Diversity

Nothing in the world can show as much diversity as when the Olympics, summer or winter are taking place. Some of the Olympian personal stories are so amazing that for most of us it is inconceivable of some of the hardships that these athletes lived through, and yet followed through to their dreams. 

The commentators did an extraordinary job of telling some of them. Many things came to life...these athletes are so dedicated and emotionally tied to their sports. Some of them have family support and others do not, yet this does not deter them for one moment. They find a way that works for them.

Another thing that I noticed is that no matter what country the athlete was from, you would have been very unwise to assume what the country was by the physical characteristics of the athlete. We all in this crazy world of ours have become increasingly more global. Parents get moved to other countries for their careers, which many times means the whole family goes. Some become citizens of their newly adopted country, even learning the language. 

Just from what I observed, the United States seemed to have many more diverse athletes, probably due to the size of the country. The host of these Winter Olympics, South Korea has been in a war with North Korea, yet they came together as a group of athletes. If there were any ugliness or bitterness, it was kept well out of the headlines and cameras (which is not an easy thing to do). I am willing to bet that there really was not too much of that going on when one has to be so focused on the skills required to win a medal; not to mention the years of training.

This year I even became interested in the sport of curling. Learning how to score and what all the yelling was about was quite an experience for me.

The one thing that did bother me somewhat was hearing negative talk about how The Olympics messed up the whole television schedule, even for other stations. Either don't watch it, go rent a movie or watch one on Netflix, just please don't spoil it for the rest of world.

My last note is that I have always loved Bob Costas as the Olympic commentator. He did a great job from 1992 up until now. This year NBC went with Mike Tirico. What a good choice! Even Bob Costas admitted that Mike was "killin' it." And yes, he did. Both correspondents made their job look easy, just as if they were sitting down with you one on one telling you what was going on. That is a skill in itself and one not to be taken lightly.

To end this blog I would like to quote John Williams who wrote the Olympic Opening music and even directed symphony orchestras in playing this and other music written specifically for the Games. 
"The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us."

Waking Up To An Alarming Surprise

Waking up at 6:45 while being retired is bad enough. However, when I set my phone alarm, I usually just set that. I can turn it off right beside my bed. Steve got in the habit of setting the Bose CD/stereo to Van Morrison singing us awake when we were working, basically because at least it is something more pleasant to wake up to than alarm clock sounds or a rooster. For his birthday, I gave him a 2nd generation Echo (Alexa).  Of course it has all of the bells and whistles, however, I was thinking that he may like to have another Alexa in our home not only for music but for all of the other special things that she is capable of handling.

Really, we have only used the Bose ever since we purchased it at the outlet in Alabama. Except for appointments, we now only have to get up early on the days that our home is cleaned. Today being one of those Mondays. As much as I think getting up at this uncivilized time, I love that fact even more that we have a clean house. Both of us like things put away, smelling good and all done at one time.

For a gift, I gave Steve the 2nd generation Alexa because we both adore having good quality sounding music playing in our home all of the time. Plus we could ask Alexa what was the weather for the day, or just say, "Good Morning, Alexa."  She would come back with something that happened in history on this day or that it was National Hug a Friend Day. Lots of fun little tidbits. He got this Alexa set up in our bedroom and proceeded to set the alarm, then out of habit, he set the Bose and I set my phone alarm. 

Being in a deep state of sleep at 6:45, I was awakened in a very rude sort of way. I was pushing the button on my phone alarm to get that spa type of music off, while at the same time, telling Alexa to turn off the alarm that she was playing, which she seemed to have developed a hearing problem and just continued to play. I had to walk over to the Bose and turn that off manually because the battery in the remote has not been replaced. Finally, after trying to be nice to Alexa to no avail, I had to say, "Alexa, shut up." That worked! 

Silence! Almost! I say almost because I then heard waves and the surf sound that had stayed on all night to help us sleep. When my voice command took care of that, the dog (beast) next door started his barking. I truly was feeling that I was no longer in control. 

It was at this stage that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I needed a BIG cup of coffee. Probably more than one. This is just to prove to myself how important sleep has become to me. It is a must that I get the same number of hours of sleep each night. This usually requires a nap for me, when it is possible. I know how much better I feel when I get what my body needs. Once I retired, I could focus on this part of my health.

