Happy Sister's Day?

I know we have a "Mother's Day" and a "Father's Day", but is there such a thing as a "Sister's Day?"  With all of the holidays we have, I am sure there must be a calendar out there that has a "Sister's Day" on it, but in case there is not, I am a firm believer that there should be one.  In just a few weeks past, I had the delight of spending time with my sisters.  I am the youngest of three, and we are geographically spread out these days, so it is a true treasure when we can all three be together.  There was one full day of us having fun... and we sure did!  The first thing we did was go to a bagel shop and have breakfast.  We talked and laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more!  We were having such a good time that the owner of the shop walked over and with free snacks in hand and commented on how nice it was to see people having so much fun.  We later got pedicures, went to the beach, had a nice lunch, and ended the night with a BBQ.  I am very grateful for our relationship.  We each have our strengths, desires, and paths.  Although we are each different and unique, we always seem to be going in the same direction in our lives.   I feel very blessed to call them more than sisters... to call them "friends".  This reminds me of a memory that sticks out very sharply in my mind from my youth.  When I was very little, my dad told all of us, "You see each other right now?  You are looking at your best friends.  Friends will come and go in your lives, but your sisters will always be your best friends."  I remember when we all heard this, we responded with a lot of "No ways", and "Nah's..." and the like.  We didn't realize that this would really be the case.  I saw this a lot in my life, especially during my adolescence.  This was a time when our family was going  through a rocky time, and on top of that, the circle of friends I had began to ignore me because they followed an example of another.  I was quite sad at the time, but it brought me comfort knowing that my sisters were my friends.  They were both off at college, and I called them often.  I missed them then, but I was happy because I still got to see them very often.  As the years went on, I relied on them for advice and friendship.  Now that we are all adults, there is a feeling of comfort I have.  I know that we don't get to be around each other very much, but I also know that all I have to do is pick up the phone, and it's like they're in the next room.   I know that I miss them, but I'm never sad because when we talk, it's as if  no time has passed.  I know that we have a friendship that will never break.  It's nice to use the word "never" in a positive place, isn't it?  

We now all live our own lives and in different areas far from each other.  It makes me feel good to know that no matter how far we are or how long it has been since we had seen each other, that when we do connect, it's as if only one day has gone by.  Who knew that my dad would be so right?  I sure feel lucky...

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Witnessing Positive Attitudes

Do you ever think about when you get old?  I don't want this to be a question you ask yourself with a depressed feeling, but seriously, does it cross your mind?  The reason I pose this question is because this weekend my husband and I made a trip to visit his grandfather who lives a couple states away.  We had a really great trip.  We were able to spend some great quality time with him and take little (easy) field trips.  He lives in a very nice facility... one that I hope I would be able to live in if I ever am in his position.  We went to his facility several times this past weekend, and I had the opportunity to scan the room at all the faces there.  Although they had wrinkles on their faces, difficulty walking, difficulty in remembering... I found myself thinking, "What were they like when they were my age?  What were their lives like?  What were their dreams and aspirations?  Did they ever think of how they would be when they were old?"  There was also a church service we attended on Sunday on the property, and I feel like most of the residents were there.  We showed up right on time and had to sit in the back!  It was very nice to see.  This is when I had the most time to reflect and wonder who they are.  Every time my husband and I arrived, we had the residents saying, "Hello" with big smiles; we had people introducing themselves to us.  One sweet woman said to us this morning, "Good Morning!  How was the wedding?!"  I smiled and said in a really friendly tone, "Oh... we didn't go to a wedding this weekend."  She smiled and said, "Oh, I thought you were here for a wedding..." then she went on her merry way.  One sweet thing I witnessed was an interaction with a resident and a young girl who works there.  I would say that the resident was in her nineties, and the young worker who was in the dining room had to be in her early twenties.  The young worker stopped, sat at the table, and just talked to her.  She talked to her like she was a regular person... not like she was an old person.  She asked her about her day, what she watches on television... things that we all talk about.  The young girl told her how she watches "Jersey Shore", and even taught the resident "Bones".  Now, for those of you who might not know what this is, it's when two people put one of their hands in a fist and bump fists with each other.  The resident got such a kick out of this!  I saw it again this morning, and she smiled so big and bright.  It was such a sweet sight.  I am sure that these people who work there help keep the residents feel young and valued.  I certainly hope so.

The main reason for our trip this weekend was to visit my husband's grandfather.  We had such a great time with him.  I am so happy and impressed with his attitude.  He remains positive in his demeanor and grateful for his blessings.  I am very happy to have been a part of this trip, and he is such a sweet man.  I am glad I know him and can call him "family".

Right now I am listening to James Taylor and these lyrics are playing right now:

Shower the people you love with love

Show them the way that you feel

I felt like sharing those lyrics.  It just seems really nice, doesn't it?

As it has been a busy weekend (and since it is early, early Tuesday morning... yes... I will be busy when I wake up), I decided to write the blog and post it in the wee hours this Tuesday morning.  I hope you enjoyed reading about my feelings from this past weekend.

