Zu Zu's Petals

A friend of mine once named his band, Zu Zu's Petals, but for me the memory of Zu Zu's Petals comes from my all-time favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life.

Zu Zu's petals played such an important role in that movie, because Zu Zu asked Daddy (George, played by Jimmy Stewart) to "fix" her broken flower. After pretending to affix the fallen petals to the flower, and after depositing the fallen petals into his pocked, George handed the broken flower back to her. Zu Zu didn't notice that the petals were missing and was just as happy with her flower, thinking Daddy had fixed it, as she was when she first got it.

To me that flower represented George's broken life, or at least his perception of his broken life.

Like the flower, our lives are fragile and when they break, we often try to fix them, tucking remnants that have fallen away deep inside the recesses of our minds. Sometimes the broken pieces represent something important to us. We hold onto them, because we realize that those who love us, love us just the way we are, broken or not.

On this final day of the A to Z Challenge, I would like to introduce you to my web site and to my other blogs and article sites. I would genuinely enjoy a visit from you at any of the below sites:


Your Weird Dreams

Your Blog Connection

Help For Single Parents 

My Heart Blogs To You 

Writing Creatively

Paranormal Minds

Product Favorites

Theresa Wiza's Blog 

My Associated Content Articles

My Xomba Articles 

And that completes Day #26, the final day, from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, Z.

Thank you for visiting!

Don't Eat Yellow Snow

Happy Birthday to my second oldest daughter, Lindsey, who turns 30 today. I'm hoping she'll remember a poem I wrote and read to her when she was young, entitled, Don't Eat Yellow Snow.  If nothing else, the name I chose for the main character will make her laugh (inside joke).

Today, if you Google "don't eat yellow snow," you will find close to 4 million results.

Here is my version of

Don't Eat Yellow Snow (written about 25 years ago)

I know my mommy loves me
'cause everywhere I go
I hear her yelling, "Jason,
don't eat yellow snow.

Put away the cookies.
Please don't make a mess.
Comb your hair now, Jason."
I really must confess

that sometimes I can't stand it
even though I know
there really is a reason
I can't eat yellow snow.

She says she tells me these things
because she loves me so.
But I don't understand why
I can't eat yellow snow.

O.K., a mess is ugly,
that I understand,
and if I touch the oven
I could burn my hand.

And if I eat the cookies,
I may not eat my lunch
but how could eating snow be bad?
I just don't have a hunch.

Maybe someone dropped a can
of yucky yellow paint.
Maybe that's the thing that made
old movie ladies faint.

Maybe Mommy's yellow pants
got buried in the snow.
I wonder if bananas dropped
a long, long time ago.

Just while I'm still wondering,
my dog comes out to play.
You'll never guess what "Puddles"
did on my snow today.

Now I understand things
'cause when Puddles had to go
he gave my mom a reason to say,
"Don't eat yellow snow!"

And that completes Day #25 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, Y. 


Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  
Sense and Nonsense

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

Under Pressure

Vitality, Vivaciousness, and Victory

Wisdom and Intelligence


The X Factor With Simon Cowell

The X Factor With Simon Cowell

My good buddy, Simon Cowell, sent me an email. Really. He did. I share part of his email in the blog I will soon direct you to. As a fan of American Idol, I am anticipating his new show, The X Factor, with some expectations that he will provide me and all of his viewers with an outstanding experience.

I'll bet Simon Cowell fans everywhere are anticipating his new show, too. One has to wonder, though, if anybody on his program will encounter the Cowell critique. After all, if our expectations of Cowell's new program matches his expectations that the singers on his program are extraordinary, none of them should be bad enough to receive criticisms.

I can only imagine that the singers themselves would be exceptional and that the only difference between those sensational singers and the American Idol winners is "stage presence," or The X Factor.

Without further ado, I invite you to read My Letter From Simon Cowell blog (click the link) where you will discover my relationship with Simon Cowell. (Don't get too X cited.)

And that completes Day #24 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, X.


Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  
Sense and Nonsense

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

Under Pressure

Vitality, Vivaciousness, and Victory

Wisdom and Intelligence

Wisdom and Intelligence

I grew up thinking I was quite stupid, because I believed my father, who repeatedly asked me, "How can you be so stupid?"

I didn't quite know how to answer him. I mean if I'm truly stupid, why would he ask me questions that a stupid person couldn't answer?

