Colding Up

Kye fiddling with the Christmas tree, placing an ornament says, "Mom is it Christmas?"

I say, "Not yet, but we are warming up to it...."

Kye: "Mom, don't you mean that we are colding up to it?"

I say, "Exactly right, Kye! We ARE colding up to it!"

Stuck in Reverse

We watched a wonderful movie last night called "Young @ Heart".It was fun to watch it with my dad and step mom along with my kids-- spanning generations. Each of us laughed and cried during the movie. This documentary is about senior citizens who joined a choral group that sings rock songs. It shares stories about the participants- their goals and aspirations, body ailments, and relationships.

There is one song that they sing by Coldplay that sent waves of emotion across the room. The guy singing had just lost his co-singer to cancer. He sang with such a sense of loss. Most of us understand loss and can relate.

Here is the video:



The name of the song is "Fix You".
Coldplay
Fix You

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home,
And ignite your bones,
And I will try to fix you,

High up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Here is Coldplay singing, with the lyrics (whole song):

Ladies in Black

I found this photo in a basket at my aunt's house that resides on the floor beside her tv console. The basket has all kinds of photos of family and friends. This one is of my dad and his brother with some friends of theirs. My dad is the one paddling, big smile on his face-- donning cool shades. What were these boys doing with the ladies in black? A story just begging to be told. Stay tuned. My dad comes for a visit tomorrow, maybe I will get the scoop then.

Poem to Help Muster Courage

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You've all that the greatest of men have had;

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,

And a brain to use if you would be wise,

With this equipment they all began.

So start from the top and say, "I can."

Look them over, the wise and the great,

They take their food from a common plate,

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes,

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,

You can be great if you only will.

You're well equipped for what fight you choose;

You have arms and legs and a brain to use,

And the man who has risen great deeds to do

Began his life with no more than you.

YOU are the handicap you must face,

You are the one who must choose your place.

You must say where you want to go,

How much you will study the truth to know;

God has equipped you for life, but He

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You were born with all that the great have had,

With your equipment they all began,

Get hold of yourself and say: "I can."

Anonymous

I am trying to muster up the courage to start fresh, begin again and realize that I am equipped to do so. I remind myself that the world is a big place, with many mysteries, many opportunities and they are there for the taking. Energy is the key. Where you place your energy, how you spend your time, what thoughts you allow into your conscious-- these are the keys to moving forward. I choose to believe that I have a world to offer-- now to find the place where my gifts are best received.

Happy Feet

Just a quick note to get in the swing of things. It has been a long time since I have posted. I suppose I have been a bit down in the dumps lately and it has effected my desire to write. I think that will change soon . As I have reflected on the recent past, I do have things to share.

This one is related to a visit at the Franklin Park Conservatory- an engaging place. As we walked from exhibit to exhibit, Alea would do a fancy footwork walk. I asked her to share it on camera and she was willing to oblige. The funny thing is that she was just doing this as a matter of course-- expressing joy in each step, playing with each step. It reminds me to seize those moments and sing, dance or whatever-- who cares who is looking. In fact, as I witness others expressing joy, I usually smile along or have a silent wish to join in or have a bit of jealousy. So watch out world, I seek my joy and plan to revel in it!!

Here is Alea and her happy feet:

Old School

My friend Chelahnnhe's son has a project where he needs to track 80 people's choices about their old school music favorite. I would like your help here. Look at the list below and pick your favorite and post a comment with your choice:

Prince
Micheal Jackson
Run DMC
Biggie Smalls
Temptations

He will need your first and last name as well. I thought it would be fun to help in this way. I will comment back and let you know my favorite as well........

Healing and Happiness

Found this video that gives tips on diet and other particular actions to heal oneself and experience happiness- intriguing thoughts:




Dr. Dean Ornish: Healing and other natural wonders

What's for Dinner?

Well I am stuck. I am having dinner guests on Sunday and I have no idea what to serve. I am having some kind of brain fart- not sure I can explain it. So here is the scoop:

One of the guests is allergic to milk. I cannot seem to get past my compulsion to have mashed potatoes. Other than that, I am coming up empty- any idears?

Comment or email me your thoughts.....hmm.

The Fall

As I was driving today in my car that looks like a toaster on wheels, I saw leaves blustering and littering the streets. The sun was shining and the air was crisp. The kids were talking and singing as we bopped down the road.

As I used the word littering to describe the leaves, I realized that so much in our life is about how we choose to see our circumstances.

Fall is my favorite time of year. Leaves everywhere is a welcome happening to me. I am sure for some others, leaves falling represents more to pick up, a bit of messiness, the passing of summer. This concept gave me pause for thought.

Preferences exist for each of us and there are definitely situations that don't jive with who we are or speak to us. But, in general, we have the great power to choose our perspective- and the opportunity to appreciate what we have and what we experience.

I realize that I sometimes lose sight of this power, choosing to complain or allow discontentment to creep in. The fact is that most folks I run into these days are somewhat discontent. I have come to the fact that it may not be so much about circumstances but choices in perspective, day to day, that really determine true happiness. Often I just need to reroute my thinking to get to a better place- remind myself of the hidden chances; see the beauty of the moment and be open to all possibilities that exist.

The other action on the path to true happiness is that of letting go, but I will save that topic for another post.......

Wag more;

bark less.