Life

“Life is like one big test: At the end of it, you’re in Heaven or hell.”
I agree with my son’s statement. That is our last test, and we either pass or fail.
“Better yet,” I told him, “there are a series of tests that are ongoing in our lives. If ever we don’t pass, we get up and brush ourselves off, move forward. Sometimes we may need to change course.”
To me, life is like climbing a tree (just an analogy). It’s hard. Some of us scooch up the trunk; some leap

SPAM

Yippee or Boohoo!

Today I received 8 spam comments; the numbers are definitely on the rise for one day. As George Jefferson might say, “I’m moving on up.” To date, I’ve received  93 Spam comments and only a handful that I could publish. Now what does that tell me? Hmm…not sure.

What are your thoughts on Spam?

Related articles

• Mark Only Spam as Spam (onecoolsitebloggingtips.com)
• The Dying Business Of Email Spam (forbes.com)

Food for Thought

I sat in my vehicle, watched people come and go. I saw short people; tall people; people with gray hair, brown hair, black hair, blondes; people with wigs and ponytails; old people, young people, children.

I wondered what they’d do or think or say if I walked up to them and said, “I love you.”

The Teacher In Me

Today I stood in front of the class, energized!

Classroom (Photo credit: James F Clay)

I knew the plan.
I loved the skill.
I was like the President,
The Commander-in-Chief.
Like an experienced pilot,
I flew chartered skies.
But what I needed to do most today
Was motivate.

I stood in front of the class,
Passionate about learning.
I was like an artist proud of his handiwork;
My duties: to engage, to shape, mold, and carve the lesson.
But what I needed to show most today
Was enthusiasm.

I stood in front of the class today,
Prepared, Bold, Professional, Able,
Learned, Positive, Dedicated.
But what I needed to do most today
For Johnny who sat on row two
And for Meg who sat in the back
Was inspire.

New Year Resolutions

My foot pressed the accelerator. The vehicle lurched forward, gained speed. I zigzagged from one lane to the next, whipped past cars that crept at a snail’s pace.

Why is it that when you’re in a hurry, cars pile up on the highway, or else you trail a car crawling at 5 miles an hour?

Red light.

Forced to stop, I took deep breaths, willed myself to stay calm. Sure, I had seven minutes to get to work. It would be okay, I told myself. “Relax. “Take a deep breath.”

Then I remembered my cousin’s words. “I got stopped twice in the same day by the same patrolman.

Reflections

The year 2012 proved an interesting eye-opener for me. Like most, I suppose, there lurked ups and downs, highs and lows, surprises, shocks, heartaches, disappointments, hopes, wishes, and joys, all in no particular order.

In 2012, I learned invaluable lessons, most of which I already knew or heard about anyway: It’s unfortunate that sometimes we can’t trust people we don’t really know; people are people, and there’s no one else more important than yourself; learn to love you; people who are in your life are there for a reason, and those who choose to leave weren’t meant to stay anyway; do the things that make you happy; continue to learn and grow; seek God’s purpose for your life; it’s not about how long you’ve been on the planet but about what you did while you were here; age is truly just a number (at my age, I feel like I’m just beginning to live). And in the words of one of my sons, “You only get one shot at this life.”

Holiday Reflections

The holidays are always a blessing to see, as my favorites come at the end of the year – Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every chance I got, I stared at the Christmas tree, basked in the delicious feeling that warmed my heart as I sat at the table, faced the tree with a mug of hot chocolate. Right now I’m thinking that Christmas should come more than once a year, as then is when some people truly learn the spirit of giving – learn that it’s better to give than receive.

There’s nothing quite like Christmas when you’re a child; it’s exciting and thrilling. I remember how depressed I felt to discover that there really was no Santa Claus, how guilty I felt when one of my sons exclaimed that he had seen Santa and his sleigh; not to mention his question, “If there’s a Santa Claus, then why can’t you get what you want for Christmas, not what your parents can afford?”

What a joy to experience Christmas through the eyes of my grand-daughter, now over two and a half months old! She loved the Christmas tree, almost as much as I did, I think; she enjoyed seeing colorful, twinkling lights, pulled at decorative ornaments, and her face beamed when we drove through neighborhoods to let her view Christmas scenery. I couldn’t help but smile when

To Blog or Not To Blog?

To Blog or Not To Blog?

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.
Langston Hughes
Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.
Chinese Proverb
Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.
Doug Firebaugh

     To blog or not to blog, that is the question?
Near the end of last year, I endured a couple of setbacks, (one being the death of my father), and I could not pick up a pen, pencil, or laptop. The words simply would not come. The words would not flow. Instead they settled on my heart like oil on water.
I peered out the window when darkness fell, and I stared out at trees that looked like bony skeletons. I listened to soft showers of rain. And each day folded into another.
But today when I finally looked at my Facebook page

and read encouraging words from other authors, saw that I had two new Likes, some power deep within me stirred.