Ten..................

Word of the Day............... Ten....n.,....number between nine and eleven ( I think...I'm no mathematician). We must like the number TEN. Let's begin at the top...God gave us the TEN Commandments....not eleven or thirty or one...but TEN. Going further.....we tell our high school seniors they REALLY need to graduate in the top TEN percent of their class. There once was TEN Little Indians(or Native Americans). TEN Things I Hate About You......no, no, no...I'm not going to start listing things....that is a movie. Anybody remember Bo Derek.....10! Pearl Jam......Ten!! What are the top TEN things on you Bucket List? Who are your top TEN favorite sports teams? Has anybody ever asked you to list your top FOURTEEN anything? Bet not. We have TEN fingers...and toes. Nine times out of TEN...I wish I looked TEN years younger......They were outnumbered TEN to one.......hmmmmmm, bet you're trying to think of some more TEN phrases. I don't know why TEN is the Word of the Day today. And I have no clue what the point of this blog is......I wonder if maybe it's okay not to have a point....just to aimlessly wonder about the word TEN. Yep...think I'll go with that.

Loveseat................

Word of the Day....... Loveseat.....n.,....a double chair, sofa or settee. Today...and possibly tomorrow....my Loveseat is my BFF. I know hearts are breaking. Many people think they are my very very best friend. Gut up.....today my Loveseat has taken your place. It knows me so well. It has a very special place for me. Not much changes about my Loveseat....my hmmmmmmmm....derriere.......has successfully wallowed out a place that is comfortable. My Loveseat sits just perfectly aligned with a side table that holds my laptop, cup of coffee, cell phone, book and lamp. It doesn't try to move itself across the room so that I must realign my things. It affords me a direct view of the television, side yard and front porch. It allows my dog Missy to stretch out beside me and my cat Chica to perch on its back. I can view the kitchen and wonder if and when the dirty dishes will move to the dishwasher and what might be in the pantry or fridge to eat. I sometimes feel guilty about the relationship I have with my Loveseat........am I spending too much time with it......do I need to do something EVERYDAY about the dog and cat hair on it.......do I have the courage to move it and see exactly what might be under it? These things are gone from my mind today. I'm gonna enjoy this Loveseat like no other. I'm gonna Love to Sit in my Loveseat. I hope you have a friend as special too....a place to camp out and contemplate whatever it is you need to contemplate.....a Loveseat that won't judge you because well, maybe you take up a little more space than you did last year........something that gives you a feeling of home. If not.......don't EVEN think about borrowing mine. I truly love you all...but today....not as much as my LOVESEAT!!

Opinion...............

Word of the Day.............. Opinion......n.,.....a view, judgement or appraisal. We all have opinions. I have an opinion of you. You have an opinion of me. We have opinions of books, movies, laws, government, doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs. We get to listen to each other's opinions.....sometimes ad nauseam. We make opinions, we change opinions, we voice opinions and we disregard opinions. We boldly say...I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY THINKS ABOUT ME OR MY OPINIONS!! Well, I sincerely doubt that, but okay. Everybody needs to have opinions. If no one had an opinion about anything, then nothing would get done. No decisions would be made. What do you want for dinner? I don't care. What movie do you want to see? I don't care. For whom are you going to vote ? I don't care. What time should we have the meeting? I don't care. Should we even HAVE a meeting? I don't care. Opinions are a necessity of life. They lead to action. BUT....when our opinions become judgmental, then we've crossed a line. You can differ with someone's opinion and still be respectful. One loses his/her credibility when disrespect and contempt cloud your disagreement of another person's thoughts, ideas or opinions. Our world with all of its Social Media now allows us to stand on our Soapbox 24/7. We Tweet, we Facebook, we Blog....we put ourselves out there everyday. We throw sayings, Bible verses, pictures, updates, statuses and OPINIONS into our virtual society anytime we want. Cyberspace if chocked full of opinions. Mine, yours, theirs, whomevers........if you want an opinion, just log on to the WWW. So, my friend, be careful how you voice your opinion. If you want to be heard, then conduct yourself with dignity. Your opinion matters, as does everybody's. But please, remember that he who screams the loudest isn't necessarily the one whom others respect. Have an opinion, stand by your opinion, even voice your opinion. The world spins on opinions and actions stemming from those opinions. But don't grab a virtual big stick and beat someone else over the head because their opinion differs from yours. At that point, you look like a three year old having a tantrum because someone has your toy. Play nice kids; we're all in this together!

Guest....................

Word of the Day............... Guest....n.,......someone sharing the dwelling of another. There is an old saying....."A constant guest is never welcome". I think that is pretty self explanatory. Don't go to a friend's or family's home and stay past your welcome. But I wonder if sometime we are GUESTS in our own lives. You know who you are.....you're the person who sits on the sidelines of life. Now....I'm not saying we can all be the one batting the ball, passing the baton or kicking the field goal. But what we CAN and SHOULD be is an eager participant in our very own lives. Live them folks!! Don't expect somebody else to do be what you should be, do what you should do, make your decisions because you don't care. How easy it is to become complacent. If you're complacent in your home, it falls down. If you're complacent in your job, you just might lost it. If you're complacent in your family, you become an object everybody dusts and forgets. NO....you don't have to join every club, board or political organization. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not a joiner. Thank goodness there are those who are willing to be on those boards, make decisions, stand up and be heard. But what I think you MUST do is be active, find a passion, get involved in something that makes your heart sing. Maybe it is following sports...then get out there and yell. Maybe it is reading...then delve into your TBR pile with gusto. Maybe it is writing...then start writing that book. Don't let your life pass you by and suddenly look back and say, wow....if only. Don't be a GUEST in your life...be the HOMEOWNER. Don't rent a room....own it! Take pride in your life...be an example to those watching. Let them see a person who may not be the best at what they do, but who eagerly participates. After all....we only get this one chance to MAKE IT HAPPEN. And when it's all said and done, maybe you'll not be remembered as the fastest, smartest or best....but you'll surely be remembered!

Attention.............

Word of the Day............... Attention.....n.,....the act or state of applying the mind to something. Pay attention.....this might be important! Think for a moment about to what or whom you pay attention.......because most assuredly this speaks volumes about your life. I'm waiting......again................okay, let's list some very common Attention Getters. Our list might include our families, our friends, our jobs, our commitments to others, our financial obligations. I'm liking those. How you handle the above does indeed say something about your moral code. If you shirk your responsibilities on any of them, then you do need to reprogram your attention. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.....we pay attention to books, movies, how our favorite sports teams are doing. These are all fun things and part of what makes life entertaining.....not to say your financial obligations aren't a barrel of laughs too....:))). I love to read and my TBR pile of books always is getting my attention.....maybe at times to distraction. And of course whenever the Burnt Orange and White take the field of any competition....well the dog, cat and husband usually go to the other end of the house due to cheers and jeers. So, okay, we can cut out a time slot for those entertaining things that draw our attention. Fun things, enjoyable things, and responsible things.....we are getting there. Here's the rub (you KNEW there would be one...didn't you)....do you pay attention to the homeless? Do you pay attention to the child in your town who never has enough to eat? Do you pay attention to the elderly person on your block who's kitchen light has been out for weeks, and they have no one to climb a ladder to replace the bulb? Do you pay attention to single mom/dad who is struggling to get her/his kids fed,clothed and to school? Do you pay attention to little details of people's lives who aren't in your BIG PICTURE, but to whom life is just darn hard? Do you open doors for others, push grocery carts back to their holders, pick up random trash on the sidewalk, say please and thank you, randomly smile at a stranger? Little things my friends......little to you, but possibly huge to someone else. I applaud you for paying attention to your responsibilities......I hope you have some entertaining things to take up part of your attention. But I also CHALLENGE you to just once a day.....pay attention to something new......something small.....something that might just make someone else's day. Have a good one Guys and Dolls...and while your at it....help someone else have a good one too!

Obsolete..................

Word of the Day...... Obsolete......adj.,....of a kind or style no longer no longer current. We live in an obsolete world. What you have today is out of date, old fashioned, or not state of the art tomorrow. Products such as computers, cell phones, cameras and televisions are in a constant state of change. The media leads us to believe that we aren't productive or competitive if we don't have the newest, fastest and most sophisticated tools. To believe this is to believe that we are somehow inadequate and should be ashamed if we don't carry that cell that tells use where to go and how to get there. Or if we don't have that television that allows us to count the individual blades of grass on a football field, we are missing out. The saddest part is I think we're teaching our kids these rules. They don't feel good enough if what they have isn't the newest, the best brand or the most up to the minute product. Here's the thing........self worth isn't measured by our toys and tools. Pride in one's self isn't gauged by what I have that you don't. Old fashioned values are never, nor will they ever be obsolete. Kindness, compassion, courtesy, friendships....these things never go out of style. They don't have to be plugged in and updated. How you respond to the people around you in your workplace, in your hometown, in your travels and among your family and friends is an age old response that should involve honor and value. Respect never goes out of style. Being humble and grounded isn't a new changing concept. Putting yourself last instead of first is not outdated. You will NEVER KEEP UP WITH OR BE THE JONES'S. Someone is always going to have bigger, better, more sophisticated. Don't live your life and judge your worth by this standard. Please live and teach your kids to honor the things that never become old fashioned. At the end of the day, when you go to bed on those less than 3,000 count sheets, and you review your accomplishments, I hope you smile that you touched someone in a positive way...that you held a door open, said a hello, hugged someone in need, shared a laugh with a friend. Rest easy on these things. Admiration comes in many forms. Don't worry how others look at the world for the world is a fleeting obsolete entity. Your reputation lives on long after you do; it will never be obsolete; it is a legacy you leave. Don't make it be about toys and tools. Make it be about those things that live on after you're gone. After all, you are your actions, not your possessions.

See...................

Word of the Day............ See.....to perceive with the eye. Look around! What do you see right now? I see so many things and I bet you do too. From my couch I can see things in our den, as well as things in our kitchen. Actually, I gotta tell ya.....I see too many darn things. I wonder why some of this stuff is on the counter, coffee tables etc. Okay fine, that's another blog entirely. About 25 feet in front of me is a big window. I see a brown pasture, a green live oak tree, a wonderful piece of stained glass and the right front fender of my car....so that's some of what I see. What do you see? If you're like me, you don't see nearly all that you should. O yeah..we see what we want to. We actually take for granted what we see. I'm going to bet we DON'T see more than we see. We miss so many details because our eyes are trained to pass over so much. Think about it......don't you agree? We train ourselves to be generalists.....we see what we want to see...we hear what we want to hear.....we say what we want to say. But consider all the underlying things we miss. Do you see the emotion on a friend's face, do you see the detail of a particularly pretty garden, do we see the devotion in your child's eyes? I can just hear you now.....who has TIME to see every little detail? Hmmmmmm...really? I know our days are packed......things to do, things to do, things to do. Name ONE thing more important than a hurting friend, or your child who just wants a minute of your time. I'm waiting.......................I waited. God gave you eyes to see.....this world is a wondrous place. Please SEE it for what it is. A gift, a miracle, a feast for your eyes. Don't only stop and smell the roses.....stop and SEE them as well.