It's a beautiful day in my community today, bright, clear skies, warm with a cool and ready breeze - a great day for a parade! And that's exactly how my honey and I - and a substantial number of our population spent this Memorial Day morning.
"It's a slice of Americana." "Good to see you!" "Look at the little ones!" "That high school band is something!" These are all things I heard. There was an attitude of appreciation for every fire truck, ambulance, Brownie, Cub Scout, and parent that marched before us. Families, kids, and even dogs all seemed happy for the excuse to gather - and to express the appreciation that we feel.
The appreciation was most tangible right from the start of the parade as a large group of veterans - many in wheelchairs and quite a few from World War II as well as more recent conflicts - led off. As they wheeled or ambled past, the crowd stood and applauded.
Our community is host to a Veterans Hospital which is the only home many of our local Vets have known since they returned from their service. I couldn't help but think about the lives that these old men had hoped to live when they were young, whole, and hopeful. I'm sure that living out their lives in a VA Hospital wasn't in their plan, and I became aware in a new way of just how much they gave.
Marching along with the group of Vets were a few young moms pushing a stroller or pulling along a wagon occupied with a flag-waving pre-schooler. When I saw the kids, I thought, "I'll bet they haven't served overseas." But then I thought again. As a spectator, I couldn't be certain, but I began to wonder if these were families of soldiers now serving in Iraq. As I considered the possibility, my gratitude grew.
I feel grateful to those whose lives were interrupted in ways they couldn't predict and wouldn't have chosen - as well as those whose lives were lost entirely. I feel grateful to soldiers serving in the best way they know how under what must often seem like insurmountable conditions. I'm grateful to families who must recognize that their husbands, wives, sons, and daughters, mommies, and daddies may not return - and certainly won't ever be quite the same people they were before.
I'm grateful to our community's parade organizers who were astute enough to know that amidst the fun and fanfare of a slice of Americana, we'd also want to demonstrate our gratitude to those who serve - in whatever capacity that may be. I'm grateful to individuals and organizations who are doing far more than I to help soldiers and families feel remembered and honored on days beyond those few we set aside for them. I'm grateful that I have been allowed - due to their diligence and willingness to serve and protect - to live out the life I have planned.
And I'm grateful to live in a community and country that strives to be worthy of the sacrifices that have been made in our name. It's a healthy thing to be grateful - and to strive for higher levels of excellence as well!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
In the past week, I've been learning a lesson about paying attention - and on the benefits of taking action right away instead of putting it off and pretending I haven't noticed. I wish I could say that I've been learning the lesson because I have been taking action - but no. I've been learning the lesson because I'm paying the price of not taking action. Here's what I should have done.
Early last week I noticed that my car was making a tinny, rattling noise as I slowed, accelerated, or idled. Did I quick make a stop at my car dealership? Nope. I thought of it every time I slowed, accelerated, or idled, but not when I could make an appointment. I did finally make a call on Friday and as I described the rattle, my service guy said, "Sounds like the shield on the exhaust. Not a big deal. We'll just take it off. We don't even need an appointment." Whew! It could have been so much worse. And I will get it in - tomorrow or the next day I promise.
More troubling has been a tooth that has been increasingly sensitive to cold - and sometimes heat. I used the most laborious of excuses to procrastinate on this one. 1) I hate going to the dentist. Doesn't everybody? 2) I have a regular appointment scheduled next month; maybe I could put it off till then. 3) It's likely to be a root canal (I've been down this road before) and cha-ching, cha-ching. It's been an expensive couple of months. 4) Maybe it will get better on its own. Right. Well it hasn't gotten better, it's gotten worse. I put it off last week, but after a weekend of considerable pain, I made the call first thing this morning. If I'd taken action earlier, I'd have hurt a lot less!
I did finally take action on another of those long-delayed-to-do-list-items. I finally got myself into the Post Office a week and a half ago to submit my passport application. After all, I'm planning on a trip to Italy this summer, and I shouldn't delay. But of course, because I had delayed, I opted to pay more to have my application expedited. Put something off, the cost is higher. The good news is that my passport arrived very quickly. Just today! Now I have to start studying Italian again!
