Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘FRIENDS’

IMPORTANT DATES

There are 352 days in the year. For some reason, some days are more important than others. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays head the list. So are the dates of passing. Yesterday was the anniversary of the fire — passing of my mother and brother. It has been 70 years since they passed.

If I hadn’t remembered myself – the events of the week would have reminded me. If there is a better way of describing the events that occur in my life, at the moment it is hiding. One of my descriptions is BLOCKS. It doesn’t matter what I try to do, I CAN’T. I might be trying to write and can’t think. I might be trying to use the computer and it won’t work. I might be trying to cook and run into obstacles. I might have had something in my hand, put it down and it hides.

January 13, my computer would not connect to the internet. I asked my son for help and he said the internet was running, he had no problem. I tried to connect to a meditation and was prevented. I finally figured out that the BLOCKS were on. I don’t know why, I’m constantly reminded to meditate but that one is blocked. Too much time? I’m challenged when it comes to meditating. I have learned how to keep my mind blank, clear thoughts but I don’t connect.

No energy this week, I went downtown to drop off paperwork and my camera for cleaning. I stopped into St. Peter’s for Mass. I always pick up the bulletin and read it on my way home. I was reminded that fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit’s actions. Bible reading today reminded me that in fire gold is tested. This is not the first time that I have heard these things. My scars are a reminder that I have been tested — but I’m not gold. It has taken many years but I now admit that I walk to a different drummer. Some talents have been discovered, many may still be hidden.

I did not know the date of the passing of my mother and brother for many years. It wasn’t necessarily hidden, just never talked about. Sadly, my family didn’t speak about my mother either — maybe it was too painful. Too celebrate January 19 this year, I took the ornaments off of our Christmas tree. Our tree is a memory tree and most of the ornaments have meaning. I knew I had four little metal angels, all playing different instruments. I found three. I usually place them in a grouping, together in the same area. I searched and searched without success.

Sunday, removing the lights, the little missing metal angel fell off the tree holding cymbals. I also found an Irish angel holding a harp. Reminded of my mother and brother, I laughed. My mom was Irish.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

GIFTS ACKNOWLEDGED

Naming a thought ramble is becoming harder and harder. I even contemplated numbering them starting with the new year. Then my daughter mentioned it would be harder to find once they were written and not having a title — possibly generating less interest. A gift — constructive help in making a decision. Didn’t help with the title though. Often I receive feedback or information that helps with a decision. Often it is a gift that I don’t acknowledge.

It is easy to recognize gifts that come wrapped in paper — harder to recognize gifts that arrive on the wind or unwrapped. We received an unexpected Christmas card from a friend. Seeing the card, seeing her name brought a smile to my face. Her husband passed a few years ago, they had moved out of our neighborhood and I lost track of them. I still had to write our Christmas letter. A gentle reminder that time is passing.

Often I recognize gifts that are found in the stores — I’m reminded of product I need to buy when I see it in another cart. If the item is on sale, I’m happy. I acquired an instant pot unexpectedly when I found it on sale at Aldi’s. We returned from out of town and we stopped to pick up milk, salad and bread. I noticed the item on their sales sheet. Lovely surprise.

Often I read something that is of benefit to me. Or I hear it on the radio or television. Maybe I meet someone walking down the street or in a store whom I hadn’t seen in a while. All of these are gifts. They bring a smile to my face or laughter.

Filling the car with Gas at Costco has been a challenge the past couple of weeks. The number of cars waiting overflow the lot and wind down the street. When I inquired as to the best time to fill up, I was told before 10:00 or after 6:00. They were getting three truckloads of gas a day. My husband dropped me at the store, and joined the crowd waiting to fill up. Finished shopping, I sat at a table while I waited. A young boy was enjoying his hot dog and we talked about Santa. They left and I invited an older oriental woman to join me. I must have commented on her age and learned we were the same age. I shook her hand and she replied “you look so young.” What a gift. I wasn’t feeling very young when she said that on a cold, dreary winter day. It brought a smile to my face. A gift — forgotten except I wrote myself a note.

Maybe that is the key — write down the unexpected gifts that arrive — beautiful weather or just sunshine after a dreary day, a birds song, a phone call, or meeting on the street, a sale, a compliment — the list goes on and on.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

THE VOICES

I wrote this as an exercise for Creative Writing. We were supposed to write in a different style. My life had already changed considerably. I received more “help” than I ever dreamed possible. My “friends in high places” as I was beginning to call them, often woke me up at 4:00 AM. When my father was alive, he thought he could think better at that time of day. He even set his alarm so he would wake up. His sister Connie often got up that early. She had become another of “my friends in high places.” I thought getting up at seven was early enough. To make matters worse, an itch developed on both of my ankles. Scratching it felt better than eating chocolate or ice cream. Imagine if you will, three or four angels sitting around, conniving. The events are true. The dialogue is fiction. Or is it?

