Category Archives: Mental Health

Maintaining/gaining good mental health

Throwing a hissy fit…

March 12, 2018Attitude adjustment, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Retirement, UncategorizedMaggie

This morning I threw a COLOSSAL hissy fit. The trigger site was my laundry area in our unfinished basement. I pulled bed sheets out of the dryer, turned around and put them on the ironing board so as to reload the dryer from the washer. When I then pulled the sheets off the ironing board to carry them upstairs to my bedroom, I also knocked the iron off the board and watched in horror as it clattered to the cement floor. They must make irons durable enough to handle such a jolt as the only thing that I could see happened to it was the dial for choosing the heat level came off. I was able to easily replace it – no harm done. (I have not yet plugged the iron in to see if it still works, however.)

BUT, in the seconds during and after this mishap, I erupted in a tantrum. How could I be so clumsy and careless?? Fortunately, I was home alone so no one heard my expletives or my cry, “I hate my OLD self (that’s old age, not former self). I hate the way I look. I hate the way I feel. I hate the way I act.”

Wow, what’s left to like?? And, how do any of these feelings relate to dropping an iron? I stormed up the steps and began to cool down – realizing how pathetic my outburst was (not that at that moment it wasn’t exactly how I felt.) I knew that I had to calm down.

Obviously, I was in a funk today that was just ignited by the iron incident. I needed an attitude adjustment.

Interestingly enough, just yesterday during a discussion with RC about an acquaintance who is struggling, I uttered the suggestion that this person should just “pull himself up by his bootstraps!”

Just what I needed to do this morning; yet, realistically, I do know that is not always easy to accomplish.

After calming down and reflecting on the outburst. I thought about how easy it must be for older adults like myself, to turn to alcohol or other mood enhancing drugs to help them cope. When I googled alcoholism amongst retired people, a whole slew of articles popped up. So, apparently, this is indeed a problem in my age group.

Before I go any further, I will assure you I’m not considering drinking any more in a day than the glass of wine (ok, sometimes, two glasses) I enjoy fairly frequently as I watch the evening news or prepare dinner. But, I can see how persons feeling inadequate or depressed or just generally down on themselves might turn to drinking thinking it could be a solution to masking negative thoughts they may have.

As I read some of the articles Google referenced, I gleaned the following reasons older/retired folks might turn to drinking –

to counteract feelings about the elimination of work structure
- loss of status
- loss of employment based social support
- loss of life purpose
to cheer oneself up
to combat loneliness
to counter boredom
to fill newfound leisure time
to assuage grief – loss of spouse, friends
to overcome negative thoughts about the loss of youth – MY BIG GRIPE!

Of course, the articles I read also noted why excessive drinking was not a good solution for elderly folks –

interference with meds
potential for causing liver disease, high blood pressure, heart attack, some forms of cancer
propensity for accidents – falls, etc.
increased sensitivity to the effects of alcohol due to problems metabolizing it

Logically, there should be ways to overcome all the issues that may cause an older person to turn to drinking. In some cases, however, I realize this is easier said than done.

In my case, I will overcome my hate for the loss of my youthful self (see 2nd paragraph above) by –

MOST IMPORTANTLY, continually reminding myself of all I have to be grateful for
looking for meaningful ways to stay busy with fun outings/activities, volunteer opportunities, get-togethers with friends
engaging in hobbies like reading, crossword puzzles, gardening
and, how about hanging out with young people – grandkids for instance?!

I hope you realize I use this blog space to lecture myself and give myself a kick in the pants. If it provides you with any inspiration, that’s a plus for me.

P.S. I am embarrassed to share my outburst about the iron mishap. It was totally ridiculous!

Time slips away…

February 14, 2018Attitude adjustment, Finding Joy, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Retirement, UncategorizedMaggie

I can now check off the one and only item on my bucket list…a family vacation – daughter, son, their spouses, our grandchildren, RC and I all enjoying time together at a destination free from everyday-life interruptions and responsibilities. I always imagined it would be in a warm, sunny spot, and I am so grateful it indeed, turned out to be that way.

Last August RC and I celebrated 50 years of marriage. Our children and their spouses gifted us with a wonderful family trip to the Turks and Caicos islands. Since August in Minnesota provides us with reasonable weather – warm, sunny – and January/February often does not – cold, snowy, icy – we planned for the trip to this tropical location to happen in January. A perfect escape from winter!

