Change is the Only Constant.–Zen teaching
We are almost through the holidays 2010 and I am three pounds heavier when they started. Too much indulging in holiday goodies and too much time away from my boys. When Thanksgiving and Dec. 1 rolled around, I feared Jan 1 and 2011 would never come. Continue reading »
2010 was one heck of a year for many people. I know it was for me. I am grateful for all the gifts it brought me but I am also grateful that in 2 short days, I can wash my hands of it and say hello to a new year. How about you?
When I was pondering on what to blog about I came across this quote: ”Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive – the risk to be alive and express what we really are.” Don Miguel Ruiz.
And…that made me think of New Year’s and all the reasons we make our New Year’s Resolutions. We want to resolve those pesky habits that have been following us around for a lifetime and aspire to be who we want be. We think of January 1st as the beginning of our new life. We will throw away the old and start anew. We will become who we really are with the promise of the new year. We will make goals and plans that no one can stop. Continue reading »
Most people have pretty much “shut-it-down” for 2010 and are already thinking ahead to 2011. I suppose I’ve done the same thing. Honestly, I think I began to close out 2010 two weeks ago! (I’ve already said “last year” a number of times—-referring to 2010.) So, as I’m beginning big plans for 2011, it is inevitable that I would reflect on my own 2010.
- We welcomed more than 100 new faces to HPC Single Moms Group (a single moms support group that I work with).
- I released my new book, Overwhelmed: The Life of a Single Mom (truly a labor of love), and it sold out on Amazon three times in its first 90 days and hasn’t stopped selling out since. Praise God! Continue reading »
1. There’s No Such Thing as Quality Time.
I learned early on in my parenting that the often-quoted notion of “Quality Time” was bunk. The only thing that matters to our children is “Quantity Time” since the only time they will open up is when they are good and ready. You can’t schedule time with your children the way you might with a business appointment and the moments that will surprise you the most are when you least expect it. There is no such thing as quality time, only quantity time. Continue reading »
Whenever I speak to groups, I always like to give them a little spelling test. It is really a very easy test, but one that everyone always seems to fail. My question is “How do you spell Love”? Most of the time everyone will proudly answer, L.O.V.E. Oh sure there are the occasional L.U.V.’s that come out, but in general L.O.V.E. is the answer. Each time I do this I have to correct the audience. The real way to spell L.O.V.E. is T.I.M.E. If you truly want to show your children, your family, your friends, yourself and others in your life that you love them, then you need to spend time with them.
If there is one thing that we never seem to have enough of it’s time. We all seem to be busy running around, taking care of ourselves, our kids, our jobs and are so preoccupied with life, that we just don’t spend enough time with those that are closest to us. Every year around this time, what is the one thing that we all like to say? “Where has the time gone”? Someone once told me that if you want to live forever then get married, because when you are single times flies by and once you get married, time slows down to a crawl:) That person by the way is now divorced! Continue reading »
Christmas was once again filled with family, friends, delicious food, festive lights, laughter, excited children and gifts galore but I must say that for me, the most important gift was not wrapped in a box with a beautiful bow. For me, the most precious gift of the season was a reminder of how important the gift of ourselves and our time can be. The gift was making a difference in someones life just because we showed up.
My grandmother is 90 years old and unfortunately she has has buried her husband and two of her three children including my father. She lives in a nursing home and I am sad to say is lonely with very few visitors most of the time. Family is scattered throughout the area and caught up in the chaos of their busy lives and I am guilty as charged. Every Christmas I visit my grandmother and every year I leave with a heavy heart and a promise to myself that I AM going to make the effort to visit her more often.
One might ask why I have not visited her more for I have always loved my grandparents and I certainly was very close to my maternal grandparents and spent a lot of time with them. I can give all the excuses in the world but in the end and regardless of all that has happened in the past, it is a choice to go or not to go. My choices will be very different in 2011. Continue reading »
It is Christmas
And it is my good fortune to be your blogger today.
I thought long and hard about blogging and what to share.
It had to be a miracle…
But which one? Continue reading »