28 March 2012

Thoughts on Death

"Let us live so that when we die, even the undertaker will be sorry."  - Mark Twain

The grandmother of a friend of mine passed away recently, which, as usually happens with an event I am not intimately involved with, allows me the opportunity to reflect and ponder.

Naturally, I thought first of my own parents.  My dad is 63 and my mom will turn 60 this summer.  For the most part, they are still mobile, active, mostly able to do everything they've always done.  I hear reports every so often (mostly from my dad) of high blood pressure, gout, and a sore back, while my mom is plagued every now and then with a migraine.

General old people malaise, you know?

No cancers, operations, strokes, heart attacks, terrible accidents, ad nauseum.  And what I realized today is, I'd better enjoy that time with them the very best I can.  I live near my parents during a relatively healthy stretch of their existence.  I'd better not squander it!

Thinking of my parents' health naturally leads to me thinking of my lifestyle choices.  Am I active everyday?  Am I doing something with my brain everyday?  Am I living every day? 

I hope so.  I'm trying.  After all, when I die, I want even the undertaker to be sorry that I'm going.

06 March 2012

More GBNB (Get Better, Not Bitter)

To know more about the meaning about the acronym and phrase above, see this post here.

I have struggled mightily with this concept in the last several days. 

First, I frequently have let others frustrate me.  And then, I'm like an egg...once I become cracked, even a very little bit, my fragility skyrockets.

Consequently, I've indulged in a little self-scourging because of the above behavior.  I know my happiness does not depend on what others do or don't do; I mean, I can't control them...but recently, I've also felt like I can't control my own reaction to them either.  And I've really hated feeling this way...like I'm solely sustained by other people, instead of being my own independent person.

So.  Today was a bit of a breaking point.  I'm thankful that I know people who remind me to step back, rethink, and let it go. 

Anyone who spends a fair amount of time here knows how much I love my quotes.  So, I'll chuck two up here (probably been used before) that seem to encapsulate a new WYWH mindset.

From Dr. Seuss:

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

From Eleanor Roosevelt:

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."*

I'm not going to give my consent anymore when it comes to letting others make me feel inferior.  And, I'm going to do what I always do, without any expectation of response, action, or acceptance from somebody else...unless they matter.



(*a website called www.quoteinvestigator.com claims this quote cannot be traced to Roosevelt, with research to prove it.  But, the website is maintained by a Garson O'Toole, who has a PhD from Yale in Computer Science.  According to the website's "About" section, Dr. O'Toole "diligently seeks the truth about quotations."  Remember - anyone can say anything out here on the Internet...so caveat researcher.  Let the researcher beware.)

04 March 2012

I'm 17 Years For a Moment...

Oh wow.  In preparation for the new KING-size bed set that arrives to my house today, I've been cleaning, dusting, and pitching things like mad.  I'm not a hoarder by nature, so I thoroughly enjoy the pitching and purging process.

Except, I came across something I will not throw away...because it's just too darn hilarious.

It's a list of 35 goals I made for myself a long time ago...

The date?  January 15, 1993.  I was four months shy of my eighteenth birthday.

Here's my legend: an asterisk (*) means it's been accomplished.  A number sign (#) means I haven't done it yet.  A (@) means a fail.  Got it?
 
As they say in New Orleans: Laissez les bons temps rouler!  (Let the good times roll!) 

1. Move to Oregon (#)
2. Travel overseas (*)
3. Have 3 children (*)
4. Read all 30 banned books on my list (# - it's probably longer now)
5. Graduate from college with little debt to pay (*)
6. Skydive (#)
7. Send my parents on a Caribbean cruise (# - it might just be my mom)
8. Lose virginity (* - heh)
9. Go to all my class reunions (* - so far)
10. Visit at least half of all the US states (#)
11. Get a job with a salary over $25,000 (* - yes, but then I quit)
12. Be a regular on Saturday Night Live (#)
13. Meet Christian Slater (#)
14. Watch a San Francisco 49ers football game in real-life (#)
15. Watch a Los Angeles Dodgers game in real-life (#)
16. Go to the Olympics (#)
17. Whitewater raft (#)
18. Build my own home (#)
19. Have respectful and disciplined children (* - work in progress)
20. Live till I'm 100 (* - working on it)
21. Purchase a mediocre expensive car (* - ha!  Obviously I did not know the meaning of 'mediocre')
22. Own a hot tub (#)
23. Weigh 120-125 pounds by graduation (@)
24. Marry a basketball player (* - I did not specify professional or what.  Brent played in high school...ACCOMPLISHED)
25. Not get pregnant before college graduation (@ - I was about four months pregs when I graduated from college.  Maybe it's a FAIL, but I'm okay with it.)
26. To play professional golf (#...but it's likely to be a @)
27. Get braces (#)
28. Learn a musical instrument (#)
29. Go to a music concert (*)
30. Climb Mt. Everest (#...and I've lost the interest, so @)
31. Grow long hair (* - No specification on length)
32. Act on Broadway (#- See 26)
33. Stand on Mt. Rushmore (# - Must check.  I may not be allowed close enough to actually stand on it)
34. Visit all Seven Wonders of the World (# - Did not specify Ancient or Natural or Modern)
35. Meet Jean-Claude Van Damme (# - Ahahahahaahaaaaaaaahahahahahahhahahahaaaaaa!)

So, data analysis:
12 out of 35 goals - ACHIEVED
21 out of 35 goals - HAVE NOT YET ACHIEVED
3 out of the previous 21 - HAVE LOST DESIRE TO ACHIEVE
4 out of the previous 21 - HIGHLY UNLIKELY GOAL WILL BE ACHIEVED
2 out of 35 goals - FAIL

I guess now I know what I've got the rest of my life to work on!

01 March 2012

The Finale - Dream For the Future

A dream for the future, eh?

Well, it is then this:

I (as well as my husband) am retired (or semi- or pseudo- or not, if I love my job).  My children are grown, out of my house, and are living happy and successful adult lives.  I'm sure there will be grandchildren at some point for us (although, if not, life will go on).

Due to modern medical advances, we are quite in excellent health for our ages...in fact, a complete physical checkup in the last week (for both of us) turned out extremely satisfactory results.  We are on no medications, eat healthy and not to excess, and get some kind of exercise every day.

Because we made good financial choices in our twenties and thirties, we now have some reliable fundage to keep us going well into our nineties and beyond.

And with that, Brent and I purchased ocean-side property on some island in the Aegean Sea.  We spend most of our time there, basking in the Grecian sun, eating dried-out octopus and other such local fare (which I cook up in amazing ways).  Thanks to my lucrative best-selling novels and cookbooks, we have the money to fly our kids and any grandchildren to Greece every December for Christmas and New Year's.

Not too shabby, eh?