What his comments did for me though, was make me want to be smart, very smart – no – genius smart. However, when I received A's on my report cards, I reasoned that they had to have been a fluke. Through some magical ability, I must have answered questions correctly or figured things out accidentally.

As an adult, I have learned that, despite the filter that absorbed the "stupid" comments, I really do have a brain, I really can think, and I really am reasonably intelligent, but, like Albert Einstein, I believe, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."

And, as I've gotten even older, I've realized that I don't really want to be just smart, I want to be wise. Wisdom has become more important to me than intelligence.

According to the dictionary, wisdom comes from having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. Experience I have and continue to have, knowledge I am always attaining; good judgment, on the other hand, is a struggle for me. I want to believe that everybody is compassionate and caring and I am always surprised to find out that not all of them are. When will I learn?

Hopefully never. I hold out hope that conscienceless people will learn to be compassionate and caring. Hope truly does spring eternal in me.

I leave you with these words of wisdom, "The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind." ~ Kahlil Gibran

And that completes Day #23 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, W.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  
Sense and Nonsense

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

Under Pressure

Vitality, Vivaciousness, and Victory

 

Vitality, Vivaciousness, and Victory

Growing older doesn't bother me. What bothers me about aging is losing my vitality – my energy. At one time I might have described myself as vivacious (lively and animated), but as I get older, vivaciousness appears to be dripping out of me like condensation from a cold bottle of water on a hot summer day.

So many things animate me – kids, writing, conversations that deeply engage me, ideas, creativity, and surprising discoveries. Twitches of excitement cause electrical impulses to race through my brain at an alarming speed.

I become a ball of energy (perhaps too) tightly wound. Often, I grab thoughts as quickly as possible for fear of losing them before they escape my attention. Thankfully, I'm fairly quick about capturing them and recording them.

But what if – one day – I sit down to write and I can't think?

My biggest fear about aging is losing that vitality, that essence of energy that drives my body, my thoughts, and my spirit.

Will my brain slow down as I get older? Will my body fall apart? I already have a bad back and a bunch of other physical ailments. Getting older can't mean that I will lose my vitality.

Can it?

Breast cancer slowed me down, but it didn't stop me. Although I still don't have the same level of energy I had before I got breast cancer, I look forward to the day – four and a half years from now – when I'm finished with chemo, so I can regain some of my former energy.

And then I think about all those residents I've seen in nursing homes. Their lethargic stance with their slumped shoulders, their sad eyes, and their non-smiling mouths seem so pitiful to me.

The thought of being in a nursing home saddens me. I want to ask the residents, "Did you accomplish your goals? Were you happy? Did you ever feel victorious?

Or do you find joy only in your memories?"

My mom is 77 years old and as vivacious as many 30 year olds. She could walk circles around me. Though my age sounds old (I will turn 60 this year), I don't feel old. Maybe I come by that naturally. I hope to be as full of vitality as my mom is when I get to be her age.

I also hope to experience joy, hope, and love all the way up until the time I depart this world.

After all, what is life without joy – without hope – without love? I want a life filled with joy, with laughter, and with love. I want to feel victorious.

Want some laughter in your life? Check out Humor Outcasts (click the link) for some amusing stories. It will tickle your funny bone.

And from there, the rest of you will respond, because, as we all know, your funny bone's connected to your head bone (I know – most people call it a skull), your head bone's connected to your shoulder bones…and as you feel shivers running all the way down to your feet, you'll find your toes are tingling with vitality.

And that completes Day #22 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, V. 


Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  
Sense and Nonsense

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

Under Pressure

Under Pressure

Before I undertook this A-Z Challenge, I battled with myself over whether or not I wanted to join it. Having to commit to a writing challenge for which I was expected to produce something EVERY DAY was not something that fit well with my lifestyle. My grandchildren interrupted every word I wrote with things like, "Grandma, it's freezing out here with no coat on. Please let us back into the house!"

OK, I'm kidding – about letting them back into the house – not about them interrupting me while I tried to complete a sentence.

But seriously I felt as if I had suddenly become a tea kettle and somebody had poured a very tiny amount of water inside of me. With the burner turned to high, and within a very short period of time I was, in two words, under pressure!

Factor in that I'm tired – a lot – add all of my physical problems (bad back, asthma, cancer, migraines), consider the hours I care for my grandchildren – from early morning to late night – every day from Monday through Friday, and I had to ask myself, "Should I commit?"

I definitely felt under pressure, unbearably so! I bit the skin around my fingernails (never the nails themselves – ewww), got migraines, paced back and forth (in my head), and finally decided that for some insane reason, I had to pour out even more water from the kettle. As my insides boiled and spurt forth from inside me, I took that as a genuine sign from God to commit myself – to a hospital. I mean, to the A-Z Challenge.

Reminiscent of my high school years when my shorthand teacher, on Fridays, would give the class homework for the following week – one assignment due for each day of the week – I rushed home to complete all of the assignments that Friday night. So, yes, under pressure of not being able to complete my blog assignments, I took it upon myself to complete all of my blogs at once, too.

So here I was just days prior to April, stressing out, when I decided that I had to come up with ideas for all of them RIGHT NOW or I couldn't commit! I wrote down several ideas (about 20 of the 26), signed up, and over the next few days, completed all of the blogs except one.

The ONLY one that stumped me, the only one that caused extreme pressure was this one, the letter U. Unique? Unorthodox? Unusual? What should I write about? SO MUCH PRESSURE!

And then the light bulb in my head went off. At first it flickered, and then as I heard the tea kettle whistle, it came to me – Under Pressure.

And that completes Day #21 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, U. 


Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  
Sense and Nonsense

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

 

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

Certain moments remain frozen in time. For reasons I will never understand, frozen moments clamp down on the hands of a clock and force me to remember the most embarrassing and humiliating moments of my life. This is one of those moments.

Once a month, every month while I was growing up, students in our Catholic classrooms would walk single file down the hallway to go to church. When church was over, we would return to our classrooms.

For some reason, on this frozen-in-time day, Dale Reiser and I made it to our third grade classroom long before any of the other students arrived. Perhaps we were running. I don't remember that part, but I do remember seeing his beautiful curly head of blonde hair and thinking that he was so cute, I just had to run up and tickle him.

Why adults from every corner of the school didn't leap forward to stop me, I don't know. Absolutely no thoughts whatsoever ran through my head saying things like, "Don't you think this idea is stupid?" or "Stop yourself before you embarrass yourself!" Absolutely no thoughts whatsoever ran through my mind, period.

And so, in what must have looked like a deranged psychopath to Dale Reiser as I raced toward his desk (the look on his face was one of sheer terror), Dale Reiser's eyes nearly exploded out of his head as I ran up to him and tickled him.

Instantly I was horrified. What had I done? Of course, I didn't think those words until he looked up at me with appalling fear written all over his face and asked, "Why'd you DO that?"

My eyes sprung open. Why DID I do that? Could I dare tell him that it was because I thought he was so cute that I HAD to tickle him? Could I admit that I didn't have the ability to stop myself from tickling him or that I hadn't yet developed impulse control?

No, I just meekly said, "I don't know," slumped my shoulders forward, and returned to my seat.

It was the first time I ever felt blood rush to my face. And I never again looked at him.

And that completes Day #20 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, T.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  
Sense and Nonsense

Sense and Nonsense

I learned a long time ago that the process of making nonsense out of sense is easy. Making sense out of nonsense, however, is impossible.

Unless, of course, you are the person making nonsense.

Let's take rape, for instance. To the rapist, raping a woman makes perfect sense, because, after all, his needs are of utmost importance and his victims' needs are inconsequential.

The sadist justifies his behavior based on his own sense that what he is doing is excusable because he has given himself permission to perform the atrocity.

The victim, however, is left to make sense of the assault. And that will be her undoing, because no matter how long she wracks her brain, no matter how much written material she absorbs about the subject of rape, she will never make sense of the crime that makes no sense.

The only people who can make sense out of nonsense are the people who use excuses and justifications to minimize the impact of their crimes. Only a conscienceless individual can create sense out of nonsense.

As in the case of the rapist, he will convince himself that "She (or he) wanted it. She asked for it. She enjoyed it."

What's particularly disturbing, beyond the crime itself, is his dismissal of the crime and his strict adherence to his own misguided beliefs, all of which are based on falsehoods. He tells himself it's OK to rape and he believes what he tells himself. To those of us with a conscience, his reasoning is nonsense, but to him, he makes sense.

I challenge you to make sense out of nonsense and then show your results to any reasonable, sane person. I guarantee you, it can't be done, at least not by anyone who is sane.

And that completes Day #19 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, S.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
 

Reading Les Miserable

I am a writer. I enjoy writing, and I write every day. Most people assume that writers read. I read, but mostly blogs and articles, because I try to be fair to the people who read my blogs and articles.

But it might surprise some people to learn that I hated reading when I was young. Except for Reader's Digest, I wouldn't read anything that was more than a couple of pages. I just couldn't stay focused long enough, nor could anything sustain my interest.

Except when it came to Nancy Drew mysteries – I devoured those books when I was ten years old. But after I read through all of those books, other than Reader's Digest, nothing else interested me, and I became easily bored.

Fast forward to my sophomore year in high school. I found the book, Les Miserable, and decided that if I could read that enormous book, I could read anything. The challenge was on.

Reading had always been a problem for me, though. I wasn't sure I could handle a book so large, so I made it my mission to finish it.

Staying with anything for any period of time is difficult for me. I lose focus. I lose interest. My mind goes off on tangents. I could be on page 25 and realize I hadn't absorbed a single word from page 1. I start over. I force myself to pay attention. Again I have to start over. Again I retain nothing.

So disciplining myself to read a book the size of Les Miserable was quite an accomplishment for me. Though I struggled through the first several pages, the book eventually grabbed me and held me in its grip.

Because while I was reading Les Miserable, something magical happened. The book, the words inside that book, the story, all of it, pulled me in and engaged me so deeply, I felt emotions bursting forth from deep inside me. I became completely enfolded within the pages of that book. It surrounded me and held me captive.

I never realized a book could impact me in such an emotional way. I sat at my desk with my head pulled forward, my long hair hiding the tears that streamed down my face, held in the clutches of the story that taught me how to love reading – Les Miserable.

Today I wish I had time to read. When I'm not reading articles and blogs, I'm spending time with my grandchildren while crocheting because I can't sit still without doing SOMETHING.

Some day I'll have time to read books again. Some day...

And that completes Day #18 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, R.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

When I was in the sixth grade, my teacher handed out a quiz that was encyclopedic in size. My eyes widened as fear engulfed me. Hearing, "You have one hour to complete this test" threw me into a state of apoplexy. How dare she give us this monster test without first warning us or at least preparing us for this kind of torture!

We were not allowed to open the monstrosity until after we heard her instructions: "What you see before you is a quiz with 100 questions. You are to read the quiz first – all the way through – before you write down any of the answers. After you complete the quiz, you will put your pencils down. You have one hour."

ONE HOUR!! Was she crazy? And we had to read it first? BEFORE we could start writing? 100 questions? What kind of sadist punishes her students this way?

The entire class opened the test and started reading the questions, but as time went by, the clock's hands whirled at a frantic pace, and the pressure of having to read and answer 100 questions within the time frame allotted bordered on the absurd.

Most of us started writing without completing the reading portion of the quiz. Some of the questions were easy. Some were very difficult. They ranged from questions about grammar to geography to math – every class we attended included questions from each subject.

Like most students, I rushed through the quiz until I got to the command that stated, "When you get to this question, bark like a dog."

What? I was very quiet back then. No way was I going to bark out loud. Other equally silly requests commanded us to perform tasks that were outside my comfort zone. Others barked. I remained silent.

The hands on the clock pounded each second as it raced through the hour. My hand couldn't write any faster. My brain couldn't function anymore.

Then – what is happening? I see a guy put his pencil down. Oh no! I'm only on question 38. Well, he was the smartest kid in the class. Soon a couple more people put their pencils down. I started to sweat. The hour passed and we heard the command, "Put your pencils down."

The torture continued. "Who read all the questions first?" our teacher asked. I could feel the heat vaporize on my skin as I suddenly turned into the color of a beet. Only a few people raised their hands.

"Well, then," she smiled, "I want the rest of you to go to number 99 and read it."

Number 99 read, "If you've gotten this far, put your pencil down, and sit back. You have successfully completed this quiz."

In other words, "You have passed. You followed the instructions."

Or in these words – the way I understood number 99 to read, "Look at all the morons sitting next to you who are maniacally trying to finish this test. Smile. Relax. You are not one of them."

And it was that simple. The quiz was not about completing all of the questions or knowing all of the answers. It was about following instructions.

All these many years later, I remember that important lesson.

And that completes Day #17 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, Q. 

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Peacocks are not Penguins

  I know. I know. The title should be obvious. Well, guess what. For me, distinguishing between the two is a MAJOR problem. Why? No, really – I'm actually asking you – Why? Because I honestly don't understand why I call peacocks penguins EVERY SINGLE TIME I talk about them.

Peacocks look NOTHING like penguins. The words don't even sound alike except that they both start with the letter, P. So WHY do I keep calling peacocks penguins?

The first time I admitted my confusion was in the blog, Penguins and Peacocks. I invite you to read about the first time I noticed this mistake.

A couple of weeks later, I had to post my Oops – I did it again! blog, because – again – I called peacocks penguins. (Again, WHY?)

This problem continued throughout that year and into the next (though I had to take a break to deal with cancer), but when summer neared its end, I had to post Why Why WHY Do I Keep Saying This? I'm serious – if you know the answer, PLEASE tell me.

And finally (finally, because I just don't take anyone to see the peacocks anymore, I wrote this blog, We're Gonna See Penguins? Would somebody PLEASE find the wire in my head that has become disconnected from my brain. I am NOT going to talk about it anymore. The blog says it all.

And that completes Day #16 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, P.



Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?

The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?

What I am about to say will probably sound terrible, but I always wanted to ask my grandmother this question: "At what point in your life did you realize you were old?"

Like I said, I realize what a rude question that is, but seriously, I'd really like to know the answer. Though I was curious about what her response would have been, I never asked my grandmother that question, because by the time she was really old, it was obvious she was old, and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. It just seemed to be disrespectful to ask her, so I never did.

But as I near the end of my sixth decade, I find myself asking myself, "When will you feel old? When will you look in the mirror and say, 'Wow, wasn't I just twenty'?"

Gray hair (which I am now coloring again) doesn't make people old, because people sometimes go gray in their teens. Arthritis doesn't make people old, because even young people suffer from arthritis.

So what is it? What is the trigger that alerts us to the fact that we have now crossed the threshold from middle age into OLD age?

My mother is in her 70s. One of my best friends is in her 70s. Neither of these women is what I would consider to be old. And yet sometimes I see people in their 50s and my first thought is, wow, they look really old!

I don't know the answer. I seriously still don't know when people pass the invisible line from middle age into old age, but I would really like to know the point at which a person realizes he or she is old.

Maybe old age creeps up on you, then forcefully knocks the wind out of you and demands you to accept the fact that you are aging. Or maybe one day you give up your dreams and your hopes, because you know the end is coming, and you figure, why not? – I've earned the right to be old.

But what happens if you never give up your dreams or your hopes? Do you remain forever young? I can honestly say that I would not like to live forever, but I also hope that I never feel old.

And that completes Day #15 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, O.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook

Networked Blogs on Facebook

Today's blog will appear in two places, My Heart Blogs to You (for the A-Z challenge) and Writing Creatively (formerly Writer of Blogs), because the information in this blog is intended for writers.

Anyone who has a blog, unless the blog is a personal diary, wants somebody, other than family and friends, to read their blog(s). And, if you're like me, with a family the size of a small city, where only two of the residents read your blogs, you'll want to know how to reach more people.

The way to get people to read your blog is by networking. And one of the best places to promote your blog, other than Twitter, is through Networked Blogs on Facebook.

I have eight blogs registered with Networked Blogs, and I like being part of a community that invites readers to read, to share, and to comment. I would like to extend an invitation to you as well. All of my blogs appear at the end of this paragraph, along with links to my Associated Content from Yahoo! page and my Xomba page.

Your Weird Dreams

Your Blog Connection

Help For Single Parents 

My Heart Blogs To You

Writing Creatively

Paranormal Minds

Product Favorites

Theresa Wiza's Blog 

My Associated Content Articles

My Xomba Articles 

To register your blog(s), click HERE.

Let me know where your blog is located. I will follow you!

And that completes Day #14 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, N. 

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

 

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Last month, one of my granddaughters (Audrey) told her mommy that every month at school she had to go to the ambulance.

Ambulance?

Brittney and I looked at each other. What word sounds like ambulance that would require kids in school to visit every month? After a while, we figured it out. Audrey meant, "assembly."

