It is time to begin the story of how I ended up here...
It is time because today, I spent part of my afternoon with a new friend, and she gave me hope.
Making friends when you're little isn't all that difficult. There are at least twenty-five other little hellions locked in a classroom with you all day,and consequently, you are bound to seek refuge with one of them from a booger eating classmate at one point. Presto, instant friendship. Making friends when you're older isn't always that easy, until you come across the one who will seek refuge with you from the booger eating adults out there.
So, this post, I dedicate to Lisa.
There comes a point in your adult life when you realize you have got to stop judging. At least, I hope you realize this. It seems as if we are all handed imaginary gavels when we turn eighteen and we proceed to use them with fury. I dropped that gavel hundreds upon hundreds of times before reaching this stage of my life. I was the "discerning" type of judge.
Having been an observer all my life, when I received my "gavel" I continued to observe, only now I threw my "two cents" in. I'd watch something about life happening and then I could say, "Well, blankety-blank happened because blankety-blank and blank, so there you go." Only, I had no clue, and more importantly, I had no right to make any type of judgment.
So, as you read these next few posts, remember the wise words of my new friend, Lisa when she reminds us all that we have to stop judging because... you just don't know.
I have woman's intuition. (And, there went all the male readers...) The first time I realized this I was very little. My sister and I were playing gymnastics on our front lawn and just before I took off for my tumbling pass, a distinct voice came from somewhere inside me and told me to turn around. A force of some sort within me knew that I had to turn around. I'd never heard this voice before, nor had I experienced that sensation before, yet I trusted it enough to turn around.
I turned around and directly at my tiny heals was a pitbull. Panting, he looked up at me, and I down him. For a split second we stared at each other and that voice told me, "He will not follow you. Now, run." I snapped out of whatever cosmic cloud I was in, screamed my ever-loving brains out, took off running, did not tumble, grabbed my sister, ran into the house, and slammed the door. I could have cared ales about the dog, I was mystified by that voice and that sensation.
I could fill up post after post about my woman's intuition after that point, but I'd like to keep some of those male readers, so instead let me tell you about the day I stopped listening to it, and the day I had to start listening to it again.
The day I stopped listening to my woman's intuition was a spring day four years ago. My husband, daughter, and I were looking for a spot in the Mendard's parking lot. My daughter, who was just a little over one at the time had been happily pointing out all the birdies to us. I was talking.
That fall I'd had a miscarriage. It was sad and sudden, and I didn't really know how to deal with it. I just did what I'd done any other time something bad had happened. I talked about it, and went on. Which was how , I found myself driving through that Menard's parking lot, talking about it, again.
Only, this time, I was explaining to my husband that we should start trying to have another baby. I hadn't talked about that before because I wasn't ready. You're probably thinking, "How bizarre, she's talking about this while running errands." But, remember, we're trying not to judge anymore.
As I babbled away, the voice/sensation rose within me. It began faintly, like it always did and it grew louder until it was shouting at me, "Look at him. Something is wrong. Stop talking. He is not there." So, I looked, and I saw what the voice said, but I told the voice to go to hell. I did not want to hear it. I did not want to believe it. Because I knew, I knew, my husband was gone.
A parking spot appeared and we made our way into Menard's. We linked arms with our daughter as she splashed in the spring puddles. We were a family, for now.
It wasn't until one very late night almost two years later that I'd listen to my woman's intuition again. That is a very long time to go without listening to yourself.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sports and Me
I do not like sports.
Now, when I say this aloud, people have one of several reactions. The first being, shock and horror. Their face crinkles into this twisted mass of near hysteria. They no longer want to even touch me, as though not liking sports might be catching. The second reaction is pity. Their face melts into a shade of melancholy. They instantly desire me to be their charity case. The last reaction is one of slight arrogance. These people actually raise their chin and gaze at me with a look of , "Oh, she just does not know."
