After reading Joan's blog about the driving, I recieved the following e-mail from a frjend, and would like to share it with you all.
HOW LIFE IS MEASURED
I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly and suddenly died of a heart attack
About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students.
As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, "Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important."
"Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is a way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day."
Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent -- perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches the autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.
Please look for these things, and cherish them For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time...it can all be taken away." The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently.
That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.
Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. When you go home, go barefoot, or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double-dip ice cream cone.
"For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do."
"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened."
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
-- Author Unknown Live Life to the full and enjoy every day A day without laughter is a day wasted
Thank you. In spite of everything, I do try to find the positive in little things. I find peace and tranquility when I sit on my patio and watch the fish jumping in the canal, and I get a thrill everytime a family of sandhill cranes lands in my back yard and visits.
I can identify with that. We have a bird feeder outside our kitchen window. Every morning they go through their ritual. Their are feeding their young now. The parent birds stuff themselves and then go feed their babies. DH calls them "pigs with wings" because they eat so much bird seed and he has to fill the feeder every day at this time of year.
We don't have any fish now--took the pool out. It got to be too much for DH to take care of. But I'd sure like to have some sand cranes stop by. How fun!
The first time I saw sand hill cranes walk down I street I went yelling to my husband to come see the ostriches. Later on an alligator also walked by. Florida is wonderful if you take the time to see the wonders. We have had otter families in our pond. We have several bob cats that visit. When we could still kayak the dolphins would circle our boat. Anybody our there want to kayak with me?
Me too. I was on a volunteer rural fire department when I was much younger and could not wear the breathing apparatuses because it was too constricting. I can't imagine what i would do with scuba diving gear on.
Mary-what would we do if we even needed an MRI? I went to see what an "open" MRI looked like. The only way you could get me in that cave would be to knock me out. Open looked pretty closed to me. I freak out with just a bone scan.
My DH has one every other year for a pituitary gland tumor on the prolactin part of the gland. The last time, he almost freaked. He said he was never going to have one again. From what he described, I know I couldn't handle it either.
I sometimes wonder is this might be causing some of his problems. the tests come back that the tumor is very small and not big enough to cause problems. DH does take a pill twice a week to lower the prolactin.
Blue Daze and Mary: I too am somewhat claustrophobic '...I was scheduled to take an MRI before diagnosed with Parkinsons and told my physician that I didn't think I could undergo a closed Mri which was the only one I could get. He gave me Valium and I sailed through the ordeal very easily. I know if I have to undergo anything like that again I'll just ask for that miracle pill and it won't be bad at all.
Thank you for reminding us that is beautiful and it IS what We make of it. One of our greatest pleasures was to sit in our backyard in the arbor that my husband built and nurtured until it became the wonderful haven that it is today. We would listen and watch the birds and in the Spring 2 years ago, we had a family of red bellied woodpeckers in one of the trunks of our tree. Since placing my husband in a memory care facility in June, I have not gone to that peaceful place yet. When I am through writing this to you, I am going to do just that, enjoy the peace and beauty of small wonders God has given us.
The dentist gave me something that was a mild seditative. It worked great. I've got one more pill and the pill bottle just in case I need to know what it is, and if I need something for that kind of test, I've already told my doctor that this pill worked. I had no problems with the procedure, was awake enough to cooperate with the dentist and then went home and had a 2 hour nap. If I have to have that kind of MRI, they are giving me something to calm me down.
The tech played a tape of Elvis Presley for me so I wouldn't get too nervous. I closed my eyes and pretended I was some place else--anyplace but where I was. It helped as long as I kept my eyes closed.
bluedaze, I am green with envy. Otters. Bobcats. Sand hill cranes. Dolphins. Alliga ... what???!!! well, maybe not all THAT green. (I've seen news stories about people in Florida finding alligators in their kitchens, trying to snarf down a small pet dog. Eeek!)