Granny-O Speaks

March 2, 2022

Cry baby cry. A baby is one hundred percent dependent on others for his comfort and for his survival. As a result of his lack of independence a baby will cry. I think God made all babies cute so that babies would have a willing and able support system. Babies cannot do it alone, and hence the only means of communicating his needs and desires is for a baby to cry. It is amazing to me how a little baby can cry so loudly, and how he can disturb the peace with such ease. A sound sleeper is instantaneously awakened when a baby cries. No need to roll over with your pillow over your head, because a baby can cry and cry and cry. He won’t stop until he has been attended to. So, don’t even think of going back to sleep until you have solved the little person’s problem. Cry baby cry. A baby crying is as natural as rain falling from the sky. Now let some years go by and the baby is now an adult. Let’s say quite a few years go by, and the baby is an adult. The adult also has needs and desires. Who comes to that person’s aid? Adults have spent years learning about how the world operates. By the time a person reaches the age of maturity he is supposed to be able to solve his own problems, at least some of the time he should be able to solve his own problems. Crying done by adults is mostly out of frustration, when they are at the end of their ropes and have no hope of getting through to the other side of what they consider to be unsurmountable. The problems can be financial, social, emotional, medical or just problems that keep someone from continuing their journey into the future. Adults cry too, but usually adults cry in silence. Not often do adults admit to their sadnesses. I am here to tell you; it is okay to cry. It is okay to ask for help. It is okay to not have all the answers. Ask for help if you are outside of your comfort zone and are lost in the wilderness of your own perceived inadequacies. You do not need to be everything for everybody else. You don’t even have to be everything for yourself. Ask for help. Then dry your tears and get back on track. There is no need to go on suffering longer than is necessary. Figure everything out in any way you can and then go back to being grateful. When you are sad, it is impossible to be grateful. When you are grateful it is impossible to be sad. I have been very sad, and I have been incredibly happy in my life. I have decided that happy is so much better. So, get happy as soon as you can. Babies cry because they must. Adults have tools to change their own frowns into smiles. Babies think that their problems are the end of the world, adults know their problems are not. Be strong. You are not alone, and more than that, you are loved. Everything will work out. You can be, and will be happy again.

Granny-o

February 20, 2022

Today. Today is my birthday. I am 74 years old, and since I love being old, the older the better. Within reason of course. 74 seems perfect for me at this point and time. In my life I always have the birthday person tell me his or her words of wisdom, because when you have a birthday, you are older and wiser than you have ever been before. So, everyone who knows about my collection of words of wisdom wait to hear the words of the day. My words of wisdom for reaching this birthday are:

Forever young. NO.

Forever old. NO.

Forever. YES!

That’s it for this year. Try doing words of wisdom with your family and friends, and it might be as enlightening for you as it has been for me.

It was a super great birthday today. Our friends Bob and Debbie came to celebrate my day, to see our new home and have breakfast with us. We all had a great visit. There were nine of us at the table. They stayed for a couple of hours, and it was super having them here Then they left and the rest of us went to see the 8th grade performance of the play FROZEN. My Grandson Jonathan was the reindeer, Sven. We had bought tickets and pretty much family and friends of Jonathan took up most of one row in one section. Some of his crowd were seeing the play for the first time, but Jonathan’s mother, father, brother and his girlfriend and me, Granny-o, have gone to all the performances so today was the third time we had seen the play. What fun. Then we came home and had spaghetti for dinner and devil’s food cake with 7-minute frosting for dessert. I blew out the candles with one blow. I have had a lot of practice. Again, a benefit of being old. Two of his friends, Cocoa ( the real spelling of his name is Koa, but Jonathan calls him Cocoa so I think of him as hot chocolate.) and Christian came for dinner and are staying overnight. About five minutes ago the three of them announced they were going to start a game of Monopoly. They asked me if I wanted to play. I said no because the last time we played (Jonathan, Cocoa and I) the game took almost four hours. I already agreed to play tomorrow, but that might have been a too hasty offer. After dinner there were presents that were very much appreciated. I got three calls. One from my dear friend Nancy, she and I have been friends for more than 42 years, one from my brother-in law and sister-in-law, Bruce and Marsi, and then Cindy, a great neighbor from Florida called. She and her mother had lived across the street from my husband and me. I had a wonderful day. If today were your birthday as well, I hope it was great for you also. Remember, I think every day is a gift, and every day has the potential of being great. The more great days you have the greater your life will be. My prayers are with you, praying for your happiness. Praying for your gratitude for what you have and hoping you appreciate having it. Happiness is a wonderful gift to give someone else. Happiness was being sent to me from every angle today. Wow. There are a lot of benefits to getting older. I am so blessed. Goodbye for now. Sweet dreams. 9:25 PM.

