Archive for May 31, 2018

Tough Love

A friend was talking about possibly having to use “tough love” on her teenager. That brought to mind this Thursday Thought quote:

“It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” ― L.R. Knost

 

Deadline Tomorrow to Get Refund from Western Union

I told you about this last November.  But it’s now or never if you were scammed out of money and Western Union took your payment.

Western Union has $586 million they have to give out.  It’s the settlement agreement they made for letting scammers trick people into wiring money to “grand kids” in Zimbabwe and “friends” stranded in China.  If you were caught in such a scam, you have money coming.

Letters notifying people of this are going out to 500,000 people the Justice Department believes were scammed.  But they think there are others.  Those others can go online to fill out an application.  They’ll want details, so be prepared with dates, amounts, etc.  And file before Feb. 12, 2018.

If you think you fell for a Western Union-related scam, go to www.WesternUnionRemission.com  .

 

Self-Criticism Ages Us…and Other Harms

Ever spend sleepless nights thinking, “I should/would/could have…” or “I’m so embarrassed” or “She’s right about me” or similar self-criticisms? Sure you have. We all do. But the thoughts go away, so no harm.  Right? Not right. There IS harm, not just to our minds but to our bodies, including making us age faster.

I found the article titled Why You Should Stop Being So Hard on Yourself very interesting. Read through it–be sure not to skip the “3 Steps to Self-Compassion” about 2/3 of the way down. Some good ideas there.

And ease up on yourself!

[Thanks to my daughter,Elizabeth O’Donnell, for sending this to me.]

 

In Memory……

A simple message  but from the  heart:

And thank you to all their families for their sacrifices.

 

Star Wars and National Parks

I’m not a Star Wars fan. I’m still firmly in the old Star Trek camp. Even so, I’m sending in my $26.95 to https://www.nationalparkstees.com/mtforestwy to get this tee shirt, knowing that I get the shirt and the National Park Foundation gets my $26.95 to help protect our wonderful green treasures.

 

Medical Word-Play

I’ve been too serious again lately.  And, it’s Friday and the start of a nice, long weekend.  Besides, as my regular readers know, I  can’t resist plays on words.  My mind is just twisted that way.  I hope you enjoy these.  Blame Walt Landers.  I got this from him.  (You may want to do a Ctrl/Alt scroll up to  enlarge.)

No Enemy?

Today’s Thursday Thought quote is a lesson from a very peaceful, loving group of people. If we all adopted this…what a world!

“I see no enemy, I see no stranger.” — Sikh Scripture

 

 

Safe Haven for Children

CHILDREN WELCOME HERE.  That’s a sign you might hang on your front door.  Isn’t it a natural human instinct to want to protect our children?  In this economy, though, many are “latchkey kids” or home alone because their single parent has to run to the store.  If your heart is open enough and your temperament calm enough, you can provide a safe haven for the neighborhood kids.  Tell parents that you have Band-Aids for scraped knees, “homework help” for the teen who needs an excuse to avoid peer pressure, time to talk and a reassuring cookie when something scares a child whose parent won’t be home from work for a little while.  You might even have a small library of children’s books and a comfy beanbag for curling up to read.  The idea is not to be a free baby-sitter or supplant the parents’ role but just to extend and nurture the family, even if you’re available only for a few afternoons a week and for emergencies.  Your reward will come next Halloween, when your house is not (or is) tee-peed.

My Tweetervation

My Tweetervation is an observation about a side effect of Twitter–glassy-eye-itis. I remember carrying on conversations, with give and take, each side listening to the fullness of what the other person was saying. Recently I realized something about people enmeshed in Twitter, Facebook, and other social media in which messages are short: I should deliver my message in 280 characters (don’t dare add an “um”). Past that, the lost-interest signs creep in–turning away, eyes glazed over, unrelated thought-balloons forming over their heads, maybe a non sequitur comment or question in a voice that hints that the person has left the room.

It’s not just the younger generation. I’m seeing it across the board. The only thing these people have in common is that I can find them on social media. Thus, my conclusion and my Twittervation.

As with many things over my years on this Earth, I’ll adapt.  I won’t like it, but I’ll adapt.

By the way, I apologize for using 991 characters in this post.

Those Painful Broken Plastic Toys

Well, they’re painful when stepped on or go into the landfill. Hasbro has a solution.  They’re working with TerraCycle to recycle them into materials for playgrounds and benches.  Find out how you can participate:  https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/hasbro.

[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]