Take a few minutes to write down every holiday custom you feel you should follow. Start with family patterns, but don’t end there. Offices and friendships have their own traditions. Looking over your list, visualize each activity. Notice how your body reacts. Do you tense or relax, feel like smiling, snarling or weeping? What creates a genuine sense of enthusiasm? True enthusiasm makes us feel divine, whether we take that as a religious reality or simply a wonderful emotion. The holy days are the best times to focus on real enthusiasm, the inner source that lightens and sanctifies our lives all year.-Martha Beck
A Holiday Thought!
9 DecPlease Let Us Never Forget This Lady!
10 OctDo You Remember this lady?
We need to be reminded……. As General Eisenhower said at the time, “We want plenty of photos so no one can ever say this did not happen”.
Remember this lady?
Irena Sendler
Died: May 12, 2008 (aged 98)
Warsaw, Poland
During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.
She had an ulterior motive.
Irena smuggled Jewish infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried.
She also carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck, for larger kids.
Irena kept a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.
The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.
During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.
Ultimately, she was caught, however, and the Nazi’s broke both of her legs and arms and beat her severely.
Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she had smuggled out,
In a glass jar that she buried under a tree in her back yard.
After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and tried to reunite the family.
Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
In 2007, Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize, but she was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.
Later, another politician, Barack Obama, won for his work as a community organizer for ACORN.
In MEMORIAM – 65 YEARS LATER
It is now more than 65 years since the Second World War in Europe ended.
In memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated!
Now, Iran , and others, claim the HOLOCAUST to be ‘a myth.’ It’s imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.
You Can’t Possible Make This Stuff UP!
7 OctCentral Colombia woman grows potato in vagina in ill-advised contraception attempt Oct 1, 2014 posted by Craig Corbet
Shocked medical staff in a clinic in the central Colombian town of Honda have discovered a potato growing inside a patient’s vagina, local media reported on Wednesday.
The bizarre phenomenon was discovered when doctors attended a 22-year-old woman complaining of abdominal pains this week.
The embarrassed young woman explained that she had been advised by her mother to insert a potato into her vagina as a means of avoiding unwanted pregnancy.
“My mom told me that if I didn’t want to get pregnant, I should put a potato up there, and I believed her.” the unnamed patient was quoted as saying by local news website HSB Noticias.
After leaving the potato in place for around 2 weeks she began to experience intense pain in her lower abdomen. The potato had germinated, and grown roots inside the lady’s private parts.
When the nurse went to examine the patient, she originally thought she had been the target of a practical joke, as she found roots emerging from the young woman´s vagina.
The offending root vegetable was removed without need for surgery, and there should be no lasting physical effects on the young woman.
Carolina Rojas, the attending nurse, pointed the finger of blame at the woman´s mother for giving her daughter such bad advice in terms of contraception methods available.
All of a sudden, I’m feeling like a really really great mother! At least no vegetable garden has grown inside any of my children!!!
How about if we grade on a curve…What are you feeling really really great about today!
p.s. Thank you Ah Yea for the post idea!
Alex Trebek, I’ll Take Bitter Sweet for $200
5 MayAlex Trebek – Bitter sweet feelings of a loving past?
Me – What is packing for a move.
Alex Trebek – Correct!
As I pull open another drawer to a desk, push another box to the side, I find another piece of my sweet past life (a hand written note from my mother, hand made gifts/cards from my children, their baby teeth with notes to the tooth fairy) that had faded into a very comfortable place where loving memories live… Only to be unearthed by the necessity of a move.
Day to day, week to week turns into a whole life time ago.
Yesterday has gone by at warped speed…(time’s) speed and velocity has been in disguise…
…Only today doesn’t seem to go any faster than yesterday did, hmmm.
Found this sweet poem as I was emptying my daughter’s bedroom desk.
AND…Given I am starting off on a new journey, hitting the reset button to life, I thought I would share some…
…Wise Words To Live By:
Sow Only Seeds of Love
You can start a new journey with your very next breath
So many roads you can take, you determine the path.
The time to change if you need is now.
Keeping in touch with your soul will teach you how
You’re the one who decides on the life you live.
