Dear Daughter - Why Did You Turn Out This Way?

Dear Daughter:  Looking at you I see reflections of myself.  I see my youth, my aspirations, my passions and parts of my personality.  I am amazed when I look at you and realize I had a small part in forming who you are; that pleases me.  You are more than I ever hoped to be.  I thank God to have had some influence in your life decisions. My precious, beloved daughter - the bottom line is you never cease to amaze me at what an incredible, intelligent, beautiful, gentle, wise and humorous woman you are.  I am proud to call you friend and even prouder to call you daughter.

Rochelle at two

Missing A Birth And A Brush With Death

My monthly Fly On The Wall post is part of a group of bloggers that allow you access into their homes to see what exciting and hilarious things happened on the home front during the past month. This month I was away from home. The beginning of the month I spent house/dog/cat/livestock sitting for my daughter who was enjoying the shores of Hawaii.

What I did not realize until I got there was that two of the sheep were pregnant.  The instructions she gave me in response to my wide eyes were "Don't worry Mom, there shouldn't be any problems.  If you see the mama is struggling and there is a little leg sticking out of her, just give it a gentle tug."

Every evening I heard a noise at the front door.  It was the goats.  They jumped their fence regularly to visit the house alerting me that it was feeding time.  They walked extremely close to my side to the fields and enjoyed the game of 'Let's See If We Can Trip The Old Lady.'  I wrote about their funny and sometimes painful antics in Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone.

13 1/2 Things I May Never Understand- Can You Help?

You may call this post a rant and I suppose in some ways it is.  But what I really want are your opinions.  Each of us is entitled to our own views and these are some things that I need you to help me to understand.   I will do a follow-up post of your responses.

As we get older, we are supposed to get wiser.  However,I don't get it -- unless you can enlighten me.

1)  Stickers on cars that read "Precious Cargo On Board." In other words, if you were considering slamming into the back of my car STOP RIGHT THERE.  There is a baby on board and you could hurt him.  With all the weirdos in the world, why would I want to advertise that I have a baby in the car?

What 4 Things Do You Need To Live?

We have all been asked the question "What could you never live without?"  Sometimes we answer by listing those we love or some of our possessions that are very dear to us; i.e. family photos.  I think that is a given - when we lose someone we love, we feel like we do not want to live anymore.  I thought I would take a bit of a different twist here.

Each month I participate in a word challenge given four to six unrelated words to use in a story.  This month's words threw me for a loop.  How could I possibly write a story using those words?  And then it hit me, and I turned it into a post about four things I could not live without.  My words were candid, bestow, handiwork and delicious.  See what I mean?

Is There A Right And Wrong Side Of Anger?

I believe that most anger starts as an annoyance but can turn into rage - if allowed.  To get angry is expressing a normal emotion but out of control it can be destructive.  It can destroy relationships, careers and most definitely, your health.  Anger is a natural response to a threat and helps us defend ourselves but must be controlled to be beneficial. 

You can be assertive when you are angry; expressing your feelings calmly and respectfully allowing you to get your point across without being offensive.  An unhealthy choice is to suppress anger which can lead to passive-aggressive behavior and hypertension or depression.  It is crucial to find a way to vent without hurting others or ourselves. Otherwise it can be a one-way street without a way to turn around and take back what had been said.

A Large Bully Is No Match For A Tenacious Little Girl

Recently I had the pleasure to meet three on-line friends in person and each experience was amazing. My friendship deepened with each of these women, and I know we will be life-long friends. Many of you shared your own experiences when you met your blogging or on-line friends after reading How Your Blog Can Make An Impact  and Sensational Friends You May Know.

I have also had the pleasure of connecting with Erin from my grade school years.  We were friends from Kindergarten through high school and then lost touch for four decades. After all those years, we discovered we were living in close proximity of each other - 3,000 miles from where we grew up. Every year since then, we have spent a girls' getaway weekend together to play catch-up.

When You Are Forced Out Of Your Comfort Zone

I am not a sheep midwife.  I am neither a shepherd nor a goat herder.  I am a relatively sophisticated city girl.  I love petting the fur of a soft puppy or kitten as much as the next person.  But being kicked and pushed by filthy sheep ready to give birth is NOT my idea of a good time.

 

How Do These 6 Professional Beggars Affect You?

How do you feel about beggars?  The definition of begging is:  To ask for something in an urgent or humble manner. 

I was eating a piece of toast this morning and my two new rescue dogs (that heartwarming tale here) were jumping up and down, begging me for a piece.  I assumed they were not taught that begging is rude.  But they are so cute and little, I let it go.  Suddenly, I had an epiphany.

I realized that I rarely, if ever, give in to begging because I have no problem saying "No."  Does that make me nasty..... or smart?  Let's look at some instances of begging and see how we feel about giving to these six types of beggars.