SPRING FEVER

The energy picks up as the weather gets warmer. Do you notice it? Last night my husband said where are you getting all this energy. Well, changing the fall/winter clothes to spring/summer? Getting ready for the Easter weekend and family time takes days of preparation! Okay if I were not working full time them it would be done in less days! But giving myself a little job every night to be ready for the long weekend is paramount! Adolph is doing a little each day outside. The ground is still quite muddy so the paths and clipping of trees and bushes.

Pieno by pieno like they say in Italian! Little by little. I love to be very busy and energetic in the Spring. Attack the house and garden. So by mid June when the really warm or even hot weather arrives, it is time to sit back and enjoy! So get going so you can enjoy the lazy days of summer when they arrive. Nothing like rewarding yourself for all the hard Spring work!!

DOES HARD WORK ALWAYS HAVE A REWARD?

Hard work does not always have a reward. It is good to pay one's dues in life but sometimes bad things happen. Disasters, job losses, health issues, death of loved ones. Some people think they are owed because I worked hard all my life. Most people work hard  for their living. It does not mean that everything you did will get rewarded. A paycheque for the work done comes after it. Saving for retirement does not always mean there will be a privileged one. Those ads with 50 somethings sailing away in sailboats may be the reality for a few. Raising one's family does not mean the family will be a happy one. Some adult children have problems and issues beyond your control. Your hard work as a parent may not give the reward you wanted. So should we work hard? Absolutely! Hard work builds character. But remember to work smarter too! Don't waste time and energy! Learn to do activities in fewer steps! Live in the present to make the most of every day! Hard work means hard relazation! To balance life with both. Getting the boring chores out of the way to do the hard work on the activities or hobbies enjoyed. If you are able to work hard, count it as a blessing! Being healthy enough to continue working whether in a job or retirement is a real asset1! If lucky some of that hard work will pay off in some ways! Just keep on going to see where!

DO WE REAP WHAT WE SOW?

Sometimes there can be adages that you get what you deserve. What goes around comes around but does it? A work mate and I were discussing that some children act as if they do not come from the same family. Same parents- one child a leech, the other child appreciative. One child demanding, the other children willing to do their share. There are some very good parents that have bad children as adults. There are some dysfunctional parents whose children make their way differently in the world. Does a parent I know of an only child deserve his contempt for her? He claimed he was deprived of a good childhood because he could not have a motorcycle in his teens. His mother thought it was dangerous. Fast forward to his 50s- he had a motorcyle accident and ended up in Rehabiliation for several months! It can be interesting to see more children abandon their parents than parents abandon their children! So do we reap what we sow? Can years of hard work be waited out? Certainly. A layoff, sudden critical illness, natural disasters can change everything for no apparent reason to the people affected! If people got what they really deserved, less people would be able to achieve greatness with the Machiavellian approach to life!

A BIRTHDAY REFLECTION

After the Happy Birthdays and cake, my birthday is always a time for reflection. When I was a little girl, I always cried on my birthday as I did not want to grow up. Due to family problems, I viewed the adult world full of pain. Yesterday on my birthday, I did not cry. The older I become the more I actually appreciate life and all that I have. My life did not turn out like I wanted. All the hard work in my 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s did not bring the rewards that others may experience from an equal amount of hard work. Yet I do not feel bitter or angry. I try to determine what more I can accomplish in whatever time I have left on this earth. How can I be there for others in my life? I live optimistically that I too will reap rewards of travel, a secure retirement, and good health. No matter what life throws at me, I will pick myself up and stand on my own two feet. I am glad just to be here with my loving husband, children, grandchildren, family and friends. This blog, for example, has given me the opportunity to write and look for photo opportunities to use as symbols or to illustrate a point. Renewed discipline is good- a goal to blog every day. It is challenging. Exercise- walking and finding time to do my weights and other stretching! Finishing a book project, a craft project, and some home rennovations keep me going! My work! A purpose to get up every day! Do I really like getting "older"? Not really! But what is the alternative! Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I ask " who is that old lady?" When did she arrive? Oh birthdays, a time for reflection, renewel and relief!