Wisdom ...

Every day we are learning.  You better be!  When we are younger we take things at face value.  We see black and white.  There is no gray.  As we get older, and hopefully wiser, everything is not always so cut and dried.  We've seen or experienced how circumstances affect outcomes.  Not always what seems right may be right.  Two monumental things I have learned in my adulthood are: 1. Not everything nor everyone needs a response and 2. What is right will always prevail even though many times you have to walk through a desert and climb a mountain first.  In my life, the experiences, especially the unpleasant ones, have given me strength and with that comes wisdom. 

25 Cliches That Are Actually True

This is a good article.  I enjoyed it, so I thought I would share it with you ;-)

25 Cliches That Are Actually True

I love my tribe!

Isn't that the truth?! ;-)  I love my peeps and there aren't many of them.  The ones I let in are just like me ;-)  I can get along with anyone, but there are some really unhappy and very unpleasant people out there.  You know the type.  The ones that create their own problems. There is no time to waste on unnecessary drama and bullscheit.  Break the chains and be happy!  

Dear ...

Today I have to write a letter.  I don't have to, more like need to.  It will be a very long letter.  It is long overdue and to someone I don't even know.  A letter of Good vs Evil.  A letter filled with information that we all already know.  A timeline with time stamps.  With pictures and declarations and points of view.  With recommendations and solutions.  Above all, I will remember, as always, to be kind, and continue to be my classy self ;-)

Light A Fire Under it!

I'm stuck in a rut!  Every night I go to bed with a plan and every morning I wake up with distractions.  "First I'm going to ... " "Before I do that I need to do ..." Before you know it it's the end of another day and I'm going to bed with the same mental list I woke up to.  I guess the good thing is that I'm conscious of it ;-)   I was more organized when I was working a full-time job raising three young children.  I guess I had to be during that time of my life.  I couldn't have survived without my Franklin Planner.  The truth is there are a lot of distractions.  For instance, I'm on a conversation via speaker phone, texting my son about refinancing his house, while typing this blog.  Sometimes our expectations are too high.  Prioritizing can be difficult. My goal today is to make a list and break it down into a smaller more realistic more manageable list.  I'm holding myself accountable to complete three items on the list today. To be continued ...

Happy 24th Anniversary of your 29th Birthday!

Today is a very special day!  It's the day a wonderful mother of six gave birth to her seventh child.  I wouldn't know of this special occasion until forty-five years later, during the most difficult time of my life when I would meet a man who would change my life forever. Today is the 53rd birthday of a man who is gentle and kind.  One who has compassion and empathy.  A man who can put aside any of his own wants and needs for others, especially the ones that he loves.  He is a man who refuses to be drawn into drama, who has so much self-control and can exercise "tough love" to protect the best interest and well-being of those most important to him.  He is the "Love of My Life" ... "My Soul-Mate" ... "My Knight in Shining Armour" ... "My Everything" ... and whenever I have an opportunity to celebrate him I surely will!

Unplugged ...

It's amazing how reliant we are on something so basic as electricity.  I'm sure it's safe to say that when the lights so much as flicker we all stop in our tracks.  Holding our breath until we're confident they'll stay on.  What an inconvenience.  With no power we can't brew that morning cup of coffee or record that episode of our favorite show to watch after work.  Even keeping up with social media becomes more difficult having to limit our options to mobile devices.  But then wait! Those devices have batteries that need to be recharged by .... you guessed it ...electricity!  Last night we had a major storm.  The lights flickered many times, but not until the storm was over did we lose power.  There wasn't much else to do but to call it a night and go to bed.  The silence was deafening at first, but as I laid there with no fan, no light and no tv,  I hit the reset button on me.  When we unplug ourselves we can think clearer, sleep sounder and breathe easier.  Life slows down to a more manageable pace.  We're able to see the value in the moment once again ... and it feels good ;-)

Christmas In July

When it's 92 degrees outside and we're preparing for a heck of a summer storm, what's the first thing that comes to mind?  Baking ... Right?

It's that time of year when August finally rolls around, it's too hot to do anything outside and another school year will be starting before you know it.  We'll all be ready to slow down soon and welcome Autumn.  Preparing for the holidays is a family tradition.  One that I look forward to each year. I love Pinterest! ... It's like window shopping for me.  You can save all those delicious recipes without having to tediously cut each one out and store in that old cookie tin for future generations to never use ;-)  I'm announcing today that Yes!, I have that holiday fever!  Will I ever change, despite the promise I make to myself to keep it simple the next year?  ... Maybe in January ;-)

To My Darling Daughter ...

25 years ago today I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.  My first two blessings were boys.  I remember the nurses preparing the room for the delivery, laying out one blue bracelet for a boy and a pink one for a girl.  I told the nurse she could put the pink one away because I knew it would be a boy (since I already had two). ;-)   I didn't have a name picked out for a boy yet, but I did have a name saved for a girl since the birth of my first son.  The doctor broke my water and twenty minutes later I heard that long awaited cry and "Congratulations, It's a girl"! ;-)   It's hard to believe she is the same age today as I was when she was born.  Welcome to the world  M.E.G.A.N :-)

Celebrate!

There are so many reasons to celebrate!  The birth of a baby, a wedding or a graduation.  The fact that we woke up to another day is the best reason of all!  Today we are celebrating our July birthdays.  There are three.  Each one as precious to me as the next and each deserving of their own DQ ice cream cake ;-) Life's circumstances can cause us to lose focus of what really matters.  Take time to celebrate today!  Eat Cake!

 

Life is like a box of chocolates ...

... You never know what you're going to get.

We've all heard that famous quote.  The older we get the more we can relate. We sometimes catch ourselves holding our breath waiting for the next bomb to drop.  Unfortunately, that robs us from one of the most precious possessions we have in life. Time!  Life is not perfect.  Life is not fair.  Have you heard that before? ;-)   Something good comes out of every bad situation.  You just have to look for it.  Sometimes you have to look pretty deep, but it's there ;-) We have to make the best hand out of the cards we've been dealt and play that game we call LIFE!  When the storms in life try to throw us off course, we adjust our sails until we are back in calm waters.  Live in the moment for each moment is a blessing,  No refunds. No exchanges.

"Say Uncle"

Being the youngest of four and the only girl, I can remember my brothers torturing me routinely.  It generally involved holding me down against my will in some way ;-)  All they wanted was for me to say "Uncle" (which usually came out in a blood curdling "MOMMMMM"!!!)   Looking back, I guess it was good training for life.  Life is not perfect.  Life is not fair.  The devil will always ride in your back pocket, holding you down, trying to make you say "Uncle".  Thankfully, just when you think you can't handle any more, through Faith, our "Father" steps in and says "Good try" ;-)

"Today I'm going to ... "

Sound familiar?  Thank goodness I believe God has us right where He wants us because I can always fall back on that excuse ;-)  I can't hardly fathom the year 2015 had 365 days.  It flew by!  Through hindsight it's very clear God was moving some mountains in those 52 weeks.  Sometimes that isn't a very pleasant experience, but if you have faith the size of a mustard seed and your intentions are pure you can see that even those unpleasant situations move us closer to where we are supposed to be.  Progress!  The alternative will lead you to disaster.

"Today I'm going to ... Live each day with love and kindness, compassion and selflessness". Be conscious!