A drive thru experience we will never forget

Do you remember your senior year of high school? Do you remember your senior prom? Do you remember Graduation night? You may not remember everything about your senior year but there are many special memories that you created during your senior year. I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to the CLASS of 2020. Today we had my son's DRIVE THRU GRADUATION. It wasn't a traditional graduation by no means. As the music played we drove through the parking lot

where we were greeted by heartfelt signs being held by the teachers and their families. Every teacher we passed would call him by name and shout CONGRATULATIONS at a social distance. With tears of pride flowing down my cheeks as we were near the end of the line, I said to my son, WOW you only have six teachers yet I heard at least twenty of them shout out your name. He said Mom that's because you have a sign with my name on it hanging from your rearview mirror. I had totally forgotten that they said hang your GRADUATES name on your windshield. Even though it was right in front of me hanging. After we left our DRIVE THRU GRADUATION we got in the line at a DRIVE THRU restaurant to celebrate. It may not have been a "traditional Graduation" but my son is officially a 2020 GRADUATE! 

If you earned it they can't take that from you but they can...

If you earned it, no one can take that from you. Forever it will be a fact that you earned it. Unfortunately it is also a fact that there are things, people and circumstances that can prevent you from reaping the benefits that you have earned. Even so, you still earned it, and you know it. They can't take away that fact nor can they take away the pride you have in yourself for all your hard work to earn it. Being proud of what you have done and what you will do is a priceless benefit that they can never take from you. Don't focus on what you didn't get or you won't be able to enjoy what you got. Don't focus on what you are not good at, no one is good at everything. Don't lose focus on what you are good at so you can figure out how to use that to your advantage. You can either be your biggest cheerleader or your worst enemy. Your thoughts make up the reality that you live, not what others think about you. All you have to do to be comfortable in the skin you are in, is if you are comfortable with what you do in the skin you are in. Being proud of who you are only comes from being proud of what you have done. 

You will get wet in the rain but you know we need the rain

As I was running around doing my errands today, I was in and out in the rain. It wasn't fun but I know we need the rain. The puddles of rain in the parking lot made it impossible to keep my shoes dry, but I know we need the rain. As I arrived home I could hear the birds chirping as they bathed in the puddles. I know they were happy it was a rainy day. Later as I sat out on my porch I could hear the frogs as they came out of their hiding spots to cool off in the puddles. The flowers that were wilting from the heat earlier were now standing tall as they soaked up some rainwater. Now I was relaxing enjoying the benefits that the rain brings, no longer thinking about how miserable it had been earlier because of the rain. There are good points and bad points on a rainy day. But at the end of the day we need the rain. The good points about the rain far out way the bad points. In life you make good decisions if you base your decisions on whether the good out weighs the bad that will come from your decision. If it doesn't, then DON'T do it. By weighing your options, you don't weight yourself down and carry it with you on your life's journey.

You know if you don't leave a scab alone then your cut can't heal

In order to heal from any physical health issues you know it takes time to heal and feel better. It doesn't happen in an instant. Nor will you heal if you don't do what your doctor says. You certainly need to avoid it from physically ever happening again if it is possible. Other issues you may face on your life's journey affect your mental health negatively. Don't keep reliving it over and over again in your mind so it can hurt you again and again. Take the painful experiences from your past and JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind so it can't do any more damage to you. Keeping it FRESH on your mind won't allow you to "HEAL" from it. Once was enough! There will be times on your life's journey that in order to have a "GOOD DAY" you will have to "FLUSH AWAY A BAD DAY."

Obviously you know you can't please everyone....

You learn at a young age that you can't please everyone, no matter how hard you may try. Throughout your life you find yourself in situations where you are performing a juggling act to not let those around you down. It's hard to be someone in the middle of situations knowing no matter what you do, you can't please everyone which usually means someone is going to be disappointed. Your only choice is to make sure you are pleased with whatever you choose to do or choose not to do. You can't always please everyone but you got to ALWAYS please yourself. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is if you are proud of yourself for the choices you make. You won't be happy in the skin you are in unless you are happy with what you do in the skin you are in. If it makes you happy then you will be happy. If someone else is unhappy about the decision that you made does it really matter as long as you are happy? You knew before you made your decision that you can't please everyone but you can please yourself. That's why if it makes you happy then you know you made the right decision for you.

