Reflections on Commitment

Another year of the A-Z April Blog Challenge has come and gone. In 2012, I signed up mere days before the Challenge began. In 2013, well, I knew it was coming and signed up quite quickly when the list opened up.

After 2012's scramble for topics, I figured I would try to be on top of it in 2013, have a great theme developed and all my posts written and scheduled in advance. After all, I had 11 months to get ready.

You already see where this is going don't you?

I certainly thought about themes and noodled various ideas in my brain, but couldn't seem to settle on just the right idea. In the end, since I mostly write about transitions, I thought I should just stick with my blog's focus and go from there.

So May, June, July, August, and all of autumn and winter fly by. In those months from May 2012 to March 31, 2013, I finished 17 years of homeschooling,  helped two sons with the college application process, did all that it takes to help them go away to college for the first time, started a business, our daughter got married, family visited, worked a temporary job the first half of April, continued home remodeling (okay, my husband mostly did that part), and on and on. Not one post was written in all those months.

But, I made a commitment. I made a commitment to myself and the hosts of the Challenge that I would publish 26 posts in April, no matter what. Who would have thought so much would happen during the past year?

And procrastination. Who would have imagined I could manage to procrastinate over writing those 26 blog posts for a year?  (No laughing allowed.) I almost skipped a few days, I almost gave it up entirely a couple of times, but I made a commitment. I wasn't happy about the quality of some of the posts, but I published them with a mental apology to anyone who read them.

I love the A-Z Challenge. I enjoy reading other bloggers and seeing what they come up with for those 26 days. A large number of you were winging it, just like me. Thanks for that, it was a huge encouragement to know I wasn't the only one. I felt like we were ship wreck survivors hanging onto the life raft together.

2014 will see me making the commitment to write 26 April posts again, a challenge for a blogger who generally posts two or three times a week. Congratulations to all of us who take up a challenge and stick to it, no matter how painful.

Zen State

Working in the garden . . . gives me a profound feeling of inner peace

Ruth Stout

Z-day has finally arrived. I almost didn't make it since April turned out to be unusually, unpredictably busy. A state of zen has been reached now that April 30 is here.

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Peace. What brings you a sense of peace? My son asked me this question recently and I've been considering it since. Like the author of the quote, I feel a sense of peace while working in my garden. I feel that same peace while cleaning my house, bringing order out of disorder, cleanliness out of mess. I feel peace when all is well with my husband and children. I feel peace when our income exceeds our out go.

If we base our sense of peace on feelings of security and happiness, on outside circumstances, we're destined to be disappointed because our circumstances are often filled with turmoil. A true sense of peace can only be found in relationship with God.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:32-33

I think I finally have an answer for my son. I feel peace, true peace, when I am regularly reading my Bible, when my prayer life is consistent, when I am quiet enough to hear the voice of God and trusting that His way is best.

Yarn, Not an Addiction, Just Therapy

For last year's A-Z Challenge I also posted about yarn for the letter Y in which I shared my growing addiction to yarn.

I now have three plastic bins filled with yarn and a basketful of yarn in my bedroom. Robyn, the owner of my favorite yarn store, and I have become even better friends. When my son bought me a gift certificate for her store for a Christmas present (perfect gift), Robyn told him that she loved me.

I'm not here to talk about addictions this year, but hobbies. Knitting and now crocheting are two hobbies I thoroughly enjoy. I gain so much satisfaction producing a beautiful and useful item with my hands.

Hobbies are therapeutic and beneficial. They can

• help us relax
• take our mind off our problems
• enable us to make new friends
• teach us new skills
• keep us physically fit (depending on the hobby, baking might be a problem hobby)
• develop us into more interesting people as we learn new things
• give us something to look forward to
• possibly stave off dementia
• provide endless fun and entertainment.

For me, buying yarn, knitting, and crocheting are not addictions, they are hobbies . . . and therapy.

Can you add anything to the list? What are your hobbies?

Image: debspoons/freedigitalphotos.net

eXhale!