You'd think we'd learn these lessons. Pay attention. If you notice something wrong - or an opportunity for that matter - deal with it right then. But the painful (literally for me) reality is that many lessons must appear numerous times before we're ready to learn. Such lessons knock, then knock again, then beat the door down - and still we resist learning.
Probably I haven't fully grasped the lesson yet. But before this week is out, a painful tooth and a rattling automobile will be off my to-do-list. And I will have learned five new Italian verbs. I'll probably backslide, but now that these issues have my attention - and I've gone public with my vow - I want them off my plate. Now. And just maybe, I'll feel a little twinge of reminder in my jaw the next time I'm tempted to pretend not to notice something that needs my attention right away. Here's hoping!
What needs your attention right now? Respond to my blog at http://healthypeoplelearn.blogspot.com
And Plan now to participate in my May Telewebinar titled "Relationship Builders". This Thursday, May 24, 7:30 pm. FREE! We'll explore the power of validation and postive enCOURAGEment to build all kinds of relationships - at home, at work, at play!
Many blessings in this darling month of May - and may your teeth be free from pain!
Early last week I noticed that my car was making a tinny, rattling noise as I slowed, accelerated, or idled. Did I quick make a stop at my car dealership? Nope. I thought of it every time I slowed, accelerated, or idled, but not when I could make an appointment. I did finally make a call on Friday and as I described the rattle, my service guy said, "Sounds like the shield on the exhaust. Not a big deal. We'll just take it off. We don't even need an appointment." Whew! It could have been so much worse. And I will get it in - tomorrow or the next day I promise.
More troubling has been a tooth that has been increasingly sensitive to cold - and sometimes heat. I used the most laborious of excuses to procrastinate on this one. 1) I hate going to the dentist. Doesn't everybody? 2) I have a regular appointment scheduled next month; maybe I could put it off till then. 3) It's likely to be a root canal (I've been down this road before) and cha-ching, cha-ching. It's been an expensive couple of months. 4) Maybe it will get better on its own. Right. Well it hasn't gotten better, it's gotten worse. I put it off last week, but after a weekend of considerable pain, I made the call first thing this morning. If I'd taken action earlier, I'd have hurt a lot less!
I did finally take action on another of those long-delayed-to-do-list-items. I finally got myself into the Post Office a week and a half ago to submit my passport application. After all, I'm planning on a trip to Italy this summer, and I shouldn't delay. But of course, because I had delayed, I opted to pay more to have my application expedited. Put something off, the cost is higher. The good news is that my passport arrived very quickly. Just today! Now I have to start studying Italian again!
You'd think we'd learn these lessons. Pay attention. If you notice something wrong - or an opportunity for that matter - deal with it right then. But the painful (literally for me) reality is that many lessons must appear numerous times before we're ready to learn. Such lessons knock, then knock again, then beat the door down - and still we resist learning.
Probably I haven't fully grasped the lesson yet. But before this week is out, a painful tooth and a rattling automobile will be off my to-do-list. And I will have learned five new Italian verbs. I'll probably backslide, but now that these issues have my attention - and I've gone public with my vow - I want them off my plate. Now. And just maybe, I'll feel a little twinge of reminder in my jaw the next time I'm tempted to pretend not to notice something that needs my attention right away. Here's hoping!
What needs your attention right now? Respond to my blog at http://healthypeoplelearn.blogspot.com
And Plan now to participate in my May Telewebinar titled "Relationship Builders". This Thursday, May 24, 7:30 pm. FREE! We'll explore the power of validation and postive enCOURAGEment to build all kinds of relationships - at home, at work, at play!
Many blessings in this darling month of May - and may your teeth be free from pain!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Monday Moment - Sharpen Appreciative Senses
There are two or three days every spring when leaves that were barely present the day before, burst forth with a froth of green - just like they'd always been there. I love those couple of days!
One day, I'm looking at the bones of trees, and the next I'm looking at a leafy canopy. There's a color - one of the original Crayola 64 I'm pretty sure - a vivid yellowy green that Crayola aptly named Spring Green. It's a color that fills me we excitement and satisfaction.
Yup. You guessed it. Spring is without question my favorite season. I love slipping into sandals, leaving the house without a coat, peeking into my flower beds to see what has emerged from the earth today, and the first root beer float of the season!
