Happiness

Today's thought:

Happiness is a habit--Cultivate it

Everyone cultivates habits-- some good--some not so much. I have learned that if you stay busy and look for the positive you can be a happy person.

I like happy people. They are nice people to be around. I want to be that kind of a person.

Napkins

I have a place on my counter in my kitchen where a stack of cotton napkins reside. I pull them out for meals and snacks. After use I throw them in with the laundry. They are always there, ready to use.

I have a basket of paper, throw away napkins as well. I use these for sack lunches and as a quick wrap up for a popsicle or sandwich to go outside with the little ones. I use these when I don't care what happens.

When the children were younger and we were on a tight budget (when haven't we been on a tight budget??) I decided to use cloth napkins to cut costs. Everyone had a few napkins made from fabric of their favorite color. At meal time these would come out and be used. It took time to make and care for them, but after the initial cost they were free to use.

When my daughter got married and we served 200 people a sit down dinner we made 200 white cloth napkins with a lace edge. We wrapped the 200 knives, forks and spoons in them and tied it all neatly with a red ribbon. It was a little detail that made her wedding special.

For a few years I served a Christmas luncheon to the ladies in my neighborhood and friends from church. For that event I made 75 red gingham napkins. I have plenty of cloth napkins around to use for different occasions.

I have grown to enjoy the classiness of using a cloth napkin. Life can get common place sometimes. Using a cloth napkin helps me recognize that meal time is a special time for families to get together and enjoy each others company. I have noticed that even if the menu is a can of soup, if I set the table pretty, we feel well fed and may linger at the table awhile, enjoying the conversation.

A while back I asked my daughter to set the table for Sunday dinner and handed her a stack of cloth napkins to use. She looked at the napkins, frowned, and asked if we could use real napkins. I thought about what a real napkin might be, rather than the cloth ones she held in her hand. She answered "You know, the paper ones we can throw away."

As I iron the napkins for special days and launder and fold our everyday ones, I smile at my daughters notion that paper napkins are real napkins. As I think about it, I realize she was raised in a throw away society where the real thing has been substituted for something you can throw away. That speaks a lot to me about where the young leaders of today are coming from.

Thoughts to ponder for today. What is real and what is disposable?? From table service to marriage.

It makes you think.

Peaches

Today I have 2 boxes of peaches waiting to be prepared for winter delight.

As a young girl I remember walking home from Grandma's house with a jar of frozen peaches for a treat. Winter was warmed by the taste of delicious summer peaches in a sweet syrup. Grandma's freezer was always filled with jars of amber goodness.

Today as I put on my apron and start the stovetop cooking I am thinking of my grandma. I am hoping that as I bring out the summer bounty in the cold of winter, I too, can make happy memories for my family. Continuing a family tradition for another generation is important work.

The sun is shining-- warm--not hot. The flowers are in full bloom. The birds are chirping.
I feel happy inside.

It is a perfect day.

Honor

This post is by Grandpa:

On a business trip to the west coast this week, I had a very special experience I would like to share.

When I got to the airport, I noticed a military honor guard. These days, that generally means a fallen serviceman. Unfortunately, this was no exception.

The casket flew with us to Dallas along with two members of the guard; one from the Army and the other from the Marine Corp. When we landed in Dallas, the pilot got on the intercom and told us that we had the privilege of carrying a fallen serviceman. He asked that we wait to get off the plane until the two guardsmen could get off the plane to attend to the casket. He then asked those who did not have tight connections to wait until casket had been removed before deplaning.

The flight was full but not one person left the plane.

We all stood and watched reverently through the windows as a guard team removed the casket from the plane. It was loaded onto a special baggage cart that had a flag and service emblems painted on the outside and was painted white on the inside.

We all watched in silence. Businessmen muted their phones. The only sound was a mother quietly explaining to her young son what was going on.

Once the casket was loaded the curtains were drawn and the cart pulled away,

We all deplaned pretty much in silence. There were several red eyes including the pilot's and mine. It was a solemn reminder that all politics aside, there are young men and women willing to sacrifice their lives to keep us safe.

Thank you to all of them

Labor Day

Labor Day in our household has been just that over the years--a day to labor.

For the last 8 years it was crunch time-get ready for pre school to start. Moving furniture, playground clean up, toy sanitizing, getting our selves ready for the invasion of twelve to twenty 3&4 year olds.