I had five plus months to dream about this upcoming vacation. I knew the planning/anticipating time would go by very quickly; and, I also knew the vacation time would be over in a flash. I was so spot on!

Now, here I sit a week and a half after returning from this fabulous trip – stunned that it is all over and done. A pleasant memory. Instead of watching the sun set into the ocean, I watch if from my living room easy chair, as it sets down through the barren trees and behind my neighbor’s house. Life is back to being routine. Not a bad thing, but I find myself grieving for a great week that passed by so quickly.

I’ve always heard that the older you get, the faster time flies by. It certainly does seem that way to me. I read something the other day that provided a good explanation for why this seems to happen. In essence, by the time we are in our last half of life (maybe even before) our lives are mostly filled with routine and predictable happenings. Because they are so routine, we can’t even remember what we had for dinner last Sunday! The blogger (sorry, I don’t remember what blog I was reading) suggested the way to overcome time flying by was to make sure we are enjoying new experiences – learning something new, seeing something new, participating in a new group, eating new foods, trying new exercise – you get the idea. He or she said the newness of whatever the activity may be would make the experience stand out (shaking up our routine) and help us to remember it and in turn, make it seem like time wasn’t passing us by.

Vacationing in Turks and Caicos was definitely a new experience for me and I will always have wonderful memories of this trip; and though it passed by way too quickly, maybe the point is if we string together enough new experiences we will be jostled out of our routines and our lives will seem to move at a more leisurely pace, or at least will be more fulfilling.

A friend recently commented that at his age (same as me), he thinks to himself at the end of the day – ” another day gone by that I won’t get back; another day closer to the end!” I often find myself thinking that same thought, only I think of it in seconds and minutes passing that I will never get back.

Those are morbid thoughts – rather, I intend to begin thinking of how I might find new activities I can enjoy to shake up my routine. I’d like to think I have a good 15-20 more years of life ahead of me. Beginning now, I am going to do my best to make the most of those years, creating pleasant memories and SLOWING TIME DOWN!

Retirement, now what do I do…

October 11, 2017Lifestyle, Mental Health, Retirement, UncategorizedMaggie

This is a mildly ridiculous topic for me to be writing about at this point since I have been retired for nearly two years. However, I think I am still in a period of adjustment as I find myself wondering what I am supposed to be doing with the rest of my life!

I will say, I love my mornings now – without having to get up terribly early, I can take time to do some meditating, reading and writing before I even have breakfast. My reading at this time of the day consists of what I guess you would call self-help type books. Material that hopefully inspires me to be a better person, be better at something, make the world a better place, take better care of myself, etc., etc. (Notice my quest for better!)

Currently, I am reading a Julia Cameron book, Walking in This World – The Practical Art of Creativity. Cameron’s main goal in her book is to help people realize their human potential…it is a course in creative discovery. I am finding this book thought provoking, and I especially appreciate the exercises she suggests at the end of each chapter.

Since I have been pondering how I am to spend my days now that I don’t have to work a 9 to 5 job, the section entitled Art is Therapeutic, Not Therapy which I read yesterday, seemed to be written just for me. The theory Ms. Cameron outlines here is that one could work with a therapist to find answers/solutions/understanding to a problem, but “art” as she calls it is much more active (as opposed to reactive). Therapy helps us adjust to the world; “art adjusts the world itself.” Or, rather than therapy showing us how to accept our feelings, “art teaches us to express how we feel and alchemize it.” Just for a clearer understanding, (for me, if no one else) since the book is about being creative, I think the word, creativity, can be substituted for the word, art, here.

The exercise proposed at the end of this section was to take a stack of magazines with pictures and cut out ones that seem to deal with an issue upon which you are ruminating…a situation you would like to understand more fully. In my case, what do I do now that I am retired? Then, make a collage of the pictures and write about what you learned from this process. Cameron indicates the discovery can be telling and may be surprising…”a holistic sense of healing may emerge.”

So, this morning, I took my stack of magazines and paged through them looking for pictures that depicted scenes I could relate to. I found pics of girlfriends laughing and sharing conversation, pics of grandparents spending time with their grandkids, pics of people enjoying solitude and nature, pics of people working in their garden, pics of people engaged in exercise.

Surprise! These are all things I am doing.

Maybe I know what I am supposed to be doing in retirement, after all – enjoying my life! So, I need to stop fretting about it.