Really though, I believe that I needed to focus on it even more when I was in the work force. On days that I went to work on not enough sleep, I knew that I was not a productive worker. It also allowed my immune system to go haywire and would most definitely be the time that I would catch something going around work. 

Hind sight won't let me go back  to doing what I should have been doing. That has passed. If you still have time, then I most definitely encourage you to think long and hard about your sleeping patterns and exactly what you need for your own health. Everyone has different needs. 

"There is no hope for a civilization which starts each day to the sound of an alarm clock."

-Unknown Author

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Money, money, money,money! MONEY!

There has been a scary roller coaster ride lately in the stock market. The age old rule of what goes up, must come down is certainly proving itself to be true. Our financial advisors, have shown me how to go to our on-line Wealth Vault to see everything we have: the good, the bad and the ugly. (Lately, it has been so ugly that even the tide won't come in). I could ignore it and wait it out, except it is like the train wreck. I can't take my eyes off of it. Even when I know that I am not going to be happy when I see the numbers. As the money investors advised...ride it out.

This is good advice for us all, even those of us retired. My problem is that I can do that, however, I start to feel antsy and thinking of ways that I can save a penny here and there. Some of which, really don't make a whole lot of sense. Some ways that I already had in place seemed to be working out well, such as:

• sticking to a pre-written shopping list or better yet using the "Click List" (even with the fee tagged on for using this service, the amount of money saved by not going in to the store is phenomenal.)
• keeping the TV off when possible is like killing two birds with one stone - using less electricity and then the ads which can be very influential will not be exposing me to buy things that I really don't need until they show me all the reasons that I do need it
• make good use of coupons - only using the ones that are products that I normally would use
• buy on line - many times a product is in the store for a lot more money than it sells on line due to many outside factors
• pack lunches for road trips (so many car trips can take you for 100 miles or more before you even see a place to eat - and then that place is questionable)

There are other ways that I am still trying to work out if it really would save me money such as:

• being thrifty with homemade cleaning items (some of which I tried, however was sadly disappointed when I discovered they really don't clean that well)
• make your own beer (who knows? this could lead on to your own distillery?)
• eat on smaller plates (really?)
• take shorter showers in cooler water (this is most definitely not for me)
• take public transportation to work (if you are lucky enough to have a "working one")
• cut your own hair (even hairdressers admit this is a tricky one for them)
• sell unwanted stuff - as long as you have a body guard with you (wild things have happened to sellers using ebay or craigs list)
• use the energy efficient light bulbs (you know, the ones that you must
• 
  turn on 15 minutes before you need them, just so that you can get dressed in light because they take that long to warm up)
• wait 30 days before buying a big item (won't work when you are talking having no refrigerator or washer/dryer)
• buy a time programmed thermostat

Some of these at the end may work for some people. They just don't work for our family. We do not have a set routine any more for a programmable thermostat. I know that I am way too impatient to flip on a light switch and have to wait for the bulb to warm up. Plus their selling pitch is that these bulbs last much longer than the old kind. Well, sista, I am here to tell you that I have had to replace some of these newer ones and to this day, have not replaced the old fashion kind.

Let me share some advice that I have found to date that is most definitely worth heeding:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

What Exactly Defines You?

Just the other day, I saw a magazine headline on the cover that asked, "What Defines You?" I find that an interesting question. I would dare say that it definitely belongs as one of the interview questions for job candidates. Why? Because there really isn't a wrong answer. Well, almost...

For example: here are three pictures of Emma Stone. Each with a different color of hair. I am not talking physically defines you. 

I am talking about the real YOU! What you create as a person defines you. Everyone's creativeness is their own. Whether it is ideas, art, athleticism, children, problems...you own it. It is a part of your personality based on strength, values, actions, beliefs, which lead to your thoughts.

One day, I put the question out there for friends to answer what they thought defined them. It was fascinating to see how they all basically came together in their beliefs, even when they used different words. Let me use some of the words that I heard:

• strength
• music
• my word
• teaching
• family
• faith
• interactions
• morals
• beliefs
• pets

In my opinion, the world around us and how we respond brings out our uniqueness, which becomes our reality of how we have defined ourselves to others, as well as ourselves. Actions always speak louder than words.

