30 Days of Thankful ~ #18

Today, I am thankful for being alive. No, not in that flowery way, "Life is beautiful." "Each day is a gift." Blaa, blaa, blaa! I mean, I am truly thankful to be alive today. While on my morning run, I was almost hit by a car four times!! Two were within INCHES!!! To that young girl, driving the big truck, turning right from La Colina onto Newport, talking on her cell phone, I hope your heart didn't stop pounding hard all the way to school after I screamed at you to pay attention! You should have seen the look on your face!!
Here's the main problem as I see it. A runner is running on the opposite side of the flow of traffic (not with traffic, but facing oncoming) and this is the recommended side. When a driver comes to a stop and intends to turn right, they only look to see the cars coming at them on their left. Once they think that's clear, they proceed to make the turn and often, they turn right into a runner. It is a dangerous situation. I do think runners need to be hyper aware of this possible problem and do what they can to avoid it, but, drivers, please take some responsibility also. Look BOTH ways when making a turn. Maybe look twice. The life you save may be yours...or mine!

Today, I am thankful to be alive after running 6.5 miles and having a few "close calls".

30 Days of Thankful ~ #17

Young people today have no idea how easy and accessible information is to them. I remember when my parent's bought us the World Book Encyclopedia. It costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars and it was amazing! So many important facts, alphabetized and put in volume after volume of books. Each year we'd even get the new one with things that had happened or changed in that year. Many reports were written for school using those books as my reference.
Today, we grab our phone and "google" for any information we may want or need. Sometimes, we are watching TV at night and will see some movie star and ask each other, "How old is______?" I grab my phone, always on the nightstand charging at night, and in seconds we can discover the answer. What used to take a long time, now takes seconds.
If I get a craving to make a certain thing for dinner, I just search for the recipe online and have multiple options in seconds. They even have a site where you plug in what's in your pantry and they will suggest recipes to make from those items.
Shopping was never so easy. Google an item and see where it's sold, for what price and how many are in stock. It can often be on your doorstep in 24 to 48 hours.
Lose the instruction manual to some device you have? Just Google and download a new one.
Oh, I know that with this availability of information, comes the bad side, but, I still say, it is a wondrous tool if used properly. I am a data person and it instantly satisfies my desire for information.
I am thankful for the modern world of Google and having information, literally, at my fingertips.

30 Days of Thankful ~ #16

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
― Mother Teresa

 “It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can't relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don't know if there is one.”

―George Harrison

Well, there are two pretty divergent people who gave us those quotes and yet they both said the same thing. I am a worrier by nature, so I stew much too long over past shortcomings and future dreaded possibilities. Frankly, both are such a waste of time. Living in the present is a difficult mental attitude to achieve, at least for me.  When do I notice that I am in the present? Usually, when I am aware of the small joys around me. I stop all the "head chatter" and listen to the world I am in at the moment. I really listen to the little ones. I am sitting and petting my dog. I am savoring a good meal rather than rushing through it.

Today, I am thankful for the precious present. I am especially thankful when I can "Be here now."

30 Days of Thankful ~ #15

Reading has been a love of mine for my entire life. Usually, I have two books going at once, one fiction and one a self help book. I am embarrassed to admit how many magazine subscriptions I have. While my husband cruises the television stations each night, I immerse myself in a book or magazine. Reading is a ticket to anywhere. It can teach you, jar you to see things differently, make you laugh or cry. Dinner has been known to be delayed for hours at my house if the book was good enough!
I have worked hard to instill my love of reading in my grandchildren. The girls loved it right from the start. Jack, being a boy, not so much. I finally found a way to make him realize how important reading can be to him. After the umpteenth time he asked me to read something on one of his iPad video games, I said, "You know, Jack, if you read more, you can learn all these words and what they are trying to tell you about playing the game." It was if I saw the light bulb go on above his head! Now, he still brings it to me, but he tries his best to read it himself. We figure out the harder words together. Where reading was once a chore, part of homework to be endured, he now has a reason to get better at it because he wants to know their meaning.
Today, I am thankful for the power of reading and the places it has taken me, the people I have met, the adventures I have experienced and the new ideas I have pondered...all through the pages of a good book!
Biggsuzi

30 Days of Thankful ~ #14

I love my morning ritual. It involves a cup (or two) of coffee and the morning paper. I am an early riser and it is my favorite time of day. It is quiet and peaceful. The day is before you and holds all kinds of possibilities and potential. No matter what occurred yesterday, the morning is ripe with a clean slate and a new start. The busyness will come. The list of "to do" will grow, but for now, nothing matters except the aroma of coffee and a good, old fashioned newspaper to read. In fact, all five of my senses are used in my morning ritual. I touch and see the newspaper. I smell and taste the coffee. I hear....nothing, except the sound of silence.
Today, I am thankful for this pocket of peacefulness in my morning ritual.

30 Days of Thankful ~ #13

I am a chronic mult-tasker. Doing many things at once, never really stopping to take a breath and slow down are aliments from which I have suffered for years. There is always a project on my desk or at the dining room table. The one time of the day when I try my best to stop and just relax is when I have my bubble bath. I can't go to bed without a bath, no matter how late it might be. I don't like showers. They are purely functional as far as I am concerned. Get in, get clean, get out. But a bath, ahhh, now there is a reason to linger. It must have bubbles and it must be very hot. I would say it ranks second on my favorite things, right behind a good run. I can think about nothing or think through ideas and situations that are on my mind. Somehow the bath washes clean, not only my body, but my mind as well.
Today I am thankful for a bath and the peace it brings to me.

30 Days of Thankful ~ #12

 Almost two years ago, I got the insane notion that I needed a dog. My husband was less than thrilled with this proposition. Callie Girl has been an unending source of joy for me since the day I rescued her from the shelter in Irvine. Although he will never admit it, my husband also has grown to love her. She gets walked two or three times a day. The neighbors tease me as I walk by, saying that dog is spoiled and walked more than any other dog they know. My reply is always the same, "It's good for both of us!"

 Yes, dogs are a pain. They jump in trash cans to find food! They demand your attention when you are tired after a long day. However, I am happy to report, this rescued pup has NEVER chewed a shoe or ruined anything around the house.

She tolerates the grandkids carrying her around like a doll and stuffing her in baskets. She is always ready for a belly scratch. She is a good snuggler. She loves unconditionally ~ a great lesson for us humans.
Today I am thankful for love in the four-legged, furry variety.