I Love......Finishing What I Started

I love FINISHING WHAT I STARTED. 

I have issues taking a task to completion. I make no secret that I have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and had it before it was trendy. It's nothing I am ashamed of (though some have told me to be less open about it, so I talk about it more often) and it's not something that I dwell on. It's just how I am wired....more of a point of interest to me as it explains my tendency to react in certain ways. I have only tried medication for it once, as an adult, because I thought it may make me a woman of great accomplishment. No, it didn't and when I thought about it I realized that I really like a lot of what ADD does for me, so for me it is something that I try to embrace as a gift from the Creator and enjoy where it takes me.

And it does take you many places. Your mind goes constantly. Sometimes I wonder what it is like to be one of the folks whose mind is not in overload all the time (often about minutia)....but really it's pretty fun to think about these things.

One major area it impacts my life, though, is finishing things I start. I get great ideas.....prepare for the project, and then can't seem to get it finished. Here's a list of home projects that are in various levels of completion...but  nowhere near completed...

• I have decided to get new kitchen counters and a backsplash, and have looked at material possibilities several times, but cannot move further. My brother has taken measurements and graphed them out, but I haven't picked this diagram up from him.
• The light fixture in my office (that used to be a dining room) just doesn't fit. If I was a chandelier-in-the-office type, this would not be what I would choose. I finally found a new light fixture that I love and that should work for that room. It has been sitting on my kitchen table for weeks.
• I bought fabric to recover my kitchen chairs. I think that is on my kitchen table, too.
• I bought all the supplies (and my sister Dana got wood cut) so I could make this cute headboard for my one of my guest rooms I saw online. Yeah...not started. And now my brother is taking that bed from me (because I had stolen it from him since he wasn't using it...what's his is mine), so the question now is whether I just buy a new bed with a headboard or get just a bed frame with my new mattress and make the doggone headboard!
• I need a new couch....have been out looking for them several times and found several I liked in my price range. Yeah....still no new couch at my house.
• I'll also probably need a new chair and a new rug when I buy the couch...may as well put that on the list.
• My office is in complete disarray. I have great ideas of how it is going to look and they make me happy, but it requires I do so many things (like buy frames, get rid of paper, move furniture, etc.)
• The doorframe for one of the rooms upstairs needs to be painted. Somehow that was missed when we made that room (a converted loft).
• My bedroom. I don't even want to think about it. Let's start with the tall side tables I need, drapes that need to be bought and put up, and then work our way through to the closet and stacks of magazines that need to find their way to the recycle center. Ties with my office for the most disorganized room in the house. I think it may win.
• My garage. The list is endless. Let's just say I never got it organized when I moved in and now I just add to the chaos.
• My house needs to be pressure washed. Soon.
• My yard needs to be mulched, bushes trimmed and generally cleaned up.

I am sure that list is not exhaustive, this is just what immediately comes to mind, to give you an idea. These are the things that overwhelm my mind and put me in a state of paralysis. This does not include the stacks of papers and magazines to go through. Overwhelming doesn't even begin to cover it.

That being said, I have learned to get OK with it. The sky is not falling as a result of the length of the list and my life is quite happy and relaxed most of the time. One good thing about an ADD mind...you have so many more things you can think about when you find something unpleasant creeping in! Part of me hates this side of me.....part of me enjoys that I can avoid the stress I see others under.

Those rare occasions when I do finish a task, I love the feeling of accomplishment. A "whoosh" resounds through my brain as I realize I must have mentally been holding my breathe. What is interesting is that I don't have issues getting work things done by deadlines....because I think my employer, and my clients, deserve things done well and on schedule. And I was taught that sort of work ethic....a day's work for a day's pay. Yet my personal life...the things that only impact me...it is another story.

Because of this issue, though, sometimes I have to put myself under a test. Like writing a blog every day for a month. It is difficult for me. It's not convenient. It's stressful. It's frustrating. I struggle with putting something out there in public that is not good writing or that doesn't quite say what I want it to....it can be embarrassing. Yet I know it will never be good enough if I think about it too much. In the end I remind myself that my goal was not to necessarily write good stuff, but to write. Having to gain a bit of mental focus each day is an accomplishment in itself. But sometimes, I need that exercise. To see if I can follow through to completion. Even if I don't want to!

So while I don't lament February being over, I feel good that I met my goal of writing a blog a day. Though even if I had not, the attempt would have been OK in itself. I love finishing what I start, but when I don't....that's OK, too. Either it gets done or it doesn't, and life is usually good either way. It's all in our attitude, all in our reaction, all in our kindness to ourselves.

Happy last day of Love Month. Maybe, though, this should be a love year. I think my next goal may be to put love in action every day....not by chance, but by focus. I wish I could tell you that I am gung ho at the prospect of doing this....I'm not, really, but sometimes we need to do it anyway. Sometimes we need to finish what we start....and set new personal goals. But I promise....this will be done incognito. I won't be blogging about it! Those of you who read my blog regularly (have I told you lately how awesome you are?) can rest your weary eyes.

I Love.......Learning

I love LEARNING.

Now, I don't necessarily love school. Even though I finished college, and even did some grad school and have taken a ton of other classes, I'm not a huge school fan. 

Well, I like going to classes....and the actual being taught part.....but tests? Not so much. If testing actually reflected what I felt were the major concepts of the course, the important stuff, I wouldn't have a big problem with it. But so often it was about nit picking, or trying to trip someone up, or about minutia. I find it interesting that those who fail the most students are thought to be the best teachers. It makes me mad at myself that at times in my life I believed that. No....the best teachers teach so their students learn. The students know more when class is done than they knew when it started.

While I have had some great teachers (and some horrid ones) I think many of the greatest teachers of my life have been outside of the classroom. There are those who spoke in a way that made me think a bit deeper - the pastors from the pulpit, the guest on a talk show, the motivational speaker at a conference. There are those who taught me by their talent - the musician playing a piece of music that told me a story and tore at my heart, the artist that painted a picture that made me stare in wonderment, the lyricist who wrote words that touched me or made me smile in their cleverness. There are the ones who taught as we walked through life - the person hiking with me telling me stories about plants and animals we saw along the way, the tour guide who specialized in Mayan medicine who picked up leaves of plants as we walked and made me eat them as he told me what maladies they were used to treat, the eccentric lecturer who taught a session on weeds and made me feel more relaxed with my carefree attitude about weeds and made me think more seriously about my position on the chemicals we use for a weed-free lawn.

Then there are the writers. There are the writers of my youth, like Dr. Seuss, who even now teach me so much about character and morality. There are the fiction writers, who made characters come alive and took me to places and through situations that taught me about living life. There are the magazine writers, and the bloggers, who in quick snippets show me different opinions or different ways to look at the same situation.

Our world is fascinating. I google something at least ten times a day. It's easy to get information now. That has changed our required knowledge base. You don't have to know information, you need to know how to access it. A weird twist in learning many of us have seen take place in our lifetime. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I wonder where it will head next and how it will change our world.

Those who think learning is over for them, either because they know it all or because they feel they are too old to learn something new, are to be pitied I think. I haven't seen someone actively engaged in learning that has seemed old to me. Instead they are the vital ones. They are the sharp ones. They are the ones full of life. I hope the very day I die I will have discovered something new. Until then, I hope I am teachable and continually being taught. Because I love learning and can't imagine a life without it. But I'd rather life be my test, instead of a sheet of paper with bad questions. It's in the way we live our life that we show how much we've really learned.

I Love......Fairy Tales

I love FAIRY TALES. So my friend Phyllis, whose Facebook postings of what we celebrate on any given day have given me several days of blogging fodder, said today was National Tell A Fairy Tale Day, I had to go with it.

So here it is, my favorite fairy tale. Well, favorite may be stretching it....it is the one that most intrigued me when I was little. Even then, I knew it was insane. We'll talk more about that later. As the story from the Brothers Grimm goes...

"By the side of a wood, in a country a long way off, ran a fine stream of water; and upon the stream there stood a mill. The miller’s house was close by, and the miller, you must know, had a very beautiful daughter. She was, moreover, very shrewd and clever; and the miller was so proud of her, that he one day told the king of the land, who used to come and hunt in the wood, that his daughter could spin gold out of straw. Now this king was very fond of money; and when he heard the miller’s boast his greediness was raised, and he sent for the girl to be brought before him. Then he led her to a chamber in his palace where there was a great heap of straw, and gave her a spinning-wheel, and said, ‘All this must be spun into gold before morning, as you love your life.’ It was in vain that the poor maiden said that it was only a silly boast of her father, for that she could do no such thing as spin straw into gold: the chamber door was locked, and she was left alone.

She sat down in one corner of the room, and began to bewail her hard fate; when on a sudden the door opened, and a droll-looking little man hobbled in, and said, ‘Good morrow to you, my good lass; what are you weeping for?’ ‘Alas!’ said she, ‘I must spin this straw into gold, and I know not how.’ ‘What will you give me,’ said the hobgoblin, ‘to do it for you?’ ‘My necklace,’ replied the maiden. He took her at her word, and sat himself down to the wheel, and whistled and sang:

'Round about, round about,    Lo and behold!  Reel away, reel away,    Straw into gold!'
And round about the wheel went merrily; the work was quickly done, and the straw was all spun into gold.

When the king came and saw this, he was greatly astonished and pleased; but his heart grew still more greedy of gain, and he shut up the poor miller’s daughter again with a fresh task. Then she knew not what to do, and sat down once more to weep; but the dwarf soon opened the door, and said, ‘What will you give me to do your task?’ ‘The ring on my finger,’ said she. So her little friend took the ring, and began to work at the wheel again, and whistled and sang:

'Round about, round about,    Lo and behold!  Reel away, reel away,    Straw into gold!' till, long before morning, all was done again.

The king was greatly delighted to see all this glittering treasure; but still he had not enough: so he took the miller’s daughter to a yet larger heap, and said, ‘All this must be spun tonight; and if it is, you shall be my queen.’ As soon as she was alone that dwarf came in, and said, ‘What will you give me to spin gold for you this third time?’ ‘I have nothing left,’ said she. ‘Then say you will give me,’ said the little man, ‘the first little child that you may have when you are queen.’ ‘That may never be,’ thought the miller’s daughter: and as she knew no other way to get her task done, she said she would do what he asked. Round went the wheel again to the old song, and the manikin once more spun the heap into gold. The king came in the morning, and, finding all he wanted, was forced to keep his word; so he married the miller’s daughter, and she really became queen.

At the birth of her first little child she was very glad, and forgot the dwarf, and what she had said. But one day he came into her room, where she was sitting playing with her baby, and put her in mind of it. Then she grieved sorely at her misfortune, and said she would give him all the wealth of the kingdom if he would let her off, but in vain; till at last her tears softened him, and he said, ‘I will give you three days’ grace, and if during that time you tell me my name, you shall keep your child.’

Now the queen lay awake all night, thinking of all the odd names that she had ever heard; and she sent messengers all over the land to find out new ones. The next day the little man came, and she began with TIMOTHY, ICHABOD, BENJAMIN, JEREMIAH, and all the names she could remember; but to all and each of them he said, ‘Madam, that is not my name.’

The second day she began with all the comical names she could hear of, BANDY-LEGS, HUNCHBACK, CROOK-SHANKS, and so on; but the little gentleman still said to every one of them, ‘Madam, that is not my name.’

The third day one of the messengers came back, and said, ‘I have travelled two days without hearing of any other names; but yesterday, as I was climbing a high hill, among the trees of the forest where the fox and the hare bid each other good night, I saw a little hut; and before the hut burnt a fire; and round about the fire a funny little dwarf was dancing upon one leg, and singing:

'"Merrily the feast I'll make.  Today I'll brew, tomorrow bake;  Merrily I'll dance and sing,  For next day will a stranger bring.  Little does my lady dream  Rumpelstiltskin is my name!"'

When the queen heard this she jumped for joy, and as soon as her little friend came she sat down upon her throne, and called all her court round to enjoy the fun; and the nurse stood by her side with the baby in her arms, as if it was quite ready to be given up. 

Then the little man began to chuckle at the thought of having the poor child, to take home with him to his hut in the woods; and he cried out, ‘Now, lady, what is my name?’ ‘Is it JOHN?’ asked she. ‘No, madam!’ ‘Is it TOM?’ ‘No, madam!’ ‘Is it JEMMY?’ ‘It is not.’ ‘Can your name be RUMPELSTILTSKIN?’ said the lady slyly. ‘Some witch told you that!— some witch told you that!’ cried the little man, and dashed his right foot in a rage so deep into the floor, that he was forced to lay hold of it with both hands to pull it out.

Then he made the best of his way off, while the nurse laughed and the baby crowed; and all the court jeered at him for having had so much trouble for nothing, and said, ‘We wish you a very good morning, and a merry feast, Mr RUMPLESTILTSKIN!’"

So here are some thoughts from grown-up Kim:

What is wrong with these people? Not one of the adults is normal! We have:

• The braggart father putting his daughter at risk for no reason;
• The greedy king that was going to first torture her or kill her, but then married her because he lost the bet (but gained a fortune and a beautiful wife...it's good to be king);
• The miller's daughter WHO SAID YES to marrying this idiot! What happened to "shrewd and clever"?;
• The queen - (because doesn't she seem like she became a different person?) does not seem to be taking the thought of losing her first born too seriously. "Bandy-legs"? Really? That is your guess when you are guessing names to keep your baby?;
• Rumplestiltskin - Anyone else wondering why he wants that baby? This is a SCARY story, people! 
• The messengers - OK...it turned out well. But were they paid for the stupid names? And the guy who found him....what if he had picked the wrong dwarf
• The nurse and the court - People are creepy. Why are you celebrating here? OK, maybe the child did not get given to the child molester (you know he was), but this prince/princess is going to be your future king/queen. Be scared. Be very scared.

