Twists & Turns, Moo-Cow Roads & Positivity

I went to a conference today. My friend & I managed to talk so much, we got lost on the way there, as well as on the way home. We had fun. Spoiling-wise, it came nowhere close to my last conference (see earlier blog post about my wonderful annual activity conference experience... already looking forward to next year). The seats were not of the swivel variety this time, and had no smoosh to them whatsoever. There were no decadent coffees to choose from... in fact, I didn't see any coffee at all. There was no dining room set up with cloth napkins, sparkling water glasses and a choice of 3-4 buffet tables (although the boxed Arby's lunch was rather good)... but the company was fantastic! I was a bit disturbed that the tables were so low, there was absolutely no way to cross my 5'10" legs... add a head & torso... you do the math. I always sucked at math.

I have always had a great fear of getting lost. If I had been alone today, driving through small towns I had only heard of (the conference was an estimated 2 hours away... hahahaha!), I would have had a complete nervous breakdown. This is no exaggeration... I would have freaked the hell out! You see, I am blind... of the legal variety... if you do not know me, you most-likely have no idea that I have a daylight-restricted license (due to vision problems, not legal problems). If I ever must drive to a town I've never been to, I either beg for a ride, or my husband... my wonderful husband... will take me for a 'run-through' the day before. The summers are fantastic! I can stay out until 9pm on the longest day of the year! Winters-not so much fun... curfew is at 5pm at best!

I'll share more about my visual impairment at a later time. It's really not important here... except to tell you that I do believe this is why I have such a fear of getting lost.

I remember odd things from my childhood. I remember a lot of funny, goofy times... but I also remember the times I got lost. I remember being at Sioux St Marie one year, staying in a cabin with my mom and dad, sister and brother. My brother was out fishing and a storm rolled in. I remember worrying about him, and running out to find him. When I looked back at the cabins, I realized they all looked alike! I had no idea which one was ours. My heart began to beat rapidly, and I had visions of being lost forever... on the beach... without my family. Then I heard my mom calling me. I couldn't see her, but I could hear her. Somehow I made it back to the cabin, as did my brother... it was a scary experience for me, but it also taught me to stay close to those who loved me.

During our 'lost' time today, I thought about the curvy moo-cow roads we were on, and how the twists and turns are just like life. My friend & I talked about how the swine flu began, and how it is becoming increasingly scary, not only for Mexico and the US, but now for many, many countries. We talked about our healthcare system, and the changes that are coming... we had wonderful conversation, and it swayed me to focus on our chitchat, and not the hills and curves that would normally scare me.

I was enlightened today. I think it's very easy to be afraid right now. There are so many variables... so many changes... I have not watched the news for years now, because of the depressive factor. I think the events and issues causing global panic, and citizens being scared out of their minds is largely caused by our peers. It was refreshing today to be with a friend with a positive perspective. I am not at all saying my circle of friends is negative... we tend to laugh off what we can't change, and I find that incredibly refreshing, too! It was just nice to have these circumstances explained to me in a way I understood... and in a way that did not make me grip my seat in panic!

I think it's extremely important to surround ourselves with positive people right now. Some negativity is a given... it's always going to be there. But as a whole, if we focus on our positive relationships, and the people who truly care for us, our happiness and the fact that we don't want to be scared shitless, the world, or at least a few of us in it, will be more positive and able to help others.

Humor is great. Realism not so much. But if we see our situations and our lives a little differently, I think we could make our part of the world just a little bit better.

Amazing Little Phrases...

I've been at a conference these past two days. A fabulous conference. It's the type of conference you actually LOOK FORWARD to going to... good food, entertaining, informative speakers, comfy seats that spin AND recline and did I mention the food?! It was two days of bliss for me! (Plus I had my hair done after the first day! Bliss I tell ya!)

Some of the information discussed was so very deep, and above my head that it took me several minutes to process single sentences and phrases.

Hurt people hurt people.


Think about that.


I did. For quite a while. I texted the words to my assistant. She didn't get it either. Typing the words into my little phone sent a tiny little current from my fingers to my brain. Hurt people really DO hurt people.


I'm not going to drone on and on about how we hurt people and hurt ourselves. I just thought that was an amazing little phrase. No, I'm NOT chanting for anyone to go out and hurt people. That was how I first interpreted the phrase, too.


Sometimes we so quickly jump into a fit of rage with a coworker who didn't include our name in an email, a friend who didn't return a phone call or a salesman who didn't say thank you, but we have no idea what may be going on behind the scenes. That person may have just been diagnosed with breast cancer. They may have just lost a child in recent months. That individual could have just found out an hour before that he or she is being laid off indefinitely. Due to the economy and the financial crisis, your friend's cell phone may have been shut off, and she was unable to return your call.


One trait I pride myself on is my friendliness. I rarely meet a stranger, I treat people with respect and I enjoy the fact that people know I genuinely care for them, with all of my heart. I'm not saying I never fly off the handle. It happens. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I suppose) it happens more at home than it does in public, but I often laugh at myself after yelling at the kids or telling my husband to go to hell. I laugh mainly because no one on this God-given earth knows how in the hell to take me seriously.


Laughter helps me to make it through the doldrums of the every day. It helps me to put life into perspective. It helps me in my work, in my home life, in my novel, with my OCD (obsessively and compulsively delusional... (self diagnosed) and mainly when I begin to hysterically laugh at extremely inappropriate times.


It's so important and necessary to let the small things go (really, who cares if a coworker doesn't CC you on an email?), realize the possible reality (she could have a major crisis going on in her personal life) and remember to laugh really, really loud... and mean it!


Just Let it Go, Love & Laugh. It's THAT Easy!