You have such a big heart and so much to give.
Think of the love in the world you can spread,
By saying kind words that need to be said.
The gifts you can give are inside your heart,
With so man hurting people it’s a good time to start.
Look for the best in everyone.
Let all your intentions be genuine.
There’s such untold beauty inside of you.
Who are you planning on showing it to?
Open it up to everyone.
Take that next breath.
Your new journey’s begun.
The Giver!
10 MarDay Light savings arrived perfectly on time this morning. Which is also code for longer days of sunlight (yippee)! But for those who are not morning people, the time change leaves them very exhausted, feeling miserable for that lost hour of sleep.
But not me! I’m a morning person, I love springing forward and the clocks! Love jumping out of bed with the delight of an earlier start to my day or at least in my head it feels that way.
Today feeling a bit happier with a little more skip in my walk, I walked over to my neighbors for my usually Sunday morning Thing One and Thing Two entertainment time. Of course never knowing what activities I would discover but always filled with expectations of hugs, laughter and beautiful loving insights. This morning certainly did not disappoint.
As I let myself into their backyard heading to their backdoor I noticed bear size foot prints in the over night dusting of snow. At this point I need to mention their 110 pound Great Pyrenees English Setter Mix that looks more like a Shetland pony than a dog. And by the way, who loves to greet me by leaping up into the air landing her front paws on top of my shoulders with her enormous head towering above me. As she wagged her grand tail (swinging it back and forth), creating colder wind chill tempts, I did my best to push her down… Recognizing like everything else over at my neighbors house, she is filled with love.
But I’m digressing a bit….
Upon my arrival Thing One and Thing Two greeted me with smiles and giggles as they ran off to fetch their make-believe pizza (play doh) on little toy plates. I pretended to gobble it up with enthusiasm and delight. The next food delivery they thought should be tea.
When all of a sudden….
Thing One takes off like a shot (older, taller and has the athleticism of a gold medallist) was the first to grab the tiny plastic tea cup…
Poor harmony, poor, poor harmony… it ended up in the frying pan!
Thing Too wanted to be “the giver,” feeling his second giving would be considered sloppy seconds!
Which made me remember a quote by Theodore Roosevelt (a God wink moment)…”Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Because of great parenting, Thing Two learned no matter what he gave, it was still going to be very special…..Serenity arrived perfectly on time.
AND….
….To me, it became as obvious as the nose on my face, Thing Two had begun the journey that would lead him to being a very happy adult.
Games and Rules!
4 MarAs I walked into my neighbors home, Thing Two (age 4) was in his mother’s arms completely relaxed. His breathing and hers had become one. Together their chests rising and falling, slowly inhaling with long slow exhales. Calm was in the room as if it was something I could touch. I even noticed my breathing had become slower with longer calming breaths .
In Thing Two’s hand was a tiny toy he was clinging to, his reassurance that his brother (Thing One) wasn’t going to completely get exactly everything he wanted (or so he thought). I was witnessing the calm after the storm. Apparently several minutes (thankfully) before my arrival the outburst was set into motion by Thing One’s thoughts and ideas about how a game should be played….I’m not positive on all the details but I think it had something to do with, everyone has to play by my rules or else kind of a game!
Well anyway….
As I looked over at Thing One looking very angelic and playing so peacefully on the floor. He gave the appearance that he was totally unaware of the how and why of Thing Two’s unnerving, I couldn’t help it, I started to laugh (it really was hilarious). All of a sudden Thing Two said, it’s too noisy in the room. His mother said with a smile and a giggle , funny how this works…people never seem to mind the volume of their own noise (screaming) but other people’s noise is unsettling.”
And…
…As you know from my past post, I truly believe God works in mysteries ways!
God was winking at me, and now getting my full attention.
This whole scene reminded me of a quote from the Dalai Lama that I had once read…”You can not lose what you do not cling to.”
God gave me that moment in time, to understand that true peace, is in, the letting go.
Sadly for many adults, maturing (respecting others) is far too difficult and letting go seems so terribly unfair.
AND…Let me reassure you, because of great parenting, Thing One and Thing Two are growing taller, stronger and maturing perfectly!