Saturday, December 24, 2022

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HANUKKAH

 MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND

HAPPY HANUKKAH



This holiday season I would like to take the time to say just how important it is to take it all in. Enjoy the time with your family and friends. You just never know when someone that you love will no longer be with you to share these special moments. Let every day be a special moment so if you can...start with the holidays right now! 

For a fact, Steve and I enjoyed every day together. It did not have to be a holiday. It was just being together. If for some reason you have no special someone or if you find yourself alone, then it is time to do something about that. Sounds easier than done yet it is a matter of if no family is around you or that you can travel to then it is time to venture out to other places and find friends who have the same interests as you do. Whether it be in the art world, or at the library or book shops, even a local "Cheers" bar where everyone knows your name. Get out and meet others to be with. And I would add that if there is someone who is alone on Christmas or a special holiday that you know about, it would be grand if others invited them to come on over and celebrate with you and yours. 

It is especially a very hard time for me to be without Steve. I am so very grateful for my family with me and those who live away, as well as very supportive friends who call and write. Plus, I have an Elf and a Christmas Baker making Christmas cookies plus another granddaughter who is drawing special pictures and working on decorating her new bedroom, a daughter who is the head baker and meal maker and a son in law who is taking care of the heavy loads with leaves that slip in the patio, trash (which will be loads and will take creativity to stuff it all in once gifts are opened). Always stuff to do and fix when living in a home. At least the pool is now in a mode of not having to get so many leaves out of the filters. 



Even a brother and sister in law over in England sharing their new Christmas puppy writing and calling me. This pup is so precious...and Chris named him Hippo. A sweet little French Bulldog! 


We will Facetime with the Brownies in New Orleans on Boxing Day to keep Steve's memory alive and well. And we have plans to eat lunch out at a really nice restaurant in Mid-town. 

Next will be Jenni's birthday and then New Year's Eve. She gets to choose what the meal will be and I can assure everyone that the next night which will be New Year's Eve will be spent at home hoping that fireworks will not be too loud or too many for our dogs.



Saturday, December 17, 2022

CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS WITHOUT THE ONE YOU LOVE

 CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS WITHOUT THE ONE YOU LOVE


Getting Through the Holidays When I Have Lost the Love of My Life

I have thought about this since working my way through Thanksgiving. Then came his birthday and a few days later there was my birthday and now here is Christmas and the New Year. So, I decided there are some ways to accomplish this effectively and happily and most importantly: realistically. I have to believe that Steve is always here with me. Not wanting me to be sad. Instead, he would want me to celebrate his life through the holidays and always. Yes, I do get teary eyed now and then and sometimes it is a little worse than other times. It is called the process of grieving. I must allow myself to go through it, as long as it takes. I am sure that there will not ever be a day that he is not on my mind (more than once - like now it is every time a decision, especially major decisions and sometimes it is just the fact that he is on my mind and I want so much to tell him something). So what do I do? I tell him. Right out loud, just as if he were right in front of me.

Here are some ways that I have been managing. No, it is not for everyone. It is MY way.


  • I work my way through it slowly. Losing a very special loved one during the holiday season can be a painful reminder of the terrible loss I am feeling—instead of the holidays bringing me warmth, love, and excitement as they used to do, I work on turning my feeling around by hearing Steve's voice in my head of how we went through the holidays together and to continue with the warmth, love and excitement with other family members and friends to keep it exciting and full of adventures. The one major thing that helps me is to hear my granddaughters giggling and to see their excitement.
  • Be patient and realistic. Sometimes my own high expectations of the holidays make the pain and frustration more acute. ... Again, I have to work on not so much lowering my expectations, just know that things will be different. Keep expectations high through the holidays and birthdays. It is what Steve would want. Always. If I had been the one to go first, I would want him to hold on to our love and keep celebrating! Smile and be happy. Yes, there will be times, let's be realistic, that I will have meltdowns. I must allow myself those moments, just not wallow in them. I know I must shake off that mental image of how it used to be and be a little more creative of how I can be gentle on me and know that things will not be the exact same way. It is okay to work on changing things up a bit. Planning ahead and making lists so that I can think things through that may help me. 
  • Adapt cherished traditions! Let me throw out a few examples:

  • Thanksgiving - we always cooked together and had our children over. I just could not bear to cook this year. I offered to take everyone out (one year Steve and I did this due to the fact that our kids were off somewhere else and that was okay). We had a spectacular meal out at a very nice restaurant. However, our son and our daughter who were here decided that they were going to cook and changed a few things that were traditional around. I loved watching the two of them cooking together. It was a very special day. 



