Life and Lemons in General

Life has a way of prioritizing what's important in life and for quite a while now I have been writing my stories in notebooks to save for a rainy day.  More and more, according to friends and family, I needed to start sharing my kind of lemonade recipes again.  Apparently they miss our bizarre family antics and a few of my recipes.
   Now that my husband's latest deployment is over, I am dusting off my notebooks and scattered notes.  I can't post every day and it will take me a while to catch up with all my favorite blogs, but I will have plenty of time during physical therapy. (There was a reason I was not called Grace)  But that is a story for another post.
   It is not New Years yet but I was never patient enough to wait for anything and that hasn't changed, but the rest of my life has. So I am not wasting another minute of a chance to start my next adventure. (Or in some cases misadventure... No one lets me forget the infamous air conditioner flight that happened this time of year. In fact, after that I was not allowed to even touch an air conditioner again. Spoil sports. It's not like lightening will strike twice, right?)
   So here's to a new year started a little early. Lots of mayhem, humor and a few more solemn posts to start spilling forth. Happy New Year!

QOTD: "When life gives you lemons, occasionally one can break out the Tequilla recipe, otherwise a potato canon is quite easily adapted to a lemon launcher." ~ Lemon Stand

Gratefulness

   Tonight I'm grateful for my children as they have always brought me way more joy than pain. I'm grateful for my husband who taught me and our children how to laugh, when to laugh and how to look at things from outside the box. I'm grateful for my friends and family for the blessing they have always been to me.

    And although I was able to make good headway on cleaning and organizing my sewing room today, I am grateful for the fluffy pillow calling to me. Tomorrow is another day and I'll be grateful to start finishing the many quilting projects I have run across that still need to be completed.

QOTD: "I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose." ~ Woody Allen - American actor, director, comedian and author

Lemonade Made Daily...

It is my belief that every day is an opportunity for a new beginning but I think the vast majority of people believe it only comes at the beginning of a new year. Still, I always have felt the most important things in life are family, health, friends and humor. Other things that bring joy and color to my world are sewing, quilting, writing, art and music.

Do you know what is important to you and what brings joy and color to your life? Knowing seems to always be the first step.

I need the outlet of writing and creating so will be keeping my blog online for when I can find time but anyone wanting daily lemonade, humor or inspiration can find me on Twitter @lemon_stand

QOTD: A new year is like a 365 page book that you are adding to your library, today you get to start writing the first page, make it worth the read. ~ unknown

"Every time we start thinking we're the center of the universe, the universe turns around and says with a slightly distracted air, 'I'm sorry, what'd you say your name was again?'" ~ Margaret Maron

"When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed that they are not it." ~ Bernard Bailey

Deciding On A Life's Plan...

Humor has always showed up when least expected around here.  I pondered today if our thought processes were just more warped than everyone else's thought processes?  **shrug**

As far as life goal's were concerned during a recent family conversation, our youngest daughter, Erin, emphatically stated that there are only three things worth pursuing in life:

1. Books
2. Chocolate
3. Gelato

(If asked, I'd have to admit that two out of those three things would most likely have been on my list at her age.) Her expression of life goals made me wonder what would have been on the lists of people I know had they been asked this question at age 15. 

How many would have had serious goals?
How many would have had odd-ball goals?
How many wouldn't have had any goals?
How many stayed trued to their goals?
How many would have looked at me like I needed to be committed?

When I started wondering about how perfect strangers would have answered these questions, I knew my brain wasn't going to let this go and hence this post. I know 'ear mites' are generally considered to be music related and it's usually connected to a song you hate that you just can't get out of your mind... but since I am generally considered a bit odd, I just couldn't wait to share this thought so that it could bother someone else. You may thank me later...

My only sad thought today was the realization that the number of family conversations giving comic relief has dwindled as the kids have move out.  Still, living with my husband has kept me amused for more than 25 years.  He is also the man who has warped all his daughters... remember his infamous The Four Laws of Daddy? So the sad didn't stay long and life is still good...

QOTD: "The invention of the teenager was a mistake. Once you identify a period of life in which people get to stay out late but don’t have to pay taxes — naturally, no one wants to live any other way." ~ Judith Martin, American author

Celebration Of The Little Things...

I've been blogging on and off since about 2006 and I always seem to come back to it as I find writing meditative therapy most of the time. I've also learned that I tend to 'hide from the 'real' world and while that's ok in small doses, it's too easy to forget that some times. I'm trying to learn to have more balance in all things and remind myself to celebrate the little things. 

Back when I first started the 'old' Lemon Stand blog I tried to write down what was important to me. The old blog unfortunately is long gone but I kept some of those pages to give myself a point of reference. A reminder to celebrate the little things. It's also one of the posts my family and friends often ask about.

So whether or not you've already made New Year's resolutions, here's a reminder of the 'smaller' picture.

2006
Celebrations Of The Little Things…

Every once in a while, I think we are all given little 'Wake Up' calls. Either something happens to someone we know or someone says something to you that really resonates with something inside of you (if you have a heart) and the little voice that resides in everyone (who has a conscience) prods us to remember to celebrate the little things. It’s easy to celebrate holidays and some of us can remember birthdays and anniversaries (if we have a memory).

 I think that I didn’t learn this lesson early enough in my life. I’m left with a lot of shoulda, coulda, woulda moments of regret that need to be replaced with the celebration of life, in the moment.

Did you notice how fast your parents and siblings were growing when you, yourself were a child? Did you think about or even realize that there would soon come to a time when because of school, work, military service, marriage, and all the other myriad of detritus that life hands you, that you would no longer live with them?  In many cases you would physically live far away from them?  I don’t ever remember stopping long enough to take an actual or mental picture of those days in my mind to keep in my memories.

 The years flew by, I don’t know where they have all gone but I have very few actual photographs of my childhood, school, military service, my husband and I when we were first married. There are lots of pictures of Nicole when she was a baby. The pictures, however, become scarce as the rest of the children came along. It is not because we were any less proud of them or happy that they came along. I think that the worries of everyday life become exponential with each child. Worries that eat at our ability to enjoy life in the moment. We are even less likely to stop and celebrate the little things in life.

 September 11th gave many people I know the wake up call I speak of, but like human nature often is, the lesson, no matter how horrific in it’s execution, softens with time. We don't forget, but it becomes blurred with age.  I don’t know when this realization happened for me. It was before September 11th. I think it started just after my husband and I got married. I started asking questions of relatives about their lives. I started writing down their stories. I started keeping track of my immediate genealogy, although at the time, I didn’t realize what I was doing. It eventually evolved into tracing both my parents genealogy back to the time their ancestors immigrated to North America. It wasn't far to find the 1st generation American’s. All four of my grandparents came to the United States from Canada and were the first ones to stay. I count myself lucky to know their life stories.

 Our own children are growing so fast. Nicole and Danielle’s childhood moments are overshadowed by the struggle of survival, because both my husband and I separated from active duty within 6 months of each other during the last national economic downfall. We were then blessed with Rachel but like so many other people, we struggled with everyday worries. We both worked 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet until I became pregnant with Erin, our youngest.

After that, a disability I had received in the military finally left me unable to take care of not only myself but our children. I feel like I have lost about 7 years of my life. It has been a very long road back. During this time, our families and our truly closest friends and family, John and Kelly were what kept us going. 

I have learned to try not to miss the little milestones that come to us every day. They come whether you stop long enough to appreciate them or not. So many times they can pass you by and you mourn their loss when you finally realize they are gone. I forgot where I read that life does not have any ‘do-overs’ but occasionally you will be blessed with a ‘do-again’.

 Despite not having most of my family and friends around lately, I have found pleasure in the moments with Erin. At 8 years old she is still my baby. She is growing and her personality is becoming more pronounced. She tackles life so differently than the other three. I have blown off most of the housework this week. It will keep. I’m going on treasure hunts and exploring the world through the eyes of Erin. I am collecting these moments of time in my memories to be taken out at some future date to be relived and enjoyed again. I am not going to try not having to re-live another moment of regret for this time that I was given with her.

 If you want to know how this lesson solidified in my mind…the moment that I truly learned this lesson… it was the first time my husband was in the mid-east. He would send the kids and I pictures of grass. Yes, you read that right. There was this one spot where everyone threw out their wash water and eventually a straggly excuse for grass started growing. My husband had a picture of himself taken sitting in this 3 ft by 3ft patch of grass. He was cross legged and his eyes were closed. His hands were in the position of someone meditating and saying 'ooooohhhhmmm, ooooohhhhmmmm.' (Man that man cracks me up!)

He also would pick these small flowers that he would find among the rocks. Proof that life will survive in the most unlikeliest and most inhospitable places on earth. They do not stop growing because of the war being waged. Their ability to exist with such beauty is a testament to life. My husband used paper, plastic wrap and cardboard from his care packages to press these flowers. He brought them home to us and when he returns to the mid-east our daughters and I will be using his away time mounting and framing them for our rooms.

 I usually write my quote of the day as a way to wrap up a point to my posts. Today I will only impart my own humble message. “It is not always possible to live in the moment, but when the opportunity does present itself….do not waste it for it is precious and may not come again.”

Now There Is Cold, And Then There Is Artic Ice Locker!

I woke up this morning to 6° with a wind chill of about -13° and after reading about the temperatures in the Great Lakes region, I'm very happy with my balmy 6°! 

Still, I think I'll order a Mad Bomber Hat from L. L. Beans! Bought one for our youngest daughter for Christmas. 

Mad Bomber Hat from L. L. Bean's website

"Shell is fully insulated and trimmed with plush genuine rabbit fur. Wear it with ear flaps up, or pull them down for added warmth" 

They have a few other colors at L. L. Beans website, but I'm more concerned about the warmth. I must say that it surprised me the hat was not lined completely in rabbit fur, because I didn't read the description when I bought it. Still, the insulation is wonderfully warm anyway and the fur covers my ears, forehead and chin. Who could ask for anything more?

Well I am off to sew.  I have been trying to reupholster the living room furniture since my husband laid down a beautiful maple floor.  I also have been making new drapes, sheers and throw pillows. But today, I'm going to quilt like mad. I have too many things I need to do so I'm off.

QOTD: "Quilting. The other winter sport." ~ unknown

Appreciation...

Every once in a while it is important to say 'Thank You', not only to keep yourself humble in the realization that you never really make it to any milestone in life without help from others, but to also show appreciation and thankfulness to those who have helped you get there. Who doesn't need to know and feel that they have made a difference in someone's life?

It is too easy to take for granted those people who are closest to you. So might I suggest that you all take a few minutes out of your very busy day to let family and friends know that they have touched you, inspired you, taught you and helped to make you a better person.

    QOTD: "We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, 'Why did this happen to me?' unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way." Unknown