People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But, according to Thomas Szasz, a Hungarian-American psychiatrist, the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates. This is a good description, however, one of my favorite actors described defining yourself more on my level of understanding by saying, "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." 

 ~  Alan Alda

To Sleep or Not To Sleep

When I took an interest of checking out my sleep fitness on my FitBit, I became more and more curious. Just how much sleep did I really need in order to function to my fullest potential; creatively, emotionally, physically and mentally?

Well, there is actually a group of scientists who are part of the National Sleep Foundation who do studies on this very topic. I, personally, am not so sure how many actually listen and follow their guidelines but there is a published chart based on ages.  

Even set on the largest print, it is difficult to read so let me interpret some of it for you. At the very top is the older adult (65+) who needs only 7 - 8 hours of sleep, next is ages 26 - 64 who need 7 - 9 hours of sleep. This is the part where I will be stepping in and throwing my unsolicited opinion on this matter. 

What 26 year old has a sleep routine of 7 - 9 hours of sleep per night? They are out at movies that begin showing at 9, so they are not home before 11:30ish. Then getting up by 7:00 A.M. for work, or the gym and finally, actually showing up for work. It is the "9 to 5" American work dream. Not my dream, that is for sure. Somehow, it felt so mechanical. Wake up, eat breakfast on the run, drive in rush hour to work, work, come home in rush hour traffic, cook dinner, read/talk/write and go to bed to start it all over again. There was a point in there that Steve and I came home and went out to concerts, ballgames, movies and other entertaining places during the workweek. (Mind you, we were in our 40's, not 20's!) THEN, our jobs became more demanding.

Is that how it is supposed to happen? Well, it did for us and I can see it happening to others as companies continue to downsize and require more of each employee than is humanly possible. Throw in having a newborn or toddler in the house and you can basically realize what it must feel like to be a walking zombie. One must work sleep in whenever possible.

This is a good point to add the fact that schools are now expected to be open 6 A.M. until 6 P.M. for day care, and to have special programs that help to keep parents informed. When I was working, it was so true, that we had so few adults show up that we had to begin classroom contests for those rooms who had the most parents in attendance to win a pizza lunch or a jean day, or perhaps we had a grant to cater a meal in (this did become a bit more difficult because not everyone knew how to RSVP and we would run out of food). There was math night, reading night, ESL night, etc., etc! The point being was that it no longer was a 9 - 5 job. It was a 7 - 9 job. Just slip a cot into my office so that I could get the sleep that I was being deprived of way too much of the time.

On the weekends, we caught up somewhat. We could not go crazy, because there were still the errands that needed to be done. One does becomes grateful for what we do receive. Every little bit helps.

As Danielle LaPorte shares with us, we must prioritize good sleep for the simple fact that it demonstrates good self love. Taking care of ourselves should be a number one priority. Sleep is at the top of the list, in my book, because it basically determines how my days will work out. 

This is most definitely when I started changing things in my own life. I started each day with a positive meditation. This is very important to me. Then, I started sharing my positive mantra of the day. By putting it out to others, it helped me keep centered. If others liked it, then all the better, but they certainly did not have to, much less even read it. First, I started putting them on little notes at work and called it "milestones." When I would go into classrooms, I would see my notes all around some of the rooms. In fact, some teachers shared with me that they loved the positive outlook to start their day and they even shared them with their students.

Next, step was to put up a daily positive meditation on my Facebook page that I used for me to start my day. This was very important for me. My quiet time of the day and the time that I used to be sure my mindset was where it needed to be in order to create what I was working on that particular day.

I could not do this on 5 - 6 hours of sleep. NO WAY! This mindset helped me get through on less sleep than I really needed when it happened and you had better believe that it happened, oh yes! 

Sleep is so very important, and it is different for everyone.

My dear, sweet husband knows what it is like to be around me first thing when I wake up. He even has a word for it. He calls it my dinkiness stage. Plus, he actually told me that he loves me in this stage. The only way that I can describe it is that I feel as if I am in 'La La Land.' It does not matter how long my sleep is...a full night of sleep or an afternoon siesta. He just is aware that I am not quite all there and need a moment to recalculate. He even makes my coffee to help spur me onward and upward. I have a whole latte love for him.

