This holiday season I wish the best for you all.
“May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.” –
~Mary Anne Radmacher
Photo by Preslie Hirsch on Unsplash
I saw this on social media the other day. I believe it is one hundred percent accurate. Many of us what for things to happen to be happy. We wait for the right time, the right place, or the right people. But what we need to learn is happiness depends on us. We are in control of our lives and our happiness. Let’s make it happen.
If you want to be happy, have zero expectations of others, take 100% responsibility for your life, and be grateful for what you have.
-unknown
Photo by Antonino Visalli on Unsplash
Today would have been my grandpa’s 99th birthday. It’s hard to believe he’s been gone eight years now. He lived a wonderful life of 90 years. He was a teacher, a coach, and a mentor. He coached golf, baseball, and basketball. He was the coach and athletic director for Alliance College, which was a small Polish college in Cambridge Springs, PA. He also coached many of my friends and me in middle school basketball and helped with our high school softball team.
Not only was my grandpa the patriarch of our family, he was a father figure to many of the players he coached. He had a coaching style similar to that of Bobby Knight of Indiana. He was all business. He had high expectations of all of his players. He expected us to perform well on and off the court. He pushed us to be the best players and students we could be. He. also expected us to follow the rules.
My Heart and I still keep in touch with some of his old players and since we live in the house where he and Sweet Gram lived for about 50 years, we get visitors from time to time. We love hearing stories of Grandpa. A lot of his players talk about how he was a huge influence on their lives. They talk about how Grandpa and Gram would invite them to dinner if they couldn’t go home for the holidays. They talk about how my grandparents encouraged them to stay in school and work hard on the court and in their academics. Some talk about how they saved their lives in one form or another.
I looked up to my grandparents as a child which turned into a deep respect as I grew into an adult. Maybe some of his techniques would be frowned upon today but he made a difference. I am lucky that I lived two blocks from my grandparents as a child and lived with Gram for five years as an adult. I believe everyone who knew them feels blessed to have been a part of their lives.
Happy Birthday, Grandpa! We love and miss you!
I believe we can all relate to this quote. We don’t need to be perfect. We shouldn’t even strive for perfection. But let’s realize that we are human. We make mistakes. Let’s learn from them and strive to be an excellent human being.
“Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”
—Tony Robbins
Photo by Jose Vazquez on Unsplash
We need to always do our best. Whatever our task is give it your best effort. Why go through tasks halfway? Put your best effort into everything you do. When you know what to expect than you can always do 1% better every day.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better”
— Maya Angelou
Friendships come in all shapes and sizes. They say people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. As you have read, my husband and I are truly blessed with amazing friends and family. We love all of you, but today, I want to talk about one special couple who inspired me to take chances.
“True friendship resists time, distance and silence”
A few weeks ago My Rock and I made our annual road trip from Pennsylvania back to Florida. We stayed with a couple that we usually stay with up and down the coast. I have known him since I was five years old and her since I was in sixth grade. My Prince just met them in 2017 and luckily everyone gets along very well, probably too well (lol). Even though we live 5 hours away from each other, and only get together a few times a year, when we get together it is so easy. I leave every weekend with them with my cheeks hurting from the smiling, laughter, and shenanigans we end up getting into. These weekends are absolutely some of my favorite times.
I reconnected with the couple after a pretty long hiatus because we both moved away from our small town. The story is one of randomness and chance happenings. My mom was driving my grandparents home from their condo in Fort Myers to Pennsylvania when their car broke down in northern Florida. They decided to rent a car in Florida and drive to my sister and me in Virginia. Once the repairs were done, someone had to go back to Florida to get the car.
Even though I hadn’t talked to my childhood friends in a long time, we were from the same small town. We had been good friends back then because our parents were friends, too. To me, we had a bond and it didn’t matter how long it had been since we had talked. I asked if we could stay with them for a night to break up the trip while my mom and I headed back to Florida to get this car. They kindly opened their house to us.
We reconnected as if no time had passed. We learned about each other as adults and reminisced about our childhoods. It was one of my favorite nights.
I learned they were selling their house and most of their possessions and buying an RV. They were huge mountain biking enthusiasts and in their mid 30’s they felt they needed to go. They had saved money and made a plan. They were leaving from Florida, traveling up the east coast then heading out west. I thought it sounded amazing even if I wasn’t into camping or mountain biking. I was so proud of them for taking the Leap of Faith and going on their adventure. Most people wait for retirement to do all the things they’ve ever wanted to do. And sometimes, like my Dad, retirement is too late.
On their way up the coast, they stopped to see us in Richmond. We had a fire and had a great time catching up. They visited our houses, and we spent some time at their campground. I have to say they were part of the inspiration that lead me to quit my job that fall and go to Thailand to teach English. If my grandparents’ car hadn’t broken down and my mom wouldn’t have left it in Florida or if I didn’t have the guts to give them a call, I wonder where I would be and where our friendship would be today. What opportunities would I have missed out on? Things happen for a reason, my friends.
