Plop Plop

If you feel as if you've heard this one before ?
uh, yep.
&
Here's to enjoying it again.

Happy January 1, 2019, my friends !

--------------------

I was 23 years old or thereabouts and all I recall of the night's festivities is glee.
I don't remember where we went.
I don't remember who we saw.
I don't even remember who 'we' actually was.
But, We and I sure had a blast.

Oh ! The Laughs !
The Dancing ! The Drinks !
The Fun ! Fun ! FUN ! ! ! ! !

Until ...

Now, this part I do remember.

Worse.
Hangover.
Ever.
Ev-errrrrrrrrrrrr.

Thirty-some years later and that darn thing still owns the title.
oooooooh the pain.

My Gramma and Mama were there to enjoy this special event with me
& at first, they were very kind and extremely sympathetic.
They offered me water, a cold compress and aspirin.
They told me stories about the good ol days and their hangover experiences.
So loving.
So helpful.
But, somewhere down the line my moaning and groaning took those little ladies over the edge.
They turned ugly on me.
A devious plan is what they devised.
A "sure proof solution" to solve my many, many woes.

"Alka Seltzer" they said.
"All you need is Alka Seltzer"

no

"Just take some Alka Seltzer"

nooooooooooo

"You will feel better if you just DRINK SOME ALKA SELTZER

NO ! NO ! NO !

Gramma and Mom didn't care that every single inch of me was aching.
All they cared about were those silly, round tablets.
'Leave me alone' I pleaded
& why they didn't understand my need to lay there in complete misery is beyond me.

ooooooooooooooooo
ooooowwwwww.
OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW

They were relentless.
My mother and her mother and their awful Alka Seltzer ! Alka Seltzer ! Alka Seltzer ! chant.

oy.

At some point, I decided I needed to get away from those crazy ladies.
It took everything in me to get off that couch but, I was determined to get to my room.
S L O W L Y . .
S L O W L Y . . .
Little did I know my mother had already placed two alkas into a glass.
Her, Gramma and that awful bubbling brew stood between me and the comfort of my bed.

& there was just something about that fizzy fizz fizz fizzzzzzz
oh boy.

I bolted for the bathroom.
"Drink It ! Just drink It !" was all I heard as I went to close the door.
But, that mother of mine was fast.
She plopped that Alka Seltzer on the sink and ran for cover.

Alka Seltzer.
Oh, Alka Seltzer.
We sat there eyeballing each other for a very long minute or two.
Fizzy.
Fizzy.
Fizzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Until my stomach could take no more.
It turned upside down and inside out and released every little everything that had been ailing me.
yikes.

I had not consumed one drop of those darn bubbles but, it did exactly what it needed to do
& suddenly, magically I felt terrific.
TERRIFIC !!

Mom and Gramma were so proud.
They danced the Alka Seltzer happy dance of joy knowing their plan had cured me
& all was right with our world again.
YaY.

To this day, I can still see those little ladies chasing me down the hall with their effervescent water
& to this day I've never had an Alka Seltzer.
But, I can tell you from experience ...
It works !

plop plop.

:)

I Am My Feelings

Dear 2017

As we step out of the old and into the new, I'm hoping you've prepared yourself
because ready or not, here they come !
The reviews, I mean.
Those end of year summaries and every bit calculations of just how well you have performed.
We the people are on the edge of our seats, curious as to what you have given and what you have taken

& yes, YES, I know we greeted you we much revelry and gleeeeeee way back on the first day of January.
We welcomed you with opened arms and merriment.
We promised ! and were so very POSITIVE that YOU would be a great !!
& you were !
In a million, zillion little ways, you absolutely were.
But unfortunately, 2017, a lot of us tend to concentrate on negative
& what we see is what we'll get.
That dismal cloud will continue to hunker for those who allow it to stay.

But, don't fret, 2017
& do not listen to those who CANNOT WAIT for you to be over !!
Nellies like their song
& they will sing it all the time, every time.
So, please, don't take it personally.

What you and alllllll those years before you bring are lessons, 2017.
Easy or hard or wonderful or horrendous, every single everything you offer is a chance to learn, to grow
& how we handle each assignment is completely up to us, not you.

So on behalf of the many, MANY positive thinkers out there in this great, big, wonderful world,
I say THANK YOU, 2017.
You've done your part.
You've taught us well.

 Farewell, Friend.

Love,
Me

:)

I Am My Feelings 

   

Unfinished

I was glassy-eyed, just woke up, pre-coffee staring at my laptop this morning, when it occurred to me how very much I love blank.

