The Gifted Ones...A Memoir: Friday Feel Good Assignment: Call Your Parents This Weekend! Read Why...

A Memoir by Lisa Vaughn

Lisa was conservatively raised in a Catholic family in no-where middle America, where excitement is scarce and dreams are for sleeping. Little did she know, at age thirteen, she would suddenly find herself on a totally different path.

Through an unlikely chance meeting of a fellow classmate, she's surprisingly mesmerized, almost consumed, to befriend a girl who is obviously from the other side of the tracks...the cool side. Lisa does whatever she has to just to be accepted into this small club of coolness. Little did she realize, she was signing up for a lot more than social status. The two best friends find themselves innocently taking their relationship to a foreign level neither had experienced or saw coming.

A rollercoaster ride littered with choices and challenges Lisa never fathomed facing, especially in no-where middle America. She will find out what she is made of as she faces the consequences and struggles that come along with going against the grain.

Throughout their six year relationship, you will witness a touching story of human nature at its best...and at its worst. Showing just how far the human spirit can be challenged and pushed to a point where your “fight or flight” instincts naturally kick in. Struggling just to survive in a world where you are not like everyone else, but at the same time you really are. The daily struggles - both internal and external - are exhausting, yet necessary in their quest for one simple human need....love.

Finally breaking through all constraints that hold them back, reaching levels of one-ness that few actually obtain in a lifetime with their partner...only to find once they've reached that special place, it's not quite the right fit...for one of them, at least.

This contemporary story, told in the voice of the teen that lived it, will lead the reader through highs and lows, giving insight to the everyday challenges of the socially unaccepted, which will no doubt leave them rooting for the underdog. A true story of human resilience and the power of love...plain and simple.

*Please be advised, this memoir is real, honest, and raw. If you're looking for your typical 'sterilized' read, I'm not your girl - but if you're looking for a read that is written from the heart, certain to impact you on a human level, follow me! Have I got a story for you!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Friday Feel Good Assignment: Call Your Parents This Weekend! Read Why...

I know, I know...you mean to, but...life gets in the way. Been there, done that. In fact I was the biggest offender of all - blowing off my aging parents because MY life was full of well, living. Plus I knew everything was fine, if it weren't, I would of heard about it.
Well now here I sit, unable to talk to them. I am now officially parentless.

Yes, the inevitable finally happened. I lost my last parent to cancer about a month ago - on my birthday, no less. I turned 48 regardless. Although I've been on my own since I was 17, I'm just now starting to realize I am truly on my own. It hit me early this week - the fact that I will never again hear the voice of my dad...wow. Funny how it took a month to sink in fully. Never again will I hear his matter-of-fact reasonings, or his straight-and-narrow views on life. Or even that spur-of-the moment excitement in his voice when I would suggest we have a 'hi-ball' together, like we were doing something 'sneaky'. All those times are just memories now, locked in my mind.

I know in the coming months my regrets will grow to include all the times I meant to call, but just didn't. I am a mother of a 25 year old myself. And I am quite aware of the joy I feel when I receive that random call from my own flesh and blood. Usually he's on his way home from work - a quick call he makes before he walks into his own world, which includes his girlfriend and his own agenda. Those calls are truly special. I know at that moment he is thinking of me and just wants to be sure we chat before he is sidetracked by his own life. They don't come too often, but when they do, I drop everything to take the call.

So yeah, don't think your parents don't love hearing from you, they do. Even if nothing special has happened, even if you just share what you are having for dinner that night, at least you will hear their voice, and vice-versa...because you never know when that 'last' time will be.

Take 30 minutes out of your weekend to touch base...trust me, you'll feel good and I know your parents will too!

One short conversation I'd like to share with you that truly represents my father and how he saw the simple pleasures in life...

Set up: I was visiting him shortly after my mother's death in 2005 - we'd often go for walks to pass the time. On one particular walk with him and my sister, we started a fun conversation of 'If you were on death row, what would your last meal request be?'

Me: Well, since I am the health nut, I would want every desert I ever passed up in my lifetime! Bring me cakes, cookies, ice cream...you name it! The more calories the better!
Sister: I love salmon! My husband hates the way it stinks up the house, so I would love to have my favorite salmon patties and all the side dishes!
(Keep in mind my dad has had plenty of time to think of any exotic dish he could ever want)
Dad: Uh..well...I really like those Hot Pockets. I think I would like some Hot Pockets.

Simple man, simple pleasures! He taught me a lot in that afternoon, and I'll never forget it...or our simple conversations. Larry S. 4/20/1937-8/12/2011

Now please...if you still can, go call your dad!