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Monday, May 2, 2011

Question of the Week: What's Your Take on Current Events?

Current event markerImage via Wikipedia

From high to low's, I think the last three days in current events have had a little bit of every emotion there is.

A Royal Wedding

Yes, I was one of the crazy people who stayed up all night here on the West Coast to watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I admit I got sucked into the whole pomp and pageantry once I started watching it on my television. This affair was on such a grand scale! It simply boggled my mind how much planning went into this event, how many people were involved, the logistics in managing both guests and crowds and how much this wedding must have cost.

The spectacle of it all made me grateful for the small, intimate wedding my husband and I planned almost 13 years ago.

I also marveled at how heartfelt and meaningful the actual wedding ceremony was. Despite 1300 people in the cathedral and billions of people watching on television, it felt like a small and intimate moment when Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge exchange their wedding vows. Their love for each other came across beautifully and clearly.

As I watched, I thought a lot about marriage. Having been married now for almost 13 years, the wedding vows Prince William and his bride exchange have a different meaning for me. Committing yourself to another person, to face life together no matter what the future holds, is a brave and courageous thing indeed. I now know that marriage is not only an act of love, it is an act of faith and hope as well. My husband and I are currently living the "in sickness and in health" part of that covenant.

Once the ceremony was over, the enormity of this event took over. I know a lot of little girls dream of becoming a princess, but I for one am glad that I don't have to live my life in a fishbowl like the members of the British royal family do. I was simply amazed by the number of people who congregated in front of Buckingham Palace to catch a glimpse of William and Kate's first kiss.

When I finally shuffled off to bed at six o'clock in the morning, I was full of love, hope, excitement and contentment.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

What a unexpected way to end the weekend!

After watching some shows we had TiVoed, we took a break and I checked my Twitter stream. That's when I saw a bunch of tweets about Osama bin Laden being dead. I called my husband from the other room and we switched on live television to get the story from broadcast news.

After about 15 minutes I told my husband I had watched enough. Like so many other major events, this is a story that the media gets quite caught up in and tends to devote a lot of broadcast time to covering. I know myself well enough to realize that getting caught up in the media coverage will only make it more difficult for me to sleep and get me all riled up.

I have to say that in the short time I did watch the television coverage I felt a lot of different emotions. Memories came back from the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and fears arose that Al Qaeda would plan some kind of retaliatory strike. I felt relief that a chapter in history might be coming to an end at the same time worrying that terrorism would not come to an end in my lifetime. I saw people gathering and celebrating this news and felt strange about rejoicing over the death of another human being.

As I write this before I head to bed, I feel many different and varied things over the death of a very terrible man.

So How Do You Feel?

This week I just want to check in with all of you and see how you are processing all of the information you've been bombarded with over the last 72 hours. I want to know your take on current events and how they are affecting you physically, mentally and emotionally. Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings here in a comment or head over to the Oh My Aches and Pains! Facebook page and join the discussion there




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1 comment

Karen said...

I loved the Royal Wedding. My friends and I were those goofy folks who woke up early and doned dresses, high heels, and yes, hats to watch it .... my British roots came out in spades :)

I feel bitter sweet about the news that our military has succeeded in taking out Bin Laden. I lost a family member and several friends in the towers almost a decade ago. Like so many others in NY on the day, I watched in person as the towers crashed to the ground. I can still hear the screams, people running, the smoke billowing up the street for blocks. I will have to make my peace with my Lord for the way I feel today. However, I think that celebrating in the streets is not the way to go. It's what they did when we were hit. It's our job to be better than they are.