An inspirational and fun blog about living life happily in the sandwich generation while raising a son with autism as best as I know how.. one day at a time!
"In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony."...Eva Burrows
Happy Valentine's Day, to my family, the best in the world. I love you all soooo much!! You're my greatest love of all!
I love Valentine's Day. It's that special day where we can express to our loved ones how much they mean to us. Yes, it's true that we shouldn't wait until one day rolls around to do this. Love is definitely the most powerful of positive emotions and that power should be put to use every day of the year. I believe in that. But, that doesn't mean I'm not sentimental at heart and I do indeed love making an "extra special" day once in a while!
Our money is a little tight this Valentine's Day (I know, join the club!), so I didn't go crazy spending too much. For my regular readers, you all know that I often talk about the best things in life being free anyway. And simple, thoughtful gifts are the ones I most often gravitate towards. I'll let you in on a secret...my family, myself included are each getting a much needed new pillow on their bed today, wrapped in a single red bow with a card enclosed. I think they'll all be pleased!
For the past several years (arrival of kids), I have always told my husband to forget the flowers and candy and instead, we'll use that money to either all go out for dinner, or bring dinner home and we'll all watch a movie together. The best Valentine's gift for me is an evening of not having to cook! And of course I definitely do not need the chocolates if I want to keep my diet (New Year's Resolution) on track. I'm having enough trouble as it is!
The above reminds me of a very funny recent episode of Family Feud. During "fast money", the question was "Name an occasion where you might be tempted to cheat on your diet?" We were all shouting out our answers "Valentine's Day", "Christmas" etc. and the poor guy couldn't come up with an answer and time was wasting..he finally said "errrr.. when you want to eat something!" Now, that's my kind of occasion! We could not stop laughing at that answer! As I say, it's the best medicine ever!
While it's true that I'm now more into "family Valentine's day" over the more romantic type, that doesn't mean I don't think about my special times with my husband from years ago. I miss them too. My husband every year, without fail, would send beautiful roses to my office. Here's a picture:
Ahhhh what a sweetheart!
I hope whatever all of you have planned for this evening, whether it be with your spouse, your partner, your children or anyone else who's special to you, make a memory that you will cherish throughout your life. Write it down in your journal how special the day was for you. You will one day look back on the memories you make today, and they will warm your heart in your future.
My video for today is the song "Greatest Love of All", my favourite by the late (so tragic) Whitney Houston. She sang this at the Grammy's 25 years ago. She was a very special part of my history and I feel like a part of my life has died with her. Her music was beautiful as well as inspirational. Whitney, your music will live on in our hearts forever. God bless you and rest in peace.
The lyrics of this song are so touching. I just love it so much.
"Never to wrong others takes one a long way towards peace of mind."..Seneca
I cannot believe it is February already. Our groundhog last week predicted an early spring. Hurray for that! I do know however that is not the case for everyone around the world. But I think we can all say at least we're over the winter "hump".
So, how's your year going so far? If you're like me, you too have been faced with some unexpected hurdles. Are your goals, or resolutions for the year staying on track? I hope all of you are doing great, but it is good from time to time to review how things are going and have a look at how you can make the rest of your year even better.
I'd like to share four valuable questions that you can ask yourself all the time to keep yourself on track towards a better life. Perhaps they are new to you or maybe they are just healthy reminders that can help you to focus your mind and actions once again.
Q.1 How can I give value to this situation?
This is a great way to improve your relationships and interactions. Four awesome reasons to give value in your everyday life are: 1) it makes you feel awesome, 2) you tend to get what you give, 3) it makes your life a whole lot more fun and 4) it makes it easier to start new relationships or improve old ones. What value can you give in a situation to another person? Well, a bunch of suggestions would be: bringing a positive attitude to situations, being kind, helping out in a practical way, lending a listening ear, cheering someone up, offering useful advice or creating a fun/exciting situation for people in your life.
Q.2 - Would I rather be right or be happy?
Right in this question means the need to judge, the need to be right while interacting with other people. It's not just about the gal who can't be wrong in a discussion though. It's about the thought that you don't always have to be against people or things. You don't have to exist in a "me against the world" or "me against someone" head space. You don't have to defend positions all the time or build walls. You can let go of the mentality that says "someday I'll show them all!". You can just relax, be cool and be with people instead of being against them in some subtle or not so subtle ways. Feeling like you are right can bring some pleasure. But beyond that there is a lot more connection, happiness and positivity to be found. I like this question when I feel like I have to be right or judge. Or when I just have a feeling within that I should just re-examine my current beliefs to move forward. I often find something helpful by doing so.
Q.3 - What is the most important thing I can do right now?
If you are lost in what to do next in your day, week or life, ask yourself this question. The answer may not always be what you want to hear because the most important thing is often one of the harder things you want to do too. But it can help you to check your priorities and stop you from getting lost in busy work and instead start tackling the really big stuff that will improve your life in any area in the long run.
Q.4 - What do I think is the right thing to do? One of the hardest things to do in life is the right thing. What "you" think is the right thing, not what your friends, family, teachers, boss, and society think is the right thing. What is the right thing? That's up to you to decide. Often you have a little voice inside your head that tells you what the right thing is, or a gut feeling. Here are three reasons to do the right thing: 1) You tend to get what you give. I already mentioned this as a reason to give value. By doing the right thing, you tend to get the same things back. Give value to people, help them and they will often want to help you and give you value in some form. Unfortunately, not everyone will do it, but many will, not always right away, but somewhere down the line. Things tend to even out. Do the right thing, put in the extra effort, and you tend to get good stuff back. Don't do it, and you tend to get less good stuff back from the world. 2) To raise your self esteem. This is a really important point. When you don't do the right thing, you are not only sending out signals out into your world, you are also sending signals to yourself. When you don't do the right thing, you don't feel good about yourself. You may experience emptiness or get stuck in negative thought loops. It's like you are letting yourself down. You are telling yourself that you can't handle doing the right thing. To not do the right thing, it's like punching yourself in the stomach. 3) To avoid self sabotage. A powerful side effect of not doing the right thing is that you give yourself a lack of deservedness. This can really mess you up and your success. If you don't do the right thing in life, then you won't feel like you deserve the success that you may be on your way towards or experiencing right now. So you start to self sabotage, perhaps deliberately or through unconscious thoughts. By doing the right thing, you can raise your self esteem and feel like a person who deserves her success.
I hope these questions will help you continue to make this year your best one yet.
My video today is the theme from "Friends". The words mean a lot and can be applied not just to your friends, but extend to family, colleagues and people in your community.
