I love...

Phone tag.  Well, let me put that another way.  The "tag" part can get frustrating, but it is nice to know that when the game is "won,"  I get to actually talk to the person on the other end.  Texting, and e-mail, on the other hand are a very flat way of communicating.  We can do it quickly and quietly, but there is no emotion, or personality to it.  We can also misconstrue a text by putting an emotion into it that is hard to read. Sometimes, someone might word a message in a way that we do not get it.  My rambling point is, it is better to communicate by talking.  It seems that we do a lot less of that and I think it is NOT to our benefit.  So, go play tag with someone whose voice you haven't heard for a while.  Tell them you miss them.  Let them know the real deal.

We teach people how to treat us.

This an undeniable fact.  What we need to start with is a healthy self-esteem.  That is hard to come by given the world we live in.  We get so many mixed messages while we are growing up.  We learn the lessons our parents are taught.  We have all tried to be the best parents we could be, but in a flawed world, it is difficult.  The good news now, is that we can, with some work, find a way to increase our feelings of self-worth so that WE CAN teach people how to treat us with the respect we deserve and not settle for anything less.  Just think of how that would change things!

Nourish....

your spirit today, and every day.  I don't know what an effect having the pope in our country was for you, but it left an indelible mark on me.  I believe that many of our troubles stem from our lack of connection to our spirit, and spirit in general.  It is the best part of us.  It is the good, honest, pure part of us.  It has no agenda but love and goodness.  It has been important to be reminded of that.  It has been good to actually SEE spirit in action! LETS KEEP THAT ENERGY GOING! 

"P" is for Pope...

"P" is for peace.  I can't tell you what an effect the Pope had on me this week.  Well, it is a little hard to put in words.  Let me tell you what my heart says.  My heart feels calmed by him.  My soul, nourished.  He stands for everyone.  He has no agenda, other than asking us to love each other and our Mother Earth. He has no time for derisiveness , only the love of all human beings. He speaks softly and carries an essential message. I only hope that we are all listening... 

Hello Hallmark

Last night I was out with my friend.  She informed me that it was Native American Day.  I was a little taken aback.  Where was the advertising on the T.V.?  Where was there ANY mention of it?  Where was the Hallmark card?  There are Hallmark cards for everything from a fungus on your cat's toe to the leaves falling in the street.  I am sad that these beautiful people are still so marginalized.  What does that say about us as a people?  Whatever it says, I am embarrassed.  I know that we are better than this.  Let's think of all our human value.  Everyone needs to have their day! 

A male perspective..."It ain't over til it's over."

As a child growing up in the 50's, it is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of an American Original, Yogi Berra.  To me, Yogi represented an era when baseball was very important in the fabric of American life.  The NFL was something you might think about when the World Series was over.  Baseball was truly an American past time.  Yogi was an icon of the Yankee dynastys in the 50's and early 60's. America was different, then, I got my baseball, not from soundbites on the 24 hour sports channel, but on the front porch, on a warm afternoon, (yes, I said afternoon) listening to the radio with my grandmother. Those of you who lived it, know what I am talking about.  For those of you who don't, I am sorry you missed it.  Yogi's life may be over, but for those of us who were fortunate enough to experience this wonderful time, the memories remain.

ENTITLEMENT, What is it good for?

absolutely, nothing, say it again.  I am speaking of the Millenniums. It is a sad fact, but the attitude of this particular 20-30 ish group of people is, well, annoying, off putting, and  lacking in any respect for other's.  They seem to have their own rules, "what is mine, is mine."  " what is yours is mine."  It gives me pause to think of just what kind of "Grown ups" they will turn out to be since there are no rules for them.  I am not saying that all in this age group are guilty.  I am saying that I see more lately who are.  Do you want to have people like this run your world when you are older?  Me, neither!  So I say to them.  "you are not any better than me because you are spoiled!"  In fact, you are lacking something very important.  The things we are ALL entitled to have are LOVE and RESPECT! 

The Cool Guy!

The Pope is a cool guy!  Any leader in the world would benefit by taking a page from his book!

Have a heart!

My dearest friend and sister is awaiting some potentially scary health news.  She has to have some tests to see if her cancer has returned, or as we all hope, just has some scar tissue from a previous surgery.  What I fail to understand is the response she gets when she shares her news.  Why, in the name of all that is decent, do people have to share THEIR HORROR STORIES with her?  Why would any person do that?  Is that what THEY would want to hear?  I suggest that if anyone shares scary news with us, that we think about what we would like to hear, something that will lift us up.  Please... take the time to think before you speak on these matters.  The fact is that my dearest, sister friend is the strongest person I know and she will survive and thrive anything that comes at her with grace and the support of all who love her. Hold her in the light!

