Calm Down!!!

It's Sunday, glorious Sunday again. And Gommy is, once again, grateful for another glorious Sunday.....This Sunday, Gommy wants to say a prayer for all those people out there who are so wound up about the economy, the President, the state of the union and the world, their life, and .....yada,yada,yada................. to CALM DOWN......

Why does it seem some people are not happy unless they are spewing vitriolic mumbo jumbo to scare other people who don't keep up on what is going on? Not very nice, says Gommy. Now, these are people who have a very nice house, a good job, a wonderful spouse and healthy children......so why in the heck are they so UNHAPPY about life????

As far as trying to scare people who may not know the difference, by telling them there is a scarcity of 'whatever',...........clue.........there are no shortages. Look around you. Is there a shortage of grass growing on the ground? Is there a shortage of food on the shelves when you go to the multiple selections of grocery stores? Are any of us so skinny because we didn't have enough to eat lately? NOT.....Gommy for one doesn't have the problem of being too skinny, ha,ha. My point is that there have always been Henny Pennys' around who just LOVE to scare everyone with their screaming of, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling". And guess what??? The sky is still thankfully up where it is supposed to be.....WHEW..............So quit telling us it is falling....PLEASE...

It must be so tiresome to the friends, children and spouses of these people who only look for the 'bad news' in everything. Gommy has even quit watching the news because there is never anything good on the news shows anyway....sooooooooo why watch? I read recently that a study was done with a group of severely depressed people. The only thing they were asked to do was to write down three things each day that they were grateful for. And within 15 days of the study, 94% of the people were less depressed. That shows Gommy that staying 'upbeat' and grateful is healthy. Other studies have also shown that being positive also stimulates your immune system to ward off illnesses and other booga-boos.

Obsessing over the news or other negative things will make you borderline 'looney-bins' (and sometimes REALLY looney-bins) if you aren't careful. If you dwell on negative things, your life and outlook will be negative. If you are just one of those 'worrier' types.....map out a few minutes a day to 'worry' (if that will make you feel better....HUH??? ha,ha). Then after the allotted time you give yourself to 'worry, fret or stew', STOP IT!!!!!! Another study said that people who only look for negative things, do so because they don't really have a life so they try to make other people afraid of everything too so they will be miserable as well. You know the old saying, "Misery loves company". Gommy chooses to opt out of that club thank you.....

If you don't care about other people, you should at least care what you are doing to your children....Don't think they aren't like little sponges that pick up every little thing you say, do or feel. Do you want them to grow up to be like you????............I hope not. You should want them to be happy!!!!! Don't you want your children to have the sense of faith, or if you aren't religious, at least have something to look forward to, that they will be alright? Do you want them to worry like you all the time that something awful is pending that will make their life horrible? Now if this is really making you mad right now.....ha...I gotcha. The closer someone is to hitting it on the head about our personality faults....the madder we get about it and the more offense we take. If you really want to be happy and live in the world with all the crap stuff that goes on....you have to start to STOP complaining and stewing about the same thing over and over.

Why not try this: Think of all the things in your life that you SHOULD be grateful for and write them down. You will really be surprised and it will take a lot longer than you think it will. If you can't think of anything...........Gommy is really sorry for you. But you can start with your breath....you still like to breathe don't you? Don't YOU? Then you can add your healthy children, your job (if you don't like your job, at least you have a job. Unlike so many who have to feed their children and put a roof over their heads and don't have a job), your spouse, the computer you use to spew your distorted tirades on.....oops.... feelings on. The more things you can put down to feel grateful for, the better you will start to feel about your life.

Well you may say that Gommy is a Pollyanna.............but I'll take being a Pollyanna any day over being a Henny Penny. It is just less tiresome.....So Gommy says to 'man-up' or 'woman-up' and put on your big people undies and deal with whatever it is that is making you so grumpy......There are those of us who choose to look forward to another glorious Sunday to be grateful for.....Hugs & Mush, Gommy

What If

Gommy is going to get a little alot serious today. "What IF" this was your last day on Earth? That's pretty serious isn't it? Gommy is coming up fast approaching another birthday....They are coming faster and faster each year now. Anywho....it got Gommy thinking about what would happen if this were her last day.......or the last day of anyone reading this piece today.

What kind of messes would we all leave behind if this were the last day??? Do we have all of our personal 'business stuff'' in order? Is there very much left to do that we had wished we had done? Did we leave the planet any better off than before we inhabited it? But most of all, have we told the people we love and care about that we DO love them and care about them? I guess the measure of your life is measured by how your leaving will affect those you leave behind. There are some people who won't be missed very much and that is very sad. It is a terrible thing to waste anything.....but your whole life??? Tsk, tsk, tsk.....

