JoAnne's Blog

This bugs me!

Earlier in one of my blogs, I said that I love shopping, Christmas shopping.  I do love shopping, even grocery shopping.  It usually takes me a long time as I carefully read all the labels, especially if it is something that I haven't bought before. But I enjoy it.  Today was an exception.  I had my grandchildren, 4 yr. old Tyler, and 2 yr. old Tava, with me.  I only needed to get a few basics, bread, milk, butter, etc.  My grandchildren love to help and enjoy pulling the little carts around.  As we pick up things, it's a great opportunity to talk about healthy eating.  But, when we get to the checkouts, it's a total nightmare.  My usually well behaved grandchildren are at the level where they can see and grab all kinds of goodies.  I can most often reason with Tyler, but Tava, forget it.  Therefore, as I am trying to check out and pay for things, you can just imagine the scene that is being played out.  It's the same at almost every store where they sell chocolate bars and gum, etc.  Why I ask myself must they put them at that level?  Oh, I know, it's good advertising; people see it as they leave and will pick it up.  But it bugs me! I do remember shopping once in a store that advertised no candy bars, gum, etc. in this check-out aisle.  What a great idea!   

Building Relationships

Just recently, I was able to get away for the weekend with a group of women ages 19 to 88.  What a wonderful time we had laughing, crying, eating and just hanging out together. The theme for the weekend was "Sisters".  God has a lot to say about women and relationships in the Bible. Our capable leader spoke lovingly from her heart to encourage us in our relationships with one another. 

We watched a delightful little movie called "Miss Potter", which, at one point, had us almost in tears. It spoke volumes about relationships.  Food was definitely a highlight and we ate and ate to our hearts delight. Some people ventured out for a walk on Saturday afternoon, while others, like myself, sat around and visited.  Others had an extra nap.  The weekend was really a great time to just come apart, enjoy one another's company and begin to build those relationships that are so vital to us as women.

You Just Can't Please Everyone!

How many times have you heard it said of someone who gets cancer; he/she is such a nice person?  Of course, we know that cancer is no respecter of people.  But maybe, just maybe, there is some truth to the thought.  I know that I, for one, have spent much of my life, before cancer, putting other peoples wishes and desires ahead of my own.  Trying to please everybody is just not possible and yet we instinctively want the approval of others. Unfortunately, it's not a healthy situation and one in which we can easily lose ourselves.

I found the following story to be very amusing about this topic and hope you enjoy it, too.
It was written by Mark Albion, author of Making A Life, Making A Living

"The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked.  As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding.  The man and boy thought that maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.
Later, they passed some people that remarked, “What a shame, he makes that little boy walk.”  They then decided they both would walk!  Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride.  So, they both rode the donkey.
Now they passed some people that shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey.  The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey.  As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.
Moral:  If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye."

Making A List

Today has been another one of those really busy days for me.  So much to do.  But it is only 2:00 p.m. and I have accomplished so much already.  Why is that? I am asking myself.  The only thing that I can think of is that I made a list of things that needed to be done today and that is what I am doing.  It sure feels good to check it off the list.  Now I have some time to write, which is what I dearly want to do.  Making a list has helped me to keep my focus today and not get side-tracked which is so easy to do.  Staying focused as I have said before is key, whether in your business or personal life.  In my case, it was a bit of everything.