Spring is a treat for all my senses. Spring feels good. I swear my skin gets itchy to breathe and not be confined to layers of clothing. I love a breeze that lifts my hair and swirls around my skin. And though I know I must protect myself from it with significant SPF, I love the kiss of the sun too - especially as I sink my hands into loamy soil. I try to remember to wear my gardening gloves the rest of the year, but in spring, I can't resist the feel of real soil on my real skin.
Spring smells good - especially now that the lilacs are popping out. Spring tastes oh so yummy good! Strawberries! Asparagus! Rhubarb! Delish! And it's all rich with the anticipation of actual food from the skinny little plants I'll soon be setting out. Yum!
And I good wax poetic - as if I were the very first to try - about how perfectly lovely spring looks. Every drop of color, from the first purple crocus to the vivid red of my Japanese maple - with daffodil brightness and grape hyacinth blueness in between - is cause for celebration.
And as if all the above weren't enough, the sounds of spring burst forth like joy that can't be contained. The best thing about my old dog's wake-up call every morning is the rush of birdsong we hear just outside the back door. It's tangible enough to physically lift one six or eight feet off the ground. Add in the peepers and bullfrogs of the evening, and I, like Gershwin, have to wonder who could ask for anything more.
I'm sure that beauty is just sitting there waiting to be appreciated all the rest of the year. And it's an ongoing goal of mine to be more awake to notice the beautiful whenever and wherever it may appear. In spring, though, I'd have to be entirely senseless to not see, hear, taste, smell, and feel beauty knocking me upside the head. This year, I'm going to make an even greater effort to hold the joys of spring within me, to learn more gratitude, more zest, more utter contentment from the bounty that's presented to me. Now there's an effort that I'm guessing will feel effortless in this darling month of May!
One day, I'm looking at the bones of trees, and the next I'm looking at a leafy canopy. There's a color - one of the original Crayola 64 I'm pretty sure - a vivid yellowy green that Crayola aptly named Spring Green. It's a color that fills me we excitement and satisfaction.
Yup. You guessed it. Spring is without question my favorite season. I love slipping into sandals, leaving the house without a coat, peeking into my flower beds to see what has emerged from the earth today, and the first root beer float of the season!
Spring is a treat for all my senses. Spring feels good. I swear my skin gets itchy to breathe and not be confined to layers of clothing. I love a breeze that lifts my hair and swirls around my skin. And though I know I must protect myself from it with significant SPF, I love the kiss of the sun too - especially as I sink my hands into loamy soil. I try to remember to wear my gardening gloves the rest of the year, but in spring, I can't resist the feel of real soil on my real skin.
Spring smells good - especially now that the lilacs are popping out. Spring tastes oh so yummy good! Strawberries! Asparagus! Rhubarb! Delish! And it's all rich with the anticipation of actual food from the skinny little plants I'll soon be setting out. Yum!
And I good wax poetic - as if I were the very first to try - about how perfectly lovely spring looks. Every drop of color, from the first purple crocus to the vivid red of my Japanese maple - with daffodil brightness and grape hyacinth blueness in between - is cause for celebration.
And as if all the above weren't enough, the sounds of spring burst forth like joy that can't be contained. The best thing about my old dog's wake-up call every morning is the rush of birdsong we hear just outside the back door. It's tangible enough to physically lift one six or eight feet off the ground. Add in the peepers and bullfrogs of the evening, and I, like Gershwin, have to wonder who could ask for anything more.
I'm sure that beauty is just sitting there waiting to be appreciated all the rest of the year. And it's an ongoing goal of mine to be more awake to notice the beautiful whenever and wherever it may appear. In spring, though, I'd have to be entirely senseless to not see, hear, taste, smell, and feel beauty knocking me upside the head. This year, I'm going to make an even greater effort to hold the joys of spring within me, to learn more gratitude, more zest, more utter contentment from the bounty that's presented to me. Now there's an effort that I'm guessing will feel effortless in this darling month of May!