Everyone needs

a soft place to land.  Face it, life can be hard.  We are expected, sometimes without the tools to manage it, to stoically soldier on. If we are fortunate, we have a friend or loved one who will be there for us.  The truth is if we work on it, we can, at least do some of that for ourselves by not holding ourselves responsible for everything that goes wrong. Who is your soft place to land?  Who is able to count on you? 

Be and do

your best at any age.  Face it, I have been many ages.  There, I said it.  But I have to tell you that each one can have it's wonderfulness.  I know you have heard it said before, I wish I had the brain I have now, when I was 20.  Now I wish I had the body I had at 20 with the brain I have now. But each age gives us a gift.  It might be experience, whether with another person, or jobs.  We can always learn from that!  (if we are smart)  or we can repeat the same things only to get the same things.  There is a richness to life, if we pay attention and are fortunate to have great teachers along the way.  I am always asking for lessons and teachers and I find them everywhere.  I have my mom to thank for that because she had me reading at 3.  My dad, tho absent, had a brilliant mind, and I think I might have some of that, too.  My point is although some parts of us might not work as well as they used to, our brains, if given lots of stimulation, can still hold the wonder we had as a child.  Lets hold on to that!

There is a saying...

"If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."  Wow! that says something profound in just a few words, doesn't it!?!  I fear that in our busy world, this is happening a lot!  People follow someone who attaches to their anger and angst.  They don't look for the SUBSTANCE, they just identify with the words they WANT TO HEAR, with NO BACK UP PLAN.  I think this is a very dangerous choice.  We are much smarter than that, and the consequences of being a bunch of sheep like that is.....the cliff, the cliff!  So please, lets decide what we want and need.  Lets figure out how to get it, and not just zone out and hear what we want to hear with no giddy up behind it. This is our life, this is our planet, what do we really want for it?

A Saturday stroll

I was up early this morning.  The sun was out and the air was crisp.  Meandering in my yard and working their way up the street were 9 fat turkeys.  This is not unusual, but what was unusual was the big cat out in the yard with them.  It made me wonder;  if a cat can hang with the turkeys, maybe there is hope for us.

A male perspective ...The beginning of the end.

In an uncertain world, I look forward to the certainty of the changing seasons.  Fall is my favorite time of year.  It is the welcome reprieve from a long, hot and especially destructive fire-plagued summer.  The glorious colors of the fading season, the cool nights and warm days, the delayed gratification of the harvest that comes from months of watchful waiting in our gardens.  And, yes, the return of FOOTBALL!  ( I'm afraid that my 49 Er's are in for a tough year)  So as the fall is the beginning of the end, as we prepare for the darkness of winter, we look forward to the expectation of life and the new beginning.

Post to myself

When the day is done, let it go.  

Take time to

to really breathe today.  Things have been a little hinky around here lately.  What I have noticed is that when that happens, I don't breathe, or I just breathe a little, not real full breaths.  We need to breathe properly and deeply all the time, but especially when things are a little tough.  So I am asking you to breathe with me today, and, well, always.  It really helps.

Ignoring it....

will make it go away!  Don't we wish that was true!  If all the things I have ignored in my life had gone away, I would be QUEEN OF THE WORLD!  Sadly, they have not.  If I could only go back!  Life presents us with situations, some small and some so big we can hardly see where they end.  My first thought used to be "HIDE!"  I still have those moments, but I have dear friends who ask me "HOW'S THAT WORKING FOR YOU?"  Then, I ask myself the same question.  Right now some things loom big for me.  I haven't hidden yet, I am just trying to stop, breathe, and ruminate about them.  It seems to make them have less power over me.  Then, I will take the steps to manage them, and make them into a positive thing.  It has taken me a long time to get here, one step forward, two steps back.  But if this is happening in your life, you can take my hand and we will walk through it together.  Knowing that someone else is deep in the muck, but getting out might be all we need. 

No Kidding!

Diets, diets, diets!  It is a billion-trillion dollar business.  We are supposed to be tall (with our 7 inch heels), skinny, but have big *oobs, lips, and a big bootie.  To help us accomplish this we have the "Skinny Waist" which sucks us in like the 1800 corset, a large variety of diet drugs, and my favorite, the "dietized"  (my word) foods.  We have skinny pieces of cheeze that you can see through if you hold it up, and my favorite, paper-thin Oreos. If you are like me, you read the information on serving sizes on all your food.  When I was in college, we ate ramen.  It was filling and cheap!  Yesterday, I read the serving size, only to find out that 1/2 a package is now a serving.  REALLY!  If you read this information on your foods and juices, (FORGET POP! IT IS EVIL!) you will notice that EVERYONE has reduced the size of a "serving" so there won't be so many carbs.  Even cars have gone on a diet.  Many NEW cars come WITHOUT a spare these days!  WHAT?!?  The reason is that the spare cuts down on the supposed gas mileage they try and get you to believe.  Well, I know one thing, I will never buy the diet cat food for C@boy!  He thinks this whole thing is ridiculous!

