Oldies But Goodies

Some things just never get old. That is especially true for classic movies, I Love Lucy reruns and people you love. OK people might age, but when you love somebody their aging process is rarely a detriment. After all you are getting older too.

Perhaps that is why we have such a love for all things nostalgic. We remember things from our youth and for a moment we feel young again. We smile as we momentarily re-live a pleasant part of our past.

My mom, who is in her 80's, still stands up to dance when she hears big-band music. My husband loves to relax and watch Star Trek reruns - the original 60's version. He practically has the episodes memorized, but seeing them again and again does something for him. It makes him happy. I have re-connected with several old friends on Classmates.com over the last few years and it is always fun to reminisce with them about the "good-ol-days."

Enjoying life isn't always about creating new memories; sometimes enjoyment comes in old but well loved packages. Of course if we are to make sure that "today" eventually becomes one of the "good-ol-days," we have to make choices that create happiness in our life today. Most of the time that entails laughing at ourselves when we look silly, letting the little pleasures become important and remembering to appreciate everyone in our life. The crazy woman who lives next door might seem intolerable today, but someday, she might be the impetus for a great story.

Look around at your life and discover what you otherwise would have taken for granted today. Appreciate it, celebrate it and share it with someone you love.

Experience Everyday - While it Lasts

Today I'm going to spend the afternoon with a friend and her husband. I tend to spend a good amount of time visiting friends, but today is different. My friend's husband is dying of cancer, and he is not expected to last the weekend. Not a very uplifting day to be writing about how to enjoy one's life. But in fact it is.

You see, 3 months ago Jay was healthy and fit. He was always busy working out in their lush yard, growing flowers for church on Sunday, making furniture for his lovely home, or playing his saxophone. So you see, today writing about enjoying your life is particularly poignant. We never know when we or a loved one will be called home. And for that reason, it is so important to treat each day like a precious jewel.

It is so easy to become complacent in life, to take each day for granted and to forget that every moment that passes is gone forever. Make a decision today to make each moment count. Tomorrow will come soon enough.

Keeping Your Digital Photos Safe

One of the best ways to enjoy your life is to take lots of pictures. Now you don't need to read a blog to figure this out, but with technology exploding into the fast lane I thought it was appropriate to mention a few ways to keep your memories safe and available.

1. Most people are using digital cameras these days and one mistake we can make is to neglect to get prints of the pictures we want to fawn over from time to time. Sure it is nice to have them all saved on your screen saver but there are times that you'll want to have them available to take to parties and family functions - so you can let others enjoy them too. (Yes I'm one of those grandmothers who shows complete strangers pictures of my grand baby).

2. Heaven forbid you should have something go wrong with your computer and loose all your precious photos. Make sure you have your photos backed up either on hardware or by using an online photo keeper such as Costco or Walmart. There are a lot of sites out there but if you keep your photos on a site that can also print them for you, it will be a lot easier to order prints.

3. Send Grandma all your wonderful family photos via email or web site. That way even if you loose your copy you will have access to them - Grandmothers never delete their precious photos!

4. Remember to upload your pictures to your computer from your camera frequently so that you don't accidentally erase them. And do your best to be organized about where on the computer you place them. We lost a whole days worth of priceless family photos (which we were solely responsible for) and my family hasn't forgiven me yet. My husband finally found them on an old hard drive but we were really lucky that we didn't loose them permanently.

Technology has made some things easier but you have to develop different habits to ensure that your time and efforts aren't wasted.

What the Hail?

You won’t believe this story – but it’s true. It was one of “those” days today.

After getting home late from a tiring day in the city I walked the 1/8th mile jaunt to my mailbox. There was a break in the rain and I figured it was now or never. I tucked the huge bundle of mail under one arm and held up a lantern with the other so I could see the numbers on the cold steel combination lock which secures our gate.

My fingers were stiff and slow to find the right combination. Just as I got the numbers set in place it started to rain. Quickly I wrapped the the lock through the large ranch style gate, flipped the numbers and turned with the intention of scurrying up the hill before getting drenched; but before I stepped away I realized that I hadn’t placed the lock around both the post and the gate. So, in the rain, with chilled fingers, I held up the lantern once again and struggled to re-enter the code. Then, it began to hail.

I tried to hurry, but that only slowed me down. So, patiently I concentrated on the numbers and tried to forget the hail that was now large and heavy. Finally, I re-locked the gate and turned to go back up the driveway, but as I stepped away the lantern flew out of my hand and crashed against the post. In my narrow minded, concentrated effort, I had wound the steel cord through the handle of my lantern before re-locking the gate.

By now the hail had whitened my hair, flown down my neckline (brrrr!) and was stinging my wet hands as it hit my frigid skin. Frustrated, I thought of leaving the lantern attached to the gate until morning. Instead, again I suffered hail, cold and now, no lantern to illuminate the numbers, I re-opened the lock, withdrew my lantern, re-locked the gate for the 3rd time and finally, again, I turned to go up the hill. All this time my trusty dog had been by my side, but I had forgotten about her and as I turned I stepped on her. She yelped, I jumped, landed in a puddle and lost my grip on the mail under my arm which quickly fell into the watery ditch next to the gate.

So there I was, in the dark with my wet dog, hail stuck to my hair, on my knees, searching a ditch for mail that was probably all marked “occupant.”

As I turned for the last time toward the house, I had to laugh. I couldn’t wait to tell my husband what had just happened. Surely he would think I made it all up – but I didn’t.

Hope your day was just as fun.