What the heck is that?

As many of us (especially me) struggle with our weight, how often do we read the labels only to ask ourselves, what the heck is that?   It's not often that we can read a label and decipher what it is. Why is it so expensive to eat whole foods?  They constantly remind us on the news about the onslaught of obesity. How Americans are growing literally ever fatter. Did we ever consider that fattening foods are the cheapest?  It cost more to buy whole foods that have not been altered.  Why is that?  Why does it cost more for things that are sugar free than for items that have sugar in them? Maybe because the weight loss industry rakes in millions and millions of dollars.  We pay more to be less.  The coveted trophy of thin.  There is no length overweight people will not go to for the miracle weight loss, and corporate America knows it.  Maybe we should spend a little more time thinking about what we want and not what is being sold to us.  There is not a magic pill, or a magic diet or exercise machine that will dissolve weight. (believe me I have probably tried them all) It will be a matter of making the decision to live a different lifestyle when it comes to food. I am 45 days into trying and the results have been disappointing. But this is a journey, not a trip that you go on and come back from, its a life change destination.

Dark Place..................

Ever been in a really dark place?  A place where you feel despair so deep that if you think about it, you will surely be consumed whole.  Well, I am residing there today.  We all reach it sometimes, and we just need some time to be quite and re-adjust so we can come into the light again. We all reach a point where we feel all used up  and the waters coming in quicker than we can sop it up.  We just need to have a day to have pity on ourselves so we can feel OK.  The main thing is that we are able to come back and start over again with a new plan to face our obstacles.  We will always have obstacles to face in life and every once in a while, when the planets align, the scale will tip and we will get dangerously close to the bottom, where the dark resides.  This is what tests our fortitude, the stuff we are made of so to speak, our sink or swim reflexes.  Often times we will bob up and down a couple of times before we are able to tread water.  But what happens if the dark place wins and we sink without recovering?  That's what friends and family are for, all we have to do is stretch out our hand, and someone will grab hold and pull. If we are really stuck, then our family and friends usually travel in packs............There is always strength in numbers....  

Too Tired ........

It has been a hectic week, and I am glad today was Friday! Change of schedule this week has been harsh. Going to call it a night.......ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Simpler times......

Do you ever wish for simpler times? Most of have at some point.  When things get hectic and chaos reins, we want things to slow down. This 21st century demands multi-tasking,non stop action and more things per second than we can deliver. Seldom do we ever give our full attention to anything. Even as I write this, the television is playing, the dogs barking, and people talking. We are so accustomed to the chaotic nature of this life that peace and quite, the very thing we long for, would probably cause us to be less productive.  What we really seek to create by our longing for simpler times is the best of both worlds, the simpler one and the fully automated one.  How many of us would really want to give up all the amenities of the modern life that we enjoy?  The simpler life of long ago was a physically harder life. Speaking to family and friends was accomplished through the snail mail that took weeks. Early to rise and early to bed (not much to do after dark) was the motto of the times. Our motto for modern times, do it, see it, be it, bigger, better, faster and simultaneously. Imagine if we could use technology when we wanted, picking and choosing, who, what, where, when, why and how. If we could control the pace of our lives to suit us, without the demands of anyone or anything. How many of us wish we didn't have the real option of choosing, whether or not to answer the phone even though we are in the middle of something else, without the worry that the person on the other end will be demanding to know why they couldn't reach us immediately. The ease and access of non-stop media communications makes us view everything as urgent and requiring attention of the party we are trying to reach immediately.If we had the option to do our daily activities without the burden of worry that constant contact requires, we might long less for the simpler days and be more content with the current days of our lives...........Maybe we should try going without the tv, computer, cell phone, and everything in between for 8 hours...........I wonder how simple we would want it then, I imagine we would be like an alcoholic with withdrawals....... glad we found our next drink.  Bottoms up....

                            Maybe we are just looking to walk on that thin line in the middle.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles............

Planes, Trains and Automobiles, if you ever saw the movie with John Candy and Steve Martin, you probably laughed at the ridiculous adventures they had trying to reach their destination. This reminds me of how many insane adventures we have in pursuit of our destination. Funny, sad, happy and bad, we experience them all in the journey. People often say life is more unbelievable than fiction. It's true, crazy unimaginable things happen all the time. How many times do we hear a story on the news or read a newspaper and find the events described hard to believe.  Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, but always in way that catches our sensibility off guard.  We are conditioned to expect the expected, not the unexpected. If we really thought about it, we would probably find that the unexpected is the normal that occurs more often in life and the expected that we so desire is the more elusive occurrence. Maybe if we were more conditioned in life to expect the unexpected, we would roll with the punches a little smoother. Often times the crazy event that can throw us for a loop when it is happening, makes a great life story later on.  Guess time really heals all things..............Here's to the next great story......today's been a day full of future story possibilities.

