by Lois Jamieson
“God, the master of time, never gives the future. He gives only the present, moment by moment.” The Cloud of Unknowing
The gift of time is so easily wasted by all of us. I bet at sometime or other you have read the obituary page in your newspaper and surprisingly found the name of a friend. When that happens to me, and it has, my first thought is why didn’t I call or visit the person and now it is too late.
The short amount of time you and I would have spent making a phone call could have made that someone happy, knowing that someone cares.
I am very proud of my husband and his good friend Dick. Just this year they took the time to visit two very ill friends. With one they had a last lunch and the other a bedside visit. In both instances the men died within a month.
It is so easy to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow”, be it a diet, exercise or a phone call. We all put off the difficult, sometimes until it is too late.
Call a friend, visit the ill, spend time wisely – it is a fleeting thing.
Watch for next Saturday’s post “Spend Time With a Child”.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
More Thinking Out Loud - Mother Magic
Guest Post by Loys Bolduc
With the beginning of the new school year this month, my thoughts drift back to the days when my children entered school and how I learned I had “Mother Magic”.
“Mother Magic” is one of the mysteries of motherhood. You know you have it when your first-born enters kindergarten and one evening at the dinner table announces, “Mom, Sister Pauline, (his teacher) wants you to bake cupcakes for our class and the afternoon class too.”
My response, “Oh, when does she need the cupcakes and how many would that be?” Response, “They are for tomorrow and I think thirty six.”
If your don’t faint on the spot, you will bake and frost thirty six cupcakes after you have finished dinner, cleared up the after dinner mess, bathed and put four children, under the age of five, to bed, and be ready to deliver the cupcakes to the morning kindergarten along with the child.
Through the years I became very accustomed to performing “Mother Magic” as my kids were great at offering my services. I was often called upon, at the last moment, to make costumes for a play, create Halloween costumes or drive a group of kids to the zoo or anyone of dozens of field trip locations.
Pity the mother who does not have “Mother Magic”, or maybe she is lucky. She just goes to the store and buys whatever and delivers it – along with the kid.
Happy school year to all mothers and kids.
With the beginning of the new school year this month, my thoughts drift back to the days when my children entered school and how I learned I had “Mother Magic”.
“Mother Magic” is one of the mysteries of motherhood. You know you have it when your first-born enters kindergarten and one evening at the dinner table announces, “Mom, Sister Pauline, (his teacher) wants you to bake cupcakes for our class and the afternoon class too.”
My response, “Oh, when does she need the cupcakes and how many would that be?” Response, “They are for tomorrow and I think thirty six.”
If your don’t faint on the spot, you will bake and frost thirty six cupcakes after you have finished dinner, cleared up the after dinner mess, bathed and put four children, under the age of five, to bed, and be ready to deliver the cupcakes to the morning kindergarten along with the child.
Through the years I became very accustomed to performing “Mother Magic” as my kids were great at offering my services. I was often called upon, at the last moment, to make costumes for a play, create Halloween costumes or drive a group of kids to the zoo or anyone of dozens of field trip locations.
Pity the mother who does not have “Mother Magic”, or maybe she is lucky. She just goes to the store and buys whatever and delivers it – along with the kid.
Happy school year to all mothers and kids.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
More Weird Stuff in the News
by Lois Jamieson
Arizona
It must be a lot of fun to be an Arizona State University student, where those 21 and older can earn $60 a night by getting drunk. Studies are being conducted on drunk students’ memories, response times and decision-making processes through extensive questioning. Students are served one type of vodka cocktail, three drinks’ worth, in a bar-like room on campus. (At the end of the night, taxis are called for the students.)
Radnor, Pennsylvania
Two young men were arrested after they had broken into a police van for the purpose of taking gag photos of themselves as if they were under arrest. However, the men somehow locked themselves inside the van, and neither they, nor a friend they called, could figure out how to open the doors. Finally they were forced to call 911. Police arrive, unlocked the van, arrested the men, and locked them back up. This time inside a cell. Talk about your dumb criminals.
Arizona
It must be a lot of fun to be an Arizona State University student, where those 21 and older can earn $60 a night by getting drunk. Studies are being conducted on drunk students’ memories, response times and decision-making processes through extensive questioning. Students are served one type of vodka cocktail, three drinks’ worth, in a bar-like room on campus. (At the end of the night, taxis are called for the students.)
Radnor, Pennsylvania
Two young men were arrested after they had broken into a police van for the purpose of taking gag photos of themselves as if they were under arrest. However, the men somehow locked themselves inside the van, and neither they, nor a friend they called, could figure out how to open the doors. Finally they were forced to call 911. Police arrive, unlocked the van, arrested the men, and locked them back up. This time inside a cell. Talk about your dumb criminals.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Vacation That Wasn't
By Phoebe Maurer
Imagine packing clothing and supplies for three children for a one week vacation at a hotel in the Catskill Mountains. We herded our pack into the car and off we went, singing, chatting, and quibbling in the back seat.
Our spirits were high as we drove through the scenic beauty of New York State. When we arrived at the lovely resort we were shown to a cottage that was simple and adequate. The first day was fun and games.
The second day began with our middle child Gale waking with a fever and a sore throat. By the end of the third day, the two boys joined their sister with high grade temps, sore tummies and throats. The good doctor whom we had called came with medication and soothing words for the poor beleaguered parents. We had a conference that night. That is, Mom and Dad did, and decided that eating in a crowded cabin was no fun and staying inside was a bleak idea.
So we packed the next morning, loaded the car, and headed home for the end of our un-vacation.
Imagine packing clothing and supplies for three children for a one week vacation at a hotel in the Catskill Mountains. We herded our pack into the car and off we went, singing, chatting, and quibbling in the back seat.
Our spirits were high as we drove through the scenic beauty of New York State. When we arrived at the lovely resort we were shown to a cottage that was simple and adequate. The first day was fun and games.
The second day began with our middle child Gale waking with a fever and a sore throat. By the end of the third day, the two boys joined their sister with high grade temps, sore tummies and throats. The good doctor whom we had called came with medication and soothing words for the poor beleaguered parents. We had a conference that night. That is, Mom and Dad did, and decided that eating in a crowded cabin was no fun and staying inside was a bleak idea.
So we packed the next morning, loaded the car, and headed home for the end of our un-vacation.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Weird Stuff in The News
by Lois Jamieson
Vietnam
A smuggler failed to contain the dozens of King Cobras and other snakes he was transporting from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. After panic broke out on the train, the police were called, the snakes were collected, and the smuggler got away. It was suspected that he was going to sell the snakes illegally to a restaurant where a meal of King Cobra can cost the equivalent of $500.
Columbus, Ohio
An elegant, expansive, gleaming new glass and concrete indoor stairway in the Common Pleas Courthouse received rave reviews. That is, until women in dresses discovered the glass partitions at each step made it easy for perverts to gawk from underneath the stairs. I guess now they are using the elevators.
Watch for more weird stories in the news.
Vietnam
A smuggler failed to contain the dozens of King Cobras and other snakes he was transporting from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. After panic broke out on the train, the police were called, the snakes were collected, and the smuggler got away. It was suspected that he was going to sell the snakes illegally to a restaurant where a meal of King Cobra can cost the equivalent of $500.
Columbus, Ohio
An elegant, expansive, gleaming new glass and concrete indoor stairway in the Common Pleas Courthouse received rave reviews. That is, until women in dresses discovered the glass partitions at each step made it easy for perverts to gawk from underneath the stairs. I guess now they are using the elevators.
Watch for more weird stories in the news.
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