Do not let your children read this story. They may turn out like us. Scared of dwarves. A little bit cynical about authority....or alternatively becoming just one of the bashing crowd. Making dumb bets about the fate  of our children.....or too scared to even have children because we know someone may come around and take them away. Picking inappropriate men and women to marry. Certain that "dream" and "name" rhyme. Oh, the impact is endless.

At least it didn't end with "And they lived happily ever after." Because we know they didn't, right????

Ah yes, I love fairy tales!

I Love......Meeting Heroes

I love MEETING HEROES. My friend Steve Brady stalked a guy in a bookstore years ago (so this is my interpretation/recollection of Steve's side of the story, and knowing Steve I suspect it is correct) and after following him around for a while, finally went up to him and said "Are you Major Capers?" Steve is a history buff, and has a crazy scary mind for remembering what he has read and seen, and recognized Major Capers from reading about him and hearing stories about him. They started talking and it was, as they say, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

When Steve told me about it, I didn't know this man's name or anything about his military career, but when he described the Marine recruiting poster he had been on, I knew exactly who he was talking about. I think it must have been from the late 60s or early 70s. He was the first African American man to grace such a poster. "Ask a Marine". I remembered the image because he was so serious and respectful and had such dignity. To me he epitomized a good, strong Marine and I am sure that is why that image stuck with me. Probably why it was such a popular campaign. But it didn't even scratch the surface of Major Capers....this Marine has much to tell when asked.

I met Major Capers for the first time at Steve's retirement from the Navy. He came and shared a few words. I knew who he was....he is one of Steve's personal heroes. He was quiet that day, though, and though I met him I got no stories out of him.

I met him again at Easter two years ago. The Brady family and I took Easter lunch to him at his home and hung out with him for the afternoon. That time the stories flowed.

 

Oh the stories that man has in his brain! The campaigns he served under. The sheer power of a man he was. I am a big Navy Seal fan, and Major Capers did everything they did. (I think he even told me he went through the same training.) He'd talk about the grueling underwater missions. He served during Vietnam and led missions to get our soldiers released from POW camps. He was injured several times. Promoted on the battlefield. He has been awarded many honors.

The story that stands out to me was when he was returning from Vietnam injured, on a stretcher at the airfield. Someone urinated on him. It horrified me when I heard it. It personalized all of the stories I had heard of soldiers returning from Vietnam, that frankly get to just be stories to us after a while with no feelings of passion in our reaction. This was a good reminder to me of the horrors of humanity....and how we have to remember "Never again." This strong and gentle man, that proud Marine on the poster, respected our country so much and was so disrespected in return. Yet, he healed his body and went back to continue to serve.

 

He talked about being in a depression since the death of his wife (their son had pre-deceased her.) He ran away from their house in Jacksonville, NC for a while after her death. He just couldn't deal with it. They were making a movie about him in California, so he went there. Other projects drew him other places. Finally he decided it was time to go back home and face things. Strange that a man that had faced all kinds of danger and tragedy in his life had such difficulty facing this one. But then again, maybe not. His wife had been there through all of those other tragedies, and even if she was far away at times as he served I think she brought him great strength. He lost his rock when she died, the family he had to go home to. He seems lonely.

 

I just finished reading (or rather listening to the audiobook of!) a fictionalized account of French women during World War II (The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah....I recommend!) and it reminded me of the horrors of war. Of how it changes people and brings out the best and the worst. Makes heroes and cowards and activists and passives (no, I don't mean pacifists), brings out sadism and compassion. Personally I would like to pretend that wars don't happen. Especially right now. That we don't have young men and women today, in horrific conditions, dealing with dangerous situations, and changing who they are. Most days I can ignore it. That's horrifying and sad. But I think rather universal.

But yet so many have done so much. So many have served so well. So many come home and just resumed unassuming lives, and we forget. We shouldn't.

I'm glad my friend Steve (don't tell him I said this, but he is a hero himself, having  just retired from a naval career, where among other things he spent time in Iraq doing the unimaginable job of helping to decide the fates of young men who had done horrific things in the war....and not just meeting movie stars, as I usually proclaim) met Major Capers that day and they have mutually chosen each other as family. I feel a kinship with him too. Steve just announced the March issue of Maxim magazine features an article on Major Capers. You should read it. Learn more about him. It's one way to meet a hero. I think you'll love it.

I Love.....My Nieces and Nephews

I love MY NIECES AND NEPHEWS. Not because I have to. I do because of the people they are, the people they can be, and the people I see them becoming. Let me tell you about them...

• Sara, the oldest, daughter of my sister Dana. The first grandchild on both sides of the family. She has an absolutely wonderful singing voice. I remember hearing her sing the song "The Movie in My Mind" from Miss Saigon many years ago. I saw the show on Broadway and in London, but she sang it better than I have ever heard it. She's totally creative....I've enjoyed watching her creations in fashion shows these past few years and the other projects she comes up with. But her best quality? She's an amazing caretaker. When my sister was in a motorcycle accident several years ago, Sara dropped everything and nursed her through some tough days. I've never been prouder of her. She is fierce in her love.
• Rachel, also daughter of Dana. She is warm and nurturing. A special education teacher. She is solid and steady. Someone who lives her faith well. She is the crafty one....she always is coming up with some cute little project that makes you smile. I remember when she was little and made us pictures out of pieces of cloth for Christmas. She used the sparkly material on mine, because as she said I was "the flashy one." It still makes me laugh. Rachel graduated from Appalachian and the whole time she was there would come home weekends to work. (Well, maybe to see her now-husband, too.) She has a strong work ethic and is extremely loyal. Especially to her family.
• Spenser, daughter of my sister Deryn. When I went to Italy when she was a little girl I sent her a postcard of a gondola in Venice and told her I was going for a ride on one. When I got home, she had made me a special gift. A gondola made out of a Kleenex box. Three-dimensional. Me and the gondolier cut out and colored and sticking out of the top of the box. My sister said she cried because she couldn't get my hair color right. (My sister reassured her that whatever color she used, I would one day have my hair that color. She was right.) I still have that gondola, though the Kleenex box part bit the dust years ago. One of my prized possessions. Spenser has been my craft partner...and since I am not good at crafts, you can imagine the pain she has endured...and also my partner working out. Yes, we have laughed a lot! She is very easy going and has great patience with her aunt! When she graduated from high school we went to New York City - where we learned she has the Broadway bug like me and her mom!
• Brennan is the son of my sister Deryn. He is the most like my dad - he has that natural engineering mind. He can fix almost anything and is always fixing cars of some type or another. Good thing since he has also wrecked a few! I remember when Brennan first started saying he wasn't going to college that it broke my heart. He has such a quick mind....I felt like he was wasting it. But I realized that he had a strong mind of his own, and he didn't like school. He has so many skills, and is a hard worker, so he will always be able to make money. One of the coolest things about Brennan is his relationship with his dad's mom, his grandma. He was incredibly sweet with her. When she was in the hospital, he would crawl into the bed next to her. I love that he loves so well.
• John Scott is the son of my brother Scott. Oh, he is so much like my brother! Was a bit of a pain in the rear during his high school years, but oh...the sweet side has come back these past few years. He works as a CNA at Broughton Hospital. When he first said he was going to do that, I wondered how he would like it. He has loved it. He has the compassion and the brains that I am sure works well in combination. Now he says he thinks he will go into law enforcement. I think whatever he ends up doing, he is going to do it with a lot of heart. One of the things that is very cool about him is that he never forgets to say thank you....and mean it.
• Ben is the son of my sister Dana. He is a bit of a wild child. He has a mind of his own, and generally has to learn from experience. He is stubborn, and outspoken, but also has a lot of natural charm. He's at that time of life where he is trying to figure out things for himself, how to balance his strengths and weaknesses. He's been around a lot of handy people in his life, so there are definitely some skills there. I'm cheering him on and looking forward to seeing him successful and happy.
• Maggie is the daughter of my brother Scott. Oh, she is a mess! She is funny and fun and also bright and compassionate. She is my true success story....I finally got one of them to Chapel Hill....and she is loving it there. She does college much like I did....involved in everything and trying to gather as many experiences as she can. I have laughed more with her than probably any other person. When she used to stay with me, we used to have what she called "giggle time" before we went to sleep. We would lay in bed and talk and giggle ourselves silly! I am most proud of Maggie because she is her own woman....she makes her own decisions and sticks by them. She is driven by her faith, and looks for ways to serve. She manages to find fun ways to do that, because she is all about the fun!
• Taylor is the daughter of my brother Derek. She has always been a daddy's girl. She is my first niece or nephew to really love reading....surprising since all of my siblings and I are big readers! I love seeing her with her nose in a book. I enjoy shopping with Taylor. It has been fun to see her develop her own fashion sense. She has her own style and a good feel of what outfit works on her body. Taylor is at that part of life where she is trying to figure out exactly who she is going to be, and what she is going to do with her life.  It is fun to see her exploring. She is independent and doesn't reveal her cards easily, but that sweetness that she has had since a child will always resurface.
• Beau is the stepson of my brother Scott. I was already friends with his mom Beth before she and Scott knew each other, so I was watching Beau even before he became part of our family. When Scott and Beth married, Beau became a family member too. It did not take a period of transition....it happened immediately and naturally. At a time in life when a lot of boys are not publicly affectionate, Beau was always ready to give me a hug....even when he was in front of a group of his friends. Especially cool for a "new aunt." He's an athlete, and such a good guy besides.  I can already see what a good man he is going to become. He was meant to be part McKinney!
• Addison is the daughter of my brother Derek. She is a pistol! Smart and sassy. She is an animal lover and would probably take care of all of the stray cats in the world if given the chance. Addison can clean and organize anything. She is direct and forthright and opinionated. When she was younger and the three youngest nieces would spend the night, Addison would usually end up in my bed in the morning. She appreciated the snuggle time alone with me....and I with her. It's going to be an interesting few years to see what direction she heads in and what she ends up doing in life. I think she plans to kick Deryn out of the apartment complex.
• Cross is our baby - he just turned ten. He is Derek's son. He is unbelievably creative and loquacious. The boy can spin a yarn like no one's business. He was a premie and when he was born I still had my own business in town. For his first year of life, he stayed at the office with me and my sister Deryn. He would sit in my lap as I would type at my keyboard and try to help. If he got particularly fussy, I would walk with him outside. As soon as he felt the breeze outdoors, it calmed him. We've always had a strong bond...and he probably can grab my heart like no other!

I adore each of them, and think they are each incredibly special. I decided to move back to Statesville because of these kids. Not having children of my own, when the choice came to move far away for my job or move back home, I chose home. It was a good decision. Watching them grow up has been wonderful, and heartbreaking, and has broadened my prayer life and my faith. I suspect that will continue for the rest of my life, because I love my nieces and nephews.

I Love.......My New Gloves

I love MY NEW GLOVES! My friend Nicki, knowing... well....that I am really about age six at heart, recently sent me a link for gloves that glow in the dark. They are black with white tips at the fingers, and there are LED lights that light those fingers up. I KNOW! Absolutely fabulous. I had to order them. I wondered whether they would work. Thought I may be disappointed in them. But hey....why not give it a try? If it was a total fail, then lesson learned. But I got them today and they are really great.

Not only do they light up, but there are different modes, so you can flash all of the colors quickly, or they can fade from one color to the next, or they can flash each color separately. Finally I get to use Christmas lights even when it is not Christmas. And the gloves are soft and warm besides!

I love things that glow in the dark. I love things that light up. I think LED lights are absolutely amazing.
So OK...probably these gloves weren't marketed for women in their 50s. Thankfully I have never lived my life always doing the traditional thing, or possibly I would be shocking people when I broke them out. Not one person I know will probably be surprised if I wear them. And we know I am not known for my fashion sense.

We baby boomers have gotten to stretch the age thing a bit. We don't much care what we are supposed to do "at our age". Proper doesn't hold a lot of significance for us. At least in the circles I hang out in. If you hang out in other circles, I say "Ditch 'em!"...because do you really want to hang out with people who would prefer you be somber to sunny?

We should live lives of fun....and not be afraid to enjoy the silly things that capture our attention. Our ideas don't have to match those of others....nor do they have to be age appropriate. In fact, I think if you are in a situation where you are living your life a bit too "appropriately", you need to reconsider whether you are really living it well. I don't know about you, but a bunch of boringly appropriate people are not going to dictate much of anything in my life. (Though I will pay my taxes....and obey the laws passed.)

Our life should be full of joy and carry a certain amount of silliness. I am serious about some things...too serious at times, I think. Therefore it is good to be encouraged to have fun and play. Friends like Nicki are usually good for making sure that happens.

So...I love my new gloves and I am sure I will enjoy wearing them. I am sure they will not be the only glow article that you see me with. Go on....add a bit of color to your life. Find something that brightens your spirit and go for it. Let's exhale a bit and belly laugh, instead of holding our breath until we turn blue.

I Love.......the Doxology

I love THE DOXOLOGY.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."

From the age of nine my family attended a very traditional Presbyterian Church. Each Sunday the order of service at the church was exactly the same, so every Sunday the Doxology was sung. The chords would begin and we would automatically begin to sing it. I think we sang it in the churches we attended before that, too. It has been part of my life for a very long time.

I'm not really a big traditionalist when it comes to church. There is a side of me that is probably a bit repulsed by it. For me too much tradition means my faith becomes an exercise of going through motions. Something I do without thought, without much meaning. Part of my brain shuts off and while I may look to be in worship I am really doing things like planning my week or thinking about what I need to get at the grocery store. Lazy and meaningless worship. Worship not worthy of the God I serve.

