Thursday, March 14, 2024

March 14--"Love" Out Loud

Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word "love" to the people you love so when it matters the most to say it, you will.  --Cheryl Strayed

    I don't have a problem with saying "I love you" to folks. I even say it regularly to my distant grandson and the new grandbaby growing in his/her mom's belly, because I believe their spirits know it somehow. It's impossible to spread around too much love!
    Love is the #1 motivation tomorrow as I begin the 2-day, 1000-mile trip to Ohio to visit my brother and niece for a couple of weeks. The drive is totally worth it. I'll have my Spaceship (RAV4) to haul my brother to appointments and 12-Step meetings (bonus for me!), giving my niece a break. She and I will have great fun together, most notably through intense Rummikub games. I am also likely to see a cousin whom I have not seen in decades. Friends tell me I am brave making such trips several times a year. I see it simply as the price I pay to have precious time with my brother and his family. 
    My dear readers, I love you!
        Leta

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

March 13--Natural?

You prefer to be natural? Sometimes. But it is such a very difficult pose to keep up.  --Oscar Wilde

    What does "natural" even mean? In my google roaming, I found "natural" described as "simply being true to themselves and not conforming to rigid societal expectations." That doesn't help much. I think "natural," like "beautiful," is a personal concept. I've seen plenty of advertising for gobs of makeup to make one look "natural." Others, like me, feel that no makeup is "natural."
    Crying is a very natural and necessary function of the human body. I refer to crying as soul-rinsing, and yesterday I got extra-natural with a mighty energy-releasing cry. The frustrations built up over a few days simply had to move out, and I feel much better.
    Mr. Wilde is right... with so many expressions of "natural," it is "a very difficult pose to keep up." 
    "Natural" to me includes comfy clothes, wind-blown hair, clean skin, a smile, and a grateful heart. Yes, it's a practice!
        Leta

Natural beauty from the sea

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

March 12--Good vs. Authentic

Don't worry about being good... Aspire to be authentic.  --Yann Martel

    I think my upbringing inspired more "being good" than being authentic. It was made quite clear that if I got into trouble at school or wherever, I would be in WAY more trouble at home. There were also several "elephants" in the room that were ignored--no authenticity there! I remember my Catholic sister-in-law being forced by my mother to give up her religion in order to marry my (non-practicing) Lutheran brother. Thankfully my S-I-L returned to her Catholic roots after my mother passed. 
    I had a "day from hell" yesterday. By the time I returned home around 2:00 pm, the day was pretty much wrecked, and I hid in the woman cave for a few hours in the hopes that nothing else would go wrong. The "snowball" of anger and frustration just kept getting bigger. 
    Thinking positively for a better day today,
        Leta
Bobble stitch,
the new crochet pattern I've learned...
creativity is a must for my sanity!

Monday, March 11, 2024

March 11--Cooperation Would Be Better

What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it. 
--C. S. Lewis

    I think of the discussions of us four girlfriends on my recent Florida vacation. We could have solved all the world's problems if everyone would just listen to us and do what we say 😉😉
    But seriously... I saw an editorial cartoon the other day titled something like "the other serious border issue." It showed the Senate with a wall and razor wire between the Republicans and Democrats. This is the sad but true state of our nation. The problem here is that those sharing the same truth believe that those sharing a different truth are bad and wrong. Also, there are plenty of attempts to force their truth on others who are not buying it. Obviously, this does not lead to a good civilization. 
    How about we all be just a bit more open-minded?
        Leta

A mural in Bricktown, OKC

Sunday, March 10, 2024

March 10--The Assortment of Bodies

The summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is. 
--Desiderius Erasmus

    This quote has me thinking about my physical body and those I see others using. I'm pretty OK with myself mentally, emotionally and spiritually, but my physical body has been an issue all my life. From the time I went to first grade, I have been labelled "fat." My mom did nearly everything she could to encourage weight loss, while setting unlimited amounts of excellent food in front of me to eat. She was not overweight--I realized many years later that she was a practicing bulimic. The long term effects of that eventually led to her death at 61. I am so grateful she did not offer me that deadly practice. 
    My current challenge relative to being OK in my body is wearing a sleeveless top. Let's just say I have more body than I care for on the lower side of my upper arms. At my age, it's fairly wrinkly. OK, I'll stop. I promise to wear the top when it gets to 90 degrees on the golf course. 
    I've been to Jamaica several times. At the beach, you see all sizes and shapes of bodies with assorted coverings. These trips have inspired two sayings from me. 1. If a man looks down and he can't see his Speedo, he should not be wearing one!! 2. Where on the planet can you buy a bikini that large?!?!? Other folks' willingness to "let it all hang out," so to speak, makes me think a lot about body image. I swim a lot at the local YMCA, and my branch has mostly older folks who wear modest swimwear. Imagine my surprise a couple days ago when a very large woman (maybe twice my size) walked out to the pool in a bikini. And her attitude was "why wouldn't I wear a bikini??!!?" When I see someone being so bold, it inspires me. 
    I did go topless in the pool on my recent girlfriend trip to Florida. I'm working on it--baby steps!!!
        Leta

Another magnificent Kansas sunset

Saturday, March 9, 2024

March 9--On the Road Again

Don't become something just because someone else wants you to, or because it's easy; you won't be happy. You have to do what you really, really, really, really want to do, even if it scares the shit out of you.  --Kristen Wiig

    My "let's go!" friend Lanie and I drove to Oklahoma City yesterday and went to see the Thunder NBA game against the Miami Heat. The stereotype is that it's the man of a couple who spends so much time on sports, but in my house, it's me, the female. Oklahoma City makes this adventure so simple. There is a hotel right next to Paycom Arena, and it is all within an easy walk to the Bricktown area which has a bunch of restaurants. So even though it is easy, this is something we really, really, really wanted to do. 
    I've done things that have "scared the shit" out of me--skydiving, yoga teacher training, mission trip to Africa, taking art classes, operating a power saw. Note that one person's terror can be another's "no big deal." We each have our own personal comfort zone, and it sure can be fun to stretch it!
    By the way, the Thunder came from behind and won 107-100, a great game!
        Leta

Friday, March 8, 2024

March 8--What Do You Pretend To Be?

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.  --Kurt Vonnegut

    I try to avoid pretending that I am a senior citizen, though I do like the occasional discount! I don't feel like my chronological age, and for that I am grateful. One must keep moving!
    Let's consider "pretend" in the light of "act as if." This is a well-known 12-Step concept, such as "act as if" you can recover from addiction whether or not you actually believe it in the moment. Or "act as if" a Higher Power is caring for you, even if you think such a thing is nonsense. 
    I must say that most of my girlfriends are glamorous. They fuss a lot with makeup and hair and dress "in fashion." I don't pretend to have a clue about fashion, I wear minimal makeup and it takes me about one minute to "style" my hair. It would be a huge stretch for me to pretend to be glamorous! 
    I do, however, like pretending to be an artist, a world traveler and an OK pickleball player!
        Leta