Small Things Count

Gentle people are often thought of as wimps or push-overs. The opposite is actually true, as expressed in today’s Thursday Thought quote.

AFTER the kids are grown and we retire, THEN we’ll have time for us!” Too many couples put their relationship last.  Wouldn’t it be better if our kids grew up with a different outlook, that Marriage, as the heart of Family, is important enough to nourish?  We can do this in our own homes and among friends.  Find out if your church is involved with Marriage Encounter and go on a weekend.  (The “encounter” is very positive and relaxed, and it’s not for very troubled marriages.) Or join a couples group that socializes together.  Maybe do a date-night exchange, taking turns watching the kids while one couple goes out on a date—or just goes back home alone for a few hours.  Give that extra set of tickets to friends who need a night out.  Or take their kids with yours to the Children’s Discovery Museum and turn over your pool or hot tub to the parents for an afternoon.  All these things are inexpensive or free to you but priceless to your friends.  Your ,reward comes when they return the favor, and the community benefits from healthier marriages, both yours and your children’s.

I just learned a new word (from the Urban Dictionary). A bipper is San Francisco Bay Area slang for an auto burglar. A person who smashes car windows and steals items left visible inside parked cars, usually bags or laptops. Our amazing English language keeps growing (sometimes despite my own disapproval).

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bipper

For today’s Sensible Saturday, I suggest you learn ways to be earth-friendly while saving money on utility bills. Some you may know; others may be new to your or ones you need to be reminded of. Go to Energy & Money-Saving Tips

Winter brings dark dark, damp days which cause many people to feel sad and listless. In today’s Thursday Thought quote, Alysha Waghorn tells us how to break free of the doldrums, brighten our lives, and regain our happiness.

It’s happening again–a national teacher shortage, especially for students with special needs (7.5 million American students qualify). This shouldn’t be happening. I’m proud of my grandson who trained for and is now teaching these special students. We NEED more teachers! And they need the respect and salary that they earn and deserve.

Thanks for the day off, President Washington.  Presidents Day began in honor of him (remember “Washington’s Birthday”) then expanded to honor Lincoln, meaning we got two days off.  Now it’s compressed into one  so we  can honor ALL Presidents–better for employers who had to give people two days off, but maybe less good for merchants who had both Washington and Lincoln day sales.  Anyway, in the 1860s Congress, through the Uniform Monday Holiday Act,  shifted several holidays around so they fell on Mondays.  Why?  Because, they figured, having long weekends would decrease people being “sick” in order to expand their mid-week (or whatever) holiday, and people  would like some three-day weekends.

I hope you’re celebrating our Presidents and what they did to help our  country.  And my cousin, who owns a western-wear shop, hopes you’re out taking advantage of the sales.

Electricity costs are skyrocketing. Utilities are raising their rates at the same time that climate changes are causing us to use more electricity. This video gives some easy, cheap/free ways to lower your electricity use, therefore being kind to your budget and the Earth. Energy & Money-Saving Tips (https://www.cnet.com/videos/easy-ways-to-lower-your-utility-bills-and-save-money).

This Thursday Thought quote suggests that we turn our energies toward problems or perceived problems that we can actually do something about.

“Stop spending so much time and energy trying to make gay people ‘not gay’ or transgender people ‘not transgender’–it isn’t going to happen. Instead, try making hungry people not hungry, hurting people not hurt, lonely people not alone.” (Unknown)