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Bloom Where You're Planted

I have had this saying in my head since I was a little  girl.  There is a fun memory of how it came to be.  I went to a bridal shower for a family friend with my mom years ago when I was 12 years old.  The highlight of the party was that I got to play with my cousin who is five years younger than I am.  We have always had so much fun together.  At this bridal shower, there was a game.  Everyone received a clothes pin.  Anytime a lady was caught crossing her legs, another party member could go and steal her clothes pin (and all the ones she collected thus far).  Now, at this party, none of the women really took it seriously, but my cousin and I (being the only two children there) were on the prowl!  We wiped all those ladies out!  In the meantime, we were getting so into it that I remember my cousin getting mad at me that I had more pins than she did.  Since we both collected so many, we both got a prize.  My prize was a coffee cup.  It had a little girl on it.  She was in her garden in the mud, and I believe the cup had two sayings on it.  I remember one of them being the title of my blog today, "Bloom where you're planted".  Being such a young girl, I never knew what that meant, and quite frankly, I didn't really care.  All I cared about was the funny memory attached to it.  I am also glad to report that my cousin and I were fast friends once again after that afternoon, and we have remained close ever since.  This makes me smile.

I want to share with you a note that I carry in my purse.  A couple of months ago, I was visiting with my grandma.  I stayed the night at her house.  In her living room, I came across an autograph book which belonged to my grandpa.  This autograph book is kind of like a yearbook, but he used the same book from his childhood until he was eighteen.  There were several notes I fell upon in his book that I loved so much that I copied them by my own hand.  Some are so precious and close to my heart.  He not only had his classmates sign it, but his family as well.  Here is a note I want to share that my grandpa's uncle wrote to him.  I decided I want to live my life this way.  Here it is:

Whatever you do

Do with your might

Things done by halves

Are never done right

I love that.... so true, isn't it?

I am going to say the title of my blog once again, "Bloom where you're planted".  That means so much more to me now.  I find myself at times in a rush to do things, go places, be in a certain state of mind.  This saying came to my mind a few days ago, and it reminded me to be content and satisfied with where I am.  It reminded me to not look ahead so much and worry and plan my life away.  This almost sounds like a continuation of my blog post from last week, doesn't it?  I think it is important for me to remember where I am.  I need to not focus on where I want to be and then worry about when I'm going to get there.  This doesn't happen to me very much, but these feelings will sneak up on me from time to time.  This saying is also like another one I remember.  It is a very simple one, yet it makes me reflect just as much, "Wherever you are... there you are."  I remember last year my husband and I went on a trip.  I was having lots of issues with my anxiety during that time, and I thought back to a paper weight at my home that said, "Home is where you're heart is."  This is another very common saying we all have heard, but it made me think, "Where is my heart?"  I then realized that my heart is with my husband, and no matter where I am, as long as we're together... I'm home.  We both went on an amazing trip to Italia last October.  It was a wonderful experience.  Any time I felt nervous about the language barrier and my anxiety would rise, I would remember, "Home is where you're heart is."  I would think of my husband by my side and feel like I was home.

What makes you feel like you're home when you're away from home?

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Planner

No, I'm not talking about the little notebook you may have to schedule your week.  I am talking about a personality trait.  I am talking about a trait I posses.  I am very much, what I like to call, "A recovering planner."  My life consisted of me planning things out: from day to day things, to what time I need to be on the road and back home again, to entire vacations.  Now, I am not saying this is a bad thing.  I still do some of these things.  What I am about to write about is what I have learned by loosening the reigns on my "I need to plan everything attitude."

I'm going to talk about why I wanted to plan out vacations.  I would get excited about where my husband and I would go.  I would research and say to myself, "This looks fun, so does that, and Ooo!  We would love this!"  Then upon arrival, we would be on a time schedule.  We would have fun, but always seemed too conscious of our watches.  When I was little, my family and I took two trips every year.  We went to the mountains and went camping and fishing, and we would go to the ocean and spend a few days there.  A lot of the times, we did the same things and went to the same places.  This was not at all a drag.  We would have so much fun that we would look forward to going back the next year and doing those same things.  I have very fond memories of those times.  I think it's great to revisit places when you have kids because the whole family gets to see and spend time doing things you all love.  It's like a tradition.  Now, how this affected me was that as I got older, I wanted to plan everything.  Now, my husband is not much of a planner.  As he is reading this, I can see him smiling about what on Earth I am going to write next.  Although I liked to plan most of our special outings and activities, he was the one who gently suggested that we only plan the first two days of our honeymoon and just see where the road takes on the rest.  This was very exciting to me and a little nerve wracking.  I was nervous about the following, "What if we don't find a place to stay one night?" etc...  I am happy to report that it was the BEST trip!  We got to go places, see things, find activities that we would have never found if it was a planned trip.  I loved it!  I have been trying to incorporate this practice and idea into my life.

You may be asking yourself, "You can't just not plan for the rest of your life!"  You would be absolutely right.  There are some things that are very important to plan, such as: retirement, money management, all those important things that have to do with health and survival.  I am very grateful for, what I like to call, my "planning trait".  There were things I planned that I wanted to complete which I did, such as, graduating high school, going to college, getting a job while both in high school and college,  getting my diploma, living in an area I love.  I have done all these things (and then some).  I was going to write, "Marry a good man," but even a planner should know that is something you really can't plan... even if you want to!  But, I can scratch that one off my list, too. 

Different people are planners for different reasons.  In my last blog post, you learned that I have Social Anxiety Disorder.  I have learned that people with anxiety often times like to be prepared for what comes their way, but more so than a person who doesn't suffer from anxiety.  I am trying to learn and cultivate a way of life that lets me, again, loosen the reigns on my planning, and let life happen.  I am trying to not feel like I have control over things which I don't.  I am trying to find a healthy balance where I can try to prepare for whatever life may bring and not try to plan it.  With that thought, I must also understand that there are some things I will not be able to prepare for, and when those things happen, I must remember that I will still be okay.

Wish me luck....

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...