My Dad Was in a Gang!

When I was growing up on the family farm in South Dakota there was a gang. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my Dad was a part of that gang. This group consisted of other farmers in the area. Men, who worked hard, enjoyed life and talking cattle and all things farming. I am sure there are many tales I don’t know, maybe they weren’t all for the greater good, but the stories I remember were very special. 

When one of the gang members needed a hand, the rest of the gang showed up. A simple phone call started the chain. I recall my Dad making some calls, “Yes, we’ll get started at 9”. Quickly hanging up without saying goodbye, my Dad never said goodbye. Making the next call and soon the gang was informed and ready to meet the next day to take on whatever was needed. 

In the summer Saturday night picnics with the gang included croquet, volleyball and those dangerous jarts. In the winter it was card games and laughter. The women always brought quite a spread. Food, games, laughter, it is what the pleasant memories of my childhood are made of, I cherish them.

I loved my Dad’s gang, the kids of these gang members were my best friends growing up. We played together, learned to drive, and yes, occasionally got into trouble together. We remain friends today. Maybe not seeing each other often, but we all share the love from that time of our lives. 

As this group of men aged the included their grandkids in on some of their fun. They took up golfing on the Gary golf course, enjoying a supper club meal recounting their week, the golf game and of course what was happening on the farm. Their wives fast friends enjoyed the fun, always having the best laughs especially during their birthday celebrations.

The friendships this gang started lasted their lifetime. One by one they have started to leave this earth, beginning with my Dad over 12 years ago. Every one of these guys holds a special place in my heart. I learned we lost another member of the gang. I am a little weepy about this loss. I am grateful for the legacy they left and for the friendships I have because of the gang’s friendship. 

Yes, my dad was in a gang. A gang of farmers, they were the good guys.

Taking a moment

Watching the sun rise over the city on a Monday after a the 4th of July holiday makes me take a moment to enjoy the beauty of it. Doesn’t matter if I see the beauty in the farm field across from the farmhouse, the park across the street or the city scape. I am reminded to take a moment to find the peace and tranquility in the moment. 

This past weekend we enjoyed some family time, some time to get a few things done

and even time for a nap. It was perfect. I always think I can do more and be more, it’s a running theme with me. I will say it is nice to take a break from it all and just watch the sun rise. Not worry about the meetings this week, the deadlines, and the stress that comes with getting it all done. For today I will try to remember to enjoy this day, have a grateful heart and thank the good Lord for the abundance in my life.

What does it matter what others think?

I am working on a big project; it will put myself out in my world in a big way. Yesterday as I walked down 12th street to the nearest grocery store to get some bread, which at times seems to be the very staple of life, I let the doubt creep into my mind.

What would others think of my project? Would I be good enough? Can I really pull this off or am I just trying to work on another pipe dream that I won't stay with to completion? This seems to be a pattern I get into. Where would this idea go?

As I walked the second block I started to wonder if others had these thoughts. Trying a new job? Moving somewhere new? How do they push their fears aside and just keep moving forward? Ten more steps and it came to me that you just have to walk through those fears; you have to not care what anyone else thinks. I would have to revert to the saying that I would often tell my children, "What is the worst thing that could happen?" I am rejected? It is all for naught?

Ten more steps helped me decide it doesn't matter if I fail, it doesn't matter if the world isn't in sync with my idea. Ten more steps and I couldn't wait to get home to get to work on it.

I recently heard on a podcast, what others think of me is none of my business. Through the years of told others, I don't care what people say behind my back, talk away. Just don't ever let me know and we are good. If that is how I have truly felt then it's time to move forward. What is the worst thing that can happen anyway? I write and no one reads? I find joy in writing; it is my happy creative place.

I will keep moving forward; pushing the negative Nelly thoughts aside when they creep in. It's time to create and challenge.

Here's to all of the people who take the extra steps to make their lives what they want them to be! Take on the world! I will stay in step with you along the way.

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation

The end of February is very near. This morning I sit at the dining room table, a beautiful pink carnation still in full bloom from my Valentines day bouquet hangs over my computer screen. It reminds me there is always time to bloom, in the dead of winter, just when you are bracing yourself for another snowstorm, another deep freeze. Typically with the end of February we are starting to see the hope of spring, the baseball players have arrived in their respective spring training cities. The thermometer inches up a few more degrees daily. And if you are lucky you might get a garden seed catalog by now.
But not this year.
This has been a cold snowy winter, the snowiest on record in the state of Minnesota. Embrace winter they say, do all the winter things, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, mall walking, all very popular, once or twice in the winter. This year seems especially long.
Yet this pink carnation continues to bloom, it almost inserts itself into my morning view to remind me that there is beauty everywhere. Reminding me that even when there seems to be no hope there is a chance to bloom. A chance to grow and hang onto beauty.
This pink beauty reminds me to look for the good in all things, even when it doesn’t seem it is anywhere near. Sometimes it is right in front of you.
I am grateful for flowers in the winter, phone calls from grand kids
and weeks when there are no night meetings to take me away from home. Sometimes it's the little things that bring us back to purpose and intention. It is what makes our days bright.

As I am writing this the song a pink carnation pops into my head. A song we heard over and over as children. It was not a happy song, one of being alone in romance, but Marty Robbins sings it in perfect tune. I will use that as my joy today, not for the lyrics (they are quite sad) but as a touchstone of a happy childhood; a song, a flower and focus on living a life with purpose and meaning.
I wish for you kindness and joy when it feels like there isn’t much of that around. I wish you a white sport coat and a pink carnation; a feeling of joy today.

Day 4 of the 21 day challenge.

This is where the rubber hits the road, you meet some internal resistance. This is the day that life gets in the way of your plans. This is the day you can pull yourself together and keep moving forward.

Yesterday I spent a few minutes thinking about why I was doing my 21 day challenge and really what is the challenge? I had to go back to remember this is about mindfulness. This is about getting my act together for 21 days. Get the lists made and do the work.

Eating healthier and tracking it.
Exercise everyday, no matter….
Keep myself mindful, daily.

Interesting struggle in the last few days...I love to read and was deep into a book for my book club that meets Wednesday night. I finished it last night, now the slate is clean until I dig into the next. I am calling my reading time my quiet time. We all need that.

Day four is a busy one for me. I will find some steps when I can and purpose when I move through it. Oh, there is time for fun in here too. Tonight’s play at the beautiful Orpheum Theater will be a lovely cap on the day.
Here’s to it!

Day 2 of the Random 21 Day Challenge

It's Sunday Funday. Today for my challenge I will use my fitness pal to record my eating. By the way yesterday I recorded all of my food. If I eat like I did yesterday for the next five weeks I would lose a 1/2 pound. Not ideal, but let's spin it to the positive. I would not gain weight.

I did my own little version of a triathlon. I walk/ran for 25 minutes, used the stationary bike for 20 minutes and then got 15 minutes of swimming laps in. I included my physical therapy exercises in the mix for a nice workout that lasted over an hour. I am calling that a win.

Today I am preparing for an interview I have tomorrow, I have a couple of to do's from my organization list. I will plan my meals for today and tomorrow.

Progress not perfection! Living intentionally really takes some intention!
Have a great day.

21 Day Challenge- February resolutions??? Let's do it!

Its seems a bit odd to to be starting a 21 day challenge on February 16th. It’s a Saturday, who does this? Today, it is me doing it. I have been willy nilly working through the first 6 weeks of the new year with a general idea and general goals but little focus.
By starting this 21 day challenge I intend to be more mindful. Sara, my business and podcast partner,  would appreciate my work on that. My plan may change by the day, but the ultimate goal is to be aware of where I am spending my time and what I am doing with that time. Am I working towards my goal of living a purposeful life?

Here are the areas I will be working on for the 21 days.

Staying mindful of how I am spending my time
Working on writing time
Exercising EVERY day. Some days may be just a slow walk, but I need 21 days to get back into the habit of working out again. -I had a minor setback that seemed to slow my roll and created mental challenges. More on that later.
Clean up my eating habits, allow myself a treat but only if it fits into my weekly plan.
I will use My Fitness Pal to track my food. Do a better job of planning my meals. This is something I am learning from my other business and podcast partner, Katie.
I want to try a few new things, I don’t know what they are, but I am pretty sure skydiving will not be one of them right now.
I have other goals I am working through, but wanted to get started here on the blog.
Follow along on the podcast if you would like. It’s Unpredictable, available on SoundCloud, Stitcher and iTunes.

Here’s to progress, not looking for perfection. I am just working on some better habits in life. Working on some mindfulness and living a joyful life!
Will you join me? What would you like to accomplish in the next 21 days?

Got Goals??? Get them!

When you put your ideas on paper they look real, they look like they could be accomplished. You feel positive, like you have already tackled the problems because you have addressed them. They problems and how to overcome them are now right there on paper. Whew; time to step away; watch a Netflix program for the reward. You tell yourself, that paper, or the document on your computer needs to sit there for a while. You need to feel good about just getting this on the paper.

You walk by it, you maybe look at the folder sitting there just being itself. You go on with your life, occasionally thinking about the things you wrote down on that list. Now you are days and weeks into the New Year, maybe even a month, the list is unchanged. It is time to pick that New Year’s baby up and start nurturing it. Right now, find the list. It’s in the notebook you left on the far corner of the desk. How does it feel now? Are you as excited today as you were last week when you wrote those down? If not maybe we should cross a few things off that list, or move them to a dream list or what I call my list the dump list.

What’s jumping out on the page to you. Just what is it that you think you really WANT to work on? I will contend that that is the thing that led you to commit these to paper. That is the real deal, the one thing you need to get started on now.

I want you to start a new document, computer paper, I don’t care. Get your coffee and let’s get started. What needs to be done to get that piece moving? Set your timer for 10 minutes. Start typing or writing, everything you need to do to get that goal needs to show up on the piece of paper. Who do you need to call? Who can help you? What barriers might you run into? Get it all down.

Drink your coffee.

You now are going to put that project into action. Grab your google calendar, your planner, whatever it is that you are using and start setting tasks for you for the next 30 days. Most of these should be 10 minute tasks, some may require more work. You want to find days that you have time to complete those longer pieces of the project.

Now set a weekly review, after carefully selecting the first 7 things you are going to do, add them to your daily to do’s as the one of the A items you are going to do. If you have not heard me talk about it before, my days are set up in A, B and C items. The A’s must be done and there are no more than 3. B’s are the things I would like to do and the C’s are just that dump list or a moving target of to do’s I want on my radar. If I have time I will probably grab one to get it crossed off.

During you weekly review, set the timer to 10 minutes. You are going to focus on the next 7 things. When will you do them. Do you need to break it down even further so you know you will get it done? Get them on the calendar for the next week. This process is going to happen for the next 30 days.

A month in, you will be surprised just how much you have accomplished on this one goal. You may want to pull the next project, or you might want to just stay with this one. This is a personal decision. You might find that you need to spend another 30 days with this one.

One clarification here, this doesn’t mean you don’t tick off a few other things that are on that list. But I want you to have a focus every 30 days. At the end of the 12 months you will be able to look at your work, you should have completed, or have 12 months of new things happening for you. You depending on how difficult your goals are you might have 12 works in progress, or 12 new habits. The goal is to get working now on the piece of paper you spent so much time putting together. The thought needs to move to action and this is one way to get it moving.

Sounds like too much? It’s not, just set a time each day to spend with these goals. Give them 10 minutes; it’s worth it for the lifetime of change isn’t it?

Happy Middle of the first month of the year! Ok, made that up...just have a Happy Day.

Finding Hope for Today

Can you even imagine the joy the family of Jamey Closs might feel?

The details just coming out, it doesn’t matter at this point, because the joy of having her back is more than one can imagine.

We have driven those parts of Wisconsin, heavily wooded, not so far off the main roads, but certainly out of the way. This is a quiet oasis for some, but was an unbelievable hell for this young girl. One cannot imagine what she might have gone through.

Now the recovery begins, I would guess this lasts a lifetime.

For the family and really the rest of us that have followed along since the 15th of October we start to get answers. We start putting the pieces together. For all time this is now a sign of hope. Whenever we feel like all is dire, we can think about the possibility that maybe things will be okay. Maybe we can endure because Jayme did. She somehow escaped. Prayers of her family, friends and frankly anyone who heard the story are answered.

What are you losing hope about? What feels so dire you can’t imagine getting it turned around?

Take a minute to think about what you can do about it. Say a prayer, think positive thoughts, and hold out hope. Because I like a good list, make a list of everything you could possibly do to help the situation, add the people who might help you through this situation.

But know there is always hope, there is always a chance. We might not know what the outcome is, we might not realize why things are happening but we know that prayers are answered; we know that there is light at the end of most tunnels.

I have been told that I have a Pollyannaish type attitude, that I just don’t understand what it is like to be truly depressed. This is true. But no matter what I have been through I have always managed to have hope, I have always managed to be able to pull myself up from my bootstraps (if I had bootstraps) and move on. But as my husband wisely reminds, “you cannot judge your insides by someone else’s outside”. We don’t know how people really feel on the inside.

I make my case here for three things.
One is to be kind to one another. We don’t know what someone else is going though.

Two, we need others, others to lean on when we are down, others to remind us to get help that is out there. (Most employers have EAP programs that can help with professional counseling)

Three, there is always hope. The case of Jayme Closs reminds us that we can never give up. For her family, her community, for anyone who followed the story, we will hope for good days ahead.

By the way, I have a daughter named Hope…I knew in my life I would always need it!

Today, I wish you peace and hope!