Audrey is very much like her mother. Once, while we were having dinner at a restaurant, Brittney's doctor called her to tell her that she needed a procedure. Brittney, who was newly pregnant at the time, told everybody seated at our table that she needed a c'apostrophe. I thought she said apostrophe. And I remembered thinking, "Hmm, she needs a punctuation mark. Curious." Knowing how I cannot always hear things correctly, I asked her to repeat it.

She said c'apostrophe again, and I thought, "What procedure sounds like c'apostrophe?" After a while, as I scanned my brain, sifting through all of the medical terminology I learned decades ago, Culposcopy came to mind. Yes, I was right, c'apostrophe = culposcopy.

Misunderstandings are commonplace with my family and friends, and they are often funny. For instance, one day, when my dear friend Denise said something I knew she couldn't possibly have said, I said, "I KNOW you didn't say what I THINK you just said.

We roared with laughter when I was finally able to tell her that what I thought she said was that I was her, "number one bitch." What she actually said, though she couldn't remember what she said by the time I was able to tell her what I THOUGHT she said, was not at all what I heard. For the rest of the day we called each other our number one bitch.

Conversations, lyrics – anything with words – somehow get twisted as they run from my ear through all the synapses in my brain. I never hear correctly what others are saying. If you say, "I hear a rustling in the leaves," for example, I'm likely to hear, "Aristotle wears briefs."

Reminds me of the time when everybody swore they heard the "F" word in the song, "Louie Louie" – I never heard it. I heard gibberish. Even when everybody said, "There. Right there! Hear it?" Um, no.

Now, of course, everyone knows that the word that was supposedly in there, never was anyway. So ha ha to all of you who said you heard it! Liars!

My kids are always telling me I need a hearing aid, and perhaps I do. But THEIR kids have been involved in numerous misunderstandings, and – fortunately – (for me anyway) Grandma is around to catch their blunders and to record those blunders in my blogs.

I pay particular attention to unusual conversations children have with adults or other children.

Here are three blogs about misunderstandings:

Conversational Misunderstandings Between the Sexes is the story of two four-year-olds who demonstrate the age at which misunderstanding between the sexes begins.

Why It Helps To Clear Up Misunderstandings explains why it really helps to clarify what you THINK you hear when what you THINK you hear makes no sense or arouses in the speaker a reaction so wild you'll know you misunderstood.

And finally: Another Simple Misunderstanding

And that completes Day #13 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, M.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Nolan riding his bike in the street under Daddy's supervision.

My mother might refer to me as a vagabond. And she may be partially right. I've never really felt "at home" anywhere I've lived.

But I prefer to think of myself as a free spirit, albeit a restless free spirit. I have written about my "flitting around" lifestyle even before I was living out of a suitcase, in a poem called, Gypsy Spirit - Bohemian Heart.

My restless spirit won't let me stay in one place for very long, and I've moved so many times over the course of my life that my mother has had to start new pages in her address book just to include me.

Spending time with relatives and friends means overnight trips for me, because almost everybody I love lives too far away from me. I can't see well enough to drive at night, so I have to be home before dusk. As a result, if I want to spend more than just a couple of hours with family and friends, I have to spend the night – and I love it.

Every time my son and his wife have called me out to San Diego or Quantico or wherever they are living, and every time relatives and friends have invited me to their homes, I drop everything I'm doing so that I can spend time with them (as long as they don't own cats or dogs {allergic}).

Today I leave a suitcase packed in my room at all times because I travel back and forth from Urbana to Bourbonnais every week, first to watch Audrey and Nolan in Urbana, then to watch Taylor, Kaden, and Zac in Bourbonnais.

People ask me, "How do you do that every week?" And I think to myself, how can I not? It appeals to my gypsy spirit, my bohemian heart, and my vagabond lifestyle.

Side Story: While I was packing my suitcase yesterday Audrey asked me if she and Nolan could ride their bikes in the street. Mommy and Daddy stand in the street with them and watch them ride their bikes, but Mommy and Daddy weren't home, and I'm not at all comfortable with them playing in the street with or without adults present, so I told her that no, they couldn't.

She kept insisting, but I really didn't have time. I was packing for my trip, washing my bedding, and trying to set up a DVR on my bedroom television set.

"P-L-E-A-S-E," Audrey insisted.

"Audrey, I really don't have time. I have to pack, I'm doing laundry, and Audrey, to be honest, I'm not at all comfortable with you and Nolan playing in the street."

Immediately Audrey offered some help, "I can get you a blanket."

