It’s Friday AND the start of what is a long weekend for many people. I’m one of those people. Happy doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about having a long weekend and three days to continue healing. It’s a bittersweet happy though. Next week is that last week that my boss, office mate and one of my best friends will be with the company. She and her family are moving on to a new chapter in their lives and as happy as I am for her, I am profoundly sad for myself. She was there for me when I was having one of the worst times of my life. She didn’t know me, but she knew my mother (Mom was her little girl’s nanny) and she knew I was commuting to Seattle and would be a newly single mom of a teenage boy. She reached out and offered me this job, a job I have been doing now for almost 14 years. I won’t lie and say that it has all been a joy, because it hasn’t been. We had getting to know each other pains, and disagreement pains. We have been downright angry with each other, but were able to work through it all and laugh more often than not. It is the laughter I will miss the most. We know each other so well now that we can just look at each other and know what the other one is thinking and bust out laughing. I have no idea what the future at this job will be, and I admit that the change is not welcome, but as with all things in life, we don’t stay in one place, life moves and changes around us, and we have to be willing to change with it. Nobody promised it would be easy and this most certainly isn’t.
Verse of the Day
May 25, 2018
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Have a brake on your tongue; hit the throttle on your ears. Let your angry email sit three days before responding and make sure you read it and edit it before you send it. Keep you mouth shut and your ears open. They all say the same thing. Now if we would just do it, wouldn’t the Christian community so much more blessed!
www.verseoftheday.com
Food for Thought
Have you ever been reminded of a vultures when you look at certain people? Yeah, me too.
Brown Bag It Day – This is a simple one to celebrate, and honestly one that hubby and I celebrate every single day as we head off to work. Packing your own lunch isn’t only economical – it allows us to make healthier choices for our meals. If you buy lunch every day try this for a week or two and see how great it can be! You can bring leftovers from dinner, or shop for special lunch foods to enjoy at your office/job. At the end of a week compare what you spent on lunch foods vs what it would have cost if you went out to eat every day. You may be surprised at the savings!
Don’t Fry Day – (Friday before Memorial Day) – The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention has declared the Friday before Memorial Day, May 24, 2013 to be “Don’t Fry Day” to encourage Sun Safety Awareness. This is an important reminder to protect your skin while enjoying the outdoors. There is no single step that can fully protect you from overexposure to UV radiation, so try to follow as many of these tips as possible:
* Do Not Burn or Tan * Seek Shade * Wear Sun-Protective Clothing * Generously Apply Sunscreen * Use Extra Caution Near Water, Snow, and Sand * Get Vitamin D Safely
This weekend is usually the first truly warm weekend when so many are outside doing sun related activities, and the risk for ultraviolet (UV) damage of the skin increases. Skin cancer is on thee rise in the United States, and the American Cancer Society estimates that one American dies every hour from skin cancer. This is so sobering! I had no idea the numbers were that high! This year alone the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 76,250 new cases of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, and more than two million new cases of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers in the U.S. Fortunately, if it is found early, skin cancer is highly curable, and is preventable.
Heat Awareness Day – As we get into the hot weather, and we’ve already experienced a few pretty warm days around here where I live, we get into the time of year where the interior of vehicles can reach life-threatening temperatures very rapidly. In just ten minutes, a vehicle’s interior temperature can rise 19 degrees. In one to two hours it can rise 45-50 degrees. That means that it can reach deadly temperatures in minutes. Children’s small bodies heat up 3 to 5 times faster than an adults bodies do. It is NEVER safe to leave a child or a pet unattended in a car, not even for a minute. A total of 560 kids (as of 2014 statistics) have died from heat in cars in the United States since 1988. An examination of media reports about 559 child vehicular heatstroke deaths 1998 through 2012 shows the following circumstances:
52% – child forgotten by caregiver
29% – child playing in unattended vehicle
18% – child left intentionally in vehicle by adult
1% – circumstances unknown
Some parents have reported that they were outside of their regular routine, put a sleeping baby into its car seat and went to work and just forgot to take it to daycare. I know that this must be heartbreaking, but I just cannot fathom forgetting my child in the car. That could be because my children were never actually QUIET while riding in the car . . . but still! To prevent this from happening though, it has been recommended for that parent to put something in the backseat near the child that is absolutely needed at the office – cell phone, briefcase, etc., so they have to reach into the backseat. Same issues with pets – if it is hot, and you aren’t taking your pet outside of the car with you, then just don’t take the pet with you! It might be sad to be left at home, but it is better for it to be sad for a little while, and alive, than with you and dead of heat. I cannot imagine what a horrible death that would be. If you see a child or a pet left unattended in a vehicle in the heat, call 911. Emergency personnel want you to call because they are trained to respond to these situations. I have actually observed both children and pets, left in the car during horrible heat, with the window barely cracked. I did call 911, and stayed with the car, prepared to bash out a window if need be to save that child or pet’s life. The response time in both instances has been astonishingly fast. It was probably a good thing that the police were present to confront the mother or pet owner, because I’m fairly certain if I had given a piece of my mind things would have gotten ugly.