“She is awake. She should be up.”
“How are we going to get her out of bed? Nothing is working. She looks at the clock, rolls over, buries her head in the pillow and lays there.”
“It is after 6:00. Time is flying. She is wasting the day.”
“She ignores all the ideas we give her. Tells her brain to shut up, go back to sleep. Rolls over. Lays there.”
“I made her pillow lumpy. It didn’t work. She rolled over.”
“The dogs want to sleep too. I tried to get them to tell her they wanted to go out. They ignored me. They don’t want to get up this morning. ”
“It wouldn’t do any good anyway. He closed their bedroom door when he left.”
“If they barked or whined she would get up.”
“But they didn’t get up. They can sleep; she is the one who has to get up. How are we going to get her up.”
“I know! I know! I know how we can do it.”
“You’re so smart. How?”
“We can make her itch.”
“So we make her itch. She scratched, then she lies there.”
“That’s because you’re not doing it right.”
“What do you mean I’m not doing it right? There is not a right way and a wrong way to make someone itch.”
“Oh yes there is. I can make her itch so she gets up.” Oh yeah!”
“Yeah.”
“So smarty. How are you going to do it?”
“I’m going to start with just a little itch. She will scratch it, just a little bit, then roll over. I’ll wait a couple of minutes; let her think the itch is gone. Then I’ll make it itch just a little more. After she scratches, I’ll take the itch back for a couple of minutes. Give her a false sense of security.Then I’ll make her itch again. This time I’ll make a bigger spot itch, and maybe add another place. Spread it around a little bit. She won’t notice that the itch is growing. She still wants to sleep. This time I won’t wait as long after she scratches to make the itch come back. She will only be scratching her ankle. Now I’ll add her calf, just one spot, along with her ankle. I’ll make it feel really good to scratch, so she scratches longer, really gets into it. Now I’ll wait only a second before adding her foot to her ankle, along with her calf. Itch, Itch, Itch. She won’t be able to lie there. She will have to get up.”
“Go ahead and try it. What have we got to lose? She is just lying there. She will lie there all day. She doesn’t have a job, she doesn’t think she has to get up.”
“She never lays there all day. We have seen to that.”
“All right, so she won’t lay there all day. Just until 7:00.”
“She is awake. We woke her up. We gave those people something to say right outside her window at 5:00.”
“We made those tires stick to the road so all they did was spin and squeal. We made her listen to the traffic on the street. Made her think there was a lot of snow on the ground.”
“She didn’t get out of bed to look.”
“But we woke her up.”
“Now we have to get her on her feet. Out of bed. In motion.”
“The itch will do it.”
“You think so.”
“I know so!”
“Try it. What have we got to lose?”
“Told you so. Told you so. The itch did it. Not even 15 minutes. She is up. She is dressed. She is in motion.”
“Did you watch carefully? Take notes. So we can do it again tomorrow.”

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

CHANCE MEETING

Looking back — my life has changed so much that it is hard to remember the time before my father passed over. I wrote that I have crossed a bridge, and I didn’t want to go back. Things that used to amaze me now seem normal. I hope that I never accept the happenings as common place. I hope that I always remember to say “thank you”!

I am often at the right place, at the right time to either help someone or be helped in return. Often I am delayed in order to accomplish the meeting. Recently, Robin’s leash was in my hand — we were going for a walk. EXCEPT — I saw a queen of heaven sprout in the yard. One sprout led to two which led to —–. Robin’s walk must have been delayed at least five minutes — maybe more.

Since we spend much of our summer in the country, I don’t see my neighbors in the city. I was in time to meet a neighbor, getting ready to fly to help her sister, who has cancer. Recently, in the country, I passed a couple looking for a parking place to attend an event. I shared information, parking available on the street down the road — parking places in the lots were filled.

At the event, the woman from the car asked me if I was a friend of Connie? Thankfully she recognized me. She had information of our friend’s husband who had had a stroke. I had been phoning, without success.
Leaving the Camper on Thursday, I passed the same couple who has just arrived at the camper, stopping to check on their friend’s lot. She had current information for me, although recovering, our friend was having a rough time.

The chance meeting doesn’t always involve a person, sometimes it is a song or a story, a book or a program. Most of the time it is information that I either need or something that needs to be shared. Last year, my chance meeting was with two dogs. In the country, I saw a German shepherd and another dog out for a stroll without a person for company. An hour later, I met a man looking for the two dogs. I provided the little bit of information that I could. Later that day, my husband and I were heading into town. On the back road I spied the two dogs heading into town. We offered them a ride and took them back to the campground to reunite with their owner.

If you have read many of by thought rambles, you know that many unexplained occurrences happen in my life. I often don’t remember them but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

WOBBLE, WOBBLE

I think WOBBLE WOBBLE should be my new nick name. I feel like a turkey. When ever my husband is walking behind me, I hear him saying: “Wobble. Wobble.” He means I’m rocking from side to side in my walk. I am overweight! Not extremely, just maybe 30 to 40 pounds. That doesn’t necessarily account for my walking. Knee Problems — that is the main cause. My husband said that I am walking too stiff legged, like a soldier, not bending my knees. Its not that I’m not trying to lose weight, it just isn’t happening!

Our youngest daughter has decided to try to walk 9000 steps a day and do 30 days of yoga. My middle daughter decided to join her in the quest. Since I hurt my hamstring, walking that many steps is more than I can safely do. Forget 30 days of yoga. One, I don’t have access to the internet at the camper. Two, if I got down onto the floor, it would be hard to get back up. Three, many of the poses that I could do in my younger days are WAY PAST my abilities now!

My older daughter suggested that instead I do 30 days of Tia Chi, and 30 days of A MORNING CUP OF YOGA. Tia Chi is easy on my body and although I have altered the form since I first learned it, it is gentle stretches for my body. My knees don’t like it very much. I bought the yoga book many years ago. It is also gentle stretches, doesn’t get down on the floor and incorporates some hamstring exercises that I need. The first time I did it, I was too enthusiastic and did a leg exercise that my knees REALLY objected to.

I thought exercise in the water would be good for my body. And it is EXCEPT when because I’m in the water I do too much. I have learned that If I use the weights and the noodles, I am putting less pressure on my knees. I have also learned that the water has to be warmer for my knees. In days gone by, cooler water wasn’t a problem for me. Whether those days are gone for good or just temporarily taking a vacation — time will tell.

I will admit that besides walking less, I have been more careful riding on the scooter. I don’t want to take a chance that I will put my foot down wrong and do more damage. Recently I took our car out for a longer drive — more than 25 miles. I had been in the pool in cooler water and my knee was YELLING! If I used the automatic pilot, my knee HURT! If I used pressure on the gas pedal instead, my knee although still hurting wasn’t YELLING!

Our grand daughter is coming to the country for a visit. I will need to drive her back to the city in order to catch a plane. She will be able to drive if my knee is really yelling, but I’LL BE ABLE TO SAFELY DO IT too!

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

MADE MY DAY

I suppose it is no secret that I LOVE MUSIC . Even though Chicago has hosted the Blues Festival for 35 years — most of the early years was held without me. My husband DOES NOT LIKE CROWDS. He does not LIKE to go downtown so for the many years when we were raising our family, I didn’t go to any of the festivals in Chicago. One year I came to the realization that I could go by MYSELF. And so I did. And I continue to go by myself when we are in town. Sometimes he will go with me but not often.

We were scheduled to be in town for the 35th Blues Fest. Recently it moved from Grant Park to Millenium Park. Exact reasoning is yet to be determined but the city is able to provide more security for the event. In this day and age that is not a bad thing. In town — I planned to go. Rain was predicted for the Festival but I thought that if I wore a raincoat and limited the stuff I was carrying, I would be alright.

I noticed that the Festival was honoring Bob Koester for the 65 years that his record company, Delmark records, played an important part in the blues and jazz of the city. The Koester family lived down the street and around the corner from us. My middle daughter babysat for his children, my youngest daughter was good friends with their daughter. I stopped at the Delmark both to inquire. I learned that the entire family was present. BUT WHERE? Millenium Park was a smaller place, but thousands of people attended the Blues Fest.

I stopped at Southwest airlines to spin the prize wheel and won a canvas tote. I stopped by the stairs to reorganize stuff. The gentleman that I just talked to at Delmark records walked by. He asked if he had just talked to me. When I said he had, he told me where Sue, Katie and children where. I didn’t waste any time — they were sitting by a table at the restaurant. I had no idea who I was looking for so I looked for children. I asked a young mother if she was Katie AND SHE WAS! Happy — understatement! I phoned both of my younger daughters and they ANSWERED their phones. They both got a chance to talk with Katie. Made all of our days!

I enjoyed the music but I was HUNGRY. I hadn’t brought enough stuff to eat. I decided to find McDonald’s since I knew I could control the sodium level. If I turned right after leaving the park, McDonald’s would have been right there. Instead I turned left and walked FOREVER. After getting something to eat, I decided to keep walking over to State street. I knew there was an elevator by the Library stop. An elderly couple looked confused, I asked if I could help. Easy, they wanted the Red Line — subway train that was on the block we were on. At the Library, I made it up to the mezzanine — connecting platform between North bound and Southbound trains when I encountered a man who also needed help. No one there to help him find the Blue Line. Taking a couple of minutes to think, I was able to give him directions.

Frosting on the cake!

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

HI BROTHER

I noticed this morning that I needed one more thought ramble to have something scheduled to publish for the full month of June. Hopefully we will be going to the camper where internet access while available is not as convenient. My recent experience with the heat doesn’t give me much hope for brain function.

As most of you know, when I was four, my mother and brother passed over because of a fire. Did I pass over too and be sent back? Does it matter? If I had any unusual talents at the time — in the late 40’s and 50’s, having extra talents was not safe. So I hid them and they disappeared.

Slowly some talents are surfacing, I’m sure why, maybe because of “help from my friends.” I have a job to do.

The day before my brother’s birthday, a phone call to my daughter ended in the middle of a conversation THREE times. The day of his birthday, before we left for the camper I NOTICED six iris where in bloom in the back yard. I successfully took a picture with the I pad and posted it on MESSENGER to share with my family. (I’m not skilled doing that.) I have a note that mention’s MAJOR HELP but I didn’t go into details. Sadly, I often neglect to write things down. Maybe it is a good thing I do thought rambles on a regular basis.

Are you AWARE? Has writing about some of my experiences “helped” you? What am I going on and on about? Is there a reason?

YES! This morning before going to Mass, I took Robin for her morning walk. Blue skies — not a cloud anywhere. We had a heavy rain during the night but all the clouds had moved on. Slightly chilly. I had on a light jacket that has a hood. Walking under a fully leafed oak tree, I received a shower. So heavy was the water, I raised the hood of my jacket. “Hi Brother.”

I really don’t know if he was the cause BUT who but a younger brother would tease his sister? I have MANY friends in high places, but only one brother!

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

IRISH MORNING

I have to admit that I have never been to Ireland. I don’t know if the opportunity to visit will ever come. My mother’s father was from there. I have finally learned the county that he was from but since I don’t know his birthdate or any other pertinent information, and his last name was very common — I’m not trying to learn anything more. I’ve titled this thought ramble Irish Morning not because the day reminded me of Ireland but because I was having lunch with a dear friend. She is not only Irish but she came from across the water. For years she lived on my block, went to Mass with us on Sunday. But time passes and our bodies reflect the passing. She had trouble walking up and down the stairs in her house. She moved to a Catholic senior residence. Even though she is on the third floor, they have elevators.

She phoned a few days ago and invited me for lunch. Of course, I accepted immediately. Then she fell, and we postponed the date. Then the snow fell on rain drenched stairs and I didn’t like the crunch as I swept the stairs. And we postponed it again. The day finally came, cold but with sunshine — blue skies. If I gave serious thought to the meeting, I wouldn’t have arrived empty handed. Ooops!

Her residence has many opportunities for a person to stay busy. I passed a room where art work decorated the window. I recognized the name of a friend and stopped to take a photo. A woman passed by with her son and asked if that artwork was mine. I admitted that it was a friend’s, I wasn’t a resident. She had recently moved in and was having trouble adjusting. I had to share a story of my recent painting experience and a photo of the finished art work. She didn’t paint or draw. She used to sing but has lost her voice. I suggested she just sing to herself inside her head. She was on her way to therapy. I was navigating the halls, looking for the building were my friend’s apartment was.

SUCCESS! We had a pleasant visit but more snow and rain was in the forecast. I really didn’t want to get stuck out in the weather. I learned that she had had a stroke a couple of years before. Somehow I missed that information. Her son used to live on our block and shared information about his mother. He rented their house a couple of years back, and moved to an apartment. I no longer receive current news. She is doing well now — in her late 90’s. Not bothered by the aftermath of her fall.

Going back down I shared the elevator with a woman who had a lovely accent. When I asked, she admitted she was from Ireland. Walking down the hall with her, I voiced the question of a bathroom. Two gentlemen going in the opposite direction pointed to a sign on the wall. I told my companion that I’ve noticed that when I ask a question, I often get an immediate answer. I wondered if the same thing happened to her.