And that completes Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, l.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

One of my favorite friends of all time, from the time we were in grammar school, is my Beatles-loving friend, Denise.

Her father, God rest his soul, drove two hysterical teenagers from the south suburbs of Chicago to Comiskey Park (White Sox Stadium) to watch the Beatles in concert one hot August day in 1965. I wrote about that experience in my article, Commemorating John Lennon's 70th Birthday, October 9, 2010: The Day John Lennon Waved at Me.

But beyond being Beatles buddies, Denise has always held a special place in my heart. Years and even months may pass, but we always manage to pick up where we left off.

One year, when she was pregnant with one of her sons, I recommended a name for him – Ker. She was not amused. Their last name was Plunk.

And that completes Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, K.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

I'm not really a fan of made-up jokes. I prefer natural humor, humor that just happens – reality humor – and comics who exaggerate funny incidents that really happened or that could happen, like Ellen does on her television show.

My favorite comics on Last Comic Standing related actual anecdotes from their own lives and then embellished them with amusing details. Reality is funny.

The makers of the predictive auto correct mode for our cell phones must have known that. Either that or they had backgrounds in the humor industry, too, because it appears that our predictive text messaging system has been playing jokes on us since it first came out with auto correct.

Today, Blog Reader, the joke is on you. Well not actually ON you – FOR you. If you have auto-correct on your smart phone, you'll enjoy reading Auto Correct Mode Makes For Funny Smart Phones Text Messages (click the link for some hilarious accidental text messages). WARNING: reading the links I've provided in that blog can be quite addictive, and you'll probably be able to relate to LOTS of them.

Like so many others who've looked at what they've written after they've pushed SEND, I have created HUGE text messaging mistakes. Every time Auto Correct changes my flawless ;) message into something that is sometimes X-rated(!), I have to ask myself if the creators of predictive auto correct foresaw what would happen.

Remember that old saying, "laughing all the way to the bank"? I think the inventors of predictive text did. And yeah, the joke is on us.

That completes Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, J. 


Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge
 

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Nolan, my 3-year-old grandson, is a movie freak. If he could, he would watch DVDs all day, every day.

Every morning, he searches through his parents' hundreds of DVDs to find one he wants to watch that day. Sometimes he sifts through my twenty or so DVDs to find his favorite.

My movies, the few I have, are almost exact duplicates of what his mom and dad already own, but mine are Grandma's, so somehow that makes my DVDs different and he sometimes wants to watch my DVDs.

The moment Nolan finds the movie he wants, he puts it into the DVD player and enters the magical world of whatever show he is watching.

So I was a little confused when he asked to watch "Idiots in the Attic." I had never seen "Idiots in the Attic," and I had never heard of "Idiots in the Attic." But I had to admit, I was quite amused by the title.

Brittney (his mom) and I laughed just thinking that somebody would create a movie entitled, "Idiots in the Attic." Then his mom realized that what he was trying to say was, Aliens in the Attic.

Yeah, Aliens in the Attic actually exists. Click the link to read about one of Nolan's favorite movies.

And that completes Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, I.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

So many times throughout my life, I hear the comment, "I just want to be happy," but what does happiness mean exactly?

The Oxford dictionary defines Happiness as a feeling of showing pleasure or contentment. Joy, on the other hand (from the same Oxford dictionary), is a feeling of GREAT (emphasis mine) pleasure and happiness.

How do you know when you're happy? Through smiles? Through laughter?

Apparently happiness comes through contentment. As we struggle through our days, focused on errands we have to run, meals we have to prepare, laundry we have to wash, children we have to bathe, groceries we have to buy, carpets we need to vacuum, counters we need to clean, jobs we have to complete, events we have to attend, and appointments we have to make, we lose ourselves in our day-to-day lives.

By Friday night, we are often too exhausted to feel happy – unless we have plans for the weekend. During the week, though, many of us feel depressed that every day we experience the same routine: get up, get ready, go to work, work all day, come home, work all evening, go to bed, get up…

But we are also often unaware of how lucky we are that we have errands to run, food to eat, clothes to wear, children to hug, and all of the other reasons we should feel blessed to be alive.

We need to pay more attention to those times we smile and laugh, and we need to recognize and take advantage of those moments that bring joy into our lives, because the more we focus on happiness and joy, the more joy and happiness we'll experience.