Granny-o

February 18, 2022

My story. My story in the very short form. The following is something I had written on July 7, 2021, at 5:09 PM:

“What is my story? Some of it is well known to me, and some of even great importance I have forgotten. What is my story? It is a story that started long before my birth. It is a story of surprises, of amazements, of love and of happiness. It is a story about being old. A story about how I love being old. A story about gratitude. So, my life is a gift. My happiness is my gift back.”

Wow. We all have stories of our lives, don’t we? Write things down as you connect with your spirit. Life is such a wonderful adventure. Life is so far beyond my wildest dreams. It continually astounds me with its magic and with so many unbelievable stories. We all have them, don’t we? I never take my life for granted. Appreciation reigns in my heart every day. I don’t deserve what I have. I have what I have because I am loved. Again, this is not new to me. The love started so long ago before I was even born. Maybe now you can figure out why wow is my favorite word. I am so incredibly happy because I so appreciate what I have. It is all a gift… It is all a gift. Your life is a gift to you as well. Treat your moments as such and you too will find happiness. Happiness that has no beginning and no end. It just keeps happening. Believe it is true and it will be true. You choose your story. Make it a most wonderful adventure. It is now 1:42 AM. I am totally awake. I am totally in the zone. I hope whatever time of the day it is while you are reading this finds you totally in the zone too. Have a super great day. Goodbye for now.

Granny-o

February 16, 2022

Learning about God. Learning about God is not a one moment in time kind of thing. Learning about God is a 24/7 day in day out kind of thing. Learning about God is like seeing things you have seen before for the first time. It is taking the usual and making them magical and miraculous. Learning about God is a wow, but at the same time it is sometimes an ow. God knows everything about each of us, because we each were created by God. God is much too complicated for us to even contemplate. Humans do not and will not ever know the language that will make us know God. We will never understand who God really is, but what we can understand is what has happened because God does exist. Rainbows, God. Babies, God. Hands, God. Everything you can even think about is God. A doctor is not God, but a doctor has been given the talents to be a doctor by God. The gift of the talents, God. God makes everyone and everything possible. When you can get your head around that idea, then you will be learning about God 24/7. There is never an event or a moment in our lives that is not touched by the hand of God. The pencil sharpener, God. God did not sit down and make the first pencil sharpener, but he created in the inventor a need to invent a pencil sharpener and gave that person the talent to think of such a thing. A pencil sharpener, incredibly common, now, but quite inspired in the beginning. I remember my grandfather sharpening his pencils with his pen knife. In my life of almost 74 years so many things have been invented because of a need to have the unknown exist. Inventors are not the magic; the magic is the thinking that comes into the inventors’ minds. God. God made the inventors invent things that have changed our lives. In the nineteen sixties there were a lot of people of a certain age who were taking drugs to find things that were missing in their lives. I did not do drugs, but I was influenced by the drug culture of that decade. I would watch people under the influence, staring at a pencil or a dime, or a glass of water or anything else in their lives for hours. Just staring, because the drugs they had used opened their eyes to the magical miracles of the most common of everyday things. Anything and everything were a wow to the drug user. All of a sudden miracles were everywhere. Now in the new century which started more than twenty-two years ago, the drug culture has changed to prescription drugs. Everyone is looking for something that is missing in their lives. Drugs, drugs, and more drugs. Is my generation going back to using drugs? Drugs did not work in the long run back during the sixties, and drugs do not create a heaven for you here on Earth today. What is needed is not drugs, but what is needed is to find God. Not behind a burning bush, but rather in the beauty of a singing bird as the sun rises over the horizon. The bird that I am seeing does not know the language to explain God, but the bird has to sing every morning as the sun comes up. He can’t help it. Why does the bird sing? God. God created the bird, and the bird sings his praises to God, as each new day begins. The bird does not know why he sings, but he can’t stop singing. Learning about God is an eye-opening experience. It is a change of focus, and a change of appreciation. What, when, where, or how it all works is summed up in one word God. The reason God makes it work is one more word…Love. God loves all of his creations, and we are all here to be in the moment over and over again of putting the pieces of the puzzle together. God. The more you learn the better your life will be. I am amazed over and over again day by day of how marvelous this world is, and how blessed I am to live in it. I say wow. I say thank you. I say I am happy. Is there a connection here? For me there is, and I do not need to do drugs. Find God. It is not difficult. All you have to do is open your eyes. Have an especially wonderful day.

