RAK 'em up

In helping other people, you kind of lose the impact of what ails you.

When you are instantly spurred into action out of necessity, like maybe at an accident, you truly lose sight of yourself because someone else is in jeopardy or in need of assistance. There is no time to ponder the ramifications of what you're doing, only that if you don't do something, things will not end well. And so we run forward, into uncertainty, selfless, in aid of another person.

Isn't it kind of sad that it takes an accident to make us do that? Wouldn't it be a much more pleasant place to exist if each day was filled with these random acts of selfless kindness that are focused on other individuals, rather than ourselves? What a thought to ponder.

Today, without accidents, do something for someone else. It is within these Random Acts of Kindness that we truly learn the most about ourselves. We learn to share, to open our eyes and our hearts and our minds, and to give. And so, today, RAK 'em up!

A Pictorial Picnic

To say that the holiday season is a little hectic might be a teeny bit of an understatement. Throw in a little seasonal action at Macy's, a working boy, trying to schedule picking up a daughter without a vehicle, a hubby who works a gazillion hours a week, decorating, undecorating, cleaning, organizing, blah, blah, blah and life seems to be just a little stressful.

I will let you in on a little secret; one of the most therapeutic activities I've taken part in in quite a while. Yesterday, my mission, besides organizing the photo albums that were returned to the previous winter wonderland that is my dining room, was to take a giant box of pictures that has been sitting in my hall closet for literally years and organize them into more photo albums.

Now I know that things have gone the way of digital these days, but there is just something about a photograph that captures time . . . and the heart! I spent seriously several hours sitting poolside (thank God it was really beautiful here in Florida yesterday) digging through old photographs and putting them in albums. I scanned a few and sent 'em to my niece. She has incredible blackmail opportunities now! I got a little teary. I laughed out loud. I wondered who some of those people were. I marvelled at growth and change and old friends and my absolutely incredible family. I shrunk in horror at my senior portrait proofs, giggled AND cried at my mom's Ramblin' Gamblin' money with my brother's faces on the bills. What a beautiful trip I took yesterday without ever leaving my patio.

When you need a little pick-me-up, whether you're creating or just thumbing through, grab an old photo album and do a little reminiscing. Ahhh, the pleasantries of a pictorial picnic!!!

The best toy

I've always believed that if you don't use it, you lose it. Never more true than with your brain! My family has always been game players! When we were very little, my mom would pair us up and with pencils we'd create these crazy squiggly messes on scrap paper. Then we'd have to take crayons or colored pencils and color in animals or pictures we found within those squiggly messes. With five kids and friend's kids always around, there was a plethora of board games available to us as we got older. And then . . . the word games!  (Cue the daunting music . . . dah, dah, dah!)

We played the 4 x 4 Boggle til we grew bored of that and then graduated to the 5 x 5. We had, I would guess, every edition of Scrabble that graced the store shelves. We played the dictionary game which most folks call something else these days, but I would never stray from the original. We did Upwords and loved to do those puzzles where you had a great big word and you had to find as many smaller words within it. I ruled those!

I enjoyed the crossword puzzles, but was not ever very good at them. Too broad a scope of knowledge to be real good. The were the coded puzzles that I could never quite conquer but my mom was a whiz at. It was always time to tax the old noodle; keep the juices flowing, and think, think, think!

One of my most vivid memories of games we played was one of the most fun. With nine people in the car, it would usually start with the driver and work it's way to the back of the vehicle. My step-dad would say something like, "Jimmy was going to have a party, but he was undecided about . . . " and then my mom would have to pick it up and continue the story. She would say, "whether he should invite Beth or Sarah, so instead of making a choice . . ." and brother Cal would chime in, "he decided to go fishing. He gathering up his tackle and . . ." And so on and so forth. Most of these stories meandered forever through absolutely nothing logical but all kinds of laughter and silliness. You could make up anything you wanted. It is a GREAT game for young children, without the use of joysticks, videos, or remote controls. It makes 'em use their imagination . . . the best toy out there!

Go play today!

Stumbling, Bumbling, Fumbling

Any of you who were lucky enough to know my mother, know that she was not a very idle person. She was always on the go and always had all kinds of ideas and thoughts rolling around in that beautiful little head of hers. I am thrilled to say that she instilled this fabulous character trait into each and every one of her children. I have brothers who write, brothers who build, brothers who play music, brothers who teach, brothers who inspire, brothers who are always at the ready to assist other people, and of course, there's me! Most of you already know what my insane little life is all about! And I love it!

Charles F. Kettering once said:
Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble onto something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling onto something sitting down.

What a fabulous statement! You will never know what you are truly amazing at unless you step out, in faith, and give it a shot. And I think the "stumbling" is part of the process. Getting to where you want to go may not always be the easiest thing in the world. There are mountains to climb over, pits to wade through, and always obstacles in your way causing you to trip, tumble, and taste defeat. But it is those individuals who persevere that make a difference . . . both to themselves and to those around them.

