The Joy of Green Arrows

November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 my13daychallenge

Some teens dream about the day when they can get their driver’s license. I wasn’t one of them. Driving terrified me. I got my driver’s permit like all my friends at 15 and then I let it expire. In fact, I let my driver’s permit expire three times.

My parents, bless their hearts, kept trying to teach me to drive. Mom and Dad would take me to safe, calm streets and parking lots for me to practice. They kept bringing me back to practice even though I would always tell them that they were signing their death certificate by being in a car with me. I even took one of those driver’s education classes at school. That actually made my anxiety worse as the teacher told me all the ways I could get killed while driving.

What does this have to do with my gratitude challenge? I was at a busy intersection on day 22 of this challenge. The radio was on. I was waiting for the green arrow that allows me to turn left. I’ve always liked green arrows. They are so helpful at busy intersections. I turned and then I drove down the street and got on the freeway. I went to my appointment and then I drove home. When I got home, I started thinking about the green arrow, the freeway and the way I had just nonchalantly driven to and from my destination. I got a little teary eyed thinking about it. I was a driver. Me. A driver. Driving does not scare me anymore. It hasn’t for several years.

This may not be a big deal to you but it is a big deal to me. I was in college before I finally got my driver’s license. I went for years with only taking surface streets and then I’d drive five under the speed limit. (Yes, I’m probably the person you honked at who was driving too slow.) There was one time when I actually said no to a really good job offer because it would have involved a daily freeway trip. I was over 25 years old before I had enough courage to brave the freeways. And at that point, I had to have the Accountant or a kind friend in the car with me while I was driving on the freeway. I was in my 30’s before I could drive on the freeways by myself.

I can drive on the freeways by myself now. I no longer make decisions in my life based on avoiding freeways. I can drive the speed limit and depending on the traffic flow, I can even go above that speed limit to keep up with the other cars. Am I a speed demon who loves the open road? No. I probably will never drive for fun but I can do it now and I’m grateful for that skill.

Day 22: I’m grateful for green arrows and the ability to drive. Driving did not come easy for me but I did learn how to do it. It’s a miracle in some ways. I can drive.

For any one out there who is struggling to learn something, keep trying.

Challenge 14: Gratitude

Gratitude Challenge: Days 17-23

November 24, 2015 my13daychallenge

The Gratitude Challenge is in full swing. Here are days 11-23.

Day 23: I’m grateful for the Earth and especially for pretty sunsets.

Day 22: I’m grateful for green left turn arrows at busy intersections.

Day 21: I’m grateful for public libraries. I love the library!

Day 20: I’m grateful the Accountant knows how to fix things. It has sure come in handy over the years when stuff breaks around the house.

Day 19: I’m grateful for email and Facebook. It’s a fun way to waste my time and keep in touch with people.

Day 18: Kung Fu Punctuation. I’m excited and grateful to try it with my students. Every punctuation mark has its own little karate move. We will correct the sentence on paper and then stand up and act out the marks. I think the kids will get a kick out of it.

Day 17: Clouds. I’m grateful for beautiful, interesting clouds to look at on my drive home from work.

Day 16: I’m grateful for blankets.

Day 15: I’m grateful for my siblings and parents.

Day 14: Shoes. I’m grateful for them.

Day 13: Grateful for a working a car

Day 12: I’m grateful for my job. It’s good to work.

Day 11: I’m grateful for all the veterans and their families today.

What are you grateful for today?

Challenge 14: Gratitude · Wonder Women

Wonder Women: Meet Teresa

November 18, 2015November 18, 2015 my13daychallenge1 Comment

Have you ever met someone who is really rich? I have. Her name is Teresa.

