DNA influences...

I had often wondered how our DNA influences our career choices and our life choices. Recently, I was able to personally research some unexpected information gained by a couple of those highly promoted DNA testing promotions. It has been an interesting journey as I discovered long forgotten or lost relatives. I think finding out that my personal choices in choosing a more simplistic way of life, so different from the rest of my family, was very satisfying. I learned that many of my ancestors were hard working immigrants that lived short lives filled with labor intensive jobs that exposed them to the hazards of mining, cattle, and farming to name a few. Some of them were here even earlier, living from the land and depending on nature to guide them. I have found that, like both groups, I like to get dirty, work hard, and read the signs the earth provides. I'm not really interested in getting rich, as much as I am desiring to be content with the basics and to be debt free. Now that my children are all adults, I find great joy in spending time watching them forge their own paths. Spending time with the grandchildren and the grand "fluffs" (those beautiful living creatures they've chosen to care for) gives me a sense of wonder as I observe my adult children putting into practice those things I thought they may have missed or I may have failed to teach them. It is very rewarding to know that they are strong, intelligent, independent, survivors like their ancestors before them and they will be just fine when my time comes. "Nature versus nurture", I really can't say for sure which has influenced us all the most. But I will say that if you say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, then I can see generations of ancestors in the eyes of those that followed after me.  To know that I am the result of those ancestors is truly amazing because without just one of them, I would not be who I am.

As I clean...

Today, as I wander about the house I realize that there are some things that I haven't taught my children. Not that any one particular thing prompted that thought but I began reflecting on housework and shortcuts, etc. How many of these things have I shared by example, instruction or in many cases by accident?! So here goes...
Tips from Mom: (I'll always add more...moms do that, you know :o)

1. Stand the broom on the handle, not on the bristle end. Better yet, find a place to hang it so there is one less thing on the floor :o) Use one for outside and one for inside.
2. If you hang your shirts to dry on the line, put them on a hanger first. A clothespin or two will help hold the hanger from blowing away unless you live in the Windy city. That way you can hang it right in the closet or on an ironing hook if needed.
3. Fold your clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer or off the line. If you like them softened a little coming of the line, then toss them in the dryer on air fluff. That helps with the bugs that might have hitched a ride most of the time, too.
4. If you rinse your dish right away, it is easier to wash later. Better yet, wash it right away or make sure it gets into the dishwasher.
5. If you make a mess, clean it up and always leave things nicer than you found them. Other people who you come in contact with when you're grown will appreciate your consideration and "work ethic" or at least the appearance of it :o)
6. Any living thing that depends on you for care WILL DIE if you fail to watch it to keep it safe- sometimes from a distance, feed/water it, clean up after it or love on it. This applies to cloth eating critters, curious kids, and rescued plants, of course. :o)
7. If there is anything or any area in your life that you haven't touched or addressed this month, it is considered neglected and will be more difficult to deal with or clean up. Keep in mind that this does not just apply to material things.
8. Respect your money, even what little you may have, and it will respect you...well sort of. What I mean is you must keep track of it or the lack of it. Save for the things you would like to have rather than give in to instant gratification. You might even find that after researching it a bit or delaying the purchase that either you didn't really want it that bad after all or someone had one that they didn't want anymore and are willing to pass it on to you. :o) Retailers also appreciate it when you hand them your bills facing all the same way and in valued order...
9. Be polite, be polite, be polite. It is easy to become irritated when things are not going as you feel they should. But you can be more effective in changing the situation by not causing the other party to become defensive or offended. Be clear and concise without being rude. State the facts in a slightly lower than normal to normal tone.  This especially works well when dealing with returns, reservations, mis-purchases, haggling, and grumpy people. Try to find a common ground.
10. No, a brand new store bought item does not mean it will last longer than the thrift shop special. And even if it did, I could still by thirty more of them at the thrift shop for the price of one store bought!
11. Take care of yourself, so you can then care for others. Even the airlines tell you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then help others :o)
12. Scrape the underside of your lawn mower after each mowing.
13. Make your bed when you get up or turn the covers all the way back to air it out when needed.
14. Don't plant Tiger Lilies near the foundation. They are Super strong tubers and will quickly push their way through even a sidewalk crack.
15. Only flush TP!
16. Back up files often and it always helps to have a hard copy stored in an organized place somewhere.
more later...

Pondering...

Like a stream running off the mountain side, so are we who chose our own path, smoothly moving around obstacles that stand in our way, sometimes choosing the path of least resistance...but wait...hasn't this path been engraved into the mountain for eons chosen for us by those that flowed before us? So are you a stream that feeds the ocean or one that causes mass erosion? 

Today I decided...

...that I should start a blog. How this is different from Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I really don't know. But I'm here to find out and to share whatever comes to mind that I might want to share with my children or grandchildren...maybe even great-grandchildren if this means of communication and record keeping is around when they are old enough to be possibly interested in what their great old Grammy Kim had to say about anything.
    Anyway, today I thought I could start by sharing that I think volunteering, giving, or helping others in any way will make you a better person and cause a ripple in the waters of time.  Sometimes giving is uncomfortable, but it is always rewarding :o) Sounds simple enough, right? Try it tomorrow. Just one small act of kindness, just one. It might not come easily to you, but try it and then think on how it affected you afterwards. I'd love to have you comment on your experiences, even if they didn't seem to be that out of the ordinary to you. It might just be your comment that prompts another person to step out and try it.