There is...

good in everything.  I know sometimes it is hard to find the "good."  It is always there, though.  I am thinking about the movie I just saw and how looking beyond something can reveal a treasure.  It is good to be reminded of these things.  What we see as a smelly piece of animal poop, the dung beetle finds his livelihood. So, for today, look past the obvious and see the gold.  Namaste'.

A walk in my heart

I love to go to the movies!  I love to go with my dear friend, because we have such a great time.  We have gone to some really great ones, and some that stunk like an unhappy skunk.  Last night, we went to "A Walk in the Woods."  What a fantastic movie. I am the person who wants to laugh, cry, and learn something.  It did not disappoint.  Besides the great actors and the setting of the movie, it reminded me that sometimes the most unlikely of "friends" can be the most valuable teachers in your life.  Have I piqued your interest?  I think any one could benefit from seeing this movie, and I am going to get the book.  If our hearts need a little tweaking, this might be the movie to do it.

From a male perspective...Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

The U. S. Constitution charges the Judicial Branch of the government with making decisions in matters of the law.  Some of these decisions are popular, some, not so much.  In the 1950's the school district made the decision to prohibit a little black girl from attending an all white public school.  The Supreme Court ruled, "Well, we'll just see about that!"  (Brown  v.s. Board of Education)  In some parts of the country, this decision caused a big ruckus.  Refusal to follow the law stood on the school house steps in defiance, even running for President, in opposition of the law.  How did the decision to not follow the law work out for Y'all?  Even though we may disagree, which is our right to do, in the end we are all compelled to follow the law.  If we are able to pick and choose which law to follow, what do we have?"

WOMEN MATTER !!!!!!

Today, I am listening, ad nauseum to the ranting of a "Certain Political Party" candidate ranting about women's issues and how he "cherishes"  them, loves and adores them.  OK.  Please be informed about what you plan to take away from them.  When I was a teenager, working and going to school, I had no health insurance.  If it hadn't been for Planned Parenthood, I would have had no place to go for check-ups, or any health information.  They let me pay on a sliding scale so I could afford to go.  Planned Parenthood does 97 - 98 percent healthcare for women,  2 to 3% is abortions.  These abortions are NOT FEDERALLY FUNDED!  Whether you believe in abortion or not, these people do a very necessary service to assist with health issues for people who cannot afford it.  I would not have an abortion, but I would NEVER tell another woman what she can or cannot do with HER body.  Please, PLEASE, become informed about how this essential health provider works and what it does before you kill it!  You will be killing more than the provider.

Do your job

I don't know about you, but, I have had a few jobs in my life.  Some of them have been less than wonderful, but, I had to do my job.  Some of them I didn't always agree with, but I had to do my job.  Working, by it's very nature suggests that we may not always be in joyful bliss, but we have to do our job.  Some people find their passion, then it becomes less work and more joyful movement.  My wish for all of us is that we find ourselves in that situation.  I love to write, therefore, I am in my bliss.  But....If we take a job, and we are aware of what we are getting ourselves in to...  we need to "Do our Job!"  Sometimes our personal feelings and beliefs do not coincide with our work, but it is incumbent on us to " Do our Job!" 

Time out!

How many times have we said that to our kids?!  What about saying it to ourselves.  And, what if when we did say time out to ourselves, we made it mean something.  I don't know about you, but once I get going, I just spin and whir until I am done.  What I am learning to do is to STOP, breathe, assess, then continue.  What a difference that makes.  We are probably unaware of the fact that once we get on this "spin," we stop breathing.  That can cause all sorts of problems, including inviting the cranky monster to join us.  So, try and give yourself a time out when you need it.  If it is good for our kids, it is certainly good for us.  C@boy's whole life is a "time out!"  He is 138 years old!

Acceptance

It is a different concept to many.  It isn't hard for me to accept many things, but when I was younger, and people treated me a little differently, I had a hard time accepting myself.  You see, I have always been "on a different page" "looking with a different eye."  As I look back, I can smile.  I realize that if I had accepted myself, like I do now, it wouldn't have mattered and trying to fit in the box wouldn't have been such an issue.  Do we accept ourselves?  I guess that is a question we need to ask.  What I have learned is that once we do, it doesn't matter a whiff if anyone else does.  That is sort of cool, don't you think?!

Kind People .....

rock!  Yesterday started out about the same as any Saturday.  It is my big running day and I visit my 95 year old friend.  The difference was that it was only 54 degrees and raining.  That is about as cold as it has gotten all summer.  We started out with lunch and came out to the parking lot to find that we had a flat tire.  I must tell you that I was not really dressed for the cold, even tho my friend was.  Then it started to rain.  POOH!  So I looked around in the lot for what I thought would be a kind man.  I found one!  His name was Corey, and he spent the better part of an hour changing my tire, with a smile on his face, in the cold and rain.  I offered to give him some money for his time, he said "NO, I would never do that!"  I told him I would wrap him in light then, and he said that was the best thing ever!  What could have been a crappy day turned out to give me another reason to experience the fact that "Kindness Rocks!"  Thanks again, Corey!

If it doesn't help you...

let it go.  Someone gave me that great advice some years ago.  I heard it, but wasn't really listening to her.  Does that happen to you?  I try hard to ask people if they want my advice.  Sometimes, I don't want any myself.  But, this makes a lot of sense to me now.  I am guilty of a lot of self-talk.  Most of it is not helpful.  I am learning, though that the minute I start in on myself, to stop, just for a minute. Just that disruption, seems to let me change direction.  For years, I would make up stories about how something was going to be.  That didn't help either, because, usually, the thing came true.  Now, with a lot of practice, I have turned it around and decided to have the happiness I always wanted.  I am responsible to do that, no-one else.  So lets think about what we need and want to be happy.  All that other crap can go in one ear, and out the other!

A male perspective...What goes around, comes around.

I applaud the Obama Administrations show of respect for Native Americans by restoring the rightful name of the highest peak in North America to "Denali."  I find it interesting that those of a "Particular Political Party," oppose this action, but support the immigration policy that advocates the deportation of all illegal immigrants and their children who were born in America.  Native Americans have tried for centuries to stop illegal invasion of their lands by "immigrants" who were seeking opportunity and a better life.  In the end, their efforts proved to be unsuccessful.  Oh, well, what goes around, comes around!

Two things...

I am glad the strike is thwarted.  I know you didn't get what you deserve.  Know that there are so many of us who honor and support you and all your efforts as school employees.  It is one of the most important jobs there is, the care and education of our precious children.

What you don't know WILL

hurt you!  Local teachers and staff are prepared to go on strike tomorrow in my town.  As a former employee of 21 years, I am here to tell you some things you may not know.  For several years before I retired, we did not get a raise.  I have been retired for 3 years.  You do the Math.  Our Special Education did not receive any funding, and had to do with what we could be given.  Our books were 8-10 years old and had to be copied for the kids to have lessons.  Teachers and support staff are paid on a 10 month contract.  Yes!  I said 10 months.  So for those of you who think teachers and other staff are paid through the summer, the way they do it is to break the 10 month salary into 12 months.  Do the math.  Many of these employees have summer jobs to augment their salary.  No, teachers do not have summers off.  They are working another job and preparing for the next school year.  Many are doing both.  How do you think those lessons we teach appear every year?  I am discouraged at the fact our union has not let some of this information out to the public.  They have made up their own story about things and it is time they become aware of what teachers, and school employees in general do.  I suggest you spend 10 months with kids every day trying to help them learn, in poorly equipped  classrooms, with overcrowding and a miriad of behaviors and abilities.  It takes a very special person!  Support them!

What you see...

is what you get.  How many times have we heard that saying?  Maybe not so much lately.  I heard it all the time when I was younger.  I ignored it and lumped it in to all the other ones I heard.  But, as it turns out, it is true!  What we can picture in our heads can come to fruition.  What we feel in our hearts, the same.  We can create heaven or hell in our lives just by our thought process.  Think about it.  Usually what we think about most shows up.  I have learned, through hard experiences, this is so true.  I have created some real messes with my thoughts.  So, for today, and maybe longer, be careful where your mind goes, unless it is a wonderful place where you want to be.  Happy thinking!

Note from C@boy

I did not have a post in mind today, so I went to my trusty C@boy.  He always has something to say.  He wants to remind you that in many places, the seasons are changing.  This means increased shedding.  As much as I brush him, he is leaving me many "treats" on the carpet lately, so more brushing is important.  I sometimes put a little smear of Vaseline on one of his paws.  He hates it, but licks it off and then he can get rid of those more easily. He also wanted me to mention that a new blanket or bed for the next season would be appreciated.  I go and buy a length of fleece and make it into a blanket for him.  He loves it!  We happened onto a box of his favorite treats recently (the ones we give them sparingly) but I have to tell you, he did lots of tricks to get just a few.  We will call that  "extra exercise incentive."  The last thing he wants me to tell you is that just as we prepare for the next season, we should think of the things we need to do for our beloved pets also. He tells me that they can NEVER be to spoiled