There are great reasons to exhale with relief today.

• It is Saturday.
• A difficult job I've been working on for months is, finally, near its end and I don't have to work this weekend.
• The A-Z Challenge, while fun and stimulating, is Whew! almost over.
• I am spending the weekend at the beach.

What could be more enjoyable than a weekend at the beach with people you enjoy?

How about you? Do you have any reasons to eXhale this weekend?

Note: I know exhale doesn't begin with an X, and it is X day in the Blogging A-Z Challenge, but the beginning e is silent, so we're just going to go with that.

Why I Love the Doctor

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Do you like the Doctor? Which Doctor you ask? You know. . . the Doctor, Doctor Who. Doctor Who?

I hope I won't get in trouble for using this picture, but you can't write about the Doctor without at least one picture (this one shows my two favorite Doctors). 

Doctor Who is arguably the most popular science fiction drama ever aired. It was first shown on BBC TV in 1963, went off the air in 1989, reappeared in 2005 and is still going strong.

I have never been a science fiction fan, but that is another transition in my life. Because of my sons' influence I have been introduced to television, movies, and music I might never have explored on my own. Thanks to my sons, I am now a huge Doctor fan.

One of the reasons I love Doctor Who is because it is simply a superbly written show. The main characters, and often the secondary characters, are well-developed, the plots are unique with humor and drama subtly intertwined, and the special-effects are great.

There is another reason, my real reason, for loving the Doctor. It is because of the show's emphases on loyalty and family and not necessarily family one is born into. (I should clarify that I watch the newer series that began in 2005 and don't know too much about the original series.) 

If you have never watched the Doctor, start in the 2005 season with Christopher Eccleston, the ninth Doctor. It won't be long until you're debating with your fellow viewers over who is the best Doctor and who is your favorite Doctor's companion (mine is Martha).

Do you love the Doctor too? Who is your favorite? 

Very, Very Desperate for a Blog Post

Verily, verily, the word well is empty.

Vacations, vocations, vaccinations.

Voluptuous words

Visit my brain

Vacant are my thoughts.

Vast brain tissue expanses

Void of depth.

Vacuum space - words only words - no sentences.

Vulture of meaningful blog content visited,

deVoured my inner Vision.

Vini, vidi, I ran out of ideas. 

Visit tomorrow,

Verse replaced with prose.

Image: jeroenvanoostrom/freedigitalphotos.net

Unsolicited Advice

It took me a long time to realize I should stop giving advice. When someone shared their problems, I assumed they were looking for solutions. My little brain would kick into high gear trying to find an answer. I can't help it, I am a fixer.

Over time, I arrived at two conclusions about unsolicited advice.

1. Some people think out loud. They want to talk about their problems in order to see them clearly. They will find their own solution and only need a listener to listen to them.
2. Some people like to moan. They want to talk about their troubles because they want sympathy. They are not looking for a solution.

Now, I mostly try to be quiet and only listen to the talkers who need to talk out their dilemma. The moaners? I try to change the subject or make a quick getaway.

Image: halbrindley/freedigitalphotos.net

Travel Truth

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.

Mark Twain

I couldn't decide what to write about for my T post today. I thought about Travel and I thought about Truth, then I came upon the quote by Twain and was amused to find he combined the two into one pithy comment.

So, a few quick words about each.

TRAVEL: I would love to travel, but have never had much opportunity, which is why I was stumped when trying to devise a travel post. My wish list for travel destinations is the U.K., Italy, Australia, and Japan. It seems travel will definitely be in my future though, as my daughter and son-in-law will be moving to Peru this summer. South America was not on my destination list but, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21).

TRUTH: In my H post for the Blogging A-Z Challenge, I related a story about honesty. I find honesty and truth to be tightly twined concepts. Telling the truth involves being honest, and being honest requires one to be truthful. My husband and I recently felt compelled to tell the truth to someone about one of those "elephant in room" situations. We paid a price for telling the truth and hurt was part of the fallout. He and I have no regrets about telling the truth, and despite the hurt, peace and relief also resulted. Moral of the story? Let truth prevail.