                                             

Fill in the blank....

I am _________. There are 100's of things we can be. We have the control to make that blank what ever we want to. There are so many things we have control over to" fill in the blank" so to speak.  I love_______. Not so much, when it comes to people we love. Some of us believe it is chance, but I think it is much to complex to be left to chance. Whether its God, fate, destiny, karma, kismet or good fortune, something aligns in the universe and you find your soul mate. It can be in the most ridiculous way, and unknown to you in the beginning.  Or it may be like a large firework exploding and you know this is the one, whatever the case, it often seems predestined in hindsight.  We have many different kinds of relationships in life with people we love, but only one in a lifetime that connects us to our soul mate. The one and only person that completes us in a way that we never thought possible. We don't always find them first, but I do believe we always find them.  Sometimes we find them and lose them through life's unending complications, but we find them and they find us.  Sometimes other people know before we know, sometimes we find out when it's too late, that they were the one.  The "one" is a tricky creature, not always who we think, or dream it will be.  We also can be blindsided by the wrong ones on route to the right one. The million dollar question is how do you know.  There is no certain way to explain it, other than ,you just know. When you look at them, think about them,dream about them, see them, miss them, its always them, no matter what.  Good, bad or otherwise.  They are the other half, of who you are.  And you always know that you will always belong to each other in a way words can't describe. Try to keep yourself open to when they arrive, because they will.  You won't know who, when, or where, you will have to wait for all the blanks to be filled in.  I am fortune enough to know who fills in my blank...my husband of 26 years Michael. I am forever blessed to be your eternal soul mate. I love you!......
To Cole, keep looking......she is waiting for you somewhere out there.......

                                       Fill in your Blank.............

Its not about getting what you want...........

Its not about getting what you want. Really? Because we as Americans think it is all about getting what we want, and we go to great extremes to get it. The bigger house, the better car, cosmetic surgery, exotic vacations, big diamonds, flat screen tvs, gold, diamonds and the latest fashions. We want it all and more. The problem is when we get it, the satisfaction of success in obtaining it soon fades, and we are on to the next best thing we can't live without.  Why is that? Why are we seldom satisfied for long? Is it really human nature to be so fickle? There are probably lots of good arguments to debate both sides of that question. But the bottom line is most of us want more.  Maybe the problem is not in wanting more, maybe it is about what we want. If we wanted things like more knowledge, skills, wisdom, compassion and charity, the satisfaction could well out weigh any trinket or bobble we might imagine.  I found when I was young, I spent most of my life trying to obtain more stuff, better stuff, bigger stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff. Now, well past my youth, I find myself wanting to get rid of the stuff that I found so desirable and utterly irresistible. Learning, listening,sharing,and giving, sustain me in a way that no possession ever could, and I yearn for more everyday.  I also find that everyday, I am more thankful for what I already have with my home, family, friends and my job. Not that I don't want things, but I find myself taking longer to evaluate the real worth and value it brings to my life.  I would much rather spend my limited resources in sending my boys to college than driving the latest and greatest car.  A car would last me a short time, the knowledge they gain will last them a lifetime.  I can't imagine anything I would want more than happy, well rounded children that can take care of themselves.  So the next time you are trying to figure out what to obtain next, remember............It's not about getting what you want, its about wanting what you've got........and chances are you've got a lot.

          College knowledge to last a lifetime! A poor mans George Foreman grill.

Water........