I met Teresa when I was a little kid. She happens to be my aunt. I know what you are thinking. “Amee, that’s great that your aunt is well off. Why aren’t you trying to get her to give you some of her lovely money to fix up your old car? ”

Guess What? Teresa has a beat up car too. Teresa’s wealth is found in her positive and thankful heart. Like many people, Teresa has struggled with health challenges, unemployment and the disappointments that come in life. Unlike most folks, Teresa has found a way to look on the bright side while still dealing with the reality of the present moment. Let me tell you a story that proves my point about Teresa’s gift for gratitude. Once upon a time Aunt Teresa and her kids decided to take a road trip to visit my family. During the 14 hour drive to see us, the air conditioner in Teresa’s car broke, two of her kids got sick and she received some news that her husband’s company was going to lay him off. I overheard Teresa on the phone talking with my uncle about how they were going to pay the bills. After Teresa got off the phone, I asked her what was going on. She told me about the crazy events that had occurred on their drive to see us. After the explanation, I was expecting to hear Teresa lament her life or at least say she was really mad. I’d want to throw something if all those things happened to me in one day. She didn’t do that though. Teresa told me she was still one of the richest people in the world because she got to see all of us.

It was a simple conversation with a 15-year-old niece. I don’t know if Teresa even remembers it after all these years. It left an impression on me though. Teresa is a really rich person. She’s grateful.

In addition to raising some awesome kids, (I’m biased. Hi cousins.) Teresa teaches preschool and sings in a church choir. She and her husband Rick feel strongly that being grateful and positive have made their life easier. They just started their own blog all about living a grateful and positive life.

Teresa is a Wonder Woman!

Challenge 14: Gratitude

Gratitude Challenge

November 10, 2015November 10, 2015 my13daychallenge

Wow. It’s now November. Somehow. I don’t know where the last month went. Maybe it went on a cruise. I’d like to think that while I was working away at my job the month of October was drinking a virgin Piña Colada on a cruise deck.

Every November, I have a tradition of having 30 days of gratitude. I wake up and think of one thing that I’m grateful for. Here’s my list so far.

Day 1: Left over Halloween candy.

Day 2: Running water. It’s very nice to just turn on the faucet instead of walking two miles to a well.

Day 3: Teeth. They sure come in handy for eating that left over candy.

Day 4: Music

Day 5: Indoor plumbing. No commentary needed.

Day 7: Oops. Life happened and I forgot to be grateful. Actually, I was grouchy most of the day but I will leave that part out. I want everyone on Internet land to think I’m always happy and put together. Lol.

Day 8: Music and the power it has to take feelings in my head and heart and give them a voice. (Yes, I know I said music on Day 4. I’m doubly grateful for music.)

Day 9: Bug spray and shoes because both can get rid of critters l don’t like.

And on day 10, I’m grateful for the public library. I love the library! I don’t like paying my library fines, but that’s a post for another day. Maybe I could devote an entire month to complaining. It would give me the chance to write a blog post on how the library charges me just because I keep their book a few more days.

What are you grateful for today?

Challenge 14: Gratitude · Musings

Posterity

May 22, 2015 my13daychallenge

I saw a baby bird and a mama bird chirping in a nest this week. Being somewhat of a philosopher at heart, I started thinking about how the baby bird has the mother’s DNA pursing through its little veins. Someday that little bird will grow up and have babies herself. There will be many birds from this one bird and a long chain of posterity will have the genetic memories of that first mother bird. It was all theoretical and very interesting to think about until it suddenly got very personal.

If your DNA dies with you, who is your posterity?

You don’t have one. The definition of posterity is all the descendants of one person. I probably won’t have children. Most days I’m okay with the body I have. I can attend a friend’s baby shower and not feel that God has let me down. I still felt a little sad though when I considered that there are no baby birds who look like me. Then I remembered the second definition of the word posterity.

Posterity is the succeeding future generations collectively.

So, in my own philosophical way, I guess the entire succeeding or future generations on Planet Earth could collectively be my posterity. I better start doing something to make the world a better place to live. I don’t want to let the posterity down.