Granny-o

February 15, 2022

I am the problem? I am the problem…how could that possibly be true? This is how it came to pass that I figured it out. After my major fall, whenever it was, I have had physical difficulties, mostly to do with walking and balancing. I have been going to physical therapy for over two months, and I thought it was helping. It actually was… for a while. Well, yesterday they said that they were canceling me because I was getting worse not better. Recently I have regressed and have been unable to do a number of things that had been assigned to me. They said, at their physical therapy facility they could do nothing more for me. So, that was that. Circumstances in my life do not as a rule affect my happiness. I go along on my merry old way and watch what happens and react accordingly. I don’t try to rock the boat, but I forget that I can’t do what I am used to doing. Not too long ago I leaned against the refrigerator for balance, and someone asked me if I were all right. I said I could not walk. I pretty much had to be carried into my bedroom. There was no warning. It just happened. Yesterday my daughter-in-law said that she had not slept for five nights because she was so worried about me. She said I did not use my walker all the time, and I lifted things and did things I should not have done. I would take clean laundry into my room using my walker with only one hand. I told my daughter-in-law not to worry, that I was okay. I just wanted to be helpful. Anyway, she was really teed off at me, and I had tears in my eyes, not because I was sad, but because the people I love were blaming their frustration, anger and fear on me. I was not frustrated, angry or fearful. I was happy and told her to stop worrying. She said that would be impossible. Later, after she had gone upstairs, I thought about what she had said. After a while, I decided she had been right. Because of my behavior, I was causing those I love to be angry, frustrated and scared. They did not know what was happening to me, but they knew my condition was going downhill fast. So, I decided to do what I tell everyone else to do when there is a problem, change yourself. The only way you can change your world is by changing yourself. Now I use my walker all the time. I do not lift boxes or carry laundry. I do not do anything that might cause me to cause a problem for everyone else. Now people are sleeping better, and people are nicer, because I am going along with the program. Now they can relax because they do not have to worry about what I am doing. Sometimes when a new reality sets in, you have to acclimate yourself to the changes. I am doing the best that I can, and until I have the 4 MRIs on Monday and see the neurologist in three weeks, I will not take chances. I will do what I have to do. I am the problem? I guess I was, but not anymore. Now I am thinking of how my behaviors can change the behaviors of others. By changing myself they will be able to live their lives without extra stress. I knew for a long time, I can only change myself, but it took an object lesson to have me recognize my new reality. Object lessons really work. I would not ask anyone to do anything I would not do myself. We are back on track, and now there are 5 people in our home who are getting a good night sleep. Happiness is a team effort. Be good, and be happy. I will be here if you want to come back.

