I have a dear relative who is feeling, I'd say, a tad bit bitter. He has not had a glamorous life. He had it a little rough as a youngster and has gone through some more-than-trying times as a young adult. He, like his dad, has ALWAYS had his heart in the right place. They are both givers and lovers. This beautiful young man would literally give you the shirt off his back if it would make your day a little better, even though it may be the ONLY shirt he owns. His heart is huge and, although it has been battered and abused a bit, I believe it still has much to do here!
I want to clarify this young soul as a Ch-Angel, this 'little' boy who isn't so little. He has affected so very many lives and most all in a positive way. He has an unrestrained charisma that just oozes out of his very pores. He could talk an eskimo into buying ice and he could charm the pants off of just about anyone! He has more talent in his little finger than most folks realize in a lifetime.
There are a few things I want to make sure he knows:
1. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have not yet been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real. It is possible. It is yours! ~ Ayn Rand
2. You are NOT alone! The island you might have created exists only til you allow a bridge to appear. Do not isolate yourself from what the pain of life is offering you. Yes, that sounds full of lunacy, but the fact of the matter is that you are not the only one who has suffered. You are not the only person who has been hurt. You are not alone in your loss. You are not alone in your questioning of why things happen. You, my sweet, sweet boy, are surrounded by more love than you could ever truly imagine. It is yours for the accepting . . . you need only uncross your arms, cast off your anger, and allow it to wash over you!
You will have to trust again, but there are those worth trusting. You will have to love again, but there are those worth loving. You will have to believe again, but there is MUCH to believe in.
I love you!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Treasure hunt
So yesterday I was not feeling too spectacular and decided to tackle a few household chores.
I finished the laundry, cleaned the kitchen and then (dun, dun, dun - evil music) . . . I decided to tackle the junk drawers in the kitchen. We all have them. Those catch-all cachets that seem to just harbor every little item you don't feel like putting where it really actually goes. Well, yes . . . I chose to do THAT!
The first one was not too bad. It even has a divider in it - to help me keep my clutter in some form of organized chaos. This drawer contains the rubber bands, thumb tacks, scissors, little calculators, dice, paper clips, and oddities of this nature. It also holds all of our playing cards. To look in this drawer, one might think we are poker junkies or something. There are no less than a dozen decks of cards. WHY? We might play gin or rummy maybe once a year. But me . . . being the ever vigilant cleaning-crazed housewife that I am, counted the cards in EVERY one of those decks to be certain they were all viable and useful decks. I'm proud to say they were!
Drawer two is the battery/menu drawer. Do these things really go together? No! But the battery bin fits nicely next to the biggest of the take-out menues. Go figure! And let me just say that if you need a place to eat, call me. I have about a thousand menues from different local restaurants. I chose though, in my diligent dilerium, to actually only keep ONE menu from every restaurant instead of the four to five that we had. I also discarded the saver magazines from 2006. I figured we didn't really need those any more!
And then . . . drawer three! I was concerned about drawer three. This houses hubby's home papers and important stuff like that. Sadly, though, it also houses every magnetic pin from every bar, festival, or event we've attended. It also harbored every loose nut, screw, allen wrench, baby screwdriver (phillips and flathead), and a gazillion other pieces of hardware that I have absolutely no idea where they go. There were several rolls of duct tape ~ a household necessity, a tiny geology hammer that hubby has had since he was like 7 years old that I now use to hang pictures, a fishing game that gets played about once every three years, and . . . are ya ready . . . a pumpkin carving kit! Who knew?
The treasure came, though, at the very bottom and at the very back of the drawer. I came across a breathtaking array of photos and cards. A card from 1999, celebrating hubby's first anniversary at one of his stores, signed by all the employees. A letter from a family friend from when my father-in-law passed away. It made me laugh and cry in the space of just a few seconds. A letter from my nephew that wasn't even a letter. He mailed me a drawing of hearts from New York. I swooned! And then . . . the mother lode! Photos! School photos, fishing photos, vacation photos, and my favorite . . . a thirteen year old collage of family photos. Oh my! What joy! A series of faces and smiles and silliness that took me WAY back to a whole other era of life. I will need to go find a frame today and ensure that bad boy makes it on a wall . . . with hubby's little geology hammer!
Go clean! You never know what treasures you may find!
I finished the laundry, cleaned the kitchen and then (dun, dun, dun - evil music) . . . I decided to tackle the junk drawers in the kitchen. We all have them. Those catch-all cachets that seem to just harbor every little item you don't feel like putting where it really actually goes. Well, yes . . . I chose to do THAT!
The first one was not too bad. It even has a divider in it - to help me keep my clutter in some form of organized chaos. This drawer contains the rubber bands, thumb tacks, scissors, little calculators, dice, paper clips, and oddities of this nature. It also holds all of our playing cards. To look in this drawer, one might think we are poker junkies or something. There are no less than a dozen decks of cards. WHY? We might play gin or rummy maybe once a year. But me . . . being the ever vigilant cleaning-crazed housewife that I am, counted the cards in EVERY one of those decks to be certain they were all viable and useful decks. I'm proud to say they were!
Drawer two is the battery/menu drawer. Do these things really go together? No! But the battery bin fits nicely next to the biggest of the take-out menues. Go figure! And let me just say that if you need a place to eat, call me. I have about a thousand menues from different local restaurants. I chose though, in my diligent dilerium, to actually only keep ONE menu from every restaurant instead of the four to five that we had. I also discarded the saver magazines from 2006. I figured we didn't really need those any more!
And then . . . drawer three! I was concerned about drawer three. This houses hubby's home papers and important stuff like that. Sadly, though, it also houses every magnetic pin from every bar, festival, or event we've attended. It also harbored every loose nut, screw, allen wrench, baby screwdriver (phillips and flathead), and a gazillion other pieces of hardware that I have absolutely no idea where they go. There were several rolls of duct tape ~ a household necessity, a tiny geology hammer that hubby has had since he was like 7 years old that I now use to hang pictures, a fishing game that gets played about once every three years, and . . . are ya ready . . . a pumpkin carving kit! Who knew?
The treasure came, though, at the very bottom and at the very back of the drawer. I came across a breathtaking array of photos and cards. A card from 1999, celebrating hubby's first anniversary at one of his stores, signed by all the employees. A letter from a family friend from when my father-in-law passed away. It made me laugh and cry in the space of just a few seconds. A letter from my nephew that wasn't even a letter. He mailed me a drawing of hearts from New York. I swooned! And then . . . the mother lode! Photos! School photos, fishing photos, vacation photos, and my favorite . . . a thirteen year old collage of family photos. Oh my! What joy! A series of faces and smiles and silliness that took me WAY back to a whole other era of life. I will need to go find a frame today and ensure that bad boy makes it on a wall . . . with hubby's little geology hammer!
Go clean! You never know what treasures you may find!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Fear not
I have a few friends who are going through some struggles right now. They are so overwhelmed with the mountain looming in front of them, they do not see the vistas expanding before them.
I wish I could make them see what I see in them.
I wish I could let them glimpse the greatness I see emanating from them.
I wish they could understand that it is ALL opportunity if you allow it to be.
As the remarkably talented William Shakespeare once said . . .
Be not afraid of greatness.
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
And do not ever underestimate what "greatness" means!
As wealth does not always mean riches; greatness does not always mean fame and power. Greatness sometimes means making a difference to just one other person. If you have achieved that . . . you are far greater than most!
Go . . . be great!
I wish I could make them see what I see in them.
I wish I could let them glimpse the greatness I see emanating from them.
I wish they could understand that it is ALL opportunity if you allow it to be.
As the remarkably talented William Shakespeare once said . . .
Be not afraid of greatness.
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
And do not ever underestimate what "greatness" means!
As wealth does not always mean riches; greatness does not always mean fame and power. Greatness sometimes means making a difference to just one other person. If you have achieved that . . . you are far greater than most!
Go . . . be great!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Be gentle
We all mold one another's dreams.
We all hold each other's fragile hopes within our hands.
We all touch others' hearts.
We all wield the power within our words to affect other's lives.
We all possess the opportunity to better other's days.
Be gentle!
We all hold each other's fragile hopes within our hands.
We all touch others' hearts.
We all wield the power within our words to affect other's lives.
We all possess the opportunity to better other's days.
Be gentle!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Lighten up!
A British dancer came up with this . . . and she was certainly 'on pointe'!
"The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative. The second is disastrous."
Fabulous!
"The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative. The second is disastrous."
Fabulous!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
The Ultimate P.I.F.
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 it says: God . . . comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Although that might sound like a horribly circular SAT question, it's really quite simple in my interpretation. We go through struggles so that later on we may be a stable force for the next person going through a struggle. I have witnessed this over and over and over again!
Shortly after Miles was 'officially discharged' as an ACH patient, we were asked to go to the hospital to visit another patient with the same illness. We're still friends with those folks and we were able to do a little good in their lives. A short while ago, I had a friend approach me with questions about Scoliosis because her daughter had just been diagnosed with it. She knew I had dealt with it with Deanna. We travelled many a bumpy road and I truly believe it's precisely so that we might make someone else's journey a little smoother. That's why we're here.
When you're on your own bumpy road, seek assistance. There will undoubtedly be folks placed in your path specifically to see you through. It may be a total stranger with a simple smile or meager helping hand, but it will be EXACTLY what you need.
That's what those angels do . . .
They suffer through so that they may share the ultimate p.i.f. (pay-it-forward).
Accept those angels, or BE that angel. We all have it within us to do the right thing!
Although that might sound like a horribly circular SAT question, it's really quite simple in my interpretation. We go through struggles so that later on we may be a stable force for the next person going through a struggle. I have witnessed this over and over and over again!
Shortly after Miles was 'officially discharged' as an ACH patient, we were asked to go to the hospital to visit another patient with the same illness. We're still friends with those folks and we were able to do a little good in their lives. A short while ago, I had a friend approach me with questions about Scoliosis because her daughter had just been diagnosed with it. She knew I had dealt with it with Deanna. We travelled many a bumpy road and I truly believe it's precisely so that we might make someone else's journey a little smoother. That's why we're here.
When you're on your own bumpy road, seek assistance. There will undoubtedly be folks placed in your path specifically to see you through. It may be a total stranger with a simple smile or meager helping hand, but it will be EXACTLY what you need.
That's what those angels do . . .
They suffer through so that they may share the ultimate p.i.f. (pay-it-forward).
Accept those angels, or BE that angel. We all have it within us to do the right thing!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
My 4H Club
I had to research and look up what the 'real' 4H club's h's stood for. Now, I am smarter. Doesn't stop me, though, from making my own 4H club!
Last night, after prayers, as always, I asked for some inspiration for today's blog. As I laid there waiting for the sandman to come and drag me to some dark and dreamy place, this is what kept swirling around in my tiny little head.
HEALTHY
HAPPY
HUMBLE
HOPEFUL
There are rough days when one or more of those is missing, but as long as there is one to hang on to, then I'm good. There are also those days when all of those are in full bloom. Those are fabulous days. Actually, they are ALL good days!
My 4H club is a club where anyone is welcome, cherished, supported, and loved. We'll help you find all your h's and help you help others find theirs.
Come and join my 4H club! I'd be . . .
HONORED!
Last night, after prayers, as always, I asked for some inspiration for today's blog. As I laid there waiting for the sandman to come and drag me to some dark and dreamy place, this is what kept swirling around in my tiny little head.
HEALTHY
HAPPY
HUMBLE
HOPEFUL
There are rough days when one or more of those is missing, but as long as there is one to hang on to, then I'm good. There are also those days when all of those are in full bloom. Those are fabulous days. Actually, they are ALL good days!
My 4H club is a club where anyone is welcome, cherished, supported, and loved. We'll help you find all your h's and help you help others find theirs.
Come and join my 4H club! I'd be . . .
HONORED!
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