I prefer none of those reactions. I just don't like sports. Once, I even passed up a chance at a Hawaiian vacation because I could not fake liking sports enough to go there and sit through a Bowl game. If you try and take me to a sporting event, I develop "situational ADD". Try as I might, I will not focus on one thing about the game. I've tried, I've been to major sporting events, watched friends and family play various games, and the end result is always the same. When I'm asked, "How was the game?" my answer is always the same. "Oh, it's over?"
I am the farthest thing from a sports enthusiast. However, since that May day, I have applied several of sports greatest lessons to my life.
On that May day, I fully comprehended that for every single day after I was going to have to "bring my A game." Or, I was going to have to exhaust myself trying to. Sports people have this drive within them. They desire that great game. They are always reaching for it, so at every practice, they work towards it. I feel the same way about my life. I feel like every day is similar to practice.
I know my end result is to be happy and at peace. My end result is to have two exceptional children who don't need a lot of therapy. Gone were my days of half-hearted attempts. Gone were my days of constantly putting tasks off until tomorrow. Every day I proceed to "bring my A game" to whatever situation I encounter that day. It is a work in progress. I am often exhausted by it. But, I feel if I become sloppy, we'll never reach that end result, we'll never have that perfect game.
Though I know very little about sports, I do know this, sometimes the game plan might need to be changed mid-game. Now, this could be a metaphor for my entire life, but it relates to my every day life, too. I soon realized I was going to have to become a whole lot more flexible than I had ever been before. Quickly, I realized that things weren't always going to go according to plan, and , therefore, I'd have to think on my feet, adjust, and... change.
Change and I have never been friends. Therefore, morphing into a person who could adapt to something as simple as a day of errands not going well, and switch an entire plan around so that the day could end well, has not been easy. This must be hard for sports people to learn to do, too. It really is mind over matter. But, you know, usually even the slightest change, can result in winning the game.
The last sports lesson is perhaps my favorite one of all. "There's no crying in baseball."
Prior to that may day, I was a crier. Just ask my parents, or my sister. I would cry about everything. I cried about things that made me very sad, and about sappy commercials. I bawled when things didn't go my way, and when Prince changed his name to a symbol. There is even a picture of me as a little girl, holding a baseball bat, crying.
That May day, I gave myself one good, long, hard cry and then I stopped crying. I actually heard Tom Hanks shrill voice declaring, "There is no crying in baseball", and I thought, "He's right." If I was going to make it and have any dignity left within me, I had to stop crying. So, I did.
Since then, I have cried only twice. Those cries are for another post.
So to all my sports-loving family and friends, all these years, I have been watching and learning. I do know the most important things about sports. I do know how the game of life is played.
And, finally to Elana, my sweet friend, thank you for giving this post the direction it needed.
Now, when I say this aloud, people have one of several reactions. The first being, shock and horror. Their face crinkles into this twisted mass of near hysteria. They no longer want to even touch me, as though not liking sports might be catching. The second reaction is pity. Their face melts into a shade of melancholy. They instantly desire me to be their charity case. The last reaction is one of slight arrogance. These people actually raise their chin and gaze at me with a look of , "Oh, she just does not know."
I prefer none of those reactions. I just don't like sports. Once, I even passed up a chance at a Hawaiian vacation because I could not fake liking sports enough to go there and sit through a Bowl game. If you try and take me to a sporting event, I develop "situational ADD". Try as I might, I will not focus on one thing about the game. I've tried, I've been to major sporting events, watched friends and family play various games, and the end result is always the same. When I'm asked, "How was the game?" my answer is always the same. "Oh, it's over?"
I am the farthest thing from a sports enthusiast. However, since that May day, I have applied several of sports greatest lessons to my life.
On that May day, I fully comprehended that for every single day after I was going to have to "bring my A game." Or, I was going to have to exhaust myself trying to. Sports people have this drive within them. They desire that great game. They are always reaching for it, so at every practice, they work towards it. I feel the same way about my life. I feel like every day is similar to practice.
