February 22 – February 29, 2010- Signing off…

For just a moment, I will be signing off.  Positivity and appreciation are what this is all about and right now, I need to take the time to appreciate family, the family we’ve just lost and the family we will cling to on these upcoming days of formalities, remembrance and togetherness.

What I’m learning with this Daily 365 is the importance of acknowledging daily… and knowing when private and personal acknowledgement is what’s the most important.

Sending positive and beautiful thoughts into the universe with hopes they return to me and my special husband and family.

~K

February 21, 2010 – Just in time

Just in time for us to get ready to deal with the cards life has recently handed us…. the sunshine came out.

Just in time to work through some emotional writings… I was able to lay on a blanket in the sun to ease the process.

Just in time to get through a difficult Sunday…. it was spent with my family in the yard, having a picnic lunch.

Today, I am grateful for the sun and the warm weather.  Even when it seems like everything else is turned upside down, this was the cheer I needed to move along with a smile.

~K

February 20, 2010

“Dance your heart out!” – Mike Mento

Was that the direct quote or was it “Dance like crazy!”?  At this moment, all is too confusing and sad and busy for me to dig out the specific card and life lesson he gave to my two year old on his birthday this past December.  I nearly made myself crazy today trying to find the exact card and wording until I realized that the message was just the same and regardless of verbage, the message was crystal clear.  Live!  Love!  Dance!  Laugh!  Breathe!  Enjoy!   The last words to his nephew.. and niece for that matter.  Infinite wisdom and lifelong advice from a man who knew he was going to go all too soon.

Rest in peace, Mike.  Thank you for being the positive force you were to my husband and I and for taking the time to carry this importance over to our children.  We will always love you. 

~K

February 19, 2010 – Friends and Vitamins

“Good friends are like vitamins… a handful is all you need, and they make a world of difference in the quality of your life.”  -KSJ

This week, I have spent time with the parents of a old friend, laughed until  my jaw hurt with new girlfriends, taken food to a flu-friend, sent love to a special friend, shared thoughts and worries with writer friends and felt the love and thoughtfulness of so many friends in return.

What a blessing it is to have a handful of good friends…  how appreciative I am for each of them and the place they hold in my life. 

~K

February 18, 2010 – I think it’s working!

“Don’t just see the rainy day;  take note also of the rainbow struggling to peek from behind the clouds.” ~KSJ

Today I was in a car accident.  A man didn’t brake in time and hit my car from behind. It was early in the morning and a good bit of damage was done to my car.  Usually I would be cranky- cursing, angry about it all.  I certainly was, but it was different.  No sooner than I could get angry,  a feeling of overwhelming thankfulness that my children weren’t with me took over.  And even as the day wore on, dealing with body shops, insurance companies, more body shops, more insurance companies…. even through all of this…. the voice inside that acknowledged the positives about the situation, the positives that outweighed all the negatives was loud and was crystal clear.   

It’s not about permanently changing your personality or your hot headedness spunky qualities. It is more about recognizing what’s good in situations too and not letting these realizations pass you by.  It’s changing your awareness to take note of all things, not just the drama and the negative… and you know what?  I think it’s working! 

~K

February 17, 2010 – You’ve Got a Friend

Today, I have a  friend going through a difficult time.  It’s hard to be positive about anything when someone you love is in pain, -- justifiable, raw, undeserved pain.

I will try. 

I am so thankful for our friendship that has spanned now (gasp!) over a decade and hope that all the positive thoughts and well wishes that come with that friendship will provide him with some peace tonight.

He’s one of the few who I know reads this daily.  Today, to you, my friend, I am thankful for our friendship.  For you.  And I hope that you’re feeling these hugs and this positivity from miles away.

~K

February 16, 2010 – Think about it

Thoughts for today…

Be thankful for the questions… the thoughts… the wonders.

Welcome the ability to discuss and the freedom to challenge.   Open yourself to examination and feel free to allow for change.

Don’t be afraid of any of this… digest it… learn from it.  It is how we grow and should be always acknowledged and appreciated.

