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 The simplicity of my day to day. |
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This is where I write my thoughts, feelings and my daily trials, tribulations and happy things
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| Prompt: Courage "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" Mary Anne Radmacher What do you think courage is? Is courage an innate quality, or can it be learned and developed? Courage is facing up to adversity with the attitude that says “this has to be done/ faced/ confronted” and just do it. Such a lot of energy is wasted by fighting against the inevitable, it’s best to just grin and bear it. There have been so many times in my life when I’ve needed courage as I am sure has everyone who has ever lived. When I was called upon to show courage the first time was when I was sixteen and my mother was gravely ill. My brother, who seventeen, and I had to run our delicatessen by ourselves. We kept the business going ourselves whilst our mother hovered between life and death in hospital. She recovered eventually but was never well and the business was sold. The next time I needed to call on my courage was when I was giving birth and I admit I didn’t show much, but the second time around it was different, I said nothing, didn’t cry out or make a sound as I birthed my twin babies. No energy wasted, eyes shut and just got on with the job. That was a good lesson for me. Since then there have been numerous times I’ve needed to call upon that courage: Illnesses, operations, deaths, children’s dramas and devastating news. Yes, I’ve broken down and cried but as we all must do in the end, shown the courage we all have inside us. |
| Prompt: Have you ever thought about climbing Mt. Everest or one of the other notable 7 summits? If not, what other physical goal have you dreamed about trying? Did you go for it? On a less strenuous level, what physical activities do you regularly do? Climbing Mount Everest has always been WAY out of my fitness level even on my best days. I’ve always tried to keep my fitness level to a little more than most people and I was a Gym Junkie before the term was invented, As soon as my three kids were at school full time I joined a gym. This was in the late seventies. It was an all women’s gym and we swam in the nude and no one cared about nudity. Then came the unisex gyms, it was never quite the same. I liked the group classes, the Jane Fonda, leg warmer era, we all thought we were the best in our leotards and head bands. Then came the powerful women era when we all lifted weights above our heads, dead lifts etc. This still continues but at eighty-one my body is showing the results of all the wear and tear I put it through over those years. It’s also encouraging me not to do anything anymore except for Aqua therapy classes which I’m still attending. |
| Prompt “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart Your thoughts? We don’t get to choose when disaster or illness strikes, or even those crappy bad days when nothing seems to go right, but we can choose how we deal with those things. Days when my body aches and no one seems to care or understand I feel like complaining to the universe, but that just makes the people who have to be around me feel uncomfortable and useless. There’s just no point. My husband is what I call a reasonable man, most of the time, but when he’s driving he gets irate at the stupidity of other drivers and being in a car with him isn’t something I enjoy. I choose to drive defensively, keep a safe distance and try to keep out of the way of danger. None of us are perfect and we all lose our tempers or say hurtful things but we can choose to make amends and say say sorry. And if we’re on the receiving end of someone’s bad mood then the wise thing is to choose to ignore it. It certainly would make for a better more peaceful environment if we all chose more wisely but some people actively choose to do bad things and get satisfaction in seeing the damage their actions cause. So it’s a personal choice the way we live our individual lives. Life is too precious and short not to choose to live it well.  |
| Prompt: “The word ‘equinox’ simply means ‘of equal length’ and refers to the twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness at this point in the year. It was originally thought to stem from two Latin words aequus meaning equal and nox meaning night. What are your plans for the fall or spring depending on where you reside? We’re in the season of spring here in Australia. The winter has been very wet and cold and everyone is pleased to the end of it. The spring sunshine has put a spring in my step, maybe that’s why it’s called spring! What shall I do with the extra energy? Well the garden beckons me to come outside and tidy it up. How I wish I could physically do more than plant some annuals in pots. If I were able I’d climb ladders and hard prune so many shrubs and trees, they certainly need it, but my husband thinks all greenery is good and should be left alone. We rarely agree on anything, how we’ve stayed married for sixty years is a mystery. I feel as if I would like to spring-clean the house, declutter, throw away stuff we never use, paint rooms, use bright colours and go a little crazy. But my body is letting me down and I won’t allow my husband at 82 to climb ladders any more, so that’s that. Maybe I’ll use my brain more instead and write amazing stories. |