I know my end result is to be happy and at peace. My end result is to have two exceptional children who don't need a lot of therapy. Gone were my days of half-hearted attempts. Gone were my days of constantly putting tasks off until tomorrow. Every day I proceed to "bring my A game" to whatever situation I encounter that day. It is a work in progress. I am often exhausted by it. But, I feel if I become sloppy, we'll never reach that end result, we'll never have that perfect game.
Though I know very little about sports, I do know this, sometimes the game plan might need to be changed mid-game. Now, this could be a metaphor for my entire life, but it relates to my every day life, too. I soon realized I was going to have to become a whole lot more flexible than I had ever been before. Quickly, I realized that things weren't always going to go according to plan, and , therefore, I'd have to think on my feet, adjust, and... change.
Change and I have never been friends. Therefore, morphing into a person who could adapt to something as simple as a day of errands not going well, and switch an entire plan around so that the day could end well, has not been easy. This must be hard for sports people to learn to do, too. It really is mind over matter. But, you know, usually even the slightest change, can result in winning the game.
The last sports lesson is perhaps my favorite one of all. "There's no crying in baseball."
Prior to that may day, I was a crier. Just ask my parents, or my sister. I would cry about everything. I cried about things that made me very sad, and about sappy commercials. I bawled when things didn't go my way, and when Prince changed his name to a symbol. There is even a picture of me as a little girl, holding a baseball bat, crying.
That May day, I gave myself one good, long, hard cry and then I stopped crying. I actually heard Tom Hanks shrill voice declaring, "There is no crying in baseball", and I thought, "He's right." If I was going to make it and have any dignity left within me, I had to stop crying. So, I did.
Since then, I have cried only twice. Those cries are for another post.
So to all my sports-loving family and friends, all these years, I have been watching and learning. I do know the most important things about sports. I do know how the game of life is played.
And, finally to Elana, my sweet friend, thank you for giving this post the direction it needed.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
40 Before 40
Just before the new year, one of my very best girlfriends mentioned she was going to create a 40 Before 40 list. I loved this idea and decided to create my own.
Here it is...
Let's see what happens next...
Here it is...
- earn my master's degree
- save more money for retirement
- learn to play poker
- date like I should have in my twenties
- travel to Europe
- maintain a successful non-profit
- visit Melissa in LA
- let my family & friends know what each really means to me
- be featured in print for something good
- conquer my fear of heights
- take my children to one of America's natural beauties
- be able to do a cartwheel & headstand again
- draft my children's book
- visit the Chicago Botanic Gardens
- road trip more often
- purchase new living room furniture
- stop being so afraid
- ride in a Corvette
- drive that Corvette
- be a mother my children can admire
- travel to Greece for my 40th birthday with my best girls
- have a savings account... with a respectable balance
- grow my hair high school long
- learn to sew better
- see family & friends more often
- drink more wine
- take a photography class
- search for my second chance at love
- declutter
- have a fish for a pet
- start a study/tutor group for high school students
- return to scrapbooking
- get a mammogram
- take a yoga class
- play with the kiddos more... more... more
- have a well-trained dog
- try not to look and dress like a frumpy almost 40 year old
- remain true to myself
- keep writing
- start a 50 Before 50 list
Let's see what happens next...
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Carte Blanche
This post is going to have a different tone. The responses I've received from my other posts have been phenomenal. Truly, they simply make me want to write more. This time, I just have to write a little different because the pressure of being "inspirational" is too much. Sometimes. Not that I don't like it, but everyone needs a break.
To quote Shrek, "I'm like an onion. Onions have layers." Therefore, I am not only a girl trying to be a very good mama, or a girl trying to start a blog, or a girl organizing a non-profit. My other layers include an ever- present humor layer. I consider myself to be someone with a sense of humor. My world is surrounded by some of the funniest people on the planet. Really, I don't know why some of my friends aren't doing stand up. Next to words, laughter is my best remedy for the crap that life sometimes hands me. My sense of humor is witty, slightly sarcastic, a bit cynical, and pretty direct.
