Epiphany Dreams.

My favorite dreams are the ones that reveal something, that help us grow and learn. I dream a lot. it is actually a bad thing health wise as I don't slide into that deeper healing sleep easily but for my imagination it is a boon. I get many book ideas from my dreams. I get to be the tough badass supermom in my dreams that my body won't allow in reality. And every so often something pops through my dreams that defines the epiphany.

I usually have many dreams a night. If its a great story idea I try to note it down. This mornings final dream was lovely and one worth sharing.

It was Christmas and so beautiful out. I was in the mountains at some type of resort type place. It seemed like hundreds of people where there. So many families. There were trees and snow and a lake that was weirdly not frozen. In my dream we were doing different family things as a larger group and as just my little family. Games, and snow fights, boat rides and sledding. It was beautiful. But I began to notice a problem. Many of the families, and I recognized a lot of friends, of tv families, of celebrities, were not happy. The kids were fighting, the parents were oblivious. As some tried to decorate for the holiday others were miserable. Then one night we were gathered together for some type of pageant or display and I had decided enough was enough. I stood in front of all those people, many who were bickering and I told them to knock it off. I told them that they had forgotten their purpose. That the purpose of life was to parent a child. That it didn't matter how that dynamic looked. It didn't matter how a family was constructed but every adult had a responsibility to be the best they could be with a thought for the next generation in mind. That our job was to teach them a legacy of strength, compassion, honesty, generosity, and survival. We need to teach them skills that matter by showing them what matters.

Then I woke to my 4 year old Monkey yelling from down stairs for some cereal and I had to chuckle. It was funny to go from such peace to such yelling BUT I realized the thoughts were true. Every adult is a parent. It may be in the role of a teacher or a counselor. An aunt or uncle or just a family friend but we all interact with children and the children in our lives look to us to teach them. Yes the main teaching needs to be from their actual parent however we all need to be striving for more for them. They truly are our future. I know the kind of future I want to see and for them to have. Do you?

SHOT Roundup

Can I just say AWESOME!!!

I am so glad I made it to SHOT this year. It truly was incredible to be there, to see such awesome things, to meet such amazing people and to nurture some great connections.

I will start with the beginnng. Since I knew this would be a lot of physical activity for me I decided to cram everything I could into 2 days. If I tried for more than that I knew I would flare like crazy.

So Wednesday the 16th was my day 1. I checked in and got my creds and then looked up the Peppermill. You would think I would know where it is being a local but, alas, the strip is not my thing. Turned out it was down the strip a bit. Rather than move my car I walked it. A lot of activity for me but it felt nice to actually have the energy for it since I have quit the evil med. So off to the Peppermill I went for the 1st Annual Dark Angel Medical Ladies Bruncheon. I got to finally meet the female half of this vet owned duo. She plays words with friends with me constantly so it was nice to finally have a face to the name. I love what they do. If you are looking for a high quality trauma kit these guys can set you up. There were several women from different companies. Notably Women's Tactical Association was there and HammerFour. Then of course I had to drag along my friend Sandi, creator of Offhand Gear. I am her only Nevada dealer so far but that is just a momentary thing, her designs are awesome!!

Then I spent the day running around. I met up with Jason at Mission First Tactical. Awesome guy and a huge support of my Damsel venture. He has donated gear to giveaways and vice-versa and been a great contact!! I recommend them if you are looking for great rifle/carbine gear they are the place to go!

I also just casually bumped into ArmedCandy. I felt like a fan girl. Honestly there are a handful of bloggers that were a huge help in keeping me in shooting. After the shooting in Washington I was scared and knew I wanted to be able to protect us but the .40 hubby bought me was just not a good gun for me. ArmedCandy was one of the blogs that I read that helped inspire me to not give up, so meeting her in person was pretty amazing.

Day 2 for me was Thursday the 17th! What a fun day. I had some great meetings. I spent a wonderful bit talking to the owner and creator of Gun Tote'n Mamas. She is just amazing. I also love their concealed carry purses. They get cuter all the time and are not the bulky leather boring of the other places.

