The Garbage Truck

Thank you Donna.. for your Hibachi Group article.. you brought to mind this short story :

The Garbage Truck Rule of Life

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were
driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a
parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his
brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of
the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi
driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really
friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined
your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver
taught me what I now call, 'The Garbage Truck Rule of Life.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around
full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of
disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it
and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage
and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take
over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

Belief and Hope

As parents we HOPE to instill and inspire our kids with many things.. morals, values, a strong work ethic, a sense of fair play, a proper education, but along with all of those and more I hope and pray that I can help mine believe in themselves and their ability to accomplish anything they put their mind to.. sometimes we as adults have been forced to or allowed ourselves to give up on our dreams.. but that doesn't have to happen. There are so many examples of people that achieved great things early and late in life, after numerous failures.. Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Colonel Sanders, Oprah Winfrey.. just to name a few.. I HOPE that I am able to teach my kids..

"Only as high as I reach can I grow.
Only as far as I seek can I go.
Only as deep as I look can I see.
Only as much as I dream can I be."
-Karen Ravn

And thanks CEO Moms.. for helping me get back in touch with mine...

Words to live by-

Today I Will Make A Difference

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble...I will get up. It's OK to fail...I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

Max Lucadot (Tyndale Publishing, 1985)

Setting the theme..

I woke up this morning with a pair of three year old feet jammed under my back.. Max climbed in at some point in the middle of the night.. two minutes later it was a small pair of arms wrapped around my neck for a quick hug and the exuberant words, "Let's get up Mom!" "Where's my juice?" "Where's Sydney?" "Let's wake her up!" I smiled... What a great way to wake up. A friend and proud mom of her "new Marine" had recently emailed pictures of her son just graduating. Before I know it, my three year old will be grown up and creating his own life too. What a blessing to be able to work from home and enjoy all the awesome, wonderful, funny and sometimes scary moments of my kids growing up. It was time to get Syd off to school.. and wait to see what Max the Destroyer was going to create (or destroy) today...

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault