"My Life Lesson"

My life lessons is to always stay true to who you are. Be honest with yourself, know that everything is not a bed of roses or the grass is not always greener on the other side. If there is something you don't like about yourself, work towards changing it. "Believing"


 There will be ups and there will be downs. There will be good days and there will be bad days. You just have to remember to get up, get dressed and get out and enjoy the day. Weather feeling happy or blue, sunshine or rain, just bring an umbrella or flip flops either way. "Honesty"






I have joys of being a single mother of three boys and I've suffered the pain of being that mother of three boys. Mostly their nice and sweet but I have also seen them upset and mean. "Forgiveness"

Let your children know they are always welcome when they need you even after they have grown and moved on. You are the only parent they have. I'm 58 and sometimes still need the help and advice from my dad. "Love"

 Don't be afraid to work hard for something, even if it doesn't bring you exactly what you expected, be happy you can get the chance work, so many other's don't. "Loyalty"    

Say something nice to someone each and everyday. You will find that it not only makes them feel good, but it will make you feel good too. "Kindness"

Don't take yourself to serious.There's an old saying no one else does If it wasn't for the last minute, I would get nothing done and my procrastination is my way of simply re-organizing my priorities. "Humor" 

It's OK to cry. It's OK to scream at the top of your lungs, but do it on a mountain top so you don't scare anyone. I've done this myself when I felt I was falling apart, not knowing which way to go. "Confusion"

Don't forget to laugh, even if it is at yourself, I've laughed so hard at times I've had to hide the fact I tinkled my pant's a wee bit.. Who else could be are own biggest bozo the clown. "Laughter"

I love how lessons in life are passed on through generations to generations and the "Happiness" of not only being a mother but a grandmother too. "Joy"

AND the best lesson in life I have found is that no matter how old you are, you can always go back to school and re-invent yourself. "Creativity"

"LIFE IS A GREAT BIG CANVAS, throw all the paint on it you can"  Danny Kaye






Five words that describe who I am........ Fun, Loving, Caring, Mom, Grandma  ;;)

My son Andrew, aka "YoungDRU"

"Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

The closer Morries gets to good-bye, the more he feels we are all creatures in the same forest. What we take we must replenish, "It's only fair." "We all have the same beginning birth, and we have have the same ending, death."

Morrie believes so many of us walk around with meaningless lives. We do things automatically thinking these are the things we are suppose to be doing, things we think are important to us. Our culture is so wrapped up with egotistical things like, our careers, family, making enough money, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, or being so involved in the trillions of other projects that we don't "STOP," take the time to stand back and take a look around. "The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it."

I found so many similarities with this reading and the reading of "Measuring Success," by Renee Loth. We have become so occupied with wanting what we think society thinks we should have. Loth say's, "The struggling and searching for things we want or do in our lives, keeps us in a permanent state of wanting, always reaching for more.

They say life is what you make it, so why are we so blinded to see what is right in front of us? Because our society pushes this need to want and have more upon us. This isn't to say, chasing your dreams or reaching for your goals is wrong, we're just missing the big picture.

Morries says, "Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do"; "Accept the past as past, and without denying it or discarding it"; "Learn to forgive yourself and forgive others"; Don't assume that it's too late to get involved. He also say's, "The way you get the meaning of life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." Get connected, volunteer at your local food bank, get to know your neighbor's and if their elderly, ask to rake their yard full of leaves. Stop, look around you, take a deep breath, smell the fresh air, Take a hike around your beautiful mountain range. You will find that all we really need we already have as  Loth say's "The moment is all we really have."

Love what you do, love who you are, embrace the joy and love you have for your family, friends, and beautiful surroundings. We are the meaning of life. Morrie say's "Love wins, love always wins."

I enjoyed Tuesday's with Morrie because it has taught me not to what for the last minute , like dying to see all the beautiful things around me and the beautiful things I have. My 3 son's, my grandchildren, my friends. It has also taught me to spend as much time as I can with my 85 year old father, even if it means having to hear the same story over and over again. I  now know he won't be here someday to even tell me a story. As Morrie say's again, "Maybe death is the great equalizer, the one thing that can finally make strangers shed a tear for one another." Compassion, Love, Forgiveness and Acceptance.
RIP Morrie

Measuring Success

"Measuring Success" by Renee Loth

Loth devised a grid system to measure success. She subdivided sections, labeled health and love along with wealth and fame, equaling all four towards success. She found out measuring success is somewhat difficult to measure because success is defined differently by different people, and the definitions of success are shifting along with our changing values.

The achievements I've made along my way as Loth say's "Keeps us in a permanent state of wanting more." I can connect this with my own lifetime achievements. Staring out with getting my first CPR certification. The excitement and praise I received from other's in my class made me want more. I soon found myself enrolled in college taking the first res-ponder class, then emergency medical technician course, then fire fighter I, the list goes on and on. The drive to success keeps us focused on the future.

 Loth was right, I was craving more and more higher achievements thinking I would be rewarded with wealth and fame. I thought with all my education and continuing education, learning to fly a plane would have me in a position where others would want me, making me a valuable part of something. I never calculated joy, love, or happiness into my values of success. I calculated the joy, love and happiness after I didn't have all the other things above anymore. This isn't to say I didn't love what I was doing, I miss my 20 year career, I worked so very hard for it. I found that the wealth and fame didn't add up to the beautiful values of joy spending time home with my boy's, or the happiness i find myself in spending time with my grandchildren, or the love and passion I have for my Art, There's was no comparison.