Connect The Dots

When I went into work yesterday, I found a children's coloring book on my desk. Things like this sometimes wind up there, since my doctors use toys for play therapy. I opened the book and saw that it was a connect the dots book. I had not seen one of those for years. When I flipped through the pages, it looked like a mess of numbers. I thought that this would be a good exercise for my life coaching classes. I needed to choose a drawing that would have a "lesson" in it but without connecting the dots, I had no idea what the pictures were. I decided to pick page 18, as it is a lucky number. I made a few copies of the page and then decided to connect the dots and see what the picture was. I started off slow, as the numbers were scattered so randomly. At one point I was just going to stop trying as it was getting frustrating. I kept connecting and midway through, it got easier. The end was a breeze. When I got to number 100, I saw the picture. It was a portrait of a person. I could not believe my luck. It could have been a puppy or a soccer ball, but I randomly chose a person. The lesson plan that I will use in my class will be: Your journey in life may look complicated. It will go slow in the beginning and you might want to give up. It may be frustrating. If you stay on course and follow through, the road will get easier until you wind up at your final destination.

Hello?????

Hello??? Are you out there? That is what I feel like saying to people that do not acknowledge what I am saying when I talk to them. I do not know whether they did not hear me, do not know what to answer or are just rude. Maybe I am weird, but if someone talks to me, I engage in the conversation. Even if it is only by saying uh huh. I hate it when I talk and get no response. If I am driving with someone and I am responsible for giving them directions, when I say turn left at the next light.... say OK. Don't sit there silent. If you are mute, I do not know whether or not I will have to scream TURN NOW in the next few seconds, as the tires screech across the crosswalk. If I am working with you and I say, "Did Mr Smith call back", do not act as if I am speaking a foreign language. Answer me. I have tried playing the "no answer game" and found it difficult. It just isn't normal. I think the next time someone does this to me, I will knock on their head and say, "Is anyone in there?"

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy

The television show "Family Guy" has a commercial that I find very funny. The baby, Stewie, wants to get his mother's attention. He starts saying, mom, mom, mum, mim, mimmy ,mummy, lois, mom and continues on and on until she screams, "Whatttttt". He then responds, "Hi". All that he wanted was her attention. I saw this happen in real life at a McDonald's last week. A young mother was sitting in the booth with her two young sons. The boys were chattering to each other about a picture on the wall next to their table. It looked like cracked glass and each child was saying that they did not crack it. They were too small to realize that the picture was an illusion. They thought it was something they had done. They kept saying, "mom, mom, mommy, mommy, mom" and she never looked away from her cell phone. She was either texting someone or playing a word game and was blocking out everything. It took a good 4 minutes until she acknowledged her children's voices. She quickly answered them and went right back to the phone. Good thing no one was choking. And we wonder why America is like it is.

Happy Memorial Day and Thanks!!!

Happy Memorial Day. It is a beautiful day, sunny and bright. The unofficial beginning of summer. There will be barbeques and family gatherings. In the New York area, it is the first weekend for people to go to their summer homes or summer share houses. Fire Island. The Hamptons. The Catskill Mountains. Teachers will start their countdown until the last day of school. We all take our freedom of choice to do these things for granted. We all know what America's foundation is built on but we sometimes forget who built it. Thank you to all of the brave men and women who fought and continue to fight for our country. Our armed forces are now comprised of volunteers who are dedicating their lives to making ours better. They chose to do this job and do not ask for our thanks because doing the job comes from their hearts.

The Carnival

Last night , I had dinner at a restaurant in the next town. After we ate, we heard someone talking on a loudspeaker. We looked towards the back of the parking lot and located the sound. It was a carnival. The traveling kind. With a ferris wheel, roller coaster and the flying swings. There were all types of games of chance. Dart games, ball tossing games, shooting games. The one unmistakable thing was the way the area smelled. It had the scent of a carnival. The unmistakable smell of popcorn, corn dogs, funnel cakes and cotton candy, all rolled into one. Anyone that has ever been to a carnival knows what I am talking about. It is the scent of childhood happiness. The smell that lets your brain know that this is a place to have fun. As we walked around, we saw the cotton candy booth. My eyes lit up like a neon sign. For some reason, lately, I am in love with cotton candy. We stepped up to the booth and ordered 2 large spools. I knew what the price was, but when I asked the woman how much it was, she looked at me, smiled, and said less than what the sign said. I guess she felt that 4 adults craving cotton candy needed a discount. We thanked her and proceeded to attack the cotton candy. It was so fresh and airy and it was devoured in about 4 minutes. Nothing was left but the stickiness of our fingers.

Garage Sale

Today is my annual garage sale. Well, it used to be annual. Somehow in the past few years, I have gotten lazy and decided not to have one. I am lucky that the weather is in my favor. The sun is shining and about 70 degrees. Garage sales are always fun. You get rid of all of your old stuff and make some money. You never know who you will meet at your garage sale. Over the years I have seen the same faces, buying the same things. One woman is a hoarder and I actually would not allow her to purchase unnecessary things at my last sale. It really is true, that one man's garbage is another man's treasure. As each car drives down the block, I wait to see if they will stop and jump out to look at all of the things strewn on my lawn. Half of the fun is the anticipation of not knowing who will buy and who will just talk to you for a half hour and then walk away. Well, it is time to go out and start the sale!

Mind Games

I remember once hearing that comedians always have a pad and pen on their nightstands, next to their bed. When they have a thought in the middle of the night they will jot it down so it is not forgotten. I think I need to do that. Not that I am a comedian but because I write this blog. Last night, as I was tossing and turning in bed, I thought of a great topic for my blog. I repeated the topic in my head, over and over. I told myself that if I kept repeating the thought, I would remember it in the morning. Wrong! I am sitting at my computer and have drawn a total blank as to what the topic was. I do not even remotely have a clue. What other information is floating in my head, pushed out the other thoughts. I am sure that at some point in the day when I am not even trying, the information will pop back into my brain. I am placing a pad and pen in my pocketbook now, so I will be ready for it.