Category: Inspiration

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The Circle of Life

Boxed Returns

Whitney Fleming writes:

Let me tell you a little story about the circle of life.

Yesterday, my 80-year-old mom told my nearly 50-year-old self to bring my laundry upstairs. Then, she instructed me how to clean a pot I’ve had for two decades. And then, when I was packing a few boxes for returns, she reminded me to make sure I blacked-out the labels or else the post office wouldn’t know what to scan.

And that’s when I responded with, “Mom! This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, you know!”

She just laughed at me and drank her tea and rearranged her magic purse that has everything in it from medicine for every ailment and tissues to nail clippers and candy.

I don’t know why I responded so curtly. I guess I just was tired and didn’t want to be told what to do.

The irony wasn’t lost on me when throughout the day, I said things to my teenagers like, “Hey, did you send in that form yet?” and “Take your coat upstairs” and “OMG! Put that bowl in the dishwasher.”

And each time, they responded with the obligatory, “I know, Mom!”

I would laugh at their exasperation and return to what I was doing.

Last night, my 16-year-old and I went to the wake of a lovely woman who happened to be the grandmother of my daughter’s best friend.

As I hugged my friend, the mom to my daughter’s bestie and the daughter of the deceased, I watched as one of her kids brought a pair of tweezers back to her.

She explained, “As we were coming here, I just started throwing everything in my purse that I thought I would need, just in case. Of course, one of the kids needed them. My mom always did that for us.”

And I couldn’t help thinking about grandmas and their special purses, and how mothers show their love.

Sometimes we show it by nagging–or gently reminding–about looming deadlines and chores that need to be done.

Sometimes it’s by setting rules and boundaries to keep them safe.

Sometimes it’s by doing laundry when your child–no matter what their age–doesn’t have the time or cooking a special meal or changing sheets.

Sometimes it’s laughing off a snarky comment.

And sometimes, it’s simply being there, saying nothing at all.

The universe showed me something pretty special yesterday.

It reminded me of all the love I give and receive throughout the small details of my life, and how lucky I am to have it spread through three generations right now.

A mother’s love is rarely shown in grand gestures, but if we’re lucky, woven into a lifetime of small, meaningful moments of kindness and selflessness and generosity that knows no bounds.

And when the time comes, in the magic purses grandmothers carry–when these grand women start slowing down but still want to be there for their family.

Until it’s time to pass that tradition on to the mothers coming after.

Love your people hard today, in whatever small ways you can show it. Treasure the ways they show their love to you. Don’t take one second for granted.

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How Children Perceive Their Grandparents

Grandparents

1. I was in the bathroom, putting on my makeup, under the watchful eyes of my young granddaughter, as I’d done many times before. After I applied my lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, “But Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!” I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye….
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 68. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, “Did you start at 1?”
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, “Who was THAT?”
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like. “We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods.” The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, “I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!”
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, “Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?” I mentally polished my halo and I said, “No, how are we alike?’’ “You’re both old,” he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s word processor. She told him she was writing a story.
“What’s it about?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I can’t read.”
7. I didn’t know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, “Grandma, I really think you should try to figure out some of these colors yourself!”
8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, “It’s no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights.”
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, “I’m not sure.” “Look in your underwear, Grandpa,” he advised “Mine says I’m 4 to 6.” (WOW! I really like this one — it says I’m only ’38’!)
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, “Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today.” The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. “That’s interesting.” she said. “How do you make babies?” “It’s simple,” replied the girl. “You just change ’y’ to ’i’ and add ’es’.”
11. Children’s Logic: “Give me a sentence about a public servant,” said a teacher. The small boy wrote: “The fireman came down the ladder pregnant.” The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. “Don’t you know what pregnant means?” she asked. “Sure,” said the young boy confidently. ’It means carrying a child.”
12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog’s duties.
“They use him to keep crowds back,” said one child.
“No,” said another. “He’s just for good luck.”
A third child brought the argument to a close. “They use the dogs,” she said firmly, “to find the fire hydrants.”
13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. “Oh,” he said, “she lives at the airport, and whenever we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we’re done having her visit, we take her back to the airport.”
14. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don’t get to see him enough to get as smart as him!
15. My Grandparents are funny, when they bend over, you hear gas leaks and they blame their dog.

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Time To Ban Fossil Fools

Time To Ban Fossil Fools

Eugenicists, all.

Given that intelligence is the ability to solve problems and insanity is the urge to destroy, I consider it a moral duty for all those who cannot come up with a  saner, more intelligent solution than “everyone else has to die” to set an example for the rest of us and remove themselves from the gene pool.

This will have the benefit of removing a source of insanity and of raising the average IQ of those left in the gene pool.

Without their destructive influence we can maybe make more progress towards eradicating war, crime and insanity.

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Friends

Many years ago, a newlywed young man was sitting on a couch on a hot, humid day, sipping frozen juice during a visit to his father. As he talked about adult life, marriage, responsibilities, and obligations, the father thoughtfully stirred the ice cubes in his glass and cast a clear, sober look on his son.

“Never forget your friends,” he advised, “they will become more important as you get older.” “Regardless of how much you love your family and the children you happen to have, you will always need friends. Remember to go out with them occasionally, do activities with them, call them …”

“What strange advice!” Thought the young man. “I just entered the married world, I am an adult and surely my wife and the family that we’ll start will be everything I need to make sense of my life.” Yet annually he increased the number and obeyed his father, and kept in touch with his friends. Over the years, he became aware that his father knew what he was talking about.

In as much as time and nature carry out their designs and mysteries on a man, friends were the bulwarks of his life. After 50 years of life, here is what he learned:

Time passes.
Life goes on.
The distance separates.
Children grow up.
Children cease to be children and become independent. And for the parents it breaks the heart but the children are separated of the parents.
Jobs come and go.
Illusions, desires, attraction, sex … weaken.
People do not do what they should do.
The heart breaks.
The parents die.
Colleagues forget the favours.
The races are over.
But, true friends are always there, no matter how long or how many miles they are apart.

A friend is never more distant than the reach of a need, barring you, intervening in your favour, waiting for you with open arms or blessing your life.

When we started this adventure called LIFE, we did not know of the incredible joys or sorrows that were ahead. We did not know how much we would need from each other. Love your parents, take care of your children, but keep a group of good friends. Dialogue with them but do not impose your criteria.

Refer this text to all your friends who help make sense in your life …

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Anthony Bourdain Said

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain said: “Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride.”