Month: December 2015

Gonna be a good life, a good good life.

/ fearsomebeard / 9 Comments

As I write this it’s 2015. Only moments of it left for some of us. Already gone for the rest.

Gratitude.

Each year, each moment, brings new beginnings, adventures, humdrum, disappointments, rewards, pain, love, fear, happiness, hurt, peace, contentment, growth, endings, change, death, life. I feel gratitude.

All we have is now. The present.

We don’t have yesterday, it’s gone. We had it, all it left us with is memories.

We don’t have tomorrow, it hasn’t come. Tomorrow is only perceived, it never actually arrives.

Feel gratitude. Be, just be.

At this moment with my perception, my anticipation of tomorrow’s arrival of 2016, I make a list of what I’m grateful for at this very moment.

  1. Mitzi’s warm fur in my lap.
  2. The new solid oak a table at which I sit.
  3. This here iPad pro thingy from which I blog.
  4. The nagging pain in my shoulder, for I have a shoulder and can feel it.
  5. The sun that is glinting off of the hardwood floor and warming my room as it blinds my peripheral vision.
  6. This creaky old drafty house.
  7. My thoughts.
  8. My husband.
  9. My family, friends and clients.
  10. My work.
  11. My talent.
  12. The air as it cools the inside of my nose.
  13. The US postal service that will deliver all the bills I just finished writing out.
  14. The static of my housekeeper’s radio playing that same Mexican AM radio station yet again.
  15. Celia as she cleans the house and complains about a mess one of the dogs made.
  16. The lingering taste of peanut butter in my mouth.
  17. The color red.
  18. The memories I have of yesterday.
  19. The dreams I have for tomorrow.
  20. The love that fills my heart.

Thank you 2015. A year of memory. Welcome 2016. A year that is yet to come and full of endless possibility.

Peace to us right now, this moment, as we sit in our present.

 

 

Dream Big

/ fearsomebeard / 14 Comments

I went to the movie theatre today. I treated Fearsome to a discounted matinee at 10:55 am. It’s a holiday week, that void between Xmas and New Years. I have to say it’s been a while since I went to a movie in a theatre.

First thing I noticed was there was no longer a ticket window. You just walk into a lobby and there are a couple guys standing there with iPads for those like me who are blissfully unaware that you are supposed to buy the ticket online before you arrive. They will help you buy a ticket which is now only $16.50 for a discounted matinee. The iPad they are holding only takes credit cards, no cash welcome any longer. The iPad also assigns you a seat. Assigned seating at a cinema was a definite first for me.

After paying admission, I escorted Fearsome into the multiplex which I do have to admit is nicer than any I have ever before experienced. It had better been nice since the ticket buying process, assigned seating and admission price had me feeling every day of my age.

We went to see The Peanuts Movie. Snoopy has been my hero since I was a wee little lad and long before the puberty experience that gave me Fearsome. I can so relate to Charlie Brown. I do have to say that the movie is quite enjoyable. I laughed, smiled, danced in my seat and even shed a couple tears. I’m glad I took the time to see it on the big screen. It was a great experience to be a big kid in a theatre full of actual kids with their laughter and excitement.

Charlie Brown reminds me to dream, believe, hope and stay the course. Snoopy reminds me to keep a light heart, dance, laugh and never ever take things too seriously.

 

 

Reflection and Vision

/ fearsomebeard / 5 Comments

It’s that Monday. The last Monday of the year.

For me this is a day of reflection and a day of vision. What did I do this past year? What didn’t I do? Did I forget something? What was unexpected? What did I accomplish? Where did I go? What was learned? Any regrets? Do I owe an amends that I may have missed? Have I properly expressed gratitude? Have I forgiven? Did I love? Did I laugh? Where do I want to go? What do I wish to accomplish? Who do I need to spend time with? Who do I want to meet? How can I best invest my time? What do I need? What do I want?

Today as I go about life, I will contemplate. Twenty sixteen will be a great year. I will have a good vision. With vision comes inspiration. With inspiration comes motivation.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ….H Jackson Brown Jr. 

It’s been 25 years

/ fearsomebeard / 11 Comments

Yes 25.

I moved out west 25 years ago. I moved for love. The better half and I are still together. I remember sharing the news with my Mom that we had decided that we would always spend our Christmases at our home, not traveling one year to one family and the next year at the other. It was time we started our own traditions. Mom understood as she had left her family to move away with her love. I know she didn’t like it, but she did understand.

When I got the call back in September that Dad’s cancer had returned and there was nothing that could be done, I knew I had to break tradition this year. He had about six months. It would be his last Christmas. He would most likely be very ill. In fact I knew that a trip at this time would probably be the last time I would see him. The better half and I agreed. Mom had never asked, I hadn’t mentioned what I was planning, I quietly booked the trip.

The next morning I texted my mother a link. A link to a video to break the news to her. Almost immediately my phone rang. She was in tears of joy. I would be home for probably the hardest Christmas of her life. Little did we know during that conversation of joy that a few days later he would be gone.

As this post hits the blog, I will be on my way. A long journey from west to east. I’ll be there for her, and her for me.