BELIEVE

I believe that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.



I believe that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I believe that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe that you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I believe that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.


I believe that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel


I believe that maturity has more to do with what types of experience you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.


I believe that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe two people can look at the exact some thing and see something totally different.

I believe that life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I believe that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

NOTHING IS EVER SIMPLE

According to my calculations I've made 18,250 meals, give or take one or two hamburgers, since I got married - a very conservative estimate I might add. And not a one was a TV dinner. As a 50s girl you made everything from scratch. I have a huge library of cookbooks - some antiques, some collectibles, - none are wanted by any organization. No wonder I'm burned out! Is it any wonder I'm not thrilled about getting on that treadmill? You try eating 3 ounces of meat while your spouse consumes a pound or more and doesn't put on an inch around his waist. He's a 50s guy and they were brought up by their dear mothers to be meat and potatoes men. And they want fried chicken like mom used to make. My very own mother played into the scenario too and won him over with her fried chicken. While wrinkles are not a huge problem for me, all of that spattering hot oil has left its mark on my hands.

My plans yesterday were to get my curtains up and the boxes and bags of "catch-all" stuff moved out. I thought it best if I did my daily sprint on the machine first, just in case I couldn't get on it later. It was a good plan - until I got out of bed. The storm moving across the mid-section of the country decided to invade our state with snow and plummeting temperatures. We are lucky they held off this long. In hind sight, I should have started with my evening cocktail and worked backwards.

Dakota is a Southern Guy from Iowa. He knows not of these sub-zero temps. To make matters worse, I removed a lot of undercoat in the fall that he'd been wearing for a very long time. It should have been taken out much earlier. So this sweet senior had to wear a coat, which he was not familiar with and he had to make his trip out in the early morning dark quickly so he would not freeze his feet. This was not a good time for a new learning experience for an 11-year old Golden. Let's just say that it was a bust. His rear legs collapsed from the cold and he had to be carried in. Dakota is, by all accounts, a very large guy. My husband is a very senior citizen, not in shape to pick up a dog of this size. Dakota is a cooperative dog and my husband is a softy for the big, brown eyes. Together they made it back, but Dakota decided it was best to stay inside for the day.

Meanwhile I was preparing to attack my new activities room. I crossed off my exercise sprint and went to work on the other parts of my plan. I planned to do the curtains - that is until I discovered the brass curtain rod didn't have any brackets. Again I changed gear and went looking for the brackets that should have been attached to the rod. They were nowhere to be found. Grumbling all the way, my husband went down to the hardware store for brackets while I changed my plans again. He soon returned and informed me that the hardware store didn't carry the brackets. WHAT? When did a hardware store stop carrying rod brackets? That's UN AMERICAN! It now took a huge adjustment to plans. We moved the top rod that was already up, to the middle of the window and found a different type rod in the basement that could be used at the top. With a huge sigh, I asked my less than patient husband to please put the alternate rod up. Several minutes later he stood at my office door and informed me that there were no brackets for the rod. That's it! I'd had enough. I told him to take down the rod in his office that wasn't being used as we just put blinds up and use those brackets. A heated discussion ensued. But I kept my resolution in mind and I won!

Things got worse. I opened one package. There were two curtain panels in the package but no valance! This cannot be happening. By now it was nearing dinner time. I was sure the store description on the Internet site stated two curtain panels and valance. That's the way it was in the 50s. I had already shut down my computer, my husband was not a happy camper after spending hours on curtains, so I suggested we just put up the panels and tomorrow I will check the web site. He had covered the end of the rod with masking tape - I had suggested scotch tape, and I tried to get the first panel on. There was too much tape. I finally lost it! Take the d**** tape off. I struggled to get two panels on. I cannot share the next conversation with you.

Back to my original plan for the day. I was going to make dinner in the morning so I would not miss a minute of American Idol. That didn't happen and you've already read about the rest of my day. I abandoned the curtain fiasco, skipped my daily treadmill routine, and headed to the kitchen to feed Dakota and make my cocktail while putting dinner together. I managed to get it all done before American Idol came on, and settled down on the couch with the fireplace ablaze and inviting and enjoyed what was left of my day. I made no plans for today and so far things are going well .

NEW YEAR POWER

There is nothing more powerful to make sure you keep a new year's resolution than getting yourself in so deep you cannot back out without having egg all over your face. Let's face it, getting on a treadmill in January because you said you wanted to loose a few pounds or improve your brain isn't the most exciting thing to dedicate yourself to after the holidays. And, even with a TV to stare at, your chances of success are not great.

I decided not to mess around. I have a treadmill - a very expensive one - gathering dust in the corner of a "catch-all" room. That is the very reason I quit using it. I had to navigate my way through boxes and bags to get to the darn thing. Of course it was colder than heck because we kept the door closed. The biggest excuse was the fact that I'd lost the manual and, thanks to my advancing age, could no longer program the huge monster. It took me longer to figure out how to turn it on and set the warm up program than the length of time I was on it.


