What Really Matters, According to Me

Pine trees in a forest are beautiful; tall and strong, reaching ever upward, standing close together, casting shade together, insomuch that the whole of the forest floor is cool and close. On the other hand, consider the lone oak standing on a hill; appearing gnarled and crooked against the sky, hot beneath the blazing sun. The roots of the mighty pines are intertwined, you know...if any one of those majestics were separated, and transplanted, it would fall. The roots are shallow in comparison to the height of the tree. The first big wind would topple it. The oak, on the other hand, has been growing in that singularly lonely place atop the hill from the moment the acorn was deposited in the soil. It has grown crooked, without support against the winds that blow, against the burning sun, the beating of rains...it has sunk its roots deep into the soil and has taken hold of the earth to support it. It has not attached to the roots of another tree for strength. It has sunk its own roots de...

What is the measure of success? Is it money? I don't have any of that. Is it fame? I don't have that either. If it is that I can claim to have stayed, then that's me. I've stayed where I was told to stay. Here I am. I've tried to be kind and loving. I've tried to be a good person; a good woman; a good friend. I've tried to love as I've wanted to be loved. I've loved with no strings attached. You see, if you have no heart strings, no one can pull on them. If you love freely, without expectation of reciprocity, you are the giver of love only. Receiving love is a bonus, not an expectation. I always believed that I give to others, and then God gives back to me. Yesterday was my 29th wedding anniversary. I guess that means to many people that Daniel has been a successful husband and I've been a successful wife. We're still married after all these years. Funny how people measure things. Sit. Stay. Good dog. Have you ever thought about a dog wh...

Something interesting happened after I changed the name of my blog: I searched it and the old name came up...and when I selected the link, I got a message saying the blog no longer existed. Well, obviously, it does still exist, it's just called by another name! So, here I am, telling you, my readers, that I haven't disappeared! I'm just known by a different name :) I haven't changed anything else. What's in a name anyway? I shan't quote Shakespeare for you. You know the next lines. I hope a blog by any other title will be just as thought provoking and possibly inspiring. I hope... Such it is with us. I may be a toddler or a grandmother, but am still the same blooming rose. I hope I'm as sweet now as when I was budding. I hope I may be more beautiful as my petals are unfurled and my true colors have become evident by my works and by those people in whom my efforts have been made manifest, as a testimony to my motherhood. I will be closer to 50 rather than ...

Little Darlin', it's been a long, long, lonely winter... Do you remember that Beatles song? I used to sing it to my daughter Charity when she was about two years old. She's sixteen now...it's been a long, long time since then. We used to sit together on the porch swing, both of us wet from having been in the back yard pool. I'd cuddle her little cold body in a towel and swing with her, telling her she'd be warm in just a few minutes, and 'Look! The sun is shining! It's going to warm you up in no time!' Then, I'd begin to sing our favorite dripping wet swinging on the porch song: 'Here Comes the Sun' Charity would sing along in beautiful two year old fashion and we both were so happy in those moments together. I'm so grateful for that time and for so many I've enjoyed over the years loving and being loved by my children. Interestingly enough, the Beatles had it right. No matter how dark and lonely the winter may seem; no matter...

In consideration of the words of a famed psychologist (Dr. David Burns), there is no real 'healthy or normal depression.' Have you ever considered that notion? True, we feel sorrow from time to time, throughout the course of our lives on this earth, but sorrow and depression are not the same thing...says he. Funny thing; I've seen so many blog posts and cover pictures posted by my friends far and near, portraying my own thoughts, recently, that I have to wonder if something is in the air, or if something is common to this phase of life...or if something is happening in the world, at large. Even as I was getting ready to sign into my blog this morning, after months of having been away, I saw a cover graphic heading for the blog of one of my very dear friends that read: "Life is too short to spend it with people who suck the happiness out of you." I had to stop and think about that one. If I had a nickle for every time I've heard someone say, "life...

I've been at a crossroad; it seems, for a while. Perhaps it's not that I've been paused at the crossroad... perhaps it's that the intersection is enormous. Although my decision is to continue forward in the same direction I've been travelling, it seems the forward path is difficult and many times I find myself looking to the left or right, if not veering. Many readers may know I've lost about 130 pounds in the last couple of years. I was 42 years old when I began the arduous journey to claim my body. It has been a very slow, ongoing process and though I'm very healthy now, I still feel I have something yet to accomplish. Most likely, I'll deal with that complex for the rest of my life, and that's OK. I liken it to a scary movie; you know it's just make believe, but later, in the dark of that night, as you lie in bed, you still get just a little nervous at the thought of getting up to go to the bathroom. That may just be a girl thing...but I kno...

When I was a young woman... not like I'm ancient now... but, when I was early in the process of trying to figure out what kind of adult woman I wanted to be, and whether or not I could be who I wanted to be, I was blessed to have a couple of good women come into my life; to influence me and exemplify some characteristics I admired and wanted to emulate. One, more recently, has been such an example to me making a short list of three who've left a profound impression. Laura: never said a negative thing about anyone. Marty: always maintained an even, peaceful disposition, even when her kids pressed her buttons...even when, beneath the surface she was feeling less than peaceful :) Jewel: after a lifetime of marriage and so many difficulties in life that most people never experience, has remained joyful, grateful, faithful and loving to her husband, to her children and grandchildren, and to her Father in Heaven. There are many women who have touched my life; many I admire and respec...