Maybe you’re not retired, and/or you’re not wondering what to do with your life; but, perhaps you are facing a situation you would like to understand more fully. I’d encourage you to give this little exercise a try. Like me, maybe you will be affirmed that you are on the correct path; or, maybe you will discover a new way of approaching something in your life.

I feel like I have just delivered a book report here – and, probably not a very good one in terms of letting you know about the book I’m reading. If you’re interested, I would suggest you get the book yourself. It is available in the library. My objective was to tell you about one of the exercises suggested in the book and how affirming the results were for me, hoping if you were so inclined to try it you may also find positive results.

I always love to have feedback so feel free to let me know what you think of this exercise. You can leave comments in the section below.

It’s back to school time…

September 1, 2017Attitude adjustment, Finding Joy, Lifestyle, Mental Health, UncategorizedMaggie

Though I have always felt a certain amount of sadness when summer ends each year, as a teenager, I did get excited about the start of each new school year every September. I always felt like the beginning of the school year was ripe with new possibilities for me. Though they now seem silly and trite, the possibilities I dreamed of included things like – this is the year I will get really good grades; this is the year I will be popular and have loads of friends; this is the year I will find a boy who likes me as a girlfriend; this is the year my hair will always look fabulous! With the exception of hoping for good grades (and, really, was I willing to put the time into studying that good grades would require??) my hopes in those times seemed to imply I had a self-esteem issue, didn’t they!?

The new school year was also exciting for me because I knew there would be at least one new “school outfit” and new shoes purchased…a chance to finally be a really “cool” dresser. Then, there were the new school supplies purchased… I loved getting new pens/pencils and notebooks. (The new supplies would certainly aid me in getting the good grades I dreamed about.)

Now, as an adult and long past dreaming and worrying about my life in a new school year, I still have a sense as the season changes from summer into fall, that it is a time for new beginnings. It seems I have opportunities to:

change my in-the-house and outside décor to something more fallish
change into my fall wardrobe and put away the summer clothes
re-start my exercise program and be more faithful about actually doing it
be more deliberate about eating a healthy diet (maybe less Dairy Queen runs?) and, adding comfort food to the menu as the days are shorter and turn colder
spending less time on social media and more time on reading good books
actually doing a good job of cleaning up my gardens so I don’t have as big a mess to deal with next spring

And, on and on and on. You get the idea. I am grateful I live in Minnesota where we have distinct seasons (well, not grateful for how long the winter season is!) so I can feel excited about the new opportunities each season brings.

I am full of gratitude also that I am fortunate enough to have any and every possibility for doing anything I want in any season. It is up to me to make the most of my life situation, and to find joy.

I wish you lots of happy times during these last couple weeks of summer (according to the calendar, we have until September 22). But, I encourage you to look forward to the “new school year” and make the most of the new opportunities that come your way!

Affirmations – prescriptions for change…

July 31, 2017Attitude adjustment, Mental Health, UncategorizedMaggie

One of my latest mental exercises is using affirmation statements. I don’t have many stories to tell yet about how well they are working or to illustrate the process with a success I have had using them…I’m apparently not far enough into the process to be able to give a testimonial. So, I thought I would discuss the concept of these tools with those of you reading this and see if you have any good stories about how using affirmations may have worked for you.

In a couple of the self-help type books I have read lately (yes, an almost 70-year-old can still be looking for help!), affirmations are mentioned as a good tool to utilize for self-improvement. Simply put, an affirmation statement is a positive statement of belief. It can be used to rewire the brain to make changes to behavior patterns, or transform one’s outlook on life…a prescription for change, if you will. Affirmations can allow one to move any area of one’s life to the next level. They can be powerful tools for managing stress, caring for physical health, and stimulating productivity.

Here are a few suggestions I have come across in my reading about this topic as to how to use affirmations:

Use I am statements – think of Ali, the famous fighter, who always said “I am the greatest.” (And, at the time, he was the greatest.)
A more specific, behavior changing type of affirmation statement is I am committed to ___________, so that I can _______________, by ____________. (This method was suggested by Hal Elrod in The Miracle Morning books.)
Write your affirmations out (in your journal is a good place, if you keep one) and repeat them every day. Affirmations repeated over and over work on the subconscious mind.

