Six years, Six apple slices

I was thinking the other day.  I mean I was actually quietly sitting, hot tea in hand, thinking.   And let me say that I don't feel like I spend a whole lot of time dedicated to just thinking these days. I'm in reactive mode the great majority of the time. Considering what to do next, what has to get done now, where who needs to be when...etc.  It seems my mind is sort of like that apple I just cut for Katie's lunch. You see, we have this cool tool that is round, has 6 segmented parts, like a pie, and a hollow ring in the center so when you place it directly over the apple with the stem sticking through the hollow ring and then press down: Voila! 6 lovely apple slices are created and the core with the seeds is sectioned out in a nice cylindrical shape to discard.  And that's pretty much how I feel my brain is these days. Segmented.  Segmented into what 3 kiddos need at any given moment for school, hobbies, doctors... and then there is professional slices of my brain always looking for the next cool opportunity, and slices dealing with home and projects and obligations and...Anyway, you feel me, right?  So many things to do and not enough slices to get through.  So, I was actually thinking for a few minutes about hobbies - what would I want to do if I were able to dedicate some time to what I want to do versus the line up of what I have to or should do.  Then I remembered how much I love writing. Just letting words flow from my brain, into my fingers and out of the pen/keyboard.  I love it.  And I don't do it anymore.  Then, yesterday, someone mentioned their blog.  And suddenly it was like a small lightning bolt zapped my brain!  I had a blog somewhere...and  I remember I liked it!  I went on a hunt to find it.  And six years later, here it is :)  Welcome back my dear blog.  I have missed you more than I knew I would! Who knows how often I'll get to it but I feel charged up just writing at this moment.  It's funny how you can get so caught up in the daily demands of life that you can forget what it is you really love to do.  So!  Here's to writing and smiling.  If my mind is an apple, I'm not tossing away the core anymore.  That's where my seeds of thought are :)
I will be honoring my original purpose of this blog which is to take a bit of time to really search and see the good in the world around us from simple gestures to monumental successes.  In this time, more than ever, we need to remember that while we hear so much about the bad things, there really are more good things out there and I will be honored to find and share those things with you.    Stand by and look out...because I'm back!



Ring Ring! Lucky Lotto Ticket In The Bucket!
I love the stories of the awesome donations that show up in the Salvation Army buckets this time of year.  In Pennsylvania, someone wrapped a winning $1000 lottery ticket up in dollars and slyly slipped it into the bucket.  Can you imagine the delight that must have ensued when it was discovered? Also, imagine how many people that generous, anonymous gift will help :)  My favorite "bucket list" is the list of all the generous donations found in the red kettles.  Merry Christmas!
http://www.channel3000.com/news/winning-lotto-ticket-dropped-in-salvation-army-bucket/42794354


Kids Are Naturally Generous and Love to Help!
Last weekend when we were all inundated with never ending snow most of us were not having our best days.  But that day brought out the best in two young boys in Wisconsin.  As they were riding down the road, their father reported that his sons, ages 10 and 6, spotted a man in his wheelchair shoveling his sidewalks.  The boys asked their dad to stop so they could help shovel.  The picture really show these boys digging in to snow and working hard to help a stranger.  I hope all of us can find time and ways to tap into our simply kind inner child more often!
http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1955/Proud-Dad-Pulls-Over-After-Sons-Ask-If-They-Can-Help-A-Handicapped-Man-Shovel-Snow