A Prayer in Spring

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees."

-  Robert Frost -

Wishing you all the very best at this special time of the year.

St. Patrick's Day

"St. Patrick's Day is here, you see.

We'll pick some shamrocks, one, two, three.

We'll count the leaves and look them over,

And maybe find a four-leafed clover.

I'll sew green buttons on my vest,

Green for St. Patrick is the best.

I'll wear a green hat, very high,

And dance a jig--at least I'll try!"

- Author Unknown -

TGIF

Lord most giving and resourceful,

I implore you;

make it your will

that this people enjoy

the goods and riches you naturally give,

that naturally issue from you,

that are pleasing and savory,

that delight and comfort,

though lasting but briefly,

passing away as if in a dream.

--Aztec Prayer from the 1500's--

Wishing you all a weekend filled with love and laughter. I'm going to be busy with my shopping and cooking on Saturday, but on Sunday, I plan to enjoy every last minute of it. I am wishing the same for you.

Spring, Beautiful Spring...and a Little This and That

The air was full of sun and birds,

The fresh air sparkled clearly.

Remembrance wakened in my heart

And I knew I loved her dearly.

The fallows and the leafless trees
And all my spirit tingled.
My earliest thought of love, and Spring's
First puff of perfume mingled.

In my still heart the thoughts awoke,
Came lone by lone together -
Say, birds and Sun and Spring, is Love
A mere affair of weather?

Robert Louis Stevenson

What an amazing springlike day it was yesterday, and as I walked from the subway to work, I happened to notice that the trees were beginning to bud.  The birds were singing and flitting about.  It was such a joyous morning. Spring personifies life for me; it is a time of new beginnings. Everything in nature is rested and was rejuvenated, including myself. It is going to be a glorious spring. I just know it is.

Hubby and I were talking last night about the 'winter that never was'.  It has been an unbelievable season.  Thinking about it, I realize that I only wore my heavy winter coat ONE time, my winter scarves only a few times, and a hat twice.  I've not had to miss one day of work for icy walkways.  I wonder what this means.  Could this be a sign of things to come?  After all, it 'is' 2012, not that I hold any belief that the world is about to end.  But, we are, as a civilization destroying our environment....almost like one would commit a slow suicide.

Yesterday I was so sick all day.  Don't know why I went to work, but I did and really suffered.  My tummy ached so bad.  I'd eaten some bread pudding on Monday, the best I every ate, and greedy me just had to accept that second piece.  When, oh when, will I learn. My tummy can no longer digest certain foods. I know this, but sometimes I am not able to stop myself, but, boy, did I pay the price. The stomach cramps started about 3:30 in the morning and went on and on and on. By the time I left work later in the day, I had nothing in my tummy.  Fortunately, today is another day, and I'm feeling ever so much better. 

This will be my first spring and summer in my new home.  Don't know what to expect.  The real estate agent had shown us the courtyard and told us how everyone gets together and barbecues on the weekend.  I really do hope that is true.  For so long I lived in a place where I had no one to socialize with, where I felt like an outcast.  It would be nice to be a 'part of' for a change. I've also got my herbs from last year that I have yet to plant.  These are the ones that I had bought for my back porch garden, but never planted after we had the flood from the neighbor's awning.  Anyone know if the seeds will still be good?

Hubby got turned down for the job, and we are both so disappointed.  Well, he wasn't exactly turned down.  The position is currently on hold due to budget cuts.  So, for awhile longer, I will be holding down the fort.  Who knows what the future will bring?  It's pretty darned bad out there in the job market.  All I can do is hope and pray that something comes along for him soon. He's really starting to get restless and bored, and with that comes a bit of 'pickiness'.  I find I've had to set him straight on more than one occasion.  

You often hear me express my desire for retirement, but seeing how he's handling his time off, I wonder if I really could handle it.  Of course, though, they say there is a difference between a 'forced' retirement such as his and the 'chosen' retirement that mine would be. At any rate, I put in for a week's vacation mid-April.  The last time I had a week off here was right after we moved and were getting the house together.  I guess you can say this next vacation will be my first 'quality' time in my new home.  


Well, guess it's on to work for me.  Talk to you all tomorrow.

Wealth is not all About Money

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country ...

... with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh Yeah" said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

With this the boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, dad for showing me how poor we are."

There is nothing more that I can add here. True wealth has nothing to do with money.  It comes more from the kind of life we live.  May you all have a blessed day.

