July 2008

Found this question at one of Cindi’s blogs today — go see what she is; I’m not gonna tell!

I took the test and here’s what I am –

“When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can’t find something good about the world and your fellow human.”

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Well.  I had thought that I would have to skip today’s TT post.  Didn’t think I could find anything much to be thankful about today.  Today is 9 months since my mother died.  Nine months.  Long enough to have a baby.

So that’s where my list starts.

1.  I’m thankful for all the babies that have been born and all of the babies that have been conceived in the last 9 months — particularly my great-nephew Ayden (yeah, I might be biased!).  They are each and every one a blessing.

2.  I’m thankful for Hospice which provides aid and comfort to so many families as they lose their loved ones and the dignity with which they approach the process of dying.  Those people have strong and courageous hearts to be able to do what they do.

3.  I’m thankful that I saved Mama’s last voice mail to me.  Some might think it’s freaky and not healthy but it is comforting to know that it’s there if I need it.

4.  I’m thankful that all my friends on the West Coast are okay and the earthquake wasn’t all that bad as quakes go — though I still would have peed my pants!

5.  I am thankful — at least I’m trying to be thankful — for all of the bumps in the road and blocks in the maze with which I’m being met and the occasional ray of light that lights my way because I believe that I’m being led somewhere, to something and even though I don’t know what it is, I believe that God knew this was the only way to get me there.  (I’m not stubborn or willful or anything - HA!)

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Mostly, I am a glass half full kind of girl but lately not so much. All 3 of my loyal readers know the scoop about why that is. I think, though, that I am beginning a turnaround. I think that some of the struggles I have dealt with of late, and some repercussions from a couple of bonehead things I did that might arise in the future, have a positive spin. I think that God is using them to bring me closer to Him. I am stubborn and willful and don’t give up “my way” easily so it oftentimes takes a knock on the head, so to speak. Like 3 years ago when I had a stroke at 42. I had been going for years, working, caregiving, raising the kids and not taking any time or using any of my energy for myself. Well, let me tell ya, if you have a stroke and you want to learn to speak and write and think again, your energies had better be concentrated on yourself! So I’m trying to relax now and know that I am in His hands and that His divine wisdom is guiding me. I just have to stop fighting, shut up and listen!

For a less spiritual example of the glass half full philosophy, I give you this. We live in central Florida, home of the daily thunderstorms. These aren’t nice rain showers (cue the song “Laughter in the Rain”); these are the kinds of storms where you need to take cover or you might be immediately blown off your feet, literally, by a lightning strike. Given that, my son got a phone call the other day that a friend of his is having his birthday party on Saturday OUTSIDE AT A PARK and there are no alternate plans for an indoor location! Here’s what our forecast looks like:

Now a family that plans an outdoor party with a forecast like this is DEFINITELY a half-full kind of family!

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I got this from my little sister this morning.

have a nice day

To: YOU

Date: TODAY

From: GOD

Subject: YOURSELF

Reference: LIFE

This is God. Today I will be handling all of your problems for you. I do not need your help. So, have a nice day.

I love you.

P.S. And, remember…

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it yourself! Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don’t despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege. Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years. Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it’s like to love and be loved in return. Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children. Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk. Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine. Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn’t live long enough to get the opportunity. Should you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!

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This is my first one and it sounded like fun! The Confession is: What is the craziest thing you ever did for love?

Two Hearts

The craziest thing I ever did for love was to leave the job I’d worked my butt off to get, leave my family and move hundreds of miles away to be with the man I loved — and we had never actually met!  We met online, courtesy of my sister, and we both fell hard and fast.  He was settled, with 3 kids, a dog, a career, a house and moving for him just wasn’t feasible.  So I did it.  Twenty years later, with a few bumps in the road, we’re still together and I haven’t regretted it for a minute.  Although, looking back, it scares me how naive and trusting I was.  Even with the kids and all that, he still could have been an axe murderer!

