Perspective

Have you ever noticed that most battles are won or lost within the confines of our own two ears? Our thoughts literally make us or break us. A good friend of mine used to say that "Perception is reality." Why is it that some people go through life ranting about all of the injustices that life is heaping on them while others quietly face their challenges with dignity and optimism?It brings to mind the old adage, "Is the glass half empty or half full?"

Years ago when I was a young college student, I attended the most culturally diverse university in the United States, Brigham Young University in Hawaii. At the time, there were about two thousand students comprised of over fifty different countries. Today, there are over seventy countries represented in a student body population of twenty four hundred. Anyone who has ever lived in Hawaii knows that it's one of the most expensive places on earth to live--paradise has its price. The dorm rooms, or hales as they are called, are tiny, cinder block rooms with the bare basics. Each room houses two students. I had been at BYUH for about a week when I met a girl who told me this story.

"When I got to BYUH, I couldn't believe how small my dorm room was. And then I realized that I had to share it with another person! I couldn't help it. I just sat down on that dingy mattress and cried when I saw it. My walk-in closet back home was bigger than this for goodness sakes. A couple of days later, I met a girl from the Philippines. We started comparing notes about our dorm rooms. I felt a little vindicated when she told me that she too had cried when she saw her room. Then she told me why. She just couldn't believe that she had such a nice, big room and that she only had to share it with one person. Her whole family lived in a place that was about the size of her dorm room."

I never again heard my friend complain about her room. A clear perspective--it makes all the difference!

An Exercise in Frustration!

I told all of my children that I would be my husband’s project when our youngest son moved out of the house. Well guess what? Soloflex, here I come. First of all, I made the mistake of telling him that we have an exercise channel on cable. So not only do I get to work out of the Soloflex, the monster machine with bands, but I get to warm up first by doing either Tae Bo, Buns of Steel or The Walking show. The other night, he asked if I could raise my legs any higher, and I said I could if my stomach wasn’t in the way. Today, he told me that we were going to whittle down that little tummy of mine. This announcement came while I was on the floor trying to grunt out a series of sit-ups. I tried to give him the death glare, a nearly impossible task considering that the flat tire around my middle had grown to the size of Mt. Everest from that vantage point.

Whittle down my stomach. “Let’s see, four children and over fifty birthdays. That’ll be the day.”

Then to cap it all off, I’m sitting in front of the TV with my fat-free, sugar-free orange jello when this Sonic commercial comes on advertising 157,000 ice cream shakes. I see this life-sized picture of a frothy, vanilla shake with chocolate fudge drizzling down the side. This really starts my taste buds to dancing. Then I look down at my congealed jello that’s oozing down the spoon.

I dare anyone to say anything to me, especially since I’ve been dieting and exercising for two weeks and haven’t lost an ounce!

Sandra

Southern Talk

Have you ever noticed that we southerners have a very distinct way of talking? I can be in a room with fifty other people from various parts of the world, and the minute I open my mouth, people stop mid-sentence and give me a peculiar look. This is followed by "So, what part of the south are you from?" I always stand up a little taller and proudly tell them about my Alabama heritage. Then, I tell them about Tennessee--my home away from home. Sometimes, I can tell that people are not paying near as much attention to what I'm saying because they're so mesmerized at how I'm saying it. This can be a little irritating at times, but it does point to the uniqueness of the south. We have our own sing-song cadence that's soft and twangy at the same time. My brother and I call it banjo talk. We southerners don't get in a hurry. In fact we like to roll our words around and season them up just right before spitting them out.
Once when I was in Vegas, I went to one of those buffets where the people are standing behind the counter. "Which type of meat would like?" the man asked.
I answered him with one word, "turkey."
He came right back with, "What part of the south are you from?"
How he deduced that from the word turkey is still a mystery to me.
Maybe it's really true what they say--you can take the girl out of the south but you can't take the south out of the girl. Thanks goodness for that! It only took two syllables to prove me a southerner that day. Of course, when I want to do it in one, I just put on a big smile and go up and say, "Hey ya'll." Works every time!

The Intimidated Blogger

My mom and I have finally moved into the twenty-first century and have officially started blogging. We've talked about doing it for months, but somehow we keep getting distracted with all of our other projects. So, I bit the bullet today and am now writing my first post. I have to admit that this is a new experience for me. I find myself sitting here, staring at the blank screen, thinking "now what?" I've been writing four hundred page novels for the past decade, then why am I so intimidated by a simple blog post? Maybe it's because I have no problem living out experiences vicariously through my characters, but this is supposed to be about me. Yikes! So, all of you experienced bloggers, please turn a blind eye to my pitiful inexperience as I fumble my way through this.

Blogging--I'm looking forward to the journey!