Girlfriends Group: Messages by txmailmaam

OK. I'll be brave and post the most recent photo of myself and my son. I went to visit him today. Made the trip all by myself. Usually my daughter or other son go with me.
For those who dont know, my son is incarcerated and has been for the past 15 yrs.
I try to be regular about going to visit, its not like he can just come and see me.

He's in Gatesville, which isnt that far for me, only about 2 1/2 hrs. We get a 2 hr visit and then I make the trip home. Its an all day affair and can be quite tiring and emotional.

Here we are.

This is so cool and relaxing. A post on the Eons home page about mermaids led me to you-tube and I am hooked on mermaids now.

A few months ago, I officially turned 55 yrs old. This week my teeth have been pulled and I have been fitted with dentures to the tune of 6700$. My mouth is tender and swollen. Eating softest foods I can find but its still difficult.

This past year has been a series of events good [granddaughter born] and bad [divorce, health] and I feel drained. I sincerely thot at this time in my Life I would be settled in with a significant other but have decided I like my time for me. I dont have to "consult" anyone on what I feel like doing.

The heat is getting worse outside and no one is running their sprinklers so I could at least get out of the oven on wheels vehicle.
My home air conditioner cant keep up with the demand and barely cools the house to 80 degrees. I bought small room window air conditioners for the bedrooms so we could at least sleep at nite.

My daughters job fell thru and its just so hard for her to take just any job and still afford day care, plus car, plus gas, etc. Money is tight, my energy is low.

I'm looking for some new humor lately. Seems all the same jokes have been around for 10 years now.

My puters been on the fritz so I'm trying to catch up on all msgs and stuff.

Take care, be safe and keep in touch.

I just wanted to say Happy Mothers Day to all the Girlfriends.
My daughter and I had a great day together with my granddaughter at the Dallas Zoo.
Last year we went to the Fort Worth Zoo.
We didnt see as many animals at the Dallas Zoo but the weather was great, only 75 degrees. We rode the monorail, that was fun and scary, to be so high off the ground.
My puter has been on the fritz but hopefully it will be fine now.

"To plant a garden is to believe in the future."

The weather is great here in Texas. Its sunshine and breezy with a temp of 71 degrees. Perfect for working in the yard. Seeing all the flowers in everyones yards is giving me the urge to dig in my flower beds.
I managed to mow my front yard on Wednesday. I wasnt too sore the next day.
Hope to have enuff energy to mow the back yard on Sunday.
Good exercise.
I havent mowed a yard in 30 years, the joys of home ownership!?

. What is the worst food combination you can think of?
An example: hamburgers with whipped cream …

MINE: mustard and scrambled eggs

How much taller or shorter than you actually are would you like to be?

I am 5'5".
I tell people I'm not overweight, I'm undertall.
With heels I feel tall enuff but man, my feet hurt after a nite in heels.

What books from your childhood would you like to share with your children?

I always liked the book "Little Black Sambo" but its been put on the banned list, obviously. A little boy meets a tiger and runs around the trre so fast he makes tiger butter for his mom's pancakes.

"Goodnight, Moon" is a good one.
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

Never judge a book by its movie.
Movies are never as good as a book because you use your own imagination when you read.

What Will Matter
Michael Josephson




Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.

What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.


Michael Josephson is a nationally known ethicist and radio commentator. For more information, please visit this site: www.charactercounts.org

© 2003, Josephson Institute of Ethics