I Wish You Enough

My Dad sent this to me recently.

I've read it before, but I think it bears passing on.

I Wish You Enough

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed.. I wish you enough, too, Mom.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?' 'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'. 'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

She began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.' She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.'

Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

She then began to cry and walked away. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

To all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH!

I'm still alive - really!

Life has been.....well, life.
I'm here. I'll blog more about it soon.
Now I have to go clean house. :)

Now I have to create a new cover!!

Your International Spy Name is Lady Little

Your Code Name: The Pharmacist You Reside in: Tokyo Why You're a Good Spy: You have total recall

What's" Your International Spy Name?

Total Recall, huh? My kids better remember that! :)

Hey Baby, let's go to Vegas!

My darling husband surprised me with tickets to Vegas for our anniversary. I've been so busy and distracted that I haven't had the opportunity to even think about the trip. Well, we leave on Tuesday morning - think it's time to consider planning and packing? HELP!!
Of course we're currently in the middle of our first blizzard of the season - going somewhere with no snow is sounding more and more pleasant.

Face fight

I got into a face fight with a friend's dog the other day. I'm calling it a face fight because it sounds so much smoother than "bent down to pet the dog who then launched himself upwards like a rabbit on steriods smooshing my face."

Now this is no little yippy dog, no chihuahua, no peekapoo, nothing small enough to put in ones pocket. This is an american bulldog, a breed of dog who's head is just slightly softer than those enshrined on Mount Rushmore. He effectively made mincemeat of my lower lip against my teeth. It was lovely. Blood and ice make for a memorable ending to a day of Christmas cookie baking.

It gets better though. Later that night I noticed that my chin was bruised. It's about the size of a penny. Now I know that doesn't sound like much, after all the penny is the smallest unit of currency that we currently have. But here's an experiment for you: take a penny and tape it to your face - in the area between the point of your chin and your lower lip, slightly right of center. Looks great, doesn't it? It could be a new trend. And the color - wonderful! It was red the first night and dark purple yesterday. I'm hoping for green today, yellow tomorrow, and gone by Friday. Think I could be that lucky?

I'm hoping that if I have to deal with the uneducated public tonight at work, I can say "face fight" fast enough to sound like "fist fight" and not have to explain myself. :)

My dear Rum Drinking friend sent me a meme - here goes!

Bold the One You've Done
(Now I have to figure out how to BOLD something.)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars - in a tent
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (world?)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee Jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - I think we saw one of these on our cruise.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill - listen, visual impairment is a real illness "I just couldn't see myself going to work today!"
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon - ran a couple of 5K's - wish that would count
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had Chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury - this has a whole different meaning in my career :) translation - "baby-sat a jury"
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake trust me, you wouldn't WANT to.
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Well, 44 of 100 isn't bad - guess I have some work to do!

OOPS - guess I didn't read far enough down on the Great One's meme blog. I did the wrong thing. Oh well - not going to change it. If you want me to put those award box thingies on my blog, you'll have to send them to me personally.

I think I'm going insane (a.k.a. Where's my Piece of Quiet?)

It seems the more I try and focus, the more scattered I get. I will say it again - MOVING SUCKS. What seemed like a very good idea some time in the beginning of the year, has become the on-going "too many tasks to complete, too little time to succeed" ultimate stress recipe. Now, we like our new neighborhood (what little we've taken the time to see and learn), we like the girls' new school (even after conferences today), the commute to and from work has gotten easier (4 miles from the county line and I get home at night before I fall asleep), but all the "making the house ours" projects that must be done before we completely unpack are making me crazy.
Today I spent the day painting the third garage stall. I still haven't had a chance to get groceries for Thanksgiving, but I managed to put the second coat of paint on the walls and ceiling. Thank God for friends with portable heaters. It was about 30 degrees outside, but I had 65-70 degrees inside and loud music to make the task a bit easier. Hope none of our new neighbors were wandering around outside.
Even with that painting project completed, my "to do" list is still as long as my arm.
Hubby wants me to send out Christmas cards yesterday - I may have mentioned that before - but our Christmas card list is stuck in our desktop computer, which is still not completely unpacked and definately not useable. Yippee.
The kids are out of school this week. We haven't managed to do anything exciting, but they don't seem too concerned. They set up the teepee in the living room today and kept themselves entertained while I painted. No blood, nothing broken, it's all good. Hopefully we'll find something fun to do this week. Not sure yet what that will look like - I've got boot camp, siding and window contractors, and work to keep us occupied all week.
A bit scattered tonight - a cookie for you if you actually made it through this drivel. :)