I don’t understand. Life gets too confusing for me sometimes. There are so many things I just do not get! So much of what goes on in the world is a total mess. I can’t fix any of it. It just gets overwhelming sometimes. Personally, when someone I love is struggling I think it’s worse than when I am struggling myself. Whatever it is, I ache when someone I love is in pain. I worry, I fret, I grind my teeth at night; I imagine and project the worst. I can even get short of breath. I do what I can but too often it doesn’t help. I like to think that I am in control of my life. Some days that is easier to believe than others. I know that I am able to choose my own responses. I am response///able. Even knowing that doesn’t seem to help sometimes. Some days, there are no easy answers; all of the choices are difficult.
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally..
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Poop For Christmas
In 1955, when I was a mere 5 years old, I asked Santa for sawhorses for Christmas. Santa delivered. My dad actually made the small sawhorses and delivered them for Santa but that is really just splitting hairs. Santa got them for me. A few years later my brother and I got a toy set called Rig-A-Jig. I remember it not being something we asked for or had ever even heard of, but also remember it being the thing we liked the most that year. I remember both my mom and dad commenting how they wouldn’t have guessed that we would like the Rig-A-Jig set so much. By that point I knew that the rocket at The Bon Marche, which flew to the North Pole to take kids to see Santa, really wasn’t leaving the fourth floor of The Bon. Sometimes getting exactly what you asked for can be nice and sometimes surprises can be nice too.
Even as an adult some years I got things for Christmas I had asked for and some years I got things that were surprises to me. In my family, growing up, my parents asked us what we wanted. We made lists. We of course didn’t always get everything on our lists but that was how it worked at my home. When Katy and I got married I would ask her what she wanted for Christmas. That was foreign to her. In her family people tried to get things that the person, “wouldn’t have gotten for themselves.” My attitude about that was if it was something I wouldn’t get for myself at some point then it probably isn’t something I want. Through the years we have merged our styles or patterns of gift giving. After 32 years that part of our life is working well.
So what’s a better gift, something you ask for or something that is a surprise? Part of the problem with surprises is that they can be just plain poop. I don’t like surprises that are poop. I don’t like them at all!
My friend, Bill, has a son Sammy. Bill wrote me recently, “Sammy is almost potty trained. The light finally came on. He made his first #2 all by himself on Christmas day. So you can say I got poop for Christmas and I was very happy about it.” That’s a direct quote. I didn’t adjust it or embellish it. Bill got poop for Christmas and he was dang glad he did. What a nice surprise for him.
My father-in-law used to say, “The secret to being happy is to learn how to want what you have and not how to have what you want.” It’s important to be grateful for all that is right and all that is good. And it’s important to learn that sometimes we can celebrate the poop in our lives. (Thanks Bill)
It's the weekend. Please be good. Drive your car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look foward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
Even as an adult some years I got things for Christmas I had asked for and some years I got things that were surprises to me. In my family, growing up, my parents asked us what we wanted. We made lists. We of course didn’t always get everything on our lists but that was how it worked at my home. When Katy and I got married I would ask her what she wanted for Christmas. That was foreign to her. In her family people tried to get things that the person, “wouldn’t have gotten for themselves.” My attitude about that was if it was something I wouldn’t get for myself at some point then it probably isn’t something I want. Through the years we have merged our styles or patterns of gift giving. After 32 years that part of our life is working well.
So what’s a better gift, something you ask for or something that is a surprise? Part of the problem with surprises is that they can be just plain poop. I don’t like surprises that are poop. I don’t like them at all!
My friend, Bill, has a son Sammy. Bill wrote me recently, “Sammy is almost potty trained. The light finally came on. He made his first #2 all by himself on Christmas day. So you can say I got poop for Christmas and I was very happy about it.” That’s a direct quote. I didn’t adjust it or embellish it. Bill got poop for Christmas and he was dang glad he did. What a nice surprise for him.