~K

February 15, 2010 – Calming Waters

Today, naptime came with a tight afternoon schedule. I didn’t have the time to do the hour long ritual that my toddler requires before finally settling into sleep.  Congruently, what time I did have, I lacked in energy otherwise.  I k-n-e-w it would be an hour of him screaming, getting out of bed, me walking him back into bed, lifting him, explaining (pleading) and starting again.  Rinse and repeat.  Times easily 60.  Even the strongest of souls will be worn out by the end of this cycle.  It is so ‘not peaceful’.   Today the children had a doctor’s appointment in about an hour and a half, so there simply wasn’t the time for the song and dance (typed loosely… more like a scream and shout) for an hour and then any type of reasonable nap.  It was just an inevitable mess if I chose to take part.  Today I chose not to.  Instead, I shut the blinds, lay both children down under the covers in front of a little Sesame and let them just relax.

It was quiet.  It was peaceful.   Was it perhaps, the calm before the storm as two hours later both children squealed in exhausted temper tantrums?  Sure.   Could I now focus on that?  Easily.   Instead, I really noticed and appreciated the peaceful, calm, quiet of two siblings cuddled up on a rainy day, listening to Ernie talk about his nose.   It was one of those moments that can be easily  overlooked in a shuffle of a busy day, but not today.  This perfect loving moment was acknowledged.  It was photographed for sharing, engrained forever in a mother’s memory, appreciated and absolutely adored.   My calm and quiet, love under covers…. with Ernie and Bert….my girl and my boy…. the three of us in a successful quest for afternoon peace.

~K

February 14, 2010 – Love

Today I am acknowledging love. 

New love, those who find every little quirk about each other exciting and who relish in each moment spent side by side.  It’s fun to watch, the butterflies, the newness and the appreciation of finding a special someone who seems just perfect for you.  

I’m grateful for accustomed love, those who have walked through storms and chased rainbows together.  Lovers who realize that staying together is sometimes harder than walking away, but who know that their love is far too precious to lose and well worth working for. 

I’m amazed by lifetime love, couples who have spent decades together, raised children and grandchildren.   These couples know every weakness and still sustain happily, with a closer bond than many will ever understand. 

I see my sweet cousin finding new love and the freshness on his face.  I see them discovering new aspects of each other and gazing at each other’s every move in infatuation and adoration.

I see my husband and I, nine years into our marriage, beaming with pride at our daughter’s first theatrical performance and kissing on either side of our baby boy’s cheeks in the mornings.  We know without speaking our worries and celebrate and appreciate the milestones we’ve reached together.  We get that it isn’t always easy, but also jointly realize the power our love and the life that it has created is.

I see my parents… nearly forty years into a marriage that I don’t always understand.   Their relationship has produced 3 children and 3 grandchildren.  They have endured peaks and valleys and have tasted the pain and the joys that life and a long marriage started very young can provide.  I also see a respect and concern that they have, checking in with each other each day, enjoying in the smiles of their children and grandchildren together and the sharing the pain of caring for their elderly parents.  I see the newness absent and the romance lacking.  But I also see his cell phone screen saver prominently displaying her smiling  face and her worriedly checking  the road maps across 5 states for his safety before travel and with all of this, what I don’t understand, other parts I see differently, as perhaps, a another dimension of love.

And so, for today… I am appreciative of the magic of love… in all of it’s forms, through different sets of eyes. Powerful, magical, sensical and true.   Different for each person and each relationship at each phase, but regardless a magical force.

I’m grateful on this Valentine’s Day to witness and to experience love in so many forms, … most of all, for it’s constant presence in my everyday life.

~K

February 13, 2010 – Let it Snow!

Nature. 

Natural Beauty. 

And if that wasn’t enough to be grateful for, you should have seen the fun happening on the ground.  I’ll give you a hint… snowmen!

and…. snow angels!

and… little ones taking it all in!

So very much to be grateful and appreciative of today… what family fun, what natural beauty, what needed appreciation and amazement.

~K

February 12, 2010 – Valentine Lessons

Enthusiasm is contagious!   Embrace it, love it, share it, appreciate it and enjoy it!