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Turn off the noise.  More accurately, pick a time — an hour, an afternoon, a day, whatever — when you turn off all the distractions.  No TV, no computer or cell phone, none of the things that electronically tie us to the world.  Take that time and just be.  Pray.  Meditate.  Daydream. Do a hobby or craft.  But do it without the ties that bind us and track us so continually throughout our modern day.  Listen to the voices in your head, all clamoring for you to do this or that, fade away so that all you are left with is your own true voice.  What does it say?

I’m going to do this later today.  My chicks are all home today so no real need to be tied to the phone or the cell phone.  Nothing computer-wise that can’t wait.  I’m going to go and find a quiet spot in my  house and just sit with my own company for a while and see what my true voice has to say to me.

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Spiritual and religious overtones — if you find those offensive, you might want to skip this post.

Every now and again we run across someone or something that changes our life. Opens our eyes to different possibilities, things we’d change in our lives if we ever really gave them any thought instead of living, to some degree, on autopilot. That just happened to me. I have quite a few blogs in my Google Reader that I read every day. There is a particular one, Bring the Rain, that touched me today with this post on gratitude and faith and how we live.

The phrase “state of flux” or maybe even better, “floundering” describes my life over the last year. Coping with losing my mom, other events, my son graduating and the other beginning high school, working vs not, blogging for love vs blogging for money… There have been many many moments of joy, don’t get me wrong, but under it all, I have felt like I just needed somebody to take me by the hand, point to which fork in the road I’m supposed to take, and gently urge me in that direction. This post at Bring The Rain, so powerful in its simplicity, has served that purpose for me. It’s time for me to slow down, let go and let God lead me in the path He wants me to go instead of trying to always forge my own. At the end of the day, I only had to take the fork that had God standing there holding His hand out to me. Amazing that it took someone else’s story to help me remember that.

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Nic, my rising 9th grader, is peeved miffed horrified and hacked off that I have brought school supplies of any sort, giveaway or for him, into our house and it is “not even August yet, Mom!”  And, to add insult to injury, I’m going to sound the death knell for some other poor kid’s summer by sending stink bombs school supplies to that kid’s house and he/she never even did anything to me.  I have been instructed to keep everything buried under the pile of clutter on my desk out of sight so he doesn’t get reminded that school is almost  here. (August 18 is the first day)  All this said with much sighing, rolling of eyes, waving of arms.  Think maybe he should join the drama club?

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It’s that time of year almost! New clothes and shoes, haircuts, eye exams and glasses, school supplies… Does just the thought of it overwhelm you and/or your budget? It does me, too, but ya know what? I have a secret vice. I love school supplies. I always buy extra, with the kids thinking it’s to replenish supplies throughout the year, but :: whispering :: they’re really for me. New pens, highlighters, composition books, notebook paper… makes me want to do book reports and write essays. Pens and paper are my very favorite! I guess it’s not all that surprising that I evolved into a blogger!

One of my favorite lines, from You’ve Got Mail which is one of my favorite movies, is: “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”

Well, I can’t do that for everybody but I do know that this time of year presents financial hardships. I’d like to help, if I can, by offering some school supplies.

School Supplies for Giveaway

Two composition books, three spiral notebooks, pack of index cards, 2 packs of college-ruled paper

Bottle of school glue, 2 glue sticks, a pencil bag for your binder, highlighters, pencils, pens, compass, hole punch, crayons, erasers, pencil sharpener

Lastly, I wanted to do a backpack and/or lunchbox but I know from my own kids that those are highly personal choices. Heaven forbid you should get the wrong color! The horror! So I threw in a $25 American Express gift card. I wanted to do Visa but they were all out.

$25 American Express Gift Card

To enter, leave a comment telling me something you like and something you don’t like about the start of the school year — for you or for your kids! I will take entries through 00:01 Eastern time on August 1 and then at 9ish (gotta use the -ish because in my life you never know!) on the morning of August 1, I will use Random.Org to choose a winner. And if you don’t have kids — or you’re on a different sort of schedule — go ahead and enter anyway. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make use of the prize!

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