Challenge 14: Gratitude

The Sad Party

April 16, 2015 my13daychallenge

Yesterday, I had a really rotten day. I tried all my usual let’s feel better tricks and nothing was working. It was obvious that I was sad. I decided to embrace the feeling and host a sad party. I got myself a bowl of ice cream and then I turned on the TV. The news was a little too sad. I ended up watching the last 45 minutes of Titanic instead. I haven’t seen that movie since I was 19. I remember crying and crying when Leonardo DiCaprio died. It was so sad. Guess What? The movie is still sad as a 37 year old. It was the perfect movie for my sad party. I painted my nails and wrote sad poems during the commercial breaks. I then stood in front of the mirror and made sad faces, except that made me laugh because my faces looked silly. I should have sad parties more often. It ended up being a lot of fun. Does anyone want to join my next sad party?

My latest challenge is to find one joyful moment in every day. What is a joyful moment? A joyful moment is when something makes you smile, laugh or just feel a little tickle of joy inside your heart. My silly, sad faces in the mirror was my joyful moment.

I took this photo a few years ago on a trip to Florida. It was right before a thunderstorm. I like the picture because it can be seen in two ways. The storm is threatening the sunlight or the sun is breaking up the storm. Photography is cool in that way.

Challenge 14: Gratitude · Musings

How to make me really happy

January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 my13daychallenge

Today I got a package from my amazing brother John. It made my day. I absolutely love getting mail. It’s so much fun. There is just something wonderful about letters, packages and magazines with your very own name on it.

As a child, I would wait for the mailman to come. One day we got a new mail carrier. Her name was Mary. I was thrilled to discover girls could deliver the mail. I was headed for a career with the post office. Then I discovered the tragic news that Mary didn’t get to keep all the mail in her truck. I made new career plans.

The first thing I do when I get home from vacation is to go to the post office and collect my held mail. I get my mail before I unpack my suitcase or even brush my hair. I have my priorities.

Question: How do you make me very happy?

Answer: Send me something in the mail. I love all mail. (OK, maybe not bills)

Challenge 14: Gratitude · Musings

New Years Goals

January 1, 2015December 4, 2015 my13daychallenge

2014 was hard. Hard in a lot of ways that I can’t write about on a public blog.

At 4:29 a.m. this morning, I woke up with a desire to do my morning devotional. I went to bed pretty late so at first I wasn’t very happy to be woken up at such an early hour. It was such an odd time to wake up though. I lay there trying to go back to sleep and trying to fight the thought that I needed to do my morning devotional. I figured I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep until I did it so I got out of my bed. The routine is pretty basic. I say a prayer, read a few scriptures and then I do five minutes of a deep breathing meditation. I’ve been told that meditation heals you and makes all your cells happy. I like happy and healed cells. Sometimes, I end my little routine with a song. I went along with the usual routine and then I did something different. I pretended it was December 31, 2015. I had met all of my 2015 New Years Resolutions. All of them. Even the ones I’m too afraid to speak out loud. I imagined myself on December 31, 2015 standing on a small mountain looking out to the ocean. It was a beautiful ocean that was framed by a rising sun. I looked beautiful next to that ocean. When I picture myself in the future, I always have perfect hair that never gets fuzzy and no acne. It’s amazing what your imagination can do for you. It was kind of cool, because in that moment it felt like I had already accomplished every single one of my goals for 2015.

With my morning devotional done, I promptly went back to sleep for three more delicious hours.

What are your goals for 2015?

Challenge 14: Gratitude

Gratitude

November 30, 2014November 30, 2014 my13daychallenge

This month I gave myself a gratitude challenge. Each morning before I went to work, I wrote down one thing I was grateful for on that day. The rule was that I couldn’t repeat things. At first, it was easy. I like food and I can be grateful for that. My family is awesome. My faith in God is important to me. Butterflies are pretty. Then it got harder and the days kept coming. By November 15th, I felt like I had found every known blessing on planet Earth. I was done saying all the typical things I normally recognize as a small blessings. I had to start looking harder. Guess what I discovered? Green arrows that let you turn left at busy intersections are really a blessing. When you hear your favorite song twice in one day, you can write that down on your gratitude list for the next day.

Today is November 30th. It’s the last day of my gratitude challenge. When I woke up this morning, I had a funny thought. I was grateful that this was the last day that I had to find something to be grateful for. I laughed pretty hard about my little thought, and then I decided that I was grateful for toilet paper. Life would be really miserable without toilet paper.