These last couple of weeks, I felt a bit like I have been camping out in some medical office waiting room or another. Sometimes there are interesting folks to watch and/or chat with, but of course, one cannot always count on that diversion being provided, so that is why I bring my “busy bag” with me. I keep magazines and newsletters that I haven’t gotten around to reading yet, whatever book we are studying in our book group and any “portable” work that needs to be done for my business, like putting contact information stickers on samples and that sort of thing in there. This really helps me wait much more patiently since that is a skill which I always seem to need to improve.
Thankfully, I was feeling pretty good for most of these times recently and nearly everything was just the usual check-up/lab work/follow-up sort of thing, but I cannot even imagine how different the experience would have been if I was in great pain, either from actual physical symptoms or that awful, not-knowing feeling while waiting for lab test or x-ray results…then there is the payment/insurance filing quagmire. Yikes! Moments can seem like hours and hours can feel like a lifetime.
While I was sitting in one of those places, I decided that there needed to be guidelines regarding the maximum amount of time anyone should be expected to wait and began compiling them in my head:

• For rooms with comfy chairs, functional climate control set at a reasonable temperature, interesting show on the television (or better yet, turned off) and no screaming children: 30 to 45 minutes maximum.
• For each item missing from this list, deduct 5 minutes, with the possible exception of deducting 10 minutes for soap operas on the television. After all, anyone who really follows them will either stay home to watch or record them for later so they do not miss a single moment and everyone else has no clue what is going on anyway.

What do YOU think about when you find yourself in a waiting room?

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…I got married. There are many, many more days that I am glad of that fact than ones where I wonder what I must have been thinking. We make a great team, even though we are quite different. (That thing about opposites attracting really does seem to be true for us!) I am pretty much an extrovert and he is more of introvert. Each is useful in different situations. I am pretty good at getting things  started and also multi-tasking, he is better at staying focused and being well prepared before undertaking a big project. Sometimes we work better by working on our own, too, and it feels good to know that he trusts me to make good decisions that will affect both of us and I can do the same.

Over the years, I have observed that he takes any sort of commitment he makes VERY seriously, so he is not one to give promises very freely. After learning this, I began to feel quite honored that it was ME he chose to stand up with in front of God and everyone to say that he would always be there “until death do us part.” He lives his life with a great deal of personal integrity and humility–so much so that after getting laid off a number years ago, the owner of the company he worked for came back a few months later with an apology and an offer for employment after realizing just how big of a “hole” was created with his departure. Sometimes, even I, who has had more of an opportunity to get to know him and the good that has come form his just being on this planet than most everyone else, can fail to notice and appreciate the ways that he has made my life even better. I pray that we will have many more years for me to improve my skill at noticing these “wonder-full” things!

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This is my first attempt at posting with the new editor, so please be patient–technology & I have a very awkward relationship. Thankfully, I do have in-house tech support for the really complicated stuff…

EDIT: I have been informed that there were 32 Valentine notes hidden around the house and can now say that I have found them ALL!

It tried to snow yesterday, but the flakes were so tiny and it was so warm that all we got was a little bit of dampness from it. It was fun driving around while making deliveries, watching the itty-bitty flakes swirling in the air before crashing and melting on my windshield…

The night before, I had stayed up all night, trying to get ahead of the paperwork that has been piling up since the end of last year, so I was REALLY ready to turn in early last night. I puttered around, waiting for Donkey to turn in so I could hide his Valentines Day goodie in plain sight so he would see it first thing in the morning when he woke up, but realized that he was trying to do the same thing for me! Finally, I figured since it was already past midnight, it would be okay to present his Valentines gift right then and go nod off to DreamLand to try and catch some of the 40 winks I missed the previous night…

Well, MY Valentines gift came in multiple parts–a yummy box of chocolate and cute little valentines with photos of precious critters on them, hidden ALL over the house, captioned with endearingly fun stuff, including hand written salutations and comments! Not sure how many of these I have yet to find, but I discovered several today in some really crazy and creative places like under the salt shaker, the top of my VitaMix, my sock drawers (good thing it isn’t summer or those would not have been found for quite some time!) and my computer keyboard…

I have a good chuckle every time I discover one of these little cuties how could I not feel special after reading the lovely words written just for me on each one? I am VERY blessed, indeed!

