Life As I Seize It

When bad things happen to us, our first reaction is "why me?" When good things happen to others, often, in our flesh, our initial reaction is "why not me?" Oh, we are happy for the other person, for their good fortune, but inside, in that secret place, we think to ourselves: "Why not me? After all, I'm a good person, aren't I?  I mean, Why not me ?" It's a wail, a plea to 'the universe' because of the 'unfairness of it all'. We might even tell ourselves, I'm a  much  better person that he (or she). Why not me? In our humanness, we want the good, but not the bad. It's only natural.  Who wants to just "get by" when the alternative is wealth?  We see wealthy people who win the lottery, and say, "You have to be kidding!" Someone who didn't need "it" won the big payout, and we ask . . . why not me ?  Why can't we hit the jackpot or be the surprised heir of some distant relative...

If good people go to heaven . . . then how good do they need to be? I suppose if you don't believe in God, and think that after you take your last breath that you cease to exist, then for you heaven doesn't matter because it doesn't exist.  For you, this one life is, well, this is all that there is.  Live life and enjoy! Some day your number will be up and that's that . . . that's all there is. It's interesting to me that some people believe in heaven, but not in hell.  In trying to think through why we would have a heaven but no hell the only sound conclusion is that we simply don't like the idea of hell.  " It's not fair!" We whine. Why should some get to go to Heaven, but not others? It's just not fair!"   So what happens to the bad people?  I mean, if there is a place for "good" people . . . shouldn't there also be a place for "bad" people?   There are bad people, aren't there?   Yet most peopl...

Since my return to Texas from Florida, I had been thinking that I don't fit in very well over at Stonewater - the church that I had been visiting for the past two or three months. For one, I am not a couple . . . I am a single . . . which in a church geared to families kind of leaves me at loose ends.  If you are a frequent reader then you know that I am quite content with my "singleness". Secondly, the "single" groups are broken into baby-boomers and non-boomers . . . and they have defined the baby-boomers as anyone 50+.  I have to be honest with you . . . I do not see myself as a baby-boomer, nor do I act or think like one.  I may be a Presbyterian Deacon, but I am certainly no old f*rt, and although I am 52  36 there is no way I am going to admit to being 52 !  I don't care HOW much of a savings I can get through AARP or at Kohls, I am NOT going to join or admit to being eligible to receive a discount! I would rather pay the full price and call it a d...

I have a terrific girlfriend whom shall be nameless, but she knows who she is . . . and guess all you want but I will never tell and you will never guess . . . who, under just the right moment and circumstance, says that although she loved her late husband dearly . . . she has become quite content with living life on her own schedule and terms. I am paraphrasing a tad . . . but she likes sleeping in and rising when she darn well feels like it. She is not a morning person, although for years was one because she was a good wife and mother. I think that, if she still had the opportunity, she would be quite happy to pop up at the crack of dark and cook her most wonderful and handsome husband a full Southern breakfast . . . if only she still had him, but she doesn't . . . and so she has learned to "take life as she seize it" and appreciate simple things that for so many years would have been . . . selfish. As a 'single' woman, she won't eat tuna fish, (he loved...

The month of January flew past so quickly that it seemed to only last for day or two at most.  I can't seem to hang onto weeks much less hours in the day. In my last post I shared with you that during a routine mammogram a small mass was detected in one of my ducts that required surgery. Everything went great, I had great care . . . and my life was saved due to routine testing.  How often do we skip routine tests thinking that we can skip it just this one time? What would it hurt? Even if there is no history of breast cancer in your family, take those routine mammograms and monthly exams seriously.  I had no history of breast cancer in my family, but there I was having surgery to remove a small mass . . . a mass that was still contained to the duct . . . a mass that, had I blown it off, could have eventually taken my life. So I was finally able to leave Florida and am now back in Texas . . . finally!  Do yourself and someone you love a BIG favor . . . make it a...