  • His birthday was spent in New Orleans. Kids decided that I could be out of the house on his first birthday celebration without him. So, that is when I rode Amtrak The City of New Orleans down to NOLA to be with another son and his wife with two more granddaughters. We cheered a bottle of champagne to Steve for his birthday. The girls, who were 6, did use real champagne flutes with milk in it. Adaptation! I could feel him smiling down on us all.

  • My birthday was spent back in Memphis at The Peabody for High Tea. Steve and I had already made the reservations together. All I had to do was to be sure both granddaughters were added on and my daughter would be the other adult. It was a special tea party in The Peabody. My youngest daughter said that it was a real Princess tea party for my birthday. How special! The girls loved seeing the Gingerbread castle, the two story Christmas tree and going into the duck store to see all of the shirts, books, toys, etc. with ducks. I found an Elvis rubber ducky just to send to NOLA for a "tacky Elvis" gift that Steve loved doing with them each year. This way, it could get the granddaughters involved also.


  • Christmas now and so far it has
  • been delightful in how it has worked out. Together, my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters have pulled it together and brought me along. We managed to get decorations up with everyone's help. As Amazon packages and FedEx packages arrived we sorted them out on the big dining room table in order. Jenni managed to get the girls elves put away in a new location each night and one night the two of us had the girls watch TV and play upstairs while we unwrapped brown boxes and put Christmas paper and name tags on presents. Now the tree looks like the real deal. It was very special doing that with her. Then when she was off at work, I took care of wrapping her gifts, even her birthday gifts which falls on the 30th. Stocking stuffers were labeled in my room. All complete, although there are still a few gifts still arriving. Two may arrive late after Christmas, but a note can be put under the tree stating that Santa needed extra time. As I was pulling the gifts that I had purchased earlier out, I remembered that Steve and I ordered them together. One was for Bailey, eldest granddaugter and one was for Jenni. He had used his special phrasing on Jenni's card telling her how special she made him feel being his daughter. Did that bring me to tears? Yes, it did. I could not hide that. Skylar came up to me and hugged me tight to tell me everything is ok and that it is ok to be a little sad. All I can say is that wisdom comes out of the mouth of babes many times. For me, the holidays are a time of peace and reflection. This was when I was with Steve physically as well as now. He was a special gift to me and will always be my special gift. Every single thing that Steve and I did just did not happen this year. The mailbox is not decorated nor the special twinkling lights that he put out front to glimmer on our house and they even came through the windows in the front rooms did not happen this year. And that is okay. I did, with the help of my live in family made it special for us. We were adaptable and creative. We still are going to celebrate the British Boxing Day. Before, we usually made this our Christmas Day due to the fact that our granddaughters needed to be in their own home with their new toys and stockings. It would have been too much to load them up to come over and have Christmas with us. We always enjoyed a quiet Christmas Day and Boxing Day was a double celebration. This year I will be able to enjoy both. Now that they are living here with me, I will get to see the joy on their faces as they get up for Santa. We will have something maybe a little non-traditional on Christmas Day. Plans yet to be made. Talk of spaghetti? Who knows? Then on Boxing Day, I am thinking that maybe we will all go out to eat. We will be busy cleaning up the house and putting gifts away so maybe going out will be the best thing to do. We will talk about it together and decide. Adaptability!

To me, I believe that one of the most important things that I can do is to take good care of me physically and mentally. Eating well and hydrating myself is important, just as it is to continue to get those manis and pedis and facials, etc. Plus, I have, thanks to my new live in family, a gift certificate for massages...Surrounding myself with their love, as well as Thomas, even though he is off flying frequently and my NOLA family is what helps to keep me smiling and happy. Getting the rest that I need helps tremendously. I have noticed that on my Sleep IQ that my sleep rate of stress, called HRV is working on going back up again. So that is telling me that my stress levels as I sleep are getting back to 
a normal range again. 

To me, I loved the fact that we have his stocking up still, along with both of our Mothers. It is the way that I still celebrate my love for all of them. That will never go away. And I am sure that I will find many new ways to celebrate all of the special days with the love of my life who is not with me physically but most definitely in every other way possible. 




