Reasons To Be Thankful

I was going to write about something else today, but decided to write about things that have made me thankful in my life. Since I think this can be a broad topic--as there is a lot to be thankful for--I will narrow it down--quite a bit.

I will start with my dogs, as they brought about these thoughts. Yesterday, it was time to take them for their rabies shots. They shivered up a storm on the way there, but never moved, never made a sound. When we got there, even though their eyes were opened wider than mine, at a scary movie, they looked at me with undying faith. Even as they were getting their shots they looked at me with love and trust. This made me feel thankful for having such wonderful dogs.

And I'm thankful for: the love of my family, the wonderful friends that I have, the fact that I was able to take my schooling online, and the joy I see in my daughter about the simplest things in life. It is through her joy, that I have so many times looked at life, and what we have around us, in a different way.

And maybe crazily enough, I feel thankful for the Internet. When I first got the Internet I was inundated with possibilities and stayed online for hours playing games, chatting and looking up things and finding out information.

But I learned, after the newness wore off, that the Internet is so much more.  It's not something to take for granted, and it's something to be thankful for too. Because I have encountered--online--so many people that have given freely of their knowledge and reached out to help others, some gaining monetary things, but so many offering help and advice for free. 

So it is my hope that the following links can be as useful to others as they were to me. These links are for free job offerings: http://www.pandahi.com/ , http://www.zaarly.com/ , and http://www.mediabistro.com/ .

I also found some sites with helpful Photoshop video tutorials. As I love graphic design--these really stood out. They were: http://www.pxleyes.com/ , and http://www.tutvid.com/ .

I also found two sites that I really appreciated for their creativity and thought that they would be good to have. One was:-- creative videos for all occasions, http://www.lodocinema.com/ , and the other free instructional art classes, http://www.5pencilmethod.com/ .

Of course, with Utube and endless sites offering free videos, the possibilities are endless, to learning  everything from screenplays to helping my daughter with her math.

So in conclusion, I think there are many things to be thankful for in life. Each thing, no matter how insignificant it may seem, brings us a reason to be thankful.  It might not make everyone feel the same way, but if it makes us feel thankful in our hearts, that's what matters.

Phishing Alert-Scams of 2011

I found myself the recipient, after checking my email this morning, of yet another scam. This time, supposedly from the BBB of Virginia. Which, of course, was untrue.This email scammer used something they call phishing to send out alarming, but false emails, using a company name and logo. So just for my own knowledge, about the current email scams concerning the BBB I did a search and found this link www.bbb.org/blog/2011/11/alert-phishing-scam-uses-bbb-name-and-logo .

I guess one's bound to get these emails, if you receive hundreds of emails, like I do, but it's pretty bad when you look at most emails-- suspiciously-- when your not sure of the sender or the subject line looks fishy. So I throw out all emails not clearly denoted, in subject line, and hopefully I've not thrown out an email from a friend who decided today to just put re: in the subject line. But with today's emails scams extreme caution is a necessary evil.

Since I know scammers, scam in many areas, including emails, I decided to see just what kind of scams people had come up with in 2011. Unfortunately, there were links to several scams. Some of these scams included: emails, Craigslist, online scams, tax scams, ACN scams, ATM scams and Norton Internet Security scams, just to name a few. If you'd like to find out more about this I've included a couple of links about some scams of 2011. They are: www.scambusters.org/top10scams2.html  and http://www.wptv.com/ (scams of 2011-search).

I hope this can be of use and helpful to you. And hopefully you can give a shout out, as I plan to, to friends, family, and associates and I'm sure they'll be appreciative, if they see this, especially if they were unaware of some of the scams playing out, not only in 2011, but continue to be a part of our everyday lives, now as well.

In The Blink Of An Eye

 My daughter reached a mid-way point in her life, yesterday.  She is no longer a child, but not yet an adult. It was a hard transition for me, though I should have seen it coming. I should have been prepared, as there was no stopping a birthday that was coming faster than a runaway locomotive. My daughter was excited, for days, about the coming of a birthday that was taking her toward adulthood. But I was dragging my feet as if trying to ward off bad news.

Last Friday, I guess I was dealing with it better because I got her her first, official trendy haircut.  More like a teenager, less like my baby girl.  She left the hair salon with short pieces, framing her face and pretty curls throughout the length, in the back.

I was so proud of her, and yet so sad.  My daughter's growing up. And someday, as with all kids, she'll spread her wings and fly.  High across the sky, drifting where the wind carries her.  Maybe towards college,  or with a husband to start a new home, or even to follow his or her career to a state far away.

I know she will go down the same path I did, as she becomes a teen, for it's each person's right to choose a path that makes us understand and grow. She will probably, as a pre-teen, wish for a car, and freedom to see her friends and go to the mall.  Then with a car, she will wish for a place of her own, and more freedom. Then college or a husband to complete the great circle of life, for that time of her life.

 And eventually, she will learn, that life is not always so much fun when responsibility comes our way. Such as myself, when I had my first home and was making four dollars and twenty five cents and hour, with no insurance, and could hardly pay my bills.  I quickly realized mom and the security and safety of my childhood home, filled with love and wisdom did not look so bad after all.

