So I sit here with my leg wrapped in elastic bandages, crutches leaning next to me with an ice pack on my butt.  All this downtime has given me time to reflect on taking things for granted…

In the past year or so I have lost three dear friends.  I miss them and wonder if I had stayed in contact with them enough?  Had I supported them enough through their illnesses, did I make them laugh?  Did I take our friendships for granted, thinking they would be there forever?

Last year my son’s heart was broken.  This reminded me that relationships are fragile and need to be treated as “brand new” as often as possible. It’s work, but should be good work!

It’s easy to take the gift of a treasured relationship or friendship for granted.

I was stung by my first scorpion this year.  The sting was like being stabbed with a piece of heated wire.  How is it possible that such a small thing can cause SO MUCH pain?  I took for granted the ability to make a fist, before our chance encounter.

On my 62nd birthday, I took a not-so-graceful dive playing frisbee, thus the elastic bandages.  The Frisbee incident, as we will now call it, made me realize that I’ve taken my ‘experienced’ body for granted. Even though I try to work out every day and had finally accomplished touching my palms to the floor in a forward fold during yoga, I needed to respect it more. I should have treated it as a treasured gift that has made it through two children, an appendicitis, biopsies, hysterectomy and tumor. And now that I can barely bend over the sink to brush my teeth, I realize I have taken for granted my muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Remembering…

I know I take living in a country with incredible freedoms for granted. I take for granted having the ability to do and go and buy whatever I want (well, within the budget). I’ve taken for granted the safe feeling I have living day to day in this country, unlike many others who have lived their entire lives in fear and war.

I take for granted all the men and women who stand guard every day to keep my freedom safe. I’ve taken for granted all those who served, like my dad, my sister and granddad and the affect it had on their psyches. I know, for sure, that I have taken for granted the lives that were sacrificed to keep my family and me safe. Protecting this country: the land, the rights, the privileges and freedoms, was something they willingly did.  It breaks my heart that we’ve taken their sacrifices for granted by either apathy or disrespect.

Taking things for granted…

While I sit with my leg elevated and continue to ice, I will revisit all the things I should NOT take for granted: walking, bending, sleeping, and especially all those in the Service who I’ve never met, but who selflessly walked into danger for me.

Grateful for you, the ability someday to sit without pain, and for all those who lost their lives in the Service of this Country.

Sheree

On Facebook the Illinois sister posted a picture of a bouquet of Lilies of the Valley from her yard.  Then it started with a comment, from the sister in California — “I miss them SOOO much!”

Live Lilies

The comment then turned into an idea, one that the sister in Illinois had to do right away, before Lilies were out of season.

First she called florists in the state of California to see if they could deliver a bouquet to the sister whose comment reflected how she missed Midwest spring flowers, since her departure 25 years ago. The florist said, sure they could make it happen at $10 a stalk.  Her mouth dropped open as she looked at the yard that was completely covered with the blooming Lilies.  The florist suggested she overnight her home-grown bounty – perfect idea!

She quickly picked all the Lilies in the yard and made a bouquet including the ones that were on her kitchen counter. She stopped at a florist to ask ‘how’ to ship flowers, bought a water reservoir and then boxed them up.

They ran to the post office before 5:00pm Friday night and paid $40.00+ to overnight them and guarantee delivery by Saturday at 3:00pm.

She suggested the Cali sister stay at home to wait for the surprise delivery, which, sadly, never arrived. Sunday came and went and finally the box was delivered Monday at 12:15pm.

Well you guessed it, they were spoiled and the fragrance she was hoping to waft out of the box as it was opened, was transformed to that of “decaying flowers”.

Dead Lilies

Although the Illinois sister sat in sadness and anger at the disappointing events, she missed that the most important gift – WAS – given. It was the thought, the effort, the detail to attention and the desire to make something very special and unique happen for the California sister.

Gifts spoil, get eaten or broken, and may get hidden away but…

“Intentions of giving a gift are never forgotten!”

Thank you for the intention of sending me a bouquet of Lilies of the Valley! Next year I may just have to hop on a plane and enjoy them in person!

