Tag: live and learn

Feel the Music

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I have this neighbor around the corner who refers to me as Barbara Walker, because he knows me as the ‘walker’ of the neighborhood. 😂

To light him up, all you have to do is mention baseball, or music. The bass guitar in particular. Toward the end of our conversation he mentions his right shoulder, and how he can’t do the things he once loved to do. He loved playing baseball so much he injured his shoulder and throwing arm. He meets his baseball buddies for a round of frisbee golf, but it’s not the same.

He’s the kind of guy who is gonna play and go all in. I wonder how many broken bones he’s had and if he has scars? I don’t see him as injured. It looks like to me, he lived.

One Republic-I Lived

The Extra Mile

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Walking to a neighbors house, I saw another neighbor who asked, “Walking down to the lake?” I replied, “No sir, I’m going to get fresh eggs.” He looked rather puzzled and replied, “You need a golf cart to scoot around in. It’s easier.” I just ginned and said, “But Dan, I don’t do easy.” He chuckled.

My daughter brought home flowers and it was the most magical bouquet I’d seen in years. They were freshly cut, wrapped in brown paper and when she handed them to me I could feel the weight of them. There was a florist card laying inside I didn’t recognize, so she went on to reveal the whole story.

She had stopped at the market I frequent for flowers, but didn’t see anything that spoke to her, so on she went to a flower shop she knew I loved. The lady inside told her to walk into the cooler and pick out what she wanted. I can imagine the look on my daughters face walking into a cooler filled with flowers. I’m sure it was overwhelming in the most delightful way.

She chose a few of my utmost favorites. A couple of long-stemmed roses, daylilies, a few gladiolas, and the most ginormous hydrangea blossom known to man. She remembered I like greenery to be used as filler.

She was holding a paper bag from the market as well with chocolate cold brew and Brie en Croute. You see, she just wanted to stop time that day amidst our schedules and celebrate her sober Mom. It was my AA birthday, and I don’t very cry often, but with all of this the tears were near.

I’m sure there’s a much easier way to buy flowers, but my darling, fill it with meaning and go the extra mile.

The Easy Road

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Another one of my new favorite things is how our cat drinks water. He just started doing this and it’s looks so difficult, but he does live in this house and we don’t do things the easy way.

Our big dog, Denver, has two metal bowls in a stand so they’re off the ground. You probably know the feeding stands I’m referring to. There’s one for water and one for food, side by side, but less than 10 inches off the ground.

Our munchkin cat, Chombus, waits until Denver has emptied his food bowl which I believe is very considerate, and climbs into the empty food bowl. Then he reaches over to the water bowl next to it and drinks water.

So his rear end is sitting in the empty food bowl, while is head is in the water bowl. Why doesn’t he just stand in front of the water bowl and drink? I guess that’s too easy.

Our cat has a good life, so maybe this is his way of challenging himself. Any worthwhile goal doesn’t come easy, but the path that will challenge us the most is never crowded. Let’s hope they’re practicing social distancing on the easy road.

You’re Not Failing

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I love the sound of the ocean. Looking at the expansive body of water, reminds me how big my God really is. The water rolls in with crashing force, but then playfully slips ashore. If you’re standing nearby, it will find your feet like it’s trying to get you to join in on the moment.

Thinking about waves reminded me of this meme I made years ago, and searched my computer until it was found. My daughter jokingly exclaims, “You were on LSD when you made that?” 🙂

No my darling, I was learning.

The program I use to make memes added new options overnight. What began as a black and white photo of my daughter became the explosion of color you see above. I added layer, upon layer of color and texture, just to see what the new buttons would do, but then ran into a problem. Once added, I couldn’t figure out how to remove it. I spotted a tiny little button that said, “Undo”, but saved this beforehand. It’s a reminder of how easily I can get caught up and swept away in a wave of options.

To this day I don’t see it as a failed meme.

I told my daughter, “What I see as a learning experience, someone else will love.” (Someone who thrives on color) The only failure from that day would be to stop making memes, and that didn’t happen. I’m not going to be intimidated by a bunch of buttons and neither should you my friend.

I saw this quote this morning and thank Craig Maloney for posting it. He has written an excellent post regarding failure that you can read here. Failure waits for us in the ‘not showing up’ for what life has to offer. Thank you for showing up here today. ~ Barb.

As long as you’re learning, you’re not failing.

Bob Ross

Rise Above It

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My daughter is in England. She messaged me this morning, “We are on the coach heading to Manchester!” I said, “Are the horses pretty pulling the coach?” 😂

I appreciate all of your suggestions for Name This Meeting, but I’ve placed it back in drafts. That’s not how it’s done. The name of the meeting is chosen by the group, so for now it’s called Women of AA.

♥ ♥ ♥

My daughter loves to fly.

When I took her to the airport yesterday, it was empty. The media will cause fear and panic. Fear is like a flame that spreads like wildfire, but this made our experience better. She wasn’t on a crowded flight.

Women like us don’t follow the masses.

We stand our ground for what’s right.

We make mistakes, but learn from them and move on. We’re not too proud to admit we got it wrong because we are willing to turn it around by doing what’s right.

My daughter reminded me of this.

It may look dark and cloudy, but once the plane rises above the clouds, you can see the sun. It doesn’t stop shining, and my God doesn’t stop handing out grace.

If a storm is brewing in your life, let me encourage you to rise above it.

inflight
Photo cred. Simplysemloh