| Prompt: What does it mean to have it all? Write about this in your Blog entry today. I don’t think it’s possible to have it all and I don’t think having lots of money has anything to do with achieving that. When I lived in England I had my family. My husband, Mum dad, and brothers and their wives. I probably thought I had it all then. But we left the country and emigrated to Australia, there we made a life for ourselves with our three children. Was it then I had it all? No, because the rest of my family were on the other side of the world. But I was satisfied enough to think I had all that really mattered. But as the years have passed, there have been rifts between family members, divorces, children’s allegiances tested and the fabric of family has been torn. But my husband and I are still together after sixty years of marriage and we’re both in reasonable health and that is more than many people have. So do we have it all now? Probably not, but this will have to do. |
| Prompt: Favorite Animals "Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem." A.A. Milne Which animals are your favorites? Write about your relationship to all animals and if there is or was a special animal in your life. I do love animals and that’s a fact. I get more affected by cruelty to animals than people. Perhaps that’s wrong but animals have little choice as to their circumstances. They’re often reliant on humans for food and shelter and mostly they trust us. How can people abuse them? My favourite animal are dogs. We’ve always owned a dog, right back to being a small child I can never remember being without a dog. My darling Lucy died this year at almost 13 years old. I miss her every day. My husband wants to get another one but he’s 82, is it fair on the dog? I guess a dog doesn’t care how old their owners are but I still have reservations. I’ll make it public if and when we decide to bite the bullet. |
| Prompt: Are your familiar with Hopalong Cassidy? If not, what westerns have you seen or read? Have you tried your hand at writing westerns? Yes, Hopalong played a big part in my childhood. In England there used to be special screenings of movies for kids on a Saturday afternoon at the local cinema. I used to go with my two brothers. It used to cost sixpence to get in. There’d be all sorts of shenanigans to try to get in for free and then the sixpence could be spent on sweets or ice cream. There was always a Western Movie playing. Hopalong Cassidy was a huge favourite and of course his horse. I thought it was Silver but that was The Lone Ranger, then I thought Trigger but that was Roy Rogers’ horse. I even wrote a story which included two little boys watching Hopalong at the movies —
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| Use these words in your entry: time, tears, and smile. Where did the time go?” Mary wondered, as they discussed their up-and-coming Diamond wedding anniversary. John shrugged, “God knows, love. Let’s not make a fuss eh?” “The kids want to do something. I don’t think we can get away with it.” Mary smiled. “Those kids are in their fifties.” “But they’re still my babies,” Mary blinked back tears. “Perhaps we can escape. Book a flight to Bali or somewhere far away.” “That would be nice, just the two of us. Like it was at the beginning.” “We don’t need a party do we?” They held each other’s hands, closed their eyes and kissed. |
| Prompt: “Bring down the curtain—the farce is over.” The last words of French philosopher and comic, Francois Rabelais What do you think of life? Is it really a farce? Yes, I really think the whole things a joke. Honestly, we spend all our lives trying to improve ourselves, learning new things and better ways of doing things and then it’s over. All that knowledge, the wisdom, it’s simply gone with you when you’re dead. Unless of course you’ve written everything down for others to learn. Life is great, I wouldn’t be dead for quids—that’s a saying here in Australia— but it’s not to be taken too seriously because in the end nothing really matters. |
| Prompt: “Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.”--Cormac McCarthy What do your scars say about your past? I keep adding to my collection of scars and it’s not intentional. What they say to me is I’ve lived a long time! My oldest scar is between my little and next toe. It reminds me of the time I was about five years old and stuck a garden fork through my foot. I had a lift to the docs on the crossbar of dad’s bike. Can I count stretch marks as scars? My twin pregnancy scarred me for life. Long scars down the outside of both legs reminds me of my gluteal repairs. These remind me of the surgeon telling me I was too old for the ops and to get a mobility scooter. Now I’m walking, almost normally. Scars tell of a life lived. |
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