Day 23: Something you always think “what if…” about.

I like this question. We all have lots of "what-if's" in our life.  This is my grandson's favorite thing to say, "Grandma, what if...." and comes up with the most imaginative things to play what if.  I love it.

Mine would be what if I went to college?  I was interested in teaching and should have gone to college but chose not to.
What if I had moved with my good friend after I graduated from high school to the "city" and shared an apartment together?  As it is, I ended up living with my parents until I married (at 21) so I never experienced living on my own as a single person.
What if I married my childhood sweetheart?  Where would I be now?
What if my husband and I had never moved to Alaska? 
What if I followed my dreams without hesitation?
What if I had 19 children, and counting? :)
What if I were a millionaire?
What if I had been born in the 1860's?  Something I find very interesting to think on.  I always thought I was born too late.  ;)

The list could go on forever, like my grandson's what-if's!  LOL 

Today's Quote: "A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can." Meredith Grey

Day 22: 10 things about you people don’t really expect.

Now how am I suppose to answer this question?  I don't know what people don't really expect about me.  I think I'm an open book...no surprises....just me. So here's a try:

1.  That I am 62 years old
2.  That I've been married to the same man for 41 years
3.  That I lived in Alaska for nearly 30 years
4.  That I could drive a 31 ft motorhome
5.  That I drove across country alone
6.  That I never learned how to swim
7.  Can't think of anything else..... sorry

Today's Quote:  "A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless." Charles de Gaulle

Day 21: Something you can’t seem to get over.

I'm not proud of saying this, but it would have to be losing my treasures when the storage unit they were in was sold off.  When I left Virginia some 30 years ago and moved to Alaska, I stored some things in my parent's attic.  They moved and my things went into storage along with some of their things, and my brother's things.  Someone failed to keep up the storage payments (not out of lack of funds but from lack of communication--who was paying what) and everything in storage was lost.  When I moved to Alaska I left my "treasures" like a huge Beetles' collection of records, trading cards, Elvis memorabilia and records, and lots of my photo albums from young adult thru my first child.  I know, you're wondering why I left these things.  It was because we did not drive to Alaska, we flew.  We mailed most of our things and the rest were left for a time when we could afford to have them shipped up to Alaska.

I can't seem to get over it, especially when I see Beetles and Elvis memorabilia selling for thousands of dollars and these latest reality shows like Storage Wars!  And I can't get over losing other collectibles and especially my photos!  Hey, I said I wasn't proud to admit it!  I should just get over it, right?  LOL

Today's Quote: "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." George Bernard Shaw

Day 20: The last argument you had.

Back to the dictionary, because I don't really have arguments with anyone.  At least what I perceive as an argument. However, when I look at the actual definition: 

An exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one;

2. A reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong

I would have to say that I fall under the 2nd definition more often than not.  My husband and I rarely have an angry argument but we do have "persuasive arguments" occasionally....me persuading him that my idea is the right one!  LOL

Seriously, I don't like to argue and the only person that I might argue with would be my husband.  I'm non-confrontational and he's been trained in his job how to defuse hostile situations, so you can see how it takes a lot to get us to argue.

Today's Quote: "Never get into an argument with a schizophrenic person and say, 'Who do you think you are?"  Ray Combs

Day 19: Something that never fails to make you feel better.

By far a telephone call from my friend.  The welcome I get from Maggie and Gracie when I come home at the end of the day (no one can greet you like a pet).  When my granddaughter says to me, "I love you Grandma".  A nice romantic dinner with my husband. A day at the beach.  (I miss our girls get-away in the RV at the beach at Deep Creek!) Listening to gospel music. Listening to Joseph Prince preach.  Sitting and relaxing after a long day with hubby and pets watching a comedy tv show. Visiting with my kids, always. 

And the list goes on.....

Today's Quote: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." Les Brown

Day 18: Disrespecting parents.

I presume we're talking about children disrespecting parents (and not parents who are disrespectful). LOL  I hate it!  I'm from the "old school" and you don't disrespect parents.  The Bible is very clear about it too: Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."  Simple as that. Couldn't have said it better myself.  There are lots of other scriptures that talk about respecting your parents as well.  I especially like this one (since I'm gray):  “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord." Leviticus 19:32  That'll put you in your place real fast!

I loved my parents and I wish I still had them around to lavish them with respect. It seems that the younger generation is missing out by not respecting their parents, and their elders.  Respect doesn't seem to mean the same anymore in our society.  Being disrespectful in any society or situation is not appropriate.  There is ALWAYS another way to handle a situation, you just have to be respectful enough to see it.

Today's Quote:  "A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone." Billy Graham 

Day 17: Things that make you scared.

Well, I try not to be scared since it has no faith.  But I'm human (still) so there are some things that frighten me, like SPIDERS, major storms that could spawn tornadoes, flying scares me although I know that I'm safer in the air than on the highway.  I don't like heights. Walking on ice scares me. Poverty scares me. The future of our country makes me apprehensive.

I'd like to say nothing scares me because I trust in God and I have thousands of angels assigned to me to protect me, but I succumb to fear more often than I care to admit!

Today's Quote: "For as children tremble and fear everything in the blind darkness, so we in the light sometimes fear what is no more to be feared than the things children in the dark hold in terror and imagine will come true."
-Titus Lucretius Carus