Blank blog screens.
Blank paper in my Barry Manilow notebook.
Blank days on my brand new calendar.

hmmmm

and as I mulled the fresh, lovely, emptiness of that syllable over and over in my head,

blank
b l a n k
BLANK

I thought, what a funny sounding word.

Blank

& yep.
The urge to Google took over my brain.
I just had to know more.

Colorless.

Expressionless.

Absolute, unqualified.

uh huh, uh huh
but, what else Google ?
what else ?

: UNFINISHED; especially : having a plain or unbroken surface where an opening is unusual

& I thought, TADA 
THAT'S it, exactly

& I believe I shall name her, 'Unfinished'
because every single year.
Every. Single. Time.
Right after Christmas and right smack dab on schedule she persistently but ooooooh so patiently appears.
With her sparkly, shiny 365 days in hand, she wonders what will I accomplish with mine
& just when will I finish my unfinished.

That clock is ticking, she gently coaxes.
Say the words.
Do those deeds.
Get whatever needs to be done, done
& leave nothing halfway.
Because these days are not guaranteed.
They are priceless.
They are perfect.
They are a most glorious gift

 &
the older I get,
the clearer I see.

Thanks for your annual reminder, Unfinished.
I won't pinky swear promise but, I will definitely try to open up unusual in 2018.

:)

I Am My Feelings

Nicey

Read by Ken Guidotti


Be a nicey.

That's what my mom and dad tell me
And that is what I try to do
Every. Day.

I try to be a nicey.

What's that you say?!?

What is a nicey?

Well now !

I can tell you exactly what a nicey is AND what a nicey does

Because that's me

I'm a nicey !

Let me see …

Where do I begin...?

Well....a nicey is helpful

You can ask a nicey to do just about anything

If a nicey CAN help... a nicey WILL help

THAT is just what niceys do

Let's say you are walking down the street. Your hands are full cause you are carrying stuff

Maybe you're carrying a bunch of books

All of a sudden you trip and all the books fall on the ground !

A nicey will stop and help you pick up your books

A nicey will always stop because niceys are helpful

We can't help it

That is just what niceys do !

Hmmmmm....

What else can I tell you...?

OH I know !

A nicey is happy most all of the time

Oh sure, once in awhile we have a bad day

But mostly, niceys are happy

Niceys just see things differently I guess... because niceys LOOK for happiness

Niceys can find happiness anywhere

For example...if a crabby, grumpy person comes along

A nicey would smile....say Hi....maybe wish the person a good day

A nicey wants to cheer up that grumpy !

A nicey wants to help that grumpy smile because we like to pass happy around

We can't help it

It is just what niceys do

Oh I LOVE being a nicey !

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

You should try it !

Hmmmm...

Let me see...

One more thing

And this is super important

Niceys will never, ever hurt another person's body

EVER.

We are too nice to hurt

Niceys will never hit or harm.

We just won't !

Niceys try to pay attention to people's feelings too

We don't like to hurt feelings... so niceys never say mean or ugly words

Mean,ugly words hurt

And niceys will never, ever hurt another person's body

EVER.

We can't help but be nice

It is just what niceys do !

I guess I have told you all you need to know

You can usually spot a nicey right away...so look around !

Take notice of all the niceys in the world

We are all over the place

Niceys come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors too !

I am SURE you know a few niceys already

…...AND....!.....

If YOU are not a nicey I hope you become one soon

It's not hard to be a nicey

It is actually really, really easy

All you have to do is....be NICE

Because if you are nice you will WANT to be helpful

If you are nice you WILL see happiness everywhere

And...

If you are nice you will never, ever hurt another person's body

EVER.

So be a nicey

And ….tell your friends !

And... tell your friends to tell THEIR friends !

And.... tell your friends' friends... friends....well …..you get the picture....!

BE A NICEY ! 

:)

I Am My Feelings

 

Health Wealth and Happy

I remember being at my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve many, many years ago.
I was in the kitchen along with aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, Mom and Dad.
There were so many of us, we overflowed into Gramma's living room.

We all had a piece of oplatek.
Oplatek is a thin wafer, made of flour and water 
& the sharing of oplatek is a wonderful Polish tradition.

This treasured ritual calls for each of us to break off a piece of the wafer.
We then make our way around the room, offering our oplatek to other family members.
They break off a piece of my oplatek, I break off a piece of their oplatek
& as we do, we offer each other the wish of Health, Wealth and Happiness,
we BIG HUG
& we move on to our next person.

The beauty of oplatek (at least my family's version !) is the bumper car fun of it all.
Everyone is trying to reach everyone, so as not to forget anyone.

