The "F" Word, It's Not What You Think!

The “F” word is not what you think!!!!! Today’s “F” word is “flexible” and today for me, being flexible equaled “family”, “food” and “fun”. This isn’t going to be a long entry. It’s really just a reminder that sometimes it’s important to be flexible. I wasn’t expecting to get a call today inviting me to lunch with my sister, niece and daughter, but when it came, I decided to be flexible and make some schedule adjustments and go for it! I’m so glad I did, I am so thankful for the moments today with those special women in my life.

Being flexible doesn’t come easily for some, I’m the type of person who will say yes if you call me to have a milkshake at the 24 hour diner at midnight, but I know people who can’t do a midnight run unless it’s on their calendar. I recommend that if you’re a personality type that doesn’t do flexible easily, you try and stretch yourself occasionally in that area, it often results in some really awesome moments that matter. Also, I have learned over the years that an over packed schedule doesn’t always allow for much flexibility (and has a lot of other drawbacks too, but that’s for another blog), so I make sure I allow open time in my schedule, it really makes a difference in how flexible I can be.

Off to enjoy some family time with another sister, another daughter and a new great nephew and his brother and mother. Today’s “F” word is also family and I just don’t seem to be able to get enough of it.

Does being flexible come easily for you? When has being flexible paid off in your life, please share!

This is my sweet sister and niece

Me and my daughter

Tiny Benedicitions

“May The Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

Sunday mornings as the worship service at our church comes to a close; our pastor raises his hands and gives a benediction. I love that moment, I feel that blessing sending me on my way for the week, and I feel the Lord’s love in my life! I think of the goodbyes in my life as tiny benedictions. I think they are important moments, and not to be morbid, possibly final moments. My husband kisses me goodbye each morning before he leaves for work (whether I’m awake or not) and I always left our children with a kiss, hug and reminder they were loved, a tradition now extended to my grandchildren. Following 9/11, I wondered how many people who had lost loved ones wished they had parted differently that morning. Conveying love is important and there are big and little ways to create love memories and moments that matter.

Since our dating years Bob and I have used a little system for conveying our love to each other, it’s three dots (or squeezes of the hand) followed by a space (or pause) and another dot (sqeeze) followed by an asterisk (long squeeze). Almost always our written messages conclude with … .* which means, “I love you the most” Likewise, we’ve squeezed that message to each other in a roomful of noisy people and in the quiet of the sanctuary, while waiting tensely in hospital waiting rooms, or while delightedly watching a grandchild’s baptism, we’ve honked it on car horns, flashed it with our headlights, and tapped it on counter tops. Lots of folks use this type of system between them and it’s been a great way to keep conveying our love consistently for 38 years. I recently found out our daughter uses it with her girls, telling them “I love you” with three squeezes of their little hands. We’ve created a tradition of love and it’s made a lot of moments matter.

I like love moments that are surprising! Sometimes my husband wakes up to find a lipstick love message written on the bathroom mirror (an easy cleanup with a little glass cleaner) complete with a kiss mark. Notes left on the pillow or in the car, a card in the mail, or the unexpected arrivals of flowers are nice love surprises. Many love surprises take very little time or effort but really make the moment matter for both the giver and receiver.

Just a final thought, since I believe goodbyes are tiny benedictions, I like to send my guests off feeling like I was glad they had come, I was sorry the time was over, with love and a blessing. My children, grandchildren, extended family and friends can count on seeing me standing in the doorway waving (usually with the universal sign language for “love” topping the wave). It’s a fast tradition with me and those I love, I have actually received calls from my daughter’s cell phone on the odd occasion when I was not at the door waving when her family left, a call telling me they are recircling the street so my granddaughters can get their Grammie wave. Likewise, I always look toward the home I am leaving, just to see if the feeling is mutual, someone there smiling and waving. Sometimes the door is closed and I feel like my host is happy to be able to move on to other endeavors, but sometimes I turn and my host is still there smiling and waving, and I feel like they are saying, “I’m glad you came, go in love and peace”. Memories of my grandmother standing on her porch waving as we drove away toward home from our yearly visit with her remain in my heart. More recently, grandchildren running the length of their yard waving and blowing kisses, or my daughter and her husband with their baby in their arms waving as we drive away fill my mind. Those are sweet moments and the drive home is always a little better for it.

