Words, Words, Words: A Triple Dose of Things to Think About

First Dose

Last night, at our Stephen Ministry meeting, Stephanie shared a story about what happened after her mom told her children, "When you help people, good things happen to you."  What a great life lesson to learn from your grandma.

Stephanie encouraged her two boys to donate some of their Halloween candy to be sent to the troops in Afghanistan, and they gave so much candy it had to be weighed in two separate piles because the scale wasn't big enough for all of it. The collection group paid for donated candy, but the boys agreed with Stephanie that the group should keep the money and use it to help with the cost of shipping the candy overseas.

A few days later, Stephanie was notified that one of her boys had won an MP4 in a drawing held by the group. Stephanie reminded the boys of what their grandmother had told them. Lesson learned.

When you help people, good things happen to you. You won't always win a cool electronic device, of course, but still. It's sorta worth the effort for a chance, isn't it?

Second Dose

This morning, when I logged onto Happy News, I found this quotation:

"Just as a cautious businessman avoids investing all his capital in one concern, so wisdom would probably admonish us also not to anticipate all our happiness from one quarter alone." Sigmund Freud

A succinct corrolary to Freud's wordy observation is "Expectation is the mother of disappointment." When we expect too much happiness from one part of our lives (a person, a career, marriage, parenthood, material items), that one part is destined to disappoint us. Life is far too rich and diverse and ever-changing to allow for this sort of narrow anticipation.

Plus, when we suffer the extreme disappointment that follows extreme expectation, we might grow bitter and angry. I have known several people whose bitterness and anger made me wonder what sort of disappointment they had suffered, what kind of happiness they had anticipated and failed to receive.

Do not become like these bitter, angry people. Open yourself to life and its diverse sources of happiness, whatever direction they come from.

And that ties in nicely with the third dose of words for the day.
Third Dose

I had to share something from Pinterest because I must pretend I get something meaningful and valuable from the hours I spend scrolling through pictures there. This week's pin of interest may be a bit edgy, but I think the attitude expressed here has a lesson for me, a lesson about not worrying and not stressing and just grabbing the good in life and hanging on for an exciting ride. Maybe you need this lesson, too.

Go forth and Carpe!

Please share some time in your life when you experienced the personal benefits of helping people, or when you carped the hell out of a diem.

Weekly Giggle: Career Clusters

Nick, who is almost 12, filled out a Career Cluster questionnaire at school. Here's part of his response:

You rock, my young Jedi.

You need to learn when the truth is probably not the best answer.

Truly.

Gratitude Journal #111

Today, I am grateful that George had a good run yesterday at the Marine Corps Marathon. Over 43,000 people ran the race, which is mind-boggling. George's final time was 4:35, and our friend Jen fnished in 4:40. The finisher medals are spectacular, and I plan on taking a picture of George wearing his when he gets home later today.

Today, I am grateful for trick-or-treating. In general, I'm a Halloween Scrooge; the egregiousness of it all has worn me down ever since my firstborn hit preschool. I remember when Halloween was one extremely special night of homemade costumes and begging with a pillow case. Ah, the good ol' days! This year, thankfully, Nick's intermediate school isn't allowing costumes or parties but is collecting extra candy later in the week to send to the troops overseas. The soldiers use the candy to build good will and put smiles on kids' faces...and I imagine, to give themselves a tasty treat as well. That's a Halloween celebration I can get into!

Today, I am grateful for this verse shared by a blogging friend who is battling an inoperable brain tumor:

"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him.'" Lamentations 3:20-24

Today, I am grateful for the new season of The Next Iron Chef. Generally speaking "reality" shows annoy me, but in The Next Iron Chef, competitors are all superlative chefs given unusual challenges to stretch their creativity and knowledge of food. Not only does the show give George ideas for the Iron Chef challenges I invent for him, it is exactly how I challenge myself with paper crafts. By forcing myself out of my comfort zone and creating random restrictions to push my creativity, I learn new things about paper and ink and stamps and design. And as my Word of the Year is Learn, this is a very good thing.

Today, I am grateful for this picture from Pinterest, which made me laugh and wish we could read animal minds:

What in the world are they thinking?

What are you grateful for today?

MCM Finisher George Raihala!

George finished the Marine Corps Marathon with a time of just under 4:40. Our friend Col. Jen Fullmer (USAF) finished just five minutes behind George. I'm so gosh darn proud of these two crazy people!

Marine Corps Marathon: My Crazy Husband

George is currently running in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. If you're interested in tracking his progress, go to the MCM website here, click on the Track Your Runner link in the right sidebar, and put in George's bib number 8922. It'll show you a map with a little icon running where he is on the course. How totally cool is that?!?!

As I post, he's 16.5 miles into it and running at a 10:10 pace.

Run, George. RUN!!!!

Words, Words, Words about Libraries

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." Jorge Luis Borges

"A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library." Shelby Foote


"Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul." Library at Thebes, inscription over the door


"We may sit in our library and yet be in all quarters of the earth." John Lubbock


"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Cicero


What are your thoughts on libraries?

Things on Thursday: The Library

I remember my mother taking me to the library when I was very little. I remember writing my name on check-out cards and the librarian putting the date stamp on the cards and in the books. I remember how we could check out as many as we wanted for free, the right of every person, rich or poor, old or young.

I remember the excitement of opening a new book and wondering what amazing characters and stories and places it would share with me. I remember words, words, words, and pictures.

I remember the different smells of paper in old and new books, the million shades of white and cream and yellow paper, the feel of smooth or rough paper and thick or thin, the sound of pages rubbing against each other and the cracking of spines, the feel of cloth-covered boards wrapped in slipcovers and of paperbacks.

I remember learning how to use the card catalog and Dewey Decimal system, and the amazement of finding a book just where the card catalog said it would be. I remember going to college and discovering the Library of Congress system and realizing how wonderful it was to get lost in the stacks in the PRs (English Literature) or the Ds (history).

I remember the graffiti in the library carrels. My favorite was "Free the Bound Periodicals."

I remember discovering inter-library loan in graduate school and suddenly the whole wide world of books and periodicals was just a request form away.

I remember deciding I needed to have my own library to dip into whenever the urge struck, and I have assiduously collected books my entire adult life. I remember deciding to teach myself how to bind books. I remember the joy of the first book I ever made. I remember feeling connected to anyone and everyone who ever made a book in the history of humankind.

Magic is in books and miracles are in libraries...from the ancient lost library at Alexandria to the tiny local library in your hometown.

I still love going to the library. I love taking my children to the library and letting them check out books. I love giving them the experience I had, watching them find just the right book for whatever journey through words and pictures they feel moved to take.

I love the magic of books. I love the adventure, the freedom, the accessibility.

I love the library.