You want to know how I'm made it this far... one word... humor.
Now, I am going to enter a disclaimer here, because my mom reads my blog. And other family members read my blog. I haven't shared the following information with all of them. So, they may want to shield their eyes or stop reading and wait for the next post. However, I promise to keep it clean.
In case you haven't figured it out, I am single. Being single in the new millennium has its challenges. I suppose it also has its benefits, though I haven't completely figured those out yet. The first challenge being... I am old.When I was a young, on any given Friday night, I could be found at a bar or dance club. More often than not, you'd find me dancing on top of a bar in a dance club. Many nights, I'd still be dancing on top of the bar as they yelled for "last call".
These days, on a Friday night, you'll still find me dancing. However, I'm dancing around my living room with my children. These days, I am lucky if I stay awake until ten-thirty. And that is really pushing it. I don't go many places without my children, except sometimes to my local Target and Trader Joe's. There, I am too harried and hurried to even think about finding a man to date. If I do have a night out, I am with my girlfriends and have no interest in trolling for men.
Awhile back, I decided to give dating a whirl. Before I did, I had not one clue what to expect. The last time I dated, I was in my early twenties. Dating back then was fairly easy, as, for one, I had a social life. It isn't hard to meet boys when you're dancing on top of a bar. All my friends were single and everyone they knew was single. It was an endless circle of people to meet. Now, mom, don't worry, I did not date half the city, but I had my share of good times.
Dating today leads most people to online dating sites, probably because living rooms aren't hot social gathering spots. I have become one of those people. (I feel like I just stood up at an AA meeting and introduced myself.) Divulging the sites' names would probably cause me to, at some point, have to pay them royalties or something, so you can just take a guess as to which they are. If you are unfamiliar with the process of such sites, let me provide a quick overview.
You must complete a lengthy question and answer session. This process is obviously for the computer program to be able to find the perfect mate for you. I secretly think is it to weed out any potential serial killers, or at least that's what their disclaimer might read. You create a profile for yourself, for which you whip out the thesaurus and spend hours searching for a picture in which you look only slightly harried and hurried. Once completed, the computer works its "magic". Let's use that term quite loosely.
These sites provide you with endless dating possibilities. Really, I had no idea there were so many singles out there, because I often feel like I am caught in the Lonely Hearts Club Band, playing air guitar solo. It all starts with winking (quite possibly the silliest thing I have done as an adult), emailing, chatting, and ogling.
Through my journey and with the help of one of my wisest friends, I discovered something about being single at this age. After many frustrations, she said to me, "Dating now is easier. You know what you like, what you want, and what you don't like and what you don't want. You're wise now, when you're in your twenties, you're a fool." I don't think I could have said it better.
Now, here are some things I 've come to find I don't want in a date (and yes, all learned from experience):
1. A 30-something who lives at home with his parents.
2. Have foot fetish? Do not follow.
3. Money-droppers... the ones that tell you how much everything costs.
4. Closets are for clothes, not people. It is 2011, come out already.
5. A man who lacks any knowledge of proper English grammar... seriously, it is hard for me not to correct profiles & emails.
6. Texting obsessed... I can't text. I have a flip phone and about one hundred other things to do.
That's not such a long list, is it?
People have often told me I am lucky. Lucky because my "love life" is carte blanche. Yes, I think that this is single best benefit of being single in this millennium. I'm in no hurry, I'm not harried about it. I think this course of action will be... quite wonderful. And if nothing else, one full of humor.