Monday, May 7, 2007
Monday Moment - Climbing Back on The Goal Horse
In the last couple weeks, I've had to learn the lesson of starting over when I missed my target goal. It's a lot less fun than hitting my target, but when I set ambitious goals, I'm not always going to hit them. And then I'm faced with a choice. Do I cover up, fudge, or deny the goal? Do I give up? Or do I accept and forgive my blunders, vow to do better, and get on with it?
Week before last was the first week since before Christmas that I missed doing 300 minutes of exercise. I can make all kinds of excuses. The weather was cold and rainy - not good for walking or working in the garden. I've taken on a new professional role that's required me to fit new responsibilities into my schedule - something I haven't nailed quite yet. An extra day's work - a Saturday conference at which I expended a lot of energy - took up potential exercise time and pooped me out. Even trying a new place for dancing - which might have filled my remaining 30 minutes - didn't work since the band was more suited for listening than dancing.
All those excuses were real. And they were still excuses. I could have pushed myself, could have anticipated the challenges in my schedule, and could have wasted 30 minutes less that I could have used for exercise. Ah well. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. The upshot is that - not counting the 10 minute or so of dancing at the end of the week - I missed my 300 minute goal by 30 minutes.
So, I'm opting to own up, to vow for better performance, and get on with it. I don't let myself carry over minutes from a previous week - but on this one occasion I can get on with adding more than 30 minutes to the following week. Which I have done. Last week's total was 352.
I intended to tell you all this in last week's Monday Moment - but a lot of those same excuses got in my way. Monday went by, and I didn't meet my goal. I thought I'd get it out to you on Tuesday, or even Wednesday, but by then the 'give-up-on-it' option was too tempting. So here I am, trying to remount my goal horse!
Climbing back on the goal horse is something we all have to learn to do. When we set ambitious goals, we won't always hit our target. So we have to learn to recommit ourselves, and not give up - either on the goal itself or on the idea of setting goals. Starting over when you're committed to a goal isn't like starting from the very bottom. The goal itself has raised the floor as has your experience of reaching for the goal. And reaching for the goal gets us closer to what we want than not even having something to reach for.
270 minutes? Missing a Monday Moment? Neither meets the goals I've set. But reaching 270 minutes is a mounting block that makes hitting 352 the next week a lot easier than starting from scratch. And the feeling now that I'm back on my goal horse - well the view is teriffic! I'd recommend it!
Week before last was the first week since before Christmas that I missed doing 300 minutes of exercise. I can make all kinds of excuses. The weather was cold and rainy - not good for walking or working in the garden. I've taken on a new professional role that's required me to fit new responsibilities into my schedule - something I haven't nailed quite yet. An extra day's work - a Saturday conference at which I expended a lot of energy - took up potential exercise time and pooped me out. Even trying a new place for dancing - which might have filled my remaining 30 minutes - didn't work since the band was more suited for listening than dancing.
All those excuses were real. And they were still excuses. I could have pushed myself, could have anticipated the challenges in my schedule, and could have wasted 30 minutes less that I could have used for exercise. Ah well. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. The upshot is that - not counting the 10 minute or so of dancing at the end of the week - I missed my 300 minute goal by 30 minutes.
So, I'm opting to own up, to vow for better performance, and get on with it. I don't let myself carry over minutes from a previous week - but on this one occasion I can get on with adding more than 30 minutes to the following week. Which I have done. Last week's total was 352.
I intended to tell you all this in last week's Monday Moment - but a lot of those same excuses got in my way. Monday went by, and I didn't meet my goal. I thought I'd get it out to you on Tuesday, or even Wednesday, but by then the 'give-up-on-it' option was too tempting. So here I am, trying to remount my goal horse!
Climbing back on the goal horse is something we all have to learn to do. When we set ambitious goals, we won't always hit our target. So we have to learn to recommit ourselves, and not give up - either on the goal itself or on the idea of setting goals. Starting over when you're committed to a goal isn't like starting from the very bottom. The goal itself has raised the floor as has your experience of reaching for the goal. And reaching for the goal gets us closer to what we want than not even having something to reach for.
270 minutes? Missing a Monday Moment? Neither meets the goals I've set. But reaching 270 minutes is a mounting block that makes hitting 352 the next week a lot easier than starting from scratch. And the feeling now that I'm back on my goal horse - well the view is teriffic! I'd recommend it!
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