If you know what you want it may sometimes require you to put your blinders on

Of course you need to look at things with an open mind. You need to look at it from every angle. Depending on how you look at it will determine what you see in order for you to know what you should do. Then make the necessary plans of the path you need to take to get where you want to go in Life. The path may be bumpy along your journey to get where you want to be but as long as you stay on the path you will get there. There will be a few that will tell you to give up if you fall, but everybody falls off their bycicle many times while they are learning to ride a bycicle. You don't give up because you know the end result is you will know how to ride a bike. Make little goals that will be the steps you will need to reach bigger goals that you have planned for your life's journey. Your dreams are made with your mind wide open and then you put your blinders on to prevent anyone or anything from distracting you from reaching them. Your dreams can't come true if you don't have any dreams. You can't reach your goals if you don't set goals for yourself. Along your journey in Life there will be twist and turns as well as bumps along your path. But as long as you stay on the path you will get where you need to be. The first step is choosing where you want to go. The second step is choosing the path you will have to take to get there. The third step is to put your blinders on so no one or nothing can distract you from getting there.

We are all affected even if we are not infected

The covid19 virus will affect every one, even though not everyone will become infected with covid19. The economical damages have also created unhealthy personal damages that can't be fixed simply by finally getting a paycheck. Getting settled back in will take time. Finding a way to regroup after a pandemic is hard when you are still living with the unknowns that the pandemic has in store for our future. Whatever the future brings is what future plans we will regroup and make to stand strong again. One day at a time, one phase at a time, one step at a time we will all win the war against covid19. My son is a 2020 graduate and although he missed out on a lot of things that most seniors do, he will be forever part of the story of the pandemic of 2020. This fact doesn't help him much but it is a fact that will never be forgotten. Congratulations to the 2020 GRADUATES all around the WORLD.

Is it time yet?

If you know it is time for a change then does it really matter what time it is? If times are changing then don't you think that you should make whatever changes are necessary to keep up with the times? You just can't get too comfortable in your life because life changes all the time. Obviously you may not like all the changes but you can't change it back to what you were used to. It is what it is and it ain't what it ain't. Just how much will change because of covid19 is yet to be determined. Things will definitely not get back to "normal" but whatever the "new normal" is, will determine how many changes we will all have to make. There has been some positive changes. The World has United to win the war against covid19. We don't see each other as the "enemy" but as fellow HUMANS who all have a common enemy. Another positive outcome is that HUMANITY is spreading in communities around the World. We will each have our personal journey as we begin to see what the future will look like for ourselves after the pandemic has passed. We will make whatever changes we need to and adapt our lives to our "new normal." It reminds me of the saying on my plaque, So this isn't home sweet home, adjust." Things will never be the same, it is what it is so do what you got to do, JUST DO IT.

Times are tough...

The pandemic has taken it's toll on every single person around the world. With all the unknowns, no one knows just how much worse it will get. Emotionally we all have been affected. But there are many people who the financial toll from the businesses being shutdown is hard to endure. The longer the quarantines go on the more people that will be devastated financially and emotionally. Just the other day when we entered phase one to reopen businesses, we excitedly headed to our favorite restaurant. The owner had worked at our local restaurant and had served us for over a decade before finally opening his own restraunt in the next town. When we got there instead of a sign that said closed for now due to covid19 like we had seen for the past two months, was a sign that said OUT OF BUSINESS. His hard work, his hope, his dreams and his livelyhood was GONE. The reality that all your hard work means nothing if you can't work, is another way that covid19 is a silent disease that is spreading. There is going to be a lot of people who need their community's support to recover from the affects of the pandemic. Whenever, wherever, however, to whomever you can please do what you can to help. If it was you I am sure you would hope that someone would help you. Be kind to everyone you meet because you have no idea what they may be facing.

You can't always choose but you will still have choices you will have to make

You may not have any choice on some of the situations you will face during your lifetime. But with every situation you will have choices on how you will react to them. It is not the situation you are dealing with that determines the outcome of the situation, it is how you react to them that will determine the outcome for you. Which will require you to STOP before you react to think about what your actions will bring. Once you react you can't take it back, your actions will decide how the situation will affect you. If you want a positive outcome you will have to make sure that you react in a way that a positive outcome is possible. You decide the outcome so make sure you do what you need to do to, so you can have the best outcome you possibly can under the circumstances of the situation you are forced to deal with. The harder the situation you have to face, the harder it will be to find how to react to minimize the damage it will have on you. It's not easy to figure out what to do. But the outcome will be harder on you if you don't figure it out before you react. What you look for will determine what you will find. Look for the best positive outcome so that you can have a positive outcome. Before you react, STOP and think about how you should react. You may not have had a choice in the situation but you do have the choice on how to react to it.