Have we had wishes and dreams about something but never got around to doing them? We see people all the time doing extraordinary things and think, "WOW, that's neat....wish I would have done that!" Do we rue the choices we have made? That is sad as well. Because we are in charge of our choices. We can put blame on circumstances in our lives for the reason we didn't go for it....but that is just a crutch. I have found that everyone does just exactly what they want to do, if they sincerely want to do it. People claim they don't have time for this or for that.....but they make time to do what they truly want to do......

If this was Gommys' last day I would be sad but I can honestly say my life has been pretty blessed..........save for the losses of loved ones. God (the Universe) has always taken care of me in most areas of my life and I haven't ever 'wanted' for much......and I have always felt loved.....and to me, that is what is most important!

If this were the last day....I bet some of those things that are making you mad or upset today wouldn't seem so important....now would they??? When you really get down to it....there isn't very much that is going on that should ruin your last day or any day for that matter. It is ALL small stuff. Especially if you won't be here tomorrow......right???

So, anyone who is reading this...............take stock in where you are, where you have been and where you wish you will be. You have the choice. You also have the ability to tell those you love that you do love them. You will be doing them a big favor by doing it while you are still around. Happy Birthday to Gommy......Hope I get some more.....tee,hee ((*>*))

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

Gommy was reading up on what some of the smart people of history had to say and came across a quote from Gandhi. He said that we must be the change we want to see in the world. What that means is that when people are rude, grumpy, disagreeable or just downright mean....you must resist the urge to mirror that unpleasant behavior. It is hard to do.......because the human impulse is to react. We don't have the ability to change how someone behaves....but we do have the ability to modify how we react to them. But remember also that no one can hurt your feelings without your permission. Another very potent quote that the author and poet Maya Angelou said and that everyone should remember is: "People will forget what you have said and they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel."

There are people who come across our path in life that leave a mark forever on our hearts. Do you ever wonder why that is? Gommy thinks they are put in our path to teach us lessons. If we learn from them......we have done what we were meant to do. If we ignore that tug at our heart or conscience.....we will have to keep having the lessons over and over. Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome....If the person makes you feel something very strongly and you wish you could be more like them because they are kind or compassionate.....try to take from them that element and try it on for yourself. You can build yourself some mighty good character that way.

Then there is a quote that Gommy doesn't know who to give credit for but really touches home and heart, for me anyway. It is: "Don't cry because it ended. Smile because it happened." That one makes Gommy think of my two children who died. Terry and Tiffany were a magical gift to Gommy and even though the pain of losing them is almost unbearable.....the pain was worth the pleasure and happiness they gave Gommy for the 17 and 22 years they were here with Gommy. You cannot have the extreme happiness someone or something gives you without the opposite pain. It is law. The law of opposites......The yin and yang of life. Yin and Yang is depicted by that circle which has white and black with a white spot in the black swirl and a black spot in the white swirl. The symbol shows the circle as the whole and the black and white as the opposites of how things work. The spots of the opposing colors in the solid colors show that nothing is all black or white. Life is all about opposites....winter to summer....man to woman....happiness to sadness, honor to dishonor, wealth to poverty..... and on and on. But life is not all one or the other or we would no longer exist. If there were only women in the world the species would eventually end. If there were only winter.....we would die off because our food source could not grow any longer....or someone who is honest may at one time in their life have been dishonest i.e. even a little white lie? You see the reasoning in Yin and Yang now?

And believe it or not....Dr. Seuss (yes the author of childrens' books) was pretty deep himself. One of his quotes is: "Be who you are and say what you feel because people that mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind." That is pretty thought provoking. If we have to change the way we are to make other people feel comfortable, then we don't have a real relationship with that person to begin with. Being who you are is important as long as you are comfortable with being who you are....Is that too convoluted??? What Gommy means is you should be the best you can be and as long as you are comfortable with that.... you don't have to concern yourself with how other people see you. Living up to anothers values is too tiresome and can get you into all sorts of problems i.e. living above your means because someone may think you aren't 'all that' if you can't buy this doo-dad or that doo-dad. Then you find yourself worrying about how to pay for the 'doo-dad' that you didn't really want or need in the first place....get it? Just be you and be happy being you and you will be a happier you.....Toodle oooooo ((*.*)) Gommy

Blessings

It is Sunday again and the day itself usually makes one think of spiritual musings and it started Gommy to thinking about spiritual things herself. We often hear the word 'Blessings' when we are in church and I wonder how many of us really think of the word and how powerful it is. Blessings are a gift from our maker. It is 'divine grace' that we are given our Blessings and it is something that we didn't earn (or couldn't earn because it doesn't 'work' that way!).