Sunday, December 4, 2022

THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS


 

Just like the title and the picture show, I did ride The City of New Orleans Amtrak from Memphis to New Orleans yesterday. I did ride it once before about 6 1/2 years ago but this was all for a different reason and even though I was not sure of it all this time...everyone who made it happen was exactly right. I did need a change of scenery and a place after Steve's Life Celebration to help get myself back together. (as much as that is possible)

I am so blessed to have children who help to guide me and whether you as a reader wish to believe this or not - Steve was a huge part of this decision. Every major decision that I have had to make since October 21st, he has guided me. He has given me signals that I was doing the right thing or let me know that maybe I need to rethink that decision. Good thing that I am not too hard-headed and that I do listen.  



Managing to get through Thanksgiving without Steve was hard enough. Thank goodness for Jenni and Thomas for cooking. I offered to take all five of us out for a great Thanksgiving afternoon meal at a very fine restaurant. All I knew was that I just could not even think about cooking any of the actual meal. Too soon for that. Steve and I always did that together starting with the early preparations the day or two before and he always did his famous British roast potatoes. Jenni always did a couple of side dishes and dessert in previous years.

I left it up to the children to decide and they chose to cook it themselves and they did a spectacular job. Some of the traditional things that we had before as well as some new side items. Thanks to Corky's for having a fully cooked ham and turkey for us. All they needed to do was to pick it up the day before and heat if they wanted to. It made me smile to see Thomas with his apron on, just like his Dad wore when he cooked, and measuring out the recipe ingredients. They worked so well together.




We had a very special Thanksgiving meal. Hooray for my family making it so special. Next hurdle to cover is December 6th - 11th. Steve's birthday and mine. We had started a tradition of going to The Peabody for their special High Tea celebration. It may fall on his birthday or mine or somewhere in between. It was our special gift to one another. 

This year we had already made our High Tea reservations early in November, which fell on my birthday. We had planned on taking our eldest granddaughter. So a reservation was already made for two adults and one child. A brilliant idea came to my mind (even if I do say so myself). Jenni could replace the other adult, we already had Bailey for one child. All I needed to do was to call and add one more child (Skylar) to the reservation. They made this accommodation gladly. So all 4 of us will be there on my birthday just as I stated in my last blog. A special way to get through our birthdays. Another way of 'Moving On.'

That left Steve's birthday. Jenni talked it over with Doug and others and decided that it would be a good idea to get away and what a better place to be on Steve's birthday but in New Orleans with Doug, Lizzie and Emma and Hazel. There is nothing like children, especially your grandchildren to uplift you. Their giggles, their stories, their smiles, their sense of style...the list goes on and on. 

At first, I was not so keen on the idea of traveling away. I loved the idea of seeing the Brownies but not so much the train ride, as I remembered the long walk to get to the car that I was on and then the staircase to the upper level to get to the sleeper car. Not that I was going to need to sleep overnight, more for the privacy vs. the coach cars. But the walking, carrying my bag to take on the train plus my purse and then managing luggage and my knees did worry me. Jenni got it  set up so that Amtrak would help me and if not Craig would in Memphis and Doug would in New Orleans.

The more that I thought about it and checking out events/appts on my calendar, I did find a week that worked out. Jenni called and managed to get me all set up for the trip. This took care of his birthday and I could feel his joy all around me for making this decision to ride the train down to New Orleans to be with The Brownies over his birthday.

Just as the lyrics from Arlo Guthrie's song The City of New Orleans say: "Good morning, America, how are you?" I had to set my alarm for 3:30 AM to leave the house at 4:40 in order to be down at the train station by 5:40. It truly was a southbound odyssey as we rolled past houses, farms and fields, plus graveyards of rusted automobiles and other trains zooming by us that had no name. Yes, I will be one almost 500 miles when the day is done. (350) No matter the miles it is something about the rhythm of the rails and the gentle beat of the magic carpets made of steel.

The night before I left we decorated the Christmas tree and got the stockings hung and decorations out. It felt so good to watch and be a part of this family festive event before I left. 





Once I arrived to The Brownies home, they had decorations everywhere also. So a continued holiday celebration. 




Taking advantage of the quiet now and writing this blog. On December 6th we will raise a glass of champagne to say, "CHEERS" to the love of my life! Happy Birthday and please always stay near me. You will always be in my heart and soul and I know that you know just how much I need to hear and feel you all around me.

Lots of activity while here in New Orleans and it is fabulous to be here with The Brownies. I even had a welcoming sign on my bed for me.



How special is this?

Saturday, November 26, 2022

MOVING ON!

 MOVING ON


My question is just how do I move on? When one loses the one person in their life who was their everything it is most definitely not an easy thing to do. Some things that I have learned in the last month is that there are times that I am stronger than I feel at the moment. Is this ok? Yes, it is. 

