Didn’t Get Any Gifts For Christmas Except From My Landlord. Has No Idea I’ve Been Struggling Lately
I Planned A Christmas Surprise For My Parents, It Went Better Than I Could Have Hoped
My Daughter Was Hospitalized Over Christmas Three Years Ago. Since Then, Every Year She Collects Toy Donations For Kids Who Won’t Be Home For Christmas
The Story Of How A Mysterious “Prowler” Saved His Family’s Christmas Nearly 40 Years Ago
We Spent All Our Christmas Tree Money On Adopting This Guy Instead
These examples of why there is still hope were gathered by Inga Karolkovaite of BoredPanda.com
“I’m Really Crying Right Now. I Thought I Was Calling My Mom. But I Had The Wrong Number And – ”
“My Father Has Alzheimer’s. I Brought My New Dog Home For Christmas, And He Said, “I Know I’m Going To Forget A Lot, But I’m Going To Remember This Dog For A Long Time”
“This Is What I Woke Up To On Christmas After I Broke Down & Told My Brother That I Couldn’t Afford To Buy Big Presents This Year Since I Could Barely Feed Myself”
I don’t think it’s Pollyanna-ish to choose to focus on what is good, rather than bad, in your life. A positive attitude not only affects how you feel and act, it’s contagious. (A very small example of this is when you choose to smile at people. I have found that most people smile at you in return.) People who answer phones as part of their work are taught to smile when they are talking to people on the phone because you can HEAR a smile over the phone lines or through the air waves.
Of course, you can’t be happy ALL the time. People have been squashed like bugs because someone wants their SHOES – and the same can happen with people who are TOO perky – TOO Smiley – TOO optimistic….
My point is that it is your decision – to a large extent – to be mainly happy with your life (growing, learning new things, embracing new ideas, finding fun ways to spend your time) or allowing your world to implode, (being interested in fewer and fewer things, being whiny, complaining, not trying to reach out and get help, etc.)
I have watched people I love folding into themselves, their worlds getting smaller and smaller, not bothering to try to keep up with what is happening in the world, giving up things that used to bring them joy, not taking care of themselves, becoming brittle in mind and body. It breaks my heart.
Each of us handles aging, changes, and outlook in our own way, and we should be free to do that.
I am choosing to embrace the good stuff – finding things that bring me joy and sharing them however I can. I love it when someone writes, telling me they love a picture I’ve posted, laughed at a joke, encouraged them to try something new. Each of us can try to take something positive and pass it on. Everyone is richer for it. Maybe ‘Pollyanna-ish-ness’ is a survival skill.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Encouragement, kindness
Filed under Challenges, empowerment, Encouragement, Favorite Quotes, kindness
When I was in college, I was invited to a yard party where a young college couple enjoyed a gathering of their friends and THEIR friends. I never felt so welcome, before or since.
Even as I was enjoying the feeling, I was aware that it emanated from the woman of the couple. Now I’m so old and doofus I can’t come up with her name, but I can STILL appreciate the way she made me feel.
The kindness simply flowed enveloping everyone. She had a lovely smile and a truly contagious laugh that made everyone around her smile, whether they heard what amused her or not. How beautifully unique and precious she was!
Now, more than ever, I appreciate kindness.
I have a beautiful friend. She’s wonky, with strong political views, but she makes an effort to do at least one kind thing each day. Something that may go unnoticed, but she does it anyway. A small example is when I was shopping with her. On the way to the store, she stopped the car by the side of the road in the neighborhood, picked up an empty garbage can that had blown across the road, found the lid, and put both beside the driveway of the owner. When we got to the parking lot of the store, she immediately offered to take the cart back to the store for the lady at her car. She leaps to help people carry stuff, or open doors. She is free with hugs (postponed with Covid) and big warm grins. I am trying to emulate her.
Filed under Attitude, Favorite People, Friendship, kindness
I am trying to look at things as ‘the-glass-is-half-full’ these days. (Sometimes the glass tips over, spills the contents, and then shatters on the floor, though.) I do believe that you can control your attitude about what is happening to and around you, putting the best face on it that you can, and then powering on.