I can give you an example of my use of the middle bullet point above – an affirmation involving action. I have hip bursitis (you have heard me whine about this malady before) and am intent on correcting the problem if at all possible. My affirmation statement for this has been I am committed to doing my exercises every day so that I can move around and sleep without pain by May 1. (I thought of this affirmation and used it prior to May 1.) I have dropped the May 1 deadline and continue to use the affirmation, and do the exercises. (I can report that though I still have the hip issue, it is much improved and I indeed, move without pain most of the time now; and, I think this is because I use the affirmation and then feel obligated to follow through and do the exercises!)

The other type of affirmation – like Ali’s affirmation – may address how we would like to feel about our behavior patterns and/or our capabilities. This one can be more difficult to work with because our internal demons immediately refute what we might be trying to affirm. Example: I am a good writer. My immediate response – my very own censor – says “who do you think you are; nobody is going to ever read anything you write and think it is wonderful or useful!” The so-called experts on this topic assure that if an affirmation is repeated daily it will ultimately transform the way we think or feel about ourselves and overcome our limiting beliefs and behaviors.

In my last post I wrote about how I am focusing on being more accepting of others and less judgmental. Today, as I was pondering what to write about affirmations, it struck me I could use I am a kind person as an affirmation to help me with my goal of respecting other people. I will add that to the list of statements I review daily.

I’m going to keep using my affirmation statements about exercise, my writing abilities and my latest addition about being kind and see where they lead me. Likely, I will add others as inspirations come to me. I’ve got nothing to lose.

Would love to hear if you have a story about changing something in your life by using an affirmation statement. Feel free to share in the comment section below.

Trusting my intuition…

May 29, 2017Mental Health, Spiritual Health, UncategorizedMaggie

Recently I re-read the book, Life’s Companion – Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest by Christina Baldwin, as part of my morning read/meditation/journaling exercise. The book has a copyright date of 1990, so I’m not sure if it is still available for sale – maybe on Amazon or a used book store; but, I highly recommend it whether or not you are a journal keeper. I think it has lots of good stuff in it about the spiritual journey we are all on (even if we are not aware we’re on it).

I was especially intrigued by the chapter on intuition...our secret voice, which if we don’t ignore it, offers guidance. Our intuition is not rational since conscious reasoning is not part of it – we just know. For a person like me who likes to analyze everything that happens – what/why/when/where – it’s easy to reject my intuition. How can that possibly be what action I should take…it came to me too easily, too quickly. Instead, I usually have to mull over important decisions.

So, I’m working on trusting my instincts, my hunches – my intuition.

Ms. Baldwin relates a story in the book about how she studied with an Indian medicine man who helped her determine her totem animal was a fox. She says the fox symbol comes to her often in dreams and meditations…representative of her intuition, her secret voice. She suggests we can all create our own image of inner guidance – it could be an animal, an object of nature, a refrain of music, etc. We just have to “ask” for a symbol and then notice and be open to receiving an answer. It might come to us in a dream or a vision; or, read on for another potential source for discovering a representative symbol.

Throughout this book, the author provides examples/suggested exercises for journal writing and/or meditation to accompany the topics she writes about. One of the exercises she suggests in this intuition chapter is meant to help us recognize a personal intuition symbol. She says to sit quietly and imagine the space behind your eyes and between your ears is an imaginary room – designed any way you want it to be. Then, invite a messenger into this space, and notice what/who the messenger is. I take that to mean whatever form the messenger takes is a symbol of our intuition.

I just did this little exercise a few days ago and the image that came to me was the sun flooding my imaginary room with sunbeams, providing lots of bright light. So, I’m thinking the sun or sunbeam is the symbol for my intuition. I will be curious to see if that image pops up when my intuition is kicking in (and, if it does, will I pay attention to it?!).

If you’re like me and sometimes have trouble recognizing or listening to your secret voice, you might want to try the above exercise and see if you can come up with a symbol for it. (If nothing else, it’s kind of fun!) That way, when you think of, or dream about the image in the future, you will know it is your intuition speaking to you and just maybe you should listen.

Slow down you move too fast…

April 7, 2017Lifestyle, Mental Health, UncategorizedMaggie

Remember that Simon and Garfunkel song from the 60s – entitled, The 59th Street Bridge Song (why not Feelin’ Groovy??)

Slow down, you move too fast; you got to make the morning last. Just kicking down the cobblestones, looking for fun and feelin’ groovy.