T is done, now it is time to move onto the letter U.

Image: photostock/freedigitalphotos.net

Spring 2013

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

Anne Bradstreet

The season of spring is like being in your 20s, the world, is fresh and blooming, young and green, optimistic and hopeful, and the promise of summer and a bright future are ahead. In springtime, like in your 20s, everything seems possible.

But, is that the reality?

Exciting college days filled with learning, exploration, and optimism evolve into a reality of finding employment, paying off student loans, and learning how to live life in an unpredictable world outside the idealistic walls of a college campus.

While for some of us spring and its accompanying coat of yellow-green pollen is here, others are still shoveling snow or worse, beginning the grinding labor of cleaning a home flooded and damaged. Or sifting through the rubble of a home destroyed by an explosion. Or burying their dead who didn't survive the explosion, or the bombing in Afghanistan, or arrive home victorious after a marathon.

Spring, like being in your 20s, is a tricky and unpredictable thing.

R is For . . .

English is a strange language, probably because we have absorbed words from so many other languages into our vocabulary. And on that note, let me share a little story.

My sister is a kindergarten teacher and has been for a long time. Several years ago she wanted to buy a new alphabet poster for her classroom because the old one looked a little ragged from being taken down every June and put back up in September for so many years.

Barb went to the teacher's supply store to see what they had. She wanted one with actual pictures rather than illustrations and found a nice, bright poster that seemed just right. She bought it, brought it to school and hung it up.

One day, she was talking to her class about the alphabet and was reading the poster to them. A is for apple, B is for boat and then she gets to R. Her lovely, new poster said R is for Wrench.

Our family thought that was so funny, we worked on our own special alphabet list. I wish I could remember them all, but here are some of our creative favorites.

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A is for aisle
D is for djembe
G is for gnu
K is for knife
M is for mneumonic
P is for psychology
T is for tsunami

How about it, can you add any to the list?

Queen of the Flash

The first indication of menopause is a broken thermostat. It's either that or your weight. In any case, if you don't do something, you could be dead by August.

Dorothea Benton Frank

Queen of the hot flash, that's me.  Here is one transition I could live without.

First you're hot,

and then you're not.

Belly fat

where you used to be flat.

Swinging moods,

and craving foods.

Woman crabby,

body flabby.

Potty at night.

No end in sight.

Like being pregnant, without the baby.

Learning to Pray God's Way

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6-7 

I wanted to talk about prayer today, but thought instead I would send you visiting to another blog for an interesting explanation of the well-know Serenity Prayer.

Linda from Creekside Ministries has a wonderful way of sharing profound thoughts in a succinct and meaningful way. So please stop by and be blessed by Linda and the team at Creekside.

Is Old Age Such a Bad Thing?

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My friend and I were discussing Downton Abbey a few weeks ago and agreed on how pleased we were that Maggie Smith looked like a genuine, wrinkled, saggy, old lady. As we talked, we realized one of our favorite aspects of British television is that many programs star actors and actresses who are middle-aged or old.

It seems like American television is overly populated with the young, thin and beautiful, but our U.K. brothers and sisters acknowledge that one can be over 40 and still be a viable human being with an interesting life.

I watched a program on network television last night that featured an actress I remembered seeing regularly in the 1980s when she was probably about 35. That would put her firmly in her 60s now, and she looked seriously bad.

Not because she looked like a real woman in her 60s - sags, bags, wrinkles and all - but because she looked like a woman in her 60s who was trying to look like she was a woman in her 30s. She possessed that sad, sad appearance that accompanies too many facial surgeries. Poor thing, I thought. In order for you to find any work in the U.S. you probably feel compelled to constantly shore-up that sagging flesh on your face and body.

I'm not too happy when I look in the mirror anymore either, but you can't fight time and gravity forever. I plan to keep on living, loving, learning and having a good time despite the sags and wrinkles.

Maybe that's one of the biggest advantages to never having been beautiful, you don't have so far to fall:)

Nonfiction, a Vegetable?