Knowing this about myself, I tend to seek out services that are a bit more informal. Worship that keeps me on my toes a bit. Surprises me. Doesn't let me fall into complacency. Makes me think. Makes me get personal. Convicts me and challenges me.

So.....the Doxology. Even though it was sung often, for some reason I never fell into complacency when singing it. The words seem quite simple, but there is also a wonderful complexity to it. I think the pictures it creates in my brain are quite beautiful. Each line seems to awaken something special and make me concentrate on worship.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow" - A reminder of who God is. That all in life that is good comes from Him. And that blessings do flow....they do not trickle out in a miserly fashion, but instead flow across us and around us like the rivers and the heavens. Endless.

"Praise Him all creatures here below." - Yes, we humans praise God. All of us are welcome at the feet of God.  But we're not alone. All of the other creatures we share the earth with - the dogs, the cats, livestock, fish, and insects.....in their own way they also praise God. Maybe the sound of the cicada is not a meaningless song, but a special song of praise. Maybe the bark of a dog, or a whimper, is it crying out to our God. Maybe the light of the lightening bug is a special signal of the light of God that brightens the darkness. We're different, but yet we have a common purpose. We all were created to praise God.

"Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts" - Joining us in our worship are not only those of the earth, but also those in the heavens. The angels joining in our grateful chorus. Our voices joining those in heaven, loud and bold and with meaning.

"Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." We, the children, praise God the Father. Who cares for us and teaches us, provides for us and grows us. We praise Jesus, the son. Our brother. Our protector, our defender. And we praise the Holy Ghost....the spirit that resides in us. The best friend that walks beside us and empowers and convicts us. That prompts us as to how God wants us to live.

The beauty captivates me. I guess that is why it has always been special. Simply and beautifully, it calls my soul to worship. Simply and beautifully, it acknowledges the God I serve. Simply and beautifully, it says so much about who God is.....and who I am.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."

I love the Doxology....because it allows me to heed a call of worship and sing in good company, celebrating our great Creator.

I Love......Preparation

I love PREPARATION. I understand that those of you who know me well are giggling as you read this. Note that I did not like saying I love doing the preparing. Quite honestly I love that so many of my friends are uber-preparers and cover my rear so I don't have to do it myself. But whether I want to do it or not, I appreciate the need to do it.

I spent most of today in a hot air balloon safety seminar. Our balloon association (carolinasballoonassociation.com) holds this seminar every year so that our local pilots and crew learn how to be safer in this sport we love. Certainly there is much preparation that goes into planning an event like this, and having the right speakers and the right subjects does much to make it successful. What I loved about today most, though, was the interaction between balloonists as they helped each other get better at what they do.

Balloonists talk a lot. Safety is a big topic of discussion. One of the hallmarks of safety is preparation. Not only does a pilot and their crew need the right equipment to fly a balloon, they need to know how to use it. Knowing the mechanics of how to fly a balloon  isn't enough. Judgment us critical. They have to prepare for all of the possibilities. Those possibilities occur both in the sky and on the ground. Dissecting what could happen in both places makes for a better balloonist, because it makes them think through how they would react in a situation before it occurs.

I'm not a great preparer. I'm the woman who throws stuff in a suitcase right before I go out the door for vacation. I have been known to pack for two weeks in Europe in 15 minutes. I have ever been a studier and when in school often went into tests without even reading the whole assignment it covered. I don't usually make grocery lists, which sometimes means multiple trips to the grocery store to prepare a simple meal.

I admittedly have stressful periods when I wonder if I have done or remembered everything I need to know. There are many moments of panic in my life where I fear, or discover, I am unprepared for the situation.  I am not always unprepared, though. Because I know my shortcomings, I have learned ways to streamline preparation for myself. 
 

When getting ready to travel, I pack inside out, for example. You start with underwear and work your way out. It doesn't take much time when you think it through that way. While I may not have read assignments in school, I did go to class and listen. Thankfully I was given a brain that could remember much of what it heard. Instead of fully reading assignments, I got by retaining what went on in the classroom. While at the grocery store I stand and do a mental checklist of what I think I need to prepare the meal I am going to make....and if I don't know for sure I have something I need at home, I buy extra.

I can't stress enough the joy of having friends who are excellent preparers. My friend Debbie is like Mary Poppins.....she'll have a bottomless bag full of everything either she or I or anyone else could possibly need in any situation. It's amazing. Obviously the secret to good preparation is having friends like Debbie.

At the safety seminar today there were a lot of folks like this. People who opened their carpetbag and freely pulled out their own ballooning experiences, both good and bad, to help other balloonists. They traded stories and tips and ideas and even equipment. Ideas came from the young and old, pilots and crew. The best preparation is collaborative and thorough....even exhaustive.

Maybe we all need personal "safety" seminars, strategizing how we can live our lives in a way that lessens the possibilities of bad things happening. We can surround ourselves with people who chip in with advice, and we learn from their experience. We can look at things from a different perspective, a different angle, with a different set of eyes. We need to think through the possibilities, and how we would react in certain situations, so we aren't caught off guard should they occur.

It's said that Benjamin Franklin said that "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." I'm not sure I fully agree with Ben, but I do agree that by failing to prepare our odds at success diminish. Be it safety, or living life, we should go for the best odds. That's why I love preparation. (Usually!)

I Love........Losers

I love LOSERS. If I am watching a ball game and the camera is showing the jubilant winners, my eyes focus on the guy from the other team slumping in the background. If I watch a spelling bee and a kid misspells a word, my heart breaks for them...even if "my kid" is still in it.  If I am watching election results come in, I get sympathy nausea for the person having to give the concession speech, even if I don't agree with their political views,

It's easy to identify with a loser. We have all lost at something in our life.....well, most of us have....and the feelings are universal. That deflated, stomachache-y, rapid heartbeat feeling we feel while we're dropping down in the dumps.

My favorite loser is Michael Jordan, I think. Most of us know the story of him not making varsity when he was a high school sophomore and being relegated to the junior varsity team instead. It's hard to believe that another sophomore, who we've never heard of, made varsity when Michael didn't. But Michael went on to have a stellar high school basketball career, that got him noticed and led to his stellar Tar Heel career, that led to his stellar NBA career. From ordinary to excellence. Not making varsity that year probably turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. Not only did it wisen his inner-determination, but probably it has contributed to his approachability and driven a whole lot of endorsement deals.

But that wasn't the end of the loser story for Michael. After his pro career, he went to work for the Washington Wizards, as a player/executive. He was ultimately fired. He bought into the Charlotte Bobcats as a minority owner. His performance in that position? Ummmmm.....lackluster. Loser-ish. He becomes the majority owner. He still struggled, then started hitting his stride. He decides to bring back the Hornets name and colors. They go to the playoffs.  He makes some good business decisions and marketing decisions and all of a sudden people are paying attention to the team again and getting excited about the team. Recently the Charlotte Business Journal named Michael their Business Person if the Year. A couple of years ago, who would have thought that possible? Once again, the loser became a winner.