I got no deeds to do; no promises to keep. I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep. Let the morning time drop all its petals on me. Life, I love you. All is groovy.

I recently had a weekend with no plans or activities scheduled. Our grandsons’ basketball games were on hiatus between the winter and spring seasons; the Gopher basketball season had come to an end; and gardening season had not yet begun.

So, because I had recently requested four books from the library and amazingly, they all became available at the same time, I spent pretty much the entire weekend reading. Now, what I discovered is since I had no place to go or anything specific to do, I REALLY concentrated on the reading. I must admit many times I am trying to read quickly so skim whole paragraphs in order to finish a chapter in a book before I have to leave the house to go somewhere. On this quiet weekend, I really took my time to read each sentence.

In essence, I slowed down from moving too fast – like the song admonishes us to do. I realized what a gift I was given to have the time to contemplate the authors’ words in each of the books I read – perhaps, to find a deeper meaning. Instead of just reading the words quickly I had time to really think about the author’s message.

My usual quick method of reading books probably explains why I can get to book club meetings and not remember how the featured book ended! I am in awe of my fellow members during our discussions who can recall what I consider really small details about the story we’ve read. I usually can’t do that! I consider myself a detail person; but really, I guess I’m not if I can’t pay attention to the detail in books. The sad part about that for me is I aspire to be a good writer, and good writers are good at writing detail. I need to pay better attention!

Really, I started out writing this post with the idea of conveying how important I feel it is to take time to slow down. Seems as though it has turned into a piece about becoming a better reader and paying attention to detail. Unless skipping over details as you read also pertains to you, you can ignore that part of this post.

Back to the slowing down topic. I really enjoyed my quiet weekend. I know I have written about being still and quiet in previous posts; but, again I will say I highly recommend taking your calendar and blocking out some time to just sit and read, meditate, reflect, pray, watch a movie, listen to music, nap, take a walk outside…to just be. It doesn’t have to be a whole weekend – an hour here or there can work. I think you will find it very refreshing/re-energizing. I know I do.

Music Makes My Heart Sing…

March 8, 2017Lifestyle, Mental Health, UncategorizedMaggie

Recently, as a reward for enduring another PT session for my ever-plaguing hip bursitis (topic for another blog post?), I treated myself to a Starbucks’ coffee at Target. Normally, I would prefer to sit in a Starbucks shop and relax, but I needed to pick up a few items from Target so chose to indulge in the java there. Actually, it wasn’t an unpleasant atmosphere – I sat by a window and watched the rain outside, and the only other patron sitting at the tables was a young mother and a very cute baby who charmed me with her smiles. The best part was the background music playing was music from the 1940s.

Though I was merely a baby at the end of that decade, I have always been drawn to the music of the 40s. Listening to it always conjures up images of an era gone by. I can imagine all sorts of scenarios to go with it…like, I can imagine soldiers of WWII and their sweethearts dancing the lindy to the big band sounds. (That is, when they were on leave and not fighting the ugly war.) Since it is in my imagination only, I can make the scene as fanciful as I want.

I think music is wonderful in the ways it can relax us, excite us, motivate us, inspire us, or cheer us. It can also bring joy and laughter or even tears. Listening to music can be an escape – from sadness, stress, undesirable tasks or boredom; or, it can provide a diversion as we go about our household chores or exercise. And, what about providing the impetus to get up and dance – with or without a partner?!

Mostly, I only listen to music when I am driving in my car. Thanks to SiriusXM radio, I have a wide variety of genres from which to choose. With the exception of hard rock and opera, I love all of it, and choose whatever appeals to me at the moment. Though I also often select public radio and the news to catch up on current events (more frustrating than anything, these days), I have set my favorite music stations so they are available quickly with the press of a button. Like my husband, who flips back and forth between several channels while watching TV, I tend to flip back and forth between radio stations in the car. My rule with oldies songs, for instance, is if I have never heard the song before, don’t remember it, or don’t like it, I don’t listen to it and quickly change the channel.

I know in the past, I have written about how much I love silence; and, I still think it has its merits and benefits. But, today, I am writing to remind myself how much I enjoy listening to music which of course, is noise – in some cases, big noise. I don’t listen to some of the oldies or my favorite country tunes without cranking up the volume…likely why I now need hearing aids! Even my introverted soul can be energized by listening to music, and I am vowing to take time more often to listen to it other than just when I am in my car.