One of the amusements of idleness is reading without the fatigue of attention,

and the world, therefore, swarms with writers whose wish

is not to be studied but to be read. 

Samuel Johnson

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Reading fiction is one of my special joys. Nonfiction? Not so much. It isn't that I don't find nonfiction enriching, inspiring and growth-producing, but when I have the time to read, I generally turn to fiction. For me, fiction is like cakes, ice cream, cookies and pie all rolled into one. Nonfiction is more like vegetables. I know veggies are good for me, but I far prefer sweets.

Would you choose a plate of salad over a bowl of ice cream?

Last year I decided I needed to add more nonfiction to my ever-growing stack of books and after reviewing last year's reading list, I realized the books that affected me most profoundly were nonfiction. For that reason alone, I intend to hang in there and try to read 1 nonfiction for every 5 fiction books, or maybe 1 for every 10, or 15.

What are your favorite nonfiction reads? Your favorite might inspire me!

Marriage is a Melding

The ritual of marriage is not simply a social event; it is a crossing of threads in the fabric of fate. Many strands bring the couple and their families together and spin their lives into a fabric that is woven on their children.

Portuguese-Jewish wedding ceremony

Our daughter was married last month and here is a photo of those from our side of the family who were able to attend. Many were missing, but we were happy to see those who came.

However, with the simple words, "I do," our family grew.

Our daughter has married into a wonderful family, whom we now view as our family too. A marriage is not only the melding of two individuals into one, but the joining of two families. We now share a son and a daughter and perhaps, someday, another generation.

We are a blessed family, enriched through the adding of new members. Within our hearts is enough love to spread far and wide, and we are hoping, by God's grace, to embrace future daughters-in-law and their families too.

Learning to Let Go

Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits 

to the one who forgives.

Lawana Blackwell

I think one of the healthiest mental and emotional changes we can make is to learn to let go. Letting go of anger, hurt, old grievances and the past is difficult and sometimes even feels impossible, but can be the start of a new approach to life.

For me, prayer has been the only means of throwing off the load of stuff I've carried along the way.

It is even possible to arrive at the place where not only can I forgive, but can happily see the good things that resulted, not in spite of, but because of the hurts.

It is exciting to discover the joy and emotional release that can accompany learning to let go.


Welcome to the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge 2013. I'm aiming for short, entertaining and occasionally insightful posts. Topics addressing transitions are the goal . . . but we'll see.

Image: victorhabbick/freedigitalphotos

Kick Starting the Brain

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.

Robert Frost

Estimated amount of glucose used by an adult human brain each day, expressed in M&Ms: 250.

Harper's Index

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.

Woodrow Wilson

 

I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.

A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

I couldn't stop myself with one quote today because there were so many fun choices, but all joking aside, today I want to talk about the importance of keeping the brain stimulated.

This subject is important to me since my mother had dementia. Many of the suggestions made by doctors to stave off dementia encourage keeping the brain active by challenging it so that new neural pathways are created.

A friend whose mother has dementia told me her mother's doctor suggested that my friend start living her life differently to reduce her dementia risk. One surprising suggestion was that my friend was told to do routine tasks differently. If she normally brushes her teeth right-handed, she should try using her left hand. If she opens her garden gate one specific way, she should try doing it differently. The idea is that every time we change our way of doing things, it forces our brain to make a new pathway.

I found some interesting information recently regarding reducing the risk of dementia. It comes from two University of Missouri studies. (I tried finding the actual studies so I could read and link them, but could not track them down.) The studies suggested that frequent dancing could reduce the risk of dementia by 76%. Doing at least four crossword puzzles a week reduced the risk by 47% and reading by 35%.

Is the greater risk reduction caused perhaps by the physical aspect of dancing (including increased cardiovascular activity) coupled with the mental challenge of learning new dance steps? I don't know. I already read as much as I can. I enjoy crossword puzzles, sudoku and kakuro. Maybe it is time for my husband and I to start taking those ballroom dancing lessons we've been talking about for years.


