Change Is A Good Thing

I use to always say that I "hated" change because I always associated it with a negative experience. It meant closing the door on something familiar ,and the "unknown" was a frightening prospect. I thought of how it felt to leave the only home I had ever known ( at the tender age of 13), an acre of trees, pasture and a world where the imagination had no boundaries. I left that to go to a home that was considerably newer, modern appliances, a cul- de- sac full of kids. It was a move from country living to real neighborhoods, and not bad at all once I got my feet wet.

I have learned that people who handle change well, whether it is a move, job change, illness, or even a death, always focus on the positive that will ultimately come from the transition. What I have also learned is that the gift, or the positive result, may not always be directly related to what you are going to or through. For example you may have lost your job and in locating a new one, you discover friends that you would never had an opportunity to meet. These realtionships bring about new interests, hobbies, and a healthier lifestyle.

Change can help you develop a deeper confidence in yourself, deepen relationships, and even present greater opportunities for you to grow. The important thing to realize is that change does not have to be negative, you can choose to make it a positive experience and glean every morsel of good out of it. It IS a CHOICE.

Lately, I have had my eyes opened to how people view the world around them. I cannot believe how many choices of negativity I see everyday. If we choose to view our little part of the world that way, no wonder so many of us are ill, unhappy, bitter and full of negative energy. It starts small with one little comment , " It was really difficult", " I can't do that", "It won't make any difference", and pretty soon we have talked ourselves into defeat and even infected those around us.

It takes practice, watch and notice what is in your environment and begin to make a CHANGE for the POSITIVE...you will love how it feels inside.

A Visit Long Overdue

I have written often about my parents, and how much I miss them. I have often thought how wonderful it would be if I could have just one more day, one more hug, one more conversation. Then it happened.

I was going through a box in my closet and came upon a box of tapes. As I was thumbing through them I immediately recognized the handwriting on one of them. It read, 1980, conversations with Aunt Nannie , Aunt Tama, and Uncle Wallace. I had a fire in my home five years ago and thought that this treasure had been lost, and here it was. My mother was raised in Oklahoma, and at the time of this tape my parents were vacationing in my mother's home town of Retrop all the way from California.

My son only knows of my mother through stories and pictures. This was almost more than I could have hoped for. We put the tape into the tape machine and anxiously waited. There she was, there they both were; laughing speaking over one another in conversation anxious to share a story or ask a question. The laughter was contagious as my son and I began to join in, and I began to interject thoughts as if I were talking to a T.V. program.

I knew the characters, I knew their speaking style and 25 years could not change that. It was as easy as riding a bicycle, there, familiar, warm, inviting, and oh so comforting. By the end of the 60 min tape I had what I had wished for, and more.

They're not gone; they are still teaching me lessons. Lessons that I know and have lived by, the love of family, the desire to appreciate my heritage, the joy of simple heart felt conversation in all of its simplicity. They were simple, real people who worked with their hands and brought great laughter into my life and now my son has met them . What a wonderful visit!

Learning Curve

I have been substitute teaching all week. The first four days I was in Junior High teaching Chorale Music and Music Appreciation. Today I was teaching at the Elementary School , in Third grade. It is amazing how fast one has to change their game up to attend to the current schedule. One day it is the mature "straight to it" teaching style and the next day we degenerate to Gumby and Clarabelle the clown. Techniques, all techniques to get our young ones to learn, and actually it is more out of a desire to instill a desire for learning in them.

I love teaching, even in this crazy forum. I would have been fabulous had I only started 15 years earlier, but I can still make a "mark" a small one and that is better than doing nothing at all. I love kids, but I have said that before too. They are all sponges , just waiting to soak up what is presented to them. Unfortunately, some of that isn't always the best and you can tell the difference between those who are guided and those who are not.

I am still on my own quest for learning and willing myself to stay in the positive frame of mind that attracts the positive to me and all for my greater good. It certainly makes it easier to see the negative in my life very quickly, and try to correct it or move away from it. I feel it drain my energy if I linger around it too long, weird. I always tried to hang in and change it and that left me feeling befuddled in my head. Even I can learn! YEAH!

Nana's Delight

I am one of those women who loves kids, little itty bitty babies, most toddlers, elementary, junior high and even high school. I find them fascinating, spontaneous, courageous, and sometimes provocatively honest.

I also happen to be one of those women who adores road trips with kids, lazy days at home with kids and hanging out conversing with kids. They make me laugh, smile, worry at times and always , always make me think.

I have taught Sunday School classes in the past, substitute teach in our many school districts, and can say that I have had only a couple of memorable days in class where I Almost changed my opinion. :0(

I know that if we expect the best in kids and tell them, not only do we expect it, but we are confident they have what it takes to deliver the goods, we can see positive actions. I know if we closely monitor, redo what they have done to make it "better", and constantly remind them of what they did wrong instead of what they did right, we will help a kid lose their confidence.

I have done BOTH, all with the best of intentions, but the results were the same. If we really try to speak words of encouragement, and positive reinforcement we will help our kids develop strong positive self images.

I am in the process of trying to undo damage, not that I was a negative mom ( YIKES), but I overcompensated. So, a lesson learned is, never be too grown up that you cannot say, "I made a mistake", this is what, why, and how, I messed you up.......hate me now not later, .....we can fix this ...we can do this....no, YOU CAN DO THIS and SOOOOO MUCH MORE! I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Oh, and it's always nice to include a picture of a happy day at Nana's House!

Buying A Hat

I have never been a hat wearer ( is there such a thing??), I like hats, I appreciate hats on other people, but I never gave it much thought personally. However, this weekend I went on the search for the perfect hat. This hat had to say, " I am sassy, I am sexy and I am classy, chic and worthy of your glance." Now, that is one tall order for a hat. Nonetheless, I was going to find such a hat, and it needed to be ..yes, red!

Why red? Red says I am bold, unafraid, unabashed, and courageous. It says sexy, and feminine fire. I like red! This is still quite a tall order for hat, but I was determined.

This hat had to sit on the head in a cool , confident manner and leave enough style that a pair of coooool earrings would make everything under it look absolutely splendid. So I continued my search in the California Coastal town of Cambria, and it was there that I found "the" hat..the most perfect hat. So perfect , I bought three of them..yes "3". One in RED, Classy Beige, and Striking Black. These hats will be perfect!

They are for my dear friend, who received her first haircut from the hands of her daughters, 17, and 19 years old. She has lymphoma and these hats are perfect for her new haircut, her style and her grace.

I love you Shelly!