You are mentally active, and your passionate emotions make it nearly impossible to stay calm, cool and collected.  Tonight, empty your thoughts into a written form.  You’ll sleep better.

I didn’t do it then, and probably won’t be writing tonight either, but I sure liked the message!!   Saving here for posterity!!   I’ll write again one of these days!

Please support these folks if you live in the area of The Villages!!   I order from them every week!!  I’ve lost 10 pounds eating delicious salads I make after a purchase on Wednesdays!!   Their contact information is at the bottom of the post!   Thanks!!!

Here is an excerpt from the email they sent this week –> “Please find below the list for this week.  We only have between 10-15 people ordering each week.  We need to double this to be able to order other produce (potatoes, onions, broccoli, carrots etc).  Hopefully we can increase the number of regular co-op members.  If not we may have to reduce delivery to every other week.

Date: Wednesday 4th May
Time: 12pm - 2pm
Location:Chick-fil-A of the Villages
Rolling Acres Plaza
730 N Highway 441
The Villages, FL 32159

Lettuce and herbs available this week are

A number of you that were here for the Farm day a few weeks ago asked for the recipes for the salad dressing.  Here is one of the recipes!

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Part of my current life experience includes attending AA meetings with a recent DUI recipient.

Part of my current life experience includes living in an environment that is exceedingly stressful, not only because of someone else, but because of the way I have “chosen” to respond.

I didn’t realize how much “I” am contributing to the stressful environment, until today.

At the close of the AA meeting, we held hands and I HEARD the words as I repeated them with the rest of the attendees.

God help me to ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE.

Probably most everyone knows the rest of the saying…but it was the first part that helped me remember my part in the chaos.

Years ago, Byron Katie and “The Work” helped me to gain some much needed perspective about being at peace with “life”.  And, Cheri Huber’s writings and retreats helped me learn about accepting the unacceptable, not as a victim, but as exactly the opposite.

Guess it’s time to start questioning my BELIEFS about a lot of things I’ve been looking at incorrectly.

Again.

Years ago, I was in the restroom of a sports bar in Coppell, Tx.

The door opened and I could hear two women, one sobbing softly and the other one consoling her with the words, “he can’t help it honey, he’s male and he’s breathing”.

I remember chuckling to myself…and over the years, I’ve told people about the exchange.

On Wednesday night, I was dancing to Danny and Johnny at Urban Flats…and once again, I found myself in the restroom listening to two women, one sobbing softly and the other one consoling her.  This time though, I had walked in on them at the sinks, the one with her arms around the other who was crying.

As luck would have it, I wasn’t able to get to them in time to share my story before they left the room, but from what I had heard, I knew it was an appropriate time to share.

After washing my hands, I left the restroom and saw them standing near a table.   I went up and they noticed that I seemed to have something to say…  When I had shared the story with them, they were both laughing and the one who had been crying actually said “Thank you!”.

After spending hours with a friend facing cancer, I recently learned that it is better not to speak, too often, about things that bring me sadness.

Like the dog I saw this past Tuesday…a dog tied to a post in the yard, no trees, in 90 degree weather.   Because I’m often told that I “can’t save the world” and that “it’s not your job” and things like that, I didn’t turn around to go to try to help that animal.   Even though I checked to see how much water I had in my water bottle, and even though I DID pull over to the side of the road in preparation for turning around…the most recent admonishment to “take care of yourself first and foremost” took control and I didn’t try to help.   I told myself that I could get shot trying to help anyway.  And, that it was after 7PM and surely someone would be home soon to bring the dog back inside.  Hopefully, anyway.

On Wednesday, I was having a pretty down day, and I kept thinking about the poor dog.  And, berating myself for not having done SOMETHING to help.   Sadly, I must have mentioned this sadness more than once.   My friend actually told me on Thursday, the 2nd day after I had witnessed the dog in the first place, that I had been talking about the dog for 3 days.   I’m not sure how I could have been talking about the dog for 3 days, when the first I talked about the subject was a day later, but that’s what she said.

So…instead of carving out time to spend with her and help relieve her boredom, instead of taking her to get blood work done, groceries, toe nails groomed…I’m free to do the things I need to do for myself.

It was never my intention to get out of the opportunity to help her when I could, but because I couldn’t stop feeling blue about the little dog tied out in a hot, barren yard, I have more time for me.

Everything happens for a reason I guess.   And, for every thing there is a season…friendship means different things to different people.   It would be a very boring world if we were all the same.

Oh, when I went back to find out why she wouldn’t answer my repeated phone calls, and why she didn’t respond to the voicemail messages I had left (I was afraid she had fallen or something, had no idea I had annoyed her so much), she let me know why she hadn’t responded.   It was because I had talked, for three days, about a dog I only heard about the day before.   When I learned that she was ok, but that she felt the way she did, I was happy to tell her that I was still talking about that dog.   And, that I had found a humane society personnel who was out checking on the dog as we spoke.

She was shaking her head as I left her house…I was smiling!