Leaving — I met the same woman I saw when I first arrived. She hadn’t slept well the night before and was heading to her apartment for a nap before supper. I mentioned that it must be hard, giving up her house, her car and living in a new place. There were people there from her parish but the friendship is just starting.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

SQUARE DANCE

Looking back — it doesn’t seem that many years ago. Looking for landmarks — reality sets in. It was an EXTREMELY LONG TIME AGO! Our youngest daughter was a toddler. I’ve always loved to dance. The opportunity arose when I learned of square dance lessons in our neighborhood. It sounded like fun. My husband agreed to try it. It was fun! We learned the basic steps, then the opportunity arose to learn more — advanced to be specific. That also was fun. The caller announced he was going to teach lessons to introduce people to calling. I thought my husband would enjoy it. He liked to play chess — my reasoning — he would enjoy moving people.

AND HE DID. The problem occurred as he became more accomplished in calling. He LOVED to call, he didn’t want to dance anymore. I became extremely good at dancing the male part. I became his agent, handling bookings, and other assorted tasks. I learned how to call line dances. And life was busy. He added more equipment and records to his arsenal. I don’t know exactly why he stopped calling. We had gotten older, he wanted to take evening classes at college, being out at night so many nights of the week was tiring? What ever the reason — he gave up calling but kept all of his equipment and records. FOR YEARS!

Recently he redid his office and moved a lot of stuff to another room. Remnants of calling included not only his phonograph, but also boxes of records and three sets of speakers. The speakers were huge, and heavy. Since his equipment was still in working order, we didn’t want to put it out in the trash. The many square dance clubs that we had known, where no longer functioning. Their members like ourselves had aged.

I thought we could donate it to a music school. Every time we learned of a person who was still calling, for one reason or another the lead fell through. Our computer ended up being a great help. My husband put in a request for square dancing in our area and learned of a new club that was only minutes from our house. They had members who were interested in learning to call. They would love to have his equipment.

For the last time –he put some records on the turntable, hooked up his microphone and enjoyed calling. He sounded terrific. But we both agreed that it wasn’t something we wanted to go back into. I don’t think my knees would let me, not to mention if I would remember more than a couple of steps.

We were VERY HAPPY to donate the equipment were it would still be used.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

FOYER

I thought I remembered having a French easel. I thought I had stored it in the foyer. Lots of stuff is stored in the foyer. In order to find the easel, I had to remove a lot of stuff. The easiest place to start was with our coats. Now I’ll admit that most of our coats how hung out with us for more than a year or two. In fact, I found our youngest daughter’s high school jacket. She really liked that coat and wanted it back. No problem — I wasn’t going to donate it anyway.

I found winter gear from when I used to cross country ski. Lets not talk about how many years ago that was. Will I get my skies out again and go out and play in the snow? Doubtful but you never know. What I do know for sure is that it would be a minor miracle if I could get my body into the outfit. Donated!

I would love to say that I had a huge pile of coats to donate but I try not to lie. When I wear a coat that belonged to one of my daughters it is as they are giving me a hug. All the coats were hung up and I still have more stuff on the floor to investigate.

I found my French easel along with four bags of stuff and a box full of painting brushes and paints. One of the bags held books that contained photos of many of my paintings. A gentle reminder that once upon a time, I was able to paint. One of the bags held a lot of my beading supplies as well as 7 magazines. No wonder I couldn’t find my pliers. They were all together hanging out. I looked through the assortment of beads and stuff. At this point and time I have no idea what I had planned to do. I have no idea how long that bag lay hidden — waiting for me to find it. I looked inside the box. It contains many brushes and some oil paint. It would be a good box to travel with. It has a compartment for the board canvases. I still have 2 bags and the French easel to investigate.

I remembered a field easel that I had at the camper and wondered if I could get one for home. It is light weight and easy to move from one place to another. I don’t have a craft room at our house. My craft room and office is usually the dining room table. I didn’t want to have a painting camping out on it.

Saturday I went to an art show. A friend of ours was invited to show his wire sculpture. It was PACKED! I wandered through the room twice before I found our friend. And then, it was only because I asked for directions. I took advantage of the opportunity and spoke to many of the artists. I recognized some of the techniques that I have seen demonstrated on public television.

Yesterday we went shopping. As I stood in line at Wal-Mart, I noticed a natural red haired woman waiting ahead of me. I admired an Easter cross she was buying. “Its for the cemetery,” she said. I replied that my family’s bones might be there, but they weren’t. “Where are they?” she asked. “Right here” I replied. She shared that her brother in law was always around when she bakes. Her brother in law’s sign is a cardinal, her husband a robin. Both accompanied her when she had her cataracts removed. I think of aunt Connie when I see or hear a cardinal.

Category:

Uncategorized

Tagged with:

Tag Cloud