Look Up - Trust #2

Trust is a sacred thing, and once lost is very hard to find again. Feeling second best is never a good feeling, especially when you know you were not someone's first choice, and you get that message repeated throughout your relationship. Life is too short to be second choice in anyone's book. Find where you are truly first choice, and live there. It's that Sheryl Crow song again about looking up and looking down. No one should look down on you, and you should look down on no one else in your life, especially if they are supposed to be your life partner.

Look Up - Trust

Okay, so I didn't blog yesterday. Life struck and I didn't get that far. So, here's one entry for today, and I'll probably post another one this evening.

Trust, like a building, is built up brick by brick. Things happen to destroy that trust - small things that may take out a window or a door, and large things that may demolish an entire floor. After repeatedly blows, trust is destroyed.

You can rebuild trust, just as you can rebuild a building, but there will always be something missing, something just not right anymore. And then you have to decide if you can live with missing that something, or if it's time to move one.

Look Up - in LA - Day 3

Mother's Day was very, very good to me! My daughter fixed pancakes, eggs, and strawberries for breakfast. Then we were off to see Iron Man 2 - better than the first one, and wait - don't leave until after the credits roll. You'll miss something important...

Then we had lunch at Fuddrucker's. Then, two bookstores, and then home to relax. Ah!!!

Tomorrow, back on the road again.

Look Up - in LA - Day 2

My daughter and I did the 21 mile route on the Cruising the Canejos today. Everyone was friendly and supportive. It was her first ride, and she did great! On the way, we passed a Habitat for Humanity project. The cacaphony of tools going was very uplifting! We are, after all, one big family - and family is what matters!

Looking Up - LA

Made it to LA in one piece with no major traffic hang-ups. First time over the Grapevine and that was easier than driving the Altamont Pass or up I-80 to Reno/Tahoe!

Spending the Mother's Day weekend withy my beautiful and talented daughter - the boys get to deal with the other moms in their lives - the "spare" mom for my youngest and the mother of my grandchildren for the eldest.

Life is good!

Looking Up - Family

I was blessed to have my son and my grandchildren over for a few hours this evening. The grandson turned 2 in March and the granddaughter is 6 months old. My generation is now the elder generation with the passing of my aunt in February. And the grandbabies are the up and coming generation. Family is a blessing and a port in the storm when you truly need one. We may harangue you and give you our strongly worded opinions, but we do love you and will stand by you when need be. That is what family is for, after all.

Looking Up - Oops!

I almost forgot to blog today! I just finished watching Iron Man with my youngest son so I can see Iron Man 2 with my daughter for Mother's Day. Family - that's what it's all about. I've got three kids, two of which have significant others, and one of which has two children. And I've got three step-kids, all currently unattached. And I've got an extended blood and chosen family as well. I have "spare" children, who add joy to my life as I watch theirs unfold along with my own chldren's lives. The circle of life - ain't it grand!

Looking Up - Becoming More

We can have more than we've got because we can become more than we are - Jim Rohn

I love Twitter. PhenomenalLife has some really great quotes, which I share here and on Facebook. This is one of three I found this evening as I roamed Twitterland.

Becoming more than we are. Wow. I could have stayed a high school drop out welfare mom, or an administrative assistant, or a budget analyst, but now, I'm a program and project manager. Why? I really don't know. Well, that's not exactly true. I was on welfare (AFDC - Aid to Families with Dependent Children) because my mother was in her last years, dying of emphysema brought on by a lifetime of smoking cigarettes. However, her philosophy was that welfare was a hand up, not a hand out, and that it was not a lifestyle, but rather a lifeline when needed.

After she passed, I went back to school through the JTPA (Jobs Training Partnership Act) and got a clerical certificate. I took the exam to get on the Federal job roles and started my career as a GS-2 military personnel clerk at one of our local air force bases. From 1988 to 1997, I worked for the Air Force, and moved up from a GS-2 to a GS-6. In 1997, I transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers as a GS-5, and have worked my way up from being an administrative assistant (GS-5/6), to a budget analyst (GS-7/9/11) to a program and project manager (GS-12).

My education beyond high school consists of that clerical certificate that got my foot in the door, two associates degrees - one in general business and one in financial accounting, and various classes provided by my employers.

I was not one of those kids who had a grand plan. My parents divorced when I was 10, my dad died of lung cancer when I was 13, I'm a high school dropout with a GED. My mom died when I was 22 and my older two children were 2 1/2 and six months old. They are now 26 and 23. I had one more child, who is now getting ready to embark on college. I've been through three divorces, and am finally content in my fourth marriage.

What I've been blessed by in my life is people who see my potential and continue to encourage me (and at times push me) even when I don't see it for myself. And I've been blessed with supervisors who allow and encourage their employees to grow, even when that means they may lose them to higher level jobs.

I truly believe if I can do it, so can others. I never said easy. I said it can be done. And I'm proof of that.

Looking Up - Can't Never Did Nothing

"Can't never did nothing" was perhaps the only grammatically incorrect phrase I ever heard from my mother's mouth. We went rounds when I was in junior high/middle school and started using the word "ain't." She'd say, "Ain't ain't a word" and I'd counter that it was in the dictionary and that made it a word. I guess that's why I think there is nothing a person cannot do if they are willing to work for it. Now, there may be other limitations, however, even most of those can be conquered with patience and perseverance. Note I said most, not all. One also has to realize when to give up and move on. Sometimes you have to do that. You have to recognize that one door has closed, but many are still open. You just have to walk through them.

Looking Up - Day 2

For some reason as I pondered on the theme today, a Sheryl Crow song came to mind - Soak Up the Sun (lyrics to be found here: http://new.music.yahoo.com/sheryl-crow/tracks/soak-up-the-sun-radio-edit--2009357).

The line that always gets me is the one about buying the things it takes to get her some of his love. And then there is the one about when she's looking up, he's looking down. But then she counters with "I'm still the king of me."

That's the message, I think, that we are each "the king of me" and no one can take that away from us. No one can take away your dignity or your honor without your permission. Every one of us is a human being, first and foremost, and therefore precious and part of a large family that spans the globe.

So, go forth, practice random acts of kindness, pay it forward, look for the good in first yourself and then in others. For you cannot love others if you do not love yourself.

Namaste and Peace be with You.

Ok, Interesting Ads

I posted my last post, checked my blog site, and there were these ads for WalMart in my stream. Wow! Yes, I put in/allowed ads in this blog, just to see if they really were passive revenue makers. Haven't seen a dime yet, but it is interesting to see the process.

Daily Posting Target for May 2010

So, ScriptFrenzy ended with my accomplishing 82 pages - 18 short of the goal. Now, what to turn my attention to for May? A friend suggested this website: http://www.nablopomo.com/, so I joined it. The theme for May is "Look Up." Interesting, since the quotes I've been pulling off Twitter are in the same theme. Here is the latest quote I pulled from Twitter, submitted by PhenomenalLife:

High expectations are the key to everything - Sam Walton

This guy founded WalMart and Sam's Club, which spread across the country before he died. They were open in Europe for a short time as well (we saw at least one there in 2005), but Europe has similar style stores (Carrefour comes to mind in France), so WalMart pulled back to the States.

So, my thought for the 1st of May (May Day, Beltane in the older pagan religions) is this: What do you want to grow in life and/or art this year? See it, taste it, touch it, go for it! You cannot win if you do not play!