As a woman of a certain age, I can’t help but remember these icons of womanhood that were presented to us via the television and radio. Young people today might not have had these examples of what it meant to be a woman to live up to, so instead of writing, I will share this piece of my childhood with all of you here.
The word for Friday, August 3rd was anniversary. I thought I knew what I wanted to write about it as soon as I saw the word because we just celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary on July 26th. But then it occurred to me that not all anniversaries that are remembered are to celebrate happy occasions. We remember things that happened like the death of a loved one or the dissolution of a marriage as well. Sometimes it is the date we started a job or the year we graduated from high school or college. An anniversary is merely a means of marking, in years, the time that has passed since a monumental event.
This week, my husband and I celebrated the anniversary of the day we met. We met thirty-six years ago, August 7, 1982, at the graduation party for a mutual friend. We might never have met had it not been for the closing of the high school hubby had attended and this friend having to finish her course requirements at the high school I attended. We met in summer school where we were taking both Government and Economics for four hours each morning so we wouldn’t have to spend an entire semester in each of these classes. There simply were not enough class periods in the school day to take all the academic classes I wanted to take so I often chose to take those I dreaded the most in summer school to get them over with faster. Continue reading
The Five Minute Friday prompt this week was thirteen. I wrote a post last fall with “13 Lessons Learned on Friday the 13th at the Airport”, but reposting that seems like cheating especially since the prompt wasn’t given on Friday the 13th. So, I thought I’d give you 13 Life Lessons instead.
1. Always put God first. Trust me on this.
2. Live within your means. Debt takes forever to pay off. If you can’t pay cash for it, wait to buy it until you can. Spend less or make more.
3. Save for the future. Pay yourself first by saving at least 10% into savings. You should have an emergency fund that will cover three to six months of your living expenses. After you have your emergency fund, then save for retirement or the kids’ college fund.
4. Pick up after yourself. Nobody likes cleaning, so just don’t make messes. There is never any reason clothing should be on the floor. Put it in the designated laundry hamper when you take it off or hang/fold it neatly to be worn again. Trash goes in the trashcan. Leftovers need to be put away properly, not left to draw flies. If you spill something, clean it up right away. This will make a huge difference in the overall cleanliness of your home.
5. Always do your best in everything. If you don’t have time to do it right, you sure don’t have time to do it again!
6. Leave a room cleaner than you found it. Even a public restroom can benefit from a quick swipe with your used paper towel to tidy the sink before you throw it away. If you are leaving a room, look around to see if there is something you can take with you to the next room and put away.
7. Recycle whatever you can. Newspapers, cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass can all be recycled free of charge where I live by dropping them off at the local park in the proper receptacles. Why fill the dumps with stuff that could easily be recycled? Reuse things instead of buying new. Use up the old before replacing it. Make do.
8. Make yourself useful every day. I try to crochet a hat for the homeless while riding in a car on a trip or sitting and listening to an audiobook. There is something you can do to make life better for someone, so do it. Maybe a neighbor could use a hand with yard work, a new mom could use your help with a home-cooked meal, the neighborhood kids could use your help with homework or learn a new skill. If you are able to sit up in bed, there is something you can do to be helpful to someone.
9. Less is more. Capsule wardrobes are all the rage. This applies to food, perfume, and makeup too. A little goes a long way. Declutter the things you don’t use and share them with others who will use them. Tidy up your living space, yard, or neighborhood.
10. Learn something new every day. A word, a skill, a random fact, it doesn’t matter but “use it or lose it” applies to your brain too.
11. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Foods, travel, crafts, gadgets, try them all (except drugs and illegal things).
12. Don’t let your weight creep up. Trust me it is very hard to get it off and even harder to keep it off. Just don’t gain it in the first place. Weight Struggles Are Real
13. Find joy in the simple things. Instead of getting upset that you seem to always have laundry to do or housecleaning chores, be grateful that you have clothing and a house to need cleaning. Not everyone does. Laundry is a privilege. You have clothes to wash, fresh clean water that comes through pipes to the washing machine. You have a choice of temperatures and even the option of hanging it out to dry or using the other laundry appliance called the clothes dryer. Your ancestors had a lot more to complain about when it comes to laundry and so many other things too.
This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Thirteen
The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.
I am in no way prepared to write about the word way this week. All I can think of is a bunch of sayings with the word way in them, so here goes.
It’s my way or the highway!
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Which way should you go?
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NIV) It really couldn’t be any clearer. Jesus IS the WAY.
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NIV) Click To Tweet“What did Jesus mean when He said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life’ (John 14:6)?”
This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Way
The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.
The word prompt for Friday, July 13th is DONE. I’m not sure if the words are getting harder or if my brain is just on vacation, but they always seem to throw me a curve ball these days. So, I put them off and continue to think about the word of the week and at the very least remember that I mean to get something written on the word before the next word is issued and the linkup is closed. When I searched to find other Bible verses besides the common one, “Thy will be done.” I found these that I thought went together fairly well.
“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3 NIV
“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15 NIV
To me, the word done reminds me of something one of the many teachers who influenced my life used to say when one of would pronounce, “I’m done!”. She would reply, “Oh? How long have you been cooking?” She wanted us to be finished instead of done for some reason.
It seems in life whenever I get one task done on my to-do list, three more present themselves demanding to be added to the list. So my work is never done, at least not while there is breath left in my body.
As a nod to Andrew, who always includes a music video in his Five Minute Friday posts, and also because the background of London in this particular video brings fond memories of our visit there, please enjoy this selection. I have always found this song has the ability to inspire me to try harder and do more. Hopefully, it will have a similar effect on you.
What have you done today to make you feel proud? Click To TweetThis post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Done
The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.
