The View from Here

All good things...

must come to an end. Time to put aside the sloppy clothes and the slippers. Time to put down that third cup of coffee. Time to give up the morning talk shows. It's back to school for Mrs. Maurer!!

Actually I'm ready. I've missed my kids and I'm eager to make sure they are safe and sound. I'm even ready to hear about everything they got for Christmas, twice, and in great detail. LOL

And I'm ready to continue our journey toward becoming readers. Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday!

  Yes, I had two winter babies, one just before Christmas, the other just after, two years apart. What was I thinking? LOL Clearly I gave no thought to gift giving, budgets, parties. Although I must admit to buying more than a few of Katrina's gifts at "after Christmas" sales! Of course the birthday rule was always- no leftover Christmas wrapping paper!

So my "thirtysomething" girl is getting closer to changing the title of her blog, but I won't remind her of that.  I will remind her of how much joy she brought to my life thirty-eight years ago. I will remind her of what a blessing she was and continues to be. I will also remind her that even though she is the "scrapbook queen" I am the "all powerful master" of the photo collection! LOL She'd better keep her sense of humor because you never know what I might find!

These photos are presented in no particular order and without explanation. I'm sure Kat would LOVE to explain some of them to you if you just ask her. It will keep her busy today! (note: I apologize for the quality of some of the photos. I'm not the photo wizzard that Katrina is, and some were slides, some polaroids. And they are old...)

          

   

     

Friends Lost and Found

2008 was a year of connecting. I discovered that some people in my daily life were connected to my past and to other people I know. I’ve corresponded with friends from my past and made new friends because of my blog. I joined Facebook and located some old friends and even some family members. I got and wrote some snail mail to a couple of old pals. It’s been a joy to be connected to the lives of so many fine people.

But I lost a few friends too. People died. One friend scared me by being “gone” for about a month, and then I found out she had been very ill and in the hospital. One of the drawbacks of being far away from those you care about is knowing that you are always dependent on them, or someone near them, to keep you informed.  

I also lost a friend for reasons unknown. She just stopped corresponding, and I’m left with a “black hole” in my world. I don’t know what happened or why. I don’t have a way to reach her that I haven’t already tried. I don’t know if the problem was mine or hers. I just care. And I hope that even if I never hear from her again, she is healthy and happy.

That’s the problem with connecting. Once we open our heart and life to another person we are vulnerable to what they do or don’t do. Even a cyberspace friend can become a piece of our life that we don’t want to relinquish. But I wouldn’t change a thing that happened in 2008. Connecting with people brings me joy and each person adds to my understanding of myself and others.  I think God intended for us to have joy and sorrow so we would appreciate the joy.

All I Want for 2009!

I woke up this morning in pain. My leg has been bothering me for days and just won’t quit.

I made coffee this morning, but I use the term loosely because it tastes bad. That happens at least once a week and has something to do with our water.

My eye still has floaters.

I’m still fat.

So 2009 is off to a less than exciting start. But I don’t care! I’m still excited!

The idea of a new year is invigorating. It’s a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over. Of course the reality is that our past year is still lurking back there making faces at us. Decades of “new years” haunt us and remind us that change is difficult and often doesn’t take place within a calendar’s pages. As I grow older I am less adamant about what I will do in the coming year. I’m less resolute about my resolutions. In fact, this year I just want to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Or should I say healthier, wealthier, and wiser?

With that preface, I give you my “want list” for 2009. Some things are within my power. Some will have to come from others. Some of my wants are selfish, others are altruistic. Some are rational, some are just plain crazy.

1. I want to be healthier. I suppose this is a priority for most people my age. As I approach sixty I pay more attention to the conditions and diseases of those around me, especially those in the 60-70 age bracket. Women in my family typically live to be 80-90. I don’t want the next thirty years of my life to be spent in the doctor’s office. Right now I’m “healthy as a horse” according to my doctor because I seldom get a cold and I have only a few troubling conditions.  However, my weight has always been a problem, and that is something within my power to change. My blood pressure is also a problem and that is related to my weight. I’m not going to vow here and now that I will lose fifty pounds by June. That has never worked for me before, and I doubt it will work this year. But I can make small changes, just as I have successfully done in the past. This year I’m adding more fruit to my diet. I like fruit, but for some reason it has slipped away from my daily diet. So this week my shopping list included apples, pears, canned pineapple, frozen blueberries, and raisins. I’ve been tossing a few raisins on my salad, adding blueberries to my cereal, eating fruit for an afternoon snack. Will I be healthier? I don’t know, but fruit seems like a good idea. Variety is good for us, and if I eat more fruit there will be less room in my stomach for French fries!
2. I want to read more comments from YOU. This is not within my power, but it would certainly make me happier. I know I have many loyal readers, and some of you email me, but the comment button is down there for a reason. Interaction spurs more interaction. Your comments and ideas give me ideas. And I like hearing about your life! So do me a favor and leave me a comment! Let’s make this a place to share views!
3. I want to get out of debt. Yeah, me and ten billion other people! I’m not a big spender, but there are ways I can quit wasting my money. There are things I can change. There are ways I can even make a little more money. I want to put aside more for my retirement. I want to help a few more people. I want to have a few more things, like a new computer.  I need to re-read Dave Ramsey!
4. I want my children to be happier. Again, not within my power, but I know each of them has one or two problems that are plaguing them and I pray that those problems are solved in 2009.
5. I want our town to grow…at least a little. I don’t want Caddo to become one of those ghost towns where things used to happen. 2008 has been a rough year. I want 2009 to be a little better and I want someone to believe in us.
6. I want to learn something new. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a class or activity to join. There are always spring “community” classes through our local college. I’m going to read the catalog more carefully this year.
7. I want to find a new church family. We’ve visited around the county and haven’t found a home church yet. It bothers me that I can’t seem to trust another congregation after what happened in our church. I should be over the hurt by now. I should be ready to move on. I want to do that in 2009. I want to belong somewhere.
8. I want to be a better teacher. I AM a good teacher. But there are ways I can improve. I don’t want to become satisfied and settled in my ways. I want to be alert for new methods that might help my students.
9. I want to write more. I say this every year. And I think I do write a bit more each year. However, I still watch far too much television. Television time is wasted time! I need to be in front of this screen, not that other one! (Survivor night being the exception to the rule. One cannot have deep meaningful thoughts to write about without watching a few mindless shows depicting the degradation of mankind.)
10. I want to be more deliberately thoughtful. I wrote about this recently. I want to make my life more meaningful and I think the only way to accomplish that is by helping others.

 

I’m stopping at ten, even though I could probably go on. Ten is one of those numbers we like. A group of ten is natural and definitive. It feels complete if our list makes it to ten. So I will leave you with my ten wants.

Happy New Year!

What do YOU want?