the summer sun – I want to consciously feel it and enjoy it. The warmth, the light. Feel and perceive in my body how much I enjoy being warmed like that. Without falling into thoughts and drifting away from the pure gift into rationalizing this feeling of well-being.
Today I made my own day!! I had the day off from work and went and did an exercise class, a little shopping and take out from Not your average Joes and used my birthday coupon (from May) and then I went and took photos of the Indian Lotus flower that blooms here every year since 1982. They are an Asian flower, and so beautiful!!
Just last evening, while at the hospital bedside of a deceased aunt, (she just passed before I got there), a nurse came in offering me a universal sign of support—a hug. It mattered not that we were of different generations and cultures. Her compassion touched my heart. I could only say thank you through my eyes and mumbled words.
Carla, I am so very sorry about the loss of your dear Aunt. I am very happy that a nurse offered you support and a hug! Today so many are detached…they do not know the kindness of human touch. Recently, while hospitalized I had one nurse hold my hand as I was crying and two other beautiful young nurses hug me. How much that made a difference to me. I was a nurse for most of my life..I hope that I touched others as well as these nurses. Take care, Carla.
Carla, what a beautiful experience. As someone who’s a cross between cultures and generations, it goes to show how being open to receiving many different forms of care can make a difference. It sure comes in handy when we’re either more vulnorable or older. Being still young myself, just like with any typical youngster, I still have the desire to do things my way from time to time to a varying degree. It’s pleasureable and gets from A-B. Once the bottom falls off, it falls off hard. I can see why pride comes before fall.
My boundaries can come off rigid. It’s why I’ve struggled in Vietnamese social settings. I still choose to be too polite than rude. But however, looking at it from their perspective, they value intimacy. It looks rude, but we’re also obsessed over manners too which can lead to perfectionism. We end up missing out on naturalism, care, and warmth. Manners and naturalism don’t exactly play nicely. Having been labeled as “too polite”, I can see how that can create sketchy vibes. Barriors are built between people.
Thank you Loc Tran. We all have our learning curves especially when extending ourselves beyond our cultural guidelines, and protocols. And sometimes it’s our Fears that get in our way, the most. Bless you
No problem, Carla. This reminds me of Carol’s post some time around a month ago when she talked about spending the first half of our lives learning and the 2nd half unlearning, especially the 2nd part. It’s another one of those interesting paradoxes.
I’m all too familiar with fear. Ngoc is right about me being like a turtle. I normally stay in my shell. I’ll come out and check my surroundings to make sure the coast is clear before proceeding. Turtles are known to be very patient. I’m definitely mathodical. The stop look go technique is quite popular within this community.
I’m not sure about “made my day”, but
it makes my moment, when someone
reaches out to me or responds to a text
and lets me know they’re thinking of me.
Or my lovely wife sees that I’m overwhelmed
and asks if I need anything. Or a neighbor
leaves a treat at our doorstep. Or I have
a moment with a beautiful singing little
bird while on my way into the hardware
store. I am grateful for these moments.
You all make my day every morning with your thoughtful replies, humor, and stories. So thank you very much!
Some of the people who regularly make my day are the people driving who behave safely and courteously as they pass me riding my bicycle. I let them know I appreciate it by smiling and waving as they go by.
I’m fortunate to live in a neighborhood and town where the vast majority of people I encounter are extra-careful. They may or may not know the state law was updated to require them to move into the other lane to pass me if they can, but they often do that. This gives me much more peace of mind than someone who thinks they’re fine if they’re three feet away, not knowing how intimidating that two-ton hunk of fast-moving steel is and maybe not realizing quite how far their side-view mirrors project.
Barb, as a fellow biker, I feel as though I completely understand your appreciation of consideration when people do truly share the road. It makes one feel like we are all traveling along together, taking care of one another, so we all get to where we are headed safely. Good will between bikers and car travelers is essential and you exemplify that. Ride on, Sista!
My cats make my day everyday! 😻 I have 7 of them, each with their different personalities and quirks. Cats love routines and rituals so I make it a point to have a special time with each of them individually during the day… in fact, it’s my cat Copeland, who is always sitting next to me when I visit this site each morning.
Seven?! Wow! Our one cat Tiggs is part of my morning routine too. He serves as the alarm clock first, walking through the house meowing saying, “Humans, time to get up and pay attention to me!” He often sits on my lap as I read poetry and come to this site.
As for today’s question, the compassionate nursing staff that cared for my sister at our local hospital “made my day” several times during her stay there and yesterday I took 4 dozen homemade oatmeal cookies with walnuts and chocolate chips in them and wrote a thank you note to them and dropped them off at the nurses station. I have to brag a bit. I’ve never had anyone able to eat just one of my homemade southern oatmeal cookies. It’s a good recipe and I always bake them with love. Here’s the recipe in case your interested:
Southern Oatmeal Cookies
1 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
2. cups old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 c. chocolate chips
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
Cream shortening and sugars; add eggs and vanilla; stir in flour salt and baking soda. I like to add the chips and walnuts next and then fold in the oatmeal. I chill the cookie dough for 1 to 2 hours then roll it in to small balls and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets; flatten balls slightly with a fork and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Thanks for the recipe, Carol! I especially appreciate the chocolate chips. My whole life I’ve thought that raisins in cookies are just masquerading as chocolate chips to fool the nearsighted. I say this as someone who wore glasses starting at age 5.
The woman we are going to rent from in NC… I was feeling anxious over us not being able to move until mid-late August and thought she might rent to someone else who could move in quicker. I prayed about it, and later got a text from her and she basically told me I have nothing to worry about. I thanked her for being so kind, and I truly am grateful we found her!
Not sure if you’ve heard of this good luck tradition for selling a house
Luck of the Irish and Other Ways to Bring Good Luck for Home …
Joseph Statue The St. Joe’s statue ranks as one of the most pervasive real estate good luck charms. Legend has it that burying a small statue of the patron saint of carpenters upside down in the lawn or garden of the home—while also saying a daily prayer— will help sellers move their home quickly and at a good price.
There have been so many incidences lately. The one that stands out is the offer from our 2 sons to drive us 7 hours to the funeral of my brother-in-law. This is no simple task since both of our boys live 1800 miles from us. My heart burst with gratefulness and pride at their generosity.
Our way of acknowledging our appreciation was with verbal thanks and hand written cards sent to them.
Of course, Loc! My world is quite small at the moment. The people I encounter daily are only my husband and my in-laws. So, my husband is definitely the superstar in this response. The way he has helped me make significant decisions has truly made my day lately. Loc’s greatest joy in life is eating, especially sweet treats. I’ve been thinking of giving him something sweet for my thanks to him. However, due to his diabetes, I’m still contemplating a healthier alternative.
Thank you, my Ngoc. I’m glad I can help. As far as those treats go, LOL. I’m content with treats such as celery, broccoli, and lettuce. Love you so much.
My husband is pre-diabetic and he most definitely misses his sweet treats. Broccoli, cauliflower, and big crunchy salads are his mainstays. For treats he goes to the salty/crunchy side with cheese, pepitas, seaweed snacks. If I could come up with a sweet treat that didn’t raise his blood glucose I’d definitely make his day! His latest “indulgence” is getting sugar-free syrups like what they use at coffee shops to put in his coffee.
It’s first thing in the morning as I’m writing this, but as far as “making my day “,I would have to say that Mike made my morning on Monday when he text me back, yes, he do hold that for me over the weekend! I was very excited!
I could easily use Ngoc. There are a thousand ways to let her know within the tips of my fingertips. But however, I’m going to step out of my comfort zone.
I have my mom. She’s helped both Ngoc and me expand our perspectives for her studying and my Traditional Vietnamese social settings respectively even though both of us didn’t like the way she spoke to us. Ngoc and I ended up communicating with each other to help one another improve like a players only meetings after an intense talk from the coach to understand them more correctly the way Shunryu Suzuki puts it. Each of us learned to discover our hidden abilities instead of thinking that we’re either stupid or incompitent. There’s the good old story we hear of the turtle and the hare in many different versions. The one I heard was from my special ed phy ed teacher, Mr. Globe, who told the story on how the turtle kept saying “I think I can.” Even if we can’t win, at least we give ourselves a better chance. It’s why moral victories exists.
For starters, an ability Ngoc and I have is that we can do anything if we set our minds to it. It’s expected that my mom’s style is more traditional than mine, because she grew up in Vietnam, and she and I are from different generations. She’s a boomer, and I’m a mallenial. Getting more straight to the point is something I’ve picked up on from her just like how she mentioned that she’s learned some gentler communication techniques from me. Yes, we have fish from freshwater and saltwater again. Our relationship is miles ahead of the standard Asian parent and child. Open-mindedness is a shared quality between my mom and me.
Through this experience, another thing I learned about Ngoc is that we also have similar mediation styles. We look at the grown-ups’ or the majority’s side first to figure out why they’re the way they are. This makes it easier to advocate for each other.
Last week, my husband and I went to visit a dear Friend. Her partner passed almost three years ago. The four of us were best of friends; my husband taught 3/4 of their children and coached their oldest son in track. When their oldest son was married in Venezuela, we were there. As a couple, they were 11 years older than us, and they were, and still are, wonderful role models regarding everything in life. Lin wanted to take us out to dinner the evening of our visit. When we arrived at the restaurant, she surprised us by inviting her oldest son and his wife to join us. It was such a wonderful surprise and we spent the next few hours catching up, listening, laughing, and loving together. Lin certainly made my/our day. That message will be in the thank you card I write her today.
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My sister in law has been so helpful to me.
the summer sun – I want to consciously feel it and enjoy it. The warmth, the light. Feel and perceive in my body how much I enjoy being warmed like that. Without falling into thoughts and drifting away from the pure gift into rationalizing this feeling of well-being.
Today I made my own day!! I had the day off from work and went and did an exercise class, a little shopping and take out from Not your average Joes and used my birthday coupon (from May) and then I went and took photos of the Indian Lotus flower that blooms here every year since 1982. They are an Asian flower, and so beautiful!!
My friend and I just had a MJ ky few days at her cabin! I made us dinner and we enjoyed ourselves. I’m very grateful and I told her so!
Just last evening, while at the hospital bedside of a deceased aunt, (she just passed before I got there), a nurse came in offering me a universal sign of support—a hug. It mattered not that we were of different generations and cultures. Her compassion touched my heart. I could only say thank you through my eyes and mumbled words.
🫂 ‘s from me!
Carla, I am so very sorry about the loss of your dear Aunt. I am very happy that a nurse offered you support and a hug! Today so many are detached…they do not know the kindness of human touch. Recently, while hospitalized I had one nurse hold my hand as I was crying and two other beautiful young nurses hug me. How much that made a difference to me. I was a nurse for most of my life..I hope that I touched others as well as these nurses. Take care, Carla.
Carla – my deepest sympathies on the loss of your Aunt. Thinking of you and your family.
Carla, Sorry for your loss. Sending loving energy your way.
Carla, what a beautiful experience. As someone who’s a cross between cultures and generations, it goes to show how being open to receiving many different forms of care can make a difference. It sure comes in handy when we’re either more vulnorable or older. Being still young myself, just like with any typical youngster, I still have the desire to do things my way from time to time to a varying degree. It’s pleasureable and gets from A-B. Once the bottom falls off, it falls off hard. I can see why pride comes before fall.
My boundaries can come off rigid. It’s why I’ve struggled in Vietnamese social settings. I still choose to be too polite than rude. But however, looking at it from their perspective, they value intimacy. It looks rude, but we’re also obsessed over manners too which can lead to perfectionism. We end up missing out on naturalism, care, and warmth. Manners and naturalism don’t exactly play nicely. Having been labeled as “too polite”, I can see how that can create sketchy vibes. Barriors are built between people.
Thank you Loc Tran. We all have our learning curves especially when extending ourselves beyond our cultural guidelines, and protocols. And sometimes it’s our Fears that get in our way, the most. Bless you
No problem, Carla. This reminds me of Carol’s post some time around a month ago when she talked about spending the first half of our lives learning and the 2nd half unlearning, especially the 2nd part. It’s another one of those interesting paradoxes.
I’m all too familiar with fear. Ngoc is right about me being like a turtle. I normally stay in my shell. I’ll come out and check my surroundings to make sure the coast is clear before proceeding. Turtles are known to be very patient. I’m definitely mathodical. The stop look go technique is quite popular within this community.
I’m not sure about “made my day”, but
it makes my moment, when someone
reaches out to me or responds to a text
and lets me know they’re thinking of me.
Or my lovely wife sees that I’m overwhelmed
and asks if I need anything. Or a neighbor
leaves a treat at our doorstep. Or I have
a moment with a beautiful singing little
bird while on my way into the hardware
store. I am grateful for these moments.
Charlie, it goes to show how these moments are little on the surface but end up making a huge difference.
You all make my day every morning with your thoughtful replies, humor, and stories. So thank you very much!
Some of the people who regularly make my day are the people driving who behave safely and courteously as they pass me riding my bicycle. I let them know I appreciate it by smiling and waving as they go by.
I’m fortunate to live in a neighborhood and town where the vast majority of people I encounter are extra-careful. They may or may not know the state law was updated to require them to move into the other lane to pass me if they can, but they often do that. This gives me much more peace of mind than someone who thinks they’re fine if they’re three feet away, not knowing how intimidating that two-ton hunk of fast-moving steel is and maybe not realizing quite how far their side-view mirrors project.
In April I had such a good day full of friendly encounters that I wrote a blog post about it and used the famous “Go ahead, make my day” line as the title. http://bikestylespokane.com/2024/04/10/go-ahead-make-my-day/
Barb, as a fellow biker, I feel as though I completely understand your appreciation of consideration when people do truly share the road. It makes one feel like we are all traveling along together, taking care of one another, so we all get to where we are headed safely. Good will between bikers and car travelers is essential and you exemplify that. Ride on, Sista!
You make my day, too.
My cats make my day everyday! 😻 I have 7 of them, each with their different personalities and quirks. Cats love routines and rituals so I make it a point to have a special time with each of them individually during the day… in fact, it’s my cat Copeland, who is always sitting next to me when I visit this site each morning.
I’ve got 3. My mom had 4 Siamese at one point – I grew up with Siamese cats:) Yep, I’m definitely a cat-person and relate very much with you.
Wow 7 cats! I have my daughter’s cat right now Oakley and he is a good boy!
Seven?! Wow! Our one cat Tiggs is part of my morning routine too. He serves as the alarm clock first, walking through the house meowing saying, “Humans, time to get up and pay attention to me!” He often sits on my lap as I read poetry and come to this site.
After reading Richard Rohr’s daily meditation: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/right-here-right-now/ and today’s quote, I wanted to share the link to his meditation with you. They compliment each other nicely.
As for today’s question, the compassionate nursing staff that cared for my sister at our local hospital “made my day” several times during her stay there and yesterday I took 4 dozen homemade oatmeal cookies with walnuts and chocolate chips in them and wrote a thank you note to them and dropped them off at the nurses station. I have to brag a bit. I’ve never had anyone able to eat just one of my homemade southern oatmeal cookies. It’s a good recipe and I always bake them with love. Here’s the recipe in case your interested:
Southern Oatmeal Cookies
1 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
2. cups old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 c. chocolate chips
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
Cream shortening and sugars; add eggs and vanilla; stir in flour salt and baking soda. I like to add the chips and walnuts next and then fold in the oatmeal. I chill the cookie dough for 1 to 2 hours then roll it in to small balls and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets; flatten balls slightly with a fork and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Thank you Carol for giving Ngoc ideas for sweet treats for me. That sounds delicious.
Thanks for the recipe, Carol.
Oatmeal cookies are my favorite!
I’m sure the nursing staff ate them
with gratitude 🙏
Thanks for the recipe, Carol! I especially appreciate the chocolate chips. My whole life I’ve thought that raisins in cookies are just masquerading as chocolate chips to fool the nearsighted. I say this as someone who wore glasses starting at age 5.
My mom’s oatmeal cookie recipe makes more of a crispy cookie, not chewy/bendy. Also delicious. https://biketoworkbarb.blogspot.com/2008/11/seriously-good-oatmeal-cookie-recipe.html
Barb, they both sound delicious.
The woman we are going to rent from in NC… I was feeling anxious over us not being able to move until mid-late August and thought she might rent to someone else who could move in quicker. I prayed about it, and later got a text from her and she basically told me I have nothing to worry about. I thanked her for being so kind, and I truly am grateful we found her!
Great news! Did your house sell already?
