Life's Musings in the Middle of the Week

Friends are the backbone of life. Without them, life would be boring. It would be dull. It's only Wednesday, and I have enjoyed being with so many friends already. Sunday I met Meg at Panera's to learn about the changes at the district office concerning media specialists in Pasco County. Retired, those changes don't impact me, but they do impact others who are my friends. Good luck to you all.

Monday I participated in my Tai Chi class at the Palm Harbor Library, interacting with friends made in the past 16 months as a member of the class. Monday was also Leah's birthday - which we celebrated tonight at Chili's. It was also Samantha Slusak's service and funeral. She was only 23.  Devastating. To lift my spirits, I visited my Mother-in-Law, who is my Mother and my friend.

Tuesday I visited my other Mother, Mater, who made us soup for lunch. I was a little late because I visited River Ridge to hug a couple of the teachers who contributed to my MDA walk on Feb. 9th. Thank you, Diana, Mimi, and Grady - friends even after my retirement. Mater's daughter, Roxie, also contributed - my sister/friend. 

Today was another Tai Chi class, but first I attended the SENIOR FAIR at the St. Petersburg Coliseum with dear friends, Gene & Lou. We also had lunch with my best friend in the whole world - my husband, Michael.  Ken, another friend, and expert in lighting video productions, came along with Michael to meet Gene & Lou, and eat with us. Tonight, Leah and I celebrated her 24th birthday at Chili's and now I'm awaiting my best friend's return from a night time gig at USF, manning one of the cameras at the BasketBULL game. 

What will tomorrow bring? More friends, more adventures, and no chance of dull or boring moments.

Gratitude

Such a simple act - to say "Thank you!" To pick up a phone, and say it and remind the person you are calling WHY you appreciate him/her. To open a mail account online and write a quick note of appreciation. To write a thank you note, place it in an envelope, put a stamp on it, and address it. And what if the person is in your own home? Is a thank you enough? Or is there more one can do to show appreciation? Like doing the dishes after he creates a fantastic meal, or doing the laundry when the clothes hamper is full simply because time is available and it's a nice thing to do.

So simple to show appreciation, and so many ways to show it, but how many people do it? I just finished writing eight notes of appreciation to family and friends. I thanked each one of them once again for the memories we created during the holidays. Enclosed in each note is one picture, or as many as six pictures, to refresh the recipient's memory of our time together. Yes, the pictures are online at Shutterfly or Facebook or they were sent via email. Still, there is something about holding a picture, looking at it for as long or as little as one wants, and putting it in a scrapbook or frame to keep forever or a day.

Appreciation. Gratitude. So simple, yet it takes time. But if someone does something special, and if that person took the time to do something special, shouldn't we take the time to show our gratitude? Shouldn't we say thank you? Shouldn't we show how much we care?