What Do I Hope For?

 

I have one great hope...

That my children and grandchildren - and great-grandchildren - will find a way to be civil, respectful, peaceful and co-operative with each other. and with us as their parents.  If they are able to appreciate and love each other that will be a bonus for me, and for them!

Do I need to do/be different so that I am surer of enjoying what I hope for?

That's a question I ask my self every day.  When I feel glimmerings of inspiration I implement them.

What Do I Look Forward To?

 

I look forward to visiting our daughters again!

I look forward to being with my UK children-in-law again!

I look forward to seeing my UK grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 

and meeting the two littlies I have not met yet!

I enjoy being with my loved-ones who live here!

I look forward to seeing my siblings again!

I look forward to visiting their families again!

I look forward to meeting at the chapel again!

I look forward to hearing the organ again!
I look forward to going to the Temple again!

I look forward to visiting my friends again.
 
I look forward to each day actually…
I look forward to my scripture study each morning.

I look forward to reading or listening to something every day.
I look forward to my afternoon bath each day.

I look forward to Tai Chi in the Botanic Gardens each week!
 
Do I need to change anything about looking forward to this/these?
No
 
What do you look forward to? 
And – does anything about your looking forward need to change?
 

What Future Difficulties Do I Need To Prepare For Now?

 

I prepare for my older age as best I know how.

What if I can’t see any more?
What will I need to do, change, when I can’t see any more?
What if I can’t hear any more?
What if I can’t remember my passwords any more?
What if I start repeating myself over and over?
What if I can’t administer my finances any more?
What if Glenn dies?
What if Douglas and family move out of the country?
What if I suddenly need to leave the country?
 
I have our storage inasmuch as I have been able to get it back to better preparedness.
We have security on our house that helps me feel fairly safe.
When I drive around I am aware and cautious.
When I park my car I know it might not be there when I come out.
I try to keep physically and mentally healthy so I have reserves if I should need them.
We have some financial reserves.  I try to administer them responsibly.
 
I do my best.
 
How can I increase my preparedness?
Be more conscious perhaps.  Less casual.
 
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy every, every day that I am able and considerably self-reliant.
 
What future difficulties do you need to prepare for now?
 

What Sources of Information Do I Trust?

 

 

Sigh…

I don’t really trust any one source of information.

I continually check and double check information that comes my way.

I learn a lot from the scriptures, personal prayer and inspiration, wise people, 

certain radio, TED talks, good books, the internet and other sources.

 I wonder why I don't really trust any one source of information?

But I know “It is what it is.”

 I suppose, most of all, I trust myself, that I’ll recognise my way forward, 

recognise who can help me when I need help, trust them for as long as I need immediate help.

I trust my Heavenly Father.  I know He might not “save” me from what will help me grow…

 Do I need to widen or narrow the sources I trust?

 I probably will need to widen the circle of sources I trust as I grow older.

 What sources of information do you trust?  Do you need t widen or narrow the sources you trust?

Who Receives Me With Open Arms?

 

Another good question…

 I sometimes feel received with open arms....
I think my Dad was able to receive me with open arms?  It felt like it to me.
I know some of my friends are able to… At least it feels like it to me.
 
I know I’m a Daughter of God.
I feel received by my Heavenly Father.
 
I think most I know receive me with reservations?
I know I receive most with reservations…
 
Perhaps how I think others feel about me is a reflection of the way I receive others?
Perhaps others sense my reservations and respond to me in like manner.
 
We are complex beings!
I’m grateful for all I’ve learnt about myself and others, and all I continue to learn each day.
 
Is this receiving with open arms good for me/us? 
I hope this is good for us… I know it is good for me.
I guess each must choose to receive and give as they are able to.

 

Do I give myself this being received with open arms whenever I can?
Usually.
I become aware when I “need” a dose of this or that person – listed above or not.
And yes, when it is at all possible I give myself contact with them.
Sometimes they may not know I am absorbing strength or courage from theirs.
I’m basking in their presence, their light, their wisdom, their joy, their peace and peacefulness.
I’m gratefully letting their light, capacity, composure, grace, infuse into me.
If that exposure isn’t enough I’ll find out sooner or later what my next questing step is.
 
Mostly I draw on settledness from my Heavenly Father.
Every day.
Without fail.
 
Sometimes I go to nature to be reset.
I love walking in the Botanic Gardens.
I love pottering around in my garden.
 
Who receives you with open arms?  Is this good for you and them?
 

What Can I Change So I'll Be Happier?

 

What can I change to be happier?  How can I make my every day happier?