Michael's my favorite loser because he only rents in Loserville. It is not his permanent residence. He has actually screwed up pretty often in his life.....he's nowhere close to perfect. Remind you of anyone? But yet you think of Michael Jordan and you think winner. He hangs in there and eventually comes out on top.

If you lose, you may be a loser for a moment in time. Maybe a bit longer. While a loser may pull my heartstrings because of their loss, what really makes me love them is watching their recovery. What will they do next? Will they view themselves with self-depreciating humor? Will the fire of determination appear in their eyes? Will they show humility, cry out to God, and raise up in power beyond their own capacity? When at first they don't succeed will they try, try again?

Losers are movies in motion.....and it's not over yet. We get to keep watching and see what happens next. It could be anything, but if they hang in there the odds are in their favor that they will eventually win. Will they, or won't they? Stay tuned. I love losers....because they remind me I have been there before and will be there again....but probably will not be there forever.

I Love........Overcoming Can't

I love OVERCOMING CAN'T.

While some people may see me as an optimist, my natural instinct is usually pessimism. Especially when it is about trying something new. I'm a scaredy cat. I don't like failure. I feel that I am naturally inept at a whole lot of things. Some is due to my short attention span, some is due to my lack of hand/eye coordination. Most is just due to my fear of new things and not wanting to try.

I think we often want to live life wrapped in bubble wrap.....protected, but still able to see the outside. We don't think about the fact that the bubble wrap distorts our vision. Keeps us from really seeing the true beauty of the earth. Keeps us from interacting with life. That bubble wrap may keep us from getting a bruise if we fall down, but may cause us to break our ankle because we can't see things in front of us.

As I've gotten older I have found I am going in the opposite direction than I ever thought I would. I thought growing older meant I earned the right to try fewer new things. Really....that's what I thought. (Evidence that I felt pressure to try new things and didn't want to!) The great thing about aging was that you got to remain in your comfort zone and no one pressured you to do anything else. "Old people" didn't do anything new....they did the expected "old people" things. (You know.... eating at the K&W, driving slowly in front of people who are late, and taking naps.)

As I got older and got closer to earning "old people" status (I officially got there when I qualified for a AARP card, right?), I saw things were a bit different. My friends and family members that are older than me didn't all do what they were supposed to. They didn't meet the stereotype. Well, some did.....but they are not the ones that I wanted to be like. The ones I really wanted to be like were the ones of whom people would say "Don't they know how old they are?" The ones who didn't slow down...who not only kept going, but seem to be having the time of their lives! They may have retired from jobs, but not from living.

I have found that I have a different view of fear now that I have gotten older. It's OK. It's natural. We are weird if we don't feel it. That doesn't mean that we have to avoid it. One of the best feelings I have experienced in life is going beyond what I think I can. I don't always understand why I do things. Often I think is because I am tired of the word "can't". Tired of being bested by fear. Tired of meeting my own expectations....but those expectations being low.

I don't use the word "can't" much any more. I may say "I don't want to." I may say "I don't like the odds." I may say "That's not where I want to invest my time or resources." I've learned that "can't" is only powerful when I give it power. There are many more options available to me than I ever would have thought. Lack of attention and lack of hand/eye coordination? They're just excuses, that can be overcome. I have other strengths that can compensate if necessary. We usually aren't good at things the first time we do things. We fear the new. It's not just me. It's the norm.

Great rewards come from doing those things that we thought we could never do. I love overcoming can't....because I most definitely can.

I Love......Coincidences

 

I love COINCIDENCES. I saw Paul McCartney on the 40th Anniversary of Saturday Night Live the other night and it got my attention because he has been on my mind. The weird thing is that not only has he been on my mind, but the song "Maybe I'm Amazed"  (that he sang that night) has been running on a loop in my brain. I had even looked up the lyrics of it because I couldn't remember all of them. Possibly I never really knew them. (I have a habit of singing what I want to sing instead of the real lyrics of the song. All you have to do is get them to fit and sort of sound the same. Sometimes, though, I wonder how right I am and do a check on myself. My friend Adrienne can probably give a good guess to the percentage of time I get them right.) How old is that song? Why had it been engrained in my brain for weeks? Why did he choose to sing that of all his songs? I don't know, but of course when he sang it, I figured he was singing it for me. Why else would he pick that particular song? A really big coincidence. (Or was it?) One of those times that you just feel in sync with the universe. Or the universe is in sync with you. 

So often we feel like we are anonymous people in an impersonal world, yet these "coincidences" happen and we are reminded the world is small in many ways and we are special.

I've been in New York City, and run into people I knew from back home walking around Central Park. Been in a client meeting and heard the name of a long lost friend mentioned, who happened to work at that company. Pulled into a random gas station and run into a friend who was passing through town pulled in at the next pump. I will visit a church and they will sing my favorite hymn (which is "Be Thou My Vision"....not one of the standards). It would not be unusual for this to happen once or twice, but it has happened so many times it now just makes me laugh.

There are the people from different areas of my life who I have known separately for years, but then  find out they are related. I randomly start a conversation with someone in an elevator, find out where they are from, ask if they happen to know the one person I know from that place (a big city) and they not only do, but they have a great story about them to prove the point. I drive through Florida heading home from vacation, stop by Kennedy Space Center for a quick break and find out a space shuttle is about to go up. I read a book and think to myself "I'd love to meet that author" and find out she is speaking in Chapel Hill the following Saturday. I think of a person I haven't seen in 20 years, and the next day they call or send me a Facebook friend request. 

Sometimes they are big things, sometimes they are little things, but they happen to me all the time. Whether you notice them or not, I suspect they happen to you, too. These are the things that pull together the fabric of life and make you feel like you are covered by a cozy blanket. They warm my heart and make me smile. Yes, I love coincidences. Or as I prefer to think of them, love notes from God.

I Love......A Problem

I love A PROBLEM. I know I am not supposed to, but there you have it. I love a problem because I love problem solving. How can you do that without a problem?

I remember back in math class in school. Most people hated word problems. I loved them. For me they made math come alive. I understood why I needed to do a math problem if Johnny had three oranges, 6 apples 4 pears, and one plum and someone wanted to take away half of them away from him. I fought about that sort of thing with my siblings all of the time. I especially loved the problems where they tried to trick you....where they put in irrelevant information, just to see you squirm. When you realized it was irrelevant, it was like that light bulb going off in your head. You were in on the joke. "No teacher, you're not catching me on this!" Triumph!

I get that same feeling in life. I admittedly overthink most things. That's why I usually have an opinion on everything.....my mind has probably gone there at some point. It just takes someone talking on the radio, or an article in a magazine, or a comment on the Internet. It can keep me thinking for hours. I don't reach resolutions quickly. Often I reach none at all. In some I just mentally surrender. But then I get in a conversation with someone about it, and people throw other opinions in there giving me additional information, the fun begins again.

There's a reason I often have a muddled mind and sometimes am in my own little world.

