A Thankful Heart

Take nothing for granted, for whatever you do,

The joy of enjoying will be lessened for you.

For you'd rob your own life much more than you'll know

When we fail to respond or in any way show

Our thanks for blessings that daily are ours ~

The warmth of the sun, the fragrance of flowers,

The beauty of twilight, the freshness of dawn

The coolness of dew on a green velvet lawn,

The kind little deeds so thoughtfully done,

The favors of friends and the love that someone

Unselfishly gives us in a myriad of ways,

Expecting no payment and no words of praise.

Oh, great is our loss when we no longer find

A thankful response to things of this kind.

For the joy of enjoying and the fullness of living

Are found in the heart that is filled with thanksgiving.

~ Helen Steiner Rice

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With thanksgiving in my heart i'm wishing you all a

Happy Thanksgiving! =)

A Mother's Love

A mother's love is something

that no one can explain-

It is made of deep devotion and sacrifice and pain.

It is endless and unselfish and enduring,

come what may,

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away!

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking it never fails or falters

even if the heart is breaking.

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

and it glows with all the beauty

of a rare and precious gem.

It is far beyond defining

it defies all explanation,

and it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation-

A many splendid miracle

man cannot understand

yet another wondrous evidence

of God's tender loving plan!

Helen Steiner Rice

Happy Mothers Day!!!

The Grass is always Greener

I got this e-mail a little while ago and really enjoyed it...

Someone will always be prettier. Someone will always be smarter.

Some of their houses will be bigger. Some will drive a better car.

Their children will do better in school. And their husband will fix more things around the house.

We must realize we can't have it all,

So let it go, and love you and your circumstances. Think about it!

The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.

And the most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children. And the richest woman you know, she's got the car, the house, the clothes might be lonely.

We are taught 'If I have not Love, I am nothing.' So LOVE YOU! Love who you are! Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say, I am too Blessed to be Stressed and too Anointed to be Disappointed!

Winners make things happen! Losers let things happen!

Be Blessed!!!

It's so true that we all struggle with envy and even jealously at things others may have that we don't. Weather it's possessions, beauty, talent or one of many other things. I always try to remind myself that even though someone may have something I desire I still need to be grateful for all the wonderful things I do have. Hey their might just be someone out there that thinks your pretty great as well and might wish she had some of the things you do!

On this same topic, Liah sent me an article by Jean Thompson that was printed in Allure titled the "Girl of my Dreams" I Love this article!!! I debated actually putting the whole essay up here, but it's too long so here are some pieces of it...

"I saw her again not long ago, while I was waiting for a flight at O'Hare. We were both standing in line for coffee. I was my usual haggard pre-flight self, dressed in athletic shoes, utilitarian black pants, and an oversize linen shirt, already wrinkled. A militant nonchecker of luggage, I was sweating under the bulky weight of my carry-ons.

The Girl I Always Wanted to Be wore a summery white blouse and skirt, cinched with a slim gold belt. She carried a ladylike straw clutch which matched her espadrilles. (My own handbag, selected for its storage capacity, looked and felt as if it were stuffed with rocks.) On her wrists were dainty bracelets; around her neck, some sparkly chains. Most telling of all, the Girl I Always Wanted to Be ordered her coffee and strolled off with it in an amused, leisurely fashion, as if travel were an adventure to be enjoyed, as if it were to be expected that you pulled your look together for the occasion, and that fretting over how to pack
miniaturized toiletries into TSA-approved containers was for lesser mortals.

Now, one vital characteristic of the Girl I Always Wanted to Be is that she is a stranger, momentarily glimpsed. For all I know, the girl in the airport arrived at her destination bereft of her luggage, stamping her well-shod foot in baggage claim, and calculating how long she could manage without buying new underwear. That's not the point.

There's a combination of appearance, attitude, and circumstances that, for a powerful, unwilled moment, makes us want to be someone else. It's different from ordinary envy of, say, catalog models or celebrities. Different also from that mainstay of advertising the pairing of products with desirable scenarios, i.e., if only I could be that happy, attractive person drinking Coke or driving a Lexus. And when it comes to the accomplishments of accomplished women, I'd like to think that I admire them without any dark complications of motive. But the Girl I Always Wanted to Be involves wistfulness, an awareness of our own insecurities, identity as it can be conveyed by style and, perhaps, a sense of possibilities."

"A second truth about TGIAWTB is that she changes over time, mutates along with our chronological age and the prevailing culture. Think about the phase, or phases, you went through when you ardently wished to be called by a different name. In second grade I determined that the most perfect, most mellifluous name in the world belonged to my classmate Lana Joy Jacobs, who took tap-dancing lessons. (Hi, Lana Joy! How did life turn out?) Later I wanted to be Cindy or Candy. (Think cheerleader. Think plaid.) Later still, coming of age in the 1960s, maybe Yasmina or Shenandoah.

In time I came to terms with my own noncommittal monosyllable, to which no nickname has ever adhered. Just as when we get older we tend to make peace with ourselves, inside and out, or else go for the big transformation-the sex-change operation or religious conversion. But the impulse to change, rearrange, or perfect stays with us, fueling entire industries. There's a balance between self-improvement and self-acceptance that we each have to find for ourselves."

I know that was still long but I just had to share this! How many times have you seen that "Girl I always wanted to be"? What was it about her that made you wish to be her? In what ways can you draw strength and love for ourselves by admiring TGIAWTB? I love thinking about things like this. I loved this article because it made me aware of my own feelings when I look at that girl I've always wanted to be and instead of feeling bad I'm not her it makes me appreciate myself even more. Sure I'd still Die to have that tiny waist and Hermes handbag but I'm just as happy in my own skin with my fake Prada from canal street! ;)

The Soul, Like Nature, Has Seasons, Too

Poem from Sydney's funeral by Helen Steiner Rice:

When you feel cast down and despondently sad
And you long to be happy and carefree and glad,
Do you ask yourself as I often do,

Why must there be days that are cheerless and blue?
Why is the song silenced in a heart that was gay?
And then I ask God what makes life this way.
His explanation makes everything clear-

The soul has it’s seasons the same as the year.
Man too must pass through life’s autumn of death
And have his heart frozen by winter’s cold breath,
But spring always comes with new life and birth,
Followed by summer to warm the soft earth…

And oh what a comfort to know there are reasons
That souls like nature, must too have their seasons-
Bounteous seasons and barren ones, too,

Times for rejoicing and times to be blue…

For with nothing but sameness how dull life would be,
For only life’s challenge can set the soul free…
It’s a mixture of both bitter and sweet
To season our lives and make them complete.