Times Have Changed

How I miss my parents. If they were alive today, they would both be in their 90's. They brought about a certain comfort that always made me feel "safe", even as an adult with children of my own. They represented security, balance, family, ethics, goodness, stability & love, all rolled into one package that they created together when they married while still in their teens in the 1940's. My father was drafted during World War II & he & my mom moved from Indiana to California when the Marines sent my dad to San Diego & he was assigned to the USS Panamint & later saw battle in the Pacific Theater. Together, they raised their family: 2 sons & 4 daughters. I was the youngest.

We Have a Choice

Everything we do is a choice. Unless someone is blackmailing us, using extortion against us, or coercing us by force, we alone are responsible for the choices we make. 

Someone will say "but you don't know what he did to me...he left me no choice!".  Nope, wrong answer. We always have a choice.

"But she knows that I get upset when she does such & such. I had no choice but to show her that she can't get away with that". Again, we always have a choice.

"This person hurt my family member!" --- once again, we have a choice in how we respond.

"Yeah, but that person cut me off in traffic & nearly caused an accident" -- I can relate to this one...& yes, I have the choice in how I will respond.

Missing Freda

When I think of spiders, the book Charlotte's Web comes to mind. In that book, Charlotte is a spider that lives in a barn & she instructs a pig named Wilbur on life's important lessons. I am not a spider lover, but I do find them interesting. I'm pretty sure that my daughter on the other hand, would prefer that they lived on the moon. I have been summoned many times, to perform spider deportations.

Being Nice or Being a Schmuck

I'm a people watcher. I can't help it. I find human behavior fascinating. I also care about people & feel a lot of compassion toward others. When I see someone hurting, I want to help. Often, strangers approach me & start a conversation because they see a friendly face & assume they can trust me. People consider me to be kind & someone they can count on to help out. This is a good thing, right? I'm not so sure. Here's why: