If we were having coffee, we might sit out in the front porch. We would have to put on a sweater or maybe take a throw out to cover up as it’s a little chilly (51 at the moment. But it’s sunny and the skies are clear so it’s nice out there.
If we were having coffee, you would see that I am a little bit down today, thinking about the shooting at Umpqua Community College this week. It’s about a two hour drive from here. Roseburg is a small town, as are many along I-5 up and down the state. I keep thinking about how devastating it must be for the community. Then, the day after that shooting, my niece, who lives in Las Vegas, posted about a friend of hers who was shot and killed in her neighborhood that morning. Her friend’s 7 year old son was also killed in a murder-suicide situation. Again, that community is in shock over a senseless killing by someone who was, in retrospect, not well.
I haven’t written much about love rocks on this blog. I’ve mentioned them in passing but I haven’t talked about them much. Love rocks are rocks that have a fabric heart glued to them (I use modge podge). They are a very simple token of love. They are left anonymously for people to find or sometimes given to someone who needs a little lift, a smile, a hug. The idea was started by the mother of two young girls who were killed by a car in front of their house a couple of years ago. It happened in Forest Grove, a small community west of Portland. The girls were playing in a pile of leaves and the car didn’t see them, ran over them, and kept on going, not knowing they had run over two girls. It was devastating to the community and the mom, in her grief, remembered how her girls had made “love rocks” for their parents’ wedding (a blended family) and how they had loved making them. So she started love-rocks.org. I make them and spread them around, often helped by Anderson and Spencer who love leaving them. Last night I made over 100 of them and am making more today. They going out to the Umpqua/Roseburg community along with a lot of others which are being made by the love rocks community all around Oregon. I will also be sending some to my niece in Las Vegas to spread around her neighborhood. It’s not a lot but it makes me feel like I am doing something to help.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that we are all settling in to Anderson’s school schedule. Currently, the big problem is getting him to eat at school. He’s a very picky eater. He doesn’t like trying new foods. He will eat hot dogs or corn dogs when they are on the menu. There was also a day when they had French Toast and scrambled eggs for lunch and he liked that. But he doesn’t like anything else so all he has is the milk from his lunch tray and sometimes the fruit or cookie on the tray. So we are trying to get him to try new foods. On October 1st, the new series of Mixels was released. So now the deal is that he can only open a new Mixel on days that he has tried new foods which have protein. So far, he still hasn’t been able to open any of the Mixels because he hasn’t tried new protein foods! So the battle continues. I must say that he comes by his stubborness honestly…he gets it from my side.
This week I will be posting another one of my Introducing posts (Monday). I hope you come by and check it out. I will also have a co-written post up at Part Time Monster which I will probably reblog here. I’ll be spending some more time making love rocks each day and I might take a drive to Roseburg to deliver them. And I think this week I will find out what my volunteer assignment will be at Anderson’s school.
So now it’s your turn. What are you up to? How is your weather where you are? I know there has been some very wet weather on the eastern side of our country. Are you in it? Are you prepared for it? I hope you stay safe! Have a wonderful week!
#WeekendCoffeeShare posts are part of a weekly blog hop hosted by Diana at Part Time Monster. You can read her post here. For more weekend coffee shares by other bloggers, click here more are added throughout the weekend.
The love rocks are beautiful, and a beautiful idea although the reason behind them is so sad. I have been thinking I need to take a break from the news. So many sad and/or terrible things happening these days.
I’ve been out for a walk, but mostly I’m hanging around indoors staying dry and warm. We had a small break from the rain, but it’s begun to pick up again. The wind is picking up, too. Tomorrow the winds are supposed to be worse. Not sure about the rain. I’d like to go to the beach to see the waves, but they’ve closed off most beaches for now and there is no good (high) place to watch from.
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I’m from Eugene (where I attended community college as a teen) and now live in Los Angeles. I felt gut-punched when I read the news in a text from my youngest sister. I’ve driven through there many a time driving between my two homes.
Seeing you mention love rocks surprised me. It took me a moment to piece together that, though I read that very blog from a distance, it’s not from a distance for everyone. It lifts my heart to imagine you making all those love rocks and still remembering the girls behind them.
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I’m glad you are familiar with love rocks. I only read about them this year, around February. A high school friend liked one of their posts on Face Book and I saw it and was intrigued so I went looking. I had not heard about the accident that took Anna and Abigail as I was out of town in southern California at the time. My mom had her first mastectomy that year and I went down and spent the month there with her so I was out of town when it happened, although when I mentioned it to my daughter, she knew about it. I started making love rocks about two days after I first read about them and haven’t stopped since. Now my grandsons help me leave them on our hikes and walks through the neighborhood. We even left some along the road on our trip to California this summer.
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It was so sad to know so many lives lost for no reason at all. I love your love rocks and the idea behind them. How kind of you, and how lovely for your grandchildren to be exposed to kindness like this. Well done you. It’s the little things sometimes can make all the difference.
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Thank you, Tric. I hope they find their way into the hand of someone who needs to know that others are sending love and hope and prayers.
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The love rocks are a great idea. A nice thing to do. Simple, yet maybe it will make someone’s day when they find one. I hope, despite all of the bad things and sadness, you have a great weekend.
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Love the love rocks. So great that you did that! So sad about the tragedies.
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[…] I also came across this great post by Corina at Wasted Days & Wasted Nights where she talks about the Love Rocks she makes and gives to people grieving or going through a hard time. https://corinajoyc.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/rocks-stubborness-other-tough-things/ […]
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Hi Corina,
I am delighted to find your blog and to read about the love rocks. Such a good idea. Actually, it’s more like love in action, which is what I like most about it.
Our fmaily was moved by the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 and we sent love hearts on paddlepop sticks to people. I wrote a post about it here: https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/infinite-love-mh17/
You might also be interested in a group of bloggers called 1000 Voices for Compassion and #1000speak. Here’s their website: http://www.1000voicesspeak.org/ xx Rowena
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I’ll take a look at your post. I do know about #1000Speak. I participated in the first one in February.
Thank you for visiting!
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I recall reading about your love rocks in prior posts and think it is a wonderful and touching thing to do.
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The shooting is really awful; it makes me both sad and glad that I’m no longer working on college campuses, especially since it has been only a few weeks since there was an incident on the Delta State campus in Mississippi, and before that at Mississippi Statue University. Of course, it also hasn’t been that long since just a few towns away in Lafayette, there was a shooting at a theater. It’s all so sad. And it seems so preventable.The love rocks are a really neat idea—I had to go look them up after I saw your FB post.
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Yes, senseless. There have also been a couple of high school shootings in the area within the past couple of years. It always brings the community together but I wish it didn’t have to happen for that reason.
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Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s a sad state of affairs.
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what a beautiful, yet heartbreaking idea – those love rocks. You are truly awesome for creating them, and spreading some love like that. Hugs and blessings!
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Thank you, Claudia
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I like the love rocks idea. The Roseburg shooting has left a big impact on me, too. I wrote a spoken-word poem about it that I’ll be reading at my poetry group tomorrow, and it’s going to be tough but important, I think.
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Hello Corina,
Rowena from beyond the flow – down under, she suggested we come visit you and your ‘love rocks”…what a lovely idea and I am sure that the community of the lovely little town of Roseburg will appreciate them….I am very familiar with the area, I have relatives who lived in Myrtle Creek and Tri City…so I have been to the fair in Roseburg many times…I am still unable to dry my tears for those who innocent people who’s lives were changed forever….thank you for your beautiful rocks….So now if I were sitting with you having coffee, we would be talking about Ro and her wonderful vacation to “Newrybar” and all her wonderful pictures and lovely family…then we would talk about how beautiful Oregon is..and how the drought is affecting your state, verses California where I am from…..nice to meet you Corina, I am Kathy…
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Hi Kathy. Thank you for the visit and the comment. I’m from California too but have lived in Portland since 2008 but you can’t take California out of me!
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Portland is a great city….I am originally from Washington state but have lived n California since 7th grade with the exception for one summer in Alaska…love it here…..
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I love the idea of love rocks – so special! Hope Anderson starts enjoying school meals soon. Have a great week!
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