Image: ambro/freedigitalphotos.net

Job at Home/Job at the Office?

My main reason for adopting literature as a profession was that, as the author is never seen by his clients, he need not dress respectably.

George Bernard Shaw

Isn't Shaw's quote great? For some worker bees, the best job in the world is one they can do from their very own home. Night owl, early riser, work in your bed, work at a desk, work from the park,  be your own boss, choose your clients, no commute, wear your pajamas or dress professionally - these might all be possibilities if you work from home.

Of course, if you work from home, so much depends on whether you are self-employed or work for someone else, not to mention probably another 100 variables.

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Self-employment or telecommuting isn't everyone's dream, though. Some people enjoy the presence of coworkers. They are energized and stimulated by the exchange of ideas and enjoy the liveliness of a busy environment. Your achievements are recognized by others, promotions are available, you are not responsible for generating business. These are a few of the advantages of not working from home or being self-employed.

I have done (and am doing) both and there are strong points in favor of either. What do you think, would you rather work at home or away from home? Let's hear about your experiences.

Incredulous . . . and Ignorant

While laboring over a piece of writing recently, I learned the word distain is considered archaic. Incredulous. I was simply incredulous.

Archaic? What? It seems to me I read the word distain all the time, and believe me, I am not reading Chaucer in ye olde English.

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When was distain deemed archaic and who get to decide? Does someone examine every word printed every year and determine some perfectly innocent words are not used enough so they are sent to word purgatory and dubbed archaic?

I could not get this out of my mind and could not believe I was using archaic language. Granted, I can't claim to know the current slang and buzz words, but I am not that far behind the times.

I had to check one more time. Did I just misread the online dictionary? No, distain is actually archaic. But, uh oh, I looked a little more closely. The definition was referring to discoloration. Confusion, great confusion.

And then the light bulb went on. Not distain, disdain. The word I wanted to use was disdain. I spelled the word wrong! I traveled the road from incredulity to a shaming awareness of my own ignorance shaking my head the whole way.

Pork Loin Honesty

The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust 

 on his bathroom scale.

Arthur C. Clarke

After deciding to serve my guests roasted pork loin for Easter dinner, the next task was to see if it was on sale at any of the local grocery stores. Fortunately, I found it for $2.29 per pound if I used my grocery store club card (I often find it for $1.99, but beggars can't be choosers). 

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This particular chain also allows you to log into your "account" and based on your purchase history, offers unique, special deals to their customers. Again, fortunately, they were offering an additional .10 off so I could buy my pork loin for $2.19 per pound. (I'm not sure how I feel about Big Brother knowing we like to eat pork loin.)

I bought my pork loin and other groceries, and at the checkout the cashier looked at my receipt and said, "You saved a lot." I agreed that I had found some great bargains. When I got home and finished putting away the groceries, I looked over my receipt and noticed that I was charged $2.19 for the entire six-pound loin. At the checkout both the sale price for the pork and my special offer discount were applied. So for a $31 pork loin I only paid $2.19.

Wow! My lucky day! Then my conscience woke up and said, "Wait a minute, you're not being very honest." I put the receipt aside for a couple of days then showed it to my husband. He said, "You'll have to go back and tell them you were undercharged." Sigh. He was right. What kind of a Christian am I?

Back I went with my receipt and explained to the man at the service desk that I was undercharged and owed the store money. He looked at the receipt and said no, I was charged correctly. I emphasized that I shouldn't have had both discounts applied to the roast, but he insisted that was how their system rang in up and it would be corrected eventually, but the roast was mine for $2.19. I insisted I wasn't entitled to that price, but he firmly said that the receipt was correct.

I went home, glad I had done the right thing. I had a clear conscience and was happy in the knowledge I had been honest. 

But I really regretted that I hadn't thought to go back and buy another one.

Welcome to the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge 2013. I'm aiming for short, entertaining and occasionally insightful posts. Topics addressing transitions are the goal . . . but we'll see.