Since that phone call in the spring of 2015, we have stayed in touch and seen each other two to three times per year. They have welcomed us into their house each time we drive up and down the east coast. They were even generous enough to open their home to Sweet Gram and the cat! We don’t need to call each other every day or check in every weekend. We send texts when we miss each other, and we make plans when we want to get together.
I am truly blessed to have this couple in my life, along with so many others that make friendships and life easy. I believe our small-town childhood created deep bonds within us. I believe that friendships should bring you joy. Friendships should make you laugh. We need to remember that we are all busy. We may not hear from our friends as much as we want to at any given moment but we need to not take it personally. We can’t make assumptions unless we are assuming our friend loves us and just can’t get back to us right now.
Anyway, I hope you are blessed with a few easy friendships where you can catch up and laugh your face off until all hours in the morning. I hope you have people in your life that make it easy, that support you, and that love you. So Happy Halloween, my friends! Although we aren’t dressing up, we are off to Las Vegas to spend another weekend with these amazing friends.
We live in a world filled with negative energy. We must make a conscious effort to stay positive in any way. Whatever bad luck is following you around stop it with a positive thought and a glimpse of that silver lining.
“Positive anything is better than negative nothing”
~ unknown
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
We’ve talked a lot about accepting change and being ready to let go of things in the past. It is hard, but not impossible. Embrace change. Let go of the past. Begin again as often as you have to. It is time. Let your new story, your new adventure, your new life begin!
She looked at her old life, one last time, inhaled deeply, and whispered to herself, “It is time. I am ready for my new story to begin.”
~ unknown
Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash
As you read in Secret to Life, Sweet Gram would have been 100 years old on September 13. Since her passing in 2021, I have been on the path of trying to find my “new” identity. I spent my life being an independent woman educator who made her own money, bought her own cars, owned her house, and paid her bills on time. I wanted to be an independent woman.
I studied hard and graduated college with an elementary and special education degree. Then I received my Masters Degree in 2007 and became a Coordinator of Special Education. I was in the education field for 16 years. In 2015, I quit to go to Thailand (to teach English) and then became Gram’s caregiver until 2021 when she passed. I even did some remote work from 2020 until 2022. All of my jobs were rewarding and satisfying especially, caregiving for Gram. I enjoyed them and all the people I worked with.
Since Gram passed, I have been searching for something, my “new identity”. Although I don’t need to make money I felt like I needed a career or a job. Everyone always asks “what do you do?” I am stuck with no answer. I have tried to find something that I love to do. Something to stick. But it appears the only thing I am good at is running meetings and being organized. Since leaving the field of education, I have become a realtor, a travel agent, a NuSkin consultant, and a Blogger. Nothing seems to come easy or natural, and nothing seems to make me any money. I feel like the only thing I am good at is being a retired educator and a professional gypsy. And of course I do love writing.
I don’t know how to be a travel agent or a salesperson. I haven’t had real training in these fields therefore, it is frustrating and makes me feel inept. I feel like I owe it to my old self to have a job. But I am trying to let go of the past and open my eyes and my heart to my new self.
I love my new self and the life that My Heart and I lead. We are Never Home, and I am blessed to have the opportunity to do and see so many things that I always dreamed of seeing. If I had a job I would miss out on these opportunities. So, I finally have decided that I don’t need a “job” that makes money. I need a “job” where I feel I have a purpose. I feel that purpose in my Blog. I enjoy writing my posts and hopefully passing on inspiring messages and posts to people who may need some encouragement. I also enjoy volunteering at Valerie’s House in Fort Myers.
As you have read, life is about making changes. And this is another season of change in my life. I think we need to always be willing to change and be present in our lives. I have been reading a lot about being in the moment like three-year-olds are. They are not worried about the past. They bring no baggage with them. They aren’t worried about the future, and they have no fear. They are just wiggling around, smiling, exploring, and discovering the world around them. Maybe we shouldn’t act like three-year-olds as far as maturity but maybe we take a life lesson and be free in our lives like they are. Let’s live in the moment and enjoy each moment.
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash
Airport pickups are the best! Seeing your friends or family right outside that door after a flight is absolutely amazing! Sometimes you have been traveling for hours and had a long flight. Sometimes it’s a short and sweet flight. Sometimes flights have been delayed and you have been up all night. But when someone is right outside that door with a big smile and a bigger hug, all the worries seem to disappear.
Airport pickups are such a show of love. Doesn’t matter if it is romantic or platonic. Anyone who picks you up from the airport that you are aren’t paying to do so, actually loves you.
Photo by Collab Media on Unsplash