HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This list of "wisdoms" came to me in a chain-mail from a friend in 2009.  They moved me so much that I revisit them on a regular basis and with each New Year they've become my mantra as Father Time bows out and Baby New Year rolls in.

This past year was one hell of a year.  There isn't one moment I regret, not even those that were drama-filled and absolutely unnecessary.  2011 brought me immense joy, much love, and the lessons learned were life-invigorating.  Abundance came in ways I had only imagined and if 2012 manages to be one-third as prosperous and productive then I can't wait for it to get here!

So, please, take these wisdoms in and savor them a moment. Hopefully they'll move you as well.  I wish you each a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR!

WISDOM FOR 2012

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and look back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From our home to yours, have a very Merry Christmas!

A SIMPLE SERENADE

So, it’s raining and the temperature has nose-dived some twenty degrees from last night’s low.  I’ve been nursing the last remnants of a migraine for a few days and now I feel a cold coming on.  

My favorite guy made me a special hot toddy to nurse the cold away and I was headed to bed to feel better when the doorbell rings.  The doorbell rarely rings after eight pm unless it’s an element of crazy come to stir up some drama.  But low and behold it was our neighbors, and their holiday choir, come to practice their caroling at the bottom of the steps.

I stood in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket, as they serenaded us with a rendition of Silver Bells and then Silent Night.  Then the rain got the best of them, running us all back inside.  I’m in bed now with my favorite cuddle toy and that hot toddy is beginning to cure everything that might have been ailing me.

But it was a simple serenade that made it feel a lot like Christmas, and it's made me feel a whole lot better.

FATHER-DAUGHTER BALL

One of the single greatest blessings in my life is my relationship with my father.  As a little girl, he was my idol, the first man I loved and he set the standard for all the men who later came into my life.  As a little girl I thought that he could do no wrong, the sun and the moon rising and setting on everything that was my daddy.  I was his Baby Girl, the nickname that not even my younger sister could usurp and it represents an understanding that he and I have had between us that continues to cement the bond we share today. 

My father and I have had our moments, and there were many that were not good.  I wasn’t always the good daughter he would have liked me to be, but even at my worse, I remained his Baby Girl.  From the moment I drew breath he has been the parent who has most controlled and manipulated my life.  When I rebelled, he was the first to let go, insuring that I learned some very difficult lessons the hard way.  And when I fell, and fell hard, my father was there to pick me back up, hold me until there was no more hurt, and who set my steps back in the right direction.  Sometimes he didn’t even know he was doing so much but me wanting him to be pleased and proud of me made it so.

There was a moment this past week where I was reminded of just how much my father has always loved me, how he has fought for me, and believed in me, and it just took him calling me Baby Girl when I needed it the most for me to remember.

I have a friend, Mrs. Sharon Hunter Barrow, who has initiated a program for fathers and daughters, to celebrate that special bond little girls would hopefully have with their dads.  The Father-Daughter Ball that she has hosted for the past three years has been a highlight of many little girls in her community.  And with each year the number of participants has increased ten-fold.

To continue to bring this amazing event to those special little women who need it, Mrs. Barrow is hoping to win a grant from the Pepsi Foundation for her Father-Daughter Ball.  She needs support, in the way of votes, from those who like and believe in her idea.

I am voting as many times as I can.  I am also asking for your votes as well.  So, please, if you would, follow the link here,  FATHER/DAUGHTER BALL and vote!

Thank you.

PS – Voting requires registration and even though that can sometimes be a nuisance, the benefit far outweighs the annoyance. Registration is simple and for your efforts, some little girl might be afforded the opportunity to dance at a ball with her most favorite guy in the whole wide world.  Just imagine the memories years from now!