To quote Shrek, "I'm like an onion. Onions have layers." Therefore, I am not only a girl trying to be a very good mama, or a girl trying to start a blog, or a girl organizing a non-profit. My other layers include an ever- present humor layer. I consider myself to be someone with a sense of humor. My world is surrounded by some of the funniest people on the planet. Really, I don't know why some of my friends aren't doing stand up. Next to words, laughter is my best remedy for the crap that life sometimes hands me. My sense of humor is witty, slightly sarcastic, a bit cynical, and pretty direct.
You want to know how I'm made it this far... one word... humor.
Now, I am going to enter a disclaimer here, because my mom reads my blog. And other family members read my blog. I haven't shared the following information with all of them. So, they may want to shield their eyes or stop reading and wait for the next post. However, I promise to keep it clean.
In case you haven't figured it out, I am single. Being single in the new millennium has its challenges. I suppose it also has its benefits, though I haven't completely figured those out yet. The first challenge being... I am old.When I was a young, on any given Friday night, I could be found at a bar or dance club. More often than not, you'd find me dancing on top of a bar in a dance club. Many nights, I'd still be dancing on top of the bar as they yelled for "last call".
These days, on a Friday night, you'll still find me dancing. However, I'm dancing around my living room with my children. These days, I am lucky if I stay awake until ten-thirty. And that is really pushing it. I don't go many places without my children, except sometimes to my local Target and Trader Joe's. There, I am too harried and hurried to even think about finding a man to date. If I do have a night out, I am with my girlfriends and have no interest in trolling for men.
Awhile back, I decided to give dating a whirl. Before I did, I had not one clue what to expect. The last time I dated, I was in my early twenties. Dating back then was fairly easy, as, for one, I had a social life. It isn't hard to meet boys when you're dancing on top of a bar. All my friends were single and everyone they knew was single. It was an endless circle of people to meet. Now, mom, don't worry, I did not date half the city, but I had my share of good times.
Dating today leads most people to online dating sites, probably because living rooms aren't hot social gathering spots. I have become one of those people. (I feel like I just stood up at an AA meeting and introduced myself.) Divulging the sites' names would probably cause me to, at some point, have to pay them royalties or something, so you can just take a guess as to which they are. If you are unfamiliar with the process of such sites, let me provide a quick overview.
You must complete a lengthy question and answer session. This process is obviously for the computer program to be able to find the perfect mate for you. I secretly think is it to weed out any potential serial killers, or at least that's what their disclaimer might read. You create a profile for yourself, for which you whip out the thesaurus and spend hours searching for a picture in which you look only slightly harried and hurried. Once completed, the computer works its "magic". Let's use that term quite loosely.
These sites provide you with endless dating possibilities. Really, I had no idea there were so many singles out there, because I often feel like I am caught in the Lonely Hearts Club Band, playing air guitar solo. It all starts with winking (quite possibly the silliest thing I have done as an adult), emailing, chatting, and ogling.
Through my journey and with the help of one of my wisest friends, I discovered something about being single at this age. After many frustrations, she said to me, "Dating now is easier. You know what you like, what you want, and what you don't like and what you don't want. You're wise now, when you're in your twenties, you're a fool." I don't think I could have said it better.
Now, here are some things I 've come to find I don't want in a date (and yes, all learned from experience):
1. A 30-something who lives at home with his parents.
2. Have foot fetish? Do not follow.
3. Money-droppers... the ones that tell you how much everything costs.
4. Closets are for clothes, not people. It is 2011, come out already.
5. A man who lacks any knowledge of proper English grammar... seriously, it is hard for me not to correct profiles & emails.
6. Texting obsessed... I can't text. I have a flip phone and about one hundred other things to do.
That's not such a long list, is it?
People have often told me I am lucky. Lucky because my "love life" is carte blanche. Yes, I think that this is single best benefit of being single in this millennium. I'm in no hurry, I'm not harried about it. I think this course of action will be... quite wonderful. And if nothing else, one full of humor.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
"Words To Live By"
I am fully aware that I keep mentioning that May day. And, I am fully aware I have yet to explain what happened that day.
