You can be what you want to be....

Some people do not participate in the Halloween custom. For me it is a fun time for the kids (and adults) to dress up and be someone or something else.

At times, we all pretend to be something or someone else; put on a mask and hide our true feelings. Motives for doing this vary from each circumstance and I suppose it does not matter why as long as we are true to ourselves. Getting honest with ourselves, figuring out who we are and what we want to do with our lives is the big challenge in life.

No one sets a goal in their life to be poor or homeless, without transportation or to get cancer or another disease where they have to depend totally on someone else. No one chooses pain over happiness yet so many people are in that place.

I have found that happiness is not a costume or a mask but a product of making choices; it is an end product of what we do and how we live.

Jo

Another poem memory of Mother...

The Swing

Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

River and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside -

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown -

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Come little leaves....

THE WIND AND THE LEAVES

by George Cooper

“Come, little leaves,” said the wind one day,

“Come o’er the meadows with me, and play.

Put on your dresses of red and gold;

Summer is gone, and the days grow cold.”

Soon as the leaves heard the wind’s low call,

Down they came fluttering, one and all;

Over the brown fields they danced and flew,

Singing the soft little songs they knew.

“Cricket, good-by, we’ve been friends so long!

Pretty brook, sing us your farewell song;

Say you are sorry to see us go.

Oh! you will miss us, right well we know.

“Dear little lambs, in your fleecy fold,

Mother will keep you from harm and cold;

Fondly we’ve watched you in vale and glade.

Say, will you dream of our loving shade?”

Dancing and whirling, the little leaves went:

Winter had called them, and they were content.

Soon fast asleep in their earthly beds,

The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.

Wellness Day...

I am taking today off to take care of my annual wellness day. Ocotober is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I encourage everyone reading this to take the time to have your wellness check-up.

Jo

I will always miss your smile...

OKTOBERFEST

Traditionally, Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany, running from late September to early October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event.

I am not sure how close the Oktoberfest in Rock Springs is modeled after the Munich event but you can be sure there will be music and beer.

This weekend will be the second year that I will attend. I like the music and being able to visit with people I know. Last year, Gary tried to teach me to polka but I have two left feet and stomped all over him. :o) It was a treat to see Gary and his sister Anita polka together. Gary's parents are always there too! I will let you know how it goes!

What are you going to do this weekend?

Jo

Fall is in the air...

It is hard to believe that summer is over and fall is in the air! I am looking forward to Indian Summer, the warm days before yet another harsh Wyoming winter. We have already had some snow, closed roads and lots of complaining. I am trying to find a reason to celebrate winter... have any suggestions?

Jo

Silent Witness

This photo was taken several years ago in Glenrock. The two figures above represent my sister Beckie and her three boys who were murdered in 1990 in domestic violence. The other figures are other women, children and men who have been murdered in Wyoming in domestic violence.

Today, I travel to Rawlins to participate in the Silent Witness Initiative. In the last 9 years, I have only missed a few of them. Next year 2010 marks ten years since this Initiative was implemented; the theme was "Zero by 2010." Zero deaths due to domestic violence is an awareness campaign started Nationally in 1999. Ellie and I walked Beckie's silhouette in the rain and wind from the Washington Memorial to the Capitol in Washington D.C. Today, I will walk with Beckie again.

What can we as a society do to stop the violence and deaths?

Positive Points to Ponder and Practice...

Sister Ellie, had such a good blog post today, I thought I would continue her thoughts:

1. Look for the good in everyone; no one is ALL bad.

2. Laugh out loud, often; it is music for your soul and good for your health and stress release.

3. People make mistakes, forgive them and forgive yourself when you make mistakes.

4. Celebrate the sweetness of life.

5. When life hands you something bad, shake its hand and give life back your very best!

6. Dance and sing as if no one is watching.

7. Celebrate life.