Top Secret of Life

Some of you are like me, filled with curiosity about what makes some people so much fun to be around. It is a joy to be around them. While there are others? Let's just say on a sliding scale, others could and do fall anywhere they are in their mindset. 

To me, though, I think that I have the top secret figured out. The actual secret of life is to enjoy the passage of time. This revolutionary idea sort of hit me when I heard two songs by two different artists that I love to listen to. Basically the same song titles, with the lyrics saying basically the same thing, yet in different ways. Those people who are the most fun to be around are the ones who respond to the passage of time in positive ways.

Let's start with James Taylor's version. In my opinion it is more to the point because it just comes right out and states the secret is enjoying the passage of time. Anyone can do this. Basically, it is okay to be afraid, but just go for it. He even throws in Einstein's theory of not being able to understand it all, so just welcome to the human race. We should all put a smile on our faces and just enjoy the ride...the whole ride. In other words, we miss out on a lot ignoring the moments that we are passing through getting to where we are going. 

If you are at Point A heading for Point B and only focused on Point B, we are missing out on what is taking place in getting there. Enjoying the whole trip is the secret to a happy and fulfilled life. We are trying too hard and missing out on lots of adventures if we ignore this part of the trip.

It can be the simple stuff such as the traffic jams, the long queues at stores, waiting on elevators that help us to stop a moment of time and to just meditate on time and how it passes instead of complaining. There are thousands of these kind of moments in any one person's life. Reflect on them wisely.

Once that time has passed, all that we have left is the could of, should of and would of memories so my lesson that I have learned is to enjoy all times. This will help create a lot of memorable moments in our lives for our future.

The athletic shoe company who started the logo, "Just Do It," was on to something. The trouble was that some people just didn't know what to do. This is how it seems to happen with just enjoying the passage of time. There are so many among us that just don't have the ability to enjoy what is going on around them and to make the most of it.

Faith Hill's song actually names some things that people believe is the secret to life, such as Thursday Night Football, Mom's pecan pie, a good cup of Joe, a beautiful woman/handsome man...when in reality, it is all of these things and a thousand more thrown in for good measure. 

Basically, there is no ONE thing that is the secret except to enjoy the passage of time, whatever it may be, at whatever time, and wherever it happens. Be there to enjoy it by embracing what life has for you. Don't wait for it. Enjoy the ride. That is what will take you places!     

Let It Snow - A Personal Perspective

How can one person have so many different feelings about snow? Maybe it is just me or maybe others have gone through the same thought processes. I am writing today because over the years I have changed 180 degrees concerning my feelings about snow.

Let's begin with childhood. My childhood. Growing up in San Antonio and then Memphis did not give me many opportunities to be around snow. The few times that we did have snow, I was one of the first ones out in it. My mother had to use lots of creativity for outer winter clothing. It is not like we had snow boots and waterproof ski clothing. She worked enough magic to keep us warm and dry enough to be out in the snow for a while. About the only way she managed to get us to come in was to bribe us with a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows. 

This did not happen often so the novelty remained throughout my childhood. Not long after graduating from college, I married and moved up north. The wedding was in August, yet just two months later, a day before Halloween, it snowed! Neighbors were telling me all kinds of horror stories (at least in my mind they were) about how deep the snows got there and how long they lasted and what staples to always keep in the house and how you will be fined by the township if you do not have your sidewalks shoveled within 24 hours of snowfall. The list could go on.

I remember calling home to my mother telling her that I had made a huge mistake. There was no way that I could possibly live here. My new husband was out of town and would be quite frequently and there I would be...snowed in. She listened, sort of, but did not hear or comprehend what I was saying.

The way that I know that fact is when she came up to visit at Easter, in April, the roads were clear, however, snow was still here and there on shady, grassy lawns. On the sides of the roads and in parking lots, there were tall mounds of black stuff. She asked what this was. I told her that it was the snow that the plows kept piling up whenever it did snow. Over time, it turns black from soot and such. My own mother was not believing me. I had to pull over to a pile of the frozen stuff and let her get out of the car to touch it and see for herself.

WOW! I had rarely seen my own mother speechless. I, on the other hand, was not speechless. I rattled on and on, comments such as, "I kept trying to tell you." Finally, I made a believer out of her.

