For Everything, Change, Change, Change

Remembering Our Sweet Vixen

2006-2019

2017-2018-2019  -   Change Change Change

You never know what life can bring you until you accept change.  We have been living in a world full of change and movement.  Our kids are living the same mode.  We all seem to see the world and life in such a fluid way and are not afraid to try new things.  

In 2017 we still lived in Colorado.  We loved the beautiful mountains, but when my husband decided to completely retire, we started thinking about what was next in our life adventure.  In 2018 we moved to South Carolina near Charleston.  We have loved the history of this area, and have truly enjoyed our home and neighborhood, but just like before, the winds of change have been blowing.  We realize how blessed we have been to live in so many wonderful, interesting places.  We have loved every experience, but we also have realized how much we have missed the state  where we lived as a family for the longest time of our life.  We are so aware that when you are retirement age and life is a bit shorter on this end, that if you feel the need to go back home to where your memories had so much fun and laughter, that maybe you should jump and make your final destination where roots remain, and where you smiled the most. 

So...here we go again.   To be honest, everywhere we have lived there have been rough patches and also amazing moments of happiness, but we decided to cancel out the rough patches and go where we had the most smiles for the longest period of time.  We are thinking about Florida and Mickey.  You see, we are just kids in old people form, who just want to enjoy a bit of childlike life.  We do not want to be surrounded by so much negativity which has seemed to take over this country.  We can accept the craziness or decide to be happy in spite of the craziness.  Although we have not made a 100% decision, we are aware that a decision for our final life location is going to happen.  

Again, we loved our growing up years in Indiana, the transition months in Texas, and the exciting beautiful landscape of Colorado with our son's family who also lived in the area.  We have truly enjoyed  this almost vacation-like few years here in South Carolina, but it feels like our final destination may be going back to Florida where the sunshine and whimsy surrounded the longest, happiest time of our lives as a married couple with children.  We know that we are the only ones who can make happiness happen, no matter where we live, so we are not making this decision without lots of thought and prayer.  But...just maybe, this will be our final "over the rainbow" destination where we feel "there is no place like home."  We may see you real soon Mickey! 

Remembering 2016

Where Did 2016 Go?  So, It Is Already July 1, 2017?

Here We Go Again! 

This picture was taken in 2016.  The butterfly flew in giving us a moment to catch our breath and just enjoy the wonder of nature.  We were able to slow down for a minute and just enjoy this special moment. We were able to breathe for a few minutes and relax.

Why oh why do we have to be so busy that we hardly can catch our breath!  We had one of those years where every week seemed to overload us with things to do. It was as if we felt the need to push ourselves in a pace that kept us away from thinking about anything but hurry, hurry, hurry.....time is passing.  Is it possible to be so busy, that you speed up time and make it go faster?  When I look back on 2016 I feel like it all was a blur!  Mind you, it was a good blur, but maybe, just maybe we need to always fill our time with just enjoying what comes, instead of planning every minute!

We have our memories of 2016 all in picture albums, which we occasionally look through, just to see what we did.  That should reveal something. Just a year ago, we did so much, saw so much, and drove so much that our minds have been overwhelmed.  What makes us think that we need to build a bulging portfolio for our lives? What makes us think that adding down time will somehow make our lives less special?

Here is the funny thing, our life is just as busy in 2017, and it does not look like it is going to slow down in 2018.  When will we learn?  I just pray when downtime comes, I stop and smell the roses, because those times may be the sweetest of all!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July

Every 4th of July, I think about our nation and the history it represents.  I have never believed that our country or any other country can look back at its history and say there were not hardships, sacrifices or even moments of disappointment.  What I do believe is that every citizen in the U.S.A. needs to realize that we can learn from our mistakes and try to embrace all that makes our country wonderful.  We should not try to change history, but move forward, learning from our past as we go.  Our history, whether positive or negative is why we are who we are.  

On the news recently, we have seen celebrities who have been ashamed of their ancestor's past and try to conceal it out of embarrassment.  It is what it is.  It is part of who we are.  Someone asked me once if there was anything I would change about my past if I could.  I said, "No,  because all of who I am is made up of every positive or negative thing I have ever done".  If I have not learned from the things I regret, then I am the one to shame, not because of the wrong thing I did, but because I continued to live in the past, not learning from my mistakes.  You cannot hide yourself from your past, but allow yourself to learn, improve, and never let your past dictate who you are now.  

History is just a second behind us.  Instead of trying to change history, why not try to improve the

future. Ask yourself if you are part of the problem, or part of the solution. How can you make life better? How can each of us make our country better? I love this country, but it is time to move on toward a better future!

The Mountains Hold My Heart

June 2015

My heart is meant to be in the mountains. There is just something that awakens the soul when you gaze out and see the majestic beauty of the mountains. Maybe it is being surrounded by something so much bigger than ourselves that helps us understand that we are blessed no matter how insignificant we feel at times throughout our lives. Sometimes I think we spend so much time looking into ourselves and concentrating on what we do not have, that we forget to see the unbelievable beauty and blessings that are right there in front of us. 

The Perfect Marriage

The Perfect Marriage
June 21, 2014

Forty years ago tonight, my husband and I were married.  We have been challenged by life, just as everyone is challenged. And, no, we have not had the "perfect" marriage.  We have overcome obstacles that we felt at the time were too hard to accept, but somehow we moved forward.  Somehow, we continued to try.  Somehow, we continued to hope.

Something we have learned over the years is life will never be perfect, but in its non-perfection we have been able to accept the things we could not change, and learn from our mistakes.  We also have learned that some things that happen in your life can be effected by the actions of others.  We can only take responsibility for our actions and do what we feel is right.  The actions of others is solely based on what they choose to do.  We can not be responsible for the actions of others.

We are happy to have made 40 years together and although there are still obstacles and challenges, we (together) are moving forward.  We are giving our challenges made by others to God, rather than trying to fix situations that are not ours to fix.  In a world where so many people give up when life gives you more than you think you can handle, we still have faith.  We still have hope.  We continue to move forward.  No, not a perfect marriage, but we are trying!  Yes...we made it to 40 years.  I would say that is pretty impressive! Here's to us!