One Day

If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred.

-Walt Whitman-

'Don't carry all those books in that shoulder bag.  One day you will be sorry.'  'You'd best start watching your diet.  One day the weight won't be so easily taken off.'  'Stop wearing those cheap shoes.  Invest in something sturdy. You need support.'  'Stop smoking before it is too late. One day....one day....one day. Who wants to think of 'one day' when we are young and invincible young?  We believe that 'one day' will never come.   It won't happen to us.  But, 'one day' it does, and now we focus on the 'if only's'.  'If only' I had listened.  But we didn't, and now we must learn to live with the results.

When I was in my early twenties, Friday night dinner consisted of pickled eggs, a Slim Jim or two, a bag of potato chips, and a cold beer to wash it down. There wasn't much to do in my home town, so Friday after work we'd all gather at the neighborhood tavern for a few brews and our favorite snacks.  'Your body is your temple', a friend once warned me. 'You have to take care of it.'  Of course I shrugged it off.  After all,  back then we didn't know how unhealthy some of these things were for us. I'm talking 40 some years ago when we slathered butter on our bread, ate eggs for breakfast every day, and took Twinkies to work in our lunch box.  Cholesterol was a foreign word.  Cholest what?

And, of course, these meals were always topped off with a smoke. Bars and cigarettes were made for each other. Smokes were sold in a vending machine in those days, and even though they cost a little bit more, we were all willing to pay the price. After all, who wants to give up the fun to go to the market to buy some smokes?  Hey, by this time, the party was just starting to warm up. (((Sigh))) No one knew back then that the Marlboro Man would one day die of lung cancer or that years down the road we might suffer with a dreadful disease called COPD. Hey, back in those days, if you wanted to be cool, to be glamorous, you smoked. Why, I remember how they even came out with a cigarette just for us ladies.

But, that was then and this now, and 'one day' has become my present and my future.  Today I find myself at 60 pounds overweight and suffer from IBS (which thankfully I now have pretty much under control). I stopped smoking on July 4, 2009, my own personal Independence Day, but, unfortunately, after 40 odd years, the damage has already been done, and my life will never be the same. There are many things I once enjoyed that I have now been forced to give up because I always believed that 'one day' would never come.  

It really hit home yesterday when I left work. Such a beautiful springlike day, the kind of days I used to love getting out and about. The city sidewalks were packed with both tourists and New Yorkers, all out for a day in the sun. The park near the subway station was mobbed with people having fun.  There was a time when I would have stopped to be a part of it before my trek home, but now, all I can think of is getting home and safely into my apartment.

In December, when we moved to our new apartment, I found my self with a longer distance to walk to the train, both at my home stop and in the city, especially in the city. The first couple of weeks were especially hard on me, and I found myself having to stop to catch my breath three or four times on the walk to the subway after work and at least twice on the walk home from the subway. I began to wonder if quitting would be my only option, but as much as I whine about retirement, I do need to pay my rent. 

Fortunately, it did better as my lungs were able to adjust to this extra exercise. Now, I was only stopping once to catch my breath on the way to the subway after work and not at all from the subway to my home.  And, with all this extra walking, it looked as if I was finally going to get enough exercise to work on my weight issue. I'm sure my breathing would improve it I dropped all these extra pounds.  I was feeling pretty good about myself when it happened... 

...my back problems kicked into high gear, and my arthritic knees began acting up. This is when I really start to feel sorry for myself as I remember what once was. There was a time, over 30 years ago, that I had walked this entire city. One of my first jobs after moving here was going from store to store handing out fliers; I walked all the way from Battery Park to Harlem, walked over to the next avenue and made my way back downtown again. I walked from morning to night, every day, until the whole city had been covered.  

I love shopping, but have never really cared much about the quality of the shoes I wear, so I usually bought cheap. Never gave much thought to shock protection or the damage I was doing to my knees and back as I spent hours pounding the city pavement, a heavy bag of fliers slung over my shoulder.  'Invest in some good shoes, or one day you'll pay the price. You need some support,' people around me cautioned.  But, I had other things to spend my money on...like a new outfit, or some makeup.  After all...a shoe is a shoe, isn't it?  Or so I thought.  'If only' I had listened.

