Homestead Schoolhouse

 It's been just over a week since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and since then, there has been a lot of finger-pointing and conspiracy theories.  When things like this happen, I think we may need to accept that we won't find out the full truth, but understand that whoever, or whatever, is behind it is evil.  My first reaction was shock and sadness, as I have followed Charlie Kirk for a while and was interested in seeing how far he would go.  I honestly felt a sense of relief that he was out there fighting for freedom and truth.  Once it was confirmed that he had died, my reaction turned to anger.   Anger can be sinful depending on how we react to it, but in this case, since I've now had some time to reflect on it, I believe anger was an appropriate response.  I never met him and likely never would have, but I have grieved over his loss.  It is a loss for us all.  Anger is a part of grief, and therefore, I'm not unfamiliar with it as par...

 I've always heard that the price of love is grief.  While that may be true sometimes, I'm not sure we can really put a price on love.  What I get out of love is loving and being loved.   Last week, my dog of 14 years died.  In her last three weeks, we knew she was fading fast as her behavior began to change, and she did things that she'd never really done, like not eating.  She had always been healthy with only a handful of visits to the vet her entire life, but a few months ago, we began to suspect that she had cancer, too.  So, one morning, I woke up to a message from a neighbor that she had gone to her house and seemed to be stuck and couldn't get back home.  She was a beagle, and even when she could barely walk anymore, she still had the urge to wander.  She loved her freedom.  So, my husband went over to get her, and she seemed to have lost the ability to use her hind legs.  That's when we knew. It was time.   T...