One

Word

Can

Make

A

Story

Ok so sometimes two, still...
We were three - this is the "story" of 24 hours in the life of those three.

Yet another killing…

(  I usually avoid "serious" or sensational subjects, but the headline in my local paper
"17 killed in a school schooting" was more than I could ignore.)

For what else are we to label it?

Have there not been enough deaths –

• In the name of a god, your’s, mine, his, her’s, their’s?
• As retribution: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?
• In the name of “my way of life is better than yours – you are in my way, i.e. you have to go?
• In the name of conquering new lands, be it by importing disease or by actually killing off those already living there – on the coveted land?
• Due to disease, whether brought on by one’s own habits or lack thereof, or simply by random genetic snafus?

Is it not enough that we will all die someday?

What can we do to prevent such senselessness?

I would suggest:

• Practice any, or no, religion – they all basically expound peacefulness, gentleness and love
• To punish the killer with death does not bring back those killed it simply allows society to do the same, ie kill. Follow the commandment “I will not kill”
• Who determines who’s way of life is good, bad or indifferent and who decides which is the best, the most correct? Thus I will let others determine their own.
• Why does any society need to kill an existing one? Can we not share?
• What explanation is there for a baby’s inherited gene combinations that were unknown until that point? Why do some patterns cause chaos, others remain silent? Let’s support the research, the possibility to find new treatments

In short – get along with everyone (I know that asking one to literally love everyone will never happen, but can’t we ignore other’s faults as we expect them to ignore ours!).

Can we not all pledge to try and hold our tongues, try and listen to the other, try and promote justice (not retribution), try to see the other side of the story, try to hear the silent cry of those seeking justification or notoriety simply to prove that they exist?

I don’t know this particular story – having only read the headlines – but where were we when this person was planning, suffering, implementing? This person (I don’t even know if it was one, several, male or female) didn’t live in a vacuum; there were others around him/her/they; there surely were signs.

I totally agree with another blogger

"I won't wait until the bodies are in the ground"!

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/02/15/wont-wait-bodies-ground-talk-guns/

Pretty as a picture or …

My Valentines.

I don’t know what it is, but there are “official” holidays that just leave me cold – that is if they don’t totally turn me off. Mother’s Day is the main one: I am a mother, and love being one, but was never able to convince my husband that one) he could buy the flowers the day before, hide them in a bucket in the cellar and present them through the children on the day or two) that trying to eat out that Sunday was not only double the money, but twice the trouble with restaurants brimming and the waiters and waitresses harried.

Valentine’s Day isn’t quite as bad – I can mostly ignore it.

With two cat’s in the house I have continual enjoyment – and love.

I also know that my kids love me every day of the year and not just on special occasions, but Clea here outdid herself the other day by posing in a frame.

And Babette spends mornings with her head on my hand, cuddled up as I work.

Love is where you find it – love is where you give it and to all of you, my family, my friends I am passing along the wisdom: Love exists all the time, every day, every week, every month, every year – it’s simply a matter of sharing it without needing to make a show. 

When is a good thing too much?

Now that can be interpreted almost any way one wishes.

We can probably never have enough joy, happiness, fulfillment or love, but things?

How much does it take for something that is wanted to become too much?

Some women would argue never when it comes to shoes or purses; some men when

It comes to cars, motorcycles, games one by a favorite team, etc.

Children would find it never too much on candy or chips depending upon their personal

tendency to like sweet or savory.

Teenagers would probably find it never too much to be out of sight of adults and those who are older than I (we never count ourselves do we?) would say that one could never get

too much of youth.

I am sure that any of you can think of another half a dozen things of which one “can never have too much”.

I almost managed.

Now it is a well-known fact that for myself and several other of my friends, who will go nameless in order to protect the innocent (or not so), all women for obvious reasons, can never have enough toilet paper.

So when there was a sale in one of my regular grocery stores a few days ago I grabbed the 24-roll package and headed to the cash register.  There it turned out that the price was 2 for 1 and it is thus that I ended up with 48 rolls of toilet paper.

Not saying that it’s too much, but am rather sure that I won’t have a lack any time in the near future, especially as the guests are gone! 

That is, one lot of guests as this was written back mid-January - now the next lot is here and we are grateful for the surplus! 

Letting go…

No, not of the Old Year, nor of loves, friendships or acquaintances, nor even the fact that I didn't blog much in the past few months, but rather of OBJECTS.

Traditionally I have not made any New Year’s resolutions since I was a teenager (ok so once in awhile as an adult I fell back into bad patterns, but never for long and never seriously, nor did I ever follow through!) nor did I this year.

However when a friend asked I did give it some thought, then when a day later I tossed out something that had been laying around for a long time: something that I never used, but that was going to always “come in handy” someday I had a sort of epiphany.

What if I got rid of one item per day – for a whole year!

Imagine 365 THINGS gone, out of the house and my life. Wouldn’t that be glorious.

So I started. Now this doesn’t mean that I can’t throw away more, but at least at the end of 2018 I will be 365 objects lighter!