Grateful for you and Spring flowers,

Sheree

Am I the only human that is so angry with the relentless jokes about the President, his family and the latest one regarding the President and his daughter, which came out of the mouth of Bill Maher???

No one liked the tone the President took towards women when videos came out pre-election, yet we sit here and witness the same or worse from the detractors of the President and laugh along with them. If we didn’t like how the President spoke about or treated women, how is it now acceptable to hear it from a talk show host?

I grew up in a time where you respected the position of President – whether you liked him personally or not; whether you voted for him or not. Attacks were kept to policy not family.  We as conservatives or liberals or independents have become so accepting of the hurtful things that are said in the name of ‘freedom of speech’.  In what world is it ok to infer there is an incestuous relationship between the President and his daughter or for that matter any father and his daughter?  Is this freedom of speech or just defamation because it’s reported all over the news and internet as a comedic skit?  I believe it’s just rude and hurtful.

Where is the “class” we once knew,

where everyone was held to a certain level of appropriateness?

I, with many, didn’t like it when the Bush’s daughters, or Clinton’s daughter or Obama’s daughters were berated.  Where is the outrage now? People have lost their jobs in the past for doing it, why aren’t they now?  Have we all become numb to tasteless jokes at the expense of another human beings feelings and their families and their small children just because it’s not the person ‘we’ wanted in the Whitehouse?

Why aren’t more women speaking up in defense of this intelligent and successful woman? Whether you are a liberal or conservative why aren’t you speaking out against the inappropriateness of these comments?  Is it because she is the daughter of man you don’t support or are you afraid you’ll be ostracized because you’re a conservative so you temper your outrage?  Either way where is the outcry to stop the current level of crudeness we accept as every day talk?

I don’t really care what political party you associate yourself with, I’m actually disenchanted with both, but the non-stop dialogue about a man and his family instead of the policies is just plain disrespectful and wrong.

We’re all from different eras, where certain things were acceptable – that didn’t make them RIGHT.  Do you continually need to use a person and his family as the butt of your jokes to keep your career alive?  Can you actually be funny without having to dehumanize or ridicule a person to make you look amusing or important or popular?

Isn’t that the definition of a bully?

I’m not quite sure why Maher’s comments set me off and made me so angry, perhaps I’ve reached my tipping point and my integrity meter just blew up!  We are all up in arms at the bullying in schools, but as adults we watch it and are entertained by it daily.  I’m so confused…

Is having a bit of class and being less rude a bad thing?  I know, I know I’m sounding like my mom now…

Struggling to be grateful at this moment,

Sheree

There are keys to your heart, keys to the city and keys on a piano, but the types of keys I’m talking about are the ones on your key ring.

What’s this for?

I have keys to our condo, the car, fire box, and safety deposit box. I also have keys to the pedestrian gate, the pool and mailbox.  I have a key to my son’s house and a good friend’s condo.  So in total and without misplacing them again, I have nine keys plus those random ones in the drawer, like the one I had for my suitcase in 1975.

I never understood what a little piece of metal with teeth and a name engraved on it could mean, until a recent conversation with a dear friend. She was working with the homeless when one of them shared with her the thing they really missed was “having a key”.  Seems a strange thing to miss, but in reality it made complete sense.  Without possessions a key is needless yet means everything.  It’s a symbol of accomplishment and without one, there’s a void.  Even if you own just one, you can be proud because you ‘have’ something; an apartment, a means of transportation, or just a box that holds your mail.

To the person who has nothing, that small metal object means everything.

What a shift in perspective a piece of metal can create. I started to think of the beautiful homes I’ve visited, the pricey cars I’ve driven in and the beautiful hotels I’ve stayed at – all needed just one thing to access them – a key.  Entry to your place of work, your locker at the gym or a tool box needs just one thing – a key.  In your lifetime, think of all the keys that have touched your hands – it’s astounding and yet I know I took them all for granted after the novelty wore off.

How wonderful that this homeless person, unknowingly, handed down such a gift of gratitude for all of us; all of us who have more keys than we know what to do with. No matter what race, religion, gender, or political party you’ve been hanging out with, I think we can all agree that if you’ve ever had just one key – you’ve been blessed!

Grateful for you and that random skeleton key in my jewelry box,

Sheree