National and International Missing Children’s Day – When my children were growing up there were people who criticized my methods sometimes. You see, I raised my children to trust NOBODY except people I told them to trust. They were never to speak to strangers, EVER, unless they asked my permission first, and I was right there with them. This included sweet looking little grannies. You just never know who the bad guys are, and my children were not going to be victims of an abductor if there was anything I could do about it. My son, who was a little on the strong-willed side – oh, who am I kidding? The child had the strongest will of any child I’d ever encountered. I put one of those harnesses on him when we were in public and kept my end of it firmly wrapped around my wrist. People looked at me like I was cruel and horrible, treating my child like a dog. No. I was treating my child like I loved him and didn’t want him to disappear. That, and even at two years old he was FAST and I struggled to keep up with him when he had it in his mind to run. Today is a day to focus on missing children. There are a lot of reasons why a child goes missing, and none of them are good. No matter the precautions a parent takes, child abductions can happen to any child, in any family. Nobody is immune to child predators. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that more than 50,000 children are victims of non-family abductions annually. There are things you can do. Review and enforce child protection and safety awareness regularly with your children. Always be aware of what is going on around you, who is nearby. Establish neighborhood watch groups, or at the very least be aware of who the children are in your neighborhood and who their families are. Report anything suspicious immediately. Create and maintain records of your children, keeping up to date photos, get one of those home fingerprinting kits and take their prints to have on file. In my mind, one of the best ways to protect your kids is to, obviously, don’t let them be alone! Parents who let little kids wander all over without supervision are almost begging a child predator to take their child. There’s safety in numbers – that has always been true, and always will be. Teach your children a healthy distrust of strangers. This is such a DUH thing to say that I can’t imagine why parents would let their kids just go up to anyone and strike up conversation. EVERYONE has the potential to be a bad guy, no matter how “nice” they might look. I remember once, my daughter was about 5 and cute as a button. People always stopped to tell me how beautiful she was and want to touch her hair, or talk to her. I had taught her to scream STRANGER at the top of her lungs, kick, fight, squirm and make as big a fuss as she could if someone ever grabbed her. We were at the mall, her father was meeting us there, and he spotted us ahead of him, ran up to us from behind, and grabbed her up in his arms, prepared to swing her up in the air and surprise her. He was the one who ended up surprised. The moment his hands touched her she went bonkers. I’ve never heard quite such a sound come out of a small person before. Her arms and legs became windmills, she was wiggling, kicking, squirming and oh my goodness, the noise! STRANGER HELP ME STRANGER STRANGER as loud as she could. He dropped her faster than he picked her up, as security guards appeared from all areas of the mall. At this point I was nearly on the floor laughing my head off, tears streaming down my face, as I took in the expression on his face and realized what had happened and that she wasn’t in any real danger. Not only did my child listen, she took my instructions to heart and obviously thought about it enough at the young age of five to instinctively react in exactly the right way. Do I regret telling my children to distrust strangers? Not for a single, solitary second. And I’d do it the exactly the same way all over again.