 

Wishing you a year of prosperity, love, joy, great health, happiness, and well being. Let it be a wonder-full and abundantly blessed one!~♥~

 

EDIT: Had this feeling as this post went up that something really, really BIG was not on my list, but kept telling myself that asking for anything else to add to this list was just being greedy and ungrateful for all of the other blessings on it. Well, deserving of any more blessings or not, there was another really HUGE one to add–son became engaged to the sweetest soul on the planet!

Looking back on this past year, just hitting the highlights:

• A stress echo test before surgery at the beginning of the year showed my heart is doing its job nicely.
• Marching on our state capitol to save funds dedicated for domestic violence for Valentines Day with several hundred of my MK galpals made me feel like I was really making a difference.
• Had an awesome experience at women’s church retreat with our beloved associate pastor before she retired in August.
• MK Career conference in Galveston with some of my most favorite galpals was also a blast!
• A trip to the hill country with my sweetie for our all-church retreat weekend (while the wildflowers were in bloom as an added bonus) was such a blessing.
• Got another painting completed for the George Washington Carver Museum silent auction to help out with their neighborhood education programs.
• Hallway baseboards finally got painted and installed after the wood floor went down with a LOT of help from son-in-law and his dad’s tools.
• Lost a dear friend that taught me a lot about maintaining faith and a sense of humor no matter what life throws at you.
• Now have a CPAP machine to help keep me breathing while I sleep and got it just in time to pack and take it with me to Dallas for MK seminar.
• Had a wonderful respite from the more than 90 days of high temps in the 100′s and lots of good times while driving with daughter and son-in-law to YankeeLand to visit my family of origin.
• MK Fall Advance (we NEVER retreat!) here in town was another great opportunity to connect with my galpals and get educated, motivated and inspired.
• Got the hot tub restored to fully functional condition AND brought the electrical stuff up to code.
  
• Was honored to meet some very talented folks AND have a chance to donate products and services to several great causes, including: Susan Korman Breast Cancer Foundation, Toys for Tots and Keri’s Fairy Godmother Foundation.

Not to mention ordinary, everyday things like:

• My very own Donkey to help with all kinds of stuff and do thoughtful, nice things for me.
• Having dinner with daughter and her hubby along with other family gatherings, too.
• Attending Network activities, Book and Bible study groups
• Keeping in touch with my Xanga and FaceBook friends
  
• Volunteer work with the coolest people on the planet at UPLift
• Getting to meet more lovely ladies that want to be a part of my Mary Kay business
  

Wow…I really AM blessed!
Wishing all of YOU a blessed 2012!!!

Provided courtesy of Randy Lape

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

• Free your heart from hatred – Forgive.
• Free your mind from worries – Most never happen.
• Live simply and appreciate what you have.
• Give more.
• Expect less

NOW…….Enough of that crap. The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY’S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover your a$$, it always comes back to bite you.

The weather has finally gotten off its “hot and dry cycle” here. We actually had some overnight temps that made me grateful our freeze protection controls for the hot tub pump were recently upgraded. Today, it is raining that lingering, steady kind of rain which we have not seen for many a day, so it is a great day to stay home and work on getting things ready for Christmas. Still have a lot of clearing & cleaning out to do, but at least our front door now has a new wreath that goes with all of it’s pumpkin-orangish attitude and still looks a bit like Christmas:

The person who made it for me is also a very gifted event organizer. Last evening, I attended her Toys for Tots fundraiser and did holiday makeovers along with several other “elves” that provided goods and/or services for attendees to enjoy for the admission price of tossing a toy in the box by the door as they entered. At the end of the evening, we had two HUGE boxes of toys to donate!

Holiday sales for my Mary Kay business are also keeping me quite busy, but I am really trying to keep my priorities from getting mixed up too much. Every year, I promise myself that I will not go too crazy buying stuff and take some time to remember the real reason we are decking those halls, giving gifts and making merry. Some years, I do better than others. This year I hope to be the most successful at keeping that promise as I have ever been. Any suggestions to help me with that?

 

Hard to believe that Halloween is only days away, but the recent slight chill in the air does make it seem more believable. Is this kitty cute or what?

Today’s e-devotional (below) got me thinking about the legacy than not only our parents, but other family members, friends and sometimes even total stangers leave us that makes us who we are. I am sure that the passing of a dear friend who always seemed to know how to bring out the best in everyone around her has a lot to do with this, but I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of my internet friends who have also helped me to become who I am today. May God bless you with others to enrich your life the way you have mine…

Today’s Scripture

Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

-John 14:18-20 (NIV)

EVEN though I was an adult when my parents died, I felt a keen sense of what it was like to be an orphan. Gone were the two people who had nurtured me and shaped my life. Sharp grief gave way to bewilderment: Who am I now? Who knows me deeply yet loves me anyway? The Gospel of John recounts Jesus telling his disciples that although the time is coming that they will see him no more, he will always be a part of them, just as they will forever be part of him.

And so it has been with my parents. I see now that even after their deaths, their example of loving-kindness continues to teach me and guide my life. That goes deeper than just warm memories. My parents are in me at a deep level, deeper than the mind can comprehend, as deep as the heart. And surely God was their heart’s teacher.

In the same way, I come to know God through the life and love of Jesus. Nurturing that relationship through prayer and study, giving and serving, keeps me forever connected to the living God.

Linda Tatum (North Carolina, USA)

Prayer

Gracious God, let who we are reflect who you are, in all that we do. Amen.

Prayer Focus

Someone grieving a parent’s death

An interesting discussion has developed over here about health care in the United States. The Canadian bloggers seem to think that we would rather not have universal health care and I did not feel like I could speak for the whole country, but this is what pretty much I said:

Many citizens of the U.S. are not rallying against universal health care. We can see the need for it, but our government is trying to implement it by demanding everyone have health insurance (like one has to have car insurance if they own a car) but health insurance companies are one of the primary reasons we have spiraling costs of health care in the first place, so that seems like the wrong way to do it if you ask me. If you wreak your car and your insurance company finds some way to keep from paying all or part of the claim, you just end up riding the bus, getting a crappier car to replace the one that was damaged or you chip in some of your own cash, but you are back on the road again eventually.

With health insurance, the stakes are much higher if the insurance company is successful in their efforts to stiff you to keep their stockholders happy. People can die or get in much more serious trouble while fighting for the benefits that they already paid for with their premiums. If they cannot afford payment for treatment from their own resources after paying premiums to their health insurance company while they pursue this fight, (hopefully with some help from someone who is in better health then they are since dealing with these guys takes a LOT of stamina) then they are screwed.

Years ago, I had the worst time getting our health insurance company to pay for the ONLY asthma medicine we found that worked for our daughter. (I often wonder if some of the stress-related illness I now deal with can be directly attributed to the constant battles I fought with those various companies–hubby’s work usually went with the lowest bidder for health coverage, so even though he has been with the same company for more than 20 years, we have tried just about all of them and there is very little difference between them, in my opinion) After we finally triumphed in the battle for the medicine that actually worked for her, they then excluded costs related to the drug delivery system (children under 12 cannot effectively use the inhalation device that comes with most asthma meds, rendering them pretty much useless without a delivery system) so from the time she was 18 months old until she was in middle school we had to pay for that part of her treatment ourselves IN ADDITION TO the premiums we paid every month…

The health insurance companies are making all kinds of deals with drug companies, but instead of making things more affordable for the consumer, we are told which drugs/treatments are allowed (even if your own doctor disagrees with them, they will not pay for anything they do not deem “medically necessary”/economically advantageous to said insurance company) without a HUGE fight. If after a long battle you miraculously convince them to cough up the resources for the treatment/drugs you need, you will be filling out paperwork on a regular basis after that for as long as that treatment/drug is required. The difference in the amount of resources this costs providers is so great most of them offer two options on pricing for services: the fee for service rate (MUCH lower since they aren’t having to use all their human and computer resources to submit the necessary paperwork to justify the necessity to insurance companies) and the insurance rate, which is significantly higher. One guy I know was quoted a price for a specialist that was THOUSANDS of dollars lower for not having to deal with any insurance companies!

So yes, if universal healthcare in the U.S. means being told I MUST have health insurance, I will not be happy about that since I am convinced that they have contributed significantly the increases we now have in health care costs. If I am allowed to purchase the type I prefer, I might be okay with it, especially if it means that some of the folks that have had to sacrifice having basics like food and clothing to pay for medical care could get some help…

I was wondering what my xanga friends thought about this topic. I would love to see any thoughts you might have in the comment section below…