Humor is a staple in my life.
I thought it would be fun to share witty little quips I enjoy that have found there way to me. Most are from my children. One of my sons teachers sends homework assignments via
e-mail & they all start out with a "quote for the day" Nice. The
ones I
really like, I scratch down and stuff in my pocket.
Never
claiming to be a "Culinary Wizard" I started writing down these little
bits on the kitchen menu board, primarily for my own amusement but also
to see if anyone was actually paying attention to anything I found
interesting.
They Were.
Gifts are a staple for my children. Rocks, good grades, flowers from my front yard, even a warm tootsie-roll every once in awhile. The latest trend? Quotes, poems, & funny stories. My pockets, nightstand, menu board & mind are over-flowing with some really good stuff.
Sharing~ whether it be chocolate, laughter or thoughts is another staple in my life~ so here goes . . .
(Vol. 4)
"We are all born with wonderful gifts. We use these gifts to express ourselves, to amuse, to strengthen, and to communicate. We begin as children to explore and develop our talents, often unaware that we are unique, that not everyone can do what we're doing!"
Lynn Johnston (1947 - ), Lynn on Ideas
"A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more then he can chew" - Herb Caen
"He dares to be a fool, and that is the first step in the direction of wisdom"
- James Huneker
( . . . and who doesn't enjoy a smart man?)
"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer"
- Albert Camus
"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to you" -Robert Heindein.
Live each season as it passes; breath the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him" -David Brinkley
Or . . .
To quote my always inspirational father-
"It's like making chicken salad outta chicken shit"
"Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction" -Al Bernstein
I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time. -Anne Freud (1895 - 1982)
"If you take responsibility for yourself, you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dream."
- Les Brown
"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else" - Erma Bomback
"The most decisive actions of our life - I mean those that are most likely to decide the whole course of our future - are, more often than not, unconsidered"
-Andre Gide (1869 - 1951)
It's a pretty scary statement
- but I think it's true . . .
"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly" -R. Buckminster Fuller
"It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf" -Walter Lippman
"Wherever you go, no matter what the WEATHER- always bring your own sunshine" -Anthony J. D'Angelo
Will do Anthony! (hee hee hee)
I think this next one is most defiantly my new "favorite".
"Accept no one's definition of your life,
define yourself" -Harvey Fierstein
First of all- when did it start? When did people begin to decide who and what another person is or should be?
I have had this conversation with several friends over the past few years and we've come to the conclusion that's it's been going on from the beginning.
And might I add . . . understandably so.
In the beginning things were much more simple, and so it just had to be.
The male monkey figured that walking on two feet would free up his hands which would then in turn give him the ability to gather more food. Two hands make for more food. Yes- I suppose back then, that would be an attractive trait- bipedalism. He gets the food, swings his arms around and throws rocks at the bad monkeys. That's what he did, she had and then took care of the babies.
I get it.
But we've moved past that, haven't we ?
Ironically- tons of things have changed since the beginning.
This thought process- not so much.
As I said before, over the past few years I've been thinking about this, and in turn have been trying very hard to let the people closest to me try and understand something very very important. Yes, I am a mother to five fantastic children. But alas there is more. I am a wife, daughter, friend, taxi-cab driver, nurse, therapist, business woman, the "baby" to my siblings, and because of all that I am, all at the same time . . . sometimes as the song says I also become a bitch.
To try and "pigeon hole" someone else or even yourself is to put a limit on that person.
As an example: I had a former friend sit in my store one afternoon, and tell me HIS ideals on Motherhood. The way a woman should dress after they become mothers, behave, how we should handle ourselves in social situations . . .
Hello- I'M a mother. Not only did I allow this person to take time out of my workday, but to make matters worse, he will never be a father or a mother- and yet he felt the need to point out the do's and don'ts of being what he considered a "correct" mother. Why did I waste my afternoon?
Because, I'm not a quick reactor. I KNOW when I'm uncomfortable, I can feel it- but I need time to think about why I am uncomfortable, and I never usually react outwardly right away. I shake my head, say mmm alot and then mentally make excuses for this person and their insulting behavior, which in turn buys me time to think.
NOW when I think about that conversation and the many others like it,
(of course, because I've had time to think )
my knee jerk reaction is a solid-
How Dare You.
How dare you try and limit my possibilities.
~Newsflash~
Limitations are no longer necessary.
We ALL have a pretty good handle on walking with only our feet.
And so,
as a courtesy . . .
Considered Yourself Warned.
I have had time to think this one through,
(along with who else it is that I choose to be)
My husband was the first person I tried to relay this information to. Not only in words but in action as well. Let's just say- not the out come I had hoped for.
My children on the other hand, unbeknownst to themselves, are truly starting to understand that I am indeed more then only their mommy.
The best kept secret I've got- If my children are getting it- the world is a better place because of it.
I am seeing and experiencing changes that I am really happy about, and the above quote just reminded me that we are the only ones who set the limitations for ourselves.
"One of the most adventurous things left us is to go to bed.
For no one can lay a hand on our dreams."
-E.V. Lucas
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Knowledge and timber shouldn't be
much used till they are seasoned."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes 1809-1894