Granny-o

February 12, 2022

Love is in the air. Love is in the air because it is Valentine’s Day weekend. February 14th is actually the day, but if you play your cards right it could be a three-day event especially if you have already been shopping and already have ordered flowers. If you are able to take Monday off, then wow, how much better could it be for you? It could be like a second honeymoon. Being a doer and not a procrastinator can really pay off for you this weekend. Before you get too excited, let us take a minute to think about what love really is. Love is more than flowers, candy and presents. Love is the most important thing in your life, whether you are dating, newly married, celebrating your fiftieth anniversary or never been married at all. Love is not only for the lovers. Love is for everyone. For everyone, not just on Valentine’s Day, but on every day. Think of love as one of the two things you cannot live without. The other necessity is oxygen. No oxygen no life. No love, and you are dead. Love is not a calendar event. Love is the miracle of being alive. It is appreciation and gratitude for your very life. Love is an incredibly strong emotion that must be satisfied if you are going to survive. Love is caring about someone else in your life so very much. Love is so personal that you love each person you love in a different way. Love is custom made to be shared by two people at a time. You love your parents, you love your spouse, you love your children, you love your siblings, you love your dog or cat, and let us not forget how much you love your grandparents. (I Just thought I would throw that in.) Love is a word with many meanings. One time I counted how many people I had loved in my lifetime, living or dead. When I counted, I could name twenty people. Twenty people and out of the twenty, when I counted, only six were still alive. Only twenty people in the whole world during my whole lifetime had I loved at that time when I was counting. That is not a lot. Sometime if you happen to be at a movie theater count twenty people. I bet you could fit more than twenty people in one row. Each of my twenty people are or have been very important to me. I love or have loved each and every one for different reasons. Some of my relatives were not on the list because I did not have time to get to know those people. Maybe they were too old or maybe I am too old as a new generation of babies is coming into the family. I will never get to know the upcoming generation, but I will have known their parents, grandparents, or other family members and that will connect the very old with the very young. I will feel love toward these little people because of those connections, but I will not live long enough to develop a loving relationship with them. The point I am making is that every loving relationship you have is to be so appreciated. You should be grateful for every loving relationship you have ever had. You don’t have to buy everyone you love flowers, sometimes a visit, a phone call or a kindness to a person who you claim to love will go a long way to prove you can walk the walk as much as you can talk the talk. Love is not lip service. Love is smiling just because someone makes you so happy that you can’t help but to smile when you are thinking about them or are with them. Love is helping another person when they are doing the necessities of life. Sometimes making the bed or doing the dishes together or shoveling the snow says I love you. Love is a necessity. Love is your connection to God. God is able to love everyone, living or dead, unconditionally. Can you love the people you love unconditionally? Or do you take your love away when you do not agree with someone about something? That is crazy. Love is not a bargaining chip. Love is a forever thing. You do not earn love it is a gift. You cannot play with the hearts of those near and dear to you. Think about love as being your lifeline and start waking up to what a gift you have been given, and what a gift you have given to others. Happy Valentine’s Day. No matter how you are celebrating make it a great day… or a great three-day event.

Granny-o

February 11, 2022

Prayer. Prayer works. I know for a fact in my life prayer is a constant reminder that God is listening, because when I pray things begin to happen.

This was a prayer that has resurfaced from the antiquity of my treasures. I do not know from whence it came or who wrote it, but I want to pass it on to you.

I SAID A PRAYER FOR YOU TODAY

I said a prayer for you today, and I know God must have heard

I felt the answer in my heart, although he spoke no word-

I didn’t ask for wealth or fame, (I knew you wouldn’t mind)-

I asked him to send treasures of a far more lasting kind-

I asked that he’d be near to you at the start of each new day.

to grant you health and blessings, and friends to share your way-

I asked for happiness for you, in all things great and small-

But it was for his loving care, I prayed the most of all!

This is an example of why I don’t throw thoughts from the heart away, even if I did not write them. This prayer is meant for you. It is meant for me, and it is made for all of us. Let it brighten your day as it has mine.

