Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘directions’

I recently wrote a thought ramble STEERING WHEEL concerning God’s Direction of my life and my tendency to want to direct my course. I recently met an acquaintance who is grieving for the passing of her fiancée. He had a stroke and she was his main caregiver until life changed and she was no longer responsible for his care. We were not close friends and I didn’t know of his passing. I could relate to her sorrow, I could also relate to the feeling of guilt that arises when you feel you have left a loved one down.

I experienced a great deal of guilt when we had to put my father, who had Alzheimer’s, in a nursing home because he could no longer walk. I spent a portion of chapter 10 in To Pap, With Love writing about my feelings. I also felt guilty when we had to send our Chocolate Lab, Mabel, home in July 2011. A neighbor’s comment helped take away my guilt.

It is not easy to accept God’s decisions or direction in our life. Have we been prevented from taking a planned trip? Why? Have we fallen and sprained or broken an important part of our body. Once again — WHY?? When life doesn’t follow the path that we have chosen — the question becomes WHY??

It doesn’t matter if the change is life changing – a failed marriage or romance, the loss of a friend or family member, the loss of a job. The change can be minor — a fall — sprained or broken body part, unplanned medical expense or emergency, unexpected bill, argument with a friend.

It is extremely hard in those situations to remember that God is in charge, He wants the best for us. Whatever the challenge in our life is, with His help, we can do it! We need to remember to ask for His help!

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STEP BY STEP

I guess it is time I join the 21st century. I have been trying without success. When we were in Florida, I used my daughter’s I-Pad and did such a good job of screwing it up it took her 20 minutes to fix.

My son let me use his I-Pad. We took it on vacation and I was able to use the GPS. Thankfully, I didn’t get into trouble. He wasn’t with us to fix it. Thinking positive, I took it to the country with us. Although I didn’t crash it, I wasn’t able to do anything either.

I have a regular cell phone. It just makes calls and takes pictures. You can’t play games or get all the new apps that are advertised. It doesn’t have a GPS nor does it talk to me.

My grandchildren, ages 3 and 6 are very proficient with their mom’s I Pad. I’m embarrassed.

My husband gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I won’t bore you with all my failures. In order to use it, it has to be unlocked. Really? My son showed me how — evidently I didn’t pay close enough attention. Five minutes later, I’m frustrated — looking for a window to evict it.

Once upon a time, products came with paper books that explained how to use them. I miss paper.

I am making progress. I have hopes for me. I bought a stylus which helps me to type, or enter a password. I actually was able to access my e-mail. Progress.

I like to read books, turn paper pages. I don’t know if I will ever be comfortable reading e-books. I’m sure my “friends in high places” are already proficient using the smart phones, I-Pads and tablets. I’m not planning to ask for their help.

Hopefully I’ll spend some time each day getting comfortable with the Kindle fire. Step by step — I’m stubborn — I’m hoping to make it my friend.

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DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DREAMS?

I’ve read that we dream every night. I suppose that I do, but most of the time I don’t remember them. Sometimes I wake very tired, and decide that I must have been VERY busy while I was asleep. Then there are a few that stay with me when I wake. Sometimes, they are very good dreams, puzzling sometimes — I don’t know what they mean. Or they are normal dreams — but they must have some message because they stay with me. Then there are those that are troubling, that wake me — glad that I’m safe, that it was just a dream.

I had one of those troubling dreams Tuesday night. Dark storm clouds roared in — I wasn’t home and wanted to make sure my family and pets were okay. I returned to the place we were staying and got everyone inside. That is when I noticed the building next door had been on fire, charred wood rubbed against our window.

Dangerous storm, charred wood — definitely woke me from my sleep. It took a few minutes before I realized it was a dream, we were safe. Then I went downstairs. I noticed a red light on our dishwasher — it was still on, even though I started the dishes at 7:00 P.M. As I approached, I felt heat coming from the unit. I had a hard time shutting it off. It wanted to keep running. Opening the door, I noticed the soap had not dispensed, there was no water in the tub. Somehow the heat turned on, and remained on for more than eleven hours. Everything inside was too hot to touch. Luckily we rinse our dishes, so I didn’t have a lot of food that was baked on. The dishwasher was loaded, everything needed to be hand washed and soaked to a)cool off, and b) loosen any food that had baked on. The edge of a cutting board melted, our son’s round glasses were now oval.

At 7:00 AM, I phoned a repair shop and was surprised when someone answered the phone. The technician arrived by 10. But the news was not good. Our dishwasher was more than 10 years old. He determined that the problem was the timing mechanism, which opened the soap, turned on the water, etc., in other words — ran the program. Next piece of bad news, he didn’t have one, it would need to be special ordered. The total cost of parts and labor was over $400.

We are celebrating Christmas at our house on the 22nd. I NEEDED a working dishwasher. I DIDN’T WANT TO WASH ALL THE DISHES BY HAND. I remembered washing holiday dishes for hours in my grandmother’s kitchen when I was a child. Her kitchen was twice as big as mine.  I wasn’t sure spending $400 on an older one was a wise move.

I considered buying the same brand that had given us good service for more than ten years. I like to support our local businesses when I can.  When I called our local appliance dealer, he said that was the last brand he would buy at this time, the company had been sold, the product was being made in Mexico and requiring more service calls than normal.

He had a dishwasher that would fit our needs, which was delivered and installed today.

Black, heavy storm clouds, burnt wood — definitely a warning. I’m glad we didn’t actually have a fire. I will admit that it was not the way I would have spent money two weeks before Christmas. But I’m spoiled! I like having an automatic dishwasher.

My “friends in high places” get excited around Christmas. They are always happy to help.

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WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY

There is a well known saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will come. Evidently I was ready. High sugar has been a concern for awhile, not for me, but for my husband. I will admit that I knew carbohydrates: bread, pasta, white potatoes contained more sugar. But I didn’t know how to interpret the data.

Last night I watched a program on our public television station. The nutrionist gave a formula to convert carbohydrates to teaspoons of sugar. Total carbohydrates minus fiber divided by five equals the number of teaspoons of sugar in the food.  The goal — no more then 10 teaspoons of sugar a day. This morning, I looked at my husband’s favorite breakfast — English muffins with peanut butter and jelly and understood why his sugar numbers are up.

I won’t say “my friends in high places” are always around. Truthfully I never know if they are until they make their presence known. This week, for some unknown reason, stuff is falling off the high shelf in the pantry. I won’t mention how long some of the stuff has been up there. But why was it falling now?

Sometime in the past year, I heard a report that mentioned that as a person ages, they produce less acid in their stomach. One of the solutions given was to drink one tablespoon of unpasturized apple cider vinegar in a glass of water two to three times a day. I have been following that advice with good results.

We are going to our younger daughters this week. I usually take some apple cider vinegar with me. I transfer some into a smaller glass bottle rather than taking the bigger bottle with me. When my Floridian daughter was in town, she labeled my bottle as a urine sample. That bottle was up on the top shelf of the pantry. It no longer is. It is now filled and ready for the trip. Was that the message I was supposed to get? I don’t know.

Christmas is coming. “My friends” are ready to help! And we know I need all the help I can get.

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THANKS

 
Recently I wrote how I think it is important to thank God, the Supreme being under whatever name you address Him or Her for the many blessings of life and help given. I also thank “my friends in high places” on a very regular basis.  This time I would like to thank you, the people who read my thought rambles. Some have written to let me know they were helpful and for this I am extremely grateful. Each and every day has its own challenges, I’m glad that I am NEVER ALONE. Many times I’m not aware that I’m not wandering solo. Then there is the rest of the time.

I would answer each comment personally except for two challenges. The first is that I haven’t figured out how to do it. The second, probably should be the first. This is the first time I have been on line since some time in September. I know that we are retired, supposedly we have a lot of free time. The reality of the situation is that we are not home that often and I HAVE NOT updated our cell phones, computers or other electrical means to be able to keep in constant connection. PLUS — I have “help” from my “friends in high places.” Recently, our youngest daughter gifted us with a vacation in the Wisconsin Dells. We left on a Wednesday. Thursday, I noticed I didn’t have my cell phone. Although my husband called the number repeatedly, we didn’t find it. I  couldn’t recall using the phone at all on Wednesday. I finally assumed I had left it at our Camper. Thankfully this proved to be correct. I found it right were I had left it before leaving for the trip. I guess it wasn’t supposed to go.

I will do a thought ramble on our fall vacation. Hopefully before we take off again which will be this week.

Just one thought before I close and cook supper.  Before we left for our trip, I was at Save a Lot, a grocery store in the town near our camper. I watched in amazement as a man chose a ham, and a chicken and a number of pizza’s and added it to his overflowing cart. At the check out line he graciously allowed me to go ahead of him. By now, you are probably aware of the fact that I talk to whoever is around.

I mentioned that he was probably buying food for a month to the person behind me. WRONG! It was one weeks supply. I have no idea the total of his bill. One comment led to another. I learned that he was feeding four children and two adults. Then I learned that two children were not his and often spent the night. He didn’t know what they would eat or if they would eat at all if he didn’t feed them. I had to acknowledge that he was a positive influence in theses children’s lives.  Because of his care, they had safe shelter and might make it through childhood.  RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME!. I think so. Everyone needs a pat on the back

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RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

The premise of my writing is to show that we have “friends in high places” that are involved in our life. Therefore, for the most part I don’t write about the joys, problems or challenges in my life unless they seem to be interacting with the other side. Often, my life is ordinary. Then there is the rest of it.

My father enjoyed helping other people. My mother might have shared the same feeling. Since she passed over when I was four, I really can’t speak from experience. I have been told that I’m like her in many ways.
Over the past few years I’ve realized that she is often with me, for which I’m extremely grateful.

So, okay, where is this going? Do I have a point? Yes, I really do. When I enrolled in a Creative Writing class, our teacher mentioned that once we became aware of synchronicities, they would occur more often. Depending on my actions during the day, it might be a quiet day or more interesting.

Recently it was a shopping day. One of my favorite stores is Costco. I feel I receive good value for my money and I enjoy interacting with many of the employees. Costco DOES NOT provide bags for your purchases but they will place them into boxes for easier handling. Sometimes those boxes can be extremely heavy. The weight of the box and the deepness of the shopping cart can make it difficult to get the loaded box out of the cart.  Walking through the parking lot, I passed a woman who had such a problem and was able to extend an extra hand.

That same day, at another store, I noticed a gentleman that seemed to be searching for something with a degree of anxiety. When I asked if he was looking for the bathroom, I was able to direct him to the proper place.

Friday, I took our last pug, Lexie , out for a bathroom break. I call her our energizer pug and someday I will write a thought ramble about her. For now let me say that she is 14 years plus, half blind and with hearing loss. Since she walks with a fishtail gate, and stops to rest often, she wanders without a leash. Friday, I took her out in front of the house for her bathroom break. We live on a busy street. A car pulled over to the side, they lowered the window and a woman asked for directions. She was trying to get to the South side of Chicago and the directions she received from her hotel had her confused. I had to take a break to retrieve a wandering dog,  but luckily I was able to help her.

We have lived in our neighborhood for many years and I still don’t know the streets. But when I was young and took the bus, I learned the major streets on the North side.  Right Place, Right Time! Always makes my day!

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