So, as Chris Berman might say, be that "stumbling, bumbling, fumbling" person who "could go . . . all . . . the . . . way".

Retailiation!!!

Retail has always, I guess, been a part of my life. I grew up in a house with a graphics shop in the basement and learned, at 9, to sell name tags to teachers for 50 cents apiece. Then I learned typesetting, proofreading, graphics, design, etc. and how to sell and market all of that. Then I got a typesetting job outside of the house and learned to market it for someone else. I then got a hankering for working out and trained to become an aerobics instructor. Although that didn't pan out, it taught me a great many things about retail and myself. While doing those things ~ and I literally mean I was doing all those things at the same time ~ I worked the late shift at UPS unloading trucks and filling tractor trailers. Not so much retail, but super workout and gobs of cash!

Then I moved to Georgia where I did all kinds of graphics stuff and learned the label business. Left alone with mounting bills, I got a second job as a hostess at a restaurant. I had never done any sort of restaurant jobs in my life, but found that I loved to greet and chat and be around people. Must have learned that from my mom. (And, found my husband there!) From there, I believe I also became involved in Christmas Around the World doing home parties, selling and retailing my fanny off.

These last two months, though, at Macy's have given me a new perspective on retail. To have worked recovery has allowed me a new insight to people. These are shoppers buying name brand, very expensive items, and a vast majority of them are slobs with no manners. They leave their clothes piled in the fitting rooms, unhangered, or hangered inside out, or hangers simply scattered on the floor. And they will smile charmingly at you while they leave the area. Where are their mothers? Who taught them to behave this way? When did it become ok to leave ANY place in such disarray?
Do they throw food around the restaurants they eat in? What do their homes look like? It is just baffling to me.

So . . . in my own little world . . . I'd like to start a "retailiation"! What I wouldn't do to use my creative graphic side and whip up a few posters stating that your mother doesn't work here, we don't have a maid, so please pick up after yourself. Oh the smiles it would bring to my face! Or how sweet it would be to walk out after a customer and say, "Excuse me, you left a few items on the ground. Would you like me to get them for you?" Hee hee!

OK, so just the thought of those few actions will allow me to giggle through my shift today. What fun it would be to do those things. I am certain there are other professions that receive the same sort of abuse. Let me hear what you would do . . .
And smile . . .

Until next year . . .

I just dread taking down the Christmas decorations. Not so much because of the daunting task I know it will be. Not because I know it will literally take me six to eight hours or more to take it all down, clean the house, and put the house back together. Not because of the painstaking impossibilities of fitting over one-hundred Santas and a gazillion other decorations back into the crates they came out of. It is the fact that I'm simply de-Santasizing the house!

There is a story with nearly all 100+ Santas that I have collected. The poker-playing Santa from my Vegas friends! The wood carved Santa from my neighbors who went out west and thought of me while they were there. The Italian Santa from my days of Christmas Around the World. The pair of Santa's hubby got me on one our first Christmases together. The Santa in a beach chair from my "and stuff" friend. The "wipeout" Santa that my daughter got me this year . . . which, as I explained to her is a double whammy bringing back years and years of gymnastics memories with it! The canoeing Santa and the Santa with skis from hubby and son. The pair of Santas with critters from my brother. My kneeling over baby Jesus Santa from my sister-in-law. So very many memories; and it is like I am boxing them up . . . putting them away. It saddens me a little every year ~ even though I know I will giggle and smile and get weepy as I take each one out again next year. I know. I'm a little whacky.

And so, in the next few days, I will begin de-Santasizing and become a tiny bit melancholy. It won't last long. And once the house is back in order, or perhaps slightly rearranged, I know I will have a renewed energy for a new year. It is a cycle I am rather used to and kind of oddly fond of. I hope that when you de-Santasize your homes, you relish special memories in tiny bits of glitter and fur and sparkles and joy . . . until next year . . .

Calmmodity

Oh, how precious are a few quite moments to yourself? Whether you are reflecting on the day, the month, the year, your life . . . a little down time is a wonderful thing. To stop, sit, and take solace in all the good that surrounds you is an energizing and vital part of life. More important than hitting the gym every day of the week, more important than impressing those executive clients, more important than getting your kid to every sport on earth, more important than donning the latest fashions, more important than owning the latest gadgets . . . is the sweet taste of . . . calm.

I am fortunate enough that I can hop in my car and be by the Gulf of Mexico's shores within minutes. I sometimes lose myself in the rhythmic rolling of the waves, basking in the lazy Florida sun, and just mostly thinking about nothing. It is sublime! I find the same sweet calm in a wooded trail, a mountain top, a lakeside stroll, a blooming garden and many other places.

This year, I hope you take a little time ~ each day if you're able ~ to get off the rat race roller coaster and find a place to rest. Invest in yourself; in your own 'calmmodity'.