At This Time Of Year

 

Remember to reach out to those living with illness and pain especially during this time of the year.  It can be a very lonely and isolated time for them. Give them a call, a smile, a hand, a hug and an encouraging word that shows you care.

I doubt there is no one who could use an extra dose of caring from a friend, a relative and yes, even from a stranger.

Speaking personally, the month of December has proven to be a very difficult month every year.  It is the month when I lost both my husbands who I deeply loved.  December anniversaries and events keep running through my mind.

I don’t look forward to this time of year and wish it would hurry along, so that the new year may begin with feelings of freshness and hope for a better year.

 

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The Friday File – Synchronicity & Compassion on Route #92

My friend, Cher, posted this beautiful story. I believe it should be shared again and again. Love for one another is still going strong among strangers.

The Chicago Files

It’s been a very interesting week here in Chicago.  A few days ago, I was about to take my usual train to a location that is approximately one hour from our area.  Upon approaching the train station, I noticed a bus nearby.  That particular bus also travels in the direction I was heading, but rarely do I take it.  For reasons unbeknownst to me at that moment, I found myself walking up and onto the bus!  Okay, I’ll go with it and see what the day brings.  Traveling by train or bus in Chicago can afford you the time to listen to your favorite music, stare out the window, read, or simply ‘veg’ as my mother likes to say when relaxing.

I was listening to my IPod (yes, I still use one of those!) when there was a slight pause before the next song started.  We were at a bus…

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My Bucket List of Gratitude – By Lisa Gastaldo

When help is needed, good friends come through without being asked.

Kindness Blog

I’m creating my own kind of bucket list. Not the usual listing of things I wish to do before I leave this earth, but an accounting of the gracious drops of kindness that have filled my pail to the brim.

Whether the contribution was a single drip from an eyedropper or gallons upon gallons of generosity, all have buoyed my soul, washed away hours of pain, and carried me through turbulent trials.

And so I have decided to make a conscious effort to recognize these not-so-random acts. Some were as temporary as the morning dew, but equaling as cooling. Others have been like IVs, injecting nourishment continually. A few were summer storms: electrifying, powerful, and brief. Whether their perpetrators knew it or not, each and every one made a significant impact. They quenched my drought in spirit and left me flooded with gratitude.

Item Number 1: Clean House – Warm…

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I Was Of Good Cheer This Morning Upon Awakening, Until….

Charleston SC.  A giant pall settled over me as I viewed the horrible news on CNN.

A great sadness for the families and for all the victims and all whose hearts they touched.

 

NYC Police DON’T Kill a Black Guy

Now, this is the type of police work I like to hear about. Maybe we should send our police recruits to Sweden for training??

The Old Liberal

In one of the weirdest stories on the interweb this week we see the NYC police in action.

There is a fight on the uptown 6 subway and the conductor calls for help. Four cops, not in uniform , immediately respond. They subdue both of the apparently homeless black guys who are fighting. Since the cops are not carrying weapons they have to use their BARE hands. But they get the job done.

No choke holds. No tazers. No guns drawn and fired. Using only their wits and training they stop the fight and hold the men down until more help arrives.

While one of the combatants yells and screams the police CALMLY settle him down. The police keep their cool. Defusing the violent situation. One cop can be heard calming reassuring  a combatant as he holds the man in check and tries to calm him down. No punching. No…

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Rest In Peace, Mr. Fix-It

Today, I was unfortunate to attend a funeral for a very dear man.  Marty was our neighbor and loved by everyone in our community.  A great loss, for sure.  He lived to serve.

Marty was happiest when helping others.  He was our talented handyman, and when anyone in our community needed assistance with a door or a window or a lock or anything around the house, Marty was your man.  I believe there isn’t a person living here who didn’t receive Marty’s help with something.

Personally speaking, Marty assisted me by re-routing an outside pipe leading from the hose connection to a hose reel; climbing a ladder in the garage to install a new heavy battery for the garage door opener; changed the batteries in the smoke detector alarms; and convinced me and many of my neighbors to get a carbon monoxide detector.  He was so happy to install them all.

We have a community newspaper here where I live, and Marty submitted a new article for every issue.  The subject was usually how to help ourselves to be safe in our homes and in the community.  We learned a great deal from his expertise.

Marty was also our amateur magician.  He loved to perform in our clubhouse; usually before some event, just to “get things started.”  He always made us laugh with his hi-jinx, costumes, props, and comical imitations.  It’s very possible he got some of his tricks from the following book:

Whether you needed a little encouragement if you were feeling down, or not, Marty always had a great short story or one-liner that was guaranteed to at least make you smile.

The chapel held seats for 160 people; however, when the services began, it was SRO.  Several people from our community stood up and spoke about how Marty’s caring affected them.  One person mentioned that people in show business and sports were highly regarded and when performing, people in the audience and in the sports stadiums stood and applauded.  Well, he suggested we should all stand and applaud Marty as a way of showing our admiration and love for him, as we say “goodbye” to him one final time.  It was as if this was rehearsed, because everyone stood up as one rippling wave, and we very gladly put our hands together and sent Marty on his way to a beautiful, peaceful place, riding on that wave.

Spotlight on Pets

This morning I attended a meeting of the Editorial Board for my community newsletter.  Many current articles were discussed, but there was a suggestion for a new monthly article.  We need to keep our readers interested and felt the need for something new which would keep our residents’ attention.  What better way than to focus on pets?

I volunteered to be the first.  Sometimes, it’s not a good idea to volunteer, but I was happy to do it this time.  And Rusty was my choice (I have 3 cats).  And it was decided to keep it down to 50 words.  I protested.  After all, I could write a book about all the antics and sweet things that Rusty does.  How can I keep him down to only 50 words?  In answer to my protest, I was reminded that we have to keep our Tweets down to 140 spaces.  Yeah, but I’m talking about MY RUSTY!!

Well, I did it, and feel very proud that I did.  It was not easy.

SPOTLIGHT ON PETS

Introducing Rusty!  (me) is owned by him, and he loves all the attention he receives which he so richly deserves.  He speaks, he hugs, he curls, he’s soft, he’s always happy, plays, purrs all the time.  That face is to die for-you just can’t help melting.

A Story of Friendship

Tomorrow, my friend Marian, is coming to visit me. She will be staying for 9 days.  She lives in Connecticut, and this visit was planned LONG before there was the polar vortex that made its latest appearance.

Marian’s original plan was to fly to Miami on last Thursday to visit her son and his family before coming to stay with me on Monday (tomorrow).  So, when that storm made its few passes in the northeast, of course all flights were cancelled, and my Marian, as did many others, had to scramble to get another flight to South Florida.  She was successful and has already landed this evening in Miami and will have her shortened visit with her family.

Marian and I grew up together.  We lived across the street from each other in Brooklyn while we were teenagers.  We hung out together a lot, and double-dated many times.  We were really close friends.  Then, she got married and moved to Connecticut, and a year later, I got married to the guy who lived “down the block.”  It was a close-knit community.  As can happen, people sometimes lose touch when life gets complicated.

We hooked up again through a mutual friend whom I hadn’t contacted in 45 years(!), whose son I found on Facebook.  It’s a convoluted thing.  The long and the short is that life has its strange twists and turns and we can end up traveling a full circle if we’re lucky!

And tomorrow, we close that little space in our life’s circle.

Weekend Past

Boy, was it a busy one!  Self-improvement Saturday and Meet ‘n Greet on Sunday.  Got a chance to use my self-improvement only one day later!

It’s not the first self-improvement workshop I’ve been to in my life, but it was very challenging.  I’m basically a positive person, so I really didn’t have to work on the negative part of my psyche.  (Do I have one?)  My problem is that I’m still trying to find my passion!  It’s about time, isn’t it?  Have more work to do; speaking of which, I came home with a work book, so I can work some more on my self-improvement.  I firmly believe that we all could use some improving, what do you think?

The Meet ‘n Greet was a success!  We welcomed the most recent newcomers to our community, and it proved to be a very happy gathering. 

Of course, the wine and cheese may have helped a bit!  The day was perfect – sunshine (that’s a familiar word), moderate temps, and when you get a very social crowd together, the friendship sparks light the fire. 

While I’m sitting here, typing my blog, I started to feel awfully warm; almost to the point of sweating.  I checked the thermostat and realized the temp in the house was too high.  I forgot to adjust for the warmer temps outside. Too bad it wasn’t a “smart” thermostat.

Sunshine is even happier now! 🙂

Finally – Sunshine!

The day has been really beautiful.  Yesterday was nasty and rainy and I remember commenting to my sister as we rode in the car, that it seemed like a Fall day in New York:  misty, drizzly, cloudy and wondering when we were going to see the sun again.

The night was horrendous.  It rained very hard all night, and the thundering on the roof prevented me from having a good night. 

I went out to the driveway to pick up my newspaper; it wasn’t there.  Then I realized the street was flooded.  I am not one to keep checking the weather report, so I just accepted the fact of the small lake in front of my house and went inside, sans newspaper.

I called the Sun-Sentinel and a recorded message told me today’s newspaper will be delivered tomorrow with tomorrow’s.  What good is that?  OK.  Had to accept that.

Was expecting a visitor this morning, but she telephoned that all the access roads to my community were flooded; in fact, there was a BMW stuck in the deeper water near the entrance.  Posted all the “good” news on the community website.  Daughter’s street was flooded and many major roads as well.  Heard there was a tornado in the area during the night, and her phone and electric were out.  She couldn’t get to work and went back to sleep.

The good news?  Most of today has been sunny and mild, allowing the excess water to disappear and there is no more flooding in my community!  January will probably be the wettest winter month in years, here in South Florida.  No prospect for a drought, that’s for sure.  And my Rusty is keeping me company on my desk.  Check out my blog for my cats:  pussycats3.wordpress.com

What is your good news for today?