Money don't buy you happiness - love does!

Small things can get to me, especially when they concern my family. I just don't understand how people can take an innocent statement and create drama over it. I have a few relatives who simply get mad at me no matter what I do. It's always drama time. I'm too old to take all this stress. I think I just want happiness and love in the last third of my life or quarter or ten percent of it - whatever is left - I want to be filled with love, acceptance, and kindness. You know what I mean. You make a comment and someone decides to make life miserable or negative. I don't think at sixty I like to be criticized. I have been there enough. I'm just tired. Just tired. My Mama died over two months ago and I am devastated by this loss. I miss her so. She is my sweetheart and angel. What keeps me going is that I know she is watching over me and I am trying to be the good daughter and keep her proud of me! I love her so. So, move over naysayers. Keep your criticism to yourself and learn more about love, acceptance, and nonjudgment. It's the way of the Lord. I hope I can be a good role model to you.

Happy Fourth of July!

Is this not the reason we live? A beautiful child to be treasured and loved forever. Dear Gracie, your Great Grandma Mary loved this country. I hope you will love it, too. We are proud of being Americans. We are proud of our beautiful country and I hope you loved the fireworks tonight. Grandpa and I sat on the deck watching them and thinking of you each moment, wondering if you were perhaps at the river bank watching them with your Mama and Daddy. Happy Fourth of July, precious Grandchild!
Love forever and a day, Grandma and Grandpa

I have been through many life changing situations in the past six weeks - the death of my beloved Mother, a brand new job, a new grandchild, school, make up papers, change in weather, and a total realization that I am solely responsible for my own happiness. My sons aren't. My husband isn't. My daughter in laws aren't. I am. So what can I do? If you check out the following url, you will find some wonderful people who are also looking to change their lives. Read their stories...And prosper!

http://www.squidoo.com/whostolemycheese

Who Moved My Cheese

Book Review Part II
One morning, Sniff and Scurry, raced to the cheese room at the end of Corridor C and discovered the cheese was gone. They weren't really surprised because they had been checking the room each morning and had noticed that the supply was getting smaller.Their instincts took control. Out the door, sniffing the air, and racing out into the scary, dark maze in search of a new cheese supply.Later that day, Hem and Haw showed up at the cheese room. They were horrified. "Who moved my cheese," shouted Hem, along with several other emotional outbursts. No one had the right to take his cheese. Haw stood there in a daze, not really hearing all of Hem's rants and raves. He was dumbfounded that the cheese was gone.What would he do now? His little brain whirred with all manner of thoughts. Sadly, the two little people returned home, hungry.The next day, Hem and Haw returned to the cheese room at the end of Corridor C. They rationalized: the cheese will return. Everything will be as it once was. Day after day they returned, but the cheese never came back.Far away and much deeper into the dark, scary maze, Sniff and Scurry found a NEW CHEESE ROOM with more cheese than they'd ever seen before. Back at the end of Corridor C, Haw began to have thoughts that something needed to be done. He and his friend were growing weak and very thin due to the lack of food.He suggested that the two of them probably should go back out into the scary, dark maze of the unknown and search for a new cheese supply. Hem would not hear of it. That cheese had been his and whoever took it would bring it back; it was only right. The cheese would return. Everything would be like it once was.Each morning Sniff and Scurry would race to the NEW cheese room, check all around, and enjoy the many different cheeses, many more than had been in the OLD cheese room. And, each day, the two little people returned to Corridor C. Each day found them thinner and weaker.Haw made a decision. He would go out into the scary, dark maze of the unknown alone if Hem would not go with him. And he stepped out into the darkness, leaving his friend still waiting for the cheese to return.
Who Moved My Cheese
Book Review Part III
Day after day, Haw would move through the maze of the unknown seeking a new supply of cheese. More than once he thought about returning to his friend at the end of Corridor C. More than once his thoughts bordered on despair as he grew thinner and weaker. Yet he plundered onward.His decision to change his way of thinking was rewarded when he stepped into the NEW CHEESE ROOM and found Sniff and Scurry.Along his journey, Haw had left messages on the wall. He hoped Hem would follow, read the messages, and find his way."If you do not change, you can become extinct.""What would you do if you weren't afraid?""Smell the cheese often so you will know when it is getting old.""Movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese.""When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.""Imagining myself enjoying new cheese even before I find it, leads me to it."Larry's Comments:The simple little story of Who Moved My Cheese can be a powerful one for anyone facing life changes. Its message has helped Beth step forward into the scary, dark maze of the unknown after this last major change in her life.Life changes happen to everyone. It's how we deal with those changes that is important. We can "sniff" the winds of change and "scurry" in a new direction, or we can "hem and haw" around in our misery mad at the world because "no one had the right to move my cheese."Everyone faces challenges. This book is for everyone.