Health, Wealth, Happy
Bump.
Health, Wealth, Happy
Bump.

It's laughter, kisses, confusion and crazy joy
& on that Christmas Eve, with so many of us crammed together, it was AWESOME.

Unfortunately, we couldn't travel the 500 miles to Gramma's every Winter but, Mom and Dad made sure we carried on.
We have shared the oplatek wafer each year since that lovely night.
Christmas Eve is simply not Christmas Eve without the wish of Health, Wealth and Happiness.
It is truly the best part of the day.

So many of our family who were there on that long ago Eve are not physically with us today.
They celebrate their Christmas in a very, very special place now.
But each year, when that wafer makes it's rounds, I can feel the warmth of their endless love.
I KNOW they are sharing our oplatek delight

& so, with that warm and fuzzy feeling in mind, I would like to offer my simple Christmas Eve wish to YOU ...

May your heart overflow with bumper car glee
&
May you forever receive an abundance of Health,
Wealth
& especially Happiness in your life.

BIG. HUG.

:)

I Am My Feelings

#DateNutBreadDay

Somewhere during this busy week, I was told that Saturday, (aka today) is National Date Nut Bread Day
& I thought, 'well, I'll be ...'
In all these years,
through allllll the Decembers I have experienced, I have never, ever realized that a day like this even existed

so, yep.
I googled

& did you know very few people are allergic to dates ?
or that dates are the fruit of the date palm ?
or that food historians believe the date palm was first cultivated in the Middle East around 6000 B.C. ? 

& even though my mind is now filled with fun, dated facts, the very question I was hoping to have answered, was unfortunately, not.

"Within our research, we could not find the creator of National Date Nut Bread Day."

well, boo.
because I'd really like to know that wonderful someone's story.
To create a day specifically for this yummy tastiness ?
Dang.
That's a lot of love
& I need to hand out hugs.

You see, date nut bread has been a part of Christmas for as far back as I can remember.
I can honestly say, I cannot recall one without.
It's a tradition, 
a staple, 
an always there.

Dad says the recipe came from his mother but, when and how and why he and Mom added date nut bread to the Christmas list each year is beyond him.
They just did
& even as the family kept growing and growing and you'd think those two would have decided, 'that's ENOUGH!"
They'd just make more
& even though Mom now celebrates in Heaven and you'd think Dad would have automatically, instinctively retired the date nut ?
Nope.
We are on our twelfth Christmas without that little lady and Dad still makes and bakes that most treasured treat.

I've never watched. I've never helped.
All. These.Years. and I have never once made date nut bread.
But there it is every single Christmas, wrapped in foil, patiently waiting to be devoured
& ummm, 
errrr
truth be told, I'm kinda feeling the guilts. 
Why ?
Because it seems I may have taken this annual goodie for granted

& so, 
today I offer my sincere, heart bursting with love, big, BIG thank you to Granny
& Mom
& Dad
& 
to you too, creator of #NationalDateNutBreadDay, wherever you are.
I now truly recognize the priceless, precious value of that awesome bread.

:) 

I Am My Feelings 

 

Hello Winter

Welcome back
& I know you probably don't hear this all that much but, I've really missed you.

It's true.

You and your grumpy old geezer ways.
At a glance, you come across as cold, dark and dismal
& quite frankly, you've made me feel exactly that on one too many days.
But not this time, Winter.

Nope.

Because after all these years, dear sir, I do believe I have finally figured you out.
I know your secret
& today, your official entrance day, I need to remind me.

Patience.
That's what you teach.
Steady, snail-paced, wonderful patience.

Slow down, you advise.
Take the time to stop.
To look.
To see.
Hey.
It's pretty darn beautiful out there !
The colors you frequent, Mr Winter, are simple and unique
& I am truly amazed by your daily show.

Determination.
Yep.
You illustrate that too.
Steadfast, dogged, I can soooooo do this determination.
Like that hawk who's often perched on the very tippy tip top of a fragile, freezing branch on my big, bald tree.
Oh. Yes.
I. Can.

& Hope.
Hope is the very best lesson of them all, my friend.
With a whisper of a snowflake.
With the quiet calm right after the worst of your storms.
With the sunshine bursting through the clouds at the very moment I'm certain it'll never be bright again.
Oh Winter.
You offer me such perfect hope.

So YaY.

You're here.
You're back
& I am ready for you and your frosty, chilly, blustery everything.

I'm privy to your secret now, Winter
& for that I say, Thanks.

:)

I Am My Feelings