My daughter went to school today in bright red socks and glittery pink shoes.   When I started to tell her to wear her white socks and tennis shoes, she said to me in protest…

“I want to celebrate the Valentine’s Spirit!”

And that, for today, is my lesson.  I’ve thought of her several times throughout the day, sporting her Valentine spirit with such joy and have smiled at the thought. 

Enjoy this enthusiasm, this excitement.  Wear your red socks and pink shoes, smile at each other, skip and dance for no reason… there’s nothing but positive that can come from it!

~K

February 11, 2010 - Dreams

“Dream as though you’ll live forever.  Live as though you’ll die today.”  - James Dean

Thoughts for today… a day late…   reach for the stars!  Why not?

~K

February 10, 2010 – Give a Little Love

“When you’ve done all you can do and when all else fails, … give love a try.”  ~K

The day is coming to an end as I sit in the quiet house and type.  It was a surprisingly wonderful day compared to the upsets of yesterday.  Why the difference?  I don’t know… the moon, the moods, the scheduling, the activities?  I’d like to think the conscious effort towards not only positivity but also and perhaps more importantly, the conscious refusal to get upset plays a huge part.  Either way, it has been a beautiful day all in all…. until bedtime.

My two year old has been out of bed multiple times.  He’s crying, having a hard time staying in his bed.   This has been going on for about 30 minutes and we’ve tried it all.  My husband has left and it’s just the little man and I.  And while I adore the little man, he and I have spent many, many hours together today.  I love this child with all my heart but would love even more to have him  sleeping at the end of the day.  

This last time I found him in the hallway, looking all pathetic in his sagging diaper and pjs, red eyes, crying for me, I tried a different approach.  I picked him up, held him and began to rub his back in the darkness of his room.  I didn’t remind him that he would lose this or that if he got up again, there was no talk of time out or spankings,… I just held him and rubbed his back.   It wasn’t long before he mumbled in his baby voice, ‘this’  and then pointed to his back.  I heard him, rolled my own eyes a bit at his demanding an extended back rub and continued.  Again, he pointed to his back and said ‘this’ but this time it was followed by ‘outz mama’.  

His back hurt.  He was pointing to his back and saying ‘ouch, mama’.   I looked further to find his skin was terribly dry.  I laid his little body down and proceeded to talk softly to him as I lathered him in the most gentle, greasy lotion I could find.  I then laid him on his tummy and moved myself next to him, stroking his fine baby hair until he fell asleep.

When all else fails, and it seemed to have failed… just a little love was the crystal clear answer.   I wonder how applicable this approach can be to many other facets of our lives…. so simple, yet so often overlooked.

~K

February 9, 2010 – Listen closely

This morning as the day was just beginning, I was in my room dressing to take my daughter to school.   It was quiet in the house… probably the only time today that it would be quiet.   It was then that I heard another promise of spring.  I heard birds singing.
I stopped and practiced what I’ve been saying for months now… I took a lesson from myself and listened to the beautiful sounds, the morning songs being played for me by these beautiful birds outside my window, another promise of spring around the corner.
And then the day began.   I was stopped by a police officer on the way to take my daughter to school.  I had to take both kids to the grocery.  In the rain.  With no help loading or unloading any of it.   When putting it all away, my daughter dumped a container of pre-cut vegetables onto my floors.  While she was doing that, my son squirted the mustard container onto my floors.   I tried to download a song to my i pod for the gym tonight and instead accidentally deleted all 657 of my songs on my i pod.  I didn’t make it to the gym, but instead got into an argument with my husband.  Our plans for family dinner night were spoiled and my son ate paint.   The kids got in bed late, we were doing school projects beyond a reasonable time and it was cold and rainy…. all. day. long.   It was an overall miserable day.
And though this is exactly the opposite of the setting where these complaints should rest, it brought me back, at the end of the day to the sweet sing songs of my morning.   It was a moment to relish… a sweet, peaceful moment, a fantastic start to a day.  Perhaps if I’d have taken some time throughout the day to stop and remember this peace I could have altered the course of some of the events with my own positivity.  I’m sure it could’ve happened.   Regardless, I am going to think of it now… bottle that moment of peaceful songs into my memory and save it for the next crazy moments, which I’m sure, like spring, promise to be right around the corner.
~K

February 8, 2010 – Written in Stone

This is what my driveway looks like this afternoon.