National Tap Dance Day – This day was created to honor the birthday of legendary tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, born May 25, 1878. He was a Broadway legend who started his career as a vaudeville performer, transitioning to Broadway and to Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. He was a favorite of both black and which audiences because of his delicate tap-dance style and his cheerful demeanor. His career began actually as a young child of five years old, when he began dancing in local beer gardens. When he was nine he joined Mayme Remington’s touring troupe, and in 1891 he joined a traveling company, performing as a vaudeville act. He achieved great success as a nightclub and musical-comedy performer. At this stage of his career he performed almost exclusively in black theaters for black audiences. Robinson took a break from performing to serve as a rifleman in World War I. He fought in the trenches, but also was a drum major who led the regimental band up Fifth Avenue upon the regiment’s return from Europe. After the war, in 1928, he starred on Broadway in the highly successful Blackbirds of 1928, featuring his famous “stair dance”. This is the time period where he became known as “Bojangles”, which to white audiences meant cheerful and happy-go-lucky, though the meaning of the nickname in the black community was opposite. He pioneered a new form of tap, shifting from a flat-footed style to a light, swinging style that focused on elegant footwork. He starred in 14 Hollywood motion pictures, played multiple roles with Shirley Temple and many others. In spite of his fame though, he was unable to transcend the narrow range of stereotypical roles written for black actors at the time. Because he accepted these roles, he was able to maintain steady employment and stay in the public eye. In 1939, at the age of 61, he formed in “The Hot Mikado”, a jazz-inspired interpretation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta. He celebrated his 61st birthday by dancing down 61 blocks of Broadway. How cool! This day was declared National Tap Dance Day by US Joint Resolution by President George Bush on November 7, 1989. (by the way – I miss George) I just spent the last 1/2 hr looking for a link showing Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s talent that wasn’t grainy, or difficult to hear, and ran across this clip with Shirley Temple. So light on his feet it nearly defied imagination – makes me feel like an absolute clod! Enjoy this little step back in time and the incredible talent of this wonderful dancer.
National Wig Out Day – Always Fri. before Memorial Day)- This is a fun celebration! In 2006, two sisters – Kate & Alice Clark declared this to be National Wig Out Day. They inspired the residents of Bellingham, WA to go to work wearing all types of crazy wigs, and after work they gathered downtown for a big party. What a spontaneously wonderful thing to do! I don’t have any wigs, but this one may actually be fun enough to buy a few wigs!
Nerd Pride / Geek Pride Day – How many of us were geeks or nerds in school? None of us liked to admit it, but probably more of us were than not. I know I was! Give me a book to read, and I was happy. I could – and still can, much to my family’s frustration, close out the entire world when I am engrossed in either reading or writing. Nothing penetrates the world of words I’ve wrapped around myself. Sports were my mortal enemy, and I was the kid who was always picked last for teams – because I was HORRIBLE at sports. When a ball came my way, I closed my eyes and ducked. I was the quintessential outcast in the gym. And I was OK with that. I didn’t like playing sports anyway. So today, dig in that bottom drawer, take out your geek flag, and fly it high. So, why is today the day of geeks and nerds, and the people that who love them? Well, May 25, 1977 is the anniversary of the release of “Star Wars”. May 25, 2001 was the day the first Towel Day was celebration 2 weeks after the death of Douglas Adams, author of “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” (I don’t get it either – I never read the book – but apparently it’s a big day for other geeks). I’m sure there are other reasons, but suffice it to say that today is the day to let your inner geek shine through. Perhaps celebrate it by watching all of the Revenge of the Nerds movies, seeing geeks and nerds shine through as the heroes in the end. I think all of us have a bit of nerd in us – we just don’t usually admit it.
This Day in History –
1927 – Ford ceases production of the Model “T”.
1978 – The movie blockbuster “Star Wars” is released.
Food Celebration of the Day –
National Wine Day – I never used to appreciate wine. To me it all tasted a little bitter or sour. I was drinking the wrong wines! Hubby and I, when we have a spare day and want to do something fun, will head out to explore and sometimes find ourselves at a wine tasting for a local vineyard. The beauty and subtle flavors of different wines are a delight to discover and can certainly enhance any meal when paired properly. And while any of us can uncork a bottle and enjoy a glass, or two, or three, with dinner, why not add a splash to your meal? De-glaze a pan with wine, instead of water or broth, and you can change the flavor of your meal for the better, and enjoy a gourmet delight with such a simple change.
This is a food celebration I can certainly get behind, especially when I can celebrate a 3 day weekend with it. Heck, I may celebrate it all weekend long! Have a wonderful, safe, relaxing holiday. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Celebration lists and information are sourced from the following websites:
www.brownielocks.com; www.holidayinsights.com; www.thenibble.com; www.foodimentary.com and www.verseoftheday.com