Halloween Awakening

Happy Halloween Everyone!

He Has a Story Worth Hearing

I find older people, elders, from all societies charming. Perhaps, it is the wealth of information they have with a life well lived. Maybe it is the twinkle in their eyes that says I have a secret to tell you, would you visit with me a spell... I could sit for hours just listening to their stories of time passed.

Our neighbor, Frank is a retired biologist is someone who's stories have entertained me for sometime. He lives alone since his wife died a few years ago, and he is in his eight decade. Although his body is failing him, his mind is still as sharp as a whip.

He is a person who possess a wealth of fascinating bits of information, taking us on trips to Africa, Fiji, and up to the Arctic, with his stories from our dinner table. We never having to leave the dinner table to experience tales from far away places. Since his wife died a few years ago, he has graciously accepted our invitation to join us for Sunday dinners at least once a month. My son, who is 11 sometimes listens passively, but I know that those stories have an impact on him.

Elders from all societies have a desire to be appreciated and acknowledged. All they want is respect and validation that they are continuing to make a valuable contribution to society. In a way, the stories they tell us are a contribution and it is worth acknowledging. In fact, when you think about it, they are telling stories not just of their generation but past generations as well. A history lesson that is worth paying attention to. No matter what the experienced shared, if you take the time and sit down to tea with an elder, you will undoubtedly be enriching both your lives.

Facebook Counts

On October 14, 2009 my 11 year old son had surgery to correct strabismus, a surgery he had when he was five years old. Sometimes the surgery has to be redone, which is what happened here. We were concerned, as all surgeries carry some risk, but Andrew was a trooper, even cracking a joke or two before they lend him down the hall to the surgery room. After examining him today at his post-op appointment, his doctor was very pleased with the results of the surgery. As the day progresses, he continues to heal and even played some piano with an icepack covering both of his eyes.

I often wonder about the difference between facebook and twitter as social tools and this provided an opportunity to see how each on-line community reacted to this story. Yesterday before his surgery I posted two messages one on facebook, and another one on twitter. Returning the message on twitter several times throughout the day to catch people on different time zones. I have 158 friends on facebook and 252 followers on twitter.

I received over 70 email messages or post on my wall inquiring about and sending get well wishes to my son from facebook. Some facebook friends I have not met in person were the first to comment. On twitter, I received 2 returns and three good wishes to pass on to my son. Hmmm, interesting don't you think?

A Fun Game

I have been tagged, and since I am home alone with nothing better to do, I did the tag. Although, I loved Monica’s questions I decided to change it up a bit in that you might learn a little bit about me. I enjoyed the guilty and innocent take on the tag and I hope you get some entertainment from the following.
RULES: Answer only guilty or innocent (you can explain your answers later if someone asks), replace questions with your own if you want, remember to delete my answers before adding your answers, copy and paste into your blog, tag your friends to do a tag, but most of all have fun.
1. Ran a marathon - innocent
2. Turned down more than one marriage proposal – guilty!
3. Proposed to someone – guilty!
4. Loved someone who didn’t love you back - innocent
5. Played with an Ouija board – guilty!
6. Had a crush on someone at work – guilty!
7. Own a motorcycle – innocent
8. Went to Gdansk Shipyard because I was curious – guilty!
9. Been fired from a job – guilty!
10. Had tea with the Queen of England – guilty!
11. Clean before the cleaning lady comes – guilty!
12. Went skinny-dipping – guilty!
13. Predicted someone’s future correctly – guilty!
14. Got more than one speeding ticket – guilty!
15. Have a tattoo no one knows about - innocent
16. Have a secret that I will not tell anyone - innocent
17. Jumped naked into a snow bank – innocent
18. Stayed awake for more than 24 hours – guilty!
19. Ate guinea pig- innocent
20. Played a prank on someone in authority – guilty!
21. Told someone their hair-do looks great even when it didn’t – guilty!
22. Stayed on a flight when I should have deplaned – guilty!
23. Have a Wiccan membership - innocent
24. Dated someone in a Band - innocent
25. Fired a gun – guilty!
26. Speak more than one language – guilty!
27. Can carry a tune – innocent
28. Stayed in pjs all-weekend – guilty!
29. Watched sports to impress a boyfriend – guilty!
30. Quit a great job on principle – guilty!
31. Talk in my sleep – innocent
32. Watched a marathon of Lost over a weekend – guilty!
33. Piloted an airplane – guilty!
34. Meditate daily – guilty!
35. Watch scary movies alone – innocent
36. Been to Lovers Park in Lima, Peru – guilty!

I am tagging, Carol, Extranjera, Tanveer, Diana,Sarah,Kathe,Heather Philip and Phil. Even if I didn't tag you should try it too.

Because He Can

A Noble Peace Prize so you burst with pride
Same day a missile pierced my soul
Still in perfect control of the ebb and flow of the tide
What you did was so foul!

This 160 challenged was inspired by Carol's blog


Sunday 160 challenge, come on give it a go and make Monkey Man proud!

Feeling the Rain

This year, the only resolution I made is to take Fridays off from work. Like most resolutions it is hard to keep. Sometimes, I am able to do it and other times, work responsibilities prevent me from enjoying an extra long weekend. At any rate, it pleases me that this option is available to me. When I manage to seize the day, I like to connect with friends, maybe meet someone for lunch, or to just hang out.

Today, I was able to have a nice leisurely breakfast at Cora’s with a friend, who is unfortunately going through a difficult period. Although, most areas of her life are going well, there is a particular aspect of her life that is causing her some extreme emotional and spiritual pain. Being a practical person, I was thinking about her situation on my way to meet her, and how I might be of help to her. But the situation is complicated and really did not allow for an easy solution. My best effort was to make her laugh and to give her a book (I did come prepare with gift in hand. I brought a book I knew she would enjoy) that might provide a healthy distraction.

It is in these types of situations that I find myself reflecting on my life. I can’t help imagining myself in her predicament and thinking about how I would handle the situation. In the end, in this instance, I too would be hard pressed to find a practical resolution. Consequently, this exercise resulted in my being grateful that my life is non-complicated and my heart fills with compassion for my friend. Occasionally,we should pause and appreciate the people in our life.

Alarming but True

Image via Wikipedia

When I woke up this morning I was so tired. Normally as soon as my eyes open I am wide awake and ready to rumble but not his morning.

My evil alarm clock is the source of my fatigue because it went off at midnight without any provocation. I tried to turn it off, but only succeeded snoozing it for ten minutes at a time. As a last resort I unplugged it, but alas, it beeped again ten minutes later because it has batteries too. Ugh! At last, I turned it off but by then I was awake. I tossed and turned and finally fell back to sleep.

My evening started out promising enough when my massage therapist arrived on schedule. It is important that we take time for self care, but sometimes we tend to put our needs second to members of our family. This what happened to me over the summer, because of the summer craziness, my traveling and her schedule we just could not find the right time, that is until last night. I was looking forward to this massage, especially since it had been so long since my last appointment.

After an hour and a half, kneeing and massaging, trying to get those tight knots in my back, I was reduced to a rubber doll. As she was leaving she said, "I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful restful sleep tonight". No doubt, I could barely mumbled. How could I not with my body totally feeling like a wet noodle. If only that spiteful alarm clock was not set to go off at midnight I would have slept like a baby all night. However, I decided on an afternoon nap because sometimes you got to do what you got to do. I am grateful that hubby and son were nice enough to play quietly while I had my nap. When I woke up my son said, "Good morning sleepy head". And I smiled.