We love water.  We love to drink it, bathe in it, swim in it, fish in it,watch it, listen to it and much more. We gripe about the cost of gas, yet we can spend upwards of $6.00 to $9.00 a gallon on water for the convenience of purchasing it in a bottle. Just think how inconvenient it would be if we did not have gas to get to the store. Might make us think that the projected $5.00 a gallon for gas is not so bad.Truth of the matter is if we equated everything we purchase to a gallons worth and figured what it cost, we would be shocked at what we pay.  The problem with gas is that we use so damn much of it. Hence, tomorrow I am going on my first carpool adventure. Not purely to save money but in response to my car troubles. I will just look at the savings as a by product. Of course who knows how I will feel about the lost convenience of traveling on my own.We don't view ourselves as a selfish country, but we are. We like to be alone at times, in our car, in our home watching TV, reading the paper or on the computer.  In many countries around the world this is something they know very little about.  They may never get the opportunity to sleep alone, travel alone, eat alone or even bath alone. The space in which they live would seem impossibly small to us. But many people in other countries live their lives driven by the necessity of their basic needs. Food, shelter, clothing and not much else.  We like to think that we are struggling in our country for basic needs as well, only our definition is quite different. Our homes are elaborate, and usually accommodate only one family, we own our transportation, or have it readily accessible, our food is well past the bare necessities and yes we buy our water in bottles and have it delivered into our homes through faucets. Many countries people are not that fortunate. Their water is not clean, or plentiful.  We would never think of having to bath, swim, wash, drink, fish, and even use the bathroom in the same body of water. Many people around the world do just that. Water is a life force needed by all of us, and taken for granted by many of us. We considerate it a luxury to live near water, for them its a necessity.  Many years ago, a acquaintance of ours was very mad at his son because he was investing all his money in disposable water bottles. He said who in the world would pay for a bottle of water when all they had to do was get it from the faucet in their home. Who, indeed. Guess it goes to show you that Dads and Moms for that matter, do not always know everything. So the next time we complain about the cost of gas while sipping water from a bottle......lets try to keep it all in perspective..........

It can always be worst.....

It can always be worse, I was having a hard time believing that after the day I had today. A financial situation that was very unexpected  with my vehicle happened today.  I was feeling really defeated and sorry for myself.  Which is ironic because what happened was my fault in a very round about way, but that's a story for another day. I had not heard from my brother in a while and had left him a message a few days ago that I loved and missed him.  He called me today which was great because I was feeling so down.  He was listening to my string of bad luck and telling me how sorry he was, and I knew he really meant it, which made me feel better. He has had some serious health issues in the past, but he is a real trooper and marches on with little complaint.  He always inspires me.  Today he told me about visiting his doctor a while back, who asked him how his Thanksgiving was and he said good (we all came to visit him) except my mother had a fall on the steps(thank goodness she was ok).  The doctor told him well he could top that, his wife had taken her own life.  I asked my brother how he responded , as I would have been speechless, and he said he did not know what to say, but was thankful his life was not that bad. In an instant, that statement snapped me back to the reality, that what happened to me today was not the end of the world and life could be so much worse. So this blog today is about me gaining a little perspective and pulling up my bootstraps and moving on. There are so many hardships and obstacles in this world that we face.  No matter what happens we can usually reach a point where we can see it could have been worse. I am always very sad to hear when people take their own lives because they felt that was all they could do. Because life gives you lots of trials and tribulations and just enough good and perfect times to sustain your memory during the bad times.  Always remind yourself, even if you have a bad day, you can turn it around ( or at least get through it) And remember to help those around you, extend a helping hand or a shoulder or an understanding word, because the day will come when its your turn to receive the help..........

                                              Now that's a hand we could all use...

Numbers..............

My husband is going to be 50 soon and I think he is taking it pretty hard. You ever notice how everything relates to a number. Your social security number, your bank account number, your weight, your age, the amount of money you have, the number of friends you have,plus or negative, the numbers affect how we feel. They make us sad or happy, when the numbers are too high or too low. When you think about it, numbers have a lot of power in this world with most everyone. In America, a number defines who we are.  We are not even existent according to the government if we don't have a social security number. When we are young , we want the number to be higher so we can be more independent, when we are older we want the number to lower so we don't have to face our own mortality. We all want a higher number in our bank account and a lower number looking back from the scale. We like it when the number equates to a good deal and we hate it when the number is high on a bill. Our date of birth is a number, and our most memorable moments in time are a number. We often have a lucky number, that we feel can magically help us in life.What do all the numbers mean? They mean what we let them mean, they define what we let them define, and they control us only how we let them control us. So when we think about the numbers that surround us in life, we need to remember, its only a number..........what can it do to us anyway?

Busted........

