Category Archives: children

Early Afternoon Thoughts ~ The Day You Think You Are Too Old To …

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When I flew up to Montana several years ago to conduct my Mother’s memorial service, I stayed at her house.  On the coffee table was a book whose title I believe was “Getting Old Isn’t For Sissies“.  As I glanced through the book one statement struck me and has stayed with me since.  Part of the statement is the title of this post:

“The day you think you are too old to do something, is exactly the day you should do it …” 

That has governed a lot of my thinking over the past few years.  I love the statement “I will get OLDER, there is nothing I can do about that.  However, I refuse to get OLD.”

At my current … ahem …. age,, I know that I’m no longer 21, 31, 41 or even 51 … but I have developed a love for life and living that I pray I never lose.  That’s why, when I saw this video today, it really struck a chord with me.  I have admit I laughed and laughed while watching this.  This fellow is amazing and so are those around encouraging him.  He’s certainly not lost his love of life!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvKERIKT8eI

(sorry that it’s a link…for some reason it won’t embed!!!)

Which got me looking for some of my favorite quotations and some new ones…

Getting older is no problem. You just have to live long enough.
Groucho Marx
The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.
Madeleine L’Engle
Part of getting older is realizing that you can integrate all these different areas of your life, rather than the adolescent mindset, which for me lasted a long time, which says, ‘It’s all or nothing.’
Chris Robinson
The minute you’re born, you’re getting older.
Doris Roberts

This one is probably one of my favorites:                                                                                           Do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many.  ~Author Unknown

The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball.  Doug Larson

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.      Samuel Ullman

I still have a full deck; I just shuffle slower now.                                                             Author Unknown 

What are some of your favorites?

Early Evening Thoughts ~ Have Lunch With God ~ Bring Potato Chips

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Potato Chips

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God
lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack
of root beer and started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting
in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and
opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when
he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him some chips.
He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

His smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered
him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted!

They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a
word..

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to
leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran
back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever..

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother
was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he
added, “You know what? He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, “dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?”

He replied “I ate potato chips in the park with God.” However, before his
son responded, he added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

Have lunch with God…….bring chips.

Evidently, this story has been making the rounds for awhile, but it was the first time I’d seen it and I’ve fallen in love with it ….

Early Morning Thoughts ~ Amore (part 2)

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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and being the terminal romantic that I am, (the symptom of terminal romanticism: we pat the sandwiches after we make them) I’ve been thinking about love. A number of years ago Art Linkletter had a section of his TV program called “Kids Say The Darndest Things.” Of course, the joy of that program was his ability to get children to admit to things their parents were usually horrified to hear. One little girl I remember announced her Mother’s pregnancy on national television – something her Mother had not told ANYONE, including the Father!

However, children have insights that we adults (who have lost our childlike enthusiasm for life) tend to miss.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?”
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

What do you think?

“When my grandmother got arthritis,
she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time,
even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.”
–Rebecca- age 8

“When someone loves you, the way
they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is
safe in their mouth.”
–Billy – age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume
and a boy puts on shaving cologne
and they go out and smell each other.”
–Karl – age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat
and give somebody most of your
French fries without making them
give you any of theirs.”
–Chrissy – age 6

“Love is what makes you smile
when you’re tired.”
–Terri – age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes
coffee for my daddy and she takes
a sip before giving it to him, to
make sure the taste is OK.”
–Danny – age 7

“Love is when you kiss all the time.
Then when you get tired of kissing,
you still want to be together and
you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that.
They look gross when they kiss”
–Emily – age 8

“Love is what’s in the room
with you at Christmas
if you stop opening presents and listen.”
–Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

“If you want to learn to love better,
you should start with a friend
who you hate,”
–Nikka – age 6
(we need a few million more
Nikka’s on this planet)

“Love is when you tell a guy you
like his shirt,
then he wears it everyday.”
–Noelle – age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and
a little old man who are still friends
even after they know each other so well.”
–Tommy – age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on
a stage and I was scared. I looked
at all the people watching me and
saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that.
I wasn’t scared anymore.”
–Cindy – age 8

“My mommy loves me more
than anybody .
You don’t see anyone else kissing
me to sleep at night.”
–Clare – age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy
the best piece of chicken.”
–Elaine-age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy
smelly and sweaty and still says
he is handsomer than Brad Pitt.”
–Chris – age 7

“Love is when your puppy licks
your face even after you left him
alone all day.”
–Mary Ann – age 4

“When you love somebody, your
eyelashes go up and down and
little stars come out of you.”
(what an image)
–Karen – age 7

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’
unless you mean it.
But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.
People forget.”
–Jessica – age 8

And the final one —
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia
supposedly talked about a contest
he was asked to judge –
The purpose of the contest was to
find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child
whose next door neighbor was
an elderly gentleman who had
recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little
boy went into the old gentleman’s yard,
climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had
said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
“Nothing, I just helped him cry”

more on amore later