The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

Hello, everyone!

The good, the bad, and the ugly...wasn't that a great movie? Thanks to my big brother, I watched every guy movie growing up!

We all have loved ones, friends, acquaintances, and random people who bring these wonderful traits out in us.

How do you deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly days of everyday life? The good days are 'easy peezy lemon squeezey' as we often say in my classroom. It's the bad and the ugly days that often make you scratch your head and wonder if you handled that situation properly.

Family is Love

Life is what you make it! The people in our lives determine how we live our life and what decisions we make.  Like I said in my last post, "you are only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with...so get rid of those who make you feel bad?

Aren't the people who are the closest to us often the people who treat us the worst? Why is that? So, do we get rid of them? Do we cut ties with family or friends who bring the worst out in us, who make us feel bad?

No...of course not or sometimes...depending on the person!
Family is everything, remember? Or is it? When we have a heated argument with someone, whether a family member or a friend, how does it usually end? You say or do  things that are hurtful, sometimes unforgivable...right? What happens next? Do days pass before you speak to one another?

How strong are your family ties, your relationship with the closest people in your life?

I have strong family ties...sometimes so strong that it's suffocating...but that's okay...do you know why? Because I am surrounded by love...love from my parents...more than I realize, love from my children...who love me no matter what, love from my husband...God he must really love me with all my daily 'drama' moments! Love from my lil' sis who often has to give my 'head a shake' and make me see the whole picture...and love from so many other family members and friends!

I had an ugly day the other day that has left me sleepless at night and feeling not so proud of myself. Guess what? I AM HUMAN! And so are you. We are allowed to have bad and sometimes ugly days. There is a reason for our actions and reactions. Maybe stress from work or home, a sick loved one, a failed marriage...whatever the reason, we tend to take it out on the closest people in our lives!

Not acceptable...but we do it anyway! This is learned behavour that has been instilled in us from childhood. We learn from example, though this is not something we want to pass onto our children.
Can we change this behavour? It depends on the person. Once you accept that your parents or grandparents are set in their ways, then the rest is up to you. Change the reaction, diffuse the argument, be the better person and walk away before it gets out of control. It is possible, but difficult!

With strong family ties and close friendships comes love, respect, and most of all, forgiveness. We forgive the ones we love because we know they are human and are allowed to have bad and sometimes ugly days. Once we realize that saying and doing hurtful things towards the people we love is unacceptable, we begin to fill our days  with wonderful memories and share moments that will last a lifetime.

The good, the bad, the good again, sometimes ugly but less often...the cup is only half full, following the path you are meant to follow...

Love lives here...surround yourself in it and count your blessings!

Enjoy,

Sandra

I Love You No Matter What!

This is a special post dedicated to my children!

Today, 12 years ago, my life changed forever! Why? Because two angels from above were sent to me...to me! Can you believe it! After many years of waiting and I got two! Miracles do happen...I look at them everyday and count my blessings!

Happy Birthday Joseph and Michael! You are loved by all of us!

I love you no matter what! These are words that I tell my boys everyday! Words that were passed down from my parents to me!

Celebrating at the cottage!

What do these 6 words mean? I love you no matter what you do or what you say. You will test me throughout the years, but that's okay. I did the same thing when I was your age to your grandparents.We share something together: a strong family bond between past and future...this bond is unbreakable because it is held together by unconditional love, you know what I mean...loving someone no matter what. This kind of love is different from any other love you will experience....it is deeper...the love between a mother and a child cannot be described, but it can be felt in many ways...in a hug, a kiss, a smile, with encouraging words...you will know and feel that you are loved...

Thank you Michael and Joseph for choosing me as your mother! I promise you both that no matter what happens over the years, my love for you will always be the same. I promise to be by your side in good times, but mostly in bad times. I will be the wind beneath your wings that lifts you up when you shall fall. I will tell you that no matter how hard things get, things always work out...things always get better when you have people who love you by your side...

I will love you no matter what Michael & Joseph!

 Love, Mom

Doing the Right Thing or Not?

Welcome back!

Did you ever find yourself faced with a difficult decision? A decision that could ultimately change your life forever? A decision that left you wondering and asking yourself, "Am I doing the right thing or not?"

I have... and many times throughout my life. I recently had to make a decision that was difficult since there were too many emotional attachments involved and years of wonderful memories to give up. I often struggled with this decision and asked myself if I was doing the right thing.

It was a long process that lasted almost two years before I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and told myself, "Everything happens for a reason." I made this decision more than a month ago, and though it has been difficult for me and the people involved, I realized that I was meant to begin this new chapter in my life...

Doing the right thing or not! Yes, I've always tried doing the right thing in my life. Decisions like getting married or getting divorced or leaving a job you loved after many dedicated years. Difficult? Yes! Yet, feeling a sense of peace after the fact...