Each person’s problems are different. The priority of dealing with them depends on how much they are affecting your life. Some vary in their intensity, allowing you to put some on the back burner to be dealt with some nebulous time in the future. Others are chronic, requiring that you either decide to essentially ignore them, or work steadily, day by day, on solutions. Still others require immediate action by you or help from others.
There are times problems are overwhelming. A quote by Brian Tracy is magnetically stuck to the side of a file cabinet by my computer. It says, “When you feel overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time, remind yourself that all you can do is all you can do.”
( I also include problems that are ‘overwhelming’ because they seem too large, too defeating for you to handle for some reason.) I am learning to handle these ‘one-bite-at-a-time,’ breaking the problem down into several steps or deciding to only handle one day at a time, dealing with things the best I can.
I am trying to learn to give myself a break, as well as give the same consideration to others who are ALSO dealing with problems. Certain words spring to mind – becoming more and more important the longer I live: listening; empathy; compassion; kindness. Some of my to-do lists are a compilation of ‘things-I-CAN-control’ offsetting all the things I CAN’T.
Filed under kindness, perspective, taking care of yourself
Cartoons by Ron Leishman
When you are my age, the more celebration the better. (I will be 73 on Monday, March 9th.)
My friends at Lunch Bunch made me feel really special yesterday and I’m still grinning.
When we walked into the Pizza Barn, this was one of the things on the table –
I put them in the center of our dining table so that my husband and I can enjoy them together. The first thing he said at breakfast this morning was, “These are lovely.”
Spring-Scented candle and holder. I wish you could smell this!
Ceramic OWL candle or tealight holder. This has a peach and mango candle. Delicious!
Kitchen towels with attitude!
And beautiful birthday cards.
TWO pieces of chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting.
My lunch was free.
Conversation, laughter, and hugs from long-time friends. (we have been meeting every Friday for Lunch Bunch for almost 19 years now – a true gift.)
My husband and I indulged in hot dogs with BUNS and Fritos last night for dinner – I haven’t had those – or the cake – in over a year now.
And Monday my husband is taking me for a lobster tail lunch at Red Lobster – a celebration of another year of life, PLUS having over 1400 subscribers to my blog now.
“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.” — Pat Benatar
Tasmanian Devil, commonly referred to as Taz, is an animated cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Wikipedia Creator: Robert McKimson
We just put Taz up on our mailbox this morning on the way to Lunch Bunch. The Tazmanian Devil is one of our favorites. It’s funny the way our designs have differed over the years. This one seems small and light, particularly compared to the Snow-Goon we just took down and stored in the shop. This one is only about 2 feet tall, where the Snow-Goon is almost 4.
Jerri St. John of Jewels from Jerri’s VIPS (https://www.facebook.com/groups/jewelsfromjerriVIPs/?fref=nf )
bought a couple of pairs of earrings I was listing on my Etsy site. They were delivered yesterday. I was so happy she liked them. Then she did THIS –
on Facebook. I’m STILL grinning and dancing. What a NICE, generous thing for her to do! She is a representative of Paparazzi Jewelry – FUN pieces that I can’t resist. I buy things from her all the time. She couldn’t do a better job of responding, filling your order, shipping, etc.
We had our normal wonderful time at Lunch Bunch. We look forward to catching up, good food, good conversation, laughs, and good hugs.
One of our errands was at Walmart. On the way out to our truck, there was a crowd. A person was down in the parking lot. We stopped, asking if there were anything we could do, but they told us an ambulance was on its way. My heart goes out to the person in distress, but I was happy that so many people stopped what they were doing to try to help.
It is a bit after 2 pm here. The sun is shining and it’s 55 degrees F. here! What a lovely day – and it’s still February!! I’m going to go out and visit my veggie plants and walk around the yard. What a treat!
Have a happy day!