So I know my daughter will face a plethora of choices, as she goes through these changes, we all must face.  She will become a pre-teen, a teen and eventually a young lady.  And through all these changes she will roll her eyes at me, as I did mom.  She will talk back to her old mom, as I did mine, as well.  But even though I understand, she will be exerting her independence, it will be hard, as I know it was for my own mom.

And in time she will want to be with her friends, as mom, will be boring, and life out there will be so much more fun, as I guess I did with my mom as well. So what's coming for me?  A young girl, who will have a mind of her own, who will want to prove she doesn't need her mom.  Who will have to experience, so many things, before she understands what her old mom's nagging, through the years, was all about.

She will learn that life can be painful, that not all friends are what they appear to be, that that was not really true love, that money really can slip through your fingers, that we really do have to budget money and pay our bills first.

Someday, she, like I myself, will understand what a mom's worry is all about.  She will have her own child, and from the moment it's born she will try keep that child safe.  She will start by doing all for the baby.  Then the baby will become a toddler,who doesn't need anything. A little girl, who needs mom after all. A pre-teen- again- who doesn't need mom, as she's such a worrier.  A teen who think moms embarrassing. And finally an adult, who forgets mom for periods of time, life's so busy.

 And as life settles down, this child, who became a woman, will face the passage of time and the trials of raising her own child. And she will automatically look towards her own mom, for she knows nowhere else will she find better guidance, as grandma's already been down that same road. She will look towards her mom, not with rolling eyes, but seeking wisdom as she deals with her own child who, will too, grow up in the blink of an eye.

Kid Of Long Ago

I was walking down the driveway, after leaving mom and dad's house today, when I saw this man. He was on the other side of our property, going back and forth on a cable rope swing, free and happy as a kid. Untroubled by the burdens of adulthood and responsibility that can bog us down, so often, when we're grown.

He didn't notice me, at first, but quickly got on a bobcat and started clearing the land again, when he saw me observing him.  Even though I know I really had no right, as this land's recently been sold, I still feel the pull of this land, which had been in our family for as long as I can remember. It really bothered me as I watched him knock down and destroy things, for many of these things had been a part of my childhood. For that reason the land still murmurs to me, speaking of family history and ghosts of the past. This will quieten soon though, swallowed up by time and new ownership.

The land continues to call mournfully, as this man goes happily about his business of destroying all, that I now see, I had foolishly taken for granted. There on that tree he just knocked down, I shared laughter with my five year old brother.  We're swinging again on that wooden box swing, made by my dad, so long ago. Here again, we giggle as daddy pushed us high above, high enough to reach the treetops.

The bobcat buckets next push, takes away the memory of my moms laughter, as she watched my brother and I swing past, high enough to touch the sky. We'd scream happily on the way up and going back down I'd hear moms laughter as she joined in our merriment.

We'd stop for a time, then, turning in slow circles, knot up the cable, just for the swing to unwind in whirling circles, crossing our eyes and ripping screams of pure delight from our opened mouths. We'd do this several times, ignoring moms warning about us having to throw up, for that wouldn't happen to know it all kids, like my brother and I were.

I'm no longer that Kid Of Long Ago. I'm no longer that innocent who looked towards her mom and dad for all things.  I am an adult, with adult responsibilities. So many times I have to look to my own daughter to be able to experience her childlike joy in life. And once in awhile, in my dreams, my imagination takes me again to that land next door,where I'm again that Kid Of Long Ago.

What saddens me is that I didn't realize just how important that property was to me, until today.  I didn't realize how much I associated my emotions and memories with that land.  Especially since I'll never experience those things again, nor can I talk to mom about the past, as she's no longer here with me.

It's not enough to know that only time and old age can take all my memories away completely.  And hopefully senility won't take those memories away too.  So, I really have to hang on to the few things I have left, that can still give me those memories of that Kid Of Long Ago.  That's the family that shared those experiences, like my dad and brother, and the many pictures my mom took of things, throughout the years.

As We Go Through Life

As we go through life, there are often people that will effect us in some special way. These people may be in our lives from the time we're little, like family.  Or they may be the neighbor, teacher, or friend that's been there for you as long as you can remember, listening when your down or worried.That person that I always turned to, that was always there for me, that got mad at others she thought had done me wrong, was my mom. 

So the upcoming date, the 15th of October will be a terrible blow to me, once more.  It is on this date that my mom passed away over one year ago. I feel such an emptiness inside.  A place that's hurt and never heals. That loss, her no longer being there for me, has not grown any easier and never will. She was my champion, always there for me, as well as my family, her friends, and the many clients she'd had for over twenty years.

But even though I feel so alone, there are times when I still feel her presence.  And  I feel sure, if she's looking down on me, that she would be saying, "Good job I knew you could do it" especially if she's seen the progression of my writing. I know she would have been proud of my chapters that are online at http://www.chainbooks.com/  and of the book I'm currently writing, as well.

There are some changes people have to accept in life.  Getting old, gaining weight, going bald, and having the inevitable sagging of skin. But one of the things in life that can never be accepted, with change, is the loss of a loved one. I so miss my champion and wonderful mom who believed in her family unconditionally.On this day of loss- this coming Saturday- sadness will devastate me once more, for on this day moms love and enduring spirit was extinguished for good.