My father-in-law used to say, “The secret to being happy is to learn how to want what you have and not how to have what you want.” It’s important to be grateful for all that is right and all that is good. And it’s important to learn that sometimes we can celebrate the poop in our lives. (Thanks Bill)
It's the weekend. Please be good. Drive your car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look foward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Busy
I have been busy. That's a good thing. I showed homes last weekend. I listed a home on Thursday. I have also previewed several homes this past week. I am meeting with some potential new clients this coming week. They have a home in Kenmore on 2 acres. I have been working to determine the development value of their property versus the value to a homeowner. My new listing already has an offer. I will be presenting it later this afternoon.
My job list and my goal list for the year, the month, the week, and the day, almost always have more things than I can accomplish. Sometimes that frustrates me.
While I haven't had time to do any writing anything this week, I am very grateful for my new life. I remind myself how fortunate I am to be physically, mentally, and emotionally, capable of being busy. It is way to easy to take that for granted. I remind myself how fortunate I am to be busy as a real estate agent in this market, and how fortunate I am to be busy in so many other parts of my life.
I am busy. I'm not getting everything accomplished I would like to. How lucky could I be?
It’s the weekend. Please be good. Drive you car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
P
My job list and my goal list for the year, the month, the week, and the day, almost always have more things than I can accomplish. Sometimes that frustrates me.
While I haven't had time to do any writing anything this week, I am very grateful for my new life. I remind myself how fortunate I am to be physically, mentally, and emotionally, capable of being busy. It is way to easy to take that for granted. I remind myself how fortunate I am to be busy as a real estate agent in this market, and how fortunate I am to be busy in so many other parts of my life.
I am busy. I'm not getting everything accomplished I would like to. How lucky could I be?
It’s the weekend. Please be good. Drive you car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
P
Friday, January 8, 2010
Going to the Dentist
There are a lot of reasons to like your dentist. I don’t know, maybe you personally can’t think of a single one. Heck, maybe you hate going to the dentist. Maybe you could easily make a list of 50 things you hate about the dentist. Not me. Nope. I like going to the dentist.
My 6 month appointment to get my teeth cleaned was this week. Karen, the hygienist, is good at what she does and she is very funny. That’s enough of a reason to like going to the dentist.
I’ll admit my liking going to the dentist is certainly colored by only having had two fillings and one root canal in my whole life. One of the fillings also had to be replaced. Since most of this work was so long ago I have forgotten having my mouth clamped open, the pain, the sound of the drill, the smell of smoking teeth from the drill, and the whole side of my face slipping off my skull when I was driving home, you know, stuff like that. Fifteen years ago when I got a filling the dentist I had then asked me if I could feel any pain from the drill. I said, “Yes.” He said, “That’s not an appropriate response.” Seriously, that’s what he said. He waited a bit and started again. He asked me again if I could feel any pain and again, I said yes. He told me that wasn’t an appropriate response so I asked why he bothered to ask. I suggested that he get a card with three answers on it like 1. Yes, 2. No, and 3. I’m really not sure. I suggested that he could just point to the answer he wanted from me when he asked a question and I would just agree. You know, it would save us both time and it would save him the frustration and aggravation of having a patient who didn’t know how to answer simple questions. That was my old dentist.
These days I like going to the dentist.
When I arrive at the office I am greeted by Jill, the office manager. (She is a real estate client of mine also.) She has a winning smile and is always friendly. See, going to the dentist is nice. This week when I arrived Jill was eating Christmas cookies. I really thought my personal quest to gain 6 or 8 pounds through serious “Christmas cookie plumping” was over for this year. She offered me some but I was strong. I reminded her that I was there to get my teeth cleaned and that Karen would have a lot of extra work if she had to use those darn “pickers and diggers” she has to get cookie gunk out of my teeth. Jill had another cookie and said Karen needed to work hard and it would be okay if I had one. I was strong; I said, “No thanks.” Pretty impressive, don’t you think? Well, almost “No thanks.” It was more like, “No thanks. For Now.” I asked Jill if I would have two cookies when I came out.
I enjoy Karen, the hygienist, and certainly enjoy Dr. Fjeran, the dentist. Some years ago, Greg (Dr. Fjeran) replaced a filling of mine. He didn’t even need to give me the response card. His work is very competent and I appreciate his caring and concerned demeanor. This week, Karen did x-rays, along with cleaning my teeth and then Greg did an exam. Everyone in the office is great so going to the dentist is just fine with me.
Oh, and when I was leaving, Jill gave me a bag of Christmas cookies. See, how could I not like going to the dentist? I get cookies!
Those cookies have made me smile beyond the brief enjoyment they gave my mouth. As I think about them it reminds me to take pleasure in simple things.
It’s the weekend. Please be good. Drive you car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
P
PS I can’t take a picture of the whole bag because I ate most of them already. I’m thinking about going in today and asking for a refill.
PPS My dentist is better than your dentist. Just sayin’…
My 6 month appointment to get my teeth cleaned was this week. Karen, the hygienist, is good at what she does and she is very funny. That’s enough of a reason to like going to the dentist.
I’ll admit my liking going to the dentist is certainly colored by only having had two fillings and one root canal in my whole life. One of the fillings also had to be replaced. Since most of this work was so long ago I have forgotten having my mouth clamped open, the pain, the sound of the drill, the smell of smoking teeth from the drill, and the whole side of my face slipping off my skull when I was driving home, you know, stuff like that. Fifteen years ago when I got a filling the dentist I had then asked me if I could feel any pain from the drill. I said, “Yes.” He said, “That’s not an appropriate response.” Seriously, that’s what he said. He waited a bit and started again. He asked me again if I could feel any pain and again, I said yes. He told me that wasn’t an appropriate response so I asked why he bothered to ask. I suggested that he get a card with three answers on it like 1. Yes, 2. No, and 3. I’m really not sure. I suggested that he could just point to the answer he wanted from me when he asked a question and I would just agree. You know, it would save us both time and it would save him the frustration and aggravation of having a patient who didn’t know how to answer simple questions. That was my old dentist.
These days I like going to the dentist.
When I arrive at the office I am greeted by Jill, the office manager. (She is a real estate client of mine also.) She has a winning smile and is always friendly. See, going to the dentist is nice. This week when I arrived Jill was eating Christmas cookies. I really thought my personal quest to gain 6 or 8 pounds through serious “Christmas cookie plumping” was over for this year. She offered me some but I was strong. I reminded her that I was there to get my teeth cleaned and that Karen would have a lot of extra work if she had to use those darn “pickers and diggers” she has to get cookie gunk out of my teeth. Jill had another cookie and said Karen needed to work hard and it would be okay if I had one. I was strong; I said, “No thanks.” Pretty impressive, don’t you think? Well, almost “No thanks.” It was more like, “No thanks. For Now.” I asked Jill if I would have two cookies when I came out.
I enjoy Karen, the hygienist, and certainly enjoy Dr. Fjeran, the dentist. Some years ago, Greg (Dr. Fjeran) replaced a filling of mine. He didn’t even need to give me the response card. His work is very competent and I appreciate his caring and concerned demeanor. This week, Karen did x-rays, along with cleaning my teeth and then Greg did an exam. Everyone in the office is great so going to the dentist is just fine with me.
Oh, and when I was leaving, Jill gave me a bag of Christmas cookies. See, how could I not like going to the dentist? I get cookies!
Those cookies have made me smile beyond the brief enjoyment they gave my mouth. As I think about them it reminds me to take pleasure in simple things.
It’s the weekend. Please be good. Drive you car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
P
PS I can’t take a picture of the whole bag because I ate most of them already. I’m thinking about going in today and asking for a refill.
PPS My dentist is better than your dentist. Just sayin’…
Friday, January 1, 2010
New Year's Resolutions
Its New Year's Day. I am a very goal oriented person. I suppose I should have some meaningful, life altering resolutions that I write down.
I don't.
