The chipmunks genuflect to me...

There's this thing that happens. Something I passionately want to write about will mean so much to me that I will not settle for less than my very best.



Then, as it turns out, life will not permit the time and energy it takes to do my best. I'd have to schedule vacation time from work. I'd need to send my family or myself away into isolation to really get it done perfectly. I'd require the ability to put the rest of the world in temporary stasis. (Man, I wish. Wouldn't that be sweet?)



But instead of acknowledging that 'perfect' is simply not going to happen and admitting that I can live with 'really good' instead, I hold out for the impossible and it never gets done at all.



My ridiculously high expectations shoot me right in the foot. Keep in mind that my feet are my best feature, so this is no small act of self-destruction.



I had such high expectations for my blog post for yesterday. Veterans Day. There was so much I wanted to say. And I wanted to say it so well. I kept starting, then pausing. I'd come back to it, start again, than get discouraged and stop again. I simply could not do a good enough job. At least by my own standards.



Then in the end, I have nothing written for Veterans Day and I feel defeat at my own hand. There is a post for yesterday but it is nothing compared to the piece I was aiming for. And as an added bonus, I end up days behind in my attempt to write at least a little bit here each day of November. The accumulative effect is that I am not feeling a very strong spirit of gratitude in any area at all.

There's probably a pretty important lesson in this. But my current self pity might be preventing me from seeing it.

In spite of this, however. . . . . .


. . . . .I am grateful for The Wizard of Oz. There is magic in this movie. I'm a great fan of the Ruby Slippers.

The quotes and songs from Munchkinland are my favorites but I love them all

The wicked old witch at last is dead.

I'll get you, my pretty.

You have no power here! Now begone, before somebody drops a house on you!

You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking.

Poppies, poppies.

I am Dorothy, the small and meek.

I thoroughly examined her, She's not only merely dead , She's really most sincerely dead.

How about a hippopotamus? Why, I'd thrash him from top to bottomus!

My dear, you didn't need the Ruby Slippers. You've always had the power within you.

I am always ever grateful for The Wizard of Oz. Now I'm much more in the state of mind to go back and look for that lesson.

Veterans Day Nov 11

When it comes to Veterans Day, I have so much to say I can't say anything at all.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

If you did anything specific in honor of Veterans Day this week, I'd love to hear about it.

Thank you to the veterans and active duty military of this country. My gratitude is greater than I can express.

Dapper Dan Pomade

I am not providing a bonafide blog here for today. Instead I wrote and posted a blog for the staff web site of our library system. So I'm going to call that good for today's offering.


I'm thankful that I'm a girl.

I'm thankful for the amazing and varied girls I have in my life.

I am very lucky and eternally grateful.

Sunday Morning

I mostly just skim the surface of blogging potential here. I do not have videos, scrolling lists and other bells and whistles that you may find on other blogs, if you were to dare go look at anyone else's blog besides mine.

I'm perfectly fine with this. In fact, besides the fact that I have no idea how to do most of those extras, I like it this way.

I have also never included a link in my blog. Mostly because I'm not sure about the etiquette about such things. But not many read here, so etiquette be damned.

This morning I woke up and watched Sunday Morning before I got up for my first cup. I've had Veterans Day on my mind for the last few days. I did a bit of writing about it yesterday. And in their predictable timely fashion there was a segment on the Sunday Morning show that really touched me. I won't go into the details but I will include a link here. It is my hope you'll take a moment and not only read the story but watch the video.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/09/sunday/main4586454.shtml#ccmm

Today I'm thankful for the private citizens responsible for this expression of gratitude, for this CBS Morning Show segment and for reporter Seth Doane. It's sad to me that evidence of appreciation as this story shows is the exception in our country instead of the rule. My saying thank you to a veteran may never seem like enough, but it's a good place to start.

Thank you and Happy Veterans Day.

Non-Partisan Gratitude

Okay, I know I've said in a previous blog post that it isn't the thought that counts. But if you are going to be scrolling back to use my words against me, we're gonna need to have a talk. Because just so you know, I always reserve the right to completely contradict myself at will. And I also reserve the right to look you straight in the face after you've called me out and say "I don't know what you're talking about."

It was my intent, my thought to write here about Veteran's Day. And in fact I did manage to get a good number of words out and in a relatively orderly manner but the thought, once in the light of day, took an unexpected direction that I didn't foresee and I'm not going to be able to use it here today. Maybe, hopefully another day.

In the name of Veteran's Day and in honor of what it represents, I do not want to send words out into the universe with any inflammatory or controversial opinions that would detract from the spirit of the day. The strong feelings that began to come out unexpectedly as I typed earlier were not about whether we should be at war or not. It wasn't about the rightness or wrongness of any previous wars. It was about the way our veterans are treated stateside. I cannot talk about that here today.



What I will say is that I think you,

yes YOU,

should make a point of thanking a veteran this week. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you, and it's my blog so I can do what I want.



Here is your Barbie's Blog Prime Directive:

Shake a veteran's hand. Say "Happy Veteran's Day" if you don't know what else to say.

Last year right around Veteran's Day, I stopped a former soldier on his way out of the library, offered my hand and said that I wanted to thank him for serving in our country's military. He was visibly grateful. He said no one else had mentioned it at all. I took no personal pride in this fact but only felt intense sadness on behalf of this veteran and so many like him.

This year I will shake more than one hand. I'm going to see how many I can shake. It can be awkward, I admit. I started while I was out shopping two days ago. Stopping a stranger you pass in a grocery store parking lot can feel odd. I don't care. If you are about to pass a service person in uniform say "Happy Veteran's Day." It will brighten two people's day.

If you don't say it, they may not hear it at all.

This is not just a day off from my work at the library. Or a day to sleep in for my high school daughter. This day is in honor of an entire population within the American society, most of which I suspect do not hear 'Thank you!' enough.

Regardless of your feelings about our current wars and the administration who lead our county into them, honor our soldiers. Shake a hand.

Today I'm so grateful that I am learning the intense, priceless benefits we reap from the opportunity to express our appreciation. I didn't always understand this.

It is my privilege to thank a veteran, and really the very least I can do.

You try it and let me know how it goes.

Back off, man. I'm a scientist...

Okay let me just say that I'm feeling literary dehydration today. I spent a hectic day hunting and gathering. It was, of course, physically exhausting, but also quite intellectually exhausting.

Usually through out my day, I'll start plotting the direction my 'pen' will take later in the day. As I proceed, the idea will grow to the point that when I sit down to write I've got a pretty good start in my head.

Today? Not so much.

I remember thinking a couple of times as I drove from one store to the next, 'it's going to be so nice to get home, get comfortable and get a chance to get some writing done.' I got home, I got comfortable. I sat down with my laptop on my lap and it occurred to me, I had not prepared to write. Mentally prepared. I had not germinated a single writing thought today. Well, that's not exactly true. I did do some thinking for a blog a few days from now, but it's a timely thing and does me no good today. But rest assured I am totally ready for at least one day next week....

Today.... I'm thankful.
I'm sitting on my bed, listening to the rain drops hit the plants and rocks outside my open windows. My wind chimes just barely tinkle in the night. My computer glows on my lap and I'm about to go so I can Google a recipe for blue punch.

Live is good.

Winds Day

One of my library patrons came up to me today and grumbled in her best library-respectful tone, "Well you got your weather. I hope you're happy."

I am.....thank you.