I was a '50s woman - well, girl, and
now I'm a next century senior citizen.
I come with all of the credentials like
white hair, a few wrinkles [not many
thanks to my heritage.] and the
attitude that 70 years of experience
entitle me to know the ansers to everything! [Ha Ha]. Unfortunately I don't have the answers to how to regain my 50s youth - or as it is commonly referred to as "The Good Old Days." I don't do botox, facelifts, or dye my hair. I love the color of my hair and even frosted it for years so why would I want to color it now that it is the way I like it. I earned the wrinkles fairly and squarely and have convinced myself that it gives my face character. Sure!

So, I decided this year that I would not fail again. I am changing the room into an "activities room." That basically means that I will move the old "catch-all" stuff out and move in new "catch-all" stuff to keep me company. Well, one thing led to another and now my sewing machine and everything that goes with it are now in one corner. I have restarted my studying of sumi-e Japanese art and have moved all of my art supplies I brought back from Japan into the room in a place of honor. I did not discipline myself well enough in my office because I couldn't tear myself away from computer solitare.

I couldn't possibly put these two additional hobbies in the room if I didn't spruce it up a bit. That required curtains, a rug, lamp, radio, and chair. Of course I couldn't forget Dakota. He had to have a bed to sleep on since he goes everywhere I go. And I needed something to keep him away from the treadmill because he wanted to get on it with me. I was not about to teach him to walk behind me for reasons I won't go into now.

I thought of better things to do that might have a better payoff in the long run but they either cost too much or I didn't have someone that would share with me. So much for you can't go back.......

So now, I have so much invested in my new "activities room" I cannot ignore the treadmill. And, as luck would have it, the company found a dusty old copy of the manual and has sent it to me. I have to save face now and I am committed to walking all of those miles. But the best part is, when I'm done each day...I'm still home. It's not that far to the bar and my pre-dinner cocktail. Oh, I already walked off those calories - .

DECLARATION OF SELF-ESTEEM

This is my resolution for 2007.

I AM ME!

In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine because I alone chose it - I own everything about me. My body, My feelings, My mouth, My voice, all my actions, whether they be to others' or to myself - I own My fantasies, My dreams, My hopes, My fears - I own all my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes - because I own all of me. I can become intimately acquainted with me - by so doing I can love me and be friendly with me in all my parts - I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know - but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and for ways to find out more about me - However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me - if later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded - I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me - I own me, and therefore I can engineer me - I AM ME and........

I AM OKAY

- Virginia Satir

AFTER A WHILE

I seem to be learning my lessons late in life - at least compared to my friends and classmates. It's too late to change things now and I must live with the die that has been cast. That's the bleak side but there is a brighter side that I try to concentrate on and make the most of what I have left. I'm at that age that you can preach and advise the younger generation, but they will do as most of us do, ignore the words and experience and make their own mistakes. I think life should be reversed. Why can't we suffer, make mistakes, learn and then put all of that good knowledge to work toward the end and enjoy one's aging years. But it is not to be. Why am I the only one that has regrets and passed opportunities that cannot be turned around.

AFTER A WHILE

After a while, you learn the suble difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open,
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And learn to build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way of falling down in midflight.
And after a while, you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
In stead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure..
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and learn
With every goodbye, you learn.

-Veronica A Shoffstall

WISHING

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye

They say it takes a minute to find a special person -
an hour to appreciate them -
a day to love them -
but then an entire life to forget them.

SMALL THOUGHTS

Work like you don't need money

Love like you're never been hurt

And dance like no on'es watching!

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Never drive faster than your Guardian can fly.

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Some people come into our lives and quietly go.
Others stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts
And we are never the same.

A DOG'S PRAYER

A DOG'S PRAYER
author unknown

Bless the house I live in, Lord,
the one that I call home,
the people here who really care,
a family all my own.

Bless the little children
who snuggle me to sleep
their gentle eyes so sweet and wise
that laugh and sometimes weep.

Bless the mistress of this home,
a wife and loving mother -
she always brings me doggie bags -
to me, there is no other.

Bless the master, good and kind,
he calls me his best friend,
But, Oh, the names they give us, Lord!
"Killer?" "Boom Boom?" "Ben?"

No one will ever know
how I stopped to catch my breath
the day they saw me at the pound,
as I faced certain death.

I love my little family,
They're all the world to me,
You'd have to be a dog to know
how lucky I am me.

A fairthful dog will play with you,
and laugh with you - or cry -
He'll gladly starve to stay with you,
and never reason why.

And when you're feeling out of sorts,
somehow he'll understand,
He'll watch you with those shining eyes,
and try to lick your hand.

His blind, implicit faith in you
is matched only by his love -
the kind that all of us should have
in the spirit up above.

When everything is said and done,
it isn't really odd,
because when you spell 'dog' backwards,
you'll find the name of God.