A Kind And Thoughtful Hodgepodge…

I simply can’t believe it’s already Wednesday, again!  The days are flying by so fast, my brain can hardly keep up.  I’m ready for a mid-week break, and there’s no better place to spend it than here, with my “Hodgepodge Friends”.  Thanks so much to our gracious hostess, Joyce, for providing the questions and a “gathering place” on  From This Side Of The Pond.

Here are today’s questions, along with my answers:

1. February 17th is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. It lands on the calendar one day after National Do Something for a Grouch Day (February 16) which somehow feels related. Perhaps the 16th inspired the 17th?

Tell about a time you performed a random act of kindness or were the recipient of one. Will you make an effort to perform a random act of kindness on the 17th? Share details if you’re so inclined, and if you have something specific in mind.

The last random act of kindness I did was to pick up our grandson, Chase, yesterday, from preschool, so his mama wouldn’t have to make the extra trip to town. It’s a small thing, but it helps her out on group [home school] meeting days, when she would normally have to make three [14 mile] round trips to town, plus the trip over to the meeting.

I don’t have any plans to perform a random act of kindness, today, but I’ll try to come up with something, now that you’ve mentioned it!  Spontaneous acts are best, anyway.

2.What’s the most uplifting or encouraging thing you see happening in the world right now? You may have to dig deep for this one.

I’ve been SO impressed by the tremendous amount of love and support shown to the singing country duo, Joey + Rory during their difficult journey with Joey’s terminal cancer.  I’ve been following Joey’s battle for almost four months, through her husband, Rory’s, blog.  The outpouring of prayers, love, and support from their family, friends, and fans has been, and remains, phenomenal!   This has renewed some of my faith in mankind.

3. Black olives, black currants, black grapes, black beans, blackberries, Oreos…your favorite food the color of night? Your least favorite on the list?

Oreos are my favorite, while black olives are probably my least favorite.  I don’t think I’ve ever tasted black currants.

4. A while back I read (here) a list of twelve things you should do before you turn 50. They were-

travel when you have the chance, take care of your skin, learn a foreign language, make exercise a habit, leave a toxic situation, stop caring what others think about you, stop worrying, volunteer, spend time with your grandparents, pledge to work less, learn to cook an amazing dish, and seize an opportunity as it arises

What do you think of the list? What would you add or remove and why? If you’re over 50, have you done all 12? If you’re not yet 50, have you done any at all? What’s on the list that you haven’t done, but would like to do?

Some things on the list are okay, others no so much.  I’d remove learning the foreign language (because English is the only language I care about speaking, anyway).  I’d remove stop caring what others think about you (because I believe caring what others think is a good thing).  I’d never worry about learning to cook an amazing dish (because I don’t even like to cook, these days).  I haven’t had any grandparents since I was 32, so  I’d add spend more time with your parents and children, to the list, too.

I’m  well-over 50, but I did some of the things on this list around or before my 50th birthday.  I did some volunteer work and tried to make exercise a habit, for a while.  I also seized a couple of opportunities that came my way.  We did our fair share of traveling, too, we just didn’t go very far.  I have started trying to take better care of my skin–a little late, but “better late than never”, I say.  Last, but not least, I have removed myself from a toxic situation, when I resigned from a job [I dearly loved] due to certain circumstances in the classroom.

5. Besides the classic Christmas flicks, what’s your favorite film where winter plays a part in the setting?

There was a movie about a team of sled dogs who got left behind in a very cold, barren place (Antarctica maybe?) when their research team was forced to leave without them.  The movie chronicles the survival of those dogs, alone in the ice, while their owner fights to get permission to go back and rescue them. It was a nail-biting, tear jerking movie!  Thanks to Google, I discovered the name of the movie is Eight Below.

6.When did you last feel helpless, and what did you do about it?

The last [and only] time I’ve really felt helpless was when I took Ed to the emergency room, in October, and the attending physician told me Ed  had suffered a heart attack, and would need to be transported [by ambulance] to a larger facility, 50 miles away.  I had no idea what lay ahead of us, or if Ed would even survive the trip. I was somewhat in shock, and had to rely on our daughter to drive me to the hospital.  Thankfully, she stayed with me all night, and most of the next day, until Ed was stable.

7. Share a favorite proverb.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Remembering these words helped keep me sane, at times, while our sons were transitioning into the respectable men they are today.

Random:

Our original flock of “red sisters”, back in the day…

The “red sisters” celebrated a birthday this week! The remaining two hens, from our original flock of six red hens, recently turned four!  Those two rule the roost around here, and are doing well, although they do require an occasional wash of their rear ends from time to time.  They’re getting old, but ya’ still gotta’ love ’em.

These days, we let the old and new hens hang out together, and we let them free range most of the day. If we forget to put up our baby gate, this is what we see every day about 4 o’clock–

our ‘girls’, waiting impatiently for their afternoon snack of corn or bread!  Look who’s leading the way up the steps…a red sister!  Some are even bold enough to come up and peek through the glass in our front door!  They’re like a bunch of children begging for candy!!!