I'm just not ready to...yet.
In my first blog, besides mentioning the non-profit quest, I also mentioned that I wanted to help people understand that they could triumph over life's greatest challenges. I wrote that I'd explain how I have done and continue to do it. Because, I sort of see this process like AA... one day at a time.
On that May afternoon, while I waited for my sister to arrive, I emailed an old friend. We have been friends for well over ten years. In that time, we have seen each other on maybe thirty occasions. Our friendship is "held" over email. My inbox is filled with emails from him. And, it was on that day that he gave me an extremely important piece of advice. It ended up acting as my guide, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know it.
He told me that just like when you are sick, and you fill your body with good things... remedies... I would need to do the same during this crisis. I would need to fill my head and heart with positive things. I would have to surround myself with positive books, movies, people, songs. These would be my remedies. It was how I would heal.
I decided right then and there I would do only that.
Then, he sent an email with this as the subject: "Manana sera mejor."
The translation is ~ "Tomorrow will be better."
I copied the quote down on a small piece of paper. Then, I stuck it to my bathroom mirror.
A few days later, I returned to work. The last thing I did before leaving was to read the quote stuck to the bathroom mirror. Returning to work was one of the many hard things I had to do, but I did it because to me, it was "tomorrow" and that quote had said, "Tomorrow will be better." What did I have to lose?
After the first period bell rang, the students and I sat and stared at one another for a very long time. Neither side knew what to say. I scanned all their faces and my eyes fell to one boy's t-shirt. He wore a brand new white t-shirt with black Old English lettering. It read, "Know your weaknesses. Let others see your strengths." Reading that quote was like being hit by a brick. In haste, I scribbled it onto a small piece of paper and threw it in my purse.When I returned home that day, I stuck it to my mirror. When I read it, I knew it was the absolute most important thing I do. I set out to show how strong I was.
The next morning, one of my best girlfriends from work forwarded me an email. She'd received her "Quote of the Day" email, which read, "Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are... see possibilities... for they're always there." (Norman Vincent Peale) You can probably guess what I did with that. Yes, it went on my mirror, too. I chuckled at this quote and tried to think how it could apply to this situation, but it did indeed. My possibilities, my quests were endless.
Within the next few weeks, two other quotes came my way. "You don't know how strong you are until being strong is the only thing you can be." and "When nothing is sure, anything is possible." (Margaret Drabble)They went on my mirror, too. In a very short amount of time I'd learned I was pretty damn strong. And, I learned that I could chart this course of my life any way I so desired. It was invigorating.
Months passed and another quote came to me. "Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes revenges and dares to forgive an injury." (Edward Chapin) This quote...this quote would be my next quest. And, a future blog.
This past summer, I traveled to St. Louis for a Girls' Weekend. While shopping in nearby St. Charles, we stepped into a boutique. There, I found bracelets with quotes on them. Both my girlfriends and my sister took one look at the bracelets and declared, "Those are Sherri bracelets." I purchased one that reads, "Keep the faith." You'll find it on my right wrist every day. It reminds me to keep going, to plow ahead, to believe that everything will be fine.
What I discovered was words were the most positive thing I could bring into my life. I discovered that the right words had a way of finding their way to me. And each one that came in, taught me something about either myself, or about how I should handle my current situation.
I never went searching for the right quotations. I waited for them to come to me, and they have kept coming. Other people's words have guided me, caused me to pause, reflect, reevaluate, and even laugh. Words are powerful.
Just yesterday, two new quotes came to me. The first is now on top of my Blog. A wise, dear former student sent it to me and said it reminded her of me.Words can not desribe how very touched I was by her thoughtfulnesses.
The second, my friend sent to me in an email, "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." (Ben Franklin) It is up on my mirror. I find it quite healing.
I sent him this one today, "Some days you're a bug. Some days, you're a windshield." (Price Cobb) Isn't that the truth?