As I wrote in my 'New Beginnings' blog is that the possibilities seem almost magical. I can assure you that is not how I feel about my new beginnings. What I am feeling is that if I take care of myself, allow myself to grieve at my own pace, try to throw myself into things that I do love to do and find what makes me happy - then I realize that I am better off. 

Do I have minor and major breakdowns each and every day? Yes, I do and there is no need to apologize for it. Time will help, this I know. People that have gone through the same thing of losing their soulmate have shared this with me. Not a day will go by that memories and thoughts will not pass through my heart and soul of Steve. Expressing them in my journal and to close family and friends help tremendously. 

Finding the courage to focus on what makes me happy is where I am finding myself now. For almost a month, I just avoided going to bed. I could not bear to get into bed and see the spot where he slept. Or wake up to an empty spot beside me. Truly, I was exhausted. This was not working for me. It took a strong and stubborn daughter to tell me to, "GO TO BED" one night at 8:00. I could hear in her voice that she meant business. So I did. And after 11 hours of sleep, I almost felt human again. 

Top that off with a 2 hour afternoon nap and I could focus and feel the words that Steve told me once. He said that if he went first to please not feel sad. Feel his presence all around me. Feel his touch, see his smile and hear his words. Allow him to guide me through this difficult time. Find the things that make me happy and I can feel him guiding me to get my book to an editor. 



He was my Marketing Director. So now what? I stop and think to myself of what he would say to me as he listened to my blog, or saw my paintings or helped me finish up my novel and send to an editor. He was my cheerleader and will forever be there for me.

We talked about possibilities of depending on which one of us went first, to have our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters move into the house with the one of us left. Two families merge to help each other all in the name of love. The house is totally set up for us all to have our own space. As far as meals go, we do share the kitchen and most every night have a shared sit down meal with no electronics. If it were me alone, I would have a bowl of cereal, a peanut butter sandwich or a grilled cheese! Jenni and I plan out the shopping list for the week and the meals (which we are flexible if something comes up to switch meals around).

To have the activity and laughter of our granddaughters is so heartwarming and therapeutic. Step by step we are all working together to make this happen.

Next big step is that in December I am traveling on Amtrak's The City of New Orleans down to see my son and daughter-in-law along with two more granddaughters. This will help me get through Steve's birthday yet back in time for mine. The plans were already made to celebrate our birthdays as usual at The Peabody for The High Tea. This year it fell on my birthday. We were going to take our eldest granddaughter for her first. So a party of 2 adults and 1 child was already made. I called to add one more granddaughter to our reservation. Not a problem. Now, in honor of Steve, we will celebrate his life with the 4 girls of his life that are here in Memphis. 

For me, it is a matter of navigating my life to new beginnings. Moving on to new adventures and new chapters with such sweet and loving memories.



Saturday, November 19, 2022

  A NEW BEGINNING (A Repost - Just for me!)


Possibilities! That is what I think of when I hear the words, 'New Beginnings.' It is almost a magical feeling. A feeling that needs to be embraced at the limitless hope and potential that is within us. Most of the time it is more than we can even imagine for ourselves.

It could be in the way of a promotion or a major career change, going to a new city or possibly country. A new relationship is the start of new beginnings or perhaps just going out on your own to find your own mind, body and soul and what exactly you want to experience in life. 

There are times that it can just be as simple as waking up to a new day and all of the possibilities that we can face. Anything is possible because miracles are all around us if we choose to open our eyes and look for them. 

New beginnings are not always easy. The opposite of a new beginning is an ending. And that is not always easy to accept and move on. Some endings are joyful such as graduations. Others can be rather difficult and challenging such as ending a relationship.

What is needed here is the courage to move forward even when we are not sure where exactly we are going. Even though we may have loved the path behind us, the path ahead can be just as beautiful. We do need to try to embrace each day. Embrace each moment. Stop there and just embrace each breath that you take. 

It is not always easy to follow our hearts, no matter what. Our heart does hold wisdom and we need to not be so quick to dismiss what it is trying to convey to us. It really is important to trust what we feel. All of us have inner voices, it is finding a way to hear them.

I stumbled upon so many wonderful quotes on new beginnings and I could not possibly choose just one. So what did I do? I listed all of the ones that resonated with me. I hope they do with you.

  • "And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings." ~ Meister Eckhart
  • "Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction." ~ Germany Kent
  • "Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions  perfect."  ~ Alan Cohen
  • "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning." ~ Louis L'Amour
  • "Never allow waiting to become a habit. Live your dreams and take risks. Life is happening now. ~ Paulo Coelho
  • "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."  ~ Arthur Ashe
Be courageous enough to be happy!

Saturday, October 15, 2022

FINDING YOUR PASSION

 FINDING YOUR PASSION



If someone asked me the question of what is it that I am passionate about, I probably could come up with a variety of answers. Whether they were right or wrong? Who is to say? It is my belief that I should follow my dream. A passion about something is not just a dream. I now know (with age and experience) that I need to have time to think about what it means, allowing me the opportunity to reflect and think how it makes me feel and does it feel right? Actually have a moment of gratitude about these passions.

Being passionate is not something that everyone is born with. It is an actual option for how somebody chooses to live their lives and then becoming involved in the pursuit of working towards it.

Always easier said than done, but finding your passion and then pursuing it is the key to happiness. For me, there are many things that I like doing. I needed to find out which ones bring me more joy or give me a feeling of satisfaction. I used a journal and wrote down what I feel passion about. Then start to work on pursuing them.

It is not a selfish thing to follow your passion. It is so easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to passions. I had to break myself out of this habit and find ways, NEW ways, to express myself and to enjoy my passions more often. Retirement helped a bunch to find that time.

A matter of doing something every day to improve my skills is where I chose to start. 


Now that the pandemic has slowed down enough to even think about travel, I have decided to plan out two trips. One involving one way by train to New Orleans and then following up with a one way trip back on a River Cruise up the Mississippi River. Spoiler alert: and spending a few nights with twin granddaughters while in New Orleans. Planning the trip is where the passion comes into play.

Painting is another passion that I know is deeply rooted within me. Like my Grandmother, I did not discover how much I loved painting and what joy it brought to me until later in life. My hopes are that I can paint my own Christmas cards to send to some close friends and family this year. Spending time sketching and practicing what I will paint on the cards is the joy of it all.

While working on becoming more passionate, I found out that it is okay and I should be passionate in about everything that I do. Not just one thing. I will never know where one or more may take me so I just need to go for it. Having an open mind to try new things and possibly changing my feelings about something is a good thing. 


For example: I know that hiking, no matter how open minded I may be is not going to be one of my passions. First of all, I am a fair weather walker. Hikers hike through all elements. I do not like bugs and all of the things that go with hiking. Not to mention my knees would not hold up to it. Being realistic is important in finding our passions.



When I was searching for my career path in life, my passion was with teaching. I did enjoy that and it brought me great happiness. Thank goodness it still does to a large number of teachers, however, the number is dwindling with all of the red tape involved in teaching and then add in the low pay scale. One really must have a driving passion for teaching to stick with it. In my own opinion, teaching is an Art. This is in total conflict with politicians who believe it is a Science and everyone needs to be teaching the same way to every student. I will just stop there. I know those who are passionate teachers know exactly what I am talking about. I feel for you.


Cooking is a big passion that I very much enjoy doing with my husband. New recipes pop up all the time and we enjoy trying them out. We usually have a Plan B if something does not work out. I am proud to say that this does not happen very often. I adore watching Steve cook. He truly cooks with such passion. There is love in every bite when we have our meal that he is the chef and I am the sous chef. I believe that we both feel this way.



Let me express what has become my current life passion. It is writing. I started a novel quite a while back. Have I finished it yet? No! Will I? YES! And then it is off to an editor. I must learn to stop editing it over and over myself and get a good ending to it. A matter of me putting myself out there and not be afraid of failure is part of turning it over to an editor and if lucky, then an agent. I have read that many major authors had their first books turned down. So I am prepared.

In order to continue this love of writing, I do write a weekly blog and have for a number of years. I also write in my journal daily. Stored in boxes and some in my closet are years of journals telling the tales of my daily life. Will anyone ever read them? Who knows? I just know that it brought me great joy each day. It helps me plan out my next day and not get too frustrated about the way certain things turn out. It is a matter of living life to the fullest.
 
 “Finding your passion isn’t just about careers and money. It’s about finding your authentic self. The one you’ve buried beneath other people’s needs.”
 Anonymous




Saturday, October 8, 2022

A NEW BEGINNING

 A NEW BEGINNING


Possibilities! That is what I think of when I hear the words, 'New Beginnings.' It is almost a magical feeling. A feeling that needs to be embraced at the limitless hope and potential that is within us. Most of the time it is more than we can even imagine for ourselves.

It could be in the way of a promotion or a major career change, going to a new city or possibly country. A new relationship is the start of new beginnings or perhaps just going out on your own to find your own mind, body and soul and what exactly you want to experience in life. 

There are times that it can just be as simple as waking up to a new day and all of the possibilities that we can face. Anything is possible because miracles are all around us if we choose to open our eyes and look for them. 

New beginnings are not always easy. The opposite of a new beginning is an ending. And that is not always easy to accept and move on. Some endings are joyful such as graduations. Others can be rather difficult and challenging such as ending a relationship.

What is needed here is the courage to move forward even when we are not sure where exactly we are going. Even though we may have loved the path behind us, the path ahead can be just as beautiful. We do need to try to embrace each day. Embrace each moment. Stop there and just embrace each breath that you take. 

It is not always easy to follow our hearts, no matter what. Our heart does hold wisdom and we need to not be so quick to dismiss what it is trying to convey to us. It really is important to trust what we feel. All of us have inner voices, it is finding a way to hear them.

I stumbled upon so many wonderful quotes on new beginnings and I could not possibly choose just one. So what did I do? I listed all of the ones that resonated with me. I hope they do with you.

  • "And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings." ~ Meister Eckhart
  • "Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction." ~ Germany Kent
  • "Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions  perfect."  ~ Alan Cohen
  • "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning." ~ Louis L'Amour
  • "Never allow waiting to become a habit. Live your dreams and take risks. Life is happening now. ~ Paulo Coelho
  • "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."  ~ Arthur Ashe
Be courageous enough to be happy!

Saturday, October 1, 2022

DID YOU REALLY MEAN TO SAY THAT?

 DID YOU REALLY MEAN TO SAY THAT?

As I was doing a bit of research and reading, I came across something interesting. It reminded me of a workshop that I attended years ago that was to help us phrase things that we say to others in a more positive way. Not only does it help others, but more importantly, it helps us to be more positive in our thinking. It helps us feel more confident.

The article that caught my attention was by a brother and sister team of authors who wrote, You're Saying It Wrong." They have other books from the Best Seller Lists but this one put all of the phrases together and stated depending on how we phrase words will depend on what it is we want to accomplish. Reframing our thoughts will help to change our attitudes. Other behavioral scientists, researchers and psychologists agree. I know that in the past I have been guilty of saying each one of these statements and try to be more aware of how I phrase what I mean to say to others. Examples:

1.  "I have to do that." Try changing one little word will turn what sounds like an obligation into an opportunity. Even if the task is unpleasant, it can teach new lessons and open doors. The word is changing have to, "I get to do that." 

Thinking of how I sounded when I said that I HAVE to go to work today. By gosh, I should be thankful that I have work to go to so turning it around and saying that I get to go to work today helps me in my mind begin to see what I might be able to accomplish at my job for myself, as well as for others. In doing so, I was able to be able to turn a negative into a positive.

2.  "I can't do that."  That truly is admitting defeat before I even start. By turning it around and saying that I can try to do that sets the whole scenario into a chance to succeed at something that I did not think that I could do. Yet it does not set excessively high expectations. Trying to do something and failing the first time is not the end of the world. Try and try again. I always told my own children, as well as the children that I taught that I would not accept the words I CAN'T before you even try.

3.  "SHOULD" is most definitely a controlling word. Pressure is there. Getting myself back in control by stating, "I will do that," instead of I should do that" makes me the decision-maker by choosing whether or not to do something on my own terms.

4.  How many times have I asked myself, "Why is this happening to me?" That is a complainer's way of talking. Instead, find the good in what is a difficult situation by asking myself, "What am I learning from this?" It can help lead me to better things and I don't sound like a whiner.

5.  "I never should have," can be easily be changed to, "Because I did that, I now know (xyz)." Simply rephrasing this thought can help make me see and think about the good things that happened because I did something that I thought perhaps I shouldn't have. Possibly, it helped me discover something wonderful or someone wonderful?

6.  "This attempt did not work," sounds much more positive than, "I failed!" Maybe something I tried did not work the way I thought it would but if I phrase it as, I failed then that is the end of my story. I am being unfair to myself and forgetting that there will be other opportunities.

7.  "If only I had done x,y,z." Instead simply say nothing at all. There will always be our if only moments in life. It is truly a dead-end way of thinking and no one learns from the past if you dwell on if onlys.

8.  Students, as well as adults in their jobs will say, "This is too complicated." Doesn't it sound more positive to say that I don't understand this right now. If I am facing a new challenge and start off by stating that it is too complicated then I will never get my mind around the new way of thinking. We all are works in progress. By stating it is too complicated I am making it sound like there is no way I can win.

9.  How many times have we heard ourselves, as well as others say, "It is not fair." My mother and many teachers would say, "Life is not fair!" So my take on this is I can deal with it anyway. Life is unfair at times but it does not mean that I need to keep repeating this negative mantra to myself and feel beaten down. Instead, find solutions and answers to what will get me where I want to be.

10.  "It's never going to change or I can change the way I approach this." Which sounds more active rather than passive. It puts me in charge.

11.  "Never or Always!" It is best, in my opinion, to avoid absolutes altogether. I'll never do such and such. You probably are right. Not with that attitude. Or I always get overlooked. Hmmm, wonder why? Life is not always black and white. Be objective!

It is those little voices in our heads that weigh in on everything we say and do. It can make us feel less capable and we will not accomplish what we want.

As Kathy and Ross Petras wrote:

"It helps to reframe our thoughts and change our attitudes by thinking and speaking more positively." 



My perspective is to change my latitude of my mood elevator by changing my attitude toward my thinking. Jimmy Buffett had it right all along!

Sunday, September 25, 2022

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

 WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD


Just as the song from Louie Armstrong states it really is a wonderful world. Look around. The lyrics are still true. 
I see trees so green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you.
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
I see skies so blue and clouds so white.
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by.

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do.
They're really saying I love you.
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow.
They'll learn so much more than I'll ever know.

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I can listen to the news and hear other things in the world that are not so wonderful. What we all must remember is to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other one and moving on. There is lots of joy out there. We sometimes have to definitely acknowledge these hideous events and remember that what faces us in a moment will remain with us the rest of our lives. The one thing to not forget is this important message: "Even damaged, even fraying at the seams, the world remains stunning and full of stubborn wonder."  Megan Mayhew Bergman

This quote is what continues to make the world go around. It is what helps each and everyone of us put that one foot in front of the other and move on to a more positive world. Our world really demonstrates this to us again and again by continuing to shine and thrive despite us. It is designed to heal itself if we can just remember all is change. Listen to the stubborn wonder and have faith and trust.

Things are not always just black and white. There is a much larger gray in between. Rules are not always black and white. That is much too subjective. I have to always ask myself if there is something that I can let go of. I do not believe it to be healthy to be so stark and fierce. Closing my eyes and letting the breeze in to blow away the negative vibes. Not forget them. Just to let go enough to continue on in the world with more positive thoughts.
Here is an example:


There was a beautiful well-versed lady who always woke each morning at 8, dressed stylishly from head to toe, and put on her make-up along with completing her hair fashioned appropriately. After her husband died, she wanted to sell the house and move into a retirement community. It all made perfect sense.

The day that she was ready, she sat in the lobby of the Village that she was moving in to while they prepared her room. When they told her that it was ready, she wheeled her walker with the employee toward the elevator as she was being told of the room's set up. She exclaimed with excitement that she loved it. The worker seemed surprised and said to her that she had not even seen it yet.

This remarkable woman stated that it did not matter. Happiness is something you decide over time. Whether or not I like my room doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it depends on how I arrange my mind. I have already decided that I like it. I make this decision every morning when I wake up. I have the choice; I can spend the day in bed, going through the difficulty I have with my body parts that don't work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the parts that do work.

She continued on that every day is a gift and as long as I open eyes, I will focus on the new day and the happy memories I've stored just for this time in my life. Happiness is like a bank account in that you withdraw from it what you deposit. Her advice was to always deposit a lot of happiness into your memory account. According to her (and I believe her to be a smart lady) there are five simple rules to remember:

 




Sunday, September 18, 2022

LISTENING TO MY OWN ADVICE

 LISTENING TO MY OWN ADVICE


This week there is no weekly blog. Sometimes we all have days like no others. Just hard to get motivated. Feeling a little burned out? Really not knowing why and still so wanting to go by my "TO DO" list. 

I just thought that it would be a wonderfully energetic day and it turned out not to be. So instead of getting all 'antsy' with myself, I decided to just let it be. My husband and I did work together to get on the slow cooker pork chops and fresh hull peas. We did even change the sheets. Finally, we are getting the routine down with a split king size Sleep Number bed, which we needed lessons on how to put on the sheets after washing them. (I kid you not!) 

My one BIG accomplishment was to do my physical therapy routine, read and watch football. And then to let my readers know that this is all of the blog I can write today and you know what? It will all be OK!



Sunday, September 11, 2022

IS THIS MEMPHIS?

 IS THIS MEMPHIS?

The last couple of weeks have been very hard in Memphis. We have been on national and international news for all the wrong reasons. Murders happen here, just as in other big cities and even out in the suburbs across the country. In my opinion, there are several reasons. 