This year we went through the same work but for a different purpose. The pre school did not start at my house this year. All is quiet today in my home, no tears, squeals or jumping little feet.

The clean up was after a summer of visiting little grandchildren. We moved the bed out of my sewing room that served as a make shift bedroom. We washed sticky handprints off of the toys from a summer of entertainment. I put the lid back on the sand box and put the little pool away for the season.

All is quiet in my home today. I am at home for a change, no road trip needed this week, baby and mama are doing well. My house is still and tidy. My calendar is all of a sudden open after a very full year.

It was Labor Day a year ago that Shawna and her family arrived for the birth of her new baby. It has been quite the year. A year of babies. Sweet joy for this busy grandma.

Yes, my house is quiet and clean today. I will take a few days to put myself together and make a plan for all of the things I have not done this last year. I will keep the toys ready for when the little ones show up again. I will mix up some cookies to have ready. I will plan for the holidays.

Today my house is quiet. I will enjoy the stillness.

Soon little ones and their parents will come to visit. I will be prepared. I will enjoy.

Pre school started without me this year. I have a new job.

I am a full time grandma.

Gotta Do List

Yesterday while driving home along Highway One my sweetheart and I enjoyed looking at the interesting countryside together. The radio in the ancient truck we were driving does not work so the entire 3 hour drive was filled with our words and thoughts--and maybe a little self made music.

We have always been drawn toward historic houses. We like to imagine the families that lived in those magnificent houses of yesteryear. Yesterday we also noticed some of the not so magnificent houses and the conversation flowed to why some houses sit with the front screen hanging crooked and others, maybe still in need of a coat of paint, sit proud and pretty.

Eventually the conversation steered itself to the topic of work ethic and laziness. All of us fit somewhere between the two. Some people have so much energy that they are always going, while some people can't seem to get up and do the simplest task such as put their dirty dish in the dishwasher.

Eventually the conversation turned to education. Some people lack skills to take care of their homes. Some people are highly educated but lack common sense. Most of us fit somewhere in the middle of the education ladder. Common sense says that if the door is broken we must figure out how to fix it, otherwise it will get worse.

These are lessons we teach our children every day. The ability to see a broken door and figure out how to fix it are skills learned in childhood. The desire not to break the door in the first place is also a skill learned in childhood. Knowing where to turn when a problem presents itself--the bank account to hire it done or a friend, class or book to learn the skills necessary to do it ourselves, these are problem solving skills learned in childhood as well.

A person that has common sense and is not lazy can figure out how to fix a problem when it presents itself. We all know that putting each dish in the dishwasher as it is dirtied keeps the kitchen tidy. We also know that if you do not take care of the dishes you soon have a giant mess to clean.

I am thankful for my parents who taught me to be a problem solver. Sometimes I am tired and do not put the dish in the dishwasher and soon that dish has multiplied, but I know how to get busy and take care of the problem before it gets out of control. I know where to go to educate myself when something arises that I don't know how to fix.

Another thing my parents taught me is that if you are going to do a job you should do it well.

So today's thought is; get up and get going. Something that has been bugging you for awhile deserves to be fixed or organized. Today is the day, make it happen. You will feel better when you can stand back and say--Job Well Done!!

Need to get going--There are a lot of things on my gotta do list.

Change

September

I love spring and summer.

Lazy slow days--at least in my mind--no need to put on a coat or shoes. I am not freezing.

No alarms, schedules slow down.

Today is the first day of September. Change is in the air.

School has started.

Soon the weather will change--some will rejoice--I will freeze.

Schedules have changed--homework, catch the bus, hurry to bed, set the alarm.

Hurry seems to be a word for winter.

Poor Connor has had a lot of change in his life this week. School started and his new baby sister came all at the same time. Today I reminded him that by Halloween everything would be better. He asked how?? Time is my answer. By Halloween we will be used to the new changes in our lives that fall has brought. Time helps us adapt to the changes in our lives and understand them better.

The only constant thing in our lives is change.

My mom often reminds me that:

This Too Shall Pass

Everything must eventually change. Even the good things change. Our ability to manage the challenging improves with time and practice.

Eventually everything changes.

It is our attitude that makes the changes easy or challenging. Some changes are welcome, some are not.

Change is in the air.

Attitude is the key in change. Only I can control my attitude.

If a situation is not the best the only person to change it is me.

Change is in the air. I control my attitude.

September is here.