To say I’m so very blessed would be an understatement.   This certainly made my daily gratitude so very easy.   I think I’ll frame this and put it by my bedside.   Every night, my daily worries will quickly melt away when I can glance over and remember the cool February afternoon when my sweet baby girl wrote me this beautiful love note in sidewalk chalk on the cement for no reason at all.

~K

February 7, 2010 – You Are So Beautiful

"What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful." – Scott Westerfeld

I saw this quote, by author Scott Westerfeld and thought how powerful this could be if we taught our children this, forced them to believe this… especially young girls. 

It’s the absolute truth and one that often takes us quite some time to figure out.   Whether we are old or young, male or female, … appearance may be the first thing people see, but it doesn’t last too long.  Who we are, what we do, how we think… how true.  This is what truly defines beauty.

~K

February 6, 2010 – Strength Amidst Adversity

There’s a little someone I’ve had my eye on lately.  I’ve been watching carefully and I know that it’s almost time.

This little hydrangea is beginning to re-bud.  It’s been a while, but sure enough, here she goes, out in the elements, despite frosty mornings and in the face of windy afternoons.  This little lady is stronger than ever…  showcasing her resilience and unveiling new beginnings.  Each day, she unfolds a little more, - the promise of spring around the corner.

 

~K

 

February 5, 2010- After the fact

After the fact.  I am writing this after the fact.   Friday, the 5th of February, I had my computer turned off.  All day.   All weekend for that matter.

I was spending time with my husband and our children.  And  their Pop, my father.  

Believe me, I was grateful.  For good times, safe travels and for family time together.

And for that… I thought it would be fine to postpone my weekend gratitude until Monday.

~K

February 4, 2010 – Rush, rush, rush

It’s been a rush, hectic, rush, be there, you’re late, you’re almost late, it’s time, it’s past time, whew you finally made it and thank goodness it’s finally over kind of day.

Reflecting, I’m grateful for those who shared a smile with me as I went blurring past, whose patience made my day easier and whose lack of patience could have blown the top off of things.

I’m acknowledging and appreciating human understanding.  What a difference it makes and this evening, I am ever so grateful.

~K

February 3, 2010 – Oscar says…

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want.  ~Oscar Wilde

Really.  Think about it.  Coming off (I hope) of swine flu…. think of your days.  You don’t want this.  You don’t want depression.  You don’t want divorce.   You don’t want children with pain.  You don’t want the chronic misery….

Be happy today, if for nothing else, for the things you DON”T want, that you don’t have.   If you really think about this, it will make your day better. There’s so much to be positive and thankful about.

Though I’m still recovering from a horrendous bout of the swine flu, I’m going to be grateful today for happy children, the fact that the flu did not affect my family or friends and the fact that all in my family (despite some of our negative perceptions at times) are safe and really, relatively healthy and well.

Take a moment to put things in perspective.  Usually, I find, it’s not so bad after all… Oink.  :)

~K

February 2, 2010- Good Friends & Hot Dinner

Today, I’m realizing that I’m not as strong as the swine flu.  I’m still trying to get back to normal and it’s not happening as quick as I’d like.

Having said that, no sooner can I become too worn down about that before the good eclipses this.  I am so grateful and appreciative for so many dear girlfriends who are carrying me through these rougher than usual days with their hot meals, their child care, their sweet talks… what an amazing feeling and how truly blessed I am to have them in my life.

~K

February 1, 2010 – Nuff’ Said

“If you don’t like something, change it.  If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” –Maya Angelou

Some quotes need nothing else said by me.  This woman is a genius.  Simplicity.   That doesn’t negate the fact that some things are really terrible.  Change what you can.  Change your outlook for the rest.   It’s your best option.

Oh, and by the way… February 1, 2010 marks one month of Peace of Mind 365.  Let’s take a moment to appreciate that!

~K