First of all, guns are just way to easy to get. Any 18 year old can go into a store and buy one. (Yet they can't go into a store and legally buy alcohol.) And if they don't go buy a gun, they can easily steal one or get one on the black market. In this state, no one needs a permit to carry a weapon. There are no extensive background checks. It is just too easy.

Secondly, so many children grow up without a role model. Some single moms do a great job while others are struggling with poverty and how they are going to get food on the table and a roof over their head (and all of this with 4 or more little ones running around). This is where I totally believe in mandatory Pre-K programs. At least they are in schools being taught social skills and early academics. Schools can't do it all alone. It really takes home supervision and curfews.

When small, petty crimes take place have strict punishment. Vandalism, shoplifting, or stealing in the schools or neighborhood should have consequences. I am talking community services - so many hours for the crime. Teaching early that crime has consequences surely would send a strong message to most.

Then, when the crimes become more severe and involves Juvenile Courts, there should be programs in the quarters for some academic time and also for rehabilitation time. Many of these children do not have empathy. They have never known it. In the Memphis area, as well as other cities, they turn to gangs. They feel a part of something. It does not matter if it is good or bad, it simply means they belong to something. This is not where empathy is learned.

Let me ask you if you have ever been sequestered in a court case as a juror for a murder case? I have. It was horrible. I saw these teenagers being called up to testify how to become a gang member. They had to kill a rival gang member. They spoke as if killing a human being was nothing more than stepping on a bug to squash him out. If that was not enough to open the jurors' eyes, we learned that this was not the first time they had been through the doors of Juvenile Court. It truly did and still does seem to be a "revolving door!" Now they were in 201 Poplar. 

Who knows? If while they were in Juvenile Detention, perhaps they could have been saved from going through and causing all of the pain to so many families. I know that as jurors, we were stared at by the accused as if they wanted to come after us. One young man, even with shackles on and handcuffs started to ram himself into one of the guards and they escorted the jurors out on the other side quickly. It was quite scary. We were there for a week. Breakfast and lunch served to us there, while each night we were escorted out to a van by two guards and taken to nice restaurants to eat. We just could not talk to anyone in the restaurant. Once sequestered, we had to turn over our cell phones, our hotel rooms had no radio and no tv. If a juror wanted to read, the book(s) had to be approved. No books on crime scenes, etc. To be honest, I felt like I was in prison. 

Once the lawyers were finished with their cases, we the jurors were sent to deliberate. I thought it was cut and dry. Wow, was I wrong. There were people on the jury who felt sorry for these gang wanna-be boys. I did feel sorry, but not to the extent of opening the door and letting them free to go and do it again.

This is what we have just had in Memphis. It was a week like none other here. And in both circumstances, Eliza, a teacher and mother of two young children out for a morning jog, kidnapped and murdered by a man who had kidnapped before, served some but not all of his time and then got out just to rape again and had not been charged, even with DNA evidence. He should have been behind bars. Just as this was going on there was another man who decided to carjack cars and go on a wild shooting spree. He was out with a warrant for his arrest for first degree murder. My question is why was he out? He ended up carjacking several cars, shooting 6 random people all over the city, 3 of which died, and our amazing police, sheriffs, FBI and TBI officers were still working on Eliza's case of where the murderer hid her body. 

So this is 901 - Memphis, TN. Yes, it is. We need to embrace it. We need to work together in a spirit like none other before. Things can't change if we don't make it happen. We can't be in denial. Just remember that it is all not just here in our city. A man hijacked a small plane and threatened to fly into a Walmart in a small city in MS. He was not even a pilot. (Luckily they did get him down safely). Suburbs of larger cities, such as Memphis, Chicago, New York City, and others have had major crime activities too. Memphis could be the start of a new era trying new ways. 


 The saying that, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results," from Albert Einstein is so true. We must not let this just pass. Let's go to work now.

Through social media, a run in Memphis a week after Eliza took her last jog was scheduled to take place. About 100 were expected. Instead, it was more like 1000 and it was not just in Memphis. Joggers around the country did this very same thing. As tired and as overwhelmed as our police and sheriff officers were, they rode along on bicycles and flew in a helicopter overhead to be sure all were safe. 

My plea is to not let this be the end. Let's get busy changing our ways of doing things to stop this kind of violence. I love Memphis and it really does upset me when I hear others say they are moving out due to all of the violence. My question is where are you going to get away from it all?

 Instead, let's put our spirits together to try to change things for the better.