There are defeats more triumphant than victories. ~Michel de Montaigne, French Renaissance Philosopher
Typically, I’m the one doing the firing.
I’ve had to sever ties with clients over the years for one reason or another, and I’ve never regretted doing so.
But somehow it feels different on the receiving end.
Being fired.
Let go.
If animals could talk, the world would lose its best listeners. ~Robert Brault, writer
How many times do we ask
“How are you?”
Expecting a simple reply.
“Fine.”
“No complaints.”
“Just dandy.”
Before turning back to our busyness,
Scurrying to appointments.
No real desire to tarry a while.
Hearing — real hearing — requires time.
Yet when someone asks us the same question,
We yearn for a listening ear,
A caring heart.
Just a few minutes
To share our thoughts,
Moan about our aches,
Complain about … whatever.
Before returning to our life
Solving problems, slaying dragons.
Hearing — real hearing — requires time.
Don’t bother asking, “How are you”
If you won’t wait around to hear the answer.
“How are you” shouldn’t be perfunctory.
Rather, it begs for a park bench or a coffee shop,
Some place where folks can sit a while and talk.
Really talk.
About things that keep them up nights.
Things that force them to their knees to pray.
Things that, shared, make their burden bearable.
While I’d be among the first to claim the pluses of dog ownership outweigh the minuses, there are some inconveniences.
Make that, nuisances.
If you’re considering adding a fur-kid to your household, you might want to factor in the following:
Daylight Savings Time officially comes to a close at 2 a.m. tomorrow, meaning we’re supposed to set our clocks back an hour. Most folks do this before they go to bed, rather than waiting up (or worse, setting an alarm!) for that early-morning activity.
I have mixed feelings about this practice, as do most people I imagine.
On the one hand, it’s wonderful having extra daylight time in the Spring and Summer — time for outdoor activities when the weather is nice, time for commuting and running errands under safer conditions, time for kids to play outside and get good and tired so they sleep better. It kind of lengthens the time you have to wait for the July 4 fireworks shows to start, but that’s just a minor inconvenience.
With Winter’s shorter days, regular time means most of us awake in darkness and go to sleep in darkness, with just a few hours of real daylight sandwiched in between. That’s pretty difficult, unless you have one of those daylight-simulating lamps (which I don’t!). Then, too, with shorter hours of sunlight, the days don’t get very warm (and when the snows fall, there’s little chance of true melting).
I guess it’s all what you get used to. My Favorite Domer has only been living in South Bend for two months, but since returning to Central Time (for the ND vs. Washington State game in San Antonio), he’s complaining Central Time feels later than the clock shows. That’s always a problem with these twice-a-year time changes, too. You no sooner get used to living under one zone than you have to change to another.
Kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it — What time is it really???
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 