Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Special Treat – Dianna Doles Petry

December 19, 2007

Weathering Thoughts

Good morning,

We have a heat wave going on here this morning. Yep, it's all of fifteen degrees outside and I had to coax the dogs to take their morning walk by promising them hot chocolate with marshmallows on top. 

Breathing in the cold air with snowflakes falling softly to the ground, I took time this morning to think about my life.  I thought of  all of it's routines and habits and how they tend to blend together one day at a time.  No matter how bad something is that happens in one place, the rest of the world moves right on without even noticing most of the time.

The life cycle never really takes a breath.  We rush out of bed to get the day started, rush though the day trying to fit far too much into a few hours, then we rush to fix supper and end the day.  By the time we go to bed, we are often so tired that we fall asleep thinking about all of the things we don't feel we accomplished instead of giving thanks for all of the things that we did get done. 

Sometimes we feel that an accomplishment has to be a big event, maybe a new car, a financially successful week, a birth, a wedding, or even a graduation.  In reality, accomplishment is simply feeling good about yourself and your life at the end of the day and you don't have to measure up to anyone or anything to have that accomplishment in your life.  The older I get to be, the less I stress about keeping up the Jones' and the more I worry about making sure the people I love know that.  For the record, if you're reading this note, I love you!

I think we can all be guilty of complaining about the small things and we all feel as though we need to be in too many places, orchestrate too many lives, and make sure the mundane tasks of everyday living are always done with every "t" crossed and every table dusted.  I remember dreaming about having the kids grown and I'm sure that I've wished many weeks of my life away by yearning for the weekend to arrive.

Basically, I guess I'm trying to say that we take so much for granted.  We overlook the sunrise because we're planning a birthday party.  We start to say, "I love you" without thought because it becomes a habit.  We fret so much about doing everything perfectly that we miss the joy in the event.  Then, in the blink of an eye, life happens and there are many things that just don't matter much anymore and too late, you realize that they never should have been such a big deal to begin with.

We all have so many things to do each day that we don't think about death or not being able to enjoy the simple things such as hugs, morning spats, silly jokes and random smiles.  We assume that children will outlive their parents and the parents will all live to see old age.  We just "expect" that life will follow some unwritten natural order but then a sudden death occurs and we are forced to stop and reevaluate our expectations and what is or is not important.

There were many things that my grandmother said to me that I just never understood.  She told me that we should always be ready for a storm because the cold winds will blow and the creek is going to rise.  One of her pearls of wisdom will forever beat within my heart, "Don't ever get old child, everyone you love will leave you." 

As a child, I thought she was talking about thunderstorms and wrinkles.  Since then, I know that she was teaching me about things that are much more important.  Do me a favor today and hold your children close to you.  Remind your friends and family that you are thinking of them and how much you enjoy having them in your life.

After all, life happens to all of us and it does not follow any pattern.  Enjoy the moments we are given to dream, to challenge, to share....to live.

Dianna Doles Petry

Dianna59@suddenlink.net

12/18/2007 

http://diannapetry.tripod.com

www.myspace.com/diannawv