Before you hit send...

You decide to look something up in cyberspace and before you know it an hour has gone by. Have you ever tried to go back to find what you were reading on the internet but couldn't find it? You hit in the same thing you did the first time yet what you were looking at before is no where to be found. You could search for an hour and never find it. You know it is somewhere lost in cyberspace. Most of the time exploring cyberspace is a great distraction when you have plenty of time to be distracted. But when you need to get back to the information you were at in a timely manner, you don't have any time for distractions. Unfortunately even cyberspace has a Bermuda triangle that things disappear in. You never know what you will find in cyberspace and you will never know what will get lost in cyberspace. One thing is for sure if you don't want something you wrote to be found in the future then don't write it. Because once you hit send it is in permanent ink somewhere in cyberspace where some one could find it.

You don't get to redo the things you regret not doing

A "Bucket List" isn't intended to be a garbage can. Your "Bucket List" will change from when you are a child. As a child you believe that you can be anything you want to be and do everything you want to do. Your career choices will change many times before you grow up and finish school. As you choose which college to attend, you also start your "Bucket List." In case you haven't heard each thing you put on the list has to be accomplished by a certain age. If you save your "Bucket List" waiting to do it until you are retired, some of them you will have missed your opportunity to do. So before you toss it in your "Bucket" you should put them in time slots of which decade of your life they have to be done in. Obviously the more physical ones have to be done before you get too old and can't physically do them. You don't have to worry about your list of where you want to vacation because luckily those are places you can visit any decade of your life. Timing for other things you may add to your "Bucket List" will be necessary to do in a timely manner. A "Bucket List" should be almost empty by the time you are too old to remember what was on your list.

The bugs in your own back yard can be entertainment

While everything is closed you got to find ways to entertain yourself at home. As I was sitting outside I noticed a trail of ants. It is amazing how they all stay in a straight line. It reminded me of the movie Bugs Life. As I looked closer I could see that most of them were carrying things that were as big as they were. I sat outside for hours enjoying the gentle breeze and the fresh air. From time to time I would glance over at the trail of ants. I noticed one little ant off just an inch away from the line struggling to carry what looked like a piece of a leaf. It was twice his size and it's shape made it impossible for him to go in a straight line. Rather than hold the line up, he moved over. He was determined, no matter how hard it was, nothing would stop him from doing it. Once I noticed him I couldn't help but think about the determination, just like a human being has to have to struggle through Life with a heavy load to bare. I began to think about how many people are dealing with a lot of things due to the lockdowns. Just because the lockdowns will end doesn't end the struggles they will face to pick up the pieces of their lives and get back on track. If you can help them get up on their feet it will help them stand on their own, although they may still be a little wobbly. When the lockdowns are over be kind to everyone you meet because you have no idea what they may be going through, nor how wobbly they are.

You would have never experienced it

If we weren't experiencing a pandemic, we wouldn't have experienced the bonding moments with our families and friends. We stay in touch with each other in a way that would have never happened if it wasn't for covid19. Family time was nearly non-existent in most families. In the fast paced World we lived in, we barely even crossed paths. Now, only because everything is shutdown and we are all quarantined together in our homes, we have plenty of time and no where to go to enjoy each other's company. We all know how bonding it is for a family to sit down together every day to eat dinner. But it wasn't something that families everywhere were able to get everyone to do. The positive things on a human level that will come out of this pandemic will forever change each and every one of us. And family dinners may be part of the list of positive things that will come out of the pandemic. When I called to check on an old friend it wasn't about how hard being quarantined was. You could sense the smile on her face as she told me about the night that her and her family had played a game of scattegories. She chuckled as she described all the belly laughs they had. And a good belly laugh as you know is like a FLUSH that leaves you feeling refreshed from your head to your toes. She said she made her first lasagna and it was a meal that her and her family will definitely look forward to eating from now on, even after the quarantine has ended. She didn't list all the things she couldn't do while being quarantined, she listed all the exciting things that she was experiencing while she was quarantined. The difference between a good day and a bad day is all in how you look at it.