“P” is for Patience

I’ve always been the one who says to others, “P is for Patience.”  It’s a subtle way of saying “chill out, relax, don’t get your knickers in a knot, etc.”  Well, today I had yet another opportunity to practice the “P” word.  I spent the afternoon with my 88-year old mother and stepfather.  Two walkers in and out of the car and two portable oxygen tanks that go with us everywhere we go.  And go we did!  Haircuts, toenail trims, shopping at Walmart (ugh!), then on to pick up prescriptions.

I am truly exhausted, mentally and physically.  I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t want everything perfect.  And when something doesn’t go perfect, they get agitated.  And that seems to creep its way up the back of my spine and into the base of my skull.  Beep, Beep!  Headache coming on!

I try to stay calm and ask my heavenly Father for the grace and patience that I seem to lack at times.  Oh and another thing I asked for today was more of a sense of humor.  Lo and behold, as I was checking out with their stuff at Walmart, the cashier told me a quick but very funny story.  It was just what I needed.

Am I grateful that I can be there for them?  Sure.  Do I want to live to be that old and in that physical condition? Definitely not.  They are not experiencing the golden years now.  That time has long since passed for them. Now they are just trying to make it safely to death.  Sad, but true.  I guess if I can make that road a little easier for them to travel, I will.

This will be my last post for 2011.  I hope you all stay safe and have a jolly good time ringing in 2012.  I’ll start my new 365 project on New Year’s Day with the first of my 365 photos.  Right now my dear husband and I have a thin crust Papa Murphy’s cowboy pizza calling our names.

Namaste!

 

 

Coming Soon … A Photo a Day

WordPress just put out sort of a challenge to all of us who have our blogs hosted with them.  It’s all about blogging every day … the 365 project … which for me will mean that I plan to post a new photograph every day for 365 days of 2012.

This means that I will actually take a new photo every day or that I will post from my archives every day … one or the other.  I have about 2000 photos stored on my computer, and I don’t want to be lazy about this, so it’s got to be simple … on the days that I don’t take a new photo, I will pull one from my library and write about it.

So if any of you, my dear followers, don’t want notification of my new posts each day, then you can unsubscribe or just delete.  Won’t hurt my feelings at all. Besides posting photos, I will be adding information that I think may be of help to others.

This all begins on Sunday, January 1, 2012.  Get ready for a great new year!  (I hope it’s as stress-free for all of us as it can possibly get.)

Namaste!

Freedom from Fear?

We were meant to be in joy – not fear.  I mean really, what kind of God would want His creations to live in fear?

What if you could go through just one day and not fear anything?  I think we don’t even realize sometimes the little fears, the tolerations, the nagging thoughts that take our joy away on a daily basis. You know, the ones that say “what if?”  What if she doesn’t like me?  What if I don’t get that promotion?  What if I can’t pay my bills? What if I make a mistake? What if I don’t remember my lines?  What if something happens to someone I love?

Wow! I think we all drive ourselves crazy with these negative what if’s.  So what if we could have one day … just one day when we don’t allow the negatives to master our time and rent space in our heads?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to pick one day in the near future … maybe before 2011 ends and 2012 begins and be determined to eliminate any negative what if’s. They will show up, but when they do, turn them into a positive.  For example, “what if it turns out that she likes me” or “what if I do get that promotion?” or “what if it all goes really well?”

I’ll leave comments open for a while so that you can let us know how it went for you and how you felt about living your day this way.

 

Namaste!

Merry Christmas to All

To all my family, friends and faithful followers –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!  Know that you are so loved.

Strange Experience

While on my trip to California, I experienced something very strange.  I received a call on my cell phone and as I looked at the display, it read “Witched.”  No name, no phone number, just that word.  And as it turned out, it was a woman calling to chew me out over something that she perceived to be wrong on my part.

All I can say is, “You know who you are, Witched.”  BTW, if this has ever happened to any of you, please comment and let me know.

The rest of my trip was great!  Got to spend some time with my daughter to celebrate her 40th birthday, gave my grandchildren their Christmas gifts and got to spend some time catching up with a dear friend whom I haven’t seen in a while.  I miss them all and yet I’m grateful to be home again.  Would be nice if we all lived closer to each other though.  Maybe by this time next year.

A cozy fire every night - It was cold there!

Namaste!

Outta Here!

Am I looking forward to my trip to California!  I won’t be posting until later next week.  I’ll be busy catching up with my daughter, who is turning 40, my grandkids, whom I haven’t seen in a year, and a dear friend whom I haven’t seen in longer than that.

Have a great weekend and Happy Trails to you until we meet again . . .

Smile

 

P.S. Yes, I’ll be taking some pictures while I’m there … lots of them … don’t be silly!

 

Stuff the Stagecoach

There are a lot of folks less fortunate than we are and we know that.  But at this time of year, many people in many communities pull together to get some great things done.  And even though there’s a lot of bad press these days about the “big banks” some of them are doing some good.

Wells Fargo Bank here in Tucson brings in a full-size replica of the old stagecoach that probably stopped in lots of towns around the old west. Each year the citizens of our community bring non-perishable items to stuff the stagecoach.  All the food is then donated to local community food banks.

I’m grateful that my husband and I could take our donation there this year to give to others in need. Just a little can mean so much and I know the folks who receive these food donations are filled with gratitude. There was a time in my life that I couldn’t afford to give even one can of anything away. I’m happy that it all changed and I wish for those who receive this food that it will change for them as soon as possible.

So here’s a picture of me (in the pink) next to Jack, the Dog and the folks from Wells Fargo:

Namaste!

Rain, Rain & Even More Rain

It just couldn’t get any wetter around here.  But who lives in the desert and doesn’t do the happy dance when it rains?  We knew this storm was coming in from the west and we’re all grateful, but the funny thing is that Tucsonans don’t really know how to drive in the rain.

I went to the dentist this morning and some guy was tail-gating me.  It was on a busy road with two lanes going each way.  Do you think he could have moved over?  No … and I was actually going a little over the speed limit.  Then there’s the drivers who like to spray oncoming cars by speeding it up through the road puddles.  Hmmm . . . maybe they didn’t get enough attention as kids???

It’s OK, southern Arizona likes the whole puddle phenomenon …

Red Dirt & Rain Water

 

12-12-11

Wow! This has been quite a year for interesting combinations of numbers.  I woke up like any other morning today but as the day progressed I had a few extra opportunities to feel gratitude.  A phone call, an email, an encounter at the store with a woman that was very uplifting.  She explained to me how grateful she is to be living here … right here; right now. It was rather amazing because I’ve talked to her before but today it was different. (She’s a clerk at the supermarket where I shop most often).  It was like we connected at a deeper level today.  Not just the superficial “hello, how are you?”  I left feeling lighter and more involved with life.

I have the feeling we’re all going to be experiencing more and more of this feeling of unity as time goes on and we get more into 2012.  Are you open to more giving, receiving and forgiving?

If Today Was a Flower, It Would be Roses

Off to the dentist tomorrow … ugh! Namaste.

 

He Gets It!

In my humble opinion, this man is the only GOP nominee candidate that actually “gets it.”  And he has gotten it for 30 years.  Everything he has said has happened in some form. Watch this video first  and then watch the one below it.  They are both real eye-openers!

This next one is a real eye-opener about what’s really true about our debts:

Namaste!