What is it that makes us do the right thing? Our conscience? Other people's opinions? Wondering who this will ultimately affect? I think a bit of each. Then what makes us decide to not do the right thing?

Envy, anger, not wanting others to be happier than ourselves? Maybe...think about it and ask yourself if you did this recently. Did you get angry at someone in your life because you weren't thinking about their happiness but of yours instead? Did you resent them for making a decision that wasn't about you and your future, but of their future and well-being? If you answered yes, then ask yourself why are you not doing the right thing now? What is stopping you? Do you feel good about your decision? Probably not!

Life is too short...but not too short! You still have time to do the right thing and fix a relationship that will ultimately end if you don't do something about it!

Or maybe, this is meant to happen as hard as it feels and you just need to accept this unexpected turn in your life...

Things happen for a reason!

Twists, turns, ups and downs, the good and the bad, to inspire or to become inspired, setting goals and attaining them, back in the day, keeping family traditions...

You decide...

Enjoy,

Sandra

                                       

Back in the Day!

Welcome back, everyone!


Why is it that when bad things occur in our lives, family and friends come together, forgetting trivial differences which have kept them apart, and join together as a close knit support unit for another? It's because we are all connected in many ways. Family is connected from birth and this bond is unbreakable! I am not just talking about our immediate family, but about our extended family...aunts, uncles, cousins, and your closest friends. Life has gotten in the way of simple things like visiting a loved one or just picking up the phone to ask someone how their day went. When bad things occur, nothing else matters. We drop everything and become a 'shoulder to cry on' or the 'wind beneath someone's wings'...that's just what families do!

Back in the day, life was simple and the best part of it was summer vacation! I remember sitting for hours with friends and family under our big Maple tree in front of our house. Many memories were made here...unfortunately our 'Giving Tree' fell over recently. It was hit by lightning years ago, and despite its' weakened roots managed to stay upright for many years, until it fell over last year. It seems empty now in front of my parents' and now sister's house, though nothing can erase the memories made under this tree.

Back in the day, we were taught family values, we were given a smack if we spoke in a disrespectful way to our elders, and most of all, we didn't have a care in the world. Summer vacation seemed to pass slowly. Our parents were not bringing us to soccer or baseball tournaments. We were spending our time around the picnic table surrounded by family and friends, sharing stories of the 'good old days.' I miss those days...

So, "Don't just sit there like a sea potato!" (as we often say in my classroom), it's never too late to pick up the phone and call a family member, maybe your uncle or a long lost friend, and reconnect, share a story of the 'good old days', or just to say, "I miss you."

Back in the day can be today! It's up to you to continue on your family traditions and pass them onto your children so that one day when they share stories with your grandchildren, they will say, "Back in the day when I was your age...

Enjoy,

Sandra

Following the Right Path or Not?

Hello Everyone!

Hope everyone got past the ups and downs of the week. Don't some weeks feel like there are more downs than ups, or you have one bad thing happen after another, and you feel like your life is spiraling out of control? We've all had this happen to us many times throughout our lives. How about having one good day after another, or feeling like your life is heading in the right direction? How do you know when you are following the right path? Sometimes we just know and other times we don't find out until it's too late...

Following the right path can involve a chain of events resulting in decisions in our lives that take us on a new path, usually uncertain, but once on this path, we realize that 'things do happen for a reason.' and we happily follow this path in anticipation of what is to follow...

I am presently on this path in my life. I've had a series of events occur over the past year that have sometimes made me feel like I was spinning out of control, and it wasn't until recently that I realized that each event had to occur in order for the next one to begin. Ask yourself this, "Is the cup half full or empty?" Most of us will say it is half empty when life seems unfair. What a great feeling when we see the cup as 'half full' ! We need to change our frame of mind to see the cup as 'half full' all the time!

Following the wrong path occurs the same way and we usually learn a lesson at the end of the path. It might seem like an unnecessary lesson at the time, and it's not until we are back on the right path that we realize the learned lesson was necessary.

I have taken many paths in my life that have led me in the wrong direction, but in the end, have brought me back to the path I was destined to follow.

How do you know you are on the right path? It's that feeling you get inside...you just know...

Twists, turns, ups and downs, winding uncertain roads, the light at the end of the tunnel...

We have arrived at the end...finally a new chapter has begun...

Pour yourself a glass of your favorite wine, now drink it. It is 'half full', isn't it?

Life is what you make it! So, make it a good one!

Enjoy,

Sandra

Things Really Do Happen For a Reason!

Hello Everyone!

Hope you are making it a good one with your family and friends. This post is dedicated to my family, to my closest friends who are my family, and to my friends who are my second family.

