What Have You Done For Me Lately?

It's no longer the attitude of the country, but simply a line from a song.
Watching Jay Leno tonight - which I NEVER do - a PSA came on from our new president with a call to service. He mentioned a website - so I pulled out the laptop and searched for volunteer opportunites. And as I'm shy in a lot of social situations, I wanted to find something I'd be comfortable with and still make an impact. So I get to the website and do a couple of seaches: donating blood - nope, last time I did that I fainted - apparently I'm anemic; running a website for midwives - not sure how that's charitble; etc. A few more clicks later and I saw a headline "Knitters, Quilters, Crocheters Needed". Eureka. So I'm now registered with volunteermatch.org and am awaiting details from the organizers for a Hospice in Mass. which needs prayer shawls. To be able to use my passion to be of service to someone in need, is truely a gift.
One of the long lasting lessons I learned from the Ursulines was it was my duty to sacrifice - that was how you served God - when you put that 25 cents in the little milk carton bank for the pagan babies, it meant you weren't getting ice cream or a cup cake at lunch, but those babies were going to get something they needed. You didn't need the ice cream - you had everything you needed - but they didn't. It's a fairly simple practice. And one I'd lost. Most of my acts of charity these days involve a credit card number. I'll still keep up my donations to doctors without borders but now I'll physically be doing something. Baby steps!

Happy Birthday

As I was keying in today’s date to run a report at work, I felt my face get flush and tears begin to well up in my eyes. I realized today would have been my cousin Debbie’s 50th birthday. If she had lived, I would have spared no expense today to remind the world that she was now officially old. I would have planned and plotted for months, with my sister and her sister, on ways to embarrass Deb – geriatric male strippers, dead roses, lifetime membership to AARP, and some sort of obscene cake would have all been part of the festivities. No doubt she’d reciprocate in August when I turn 50. But my cousin, whom I shared so much with as a child, chooses not to be here for this momentous occasion.
Over the past 15 plus years, she’s missed out on all the significant events in her goddaughter’s life. She would have been the cool aunt both my children could pour their hearts out to without fear of any of it getting back to me. She would have taken my son to concerts, gone to my daughter’s volleyball games. And she probably would have been the one to teach them both to drive. But don’t get me wrong, she was not, but any stretch of the imagination, perfect. There were times when I hated it because she was so hard to deal with. But, she was family; more like a sister than a cousin and we shared a bond and a history that couldn’t even be broken by death.
So happy birthday Debbie, maybe we can celebrate together in another 50 years

They've got more than 6 months...

until I turn 50...surely my children love me enough to get me this cake (sans the embroidery hoop).

You know it's going to be a good year....

when you hear this on CNN: