The Duke......

I believe each day is made up of Goodness, Gifts and Gratitude.....and it is up to us to see them, appreciate them and live as if we won't have them tomorrow.

This thought of the 3 G's came to me this week, as I was standing on my front porch waving bye to my Dad, who had stopped by to borrow a book. He strategically ambled to his car with a precise shuffle and a look of determination. As he backed the car out of the driveway and drove by, I was reminded of how truly blessed I am to have this amazing man in my Life. My mind drifted to how easily we can get caught up into the day to day chaos and we forget to acknowledge our genuine blessings.

How rich our lives can be, when we live as though tomorrow may not come.......It causes me to take a breath and acknowledge/appreciate the enormous gifts in my Life.  

Together, let's make a conscious effort to put our time and energy toward things that add value to our lives and as a result, to the lives of others. Let's go ahead and daily (before they slip our mind) make a  list of relationships, situations and moments that were part of our day, that we are grateful for.....my experience has been....."the more I see and appreciate...the more there is to BE seen and appreciated!"  Awesome how that works!  

So this has been just another little piece of me....shared with you.... inspired by my Amazing Dad!

Lesson Learned..............

On a recent weekend, I woke to a rainy morning....and smiled. Granted that's because my schedule allowed me to stay in bed and just chill~ax. There's something about a lazy, rainy weekend morning, that just feels good to me. I began perusing through magazines that had been cast aside due to lack of time, watched a little trash TV, and caught up on Words With Friends matches. Then it hit me, about 13 minutes into my time of leisure/time for me, a gnawing need to get up and be productive..self guilt....aargh...so I compromised with myself...I got up, folded a load of laundry, scrubbed a toilet or two, washed the kitchen sink, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, put away random stuff through out the house and then...dashed back to bed!

Feeling ready now for time for me, I situated myself again to enjoy the sound of rain and the cozy comfort of my surroundings.....only to find 5 minutes later.......the rain stopped and the sun come out...my moment had passed!

Now you may think the lesson learned here is to take advantage of "the moment" before it passes. Perhaps, I should have stayed in bed, and stuck to my original plan to recharge myself mentally and fore-go the "house stuff" for an hour or so....and in fact I believe that to be very true, but an equally important lesson........moments can be made...even in the sunshine and most definitely for more than 13 minutes.

So I'm grabbing hold and making "moments".  Some with family and some just for me ......which ultimately we know is really for others too....because when we feel tended to........the more we want to do for others!

Give It Time..................

Now I consider myself to be a fairly astute person, one who is aware of many things...to a fault I must admit, because I go into sensory overload pretty easily.....and well then that's a slippery slope. However, this post is not about that at all.....so I'll promptly redirect myself.

Today I want to sort through why I let nagging things pile up until they become stressful to me. Let me explain. Recently, I had a collection of 3 tasks that I needed to accomplish. I knew of them...but I was avoiding them. 

Now we are not talking anything major mind you....and that's what baffles me all the more. 

1. Needed to tackle setting up a Facebook account for an Arts Council, that I am a member of. Wanted it to have a certain URL address, figured it would stump me.....so I put it off....

2. the back up I had created of all my blog posts was empty!! That made me anxious in case my entries suddenly disappeared from online. I would be heartbroken and concerned I could never get them back. Thought about saving them again and even left myself a neon post it note on the computer that read "must back up Blog!!!"...but I put it off......

3. could not find my camera after returning  from a recent overnight...feared I had lost it, or had I? I needed to look for it.....but I put it off.....

Finally woke (both literally & figuratively) with an "enough is enough" attitude and demanded more of myself. I was determined to get started and stick with it. In a nutshell, within two and a half hours all three tasks were completed.......and successfully too I must add. 

So here is what I figured out.....the thought of tackling each of the tasks was far more daunting and actually unrealistic than it needed to be. Once I did not allow myself to escape it any more, I realistically discovered it wasn't that tough at all. 

I simply (although it didn't feel simple at the time) needed to stick with each one, longer than "it's going to be tough" and allow myself the time to tackle them. 

Can I tell you......they were each a nagging stress, that I really didn't need....but so glad they happened. As I say to my kids "we'll put that in the live and learn category." 

Moving forward I won't let something like that happen again. No longer will I allow my apprehensions to hold me back!

So what are you putting off???? Go ahead and do it!........and see how good it feels...you deserve it!

How Do You Dance??

     

   "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....

                                                             it's about learning to dance in the rain"

                                                 My Ways of Dancing

     heartfelt time with friends

     meditation

     laughter

     rationally looking into the eye of the "storm"

    exercise

      quiet time

       writing, prayer, reading

    anything artsy

   In the loving arms of my husband

Out Of My Way...........

I did it again today....shared a thought with a stranger of what I was thinking. Thankfully, I do have a filter and it was all good.....we even shared a smile. He brought it out in me and I figured letting him know, could brighten his day...as he did mine.

I was circling a parking lot, looking for a place to park, when I noticed two young store employees  sitting on the curb taking their break. Idly approaching was an elderly women using a walker. As she got closer to the door the teen employee instinctively got up and opened the door for her!

This act of kindness made me smile. I made it a point to go over to the employee once I entered the store and he had returned. Now, I've got to say he was hesitant and his demeanor was defensive as I said "excuse me, I saw what you did". I mentioned what I observed and thanked him for making me smile and certainly making the elderly women's day a little easier. He broke out into the biggest grin!! He seemed so surprised and taken aback by the compliment. Which is really too bad that in our society it is uncommon for people to speak kindly to someone they don't know.

There is really something wrong with that.....but we can change it!!

When on the receiving end of customer service that makes me smile.... I say something. Repeatedly a carriage attendant at a local discount store here in town has shouted across the parking lot "how are you doing today" upon customer's arrival or "have a good day" when leaving. It always brightens my day. One time after being wished a good day as I loaded my car, I phoned the store  manager. (that must by why they put the store phone number on the receipt right??)  I simply explained how great it was to have interaction with such a pleasant employee and what an asset he is to the company. My comment was met with a warm welcome. 

How amazing it would be if people started sharing a bit more kindness with people they encounter throughout their day, especially folks they don't even know. We have the power to touch lives and the reward is so great....for everyone involved. 

I can just picture it on the 6:00 news "a larger number of happy people have been reported and the reason seems to be due to an increased number of people who don't know each other, speaking kindly to one another!" 

The way I look at it, even if we increase it by just one person a day and they are then compelled to share it with someone else, we can start a our own Kindness Movement. One positive thought shared at a time ~ 

Easier Going Up..............

Periodically I will say something in conversation that clicks and I think....ahhh that's feeling blog post worthy. While chatting with a friend recently I had one of those moments. We were talking about how momentum in doing something leads to motivation to keep doing it. Whether it be cleaning that annoying closet, getting up early to exercise...ugh! or random acts of kindness to brighten some one's day. The more you do it, the more routine it becomes and the easier it is to accomplish.

That's when it hit me "it's as if when you stick with something long enough to become routine, you are then on an escalator (metaphorically speaking in Life), taking you along instead of tirelessly climbing stairs. You don't have to work quite so hard to get where you are going on the escalator!"

I have found this to be true with a handful of things and I like the results I find. For example, back to the exercising.....Initially getting out of a slumber state 45 minutes prior to really needing to get my day started was grossly tough. I fought it....ok maybe for too many years, but of recent I have broken through that obstacle and get up early to go on the treadmill. By doing it repeatedly I'm actually liking that before the "house wakes up" time. I plug in to some motivational videos on YouTube.....keep in mind we all have different ways of being motivated and for me ....ok I'll go there....I watch flash mobs, Glee music numbers or just Google..."people being happy". It all charges me up and distracts me for the task at hand. Before you know it I've walked two and a quarter miles and I'm ready for the day.  It didn't happen easily, but it built it's own momentum and the part of getting out of bed is more like an "escalator" activity now rather than climbing stairs.

So go ahead and take on something that you know you will benefit from......or others too........ Stick with it...... build your own momentum and take your own personal escalator for a little easier ride....in this journey we call Life!

One In A Million.....A Love Story

With our family and friends around us, my husband of three and a half hours held me in his arms, in a way that made me feel so protected and safe. We danced to our very special song...all was right in my world!  I was confident and certain I knew it all...or so I thought at the time. Looking back there was so much I did not know on my wedding day.

As we approach our twenty third wedding anniversary next weekend, I reflect on what I have learned since that special day so long ago.  

In the kitchen department, I learned pure lemon juice is not a marinade for chicken, and that keeping a full sugar bowl on the top ledge of the stove is a little tippsie and not a great idea. (especially when you are taking pizza out of the oven) Oh and I also learned that typically turkey is cooked breast side up....who knew?!

With the birth of our sons, I learned you have to super focus through the blur of happy tears to see their beautiful faces that first moment they are placed in your arms. I learned of a tenderness for these precious beings, that I never knew existed. 

Over the years, I have learned that love can strengthen in a marriage as a result of the ups and downs that come along the way.....and being "in it" together. That a closeness develops over those times,  and truly bonds. I have learned that compromise, listening and respect are key ingredients in making that love grow. We thought we were so in love when we got married...and we were.....it was just a different kind of love. I also found out how amazing it feels to know that someone believes in me so strongly, and supports me in all of my endeavors. I am Blessed !

The list could go on and on, because every day I feel there is something new I could add.

I think back to that first dance, as we whispered the words of our song to each other and know in my heart that they still hold true today.....because Mark, you are my....One In A Million!