Granny-o

February 8, 2022

Perhaps. Perhaps something will happen. Humans have a tendency to make plans. Humans continually think they are in charge and that their plans will always come to fruition, and always will work out the way they thought they should. Perhaps they will, perhaps they won’t. The only way you will know for sure what will happen, is when you look back and in retrospect see how things played out. You can plan until the cows come home, and still there are no guarantees your plans will ever see the light of day. Humans are in reality control freaks. I am not a person who is obsessed with being in control. As a matter of fact, I am pretty okay letting everything play out and then applauding the outcome. I believe everything is as it should be. I also believe there are no mistakes… but rather just unexpected outcomes. Sometimes there are lessons to be learned that can only be learned by getting out there into the trenches. Sometimes life is not theoretical. Sometimes life is reality. Sometimes life comes at you, and you have no time to contemplate what is going on. Then you just have to use your heart, your brain and your wits to make good educational guesses as to what is going on and what reaction you want to have when it does. Life can be complicated, but humans are complicated also. Humans have enough smarts to figure everything out. Perhaps you will get what you have asked for, but perhaps you won’t. It doesn’t really matter if you get everything you think you want. In most cases, you already have too much. So, stop asking and start appreciating. Wow. It is 9:04PM. I am ready to be horizontal, with my head on a feather pillow, and my body covered with my feather bed and so many blankets. I am ready to call it a day. Perhaps we will both of us, you and I, have most wonderful, marvelous dreams. Perhaps we are already dreaming wonderful, marvelous things when we are still awake. How did the old song start? “Life is but a dream…” I think it is totally possible when we die, we will come face to face with the real reality, and our lives will have been just a succession of dreams. Wow. To continue my thought. “; Life is but a dream, it’s what you make it”. Perhaps this is the prelude to the real magic Perhaps we will never know the extent of true love until we have awakened to a brand-new beginning. I guess I am rambling so I will say good night. May all your good dreams come true. Perhaps they will.

Granny-o

Februarly 7. 2022

Deep breath. In my amazement of everything day in and day out, I find I often have to take a deep breath just trying to take it all in. The following is something I wrote of June 12, 2020. It was a Friday, and it was 4:58AM.

“Deep breath.

Wow… It is not positive thinking that keeps me wired and happy, it is so far beyond positive thinking. What keeps me wired and happy is my appreciation and gratitude for the love, and for the appreciation and gratitude that I have for my life. Wow. I just can’t get over the fact that God has made all of this possible. I can’t get over the fact that God would have taken the time to make me, and then as though that were not enough, He let me live in a world of miracles. Wow. Wow. Wow. Every day I wake up and have to pinch myself because everything is so perfect. So perfect that I have to be sure I am awake, and still not dreaming.”

I would like everyone to be amazed over and over again. Like a child who is seeing things for the first time. Pretend you are seeing things for the first time too. How great everything is. I mean, HOW GREAT EVERYTHING IS. Be amazed and you will never be bored again. I love going back and reading things that I have written in the past. The words of love, appreciation and gratitude have been my companion for many years. I find I am so much happier when I know what I have and am grateful I have it. I just can’t get over it. I am 73 years old, and I am reenergized every day until I get tired, and then, figuratively speaking, I fall over. When I am awake, I am really awake. When I am asleep, I am really asleep. Wow. It is now 8:25PM and I think I am winding down. I will fall asleep in the near future. Then tomorrow, I will wake up again with my cartoon eyes raring to go. Good night sleep well and may all your dreams be happy ones. I send my love to you.

Granny-o

February 6, 2022

WOW. Wow… I don’t usually use capital letters when I write my favorite word, but today is a celebration. It is not the Super Bowl. It is not Valentine’s Day. It is not my birthday. Which happens to be on February 20th. I don’t know why I told you that, I just had an overwhelming need to tell you. I know as I have reached old age, I will be 74, many of the people who have wished me well on my birthdays throughout my life are dead and buried. At this point and time, there are not very many people who know or care when my birthday is. So, I wanted you to know. It is a most perfect day today, just because days are made to be that way. Perfect. Wow, I am excited to be alive. I mean, I AM SO EXCITED TO BE ALIVE! I don’t often use explanation points either. But today is going to be the best day of my life so far. Why? Because I want it to be so. I want today to be best day of my life so far. Even though it will be, I am also ready to die today. I have had more life than many people have had. I am ready to die, even though I am so EXCITED to be alive. WOW. Figure that one out. Well, for me as I have said many times before, I believe my life is a gift from God. I believe that to be true for everyone. Everyone’s life is a gift from God. So, it is my desire to appreciate who I am and where I have come from. Wow. I am feeling it. I am in the zone of extreme happiness again. I can’t help it. When you are a gift from God you must act like a gift from God. No moping allowed. Today will be the best day of my life so far, and for that reason among many, I say THANK YOU. Be grateful too. Created by God… WOW!

Granny-o