When I am traveling, there have been times when my heart has almost stopped over a problem. Like getting lost. You can wander around Statesville and eventually you'll see something familiar. (Yeah, like I am wandering over Statesville. We know I would most likely be driving. But still lost). My friends and I were in Athens, Greece years ago and we got to wandering. I wasn't worried. I had both a map and a card with the address for our hotel.  At some point we realized we had no clue as to where we were. No problem....I pulled out the map. Well, the road signs were in Greek, the map used the English alphabet. I must say that was the only time I regretted not pledging a sorority in college (they learn the Greek alphabet there. Or at least part of it!) So OK, can't use the map. Not a problem....we'd get a cab. I had the hotel address. I still don't know why, but none of the cab drivers we stopped would take us back to our hotel. They'd say "No" and pull away from the curb. We would stand there, utterly confused. It was like a comedy movie. But we were out of options. I figured we'd figure something out, because in the past however lost I had been, I'd eventually gotten home. Every single time. But there was another side of me that wondered if possibly job hunting in Athens may be easier than finding my way there this time. 

Since we couldn't seem to find anyone to help us, we just walked around. I prayed. You know my spiritual eloquence. "God, you know where we are, right? Give us a hand here!" And we kept walking....occasionally asking someone who didn't help us. Finally I saw something that looked familiar. My friends didn't believe me at first, but I knew that was our way back. Finally they decided to follow me. Only because they didn't have any better ideas. I was right. We had passed it before and eventually we got back to our bus stop, and then back to our hotel. Problem solved. High five God! (But I do still hold a bit of a grudge against Athens. Yes...the whole city.)

As much as they bamboozle us, these problems are easy compared to the problems that come up maneuvering through our normal life. Sometimes those problems I can do without. How do we live until our next paycheck in two weeks on the $12 that remains after we pay our bills? Is a friend giving us the cold shoulder because they are mad at us, or is something going on with them? When do we leave a job and when do we stay? What if they fire us or lay us off....how will we pay the bills? How do we deal with an overwhelming work load and not enough hours in the day? How do we help someone we love that is making stupid decisions in our lives? Why is our life disappointing us a bit? Sometimes with these problems the adrenaline gets us in high gear to the point it paralyzes us. We feel like a kid in a spelling bee with no idea how to spell a word. Deer in the headlights.

I think sometimes we need to cede the problem. Go to God like I did in Greece. He knows where you are....and he knows how to get you back on the path. Sometimes we have to open our eyes and look around to see what direction to pursue next. Sometimes we need to ask for help. Sometimes we need to endure a lot of rejection before we find the right person or place. But there's always a next step we can take, another idea. It takes persistence.

I love a problem because sometimes it brings out my creative side. Sometimes it brings out management skills. Sometimes it causes me to go out of my comfort zone. Sometimes it causes me to ask for help. Always it makes me live life....and it reminds me that however things look at the present, I always get back home.

I Love.......Discussing the Grey

I love DISCUSSING THE GREY.

I know the mere mention of "Fifty Shades of Grey" puts some folks into automatic conniption fits and has others moving their families into underground shelters until the constant talk of it has ended. Don't worry....I'm not going to get into a major head-on discussion of the book or movie, because that's not where I see value. I think there is enough discussion out there for you, giving all sorts of opinions, if you care to look for it (and even if you don't, it's probably popping up on your feed as much as mine!)

But I see some great value in getting involved in some of the discussions going on, and I hope that I can encourage some of those who simply go running with their fingers in their ears at the very mention, may stick around and think about where they may be able to learn or teach by becoming a part of the conversations. Warning, I will discuss some issues frankly because I think to be a bit too delicate on the matter puts people at risk. The Bible is quite gritty and bold. I think perhaps that means we sometimes need to be, too.

What I find of great interest in the discussions are some of the conceptual questions:

• What is consensual behavior?
• What is domestic violence?
• How do people who are friends, who date, who love each other, who are in serious relationships, and who are married set physical limits? Do these limits differ for each situation?
• How do people who respect each other, talk to each other?
• What is this BDSM they talk about (it stands for Bondage, Dominance/Submission, Sadism, and Masochism for those of you too delicate to ask....or Google) and is that the same thing as domestic violence?
• Does the dominance and submission people are talking about when discussing the book/movie differ from the biblical concept of dominance and submission?

Eek! I know. Not easy questions to discuss with others.....and I am certainly not advocating you pull these out for every person you run into. (OK, the idea of some of you doing it mildly entertains me, but it's probably not appropriate.) I am, however, advocating that you adults put some thought into how you would discuss these subjects with others, should they come up or if they seem pertinent in a situation. Especially with your kids. Yep, even if the idea of it skeeves you out and makes you blush. Believe it or not, many teenagers are talking about this right now. I guarantee it. Both kids and adults alike are in relationships that may be different if someone discusses these things with them.

Last week our local domestic violence shelter, My Sister's House, put up a post that said "In the United States, approximately 1.5 million high school students experience physical abuse from a dating partner each year." That's high school students, people. Mentally add to that the number of college students, some who may be away from home, out of the oversight of their parents, and experiencing what for many of them is their first chance at freedom. And why don't we go younger....do you really think there is a magical age of high school when this starts? The numbers really go up. Think about this.....how many of the kids experiencing this abuse told their parents...or any adult? The answer to that scares me. And if they told their parents, how did those parents react? You may not be able to be completely prepared, but you need to have your head out of the clouds. Like they say parenting is not for sissies. You need to ready to be a refuge if your child needs it.

People don't automatically understand where relational lines should be drawn. This is something we are taught....or should be taught...and we test boundaries for ourselves. This is hard enough for an adult...think of it from the mind of an adolescent. Truth is that a lot of the possibilities are in the grey....and are situational, personal, and sometimes even appear contradictory. I know a lot of these things were taboo to discuss for some of us when growing up. They're taboo for a lot to talk about now. That's probably why it may not be as difficult for me to discuss as it is for some others....as a rebel you tell me a subject is off-limits and it leads me to question "Why?" and want to talk about it. I am in the minority here, I do believe. Still, naivety is great until you find yourself confronted by the grey. Then if you don't have a basis for figuring out what is right and wrong for you, you often rely on what someone else tells you is right or wrong. If the only person you're talking to about this is your peers, their "logic" often becomes your own.

When you get to be my age, and you're talking to people on a regular basis and are involved in their lives, you've probably met a lot of domestic violence victims. Lots of women and even men. Kids and adults. All socio-economic classes, all levels of education. You've also talked with rape victims, those who were attacked by strangers and those who have experienced date rape and incest. I'm still shocked at the numbers and scope, and I have been having these conversations for years. We live in a crazy, mixed up, sinful world. It breaks my heart each and every time I hear someone's story. But I also see ways that some of this violence can be prevented. Being aware of what domestic violence is and the experience that others have had with it can help people protect themselves. Often it is a bit like  that old story about boiling a frog in hot water....it starts out cool, and then little by little the heat goes up. The frog doesn't jump out because the change is so gradual it doesn't realize the point where it starts to be boiled alive. Domestic violence is often a lot like this. Let's yell to the frog "THEY"RE KILLING YOU....GET OUT!"

Another thing I learned from a Facebook posting from My Sister's House that February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Doggone it, people. We can't act like these things don't exist. We can make our teens...and adults ....smarter, wiser. We can teach them to use the words "Yes" and "No" firmly and so that they really mean them. We can teach them to respect those words when others say them. We can teach them that they are people worthy of respect and should be treated well. We can teach them that love does not require punishment or physical pain. We can have frank conversations about where lines are drawn....what they see as appropriate and what they think is crossing the line. We need to listen, and we need to speak. At times we need to support and correct. Not knowing these things can hurt people.

When I say I love "discussing the grey" I mean I think we need to discuss the grey areas of life. The blacks and whites....they're pretty easy. The greys....which of us doesn't have some issue with those? We adults can't freak out when the views of others don't match our view of the world. There is a lot of grey, or perceived grey. I think, though, that much can be lost by refusing to discuss....and much gained by talking about it. Not all of the time.....please!  But when it is necessary. 

And yes, please, talk with your kids....in an age appropriate fashion. Just as you teach them about stranger danger and people touching them inappropriately, continue to have those conversations, advancing a bit as they age. You are their number one caretakers....the ones preparing them to live in this world. Don't send them out into it without knowing how to assess potential dangers.

Yes, I love discussing the grey. Because it brings more light into the darkness in the world. 

I Love.....The Anticipation of Snow

I love THE ANTICIPATION OF SNOW.

Yes, I know my friends in colder climates make fun of us. At the first words of any expected precipitation, folks in North Carolina run to the stores for bread and milk.  We don't really even know why we do this. It's just our custom. Part of our snow hibernation process. Snow days are precious to us. We don't get them too often, so when we get an inch or two and everyone stays home and watches television (constant weather and driving conditions) and eat really yummy stuff. Well, unless you are at my house where you would probably eat soup and cereal.

I loved snow days growing up. I loved playing in the snow. OK....truth.....I really didn't like it very much. I liked the idea of it. That anticipation thing again. We would get all bundled up, put bread bags over our shoes, and go out in the winter wonderland that was our neighborhood over on Florence road. Creating tracks in the pristine snow, making snow angels....such fun. Our road had a huge hill, and traffic would all but stop so the neighborhood kids could sled down it. Some of the dads positioned themselves at the bottom of the hill to catch wayward sleds, and to make sure no traffic headed down the street. I admit....I was a bit of a scaredy cat. I watched more than I sledded. It didn't take long before I was ready to go in, track snow all over the house, remove the snow gear and settle in for hot chocolate. After a while I would be ready to go out for another ten minutes or so and the cycle would start again, until my mom would threaten us with required amount of time we had to stay outside (30 minutes) or for us snow play would be over for the day.

We made snow cream. Well, mom made us wait until the second snow for this since the first snow was supposed to clean out the air of pollution. Yeah, right. "Clean" snow, sugar, vanilla, milk. Not great, in my opinion, but tradition. A snow day must.

Looking for your school system's name to go across the chyron at the bottom of the screen was the special morning activity. Thankfully others in my family had longer attention spans, because mine usually gave out at the important moment to look and I missed it.....and had to watch the alphabet get to "Iredell" once again. The phone calls people get today.....how awesome are they? And they seem to call school off earlier now than we used to, too. Colleges have also gotten into it. When I went to Carolina they NEVER called off classes for snow. If you skipped, you took your chances that the teacher wouldn't show up. To me those were some of the most fun classes. I loved collecting brownie points.

When I lived in Greensboro, I remember my roommate Nancy and I going to Kroger for an emergency grocery store visit. Probably it wasn't the safest driving time, since it was coming down pretty well and sticking to the roads, but we made it with no trouble. The lines at Kroger were all the way to the back of the store, and yes we stood in them. The store ran out of bread and milk, but we were good with that. Our important purchases? Mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. We wanted homemade pizza. The perfect snow food.

With today's technology it is now is so easy for me to work from home, that most snow days I work from my couch as I watch the snow fall out my front window. I miss the possibility of a true snow vacation day.....work now goes on regardless. But there still is a contentment to the cocooning and a warmth in the memories. There is nothing like a snow day. I love them. Hopefully we'll see one this week.

I Love.......Organ Donors

I love ORGAN DONORS! My friend Phyllis posted on Facebook this morning that today is National Organ Donors Day. (Yes, she is also the catalyst for yesterday's post....she keeps us apprised of this important stuff!)

I am a big advocate of organ donation. I was even before I knew folks whose lives had been saved by it. But now.....knowing and seeing the new lease on life that people have received. Seeing parents live to raise their children and so their children can know them. Seeing sick children survive to live long lives. Seeing those who have suffered so much gain energy to live the lives they were too sick to live before. I really don't understand how people can say no.

Oh, I understand how it can freak you out. It freaked me out terribly the first time I was asked. I think I was at a bloodmobile, donating a pint. That was easy. The idea of donating my organs? Ummmmm.... I didn't think so. I told them I couldn't sign up for that then, but did take the form they gave me. Actually...they pushed it at me. I didn't have a choice. That form....it haunted me. I just couldn't fill it out. I think I finally threw it away. As I said, the concept freaked me out. I finally agreed to be an organ donor when I was asked during a license renewal. No....there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm. And then they told me I still had to go elsewhere and fill out another form.  (Insert screaming!) But I am an organ donor and my family knows this is my decision. Even if it took a while for me to decide.

Someone told me recently that they were afraid to agree to organ donation because they thought that it may make doctors give up on saving their life a bit faster if they thought they were getting organs. Once again, I understand. I suspect the truth is we have read a lot of books, watched a lot of TV and movies, and have active imaginations. When it gets down to it, I trust in the ferocity of my family. Nobody is getting my organs without getting passed them. Have you met my family? We're a stubborn lot.

My family.....they're the major reason I am such a committed donor. If any of them ever need an organ, I pray even now that they get it. The same for my other loved ones....my dear friends. But even strangers. The thought that I would be buried or cremated (or actually buried in one of those biodegradable containers with a tree planted with me...my current choice) with something that can give someone else life... I can't imagine. The body is going to deteriorate. I won't live there any more. Instead of saying no, isn't it a bit cooler that parts of me stay alive, and dances throughout the world? That some family gets their loved one back? Having had a wonderful life myself, it's pretty incredible to think that someone else can be gifted with that as one of my last acts. I'm just renting this body.....it is owned by God.

So organ donors....today is your day. Celebrate the life you have now....and the lives that parts of you may save one day. You're superheroes. Those who are willing to consider organ donation, learn more and sign up (http://www.organdonor.gov/about/donated.html). If you are an organ donor, tell your family so they don't have to try to read your mind at your death.

Happy Valentines Day, everyone. Love well, love often....accept some of the love that is extended your way. And consider giving the ultimate Valentine....donate your organs when you're through with them.

I Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.