I'm busted, I have not weighed for over a week.  The truth of the matter is I have not really tried to lose weight for at least three weeks.  The reason is stress, I am a stress eater and we are under a lot of stress at work.  As I mentioned before we have a big inspection coming up. I know in some ways I am giving into my weakness and making excuses, but I am just not ready to do otherwise. Being ready to begin the journey of weight loss in earnest definitely begins with your state of mind. If you are not prepared to do what it takes, your just going to keep failing. Perfect example-me, myself and I. I decided to try to work on my mind over matter.  When I was little, my grandmother and I used to play this game where she would tickle the bottom of my feet and I would try not to laugh as long as possible.  She would very quietly say to me mind over matter. Through the years, I became very good at holding my giggle for a long time, and if you know me that is a feat of epic proportions, because I love to laugh.  So I am going to try to start conditioning myself that when the food is calling my name, I ignore it.  I will picture my grandmother telling me mind over matter, and maybe slowly I will be able to resist more and more. Until I am no longer eating because something is eating me, but eating because I am actually hungry. (imagine the concept)  Here's to you grandma and mind over matter......

                                     "Mind over Matter will make the Pooh unfatter"

When you get to the end of your rope.......

I am at the end of my rope.  How many times have we felt that way. I imagine the answer most of us would give-quite a few times.  What usually happens when we reach the end? We have a meltdown, breakdown, blowup, blowout, shutdown, throwdown, showdown and...well you get the picture. First comes the exhaustion, and then comes the guilt. Why did I do that, why did I let it go that far, hurt that much, and let all my buttons get pushed?  These kind of crash and burns usually take a while to get past for most of us. We have to crawl up from the bottom of our emotional wreckage, and start at zero again. But with each episode, we also gain endurance, strategy, and strength for the next time, until eventually the rope gets longer and longer and it becomes close to impossible to reach the end. Needless to say this sometimes takes years to accomplish, but well worth the journey. So next time, work, family, friends or that call to customer service lays on your last nerve, remember... when you get to the end of your rope.....tie a knot in it and hang on!

Sticks and Stones.......

What a day. Too bad I left my armor at home, I could have really used it. The natives were restless and ruthless. People never cease to amaze me, and once again I think the best of people and the worst rears its ugly head. It is unbelievable how draining the negativity can be. Follow the rules, people, its not that hard. Most people believe that, as long as it's you and not them.  Guess that's self preservation, the everybody's wrong and I am right mentality.  But have you ever noticed that some people ride that horse to death, they think they are right all the time. Although we would all like to be right all the time, it's just not possible.  And believing you are, is just plain arrogant. How can you ever expand yourself if you can't be open to learning from your mistakes. If we can continue to learn everyday, from all situations, good or bad, we will be the best we can be. You can teach an old dog new tricks if the dog is paying attention to the lesson.  So after a really bad day, take the time to process what happened and evaluate the worth of what occurred before reacting if possible, sleep on it so to speak.  Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully a better day, because today just plain stunk...See you on the other side of today.......

What's it Worth?

How often have you thought you had something of value only to find out its not worth much? A new car loses 20% of its value as it is driven off the lot.  How about jewelry, seldom worth what you pay for it. Now in this sluggish economy, house values have plummeted, along with everything else. What is value? Oddly enough it is demand. Value is driven strongly by demand. It's only worth as much as someone is willing to pay. Another aspect to value is time and need.  How long have you had it, how quickly do you need to get rid of it, and how much does someone need or want it?  And the last most important thing to throw into the mix, what is the personal value to the owner or buyer.  Value can be highly subjective.  Point in case- a woman on the Antique Roadshow on PBS brought in a small rug that she dug out of the dumpster.  She had asked the owner was it OK to do so and they said yes they did not want it. She tried to give it to her daughter who had moved into a new house and she didn't want it.  The rug that was dug out of the dumpster was worth $150,000.00.  Wonder if they would want it now?  The internet and other media have made it easier for people to find out if they have something of value, but they again have to think it is worth something in order to take the time to look in the first place.  Of course the down side to that is that places like Ebay have made everyone's treasures assessable, flooding the market with things that were once thought rare and valuable only to make their worth plummet. You can see this value thing is very circular and uncertain, maybe that is why hoarders hold onto everything, its just entirely too scary to make the decision to let it go. So whats my point? Value is what you want it to be, so be confident in that, because after all there are lots of dumb smucks like me waiting to find a lost Picasso at the Goodwill, because for me the value is all in the hunt.

                            Not sure I would think this was worth buying if I found it.

Perfect.......is it worth it?

