Circles of Connectedness

The circles of connectedness continue to surprise and amaze. Gar was reconnected with a dear childhood friend he'd lost track of, through a new friend's girlfriend. Three or four schools separated these old buddies' path to a reunion, and they discovered through a photo that they'd joined the same fraternity at their chosen schools.

It seems that we're never more than a friend or two away from welcome connections. 

Follow Passion when Volunteering

My day has been filled with varied volunteer activities for DePelchin Children's Center, March of Dimes and Junior Achievement.  The activities were different for each organization, but the common element is that each benefits children.  There are unlimited opportunities to make a difference and we need to assess the best fit for our skills and interests.  Fortunately, I learned early in my volunteer experience that just because an organization is worthwhile, I may not be the best volunteer for the organization.  When we are passionate about a cause we bring our best to the opportunity and tend to maintain involvement. 

Self Talk Radio

Our remarkable brains provide the capacity for continuous self-talk (my talk radio).  We do ourselves a disservice when we choose:
Negative 101
Doubting 201
Redo 301
B-team 401
Can't Do 501
Lacking 601
If Only 701
Not My Fault 801
Victim 901

We win big when our station is tuned to one of the following:
I Can 102
Positive 202
Best Shot 302
Winner 402
Done! 502
Enough 602
Going for It 702
It Won't Happen Again 802
Leader 902

The conversations in our heads are just that - conversations.  We owe it to ourselves to be our own best cheerleaders and change the channel when our self-talk isn't encouraging. 

Seeing Things Differently

Orange sunglasses are one of the visual indicators that it's a bright new day at DePelchin Children's Center.  For fun, I've been wearing these bright orange sunglasses while running, driving and participating in a Trash Bash weekend.  I thought it would raise awareness that exciting things are happening at DePelchin.  Surprisingly, no one has asked me about my unusual eye wear.  (Perhaps it is because orange is one of spring's hottest colors.)

We sometimes take for granted people or organizations that are always there.  We hope or expect that they will do what we've expected.  It's a "New Day" when we see an old friend in a different context.

My hope is that you will embrace DePelchin's 120 year history of creating brighter futures for children and families through mental health, foster care and adoption services in a "New Way".  We need your time, talent and treasure to continue to turn lives around.

I see things differently each time a new or established family shares their story.

Preparing Nests

This morning when I awoke unreasonably early, I opted to finish preparing Julia's, Gar's and our guest room for next visits. 

Stripping the beds conjures sadness, because my loved ones have left.  Laundering the linens is no big deal.  Putting fresh linens on all the beds can appear as another thankless, time-consuming chore until we realize that we are creating a comfortable nest for our returning loved ones. ((I've lovingly prepared your nests for your next appearances!)

I've long known that attitude contributes significantly to the success or failure of many projects.  Inserting love into our projects and tasks makes all the difference.

Precious birdies, you are always welcome!

When to Run and When to Rest

As an accidental runner, my questions are many.  When I googled "when to run and when to rest" I got 1.36 billion hits.  So many options is overwhelming. 

Though this is by far the highest number of hits I've received for an important question, it reinforces the importance of asking credible friends and associates when we need to quickly process appropriate responses.

Worse then Better

It's difficult to accept that some things must get worse before they get better.  Running through the neighborhood, I saw a totally bare dirt yard.  Though it is unattractive now, it will be lovely in a day or two. 

Growing out bangs is another worse before better experience.  And we have to deal with rain in order to enjoy a rainbow.

Often when we are learning a new skill things are quite awkward until we become proficient.  Since continuous learning keeps us current, marketable and interesting, we need to accept a bit of imperfection in order to keep growing.