I didn’t venture too far afield until I married my husband, who was in the U.S. Air Force. For the next twenty-some years, “Uncle Sam” had the say in where we lived — even though we had the chance to fill out a “dream sheet” with our preferences. I liked to tell people that my husband was the military guy …
In Others’ Words: The Hidden Music in Obstacles
My friend Dee said this is one of her favorite quotes — and that I was the one who shared it with her. I’ll take her word for it. The truth is, I’ll take Dee’s word on a lot of things. And whether I came across the quote first, or whether she did … I like it. One of my …
In Others’ Words: Doing Well in the World
In my search for quotes this week, I stumbled across a link that featured quotes from children’s books. Quite a lot of fun, reading through the quotes and thinking, “Oh, I’ve read that book!” or “I didn’t realize that quote was from there!” In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m big on knowing the origin of a quote, if at all possible. …
In Others’ Words: Go ahead — Strike Out!
Babe Ruth is one of those athletes whose life has become legendary. Decades after his death, he is still held up as a sports hero, someone to be admired and respected — to be emulated. And yet, “the Babe” was not perfect. He struck out. The beauty of it is, he took those strikes in stride and kept aiming for …
In Others’ Word: Life Has Two Rules
Can I be honest and I admit that I quit last week? I sat on the floor in my bedroom, tears running down my face, and told my husband, “I can’t do this” — “this” basically being the list of “have tos” I was staring at. Yeah … not a shining moment in my life. So I quit — for …
In Others’ Words: Just When You Think You Know Someone
March 2 was Dr. Seuss’ birthday — he would have been 111 years old! I’ve quoted the oh-so-creative Dr. Seuss several times on this blog, usually on Fridays when I’m looking for a more lighthearted quote to end the week. I read various headlines about his birthday and the National Education Association’s (NEA) Read Across America week, which was this past …
In Others’ Words: The Need for “This I Knows”
So Monday’s blog post was about reframing impossibilities. Today’s post is about certainties. I have to admit I kept tripping up over the phrase “The thing about getting older is … “ because, well, while I am getting older, I like to ignore that reality. Overlook the wrinkles. Highlight and lowlight my way past the gray. Celebrate my birthdays, sure, but …
In Others’ Words: Possible Impossibilities
It’s Monday. I think I shall start the week believing the impossible. There’s so much more breathing space … so much more room for dreaming and doing … when I stress the possible in the word impossible. Rather than thinking of all I won’t get done today or tomorrow or the day after … rather than thinking won’t and shouldn’t …
In Others’ Words: Looking for a “handout”
In the Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins describes how he feels to Gandalf the Gray Wizard this way: I feel … thin. Sort of stretched, if you know what I mean. Like … butter scraped over too much bread. Thin. Stretched. Scraped. All perfect descriptors of life when hope is worn …
In Others’ Words: Barren is … as Barren Does …
Sometimes when I tell another person how oh-so-very busy I am … well, I’m hoping they don’t hear the hint of pride in my voice. I’m a busy, busy person. That must mean I have a life worth living … a life of significance … that oh, maybe, I’m important somehow? (And now I’m shaking my head as I think: You’re …