If you are already a music lover and indulge in listening frequently, you are probably saying, “well, duh!” as you read this. If not, maybe you will be inspired to take time to treat yourself to your favorite tunes more frequently.

Music sets my heart free. I hope it does for you also.

Everything’s new again…

January 3, 2017Lifestyle, Mental Health, UncategorizedMaggie

It’s 2017…a new year!

new experiences, new challenges, new opportunities, new methods, new failures, new products, new directions, new events, new sadness, new happiness, new exercise, new sights, new prayers, new realizations, new disappointments, new celebrations, new traditions, new babies, new deaths, new movies, new books, new endings

New Beginnings

That’s a whole lotta new stuff; but, I figure we all will encounter most of it in 2017. As self-help books and articles will tell us, it’s up to us how we deal with all of this. Our attitude is key. We can feel overwhelmed with all that the year brings, or we can feel energized with the possibilities…have a negative attitude or a positive attitude. And, I’m guessing, on any given day we may bounce between the two, so the trick will be to focus on staying positive. I wish there was a set of specific instructions as to how to do that, but there isn’t – each of us will have to find our own ways of dealing with life’s happenings.

I’ve always felt the flip of the calendar into the new year offers me a clean slate – a chance to try new things, improve my behavior and outlook on life, and face each day with a positive attitude. I know I have to work hard to stay focused and make the most of those opportunities. It would be easy to fall off the wagon, so to speak, after just a few weeks. Kind of like the masses of people you see at the gym on January 1 certain that this will be the year they maintain a regular exercise program; then, after a few weeks, you never encounter them again. (Maybe the ease of falling short is why I choose not to make specific resolutions – it’s too difficult to keep them, and I don’t want to feel like a failure.)

Today, I am full of optimism and wishing that each of you reading this, and I, will face 2017 with a positive attitude towards all the new things life will throw at us. I am not able to take credit for the phrase an attitude of gratitude; but, I have found that acknowledging all the good things in my life on a daily basis, helps me to appreciate each day.

And, oh, by the way, I have set a goal for 2017 to attempt to post a blog a couple of times a month. (Notice the word, attempt – gives me an out if I fail.) I realize it has been two months since I last posted so I know I have some work to do here!

Happy New Year!

What the world needs now…

November 7, 2016Lifestyle, Mental Health, UncategorizedMaggie

is love sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. What the world needs now is love sweet love, no not just for some but for everyone.

Lyrics from a Dionne Warwick song back in the 60s, but how fitting for today’s world, if you ask me. What with all the ugly news relating to politics, racial tension, terrorism, and more, couldn’t we all use just a little more love?

In no particular order, here are some ideas of what love looks and feels like to me:

Maxie painting a ceramic bowl especially for me, Grammy, – a “cookie jar”
a “cookie jar” made for Grammy by Max
Jack & Max (grandsons) playing with Peter (son to me and uncle to them) in the back yard – tossing and catching a football
hugs from Max
rocking a baby to sleep
singing to a baby or toddler
reading a story to a child
having coffee with Amy & Karen (daughter & daughter-in-law)
December shopping day with my girls
bookclub meetings with a special group of friends who have been meeting for over 15 years
having Dairy Queen treats with RC
making love with RC
family gatherings
family gatherings
gardening – making the backyard beautiful to enjoy with loved ones
sharing grandkids’ antics with RC or Amy, Dan, Pete, Karen (those of us who love them)
communicating 1:1 with someone – no distractions
enjoying any activity outdoors
kind words uttered to or from someone
kind deeds done for or from someone
RC taking care of my car – pumping gas, oil changes, tending to repairs
unexpected gifts
no questions asked, no explanations needed for the activities I choose to participate in or spend money on (freedom)
back rubs
phone calls from Jack or Max
attending the grandsons’ school happenings & sports activities
lunch with Pete once a month
getting together with good friends
fun times with friends
watching a movie with RC
a black & white cat curled up in my lap or on the chair behind my head (she’s gone now and I miss her)

I am very blessed to have all this love in my life. I challenge you to make a list of the things that bring you love in your life. If you choose to share by commenting below, I’d love to hear what you cherish.

Perhaps we can inspire one another to realize and recognize the loveliness of the world instead of the ugliness of the world!

ignoringthewind

Striving for a healthy life by Maggie C.