I'm just not ready to...yet.
In my first blog, besides mentioning the non-profit quest, I also mentioned that I wanted to help people understand that they could triumph over life's greatest challenges. I wrote that I'd explain how I have done and continue to do it. Because, I sort of see this process like AA... one day at a time.
On that May afternoon, while I waited for my sister to arrive, I emailed an old friend. We have been friends for well over ten years. In that time, we have seen each other on maybe thirty occasions. Our friendship is "held" over email. My inbox is filled with emails from him. And, it was on that day that he gave me an extremely important piece of advice. It ended up acting as my guide, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know it.
He told me that just like when you are sick, and you fill your body with good things... remedies... I would need to do the same during this crisis. I would need to fill my head and heart with positive things. I would have to surround myself with positive books, movies, people, songs. These would be my remedies. It was how I would heal.
I decided right then and there I would do only that.
Then, he sent an email with this as the subject: "Manana sera mejor."
The translation is ~ "Tomorrow will be better."
I copied the quote down on a small piece of paper. Then, I stuck it to my bathroom mirror.
A few days later, I returned to work. The last thing I did before leaving was to read the quote stuck to the bathroom mirror. Returning to work was one of the many hard things I had to do, but I did it because to me, it was "tomorrow" and that quote had said, "Tomorrow will be better." What did I have to lose?
After the first period bell rang, the students and I sat and stared at one another for a very long time. Neither side knew what to say. I scanned all their faces and my eyes fell to one boy's t-shirt. He wore a brand new white t-shirt with black Old English lettering. It read, "Know your weaknesses. Let others see your strengths." Reading that quote was like being hit by a brick. In haste, I scribbled it onto a small piece of paper and threw it in my purse.When I returned home that day, I stuck it to my mirror. When I read it, I knew it was the absolute most important thing I do. I set out to show how strong I was.
The next morning, one of my best girlfriends from work forwarded me an email. She'd received her "Quote of the Day" email, which read, "Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are... see possibilities... for they're always there." (Norman Vincent Peale) You can probably guess what I did with that. Yes, it went on my mirror, too. I chuckled at this quote and tried to think how it could apply to this situation, but it did indeed. My possibilities, my quests were endless.
Within the next few weeks, two other quotes came my way. "You don't know how strong you are until being strong is the only thing you can be." and "When nothing is sure, anything is possible." (Margaret Drabble)They went on my mirror, too. In a very short amount of time I'd learned I was pretty damn strong. And, I learned that I could chart this course of my life any way I so desired. It was invigorating.
Months passed and another quote came to me. "Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes revenges and dares to forgive an injury." (Edward Chapin) This quote...this quote would be my next quest. And, a future blog.
This past summer, I traveled to St. Louis for a Girls' Weekend. While shopping in nearby St. Charles, we stepped into a boutique. There, I found bracelets with quotes on them. Both my girlfriends and my sister took one look at the bracelets and declared, "Those are Sherri bracelets." I purchased one that reads, "Keep the faith." You'll find it on my right wrist every day. It reminds me to keep going, to plow ahead, to believe that everything will be fine.
What I discovered was words were the most positive thing I could bring into my life. I discovered that the right words had a way of finding their way to me. And each one that came in, taught me something about either myself, or about how I should handle my current situation.
I never went searching for the right quotations. I waited for them to come to me, and they have kept coming. Other people's words have guided me, caused me to pause, reflect, reevaluate, and even laugh. Words are powerful.
Just yesterday, two new quotes came to me. The first is now on top of my Blog. A wise, dear former student sent it to me and said it reminded her of me.Words can not desribe how very touched I was by her thoughtfulnesses.
The second, my friend sent to me in an email, "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." (Ben Franklin) It is up on my mirror. I find it quite healing.
I sent him this one today, "Some days you're a bug. Some days, you're a windshield." (Price Cobb) Isn't that the truth?
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