Not yet, but as our business transaction is finally winding down, we’re going to have our realtor lower the price to sell it faster.
Not sure if you’ve heard of this good luck tradition for selling a house
Luck of the Irish and Other Ways to Bring Good Luck for Home …
Joseph Statue The St. Joe’s statue ranks as one of the most pervasive real estate good luck charms. Legend has it that burying a small statue of the patron saint of carpenters upside down in the lawn or garden of the home—while also saying a daily prayer— will help sellers move their home quickly and at a good price.
Prayers for you it sells quickly🙏🕯
Oh I am sure that is a great relief!
There have been so many incidences lately. The one that stands out is the offer from our 2 sons to drive us 7 hours to the funeral of my brother-in-law. This is no simple task since both of our boys live 1800 miles from us. My heart burst with gratefulness and pride at their generosity.
Our way of acknowledging our appreciation was with verbal thanks and hand written cards sent to them.
Of course, Loc! My world is quite small at the moment. The people I encounter daily are only my husband and my in-laws. So, my husband is definitely the superstar in this response. The way he has helped me make significant decisions has truly made my day lately. Loc’s greatest joy in life is eating, especially sweet treats. I’ve been thinking of giving him something sweet for my thanks to him. However, due to his diabetes, I’m still contemplating a healthier alternative.
Thank you, my Ngoc. I’m glad I can help. As far as those treats go, LOL. I’m content with treats such as celery, broccoli, and lettuce. Love you so much.
My husband is pre-diabetic and he most definitely misses his sweet treats. Broccoli, cauliflower, and big crunchy salads are his mainstays. For treats he goes to the salty/crunchy side with cheese, pepitas, seaweed snacks. If I could come up with a sweet treat that didn’t raise his blood glucose I’d definitely make his day! His latest “indulgence” is getting sugar-free syrups like what they use at coffee shops to put in his coffee.
Barb, sounds like the 2 husbands would make good partner-in-crimes until… Women have eyes at the back of their heads.
It’s first thing in the morning as I’m writing this, but as far as “making my day “,I would have to say that Mike made my morning on Monday when he text me back, yes, he do hold that for me over the weekend! I was very excited!
I could easily use Ngoc. There are a thousand ways to let her know within the tips of my fingertips. But however, I’m going to step out of my comfort zone.
I have my mom. She’s helped both Ngoc and me expand our perspectives for her studying and my Traditional Vietnamese social settings respectively even though both of us didn’t like the way she spoke to us. Ngoc and I ended up communicating with each other to help one another improve like a players only meetings after an intense talk from the coach to understand them more correctly the way Shunryu Suzuki puts it. Each of us learned to discover our hidden abilities instead of thinking that we’re either stupid or incompitent. There’s the good old story we hear of the turtle and the hare in many different versions. The one I heard was from my special ed phy ed teacher, Mr. Globe, who told the story on how the turtle kept saying “I think I can.” Even if we can’t win, at least we give ourselves a better chance. It’s why moral victories exists.
For starters, an ability Ngoc and I have is that we can do anything if we set our minds to it. It’s expected that my mom’s style is more traditional than mine, because she grew up in Vietnam, and she and I are from different generations. She’s a boomer, and I’m a mallenial. Getting more straight to the point is something I’ve picked up on from her just like how she mentioned that she’s learned some gentler communication techniques from me. Yes, we have fish from freshwater and saltwater again. Our relationship is miles ahead of the standard Asian parent and child. Open-mindedness is a shared quality between my mom and me.
Through this experience, another thing I learned about Ngoc is that we also have similar mediation styles. We look at the grown-ups’ or the majority’s side first to figure out why they’re the way they are. This makes it easier to advocate for each other.
Last week, my husband and I went to visit a dear Friend. Her partner passed almost three years ago. The four of us were best of friends; my husband taught 3/4 of their children and coached their oldest son in track. When their oldest son was married in Venezuela, we were there. As a couple, they were 11 years older than us, and they were, and still are, wonderful role models regarding everything in life. Lin wanted to take us out to dinner the evening of our visit. When we arrived at the restaurant, she surprised us by inviting her oldest son and his wife to join us. It was such a wonderful surprise and we spent the next few hours catching up, listening, laughing, and loving together. Lin certainly made my/our day. That message will be in the thank you card I write her today.