Today's "Word Of The Day" - CLOSURE

clo·sure

[kloh-zher] 

noun

1.the act of closing; the state of being closed.

2.a bringing to an end; conclusion.

 

  I know I know, I fail I have not been chatty for some time now. I am going to do my best to change that. Just been dealing with the real world, adjusting to life as a parent of a Junior High parent. Times like this I sincerely wish my daughter was like in SL, forever a little one. She is my last born, my baby... slowly watching her grow into her own awesome little own person has been challenging and sad but also amazing and beautiful. She is going to do amazing things, you can just see it in her.
  I recently had the opportunity to let go of something that still is very painful to think about too long. I had a daughter in second life for most of 2 years of my life, I loved her as much as I love my own real life children and in the end, well it just did not work. She attempted to reach out and talk with me which brought on a knee-jerk reaction to be angry. But I did not feed into that, I thought long and hard about the entire situation and in the end, it was best to just let her go. I know that even if she grew and learned and was a different person, we as friends would not work. In the end, I believe I would be hurt again and through our friendship I had truly been hurt enough. I let her go with good wishes for life but explained that I can not survive my heart being hurt again and that this was the best.
  I truly believe the act of forgiving is something that feeds the soul so very much. It has the ability to heal your heart and though hurts in your life, even when the scars remain. Letting her go has given me much peace in my life. It has allowed me to enjoy and appreciate those who love me and given me a better capacity to love them in return. I dont have this pain in my heart holding me back from giving to those around me, which I think is always a good thing. I will not say that I do not miss them, that I do not wish things had played out different because that would be a lie. But that was a part in our life that hopefully taught us something and allowed us to grow as people. I wish her well, with much happiness and good things in life. I just can not be a part of it any longer.
  I urge you all to let go of things holding you back from being truly happy. Though I know I have a long way to go, getting this off my heart and letting go has allowed me to get a bit closer to the person I truly want to be. It has opened the door to meeting beautiful new people and making some amazing new friendships. I know this will be a positive for me as well as you.

Have an amazing Sunday,
XOXO,
Brie

 

Thank God for Second Chances

  I am a firm believer that everything in this world happens for a reason. No one person we meet is there "just because". They are either there to teach you something, to help you through something or for you to change their life in some way. I have struggled with the why's of life more than I think I probably should but lately, I have found peace in the life I have and the people who have come and gone in it in my 38 and 1/2 years on this earth. 

  When I met Walter, he showed me that not all men in my life were there to hurt me, that not all people love with expectation, they love from their whole heart. I still struggle 5 years later with this but I have been learning to be accepting of his love and know that I am truly blessed to have someone in my life who loves me unconditionally. 

  I have also been learning lately that for every 1 bad experience I have in Second Life, there is many many more that feed my soul and make me grateful I discovered this virtual place. One of the first child avatars I ever met, so very long ago was Mirabelle. She was this tiny adorable blonde child person and the first to friend me where I didn't feel weirded out by the fact that a grown person WANTED to be a child in here and not for some weird reason. She used to come and visit the little piece of land Walter and I called home. It was winter, so we had a frozen pond and it was all set up for Ice Skating. We would spend hours together just chatting and building a really good friendship. And though time and life's moments have let us drift apart from each other, we always seem to find our way back, with a little something new to bring to our friendship. She is someone who has taught me not to take things too too serious and to just enjoy a place where truly ANYTHING is possible.

  After the loss of Naraelina and Carter, I had really second guessed myself not only as a friend but as a parent and had completely shied away from the thought of adding to my tiny family outside my amazing Kendall. But lately I have been missing a little distraction and the companionship that I can not explain right to get the idea out there, so I hope you can just imagine. I work a lot in SL, its pretty much all I do, and I love it dearly. But I miss having someone who is just goofy and cares not about making a living but maybe about painting walls or flooding the bathroom. All the silly things I would never let Sammi do and get away with... I miss having that childlike air in my life. And so, after weeks of really thinking about it and many trips to Heritage that ended in me leaving before I had a panic attack... I bit the bullet and submitted an application. I sat looking at the wall of beautiful little faces and one stood out, I didn't know why. When I clicked her photo there was my Mirabelle... these days going by Everest. It was just meant to be, things happen for a reason and so do people. 

  The best thing about this choice for both of us is there is no real fear the other is going to be put off by something in our personality. After nearly 5 years we know each other's quirks... our good and bad points, and yet we accept this all and know that the other is going to put as much faith in the friendship that has taken years to build. I am proud to be this tiny persons SL Mother. I really am very excited for this new adventure... and hopefully she doesn't burn my house down.

XOXO,

Brie

Today's "Word Of The Day": RESILIENCE

RESILIENCE

re·sil·ience - [ri-zil-yuhns, -zil-ee-uhns] 

noun

1.the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.

2.ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.

 

 Happy Caturday all!

  I have had quite an interesting week. Most of it has been taking care of Ken and Sammi, who both decided it would be fun to get sick, lets hope they didn't share. But the week ended on one of the highest notes ever in my Second Life history. I woke up today with a smile, confident that things are going to get better, and all the low points over the last few months have been worth it. It has made me a better person and shown me some amazing friends that I knew I had but really didnt know how valued they were to me.

