The state of women - Kathleen Parker

. . .Women are reaching equality as never before.   Certainly many struggle to keep food on the table.   But in the salons where luckier women discuss what women really want, they are reaching the traditional benchmarks of happiness - money and power - and guess what:   They're still not happy. . .

Of course women want wealth and power, but not at the expense of the things that matter most - equilibrium, inner peace, wisdom, heart and a family that isn't in constant chaos.

Research, which we prefer to common sense, supports that happy, well-adjusted, less stressed-out people make more productive and efficient workers. Men also, by the way, because it turns out men are human, too.  

. . .Ariana Huffington (at a conference discussing the missing thing in our lives) described it as that inner place of heart, soul and wisdom where few of us spend much time. . .
                                                                          Kathleen Parker editorial,  Kansas City Star,  6/17/13

The Lady Vols

Folks in Knoxville are avid fans of women's sports at the University of Tennessee.   The female Volunteers are almost always national finalists in their fields.   Recently,  the Lady Vols softball team made national news when they had to take shelter in a building corridor during tornado
warnings in Oklahoma City.    Annabelle,  three year old grand-daughter of a friend of my cousin Cheryl, remembered the team in her bedtime prayers:  "Please, God, keep the Lady Vols safe from the Big Potato. . .it is a long, long way from our house so we don't need to be scared."  Loyalty from all ages!

A visit with my aunt

My Aunt Jo, who is 96 years old, says she sometimes doesn't have energy to do the things she would
like to do, so she pretends that she is 75, and often she can get things done!    She sometimes  hears older people wonder why God has let bad things happen to them. . ."What have I done wrong to deserve this?". . .they comment.    Aunt Jo says she wonders what she has ever done to deserve all the blessings in her life.   In my opinion, the most attractive quality an older person can have is to reflect a positive outlook on life..

Celebration

Sarah called me from High Maintenance Beauty Salon where Grace Anne was getting her hair fixed for eighth grade graduation and the class dance tonight. . .another girl was there who said that the zipper in her dress wouldn't work and Sarah asked if I could come look at it.    I was picking up my needle and thread when I learned that it was the zipper malfunctioning, so I asked Richard to go along with his needle nosed pliers.  He worked on the zipper unsuccessfully.    The girl said she wasn't going to go to the ceremony if she couldn't wear the dress - all of them were wearing strapless formal type dresses, so it would be hard to substitute anything.

So I sewed Catherine into her dress with fishing line!    Nerve wracking indeed.    The best light was from the sun through the west windows and of course, it kept shifting so we had to move.   Meanwhile
Amanda, the hair stylist, was using the curling iron with an extension cord on her hair while I worked.   The fishing line kept coming unthreaded from the needle and my hands aren't as nimble as they once were so knots were almost impossible.   An incredibly stressful 45 minutes of needlework and as 6:45 pm approached and she was due at the school at 6:30 pm, we all got nervous.   Her mother was so appreciative and brought me Mexican food to eat (little time for that however!)     Several times she said to Catherine, "Oh my, you are late now" and they conversed excitedly in Spanish.

Richard stood by faithfully and we zoomed to the school so we could watch the ceremony.   No parking spaces anywhere near the school.    He decided to park at the end of the lot in an undesignated
spot and as he backed up, he hit the concrete barrier and smashed the fender.   At least, I was not the driver.   :)           Saw Catherine and she seemed confident in her repaired dress.    All's well that end's well.

The Cricketers: Bjorn and Thor

Writer's Block

For a number of weeks, I did not post on my blog.   I was prodded into action again by two or three
friends who asked me about my absence, and I was pleased!    One reason for my writer's block was that I read an editorial online with advise for bloggers.    NEVER put quotes in your blog, it said,
people get very bored with these.   As I often share thought provoking things that I read, I hit the wall.
Finally, I have decided that the advice-giver meant quotes like those frequently posted on Facebook.
Example:    "I am not dieting, I am just not eating as much as I would like to"   Perhaps I have paid too
much attention to advice. . .I will just write whatever I feel like writing.            

On washing hands. . .

In a May 13, 2013, article in Time magazine:    Paul Farmer, Harvard professor and infectious disease
specialist, is asked  about the effectiveness of signs in bathrooms saying employees must wash hands
before returning to work.    He suggested substituting "Hey, wouldn't you like to serve other people by
not transmitting your skin flora to your diners' meals?"   (Belinda Luscombe)