At this moment I have my daily job list complete. I have even checked off a few things already. Well, my list is complete for now, that is until I think of, or more appropriately, remember, more things I need to do today. Pretty soon the list will get too long, if it isn't already, and I'll never get it finished in one day. Today happens to be January 1, 2010. My job list is my job list. It doesn't matter to me that today is New Year's. My job list for today reads:
email Gary re: letter
call George about fly shop rod order
finish "Few Words" blog post for today
message OC
check the wiper fluid in vehicles
get new wiper fluid
return/replace Katy's trekking poles
get new Sno-Park pass
outside Christmas lights down
start putting Christmas away inside the house
tree away
villages away
all the other stuff away
enter new real estate client testamonial letter (on my web page)
straighten up desk
tie flies
read
Okay, that's it for now. Again, I'm very goal oriented and have been for decades. I have many goals for the months ahead in several areas of my life. I didn't set those goals today and I don't think of them as being just for the calendar year 2010. I have real estate goals, personal goals, fishing goals, travel goals, writing goals, learning goals, and others. They are not resolutions though. They are things I am working on or am going to be working on.
Alas, New Year's Day Resolutions don't work so well for me. How could they? I already have too many things just on today's job list. How could I add some life altering goal when I'm already too busy just to get today's simple tasks completed?
I remember reading a quote many years ago by the great American writer, Mark Twain. He said, "New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." I think that's funny. I'm not cynical about my goal setting or other people's either. Goal setting is extremely important.
Laughing is important too. I also remember hearing "A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other." I don't know who said it but I think its a bit funny.
So today, New Year's Day 2010, I resolve to get today's job list done. Nope, I take that back. I resolve to try to get SOME of it done. There, that's better. I'll work at it and what I get done is what I get done.
In a way, today, I resolve to be patient with myself and others, particularly when it comes to things that don't get done.
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive you car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
P
PS--I just added a job to my list for today:
Help finish the Christmas cookies.
Now that's something I will definitely be able to get checked off!
I don't.
At this moment I have my daily job list complete. I have even checked off a few things already. Well, my list is complete for now, that is until I think of, or more appropriately, remember, more things I need to do today. Pretty soon the list will get too long, if it isn't already, and I'll never get it finished in one day. Today happens to be January 1, 2010. My job list is my job list. It doesn't matter to me that today is New Year's. My job list for today reads:
email Gary re: letter
call George about fly shop rod order
finish "Few Words" blog post for today
message OC
check the wiper fluid in vehicles
get new wiper fluid
return/replace Katy's trekking poles
get new Sno-Park pass
outside Christmas lights down
start putting Christmas away inside the house
tree away
villages away
all the other stuff away
enter new real estate client testamonial letter (on my web page)
straighten up desk
tie flies
read
Okay, that's it for now. Again, I'm very goal oriented and have been for decades. I have many goals for the months ahead in several areas of my life. I didn't set those goals today and I don't think of them as being just for the calendar year 2010. I have real estate goals, personal goals, fishing goals, travel goals, writing goals, learning goals, and others. They are not resolutions though. They are things I am working on or am going to be working on.
Alas, New Year's Day Resolutions don't work so well for me. How could they? I already have too many things just on today's job list. How could I add some life altering goal when I'm already too busy just to get today's simple tasks completed?
I remember reading a quote many years ago by the great American writer, Mark Twain. He said, "New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." I think that's funny. I'm not cynical about my goal setting or other people's either. Goal setting is extremely important.
Laughing is important too. I also remember hearing "A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other." I don't know who said it but I think its a bit funny.
So today, New Year's Day 2010, I resolve to get today's job list done. Nope, I take that back. I resolve to try to get SOME of it done. There, that's better. I'll work at it and what I get done is what I get done.
In a way, today, I resolve to be patient with myself and others, particularly when it comes to things that don't get done.
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive you car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
P
PS--I just added a job to my list for today:
Help finish the Christmas cookies.
Now that's something I will definitely be able to get checked off!
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