TEAMWORK

Some people are so easy to work with:
flexible, creative, supportive and caring.
Others are harsh, critical and demanding.
Teamwork doesn't seem to come naturally
to them. They want to always be in control.

Things have to be done their way or it's
the highway. Well, two can play that game.
I choose not to play anymore. Criticized,
feeling used, I left. I know how to do that,
be it: a marriage, a friendship or a job.

I do love to work with others when we
come together and feed off each other
with our love, energy and enthusiasm.
That's called teamwork. It's necessary
for our soul's feeding and daily growth.

Think GREEN!

My blogging friend Michele of Rambling Woods gave her readers a challenge to talk about their appreciation of the earth and attempts to keep it green. Check out her blog sometime, she will teach you a thing or two about nature. So here goes:

(1) I definitely try to recycle more, especially our newspapers and aluminum cans.

(2) I'm trying to conserve on water by turning on the dishwasher only when it's very full.

(3) I love nature and have committed to getting out more and taking photos of the natural beauty in our area and sharing it on my blog.

(4) I'm committed to taking daily walks or bike rides and breathing in the fresh air deeply and being grateful for the different and unusual plants that grow in our desert area.

(5) I'm creating some nature/wildlife poems for my grandkids to help them think more about living things and appreciate-birds, ducks, lizards, etc.

Guess that will do for a start. Tell me what you are doing:

Saturday again

Have you noticed how fast the days pass
quickly moving from Monday to Friday,
while I'm still doing the breakfast dishes.

Then it's the weekend––two more days
that are too quickly over. Night falls,
morning follows and suddenly it's...

Monday again. All the time, my life
is rushing quickly away from me.
There's no time for me to slow it down.

Only depression can make it extend
into slowness and nothingness...so
I guess I'm happy that it's Saturday again.

Who me?

I'm an awesome bird, I think

Although, my mom never stayed

around long enough to tell me so.

She was off flying circles with some

crazy hawk or other creature.

I don't know who my Dad is,

maybe he looks like me.

I fell out of my empty nest.

There was no one around

to pick me up or

help me learn to fly.

So here I am walking around

like some awkward duck

or goose, though they certainly

look different than me.

Being on the ground

does have its advantages.

There are lots of crawly things

to chase after and eat.

But there are lots of dangers, too.

Humans who want to catch me,

put me in a little gilded cage,

and teach me to sing.

If I can be careful and hide

when I see them or their pets,

I can eat the tasty birdseed

they leave in their birdfeeders.

I'm an awesome bird, I think.

Although, my mom never stayed

around long enough to tell me so.

Aging?

Suddenly I’m elderly
being called “dear” and “sweetie,”
helped to cross the street by boy scouts.

Just how did this happen

to little old me while

I was busy doing other things.

At age 16, I couldn't wait to be 18
graduated from high school
ready to take on the world.
Then suddenly I found myself 22
not married but graduated
from college and an old maid.
At age 24, I was finally getting married
with my whole happy life before me.
But ten frustrating years later
found me getting a divorce and
a single parent of three lively sons
facing life alone without a job.

Just how did this happen

to little old me while

I was busy doing other things.

At age 39, I thought I’d found

true love again and remarried
adding son #4 to my family.
Thirteen years later there I was
now age 52 divorced again
with only one child at home.

Just how did this happen

to little old me while

I was busy doing other things.

Not wasting much time
I immediately found another
loving companion to join my adventures.
We married and set out to live
our future golden years together.
After all our debts were paid,
children raised, and an empty nest
facing us, we looked at each other
and surprisingly said:

Just how did this happen

to little old us while

we were busy doing other things.

Thankful for Teachers

Name three special teachers you have had and how they changed your life:

1. Phyllis Moore-my first ballet teacher that helped me gain confidence in my ability to dance and perform. I went on to dance professionally in the Los Angeles Ballet Company then went to BYU to gain a Masters degree in dance and taught all forms of dance in college for 10 years. I also taught Children's creative dance for several communities.

2. Mr. George Saunders-my high school math-science teacher who praised my abilities. Because of my success in this subject matter, my confidence in my intellectual abilities and self worth increased greatly as I headed off to college to become an engineer.

3. Mr. William Fleener-my high school Senior Seminar-English teacher who made us think and took our advanced class of 24 selected students to visit other nearby colleges in So. California, thus building my desire to gain a college education. He also demanded that we put more effort into our writing essays and term papers. I still remember writing about "All highways are not freeways."

I am thankful for these teachers and others who helped me change my life. I love to teach also and especially help others find their voice in whatever it is they want to do. Tell us about your three special teachers:

Article #79 Common Courtesy

What’s happened to common courtesy? Has it gone out of style? When I was a young girl, you never called an adult by their first given name, but out of respect you addressed them as Mr. or Mrs. Jones or Miss. Nelson (never Ms. Smith or by their first given name.) I remember the shock I felt the first time that my son’s teenage friend called me Lin. I stopped in my tracks and thought…What did he call me? I felt silly correcting him…Did you mean Mrs. Floyd? Somehow the respect between adults and youth has gotten lost and with it common courtesy. Although, most people today still refer to their teachers and also their doctors properly.

Then, there’s the matter of labeling. Consider this experience I had at my doctor's office recently with one of his assistants. A young girl (twenty something) kept calling me dear. For some reason that always rubs me the wrong way. You wouldn't call someone your own age dear. They would probably wonder what was wrong with you. But this woman called me that several times. Each time I controlled my urge to set her straight. Wanting to tell her that I may look old to her, but I am not 80 yet and won't be ready to be called dear, sweetie, or honey until I have one foot in the grave. Maybe she didn’t know whether to call me Lin or Mrs. Floyd?

Consider also the problem of expressing gratitude when receiving gifts. As a young person, on special occasions I always made a list of any present I received and who sent it. If they lived a distance away, I would write them a note of thanks. Thank you notes are another common courtesy we’ve lost. Emails do count, but there’s something special about the handwritten note and the effort to put it in an envelope, address, stamp and send it off. (Most brides today still do write thank yous.)

Both my grandmothers always remembered my birthday. I could depend on them to send a thoughtful card and some money in the mail. I would be sure to quickly write them a thank you. Now if I don’t remind my grown kids, most of them forget I have a birthday. (Although, I always remember their special occasions with a card and present of some kind.) Times change I know, but sometimes not for the better.