Hello Ladies,
As we all run around like crazy people busy as all get out celebrating milestones with our children or grandchildren.  I want to retell a story that my mother shared with me on June 6th which was her 96th.

On this birthday she was reflecting that  her mother used to make her favorite meal of enchiladas every year for her birthday meal.  She remembered how it tasted, how it smelled and that it was the only gift she received from her mother year after year.
It made me realize how sometimes we don't appreciate the simple things in life and how precious they really are. My mother has always given us her time either in the way of food, conversation, or prayer. It was all she had and like her mother it was the purest way she could show her love for us and those we care about. She also extends that love to our friends and their children and is always wondering how others are so that she can partake in the good things that happen to others without asking anything for herself. She is an amazing woman who has taught us lessons without hitting us over the head but by giving unrelentingly, unconditionally, and with unwavering love.
As I go through this hot flash time in my life I hope that I can be as gracious as she has been to so many.

Happy June! 

Heart to Heart...............

It should really be everyday that we show our love in big and small ways but it is also nice to be reminded. When I was young the fear of going to school on Valentine's day was so nerve wrecking. I never considered myself popular, never the brightest, definitely not the prettiest SO, I prayed for at least one envelope to be placed on my desk. God never let me down but each year I went through the same anxiety. 

I knew that being friendly wasn't the be all, get all when it came to being popular or liked in school. You had to have that certain something that I didn't have. Now, I know that even though I might not be the prettiest, the smartest or the most popular, I love being friendly and giving for how it makes me feel inside not for what I might get back. 

Finding the balance to give when it makes sense and feels good is sometimes difficult. I now sometimes have anxiety because I can't be everywhere or everything for everyone. In the end, it is a give and take and taking or expecting isn't bad or awful of us. It is what keeps us motivated, inspires us, propels us and helps us decide what we want to give to whom and when. Discernment is one of the most wonderful ways in which we can balance the giving and the taking and make days like the 14th of February really meaningful for our relationships on all levels. 

All of our interactions with others are important at some level and showing appreciation for them is what will always make the world go round.

Hope you heart day was filled with an everlasting joy. 

Hi again, it's a NEW, not so NEW year!

It is really incredible how our lives just ebb and weave and all of a sudden it is weeks even months before we have accomplished something we intended to do. It doesn't matter what our best intentions are sometimes, we just don't get some things done until much later then we expected.

This year's holiday season without my sister Martha was especially difficult in light of the fact that this was the time of year she came down from Northern CA with her family, we made tamales, and celebrated her birthday. This year was different and it was hard. It was especially hard for my 95 year old mother who just last week shared that she often remembers certain occasions in which my sister Becky, who went to heaven in Jan-2010 and my sister Martha who suddenly went to heaven in May-2011 were present in a big fun way. They were her friends not just her daughters. They gave her advise, they guided her and treated her like a treasure which we sometimes forget to do with our moms.

So I am reconnecting so that we can share and laugh and even cry through our ideas, inspiring moments, our reflections and our insights.  I also hope that this year will find you in a better place then you were last year. I am striving to take moments to reconnect with who I am and share them with you and I hope you will do the same.
Hot flashes are not so frequent and I love being able to wear a sweater indoors for longer than 5 minutes!!
tootles until next time.