My daughter leaves this week to university.  She is going to be 6 hours away by car and I am going to miss her so much.  I just hope that I have taught her enough and given her enough skills so she can survive. 

It is a funny feeling to let a child leave the nest.  So much time is invested in this amazing person  My life has been so much part of hers for 18 years  and now within 1 day she will be more independent and not in my life each day.  Part of me is celebrating her Independence and part of me wants to go back to when she was 2 and I was the centre of her world.  Life is like that though.  Life moves on whether I want to too or even if I am ready too.  It sometimes seems to to go so fast and other times slower that I think it can be possible. 

What do I want her to do?

• Eat well
• Wash your clothes
• Clean up after yourself so you don't get swamped down.
• Love
• Laugh
• Have fun
• Look after yourself first so you can give to others
• Be nice
• Serve others
• Work hard
• Go to church

If I could tell her anything I would say

• Be kind and thoughtful
• Be patient
• Have good integrity
• Remember you are a child of God
• Remember God is always there for you and he loves you
• Be proud of your name and wear it well
• Always stand up for what you believe in
• Be careful and give trust away when it has been earned
• Enjoy being you

In reality I will probably just tell her that I love her and hope all those lessons I have taught her in the last 18 years will already be cemented in her heart.  I need to trust that she already knows these things and will do herself proud.  Boy this is such a hard thing to do but I know I will survive.  I have done it once already and I made it to the next day in one piece.

Inspiration Saturday

I found this wonderful philosophy today.  It certainly put things in perspective. 

Charles Schulz Philosophy
 

 

    The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the  questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

 

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.  

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.  

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.  

 4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.  

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.  

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

 

                           

 How did you do?  

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

       

 

   Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.  

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.  

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.  

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.  

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

 

 

 Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

 

   

 "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." (Charles Schulz)

http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/schulzphilosophy.htm

Inspiration Saturday

This wonderful story has really helped me see my life in a different way.  I hope you love it as much as me

One Grocery Store's Most Important Employee....Boy With Down Syndrome

• --by Barbara Glanz I always leave my telephone number and e-mail address with audiences, encouraging them to call me if they have questions or want to share a success story they experienced by adding a personal signature to their work. About a month after I had spoken to the supermarket folks I received a call from a front-line customer contact person, a nineteen-year-old baggerThe caller, who proudly informed me that he was a Down syndrome youngster, told me his story. "Barbara, I liked what you talked about!" Johnny said excitedly, "but I didn't think I could do anything special for our customers... After all, I'm just a bagger. He decided that every night when he came home from work, he would find a thought for the day. "If I can't find a saying I like," Johnny said proudly, "I think one up!" With the help of his dad, he copied and cut out each quote of the day. "When I finished bagging someone's groceries, I put my thought for the day in their bag and say, 'Thanks for shopping with us.'"

  A month later the store manager called me. He told me... "When I was making my rounds, I found the line at Johnny's checkout was three times longer than anyone else's! It went all the way down the frozen food isle. I was concerned, so I announced 'Get more cashiers out here; get more lanes open!' all the while trying to get these people to change lanes. But no one would move. They all said, "No, it's okay - we want to be in Johnny's lane - we want his 'Thought for the Day.'"

  Johnny's spirit of service transformed that store. The manager later called and told me how each of his departments was coming up with their own personal touch and all because of one young man with Down syndrome who decided he could make a difference!
  http://kleerstreem.posterous.com/one-grocery-stores-most-important-employeeboy

I have chosen to find at least one person at the supermarket each week and to tell them they look beautiful.  My children have started to copy me too.  I can make a difference in this one small way.

How can you make a difference today!!

Inspiration Saturday

Just one quote today as I wanted to give this one the centre stage. 

It was a good one to go with Thursdays Blog entry. 

Have a nice day  : )

"Life is too short. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should and let go of what you can't change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances. Give everything and have no regrets. Life is too short to be unhappy. You have to take the good with the bad. Smile when you're sad, love what you got, and always remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from your mistakes but never regret. People change, and things go wrong but always remember...
life goes on!"

-- Author unknown

Inspriation Saturday

Smooth roads never make good drivers. Smooth seas never make
good sailors. Clear skies never make good pilots. A problem
free life never makes a strong and good person. Have a tough
but winning day ahead! Be strong enough to accept the
challenges of life. Do not ask life, 'Why me?' instead say,
'Try me'."
 -- Author Unknown

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we
look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one
which has been opened for us."
 -- Helen Keller

"Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."
 -- Will Rogers

 "It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people
looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love
them."
 -- Agatha Christie

What have you done to value 'you' more?

On Thursday 4th August.  I challenged you to spend some time each day to value yourself more.  How did you all do?   I also told you I would let you know how I am getting on.  So here goes....

Each day this week I have tried to find at least 5 minutes to think(sometimes that was 5 min broken up into manageable 1 min slots-in other words I was interrupted a few times with........)



I have reflected on how much more I need to practice this skill as I haven't done it enough for a while.  I discovered that some of me is missing, hidden under layers of other stuff (starting to sound like Shrek ......"ogres are like onions they have layers...." )  So how do I find that stuff?  I have to keep taking time to think,  write, blog, journal and to prioritise time for me.  On way that has helped me in the past,  which I am planning to start again,  is to write a gratitude list each day.  (My post on Saturday will go into depth more on how to do this) When I write things I am grateful for about myself and simple things in life I feel more connected to myself and those around me.  This cartoon says it all......



Try and take a moment today to write 3 things you are grateful for about yourself and 5 things that you are grateful for in you life.  Think from your heart and be creative.  To start with when I wrote about myself it was things like I am grateful for my reading skills or I an grateful for my blues eyes now I find it easier to say I am grateful that I am beautiful (took a long time to get to that point!!!!)

If you need a way to be alone to do this .....maybe this technique will work.....





After you have done this reward yourself with another 5 minutes on your own to read or eat chocolate :)

 

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

-- Oscar Wilde

Who are we?  Do we really know who we are deep inside? 

My mother said "That there have been many days were she has sat down and wondered about the answer to this question. Who am I? Am I (here goes it is a long list....)  A mother, wife, friend, sister, community worker, daughter, volunteer, employee/employer (what ever that label might be for you), sister in law, daughter in law, mother in law,  grandmother, great grandmother, auntie, cousin, niece (I spelt this as nice first :) ) church worker,  quilter, etc?"  She said "It is hard sometimes to figure out who you are meant to be because we have so many roles in our lives"  (phew! are you tired reading that list.  I cetainly am)

These are all wonderful roles but do they describe who we really are?  I don't think they do.  The role we often miss or undervalue is that we are a woman, unique, individual special and brilliant. We give a lot of time to the many roles in our lives but do we prioritise time for the role we have as a unique woman.  There is no other person like us in our lives. No one else can have that role, no one else can help us grow and no one else can see the world just we do.  

What can you do today to value 'you' more?  Here's a couple of ideas to get you started

• Sit down for 5 minutes today and think about the qualities you have.  Write them down. (if your house is like mine you might have to lock your bedroom door and put a note on the door saying leave me alone for 5 minutes :)
• Lie on the floor and listen to a favourite piece of music and just be
• Sit and listen to your heart (see if you can find it! it might take some practice)

Good luck and let me know how you did.  I'll let you know how I did too.