I've been walking with a cane for a few weeks now. Can't make it to work without it. Hopefully, one day I will be able to put it aside, maybe I won't.  I've accepted this and will deal with whatever comes. I'll be turning 65 in a couple of weeks and don't heal as quickly as I once did. Years ago the doctor warned me this day was coming. I had a slight fracture of the lower spine that never healed properly, and arthritis set in.  He warned me it would only get worse...and, now, all this extra weight I have to carry around sure doesn't help. 

But all is not so bad.  What's the old saying? 'When one door closes, another opens.'  Life before was lived in the 'fast lane'.  Today, I've been forced to slow down, and, in doing so, I've been able to turn my attention to the world around me.  Today I can find joy in the little things that I once had no time for. There are so many ways I have been blessed.  Life is truly a gift.

Wisdom comes from experience and learning from one's experiences. I have learned my lesson well, and perhaps it may be too late for me, but hopefully not too late for you.  If you haven't reached your 'one day', please don't wait for it to come.  Most importantly, ff you smoke, STOP.  They say your lungs will never be what they were before you smoked, but at least they won't get any worse. If anyone needs help and support in quitting, please feel free to email me privately.  I'll be there to help you through it. Take care of your temple.  It is the only one you will have.  Don't shrug when someone offers  you advise and say to yourself, 'It will not  happen to me'.  If you don't take care of yourself now, 'one day' will come.  And then, like me, you will be saying 'if only'.

To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise

we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and

keep our mind strong and clear. Water surrounds

the lotus petal, but does not wet its petals.

The Buddha

Another Monday...Already?

Analysis of workplace sickness reveals that Mondays in January are the most popular days for workers pulling a 'sickie'. Twelve of the twenty most popular days for sickness absence occurred in January.

(From my back porch in my old apartment)

And another Monday rolls around (((Sigh))). Wasn't it only yesterday that I was saying the same thing.  This morning was a wee bit harder than last week.  It was just so 'dark'. My alarm goes off at 5:45 am, and I expect it to be dark; in fact, I kind of like sipping my coffee and watching the sunrise.  And usually, by the time I walk out of the door at 7 am to go to work, the daylight has arrived. Today, the sun rose as I stood on the subway station. I do love the fact that it will stay light out later, but do hate leaving for work when it feels the nighttime has not yet left.

Didn't do much of anything this weekend.  Got up early on Saturday and went to look around in the 99 cent store.  I just love walking up and down the aisles. You never know what treasures  you will find.  I picked up a couple of scented candles--one rose and one lavender--and they smell better than the more expensive brands.  Also found a couple of hair clips, some plastic storage bowls, and some baking pans.  Then, I went home and waited for the furniture company to arrive.  It seemed they damaged our love seat on delivery (big scratch on the arm), and they were scheduled to replace it on Saturday from 11 to 7.  Well, guess what?  They never called and never showed up.  And, this is the second time they've done this.  They did it to hubby on Wednesday.  He sat in all day, and they never showed.  I'm about ready to have them take the whole thing back, but then, maybe I won't find one I like as much.

On Sunday I was determined not to lose an hour sleep, so I stayed in bed an hour extra. Just puttered around doing nothing when I got up.  My son wasn't coming, so I didn't do any baking.  Later in the afternoon, I sat in my rocker and watched one of my favorite all-time flicks, 'Fried Green Tomatoes'.  I remember back when the movie first came out.  The name didn't appeal to me so I didn't see it.  Then, a few years ago, I started watching a film and became glued to the screen.  Turns out it was the very same movie. Now I watch it whenever it comes on, which is rarely, and cry my eyes out every time.  

I especially love the lines 'All these people will live as long as you remember.'  Sends goosebumps up my arm.  As a genealogist, I love bringing my ancestors and their stories back to life.  It's like, when their story is told, they 'live' once again. I only hope my sons will keep their stories alive.  

The limbs that move, the eyes that see, 

These are not entirely me;

 Dead men and women helped to shape 

The mold which I do not escape; 

The words I speak, my written line, 

These are not uniquely mine. 

For in my heart and in my will 

Old ancestors are warring still, 

Celt,Roman, Saxon, and all the dead 

From whose rich blood my veins are fed, 

In aspect, gesture, voices, tone,

 Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone;

 In fields they tilled I plow the sod,

 I walk the mountain paths they trod; 

And round my daily steps arise 

The good and bad of those I comprise. 

 by English author Richard Rolle

 (written over 600 years ago.)