  Without my friends and family I would not have started building again, I wouldnt have had the courage to learn mesh and to continue learning to become a better content creator. Id like to think my love and happiness is showing through in the items I have put out to sell under a new name and new style of furniture for me. I am taking my love of reusing things in new and creative ways into Second Life and offering individual pieces that I hope will add character to homes on the grid. 

  These things are like me, once looked upon as useless and with no value but with some creativity and a different outlook can be made new and functional and yes, needed. I named my new store [Noble] because Noble has such a strong meaning, that of not only being distinguished and royal (which I am certainly not) but being of good moral character (which I try hard to be). It is also my family name, that of my Parents, Noah and Blossom Noble. These two people have given me so much strength and love since the moment I met them. I really dont know what would have happened if I did not have them, my siblings, my children and grandchildren loving and supporting me. 

 

  Everyone should have a good, stable support system in their life and before I came to Second Life, I did not have that kind of support system. I have parents, family... but I do not talk with them. They chose themselves and superficial things and not the core meaning that is family. I never felt welcome or a part of a family unit until recently. My family in real life (Besides my Grandma, Sammi and Ken of course) put a price on their love, I had to be what they wanted in order to be worthy of their love. It always made me feel like a failure as a person, that I was never enough for them so how could I be enough for anyone else in my life. These amazing people have shown me that love is something you give freely, it wraps you like a blanket and helps keep you safe and offer a buffer to the hate and ugliness that can exist in the real world. 

 I really can not ever tell my amazing Noble family how much I have appreciated being a part of your family and part of your lives. You have given me a truly precious gift, one I cherish above anything else. Without you all, I dont think I would feel 1/4 as happy as I do. I only hope to repay you all someday for your kindness, not sure how I will but I will certainly try. I love you all more than I could express on this blog. You are amazing people and I feel truly blessed to know each and every one of you.

 

XOXO,

Brie

 If you would like to visit [Noble], here is a link.

Adventures with Fake Nara - Day 3 (The Safari)

  So this day began with Fake Nara begging me to go to the Safari and see the big cats. I figure, it's paper what could POSSIBLY HAPPEN? I should have stayed in bed and told my cardboard child to go make herself into origami but no, I drag myself out of bed, get my camera and binoculars and off we go.
  Who knew lions were so majestic? I mean from a distance or on TV sure, but right up close yeah they are pretty epic. I should have kept a better eye on my artificial child though, Mufasa there decided she looked tasty and well, lets just say I need to run to the store for some tape... and markers.... and yeah I fail. But it was a really fun field trip all the same, even if Fake Nara weighs a little less now.

  I hope all the kids are having this much fun at Camp. I wonder what would happen to my cutout child in the water..... Well thats another adventure for tomorrow, and after the glue dries.

XOXO,
Brie

Adventures with Fake Nara - Day 2 (Skysurfing)

OK so one more post before I go to real life sleep (Because I was inspired)
   So today, I took fake Nara and fastened her securely to my belt and started off to the local airfield. I had a plan, today we skysurf. The guy behind the counter looked at me like I lost my mind when I said my daughter and I wanted to go up for a run but he slowly wandered off toward the plane and our first real adventure begins.
  Now, I am scared to death of heights so as the assistant pulls the doors open I get the sudden feeling I am going to toss my cookies but I remember to be brave, take a deep breath, close my eyes....  And then the assistant bumps me on accident and out the doors we fly.
  We are going a kajillion miles an hour and I am screaming, fake you is showing her trusty peace sign and smile... its just too much to bear. Somewhere between the plane and the ground I lost my awesome helmet.... so unfair I loved that thing. Fake Nara though, had a blast, we surfed the air like pro's, well I think we did. I was still clenching my eyes closed and screaming for Jesus all the way down. I probably looked like a drunk all over the place but it was quite the experience.
  When we landed, I kind of squished you in a mud puddle. Thank goodness she is copyable so I can just pull a fresh Nara out for my next adventure.

  I'm thinking something with Animals.....

Have a great night!
XOXO,
Brie

Adventures with Fake Nara - Night 1

Hello boys and girls!
  It's Saturday and for many kids and some adults in the family oriented community today marked the first day of Winter Camp at Camp Hardknock, ran by Jill and Gattz Gilman. This is a exciting time for the kids of Second Life, since there is only a certain number of slots available, sadly not all kids can go experience this but for those who are lucky enough to have the chance, I have been told it is amazing.
  Sadly, for parents like myself, 2 of my munchkins are going off to camp this round... My tiny Alexis and my Narabean. I got the opportunity to take Nara to the train station and see her off this afternoon which made me a little sad. I get a bit of parental separation anxiety from my kids when I have to see them go away... I already miss my girls big.
  Nara's friend Tristan gave me this cut out picture of Nara and so I decided for a week, I will take my fake Nara on some adventures, see what kind of mischief I can make. But for tonight I am tired, been sniffling part of my day away and missing not only my Nara but the other great kids I have grown to love in my time serving the Children of Second Life.
  Have a great Sunday and Kids I hope you have a great time at Camp. Make new friends, try something you never did before and make the most of this unique experience Jill and Gattz have worked so incredibly hard to create for you. I can't wait to read your letters and see your pictures.

XOXO,
Brie