Gommy and Grandpa Mike spent time with part of our families yesterday. My daughter and her children and Grandpas' son and family. Gommys' grandchildren from my son, live on the West Coast of Florida, and we didn't get to see them this time, but we are Blessed to see them more often now that we are back in South Florida. And thanks to the Internet, emails and now Facebook, we are in touch much more and that is a real Blessing as well.

Gommy thinks that when we are Blessed with something.....it usually started with merely 'wanting' something and it was 'given'....you know as in 'ask and you shall receive'...Gommy is pretty sure that is all you have to do to receive what you ask for.....Now, people may say that they want stuff all the time and they don't get it....But there is a catch.....Now don't go saying, "Ah-Ha...I knew it!" It is really quite simple. Most of us think of something we want and immediately cancel it out....Don't believe me???? How about the people you hear saying, "I wish I could win the lottery............but I'm not lucky." BAM.......canceled.....or "I hope 'Bob" calls me....but I know he won't." BAM...canceled. Or, "I hope I get the job........but the girl who came in for the job just before me will probably get it." BAM...canceled. Or "I wish I could feel better but I am always sick." BAM...canceled. You get the picture here? The most important word in our vocabulary when we are wishing, asking or hoping for something is the word 'BUT". All the word 'but' does is cancel out the previous thought. Sooooooo, quit using it.....Just state what you want, wish or hope for and focus on that and don't let any booga-boos creep into your thought processes and you will be on the right track to getting (receiving) what you 'ask' for.

The most important thing to do when you do receive something you asked for is to be grateful for it and say you are grateful for it and for all of your Blessings. Too many times you see people who have 'fallen from Grace' and you wonder what happened to them. Movie stars come to mind right now for Gommy. Gommy thinks they forgot that they were 'given' whatever wonderful thing was happening in their life and what ever talent they possess and they took it for granted and it was snatched away from them....Lesson.....Don't take anyone or anything for granted because you may find that one day they or it are no longer in your life.

But (there's that word again) back to happier thoughts...just take today or any Sunday or any day to realize all of your Blessings and to give thanks. It's really just that easy. Have a splendiferous week.....Hugs, Gommy ((*.*))

Family

Gommy remembers loving to be around cousins while growing up. As an only child, it was always a treat to be able to be around other kids. Today, three of Gommys' five grands (cousins to each other) got to meet each other for the first time.....It is so special to watch your childrens' children interact. It is more than heart-warming. It is bliss..... They looked each other over and being children who are not yet tarnished by years of labeling.... they accepted each other with open arms (AS THEY SHOULD). It is amazing how little children are so trusting and pure of heart. If the whole world could feel that way, we would all be enjoying a much nicer planet...

'Family' seems to have mutated (an ugly word for an ugly development) into people who live in different parts of the country or who we just lose track of for reasons of time, locale and/or rifts. It is a shame that families can't be pure of heart like our children. There is nothing like family. When a rift happens to tear a family apart, it is often over money. Either someone borrowed some and didn't repay it back, or one of the members of the family has a bunch of money and the other member has too little and that is when jealousies can fester. Sometimes it is money that parents left after they have passed. You get the drift here, don't you? Maybe that is where the proverb that "Money is the root of all evil." came from. The real proverb is; "The love of money is the root of all evil." What Gommy thinks that may mean is that if you love money more than a person....that is evil. Not evil in the moral or beastly sense of the word but evil in the definition; "As it brings unhappiness of a being or deprives a being of any good." Money can come and go but you cannot buy family or happiness.

Family should stick together and help each other out when possible. We should always help anyone that is in need but there is an extra element when it comes to your family. Sometimes a particular person in the family makes it very difficult to help them.....but that is usually exactly the person that needs the help the most. If we just turn our backs on them....they are really lost to us and to themselves.

So Gommy wants to say how grateful I am for my family. None of us are perfect....but it sure brings some warmth to the cockles of your heart to know you have and are part of a family. Forgiveness is the first step in giving yourself a very nice gift....maybe a member of the family that needs you just as much as you need them is waiting for a hug.......Let's all have a group hug now....let's sing "Kumbaya....Kumbaya"....there isn't that nice now???

Enough is Enough!

Gommy wants to talk about excesses today......excess of things mostly. Since Gommy and Grandpa Mike have fallen into found themselves in the 'have-not' column of life instead of the 'haves' (monetarily speaking only)....it has become abundantly (pun intended) clear that it is quite possible to live without all the trappings of what society thinks is needed to survive.

