This post is going to be all over the place. You’ve been warned! When I titled it “Random Thoughts”, that’s exactly what I meant.

52 for 52

I read somewhere last week that one of the Dugger girls (I think it was the daughter-in-law) decided to walk fifty miles in the month of February, and she lost some weight doing it. This made me think..hmmm..I might be able to do something similar. I am a total couch potato right now (when I’m not working). I looked at my little step counter on my phone and it shows that I walked about 17 miles in February. So, if I actually TRY and also just add in the few miles I already walk monthly..I think I will challenge myself to walk 52 miles in April (in honor of my 52nd birthday on April 12th). I’m going to try, and hey-that’s better than nothing! I decided to start now walking very brief distances to get ready. Tonight I walked one whole square block (what an athlete, I know) with my 7 year old grandson Simon. I’m sure we looked like quite the pair. He was wearing a superhero cape, mask, and carrying two plastic swords. At one point he pretended to fight off evil intruders and fell dramatically to the ground with a “Paul Blart” roll at the end. Ha!

Speaking of Simon…

This kid is always doing something funny (and often a bit inappropriate,but I laugh). He lives right by me so I see him more than my other grandkids. The other day he came to my house and borrowed baking powder because his mom was making homemade tortillas. A few hours later, he was back at my house borrowing paper plates.

ME: “Simon, what would you do if you couldn’t come borrow things from grandma all the time?”
HIM (with face deep in thought): “Well. I’d be screwed.”

Yep. Ha ha ha.

The Kindness Diaries

I have been watching a show on Netflix called The Kindness Diaries. It is so good! In a nutshell, it is about this guy that leaves his high paying corporate job to travel the world relying on only the kindness of strangers for gas, food, and lodging. He takes no money with him and cannot accept cash. He travels during the first season on only an old yellow motorbike with a sidecar (named Kindness 1) and a skeleton crew for filming. I researched to find out how he approaches strangers to ask for things with the camera crew around, and learned that he would first approach people on his own with the cameras at a far distance. I’m still in the first of two seasons, but there has already been at least one night when he ended up sleeping in his sidecar. He also gives back to those that offered him kindness even though they were in need themselves. It is very heartwarming, very touching. The show makes me want to be a better person. Check it out!

New Evan Hansen

I’m not sure how many of you are Broadway fans, but when we went to NYC on my 50th birthday, we were lucky enough to see Ben Platt perform in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. It is a fantastic musical, and the lead character is a teenage angst filled boy. There have been several actors in the role since Ben moved on to other things, but I found out today that the current actor is actually a 16 year old boy himself. What a thrill and a challenge for this very young man. I’m happy for him.

I told you it would be random thoughts!

 

There are so many things on my mind..but the following is the most important.

Janet

We lost a good friend/co-worker last week. I’ve actually talked about her before in my blog. A couple of months ago. I posted this picture of my “crap collection” that a friend was giving me.

That friend was Janet. We had a running joke about her “giving me crap”, and then she started leaving little surprises on my desk. Sometimes she left candy “crap”, sometimes toys, and sometimes just a sticky note like this one..

She passed away unexpectedly, and none of us got the chance to say goodbye. She was so much fun. She worked two, sometimes three jobs. She was kind to everybody. Another co-worker posted the words  “we never know when the last time we talked to someone will be the LAST time we talk to someone”.  So true.

 

Don’t assume there will be a next time. If you need to tell someone something, do it. If you appreciate them, tell them. I’ve said this before, but don’t let petty things ruin relationships.  Think about the last conversation you had with someone.  If something happened tomorrow, would you be satisfied with this last conversation?  How have you been treating others?  Do others know you care?  I just had a conversation with someone about a person with whom they used to be very close.  “She’s disappointed in me and she hates me now” is what I heard.  How sad is that?

Also,  if  you’re lucky enough to still have your parents, love them and appreciate them. I’ve seen people get annoyed when they get calls from their parents. Believe me, someday you’ll miss it. I would love to hear my mom’s voice on the telephone just one more time.

Those are my random thoughts on a Friday night. Practice kindness, forgiveness, and love. Don’t wait until tomorrow. 🙂