Goodbyes are definitely moments that matter. Every day love moments are too, what are some of your love traditions, what are some of the ways you make consistent love moments and memories with the special people in your life? New ideas welcome. . .oh and bless you dear ones, sending you on from here today with lots of love!

Biggest Bang for Your Buck!

In my last post, I said that making memories and moments matter is usually free, however, creating some memories are costly, not necessarily in monetary cost but something more valuable, time! In my opinion, time is the most valuable asset we possess. Once it’s been used it cannot be regained, so I’m all about not wasting it. But, sometimes extraordinary, fabulous memories are worth the investment, both in money and time.

Every year our daughter Jean hosts some type of costume party near Halloween. The parties are theme parties, and we have enjoyed everything from pirate theme , spider theme, Harry Potter theme to this year’s Dr. Who theme party. Jean has been called by some the Michel Gondry of theme parties. I mean we are talking some elaborate props, food and costuming here. Guests are expected to reciprocate by dressing in the spirit of the theme and the results are stunning. These parties take Jean (and some of her sidekicks, like her husband, siblings and mom and dad) weeks if not months to prepare. Jean is a mastermind of ideas and a great deal of time goes into even the smallest details. I will also say there is some money involved in the preparation too, as craft supplies, costumes and food and beverage are involved. The end result is amazing and the evening itself is a tremendous payoff on this huge investment of time, talent and funds. She has a new blog called “The Theme Party Girl” with lots of cool pictures of this event. http://thethemepartygirl.blogspot.com/

I recommend making these types of tremendous memories for a variety of reasons. First the fun of working as a family on the event; problem solving, enjoying the process and working on a common goal are terrific memory makers all in themselves. I love the fact that time spent painting a pirate ship, or this year a Tardis, together is a moment that mattered and time that I’ll always remember with people I love, so the process is a fantastic way to make lots of moments that matter. Secondly the event is so memorable. And thirdly, so many people benefit from the effort.

There are lots of fabulous, extraordinary events in our lives, events that we pour ourselves into, starting with our children’s birthday parties, dinner parties for adult friends, graduation receptions, weddings, anniversary gatherings, special holiday events and so many others. I have learned a few things to make the investment in these types of events worth even more. So here are some ways to get the biggest bang for your buck . . .

· Share them with lots of people, Jean usually has 30 or more people at her parties, but this year she is having several smaller gatherings and using the party props at all of them.

· Make good use of leftovers, for example, don’t be in a hurry to get rid of all those neat decorations after a child’s birthday party. Bask in the afterglow for a few days. Or, if using balloons for a child’s party, get them early and let the child wake up to a room full of them. They will love the surprise in the morning, and later they can be used at the party, but now you have gotten more bang for your buck. Loan out elaborate decorations to friends later, they’ll thank you and the investment in time and effort is extended. I use left over party paper products for dinners during our family beach week by counting out the number we need and putting the plates, napkins, plastic ware and cups into a bag and putting it up until summer, each night at the beach we enjoy a different theme, remember the event they came from, and no one has to do dishes while we’re on vacation.

· Big events are fun to scrapbook or make a photo album of all their own. I always take a lot of pictures at big events.

These are my thoughts on making and investing in big memorable moments. Currently I have a Tardis in my dining room, it took several days to build, it’s a mock up of the time machine used in the Dr. Who TV series. Since it’s the centerpiece for several more parties over the next month it’s not going anywhere soon, I have to walk through it when I take my dirty clothes downstairs . . . hey not everyone gets to time travel every time they do laundry! Thanks Jean for some incredible new moments that matter.

I'd love to hear about the big events in your life and how you get the biggest bang for your buck!

Jean and me at the party, oh, I'm on the right, I particularly loved my boa.

Putting the Tardis together finally after all the days of building and painting in the garage.

Bringing parts of the Tardis around to the front door, good times :)

Jean and her dad putting the Tardis together at the top of the stairs.

My hubby, Bob, painting the Tardis.

Me painting the letters on the Tardis.

Getting the paint on the Tardis.

My ABC's of Making Moments Matter

Making memories and moments matter doesn’t require money! Just thought I should throw that out there right off the bat. In fact, most of the best moments in life are free. Isn’t that amazing, even a bad economy can’t rob us of the moments in our lives that matter the most! There are some things that I have found helpful for making my moments matter, sort of an ABC for living life to the fullest and easy principles to share.

“A” would be “awe”. Living in awe. I love the word “awesome” because it is the best word for describing all the amazing ways God blesses us (big and small) every day! So I get excited over little things (ask anyone who knows me well), hummingbirds at my feeder, they are magical, a pink sky at sunset, my grandkids funny antics and sayings can bless me for days, the way God nudges me just in time to get to an appointment I’ve forgotten about, and the list could go on. So “A” is for living in awe, an awesome way to live!

“B” is for “be prepared”. I have learned that to make my moments matter and to make memories I have to be prepared. For example, when I’m wearing my Grammie hat, I am prepared to set aside distractions and focus on my grandchildren, I like to have fun snacks and activities at hand when they arrive, so I’m always prepared to put on my Grammie hat, even if they pop in unexpectedly. In practical terms, that means the cookie or candy jars are usually filled, the toys, games and books are easily at hand, and most importantly Grammie is always ready to make a memory! As time goes on, I’ll post some of our fun memory making times here.

“C” is for “capture”. It’s no secret that I LOVE taking pictures and capturing special moments, or even ordinary moments (which are often the moments that matter the most). There are, however, many other ways to “capture” moments that matter. Retelling after the fact so others can enjoy the moment, journaling a memorable moment (just for the record, I’ve never done this successfully, but have friends who are very faithful with their journaling), and playing the “remember when” game with those who shared the moment at a later time, just to name a few. Why is this important, because part of making moments matter is making the most of each one and remembering lessons learned, fun times had, and enjoying the afterglow. Believe me, the afterglow of a special visit with family or friend (or hummingbird) has often brightened a less memorable day.

So this week I had an awesome walk in the rain with my 5 year old granddaughter, Nora. It included puddle splashing, acorn kicking, the sound of rain on our umbrellas, the smell of damp fallen leaves and lots of Nora chatter! I was prepared with a yellow ducky umbrella for her and an umbrella for me and puddle splashing shoes (a Grammie must have). I did capture the moment with my camera. It didn’t cost a penny, but as far as moments that matter it was priceless.

Want to share the things that help you make the most of YOUR moments? I'd love know how you live in awe, be prepared and capture your memories.

Today I am beginning a new journey . . .it’s a journey of words and sharing, pictures and caring, living and daring, it’s my new blog. This is a huge step for me, I’m not really a writer, I’m a doer, but I’m going to try writing about doing, mostly the kind of doing that makes memories.

I’ve been told I’m a pretty good memory-maker. Actually, the ordinary moments in all of our lives are truly extraordinary, and because every bit of time is precious, I’m all for making the most of them. Wearing a lot of hats, helps to encourage different kinds of memory-making. I make memories with my husband, my daughters and sons-in-law, my granddaughters, and extended family and friends. Having cancer many years ago changed my perspective and priorities, I know each day is a gift from God, and I want to fill those days for myself and those around me with as much faith, fun, love, and laughter as I can. So, you can expect my entries to include special moments (and how to replicate them with your loved ones) including baking and craft tutorials, fun events, great outings, tips I’ve learned and enjoyed using in my life over the years, and more!

Looking forward to making memories together!

blessings

Bobbie