Just the other day, Gommy was in the grocery store and every time an impulse (that is also a ploy that is cleverly used by companies to make you 'impulsively' buy their product) to buy something arose, Gommy asked herself the question..."Do you need that or just want it?" It turned out that most times it was a 'want' and not a 'need' item. When you don't have a credit card to fall back on to purchase something, you choose more wisely. We definitely live in an 'instant gratification' culture today. You see children have absolute meltdowns when they are told 'no'......and it is scary to say, but adults have the same meltdowns, they just hide them with the ability to have a little or a lot of 'retail therapy' that is unnecessary.

After moving for the second time in a year....(yeah I know!) it became obvious that Gommy could possibly be considered an impulse buyer AND a hoarder.....whew....there I said it! Grandpa was very gentle at first as the boxes were mounting up and it was becoming evident that the new place only had a certain number of square feet to put the 'stuff' in....then Grandpa became a little grumpy and asked, in no uncertain terms...."Where in the heck are you going to put all this stuff that you haven't used in the last year since we moved it before?" That was a wake-up call for Gommy. At first, in a state of panic, Gommy tried to think of how to keep all the 'stuff'. Another storage unit? No, we did that already and after nine months of paying storage, put all the boxes of 'stuff' in our apartment. So many boxes that it looked like we WERE the storage unit now...... Soooooooooo, Gommy just gave the extra 'stuff' away. Some of it went to a woman who was getting a different kind of job and needed dress clothes and dress shoes .....Hey, Gommy had plenty of dress clothes and dress shoes that she doesn't use anymore....poof....gone....Then there were boxes and boxes of very good kitchen pots, pans, dishes, gadgets.....(yes boxes...I know!) that Grandpa gave to a man at his work....poof...gone...The man later told us that he shared all the 'stuff' with several families and they were very grateful to get it.....The moral here is that you can only use so much 'stuff' wear so much 'stuff' and eat so much 'stuff'....after that you are officially a 'hoarder'....admit it.....you hoard. Many of us hoard...Get over it...it is really cathartic after you FORCE yourself purge all the 'stuff' you don't REALLY need. And you get a bonus...you feel really good about yourself for helping people out. I know! Amazing.....

As for doing things that don't cost anything....Gommy and Grandpa have become the 'Grand-Poo-Pa's' of doing things on the cheap frugally. Did you know that you can go to the beach and bring a cooler of drinks and a few snacks for close to no money at all??? I know...amazing! Did you know that you can watch regular cable and not get all the extra packages and still be entertained??? Did you know that you can plan your day or your week so that you do your errands in an order or in group locations that don't waste gas? I know...amazing!....Did you know that you can make wonderful memories with your grandkids by just reading them a story or making one up??? I know! Amazing.....

Gommy thinks the best thing that ever happened to her and Grandpa was to become the 'have-nots' because it brought a whole new dimension to 'living happily ever after'.....Realizing that talking to each other instead of trying to go somewhere or do something to be enterained is really more rewarding.... That cooking a meal at home that costs pennies a serving instead of gobs of dollars at a restaurant is smarter and tastes pretty good too....That making memories instead of making mounds of 'stuff' that you really don't need, will last much longer and be more gratifying in the scheme of things.... And that simplicity is more relaxing than having to keep an eye on your 'too much stuff'. Try it, it works. I know!!!!

Rest and Relaxation

Gommy and Grandpa Mike had a very nice time at a beautiful resort this weekend. It is Pelican Grand Hotel & Resort in Fort Lauderdale. If anyone is looking to have a 'stay-cation', this is the place.....It is like a 'mini-Grand' as in the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan. The staff is so gracious and friendly that you think you are back in the old days when it was mandatory to treat the customer as if they were actually welcomed.....What a concept!!!

With the economy being what it is, more people are opting for 'stay-cations' and Gommy and Grandpa Mike are sure glad they live in paradise already.... our 'stay-cation' is very easy to take....When the time came to check out of the resort, Gommy made a comment that it was time to get back to 'reality'....but after thinking about it for a minute.....Gommy realized that her and Grandpas' 'reality' is pretty nice too!!! It is not too hard to come back to our reality.....thank you God....

Everyone needs to take a break sometimes. It recharges the old batteries, so to speak! It also allows you to take a look at how much you have been keeping your nose to the grindstone lately and realize that you must take a breath and take time to smell the roses, coffee or whatever it is that you like to smell....ha,ha!

Our daughter and little grands came to visit for lunch and a swim in the lazy river and pool. Samantha shared a milkshake with Grandpa too. How special is that? Rest, relaxation and being with family while you are enjoying yourself......

So, Gommy sincerely hopes all you blog-friends out there get to recharge your batteries when you need to. It sure does make you feel refreshed and ready to go some more.....