Tag Archives: today

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

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I absolutely love this phrase. I can’t, however, say or even think it without thinking of the Twilight Zone episode of the same name: a great episode, one of its most famous ones. You know how the Twilight Zone is. So even if you haven’t seen the episode, you pretty much already know how it turns out.

[Spoiler Alert!!!... don't read this post if you don't want to know how this 51 year old show turned out...]

So this woman undergoes drastic, I mean, drastic, cosmetic surgery. Her entire face needs to be transformed in order for her to fit into society. Otherwise, she’s going to be sent off to a place I can only relate to as a Leper’s Island: that locale where everyone is self sufficient, individual… and kept away from the world because they are so ugly they will never survive. If this episode was about the animal kingdom, it would prob’ly be titled “Eat or Be Eaten”. In the end, the woman’s bandages are removed and we see her face. Her face that won’t conform to the standards of the world. Her hideously beautiful face. Because its all the other faces that we consider ugly; but that’s what her society is: ugly. At least, to us. Their contorted faces and pushed-up noses and skin folds and… well, like I said: ugly.

Anyway. I digress. I do that a lot lately. Can you blame me? I have a lot on my mind… but anyway…

It got me thinking. And you got me thinking. You, my readers. My mom. My friends. For me being a Doll who likes stability, I also like to change things up now and then. So a few days ago when I asked how I should make the Blog more readable, I was overwhelmed with the collective “NNOOOO!!!”‘ ‘s that I received. Apparently, I’ve found a formula that works better than I knew it did, better than I thought it would.

Although Dani requests more recipes and Mary wants to be my taste-tester. Easily worked out, ladies. Easily. (*insert winky face icon [and passport] here*)

And in my discussions with several readers and fellow bloggers, I’ve come to realize that I need to leave well enough alone. That I’m doing well, headed for better things. That I needn’t change everything all the time. That it’s okay to just be still.

Hear that?

It’s okay to just be still.

It really is.

It’s totally okay for me to just sit back and enjoy it as it is. Whatever it is. A quiet morning doesn’t have to be interrupted by internet. And working on the Blog doesn’t have to mean changing it. A cup of coffee doesn’t have to energize me. It just has to taste good.

As a society, we’re so brainwashed into more-more-more, faster-better-stronger… it takes my breath away just thinking it. You can’t even say those words without feeling a rush. Always striving for better. But what if “better” isn’t striving? What if “better” is slowing down and seeing and saying “It’s good. Just the way it is.”

I don’t always have to fix things, change things, create things. I get so busy doing that I forget to stop doing. I get so focused on the end result that I don’t see the present.

Present. That’s an interesting word. In this current holiday season, it means more than just the time at hand. It means, Gift. Token. It also means a special talent.

The present I’ve already received from You is your gift of readership, of support, comments, forwards, likes, and discussions. The gift of being accepted just for doing what I’m supposed to do: write it out. No matter what. So I won’t be changing my blog any time soon. I’ll concentrate more on the recipes and creative writings, but won’t be making any major changes.

And in return, I give you this Present: Today. Always plan for tomorrow, but don’t forget to see Today. The good, the bad, the ugly. What stresses you today makes you stronger for tomorrow. The big losses are opportunities to feel anything. And when some people keep themselves so bottled up, feeling anything is really quite something. The little triumphs has the Universe cheering in your corner. Today. It’s exceptionally beautiful… you need only to behold it.


And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

The More Things Change…

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The more things change, the more things stay the same…

I never quite grasped that quote. My Grandma Bell used to tell us, “Expect the unexpected.” I didn’t understand that one, either. My mom’s favorite mantra for us was, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched!” She even gave me a little chick statuette to take to college as a reminder. Now it sits on my nightstand.

It’s funny how some changes are so subtle you hardly notice. In four weeks my child will be 17. How did she grow so fast? I’ve been with her all these years, and it’s those tiny steps that keep going, that make her who she is, on her way to who she will be… she’s growing up. Right before my eyes. But she’s still always gonna be my baby girl.

I started this blog as a “social experiment into staying Christian in the dating world…” well, that quickly changed to a history of why I don’t get out much. Which evolved into going out. Which evolved… you get the picture. One thing leads to another.

I’ve managed to make new friends, garner new readers, get ideas from the world around me. But one thing that hasn’t changed, is my love of writing. In the last week, I’ve rediscovered the stories that attract me, the ones I crave to watch, read, and write. The ones that come effortlessly. They all have a common thread: Old-fashioned Family Values. I’m enamored this week with Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”. I’ve been watching “The Waltons” reruns every day.

Maybe it’s because family time doesn’t go out of style the way the hair-do’s of the 80′s did. Maybe it’s because I can relate to making ends meet in ways that are more creative and frugal.

My heros of the week are Jo March and John-Boy Walton. My daughter who studies hours to get Straight A’s in school. My mom who fights hurricane-force winds to pick up broken tree branches. My brothers who work hard to pay their bills. My second family, and each of them, individually, who no matter what put God first and family second and the Ducks third… is now a good time to say I’m cheering for the Maple Leafs this year?

Even the Yankees are still my heroes. They’re a good team, and they lost a good game last night. They never gave up the fight. And even Julie, who thinks baseball is utterly boring, was rooting for them. Now that’s friendship!

Just as the seasons change, you can count on them to do so. Each year is never the same as the last, but at least it’s there. Life is never stable, there are no guarantees. But life itself. That’s worth the living.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be published. But I’m still gonna write.
I don’t know if my friends will love me tomorrow, but I’m sure someone will.
I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know I made it through yesterday.

And that, to me, is pretty cool.

 

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Oh, another retro-change. California law now says I can link to Amazon again. Which means in future posts, when you see a link, click it. Like Little Women, or the Waltons. Check out the things I like and want to share with you. Sometimes it will be information. Sometimes a product, a wishlist, or even a song. But always something I enjoy, and think you will too.