don't worry be happy

I always liked this whimsical tune, it is a gentle reminder that attitude is everything. Yeah, don't worry..be happy, not always easy.


I remember when we were preparing for our move to South Korea and I was very stressed and worried. We had never lived in another country and I was nervous about it.
A very memorable moment in this process was when I caught a glimpse of the following words on a poster;
“most of the things we worry about never come to pass”

Hmm this gave me pause. How true! We spend so much time worrying in our lives about things that thankfully, don’t happen.

As it turned out,none of my worries about moving came to pass. We had a wonderful experience in Korea. I think of this from time to time and, after further reflection on this, I have come to the conclusion that the statement is true but I would like to include a little addendum;

“most of the things we worry about never come to pass…..
it’s those meteors that come out of nowhere that tend to flatten you”

So I keep reminding myself of the fact that worry is very counterproductive. It really doesn’t add anything to your life and worse, it robs us of our present over something that may never happen.
So what the heck..even though it looks like the world as we know
it will never be the same and things are crumbling all around us.
I am chosing to be grateful for what I have and whistle that happy
tune.

Don’t worry…be Happy

Another Retirement

Hmm Retirement. There is a lot of that going around these days.
Just when we finally think we have it figured out.. ..benched!
“Put me in back in coach” we say… Hurry while everything still works, the inevitable physical decline is looming on the horizon.
(the way, way DISTANT horizon)
Here we sit muttering “where am I going and what am I doing in this handbasket!)
(Note for those of you non Americans reading this or for the dull and humorless, this is a clever play on words based on the expression
“going to Hell in a handbasket” well...I thought it was clever!)
Anyway let me go on record as saying there is nothing wrong with retirement, we are looking forward to it, it is just retirement when you are not ready for it.

Today I am writing about a retirement that I have seen coming for a long time. There have been glimpses of its coming, foreshadowings that have hinted of this day.
And here it is arriving way too soon. Those ever turning pages in the chapters of life have recently changed gears and have turned into rifling pages zooming along. The retirement I am experiencing is a Mom retirement. I have just packed up my youngest child and moved her to Colorado where she will seek her fortunes. She has graduated from college and is ready to make her way in the world. She is turning into a grownup with a capital G. This is a good thing, as a mom, it is what we work hard to accomplish. But it is a definite transition. It is weird not to have her an hour away, and she is no longer a student. This is definitely a closing of a chapter. It will take a little getting used to.

Realistically I know moms never really retire, the role just changes. Now I must go.. I have to clean my empty nest..

note.. it isn’t REALLY empty she did not take much of her stuff!

12 Days of Mothers Day

Hope all the mom’s had a wonderful Mother’s Day, full of love and good wishes!
But now two days later as I am looking at the laundry and preparing to go out and mow the lawn I am asking myself…why does it have to end here?

I am promoting an idea whose time has come. I am sure it will catch on with most moms
and our wonderful children will surely support this because they realize that they are forever in our debt for being the wonderful human beings that they are.

It is the 12 days of Mothers Day. Actually I am working up to 365 which is what it should be but a girls gotta start somewhere!

Think of the possibilities. I have been humming this tune since the official Mothers Day ended. Just fill in your own list but here are a few of my thought starters.

One the first day of Mothers Day my family gave to me
A massage and a margarita times 3.
Two dinners out
Three French men
Four gift cards
Five Diamond rings
Six cleaners cleaning
Seven maids-a-dusting
Eight shoppers shopping
Nine cooks-a-cooking
Ten Flowers growing
Eleven mowers mowing
Twelve Days in Bali

You get the idea plug in your own list…get ready for next year.. it’s not too late for this year.

Anyway Happy 12 Days of Mothers Day

A Lifelong Gift

Who would have thought that this spiral notebook would become a lifelong gift. This notebook is from 1969, it is a my first journal. It was an assignment from an English teacher and she did something wonderful that was actually life changing for me. After I turned in my first attempt at a journal, she returned it to me telling me to do it over. She said it was a diary and she wanted it to be a journal. She said “write so I can know you” She said a journal is more about who you are than what you do. Hmm I have thanked that teacher many times since then. I have kept a journal ever since and it is a real gift to have introspective glimpses at different times of my life. It is like an inner “growth chart”.
Since I have been home from my time in South Korea I have taken time to continue this enriching process. It is very lifegiving. Writing your story leaves you with a valuable memoir and it doesn’t matter if it is literature in anyone else’s eyes. It is always at the top of your own “best seller” list.
So even if you have never been a writer in the past, I would encourage you to pick up a pen and just have fun with it. Take time for you.


What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A fan of Susan Boyle

47-Year-Old STUNS Britains Got Talent - Watch more Funny Videos

Today I became the 1,401,404th fan of Susan Boyle (more or less!) I just listened to her performance again and still it stirs my very soul. I say thank you Susan Boyle, thank you for stepping out of the shadows to sing your own song! It just sends such a strong message to never stop believing in yourself and your dreams. It is the sound of her sweet spirit that is brought to life in this song. It can't help but touch you.
How many people walk among us that hide their bright light? How many will die with their songs left in them.
It is never too late.

No music is sweeter
it just can't be wrong
than someone who chooses
to sing her own song
-Cindy Keil (from Open the Door)

Reflections from the land of broken hearts and shattered dreams!

I say this as a true blue Spartan fan, not one of those “Johnny-come-lately”
wannabe Spartan fans who were just there for the party.(Oh no, not me!) True blue …oops..green Spartan fans chant the ever familiar mantra “for better or worse” or “til death do us part” (or more accurately when my student loan is paid off..whichever comes first!) True fans are in it for the long haul, like your mutual fund or 401-K, so minor upsets like losing the national championship are mere blips on the screen.
Yes-we’ll get em next year, we say with a high degree of confidence. The team is very young, a lot of freshman, we say… but underneath we ponder what might have been…another championship trophy to go with the one from ’79 (the Magic years)
a whole week worth of parties…a break from watching that same game from ‘79 on the Big Ten channel, more extremely cool Spartan shirts to go with our shirts from the football season(the "heartbreak collection"). Being a Spartan fan is a lifetime commitment that begins with your first clueless day on campus to your last clueless day wondering where the years went.(almost "womb to tomb") We will rise again!
On a serious note we are proud of the Spartans and the job they did to get to the “big dance” It was very exciting to have them playing in Michigan the whole state was ignited with excitement!
Go Green! Go White.!
We’ll get em next year!
Good thing my self esteem isn’t tied to the performance of a lot of guys in baggy pants dribbling the ball around and making baskets (or not)! We love you Spartans!

Quotes-The Great "Ahas"

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” William Blake

I really like this quote, William Blake was an inspiration to the Doors and in fact this quote was the inspiration for their name. This is very interesting to me to think of infinity; the vastness of it all. I have to admit…truth be told ,I am in a bit of a “the world is flat ” phase so infinity is kind of cool. So I am presently working on cleansing my doors of perception, this is way more fun that cleansing the windows of my house!

I really love quotes, they are the great “ahas” in someone else’s life; when the proverbial light bulb goes on. We all know these moments of clear focus tend to be fleeting and sometimes rare. So to me clarity is when you take the “fuzzy stuff” in life and examine it through the lens of wisdom. ( If you are like me, there is no lack of “fuzzy stuff” in your life).It is only from this perspective that we can truly bring things into focus.
And we have to have a “lived” life to gain this wisdom, there are no shortcuts. Intelligence and enthusiasm are contributors but real wisdom comes from trying to make sense of it all and learning from it. So that is why I really appreciate quotes, I like to share in others’ moments of clarity. I don’t have time to learn every thing first hand and I am not too proud to learn from the insights of others.
Second hand wisdom works for me!

I really like to take a list of quotes and pick one that speaks to me and journal about it.It tends to awaken different insights depending on my perspective at the time.
It is always interesting the insight that comes from this.

So take care and don’t forget to cleanse those doors of perception.

Coming up What is your RLAI? Real life age index?