What would make YOU happy right now? Here is an example of one unexpected answer I received to that question:

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner one night, asking my grandchildren for suggestions, when my phone vibrated with a text message from my oldest daughter, Keeley, wanting to know what the road conditions would be like for her on her four hour trip.

My grandson, Kaden, was talking to me at the same time, trying to resolve the what-to-have-for-dinner dilemma, insisting that all of my dinner problems would be resolved if only we had Chinese for dinner. I kept telling him, WHILE I was texting Keeley, that neither his mother nor I could afford Chinese.

As I continued to check road conditions for the town my daughter was passing through on her way to Bourbonnais (her destination from West Frankfort), my phone rang. It was my son, so I interrupted the text to take the phone call.

After my son and I talked for a few minutes, Greg asked to talk to his kids. Only Kaden and Zac were home, so before I put them on, I said to Greg's sons, as I walked toward them holding the phone, "I have a surprise for you. What do you think it is? What would make you really happy right now?"

Fully expecting them to notice the phone in my hand, and hoping Greg could hear his sons say, "My daddy! My daddy!" what happened instead – and I shouldn't have been surprised – was Kaden's response: "Chinese."

I have to tell you, that comment brought a smile to my face and laughter to my voice. Smiles and laughter give me joy. And experiencing joy makes me happy.

That completes Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, H.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Growing up, my sisters and I weren't allowed to sit at the grownup table. The first time I was invited to sit with the adults was after I had already given birth to my oldest daughter.

I was living with my parents when they called me to join them at the GROWNUP table. I panicked. Sitting with the GROWNUPS was my cousin, who was my age (his wife had also given birth that year – our babies were only 3 months apart), my aunt, my uncle, and my parents.

My discomfort was probably more than just a little apparent when I said NOTHING to ANYBODY the WHOLE TIME. I felt like an alien, who spoke a completely different language, dropped onto this planet and forced to communicate in the language of GROWNUP.

I was terrified. What if I said something stupid? What if nobody understood me? What if GROWNUP language was different from ORDINARY PEOPLE language? So I grabbed my baby and talked to her.

Years later, you would still find me on the floor playing with the babies (we have lots of them in our family). Out of habit, I tend to stick with the kids. Though I must confess, I'm now more comfortable with adults than I was years ago (took me over 50 years), and I can now speak to adults in coherent sentences.

As I end this blog, I have only one request for parents – please ask you kids to join you in adult conversations BEFORE they turn 18 – PLEASE!

And that completes Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, G.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

FAMILY – parents, grandparents, siblings, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear dear FRIENDS who just happen to have different parents.

In my mind, when I think of family, I tend to glorify days of old. I imagine people spreading out their table cloths, inviting family and friends for dinner, cooking giant meals, sitting and praying together, and then congregating on their huge wrap-around front porches, Grandpa on his rocking chair, cousin Billy strumming his six string, Grandma and all the females talking while cleaning up the messes, and little kids playing on the ground around the porch.

However, we didn't have a large front porch. All of our grandfathers died by the time I was six, and cousin Billy never played the guitar. I have completely romanticized my childhood. Except for the parts about the women cleaning up (while the men watched football or baseball or threw horseshoes in the back yard) and the kids running around (a common occurrence), the rest of it was pure fiction.

But in thinking about family and friends, I've realized that we often take family and friends for granted. Empty promises – "Let's get together soon," become filled with soccer practice, dentist appointments, work meetings, and a variety of other functions that pull people in every direction but toward the most meaningful situations they could experience.

One day we turn around and retirement swallows us whole. "What happened to my life?" we wonder. Where did it go?

It went to soccer practices, dentist appointments, work meetings, and a variety of other functions that prevented us from truly connecting with loved ones.

Family and friends deserve our love, our affection, our respect, and our attention. And it is up to us to recognize that we need them as much as they need us.

From this day forward I vow to reserve dates in my calendar for my Family and my Friends. I hope I never again hear myself saying, "Let's get together soon" without having a specific date in mind to follow through with our get-together.

I just recently got together with my mother, one of my daughters, and a dear, dear friend of mine. I rarely get to see Nancy, so the day was very special for me. That my mother and one of my daughters were there, too, made it all the more special.

Call your friends. Call your family. Make time to be together. Yesterday I was 19. Today I'm nearing 60. Take time before time takes you – or one of your loved one.

And that completes Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, F.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen