THE END...........

...of this day leaves me a little sad but there was a beautiful sunset as the final good bye. The day went by much too fast. But I'll let it go and know there will be others almost just like it, although it is as unique as you and me.

I really should have been doing some of the things I needed to do but instead I played. I needed the fresh air and the sunshine though. I got to reconnect a little with nature and remember what is really important in this life we are living, for that I am grateful.

So, good bye perfect day. I'm glad we had this time together.

Spring Fever

Doesn't Spring just make you feel so good? I've enjoyed such a beautiful day off today. No matter what problems you have or what's on your mind, you can't help but soak in the beauty and just be in awe of your surroundings.

A Peaceful Place

I felt the need to sit and think,
To reconnect with my own self.
And on this earth bestowed to us,
I found the perfect place.
And I was reminded there how Nature works,
In perfect harmony with no discord.
Included in the perfect unity is me.
And I know I am right where I'm suppose to be,
At just the right time I am destined.
And I am at peace.

Confession...

When I was a kid I loved to watch Saturday morning cartoons and to this day I still love those same cartoons. I loved Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Jetsons and Archie and Casper. Those were my most favorite ones.

We have a substitute U.P.S. man at work that looks just like Theodore of the chipmunks to me (that would be the one on the far left here). I smile every time I see him. He just thinks I'm really friendly.

But my very favorite of all time is The Flintstones. I'm wondering if you can get them on a disc. I'll have to check that out. I'd love to have them from the beginning , the birth of Pebbles and Bambam, all the way through the to the very ending episode. I think I'll see if Netflix has such a thing. While recuperating that might be a good thing to have.

A Day Off

I've got somethings I need to do today, I need to get my house ready for me to come home to after my surgery, and I need to do some cooking for meals to freeze so I can just pop something in the microwave. I need to do laundry and some housekeeping in general, but we'll see how far I get with that today. I've been so tired all week and so far I've felt no surge or energy yet. But I probably could push myself a little.

I smile everytime I look at the picture I've posted here. This bush is really suppose to be a shrub. It is in my mother's yard and it is a constant subject of conversation between my mother and step-father. In the spring, when it starts to bloom ,he wants to trim it back. She does not. It takes up over half of one side of the yard. It is quite spectacular to look at. He is right, it is wild and out of control but it is just a burst of bright pink blooms and she just can't bear to trim it down one bit. This conversation between the two of them happens every year, it is a Spring tradition I guess. They have no idea what kind of bush it is. But the nesting birds love it. It's a haven for them and pretty soon we'll see baby birds flying out.

The Touch

Research shows that
positive interaction with a pet has
a calming influence over our mental
and physical health.
I am thankful for my little dog.
She takes good care of me.

American Indian Wisdom

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.

Chief Seattle, 1854




If you've followed this blog for awhile, you know I find great comfort in Native American art, photos, music, and wisdoms. I'd gotten away from it some but it always comes back to me and at times when I need it the most the words speak to my heart.

Tuesday Ramblings

I'm up early for conference call. And it is COLD this morning. After a week of pretty mild weather, it is in the thirties here now. But it will warm up nicely and we'll go back to our Spring.

I'm concentrating now on eating good and getting in shape for my hysterectomy that will be the third week of April. I probably should be a little more nervous than I am but for now I am at peace with it and actually looking forward to getting it done and getting on with the healing process.

It's funny how life takes turns you could never imagine and that one day you have to deal with things that you never thought you would. But life is like that. We all face obstacles and it's not really what the obstacle is that matters but how we handle it and the choices we make to get through it. Each of us have a different destiny but we're all in this together.

I want to live my life with dignity, I want to be true to myself, I want to gain strength by the obstacles I face and overcome. Most of all I just want to overcome.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

The Dogwoods are blooming. I love to see them in full bloom.
I hope your Easter was wonderful.

Memory of my Heart

When I was a little girl my parents rented the house we lived in and the owner of the house was an elderly man by the name of Felix Hart. Mr. Hart came to visit us a lot. He and my father would sit outside under the pecan trees in lawn chairs and solve all the world's problems.

I'd sometimes listen to the discussions, not understanding much but as a five year old I loved the sound of their voices as they passionately talked about this or that.

The special thing about him was that he never ignored me and always had a dime in his pocket that he'd hand me right before he'd leave. (Believe it or not, 45 years ago a dime would buy an ice cream cone at the drugstore.)

He always made me feel important and he was always very attentive to what I had to say. He was the kindest man I had ever met at that time. For some reason I never called him Mr. Hart or as it the custom down south, I never called him Mr. Felix either. I simply called him Hart.

Years later I realized I thought for the longest time his name was Heart. And maybe that's why I always just called him that because that was what I thought he was, a nice man that had such a big heart that was what his name should have been. It fit and it made since. And it is in my heart where his memory lives, even after all these years.

We lived in that house for a few more years and then moved and lost touch with Mr. Hart.
Isn't it funny he made such an impression on me at the age of five that I will never forget him?

Happy Easter!

Today I will have lunch with my mother and step-father. I don't think we'll be hiding eggs, but because my mother is cooking you can bet we'll have good food.
My heart is not here, it is with my granddaughter. I saw her last back during their summer visit but it seems like a lot longer than that.
I hope you have a wonderful day and I hope you find the prize egg if that is what you are looking for.

Interesting Easter Facts

Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008
As you may know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moonafter the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew peopleused to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Romancalendar.
Found out a couple of things you might be interested in!

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March22) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of ourlives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it thisearly (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, seeit a day earlier! Here’s the facts:

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so ifyou’re 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around forthat!).
The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285(277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no onealive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Life Means Sometimes You Have to Say "I'm Sorry"

This past week has not been that great for me but something did happen that is amazing and that is that I actually got two apologies from two separate people and that in itself makes me feel better.

First my boss, who is quite the dedicated company person, apologized to me, in person no less. I've dreaded telling her for quite some time that I was going to have to be out of work due to surgery. Timing is never right. And now that I've waited until it just can't wait any longer, I have really got to do this. And so this week I broke the news to her that I would be out for probably two months. She pointed out to me that I would be out during the contact lens event that we have twice a year and is really a big big thing for us. And that is just not a good time for a store manager to be out.

That hurt me for a lot of different levels. First of all, I can't help this. It has to be done. Second, it means she doesn't have enough faith in me that I've hired a great team of people who can do it without me. (isn't that what a good manager does??). And I've known her for 14 years and she knows my work history, she knows I wouldn't be doing this if I could help it, or at least I thought she knew it. She made me feel like crap!

But on Thursday she showed up at our store at the end of the day. She was traveling through so it wasn't an official store visit or anything. After chatting a bit she finally apologized for putting pressure on me about not being off during that time. "Of course your health is what is important." Although it would have comforted me so much to hear those words to start with, it was nice to get them at that point and I was relieved. I realize more than anyone that managing people is hard, but you can't lose sight that you are managing people and although you want what is best for the business, you can't forget the human factor.

The second apology came yesterday. Its a full moon and we've had our share of people affected by that this week. One of my first customers was very ugly to me yesterday, no matter what I tried to do to help him. He actually came back yesterday afternoon and asked for me and apologized. He told me he just wasn't himself that morning and it had bothered him all day about how badly he had acted. I graciously accepted and all was well.

None of us are perfect, we all have bad days and we all say things sometimes that we don't really mean. We are human. But an apology goes a long way.

We had a good day at work today, full of laughter. I love it when I'm sitting in my office and I hear my associates laughing.

Peace & Rain

I am so calm right now, mellow. That doesn't happen to me very often and when it does I ride the heck out of it and enjoy it.

A nice rain came today, at first it was pretty bad with wind. But then it slowed down and my little dog and I even took a short walk in the rain. It wasn't exactly a warm rain but not cold either. It was nice. We both enjoyed it.

She has short hair that repels water so I didn't even have to dry her off before she came back in. I, on the other hand got drenched. But after I changed clothes and toweled my hair and had a nice cup of tea, this peacefulness came over me and that is where I still am. I like this place.

I am so ready to see Blue Skies in my life. But I still have obstacles to go through. Still I can see the blue peeking through and although I wish I could just push through the branches that hide the view, I know I am on my way and before long I will have a full view of the most beautiful Blue Sky.

Tuesday Ramblings

I'm a little bit sick of hearing about politician's and who they've slept with and what their orientation is. I could in fact care less. Not going to listen to it anymore either!

Conference call day today, Dr.'s appointment tomorrow to see when we can go on with the plan to help me feel better and I am so ready to do that.

I'm a little bummed about Easter. For the past few years I've been able to spend Easter in Washington State with my Granddaughter. Doesn't feel normal to be here this year. I wish I were there, more than you can imagine.

Ok, got to get on my call. Have a great day!

May you have all the luck of the Irish today. I used to spend hours when I was a little girl looking for four leaf clovers. I'd rather do that today instead of going to work.

There is a little girl somewhere today celebrating her 10th birthday. She and I no longer know each other but she is always in my heart and I hope she is happy.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Love,

Robbin

Ring of FIRE

Suddenly without warning, a warmth spreads throughout and there's a ring of fire running wild. Just before you think you are just going to burst into blue flames, sweat starts pouring and the fire lets up a little.

But then you are still so hot and you seek relief in front of a fan, you stick your head in the freezer, you walk outside in the cool of the night. But relief comes in its own time. The sweat and the cool air give you chills even though your insides are still so hot. And then as suddenly as the fire started, it is out.

It leaves you a little short of breath, sometimes a headache.

You just experienced a Hot Flash with me. Fun huh?