The highlight was the blogger lunch though. Misfires and Light Strikes put it together and I met some awesome people. He put up a great post of who attended, much more comprehensive than my weak memory! I am so glad I went and so impressed. Honestly I think I have felt like a lot of us, frustrated by the current politial climate and a bit at wits end. Sitting and talking with some of my favorite minds in the blogging world (Like Jay who was another reason I stuck with shooting) really helped me to remember that I am not alone in my frustration or opinions and that together we are a mighty force. Alan Korwin said something that stuck with me. He said that our best argument is that we are pro-RIGHTS. If we remove the word the anti's want to fight over and bring it back to the core issue at hand we win before the fight even begins because we are on the side of RIGHTS. I loved that thought and have been repeating it everywhere I can.

All in all it was an incredible two days. I saw awesome friends, build up some relationships, formed new ones, and really just reaffirmed that both Damsel and my passion for our rights are exactly the things I want to be doing with my life. I am good at this and I am loving it. :) I feel like I have found my people and my place.

**On a side note I have a giveaway up on my FB to help a family in need. They have a sweet 4 year old daughter who was diagnosed with a rare incurable brain disorder and she requires some major care. So I am raising funds for them. I have a couple great gift baskets formed. To enter to win them is a donation of $10 per basket. Check it out if you feel the urge, or pass it around! The more places it shows up the better! :)

SHOT show fun!

Next week is SHOT. A gun lovers paradise. I was to late to get media crews for the blog. However I am hoping to pull last minute crews for Damsel. I want to at least walk the exhibition floor. *Squee*

Two things I am doing that I am thrilled about are a ladies of the industry lunch on Wednesday hosted by my good friend Lynn, co-creator of DARK Angel medical, and the blogger meet on Thursday hosted by Kevin from Misfires and Lightningstrikes. So breaking excited. Like fan girl excited. I am going to have to try to hold in the oogling. Most people love movie stars. I have fan girl crushes on chick gun people, loggers, and writers. Yeah I am a geek.

On a fun side note I am part of a couple fun giveaways on Facebook. One with Sassy Does. The other is with a number of pages . It is to encourage contacting your reps about gun control issues. Some awesome gear is up for grabs. So go visit my fb page to check it out.

I also am adopting a family each month to raise money for them. Each family has a critically ill/in need child/children. Check out this months family on my page too. ;)

damselprokimberlywalsh

The hard truth....

Tonight I was watching a movie I had never seen. Based on a well known teen book series it falls into the category of husband will never watch with me. One of the characters was dying. As she lay under the stars discussing this with a friend she said something that struck home for me. She said that it wasn't death that scared her but more that she would not be able to become who she was supposed to be or that she would miss so much. I have always been afraid of death and I think this explains it better. It is not that I lack faith in what lays beyond this life but that once this life is over I will not have become what I was meant to be or that I will miss things in the lives of people I love. I think that is why I worry so much about death and keeping it at bay. I strive to be the best mother and wife that I can be. I put my heart and soul into all I do for my girls and all the life that I live. I make sure that every moment of every day my husband knows that I love him, that I have always loved him, and that my love for him grows richer and fuller with each breath we take together. I am devoted to my family, to Gracie and Maggy, to being all I can for them. My greatest fear is not the dying but that I will not have fulfilled something for those that I love that I should have. I know that all of my life is in the hands of a higher power, I trust that all will be as it should, I just hope that as it should be is after a long life of seeing my girls grown and happy and of having my marriage continuing to thrive and grow as each year passes.

What dreams may come!

I tend to dream a lot. Usually just weird non-sense stuff that got put together from all I saw and did during the previous day. Sometimes though they can be very disorienting. I woke this morning having dreamed we had moved to Texas (I spent 8 years of my childhood there) but our things were in other places. It was very weird to wake and be unsure of where I was. I also seem to start and stop the same dream all through the night as I wake to nurse the baby and get Hubs off to work. It is kinda like a psycho movie in my head. Does anyone else dream like this?