding the lanes with neon light Feeling the cold against my cheek Gathering strength for another week Mind crowded out by trouble's the norm But Jesus slept through the storm I look at the moon and the world at large And try to remember who's in charge My life is so transient next to a star The heavens so high yet God not far As dark surrounds each forward stride So God does catch each laugh I cried ''Just my friend'' Author: Lindsey Mason, © 1998-2001 I've got a bone to pick with you! His trousers were dirty - what did you do? A quick walk you said, just a minute or so But it took half the night, where did you go? Don't think I'm not watching out Or listening to what you talk about. It' s just fun , nothing hidden, you say, But I've been thinking - don't see it that way. When you meet - that look in your eye; The smile on his face bye and bye. It all adds up to something more And I don't trust him or you anymore! I'll say this once and I'll say it clear: He's mine, all mine. Now get out of here! I guess we made a tactical error. Enjoyed too much our time together. Didn't mean to stay out that long, Just kept on chatting - is that so wrong? Crossed the field to look at the night, Read some lines in the hazy light. Posted some post and took the dog Round the village in the fog. Neither word nor deed nor thought betrayed The trust through which our lives are made. But guilty we stand before the others, neighbours, family, sisters, brothers. Will we convince them in the end You're not my lover, just my friend? ----------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1998-2001 Lindsey Mason Lindsey is a regular website visitor and message board participant at Rhiannon3.net. Additional poetry by Lindsey can be found in the Articles Area of the Cop and Survivor site section. Update October 2001: Lindsey has recently gone online with the "Hidden Hurt" UK based domestic violence support website. Please visit "Hidden Hurt" at http://www.hiddenhurt.co.uk/ for resources, additional articles and contact information for UK based organizations. ----------------------------------------------- Back to top This webpage can be shared by forwarding the following web address. Simply copy and paste this line into an email program: http://www.rhiannon3.net/0401.html To subscribe, join the Rhiannon3 eZine list: Click here