April 22, 2023

Cinderella land

 

Pay attention here folks.  I CAN’T CHANGE YOU!  It’s impossible.  But I can change myself and that is a full-time job let me tell ya.  Soooo the only person you really can change is yourself.  Ya, I pray that some folks will change and maybe I might have a little influence but I’m not in charge. Sooooo, I shouldn't live in Cinderella land in thinking I will change someone.  It ain’t going to happen. That’s my opinion.

Life might be reality compared to Cinderella land.  Sooooo don’t be surprised.  Sooooo there is a guy in our 55+ community that some folks call “Brick.”  I asked folks why they call him “Brick.”  ‘cause he’s a Brick; I still don’t know why they call him “Brick.”  I wonder what noun they call me! Yikes!  What noun would folks call you do you think?  Hey, listen, I know some folks that have huge massive egos and I would guess they would think that folks would call them some really flattery nouns but in reality, probably not, maybe just the opposite! They are just in Cinderella land but they don’t know it. But flip the pancake. I know folks who don’t know how great they are but are really great and other folks know it (i.e. I really like these folks).

I was introduced to a couple recently that I enjoy.  Something that really amazed me is that they have a very nice house located in a beautiful location in a faraway state, they travel the world, and they are well read but still totally enjoy spending 6 months in a small park model in our park for the winter. They said—“We just love it here. It’s the people, they are soooo darn nice, soooo friendly.” I’m not sure if I understand much, but it appears to me that people need and want interaction (i.e. friendships, relationships and being accepted).  Again, I think, soooo, it’s my opinion that folks really want to be cared about and really want to be loved.  I do but maybe I’m abnormal but that is my self-evaluation.  You might think differently.  Maybe these 55+ communities a.k.a. winter camps for seniors offer something quite powerful to many; maybe something that they have never had before, and it fills a desire.  I think I’m unto something here. It’s sorta kinda like a Cinderella land for some!

My Daddy, Chester, would say to me—erv, everyone has problems, it’s just that some folks handle them differently.  I believe that and it's my opinion!  RickieRick says—"We often think that the world is impressed with our success and how we enjoy our prosperity. But they’re actually more impressed by how we as Christians handle adversity (i.e. my opinion again is that Christians do handle adversity differently). Folks may wonder what it means to be a Christian when you’re in the same kind of pain they are. Does it look any different? The truth is, Christians have the same pain as everybody else. We just have a different source of comfort. Your successes don’t give you credibility. Your suffering gives you credibility. The more honest and vulnerable you are about the suffering in your life, the more powerful your impact will be in people’s lives (i.e. that’s also my opinion again).” BUT you might not agree, your opinion might be different.  Now that is up to you!

We hiked Cowiche Canyon near Yakima, WA and this was on a marker.  We liked it! I have had many good experiences and one major one this winter in the Valley of the Sun.  It has been great but there is a part of me that makes me wonder.  Is this major experience just Cinderella land and it will last?  History shows that many such experiences don’t last (i.e. like my special golf buddies aren’t coming back next year; everything has to come to an end). This feeling of will it last isn’t a good feeling, oh no.  We all have had such experiences and maybe you are experiencing one now.  You folks might have a variety of such experiences now or in your past.  Relationships and friendships just don’t always last for many reasons. JoeBlow says—My family can’t even function well soooo how can I expect my other friendships and relationships to be perfect. BUT, my opinion and belief is, I think we can really work on making them last if they are important to us; I think with effort, the chances are a lot better (i.e. odds are in our favor).  MissPerfect says—Yabut, it takes both sides to want it to continue to keep a friendship or relationship strong; one sided friendships and relationships usually don’t work very well. Soooo folks, do you believe in miracles that you just can’t understand? I do! Some things seem to just fall in my lap! They are just miraculous!

I’m’ heading back to Butter County this coming week via way of CO and Waukee.  I will get to see Jimmer’s violin concert and one of his baseball games and Charlie's 7th grade musical.  I also hope to ride with Erin driving the car at age 15 and I hope to live to tell about the experience!  Her mom said—This isn’t Aplington, IA where folks know that she’s a new rookie driver when they pull over and give her the whole street; this is metro CO where it’s reality and not Cinderella land. It’s not Butler County where there isn’t one stop light in the whole county! But Butler County is really good at raising corn, soybeans and pigs; a ton of money has been made doing just that! Make no mistake, they are good at it!

I went to the hot tub on a beautiful AZ evening.  There was a lady in the tub and she shared part of her life with me. She was 78 and is working as a kitchen designer at Home Depot. She said she loves it. She has been a widow for 7 years and made the change quite well after a slow start. She also told me that her marriage was a 15-15-15.  She and her husband dated since they were14 years old, got married for fifteen years, got divorced for 15 years and then got remarried for another 15 years before he died of cancer. What? Well, he became an alcoholic and was very abusive and she just could not live with him.  He then married a real party lady, and he almost drank himself to death to a point that he was in the hospital for 2 weeks during which it was life or death. He lived and quit drinking and they got married again and had a super marriage for 15 years (i.e.  blue book version of her life). There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as the expectation of something better tomorrow.

Soooo when I was walking to the hot tub a guy walked with me.  Sooooo how’s it going—ok, I like the hot temperatures—you stay for the summer—ya—soooo are you still looking for a woman—ya, sorta kinda—well that shouldn’t be hard as all the women seem to like you—no no erv, I think more women don’t like me than do; but I can’t get married anyway—how come—my wife put in our divorce decree that I can’t get married for two years after our divorce—really—erv, do you think that it will hold up in court—I don’t think soooooo—erv, can I tell her that you said that—you sure can!  What a hoot!

I was waiting on the platform for the train to take me to parking at the airport.  I was standing next to a flight attendant who I would guess was in her mid-30s. She was called in this morning to work but really didn’t want to work but did.  She said she works a lot of hours to make a living.  Soooo you like your job—I do—can you make a living—barely—sooo what do you do—I’m retired—that is what all of us want to do!

CoachB says—"We need to master our urges!  And if we don’t, we are going to have problems.” My Daddy, Chester, would say—erv, the best discipline is self-discipline!  BUT to do that isn’t always easy.  We seem to want to live in the present but the present creates the future.  And soooo many things once they're done they cannot be taken back.  I try to think about that.  If it’s done, it’s done.  We might live in Cinderella land for a little while only to live in the “bad lands” for a way long time.  Ouchy ouchy! WorldClassLarry says--It's a whole lot easier to prevent a mess than to correct a mess; besides, many times the small amount of potential gain isn't worth the risk of the potential huge massive down side! Put that in your pipe an smoke it folks! A friend was telling me that they can get soooo excited about what they are doing with their life which can cause their blood pressure to go up because of the excitement and also because of the stress.  They understand this and try to self-discipline themselves to control this event.  They say it has worked! They also told me that they socialize a lot and there is always food around. It’s hard to watch calorie intake. It really takes self-discipline!  Look around folks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out! Yikes! 

As I started this It's Saturday I said I can't change you and you can't change me BUT I believe the Holy Spirit can change us and did just that for me AGAIN. Bingo! It happened when I gave up, then it just happened. It just fell in my lap a.k.a. answered prayer. AGAIN! Such is life.

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean said—It isn’t who you use to be but who you are in the present!

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