Now these are some more interesting questions to consider!

(When I compiled these questions last year I never dreamt how thought-provoking, soul-searching  and useful I would find them...)

What comes immediately to mind is:

Paint the garden walls?

I'm getting myself ready to do that.

I need to mull over what I want to do to be sure it is what I want to do.

I also give myself time so I find the most efficient and pleasing way for me to do "it."

So far I figure if I do one set of panels a painting session, I'll enjoy doing the job.

I reckon it'll take me about a month to do them all.

And it won't get too tired per day.

And I won't get too hot - I'll choose a cooler time of the day to do my one set of panels.

And the paint brush and roller won't get too yucky to clean.

Give away more "things?"

Each week I give away a few more things.

Tidy the spare-room storeroom?

I'm pondering on that...

It has too many things in it.

The roof also has a leak so at the moment there are things on the floor to catch the drips until the leak is attended to - not quite sure how to do it yet... 

I have a tentative plan so far.  It will get done.

Find or have made/make more summer pants?

I know what I want.  I know what I need.

I can't find it in the shops I've been to.

So - I'm about to go to the fabric shop and see if I can find what I want.

I'll either make them myself or find someone to make them for me.

I haven't decided that yet.

Be more diligent with my house-keeping/home maintenance?

(It's easier for me to keep a home tidy enough and sufficiently maintained 

than to remedy neglected states.)

(And going about it steadily spreads the cost more evenly...  

I think it costs less to keep maintained than to rehabilitate...) 

Actually I found my card system for Side-tracked Home Executives (SHE) 

and am happily using them again. 

I find I'm also influenced by FLYlady so I'm adding some of those terms on my cards.  These systems work for me!  They help me keep myself a little more organized.  

I'm naturally not organized.  

Actually, I'm organized in my own way - which looks to other people like not organized... 

And also, to me "People are More Important than Things."  

So - often the people in my life, me included, are prioritized.  

So already I feel more cheerful these last few back-achey days of this back-achey year.

(What IS that all about????)

I'm generally content and peaceful.  

I flow as much as I can - let as few things bother me as I can.

So... onward, ever onward.

One day at a time.

What can you change to be happier?

And - How can you make your every day happier?

What Do I Appreciate About My Parents/Ancestors?

A little I know and share about my ancestors...

I appreciate that they did the best they could.

I know some stories about them.

I'm grateful to my parents, Kenneth and Philippa, for telling me what they knew about them. 

I'm grateful too to seldom seen uncles and aunts for sharing family stories.

My Mother's mother, Ethel, the grandmother I knew, was a stoic figure.

She lived in Cape Town.  I saw her infrequently.

She died when I was 16.

My mother's father, Richard, died when she was 7.

She and her three older sisters, Dorothy, Marjorie and Ruth, were raised by their widowed mother.

My father's father, Kenneth, died when he was 11.

His mother, Winifred, died when he was 17.

His two older sisters, Pixie and Betty, left school to support him so that he could finish school.

When my Dad was 17 the second World War broke out.

His eldest sister Pixie's either boyfriend or husband by that time, Uncle Paul, mentored him into joining the South African Navy. 

My parents married in 1943, during the war.

I was born in  Cape Town in 1945, at the end of the Second World War.

I am the eldest of their five children.

A little about my parents...

My father and mother also did the best they could...

I knew they loved me.

My Dad enjoyed a successful career in the motor industry and then moved into administration leadership in the newly established Church offices in South Africa.

I loved my Dad.

He was able to communicate with me in ways that were meaningful to me.

Three valuable things I learn from him: dutifulness, excellence and enjoying our country.

My mother was a crusading stay-at-home Mom.

She was an active member of the communities we lived in.

My Mom and I saw many things differently.

Three valuable things I learnt from her: loyalty, patriotism and the complexities of right and wrong.

And - What legacy am I building every day?

Oh my...

I don't know...

I know what I hope I am building.

I hope my husband knows I love him and I try to be a help meet for him.

I hope my children know that I love them enough to loosen the apron strings.  

I love them unconditionally - though I might not like all the decisions they make.

I hope they know I look for the good in them.

I hope they know I respect them and cheer them on.

And I respect their agency to live their lives as they choose.

I hope they know I did the best I could when I was raising them.

I hope they know I enjoy my every-day life, and when it's hard, that I find something to enjoy every day.

I hope they know that I'm still doing the best I can.

I hope my grandchildren and great-grandchildren also know these things about me.

I hope this is a legacy they find useful to them as they proceed with their lives.

And - What do you appreciate about your parents and ancestors?

What legacy are you building every day?