Well, three out of the four of us ran to dinner last night and when I went out to step in the car, I was amazed. My face did not feel like it was going to freeze and drop off. The air felt cold and refreshing for once not fridgid. This is the kind of winter I can handle. Even still if only for a few minutes at a time, but it is one that gives me hope and the optimism that I can take a quick 5 or 10 minute walk, like my mother is always harping at me to do. The women is 77 and she walks twice a day, no matter the weather. My daughter likes to brag that her grandma is a dynamowho loves walking, gambling, reading good books, bakes to much for all of our own good and can be found at her condo assoc. pool all summer in spite of having skin cancer (the low risk) kind taken off her nose. She is a wonder and some healthy competition for me to come back to that kind of brave optimistic broad that just soldiers on day after day being glad for what life's given her.

On the other hand there's my "not really for real" (as she so eloquently referred to herself the very first time I met her (!) because she is technically my step mother in law. She (in the 20 years I've witnessed) has never happy unless she is aquiring something or in the midst of accomplishing her latest goal of aquiring something...Be it a different house, a new kitchen (she just got a new 5 years ago and its already not good and is currently being redone) or whatever business move to make her future more secure....and then the happiness is only temporary till she off fretting again on how she will get whatever the next urgent thing is she needs. I've truly never witnessed such a striver. With that kind of searching mentality, looking inside at herself, might save her from her aquiremania....but then again that might be what she's trying not to do. Her fear of what she may find..stopping her, its truly a shame, I NEVER want my kids to ever think they are the sum total of what they have in material things.

Coming from a family where I was raised more to appreciate what I do have (material and education, and what I could do with it) instead of focusing on what I haven't gotten "yet".

I thought in this "season of dreary" weather to think about what everyone is truly glad to be or to have in their life.

Even just the thought of being here to grumble about the weather is something, we'll be glad to say we persevered thru another winter, a bit ago we (many of us) were struggling with walking and talking moreso than now hopefully...better than not being here because every day, every hour, every minute everyone is given the same chance to make it a better minute or hour or day than before..and since there's no grass to plea to mow or weeds to pull, I thought we've got the time.....

Its really up to you how you choose to think towards this life of yours and how you wish to handle it. Sure day to day life gets tiring and I wonder if it's just me and is it just our life or anyone's seems as tiring and repetitive in esp. this winter weather? Summer seems to zip by (except for those stifling humid days are to me worse than winter!) but I can't help but stop and wonder is it more the way we face any certain thing for that matter, that make us think its either hard or easy???

We all have situations that we can't always partly control, but how we look at what we do with the moments is based more on attitude than anything. If we look at something as a bore it ends up being a bore just like if we look forward to something, it usually igoes too fast.. I think it was interesting to read that years from now we regret more what we choose not to do or go after than what we did. If we don't try how will we ever know? But if we do nothing then we know what the outcome will be..nothing

It's not to me the trip or the new car that matter but more the memories and chances we tooke to do the things that we all invariably say we'd "like" to do someday...well folk's that some day is here and now.

Take a timer and set it to a minute and wait till the bell goes off...That's one more minute you'll never get back, so why not start right now, reaching for that inner goal that you've always said you'd like to do.

No one else has your dream, it's your's only to go after. What are you waiting for? If you truly want it bad enough, you'll find a way.. no one is going to go get it for you.push whatever fear aside it only has as much power as you give it, whatever skill or speciality people consider you to have, then they'll think of you as a "pro" and that is another example of just another amateur who refused to quit... :Clap-Hands:

So the time is now! It can be being the best parent, grandparent, friend, knitter, baker, woodworker whatever....what kind of memories do we want to leave behind? Think of that as your legacy...what you taught your loved ones..My mom or dad/grandma or grandpa aunt or uncle, sister or brother could really....(fill in)...........build a memory that you want of you...