What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?

It probably doesn’t qualify as a “simple” activity but I absolutely love it when we are off somewhere in the motor home.   Food is simple, dress is casual, attention is more reciprocal, and bed time is earlier. 

Simpler than that would be a dark chocolate truffle from Amber Lyn Chocolates.    I keep them on hand and hidden away for emergencies.

What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?

People my age are happier and more satisfied with their age than I thought they were.    Each age and era of your life has its own unique challenges and thrills.    Learning from the challenges adds to a happiness bank you can withdraw from in the future.

Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?

Probably my biggest frustration since retirement is that I procrastinate more.  It is too easy to put things off now that my motivation factor has changed.    It’s not so bad day by day but at the end of the week when there is no progress on the “to do” projects I get grumpy. 

Is there a happiness mantra or motto that you’ve found very helpful? (e.g., I remind myself to “Be Gretchen.”)

For years, since my children were very young, I have stuck with “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and most of it is small stuff.”    This came about when I realized that if I worried my children about every little thing (hairstyles is one of those little things) they would already be tired of hearing me harp when something more important came up.   I used this as a motto for the twenty years I served as the Executive Director for The Arc of Washington County.     I still try to use it now when I don’t get to have things the way I want them.    

If you’re feeling blue, how do you give yourself a happiness boost? Or, like a “comfort food,” do you have a comfort activity? (mine is reading children’s books).

Little things boost my happiness quickly: a visit with one of my children, a conversation with a 2 year old, being around grandchildren, loves from my sweet little Bichon Frisce, watching a movie with my honey while snuggled in bed, listening to a grandchild play the piano, a phone call from a sibling.

Is there anything that you see people around you doing or saying that adds a lot to their happiness, or detracts a lot from their happiness?  

Service rendered in love, with no expectation of something in return, reaps a big reward of happiness all around.   It can be to the community, a family, or an individual … even to an animal.   

Sometimes people form habits in friendships that can turn out to be a very negative factor in their relationships: complaining and gossiping are easy habits to fall into.      In an even bigger perspective of this we have radio and television talk hosts who consistently come across as angry  and combative.   Their purpose is to create an atmosphere of distrust and indignation for their listeners.   It spreads across the airwaves like an infectious cloud and how can it help but detract from happiness?   

Have you ever been surprised that something you expected would make you very happy, didn’t – or vice versa?

When I spend money impulsively on something I don’t really need (or maybe don’t even want) it brings me down.    I love a surprise bargain when it is something I would normally buy, but a bargain isn’t always a bargain.

All hasn’t been bad with not feeling good this week.  I’ve had time to put some thought into some of my writing projects.   It’s good now and then to have a little time for thought, don’t you think?    My therapist comes in the form of a laptop.      It sounds therapeutic to me to get into a fictional realm again … make up a little world and create the people who dwell therein.     Messing around with words and sentences and creating a meaningful “something” is how I spell R E L I E F, if it can be on my own time frame.

I first fell under the spell of writing in the 2nd grade when I wrote a poem about tulips in the spring and my teacher, Miss Webb, told me it was one of the best poems she’d ever read.    I seriously doubt now that it was one of the best pieces of poetry she had ever read, but she was beautiful and young and I adored her and it means a lot to me, still, that she took me aside to build a little girl’s confidence.   Two years later I wrote a longer poem for an essay writing contest (maybe I would have won if I’d actually followed the rules and written an essay instead of a ballad) that involved our entire elementary school and the Draper City Fire Department.     As it was, I won Honorable Mention, became a Junior Fire Marshall, received a red plastic fire marshal hat and an ovation by the Draper Park student body at an assembly.    It’s hard to know which drew me in at that age; the writing or the praise, but I have been at it ever since in one form or another.     I think my biggest fan, unfortunately, is myself, which must be enough. 

I used to think I was fairly unique in my love of words and writing until I woke up one day to blogging and over and over and over again I came across talented writers with creative ideas and unique ways of presenting them.      I think it’s one of the great perks of Internet that we can come together like this, learning from each other, cheering and encouraging each other to continue, and having an audience for our own efforts.     Thanks to each of you who read my blog, and especially to those who take the time to comment, because it absolutely makes my day to have the reinforcement it affords!    And thanks for reciprocating by sharing your talents with me!   It’s my therapy … and I get it all for free … no appointment necessary!   

It’s kind of mind wobbling for me to think that I have people that I now feel very close to … who I would even dare to use the phrase (my close friend) in a sentence about them … and yet have never and possibly will never see them in person.

I went through knee replacement surgery with my pal who writes the blog,  Going Like Sixty.     He has quite a following of old timers like me … and has somehow manages to keep track of us well enough to send us personal notes and links that coincide with events happening in our lives.    I don’t know how he does that other than he must have a big old fat notebook of facts … because he’s an old timer like the rest of us.   Enough said.   

Alice, at Wintersong, has probably had the most impact on me as “a close friend” that I have never met in real life.    She has given me the right kind of encouragement to get me to actually write … as in BOOKS.    She writes as if we are sitting down to chat and has just exactly the right kind of humor.     I don’t know how it was that I stumbled on her blog in the first place but the first one I read absolutely cracked me up as she talked about Utah Mormons from a non-Mormon perspective.    

Another blog I love to visit and thoroughly enjoy is Virginia’s First 50 Words.  I love the quick writing challenges she gives out daily.   It’s like finding the crossword puzzle in the Newspaper …. ya just gotta do it.

My heart went out to my friend, Sally, whose husband of 54 years passed away this past October.    My heart twisted when I read of her loss and I wanted to be there to comfort her.    

Krista is one of my younger friends and I love her blog because it is uplifting and spiritual as well as full of cute stories about her family.    I am excited for the birth of her 2nd son in a little over two months … it’s fun to share those kinds of things with “close friends” via the Internet.    I’m grateful that somehow our cyber vibes found each other.

I’ve recently made a new friend at Coffee & Varnish.    Isn’t that just the strangest two words together?    It is such fun to peek into the lives of talented people who share their every day lives with such flair.    They are all such an inspiration to me.

Ronni Bennett has so many awesome links on her blog, Time Goes By, and links a lot of us seniors together in a good way.    In fact, it is probably through her that I have met the most of my new friends.   

My son in law, Brett, keeps me entertained with his perspective on fatherhood and tales like this one of his trip to Costco with three of his children in tow.    My daughter, Kim, has a real knack for pinpointing important learning moments and a cute way of repeating the funny things her children do and say.    I wish all of my children were as diligent in blogging!     My daughter in law, Kim, does have an excellent blog titled, All About Food Storage, this an absolute must for young mothers who are trying to prepare nutritious on a frugal budget. 

It’s all these bloggers plus the rest of them in my blog roll to the right who keep me encouraged and going on my own blog.      Blogging is more than a hobby, more than just  a way to keep a journal, more than just a venue for writing.   It’s my personal

community of people I love!

I love to watch the waves come in.    I love the sound as they crash on the sand.   It is enjoyable to watch the tide go in and out and think about the laws of nature … how everything is put together just so to make it all work for our benefit.    I see the ocean, the mountains, the blue sky, the green grass waving in the breeze, the beautiful flowers and I think how wonderful it is that it is all put together so precisely.    It is almost more than I can take in at times it is so overwhelming.

I love watching the pelicans and seagulls as they fly like soldiers in formations through the sky.  Sometimes they are in a line that comes from the south and goes on to the north as far as I can see.   Other times they are in smaller troops and fly in a V soaring and gliding exactly together.  All at once they will soar down dip into the waves where they scoop up their food without breaking stride.    It fascinates me to watch them and I could … and have … watched them for hours.   I love how they follow the leader … sometimes changing who is the leader … and yet they all know exactly where to go and what they are to do. They respect the importance of the rules and take care of their assignment so those ahead and behind them can be successful too.

Today there were lots of kites out flying in the blue sky.  Tomorrow is the first day of a week long Kite Festival.   They will be having events throughout the next five or six days.   I’m sure we’ll be taking a lot of pictures.  In fact, I have pictures I should include with this post but it is late and I’m too tired to download and do it tonight.   Maybe tomorrow I’ll just post the pictures.    Some of the kiters work in groups and some of them work solo with multiple kites.  They make their kites seem like they are alive … with difficult choreography to follow.   They make it look easy but I have also noted it takes a lot of practice and skill.  They practice their routines over and over and over for hours until I think their arms must ache from the strain.   They are working on a goal and staying with it until they reach it.

When I’m not watching the waves, or the birds, or the kites, I watch people.    Today I watched two different little toddlers  boys who were just getting the hang of walking.  I would guess they couldn’t have been more than a year and a half, if that.   They were trying to go solo across the deep, drifted sand and neither little boy wanted assistance from their mothers.   They would go a few steps, their arms out to steady themselves, and then inevitably they would fall down.  Sometimes they would just fall on their diapered bottoms but other times they would fall face down in the sand.   They didn’t cry or get discouraged, they just kept pushing themselves up, taking another few steps and then falling down again.  They made it all the way all by themselves … probably a good 400 or so yards … which isn’t far for an adult but for their tiny little wobbly legs it was a great achievement.   I thought of how we are like those little toddler boys in so many ways only as adults we somehow have decided we aren’t allowed the luxury of stumbling as we learn and when we inevitably do we decide it is too hard or beyond our capabilities and we give up.    Some will keep going longer, but if there are too many setbacks we get discouraged and stop.   Sometimes we kid ourselves into thinking we didn’t really want to do it anyway.   Others, like those little boys, keep going no matter how many set backs there are and eventually get to the end and feel the jubilation of having finished.   Having done it once they will have the courage and tenacity to do it again … and try more difficult challenges and accomplish those, too.

So today I saw the strength and magnificence of Mother Earth in the waves in the ocean, the beauty of organization and obedience in the pelicans, the tenacity and practiced skills of the kiters, and the courage and determination of two little toddlers who walked through the deep sand.    It was a beautiful day and I am so thankful for it.

A. Animals

B. Blogger

C. Children

D. Dessert

E. Eternal Marriage

F. Family

G. Grandchildren

H. Humorous

I. Insomnia

J. Jesus Christ

K. Kind

L. Lynn

M. Motherhood

N. Neighborly

O. Overweight

P. People with Disabilities

Q. Quiet time

R. Retired

S. Spiritual

T. Testimony

U. Understanding

V. Vacationer 

W. Weight

X.  Xanadu

Y.  Young at heart

Z. Zany

Does anyone know if it has ever been documented that someone can thrown up so hard they turn inside out?    Just wondering.

      So I looked around for something I could shoot and there it was, my left hand.   It’s not the hand of a young chick anymore as you can tell by the wrinkles and wear.   Most of my grandchildren have at one time or another had fun playing with the wrinkles and veins, pushing them back and forth or into piles, or pulling them up into a little mound of wrinkled flesh.    The thing is, I can remember doing that to my grandmother’s hands and thinking how amazing it was that their skin moved around like it did, and stayed where I put it.   I thought a picture of my hand for posterity was a good idea on a warm, sunny day in February.      At least three of my children have commented about my age according to this hand … one saying, “Grandma, it’s too bad you won’t be alive to go to my wedding”.    (I have a lot of faith that I will be, by the way.)    The next thing I noticed that wouldn’t smack me if I shot it was my purse that was resting unnoticed on the floor at my feet.    It’s not a fancy purse by any means but takes good care of my camera, my Kleenex, my wallet, and my comb.    It is a good purse for a grandma as there is a little zipper pouch that is perfect for stashing little bits of wrapped candy.  You never know when you might need a peppermint or butterscotch candy. 

          My next target was the keys Lynn left dangling in the ignition … waiting patiently as they have done countless times when they have been misplaced.    Note the little pill container.   Inside that little container are my extra strength, fast acting Tylenol.     Unfortunately, we discovered later that the Tylenol had escaped somewhere along our route today; hopefully not somewhere that would cause harm to anyone.    Little green pill container will have to go, I’m afraid.

The cheesy, garlic bread was good and worth the wait.     We were so hungry we sat right there in the parking lot and devoured it … only stopping to remark now and then we’d forgotten how good it actually was.      The last shot here was on our way out of the parking lot … kitty corner across the street to the spot where my nephew, Brett, used to work.    No, he didn’t work at Walgreen’s.   The building that used to be there was first “Lewis Meat Packing Company, and when Brett worked there it was “LearnKey” … a computer, nerdy sort of place.    I threw this picture in just for him because the old building was bulldozed and leveled out and replaced by this brand new pharmacy.     There’s not the least bit of evidence it has ever been anything else.     Isn’t that how life goes?     Out with the old, in with the new?   It used to be just another saying but now I am becoming “the old”  and it holds new meaning.   

And that’s about it … wrinkled hands, a black leather purse, a patient set of keys, and a new Walgreen’s … That’s what happens when you find yourself sitting alone in a nice warm car with nothing to read.

Technorati Tags: Boredom in a parking lot

This morning I was awakened by a grandchild’s scream at a sibling and this is exactly what I thought …,. exactly … I saw myself typing it …

“And she was rudely awakened from a sound sleep by a piercing shriek that turned her blood cold.   ‘YOU aren’t the boss of me!’ Steele then screamed at his fourteen year old sister.”

“Their grandma, determined not to buy into their problem quietly turned over and went back to sleep.”

Seriously … that’s exactly how I reacted.   I get screamed awake and immediately start writing it into a story … I need to do something else for a while!