Soon after this, I was pregnant with our first child. I could not get out to shovel the snow and certainly could not handle the big old snow blower when my husband was out of town. He did find someone who would come over and take care of the sidewalks when necessary. Still, I felt as if I were going stark-raving mad staying in the house all of the time when it snowed. Friends would tell me when most parking lots were clear and safe enough for me to walk without having the fear of falling.

Just about the time when my little cherub was 9 months old and I figured that I would have another winter just as the previous one, only now with an infant in tow, I was wrong. Pregnant again, plus a little one who was walking at 9 months. The winters, I might add, go on forever in Pennsylvania.

Surviving the winters was my goal. This included driving in it, shopping in it, and having well adjusted children who wanted to go outside to play in the white stuff. This meant that all of us had to have the proper attire. Not too bad for me, however, with growing children, it meant new outerwear each winter season. I did try to go neutral in colors so that it would be able to be worn by a boy or a girl.

Don't believe everything that you hear about snow in the north. I can tell you from first hand experience that it can snow so much that it does shut down the city. Not just schools! Businesses also would close. Heck, even the airport. When you can't open the door leading to the outside due to the piled up snow? That is way too much snow. Little by little, one learns coping skills. Even using a shovel to not only somehow move the snow to be able to open the door but to also make a path for the dog to get out to go do his business.

Once the children became older they wanted to join the Ski Club and loved going down a very large hill near our home with friends on sleds, boxes or toboggans, whatever was available. My memory is driving down neighborhood roads when they had been plowed and not seeing anything but rooftops and the second floors of two story houses. There were pathways down the driveways to the garages that had been cleared. The trouble was, it would remain so cold that this would stick around for quite some time.

Once I did get back to work, it was at a school. Yes, there were times school closed, even in the north. The smart thing they did was delay it sometimes and still get the day in for the state guidelines. This gave time for road crews and other commuters to take care of the ice and snow on the roads. Even though, snow was still not my favorite thing, I at least did feel confident in driving. 

Let's fast forward through Houston, of which I saw snow flurries once while living there. It lasted for a little over an hour and since the temperatures had been in the 60's that day, there was no problem.

The children and I moved to Memphis. Here there are often ice storms that leave the city in total darkness and snow, which usually was not enough to totally cover the grass in the yards. However, there are enough 'Joe Cools' driving SUV's that believe they can drive as if they are racing in the Indy 500 in their souped up trucks, jeeps, SUV's or cars. Usually, you can find a couple of them on down the road a piece, sideways into a tree or fence. 

You may think this blog is ending with this love/hate relationship with snow in a negative way. Yes, Memphis drivers do not know how to drive in ice and snow. There is no way to drive in ice. Just sit back and wait until it melts or crews throw something down over it. Then the school districts? What can I say? I almost feel sorry for them. ALMOST! If they call school off and a flake has not fallen, parents are going crazy. And, yes, that has happened and it would have been fine to have school that day. Usually, the weather forecast is right and it would not have been safe to be out driving early or perhaps the snow came at noon and now the schools have a bigger problem of getting kids safely home. Then there are complaints that the district did not listen to the forecast, kids arrived at school and by 10 AM we are in a mess, trying to get word out to please come and pick up your children.

Two nightmares I used to have: 
1. Parents would not come for their children and we would have to have a school sleepover.
2. Parents came two hours or more after school was closed while we sat and waited. We were left to try to make it safely to our own homes. 
Nightmare number 1, thankfully, never happened. Nightmare number 2 happened more times than I care to think about. 

On one adventure with my children, I wanted to give them a very special Christmas when we left Houston and moved to Memphis. I can remember us driving across the country to Colorado to meet my brother's family in the Rockies for a ski trip. There was lots of snow and yes there was some tricky spots on the roads. Difference being was that people there respected that. We could go out on the deck of this beautiful chalet and watch it snow, see the wildlife or get in the cars and go skiing. I still have a very special note that my son wrote to me on the back of the Holiday Inn receipt. "Thanks, Mom! This was the best vacation we ever had!" Yes, the tears flowed big time then. 

2018: Retired. Writing in my study. Watching the snow fall and enjoying the beautiful landscape because I do not have anywhere to go.

My new motto is to let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!