This morning as I again woke up to dirty house, that was relatively clean when I went to bed, it reminds me of the pursuit of perfect. Every where we look, society tells us to that our house needs to be perfect. With all the super size home improvement stores that are thriving, that equates to plenty of us that our buying into the notion of a perfect house. How many times have we used aesthetics to judge a person? Probably more than any of us care to admit to. Back in the day, our parents used things until they were used up.  They worked hard to patch, fix, and maintain things so they lasted.  Seldom did they ever think about replacing something because they did not like the way it looked.  They were thankful just to have what they had.  We now live in a age of consumerism, the likes of which we have bought into(literally) hook, line and sinker. We don't like the looks of something, even if its perfectly good, we change it, or upgrade.  Companies like this philosophy, so much so, that they make products that are made to fail.  Why, because we have no expectation or desire for it to last forever, we like new, we seek perfection. Its sad to think the craftsmanship that future generations will get from us will be nothing more than a pile of junk that needs replacing. What does all this have to do with a clean house, you ask?  Many of us work ourselves to death, worry our children and spouses to insanity, in the pursuit of a picture perfect house.  One that will be the envy of our friends and families and can rival any magazine picture.  The reality is that is near impossible and most certainly maddening. It took me a long time and a lot of heart ache to realize, a lived in home is a happy home. Now don't get me wrong, I am not talking about filthy, just lived in.  Its OK for things to be a little disheveled, for their to be a spot on the floor or laundry in the hamper. More over, peoples' personal rooms should be their ultimate sanctuary, for them to decide on, not someone else.  Again, I am not referring to filth or trash, because we all know that children and adults need to clean their rooms. I just referring to aesthetics, how they want their room, and remember perfect is in the eyes of the beholder and not society.  So ultimately you should live in your house for you and your family to be happy, and not some preconceived notion that society dictates for us. When you see a little mess or something that doesn't quite suit you, remember to evaluate the entire situation and who you are trying to please, who wants to be perfect anyway...........seems like a very lonely place to be......

 A wise old owl once told me that all that style does is go in a continuous circle.  If we hold out long enough we will be in style again..

Cars..................................

Well today I had to do it, start thinking about buying cars.  I didn't want to, but the current situation has left me no choice.  I find both of the cars my husband and I drive on their last leg.  We both have almost made it to 200,000 miles, and several years without car payments.  The thought of the process of finding cars alone is mind boggling.  Why you might ask, because the prospect of a car payment is nauseating. All the news continues to talk about is the trouble in Egypt, if the government sways and falls into the Muslim extremist hands, then the middle east will be almost completely controlled by the " death to American people".  What would be the quickest way to reach death for Americans, stop the flow of oil.  Without the flow of oil from the middle east, our country would come to a stand still in a relatively short amount of time. Think about our dependency on the oil to get  to work, transport food and goods and so on. America has become a service country, we provide lots of services, but not many goods.  Thanks to our need for cheaper and cheaper retail, we have killed our own economy of self sufficiency. No longer do we grow our own food or purchase locally grown food from our neighbors. As we face the prospect of $5.00 or more for a gallon gas in the future, how will we meet the challenge?  Will we carpool, work closer to home, or God forbid, do without some of the lifestyle we have currently grown accustomed to? Who knows.  Which brings me to my dilemma about the car situation. Not only do I need to decide if or when to buy a car, should it be new, or used, car or truck, gas hog or gas miser, 4wd or 2wd, one or two. As with most things in life we often over prepare or under prepare for the unexpected.  Remember the debacles of the Y2K thing.  This will definitely be an ongoing decision making process. Wish we could power the world on bullshit, Lord knows we have plenty of that to spare. This is going to put a real kink in my New Years resolution...............

                                               It could happen

Zombies....Are you prepared?

Thank God its Friday!  I am watching another zombie movie, which is ironic as I feel like a zombie. The walking dead, a good way to describe myself by Friday.  I have always been a horror movie fan, the kind of horror that consist of vampires, werewolves, mummies, zombies, you know the kind of things that can't really happen. I occasionally watch the other kind, you know the real gore, but I prefer giant snakes, zombies and such. Who doesn't love to be scared. It helps to release tension, a good scream when your scared or cheering for the heroine to save the day, there's nothing better. Although, I never thought I see the day when vampires could walk in the sun, and zombies could outrun the living, it just shows that classic monsters can still hold their own even in the 21st century. When my brother was very sick with cancer, he and I would stay up all night when he couldn't sleep and watch scary movies, when I visited him. It was our time. It helped us to escape from something far more scary than a movie, real life.Unfortunately in this world, there are plenty of real monsters for us to be afraid of, who do things that chill us to the bone. My husband asked me why I watched so many horror movies, I told him so I could be ready when the zombies came.  My brother and I are confident we can save everyone from them, because we have seen all the how to manuals on late night fright T.V.  So, zombies beware, even the really fast ones, cause my brother and I have game, and were ready.  It's great to know someone always has your back.......and Oh yeah Scooby Doo where are you????????? It never hurts to have a little something extra in your corner.

                                                 DID YOU SAY ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

707........

$7.07, that is how much I was worth at 7:07 am this morning. By 8:00 am, $7.00 of gas later, I was worth .07 cents. Its a good thing payday is tomorrow, or I might be walking to work.  How quickly money goes these days.  Two kids in college, one in high school, 4 vehicles, 3 dogs, 1cat, a house and lots of bills.  Juggle, juggle, juggle its exhausting. Every Friday means a balancing act, because ultimately an unexpected bill is coming.  This Friday, its my car.  It broke down yesterday in the snowstorm on the way home. By the time Monday gets here, I will already be trying to figure out how I am making it to Friday again. I made finances one of my News Years resolution, because I figure there's got to be a better way.  So I am starting by focusing on the good news, which is I have .07 cents, the bad news is I have .07 cents.  OK, my goal for next Friday is to have $5.00 and put it in a savings account, I am not sure how I am going to do it, but I am determined to do it. I like to think I was one latte away, but I can't stop drinking something I don't drink in the first place. I think I will try to trim the grocery bill by $5.00, after all that helps me with my other resolution. So, say a pray that my car won't cost an arm and a leg, because I think I would literally have to give them my arm and leg to pay the bill, what does something like that go for these days?

                                                         

Snow Days...........

Today was a bad weather day, the kind as a kid we prayed for, the kind as an adult we dread.  Its funny how quickly things change when you become a grown up. We worry about how will we get to work, who will watch the kids, how we will get home, how much  more heat we are having to use, and many more things, none of which are pleasant. Unless your job gets its revenue from bad weather, we suffer from memory loss about the joy that a snow day used to bring. Nothing is more beautiful than when a snow first falls and its early morning.  It is if time is standing still.  The stillness can be breath taking. The canvas the snow creates allows us to see the beauty of things we tend to take for granted, a cardinal, a deer, the lines of a tree, the layout of the landscape, how it covers all the not so pretty things and makes them look beautiful for a while, its magical. We all need to see the beauty in everything once in a while, it helps to enhance our perspective of the world we live in. There are some of us in the world that can see the beauty in everything all the time, but others of us need a little help. Snow is one of those things that can do that if we let it. Of course we all can argue that soon it becomes nasty, dirty and can hang on long past its welcome, but what can we say that description doesn't apply to sometimes.  The main thing we should try to do is view all things with both visions, good and bad. That span of perspective will take you a lot further in life and give you more unexpected joy than you knew existed. The world is what we make it, and that includes people, places and things. So choose the joy of a snow day that a child sees before you face the reality of going to work in it.............because perspective is the only thing that's going to change the day for you.......

                                                                       No words needed

How many licks........................

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? As kids many of us watched this commercial as the wise old owl took the shortcut to the prize by biting the tootsie pop instead of licking it to the center. In this fast paced life, we are all looking for a shortcut to the prize we seek. Whether we are trying to lose weight, or have more money, get a new car, big house or a trip to Hawaii, we are often easily lead down the path of a quick fix to meet our goal.  Our society is full of get rich quick schemes, lose weight fast, get the house or car of your dreams tomorrow, and so on. Our children have all been raised in a society that you get it now, pay later and doing without is blasphemy. Our kids think they should make more without trying, and that they will always get what they want. Most of us in middle age have worked hard to give our children all their needs and wants, the problem with that is most of them now expect to live the lifestyles we worked so hard to achieve without the expectation of starting at the bottom and working their way up.  They want the biggest house and the best car and the great vacations and the large pay starting out. They do not want or even know how to do without. Cell phones, cars, new clothes and great jobs, not a reward of hard work but an expectation because they deserve it.  I certainly feel as a parent and a society we have failed our children by wanting them to have all the things we didn't, but not teaching them that they need to shoulder some of the responsibility that is necessary to receive, purchase and maintain these things. Life can be a lot of things good and bad, but the most important thing we can do for ourselves and our children is teach them to be prepared for whatever the day brings.  So be patient and remember we are the ones that taught them to crunch quickly instead of licking slowly for the reward........and in real life it usually takes a lot of licks to get to the prize

                                          The World may never know..................................