HAVING FUN

I think that when they passed out the "FUN GENE," I was otherwise occupied. For better or worse, I inherited my Father's serious demeanor, unlike my Mother's which was all about Fun! I have had many enjoyable moments in life, and a great deal of happiness. But, FUN, not so much! I thought it would be "fun" to try to remember those moments in my life that were moments of  pure unabandoned bliss which is my definition of fun. As a young child, I remember how much fun I had on our family toboggan with my siblings, flying down our neighbor's snow-packed hill, one of my brothers yelling "lean to the left; lean to the right." Another really fun memory was playing Hide & Seek, Kick the Can, and Capture the Flag with the neighbor kids well into dark. I never wanted to come home. Riding the Roller-Coaster at Coney Island was sheer joy, excitement and fun! In High School, it was fun to prank my friends, listen to favorite 45s (Rock Around the Clock a favorite) and laugh with my girlfriends. The most fun I had in college was playing Bridge. At Marygrove College (definitely not fun) we use to get up to play Bridge at 4:30 a.m. before going to class. Sometimes, fun comes via a person you meet. Being in Africa, traveling, and visiting my friend, Peter Cervi was some of the most, non-stop fun I have ever had! Some people are just born with a sense of fun, and Peter is one of those people! He always makes me laugh!!! Living in the Homestead Farm neighborhood in Colorado was eight years of fun! From partying together, camping, skiing and sharing holidays, our friends there knew how to have fun and made it a priority! My list of fun moments began to wane when I moved back to the Midwest. I know that one must make there own fun, but with my personality, I need help! I am now in search of possibilities that will bring FUN back into my life. Any suggestions or ideas would be welcome. 

BEING LUCKY

I spent some of my childhood looking for four-leaf clovers believing they could bring me  good luck. I was familiar with other good-luck symbols like a rainbow, a rabbit's foot and a lady-bug, but none spoke to my Irish soul like the four-leaf clover.  My mother use to say that luck was when preparation met opportunity....that you made your own luck! There certainly is some truth to that, but some things come to us unannounced and by fate, I think. Warren Buffet talks about the "ovarian lottery" and suggests that the luckiest day of our lives is the day we are born. This, of course, can be good luck or bad luck, but I hit the jack-pot being born to two very smart, energetic, and talented people who provided me with everything I needed to be happy and successful in life. Sometimes, luck depends upon the choices we make. I am thinking about Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken." He ends his poem with, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference to me." I sometimes wonder about those "other" roads, and ask myself, "What if?" What if I had married my "first" love? What if I had not had a courageous & adventurous friend who covinced me to go to Africa in the Peace Corps? What if, by chance, I had not met my wonderful husband o a street in Washington, D.C. ? What if I had not had my two wonderful daughters who have provided such joy in my life?  We are constantly making choices and decisions in life that affect our fate and fortune. Hopefully, all our yours will be good ones!

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

It has been years since I posted anything on my Writer's Web Site. And I have missed it!
I have decided to post again on a regular basis, and I am not sure what that means,
other than the intention to write again about "this & that" and everyday life.
. I would like to suggest that this is for all of you who read this, but it really is about satisfying the writer in me. I absolutely love to write!
Today is a beautiful sunny day in Normal, Illinois and a very hot one!
 I have just returned from a vacation in northern Michigan where it was cooler, but without much sunshine. I remember something  I always told my two daughters: you will never get everything you want, and you will surely  never get it all at once. The ups and downs of life will always be with us! What I try to remind myself to do is to  focus on what is going right and be appreciative of that! I do not always find this easy to do!
As many of my readers know, I love to read almost as much as I love to write! I am always
reading a book, sometimes several books at once. For this reason, I hope to suggest books I have read, or are reading, and tell something about them in case you might have an interest. A book I am presently reading is called, "The Power of Meaning," by Emily Esfahani Smith. Like everyone else, I struggle with the challenge of "what makes me happy?" I love a great book, fresh flowers on my table, reading a thought-filled poem, classical music and a Fall walk in the woods to name a few. At the same time, I want to know the underline factor that makes people more content than others. I found the answer to this in this well-researched book about finding meaning in my life. According to this author, having a meaningful purpose in life, pursuing something that contributes to the enhancement and betterment of others, and mankind,  creates the most sustaining contentment in life. Happiness is fleeting, comes and goes, but contentment is lasting over time. I have found this to be true in my own life. I am most happy when I am pursuing ways to help others. I do not think of myself as altruistic. I have just found the secret to a fuller, more contented life. The philosopher, John Stuart Mill says, "those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness. "