5 responses to “Week of Grace: Recently Made a Difference”

1. I was recently at Vons and outside in the parking lot I saw an older man, probably in his late 70’s walking across the parking lot. He looked just like most older individuals do. He was bent forward looking at the floor so he didn’t trip and shuffling his feet. This particular gentleman was almost bent in half. I actually don’t think he would be able to look up even if he didn’t have to worry about tripping. Just seeing this reminded me of how bad things can get if you don’t take care of yourself. Getting older doesn’t have to be a death sentence. I am fairly young and don’t always think about what may happen in the future. I tend to forget that what I do know will lead to consequences in the future. Most people are never proactive. They only start trying to fix something once it is broken. I always liked the expression you have to make free time because you will never find it. It is easy to push things off because we are too busy, or because now isn’t the best time. There never seems to be an ideal time to start something but you have to just figure out how to get it done. Seeing this older gentleman just made me realize that we need to take care of problems before they become unfixable.

2. I belong to babysitting co-op with about 10 other moms. We watch each other’s children for points rather than money. Through the years, several of these moms have become dear friends of mine. Just before the holidays, we decided to start a “Secret Sister” program. The idea was just to provide little “pick me ups” throughout the year. We didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to buy anything — just to write a little note of encouragement, or pass along a magazine that had some fun or interesting ideas.

   This past Tuesday, I received a little package from my Secret Sister and it totally brightened my day! She sent me a beautiful card (apologizing for not sending something sooner), some fun green foil shamrock stickers (because I’m Irish), a little set of note cards that could be used for any occasion, and a $10 gift card for Starbucks. It was awesome!

   I have to say that it was such an unexpected surprise, something just so thoughtful and sweet, that it truly made my whole day. As a mom, I’m used to concentrating on others’ needs. I love to surprise the kids with a special homemade treat or little present. I was reminded how easy it is to let someone know that you’re thinking of them, and what a difference it can make! It truly is the little things you do for others that can matter most to them. Now I’m busy trying to find a fun creative way to “pass it on” to my secret sister! =D

3. First Mike … you are right on. I recently watched a PBS special which was conducted by Christian Northrope. MD. It was inspiring on a lot of different levels. She is a great speaker, knowledgeable, walks the walk, humorous, an expert in her field, not afraid to say that she is still growing and learning, and she has shown women how to think differently about their bodies and celebrate the cycles and changes. What she realized, is that her medical training did not prepare her well for ” Modern Medicine” which treats the root cause of the the problem and not the symptoms. She is now dedicating the next stage of her life to telling people what is right not what is wrong. I am looking forward to buying her fourth edition of “women’s wisdom” which is avail in bookstores in June.

4. My husband and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary tomorrow. I had started making arrangements to take time off, but when I saw that my husband was scheduled to work, I just assumed we would be celebrating on the weekend. It surprised me when my hubby came home today with roses and made reservations for steak dinner for tonight. But it was totally awesome, too! I don’t think of myself as sentimental or romantic, but today, it was really nice being married to someone who is.

5. I remember April of 2000 when I came home to see the first car I’ve ever bought sitting in the driveway of my apartment. I had to justify the purchase by saying to myself that I will drive this car for the next 10 years. I was half-hearted-ly joking at the time, but over the years, it became my goal of maintaining the car so that it would last me 10 years.

   Flash forward to March 2010, after several major issues and shelling out thousands of dollars in maintenance, I thought to myself, wow…I only have a few weeks to go, I can get a new car. That’s when someone, who shall remain nameless (haha!), backed into me and busted the front grill of my car.

   Everyone encouraged me to just go out and get a new car right then, but I had come SO close to achieving my goal. A friend rolled up his sleeves and did some cosmetic repair and fixed the car so that I could drive around for another few weeks and meet my goal. It’s all quite silly, but I appreciate my friend taking the time and effort to do something that most people would find unnecessary or a wasted effort. He did it simply because it was important to me. It was a good reminder that I should be sensitive to what is important to others, even if it doesn’t seem important to me, and how I can make a difference in someone’s life by understanding their emotional investment into something.