Look at life through the eyes of a child

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million. ~Walt Streightiff

I count being a grandmother, to my three grandsons, as one of my greatest blessings.  I am constantly amazed at how much information they store and I love how they take that information and interpret it as they see it.  This past Christmas, I took my two oldest grandsons, who were two and five at the time, to the local festival of trees.  For them, it wasn’t about the hustle and bustle of people, the loudness of the room, the limited parking or even the rows of decorated trees; for them, it was about putting the tiny tickets in the buckets, not in hopes of winning a tree, but just to watch them fall in and of course, it was about meeting the “real” Santa Clause too. If life was only as simple as they see it….

Share your experience when you look through the eyes of a child, what do you see?

Be Silly…Be Wild…Be Free

Make mistakes, take chances, be silly, be imperfect, trust yourself and follow your heart. ~Unknown

Recently, my husband and I went out for drinks, apps and a little bit of dancing; trying to relieve some of our everyday life stresses.  Ordinarily I am quite reserved, so I keep my moves to a minimum, but that night, something came over me and I decided to just let loose.  I did a little bit of the robot, the twist, the macarena and even threw in a little “Pulp Fiction” action and to be clear, there was very little alcohol involved.  I can honestly say that night will go on the list of one of our best date nights; I haven’t laughed like that in such a long time.  Well, “they” were right; laughter is the best medicine, because it wiped away our stress that night.

Share a story when you let your hair down and got silly.

Why I Smile

“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” – William Arthur

A true smile comes from the soul and shines through your eyes. It decreases stress and anxiety, improves your mood, makes you more productive, encourages trust, and makes you look younger, just to name a few of its benefits.  I smile when I’m happy and strangely even when I’m sad, when someone tells me a really funny joke, and sometimes I smile when I’m scared; the old nervous laugh. I have so many reasons to smile as I have been blessed to have a great family life, job and friends. This is not to say that life doesn’t get rough sometimes, I just smile my way through it.

Share a story in your life that made you smile.

Relax with a good book and reap the benefits

Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light. ~Vera Nazarian

Experts say that reading is good for your overall health; it reduces stress and provides greater tranquility.  Stress from work, personal life or just everyday life issues just melt away when you sit down and engross yourself in a good book.  Well, I think that it is time to check reality at the door, break away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and slip into the world of make believe.  When I read a book, my mind shifts gears; I am instantly transported to a new world; a world where men are sensitive yet strong, at times have fangs or shape shift into wild animals or where they are super sleuths or avengers of the universe.  Reading is also soothing; to read, you have to sit and be still, which may be the only time of the day that I can do this.

Share what you do to unplug from the world.

Pause for one second and say hello to a perfect stranger

One of the most telling things about a person is how they say hello, handshakes. ~Miguel

Just ONE second, that’s all the time it takes to say hello to someone. It has me wondering why so many of us don’t bother to take the time to do this. So this morning, I said hello to my neighbor as I got in the car to go to work, the woman I parked next to in the office parking lot, the security guard in the lobby of my office building, the receptionist when I got off the elevator and all seven of my co-workers as they passed by my office and it took only eleven seconds in total to do it. The responses were great: a hint of surprise on my neighbor’s face then a hearty “Good Morning!”, the woman I parked next to waved at me, the security guard struck up a brief conversation as I waited for the elevator, the receptionist told me to have a great day and every one of my co-workers returned the hello with a smile. So, the next time someone steps into the elevator or they sit down next to you in a waiting room, even though there are empty seats available elsewhere, take that one second, look them in the eye and say hello; who knows, that person you are talking to could be me.

Share a story when you did something as simple as say hello.

Accepting Myself

 

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Growing up black in a predominately all white community in the 70’s/80’s was quite the challenge.  I longed to fit in and not always be the person that stood out in a crowd.  I remember always wishing that I was short or petite and not my tall, gawky self, that I had blue or hazel eyes instead of my boring dark brown ones, had lighter skin so that I could sunbathe with my friends and not look ridiculous and long silky hair that would blow in the wind instead of my kinky curls that just hung there.  Fast forward, 40 years to today and I can tell you that I love that I am taller than the average woman and that I don’t slouch, have dark skin that sun worshipers would die for, brown eyes that look like my mother’s and frizzy hair that is long enough to be put in a ponytail and hidden underneath a baseball cap.  And I will be the first to tell you that walking into a room with all eyes on me (i.e. standing out in a crowd) is actually quite empowering.

Share a story where you felt you needed to just accept and be happy with who you are.

The Facebook Challenge

Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on. ~Maxwell Maltz

Do you remember the Facebook challenge called “Pretty Face”?   If you were nominated by a friend, then you had to go through your pictures and post what you thought were the prettiest pictures of you.  I got nominated by one of my friends, but little did she know that she was tapping right into the insecurities that I have about myself.  I have always had low self-esteem when it came to my looks, so this “game” caused more anxiety than the fun that everyone else was having with it, so instead, I asked my husband to pick pictures that he felt that I looked the most beautiful in.  This game then took on a new meaning for me, because I’m not sure these are the pictures that I would have chosen, but now I could see myself through his eyes and I felt pretty.

Share a moment where you overcame one of your insecurities.

Christmas Memories

When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window. ~Ogden Nash

Last year, I thought it would be a great idea to spend the morning decorating the Christmas tree with my husband and grandchildren.  In theory, the idea sounded like a warm fuzzy “Hallmark” moment in the making but in reality not so much.  The reality was my one year old grandson Khyson running around screaming and grabbing all of the ornaments off the tree as soon as we put them on; my four year old grandson Mekhi screaming at Khyson for taking the ornaments;  me screaming at Mekhi for screaming at Khyson, and then my husband screaming at all of us for screaming.  Once we got ourselves under control and the Christmas tree was decorated, I had the bright idea to take a picture of the boys in front of the tree; still striving for that “moment”.  But, like the picture says, Mekhi stood there like a wooden toy soldier and Khyson was just unwilling to stand still for even one second…CLASSIC!

Share a holiday story where things just didn’t work out quite the way you wanted or expected.

The Bucket

Friends are the most important part of your life. Treasure the tears, treasure the laughter, but most importantly, treasure the memories. ~Dave Brenner

I was introduced to the “Bucket” about 5 or 6 years ago.  A friend of mine hosts an annual “Bucket Party” party at her home every July.  It’s an afternoon of great food, a kick in the butt drink and friends, old and new.  Not sure what is in this bad boy, but I know there’s tons of different flavored rum with splashes of juice.  Looking forward to summer 2015!

Share a tradition that you have with your friends.

The Proposal

The love of your life will find you when you least expect it…the most exciting relationships happen when you’re not looking. ~Unknown

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This covert operation that my boyfriend, who I met via online dating, put in motion included my kids, friends, siblings and both sets of parents.  What started out as a quiet night out to dinner with one of my closest girlfriends somehow turned into a night that I would agree to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.  As my girlfriend and I were walking back to our cars after dinner, we passed the park where my boyfriend and I first met and I noticed that there was a candle and wine glasses on the table where we shared our first kiss.  I stood there confused and then all of a sudden my boyfriend stepped out of the shadows with that “gotcha” look and I almost hyperventilated because it finally dawned on me that this “was the moment”!  As I was calling my friends and family, who already knew, to share the news that I was getting married, my son hopped the small fence surrounding the park and we just hugged, laughed and cried; PERFECT!

Share your proposal story.