Do things really happen for a reason? I ask myself this question often. I strongly feel that people enter and leave your life for a reason, when you need them the most and when your life is heading towards the right path and someone is there to ensure you remain on that path. What about the people in your life who are always there for you no matter what...it's that unwritten rule you have with them...I am lucky to have many! Thanks for your support!

My mom told me the other day that my grandmother used to tell her when she was young that life is not a straight road all the time. It has turns and twists and obstacles and bumps along the way, but in the end, we end up back on the right path. My grandmother was a wise woman, full of love, compassion, courage, and encouraging words. She always had something positive to tell me even when all hope was gone. When she left my life, I felt like my heart was broken into a million pieces. I thought it would never mend, but it did with time. Bits of my heart was filled with the children I taught, years later my heart was filled with the birth of my children. I knew then that my grandmother left my life for a reason...to send me two angels from above!

Obstacles are part of life and I've had many, like I'm sure you've had. There were so many times that I wondered why things were happening to me. I didn't know at the time that I was meant to follow this path which led me here...

Did you know that we have pathways in our brain that have been created from childhood and determine how we process things, good and bad. Did you also know that you can create new pathways that will eventually replace the old ones, and eventually change the way you look at life?  CBT! Cognitive Behavoir Therapy! It works and I am living proof of it. Thanks to one of the most important people in my life today...Dr. Arnold Ein. I would have never believed it last Fall when he told me. Thanks Doc for believing in me!

Today, my thoughts are no longer filled with anger, regret, and sadness, but they are filled with thoughts for my next post, what I will bake this weekend, when I will run next,
and thoughts of what and who will inspire me next!

Twists, turns, bumps, goals in mind, new paths to discover, new friends and old, not certain of what's to follow, hesitant...take and deep breath and smile at the endless possibilities...you are on your way!

Enjoy,

Sandra

Setting Goals and Not Sweating the Small Stuff!

Hello everyone! Hope you had a good week!

Have you figured out what inspires you, what puts a smile on your face? Maybe, watching a movie like "Big Miracle." Doesn't this make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Doesn't a movie like this give you that feeling like you can be "the best possible person you can be...that you can truly make a difference, even if it's small?
   It can be as easy as setting a goal, passing on a new family tradition, or just doing something for someone without expecting anything but a thank you. I experienced this the other day at school when I expressed a wish to the kids that it would be nice one day if someone would bring the garbage to the lunch room without being asked. Guess what? Someone did? I was amazed that someone was listening to my words and felt compelled to perform this action! It wasn't the action itself that amazed me but the look in this child's eyes as I acknowledged his 'good deed' and how he was beaming from 'eye to ear'  as I congratulated him in front of his friends! He did the same thing the next day! Wow! It's moments like these that remind me why I became a teacher.
   I have many goals I want to accomplish. Small goals like cleaning the storage room and organizing my closest, challenging goals like running the 1/2 marathon next year and continuing this blog, and rewarding goals like creating this family book that will be passed on from my children to theirs.
    Be realistic when you set a goal. I find that if you set realistic goals, there is more of a chance to attain them, and less of a chance to be disappointed in yourself if you fail. Remember, this is for yourself! Don't worry if you didn't clean out the garage this weekend because it was too nice to stay inside, so you decided to go for a walk to the lake with your kids and teach them to skip rocks. That reminds me when I took the kids to the marsh one day and asked them if they knew how to skip rocks. Do you believe that most kids never skipped a rock in their life! Well, this was my opportunity to teach them this wonderful past time.
   I realized recently that I have so many things I still want to do, like volunteer at a retirement home and visit with the elderly and listen to their stories. They have so much wisdom to share and nobody to share it with. I guess growing up I was always surrounded by older people like my grandparents, or working at my dad's hair salon throughout high school and university. I remember being so touched by their stories, listening to their stories about being captives during the war. And yet, these wonderful people, with all the horror they endured still had something positive and encouraging to say to me. I remember the last time I saw the look in my grandmother's eyes before she passed away, she was telling me to have faith, to never give up hope, and that she will always be with me. I carry her strength, courage and passion for life with me.
   Whatever goals you set out to accomplish, 'give yourself a pat on the back', you took the first step to a better you.
   Since I started this blog, I realized how difficult it is to write creatively, and to figure out what to write about next week. My mind is now filled with ideas of future posts. I am not sure where this blog is going, but I hope my words inspire you in some way!
   Stay tuned for updates on our family book. I will post pictures of our progress, maybe I will share some family recipes with you, that can become favorites in your family.
   Remember, don't sweat the small stuff! Tomorrow is a new day, a new way to look at life, to inspire and become inspired, and to 'wake up and smell the petunias for the first time!
 
Thank you for all the views!

Enjoy,

Sandra