I can smile more.  I notice that when I smile at people, everything about them changes.  Such a simple thing can bring about such a positive difference.  It seems silly that I don't smile more often and more openly around people that I don't know.  I'm going to give it a try today.  I know that I could use a few extra smiles thrown my way, today!
Hugs and smiles!
:-)
-Susan

I think that my life is a series of growth periods... similar to the rings on a tree. 
        There are times when I may appear to be dormant; similar to a fern before the fiddleheads have pushed up through the soil, but there's always something going on in my head... always thinking and pondering.   
                 There are times when growth is really apparent. 
                                There are other times when growth is subtle.  You may not be able to put your finger on what has changed, but you will notice a change. 
         There are other times when I slide backward.  I lose ground.  I digress and become unfocused.  Before I know it, I'm back on track and growing again.   

Please don't give up on me and assume that I have stopped growing.  Please don't assume that I'm not interested in learning, or that you have given me suggestions that I am ignoring.  Sometimes I'm stubborn.  Growth isn't easy.  It requires work and sometimes it's even painful.  I hear what you have to say, but I may not always be ready to take the first step.  Don't close the door on me and assume that I haven't been reading your blogs or thinking about what you have to offer.  Sometimes I don't comment on what you have to say, but that doesn't mean that I'm not interested. 

Different people grow in different ways, at different rates and under certain conditions.  Some seeds require fire in order for growth to begin.  I consider myself to be one of those seeds...

Red, Red, Red! 
     Spicy and caliente!
That's what color today is.
      Today is a visit to NYC... it's fast paced, interesting and exciting.  It's red, like the matador's cape.  Red is mingling with the crowd, but still standing out.  It is being a part of the human race, but still being an individual.
       I feel red today...

I'm often running LATE...
     Kind of like The White Rabbit  from Alice in Wonderland. 
"I'm late, I'm late... for a very important date!" 
           I have the best of intentions, but somehow, quite often, I'm just plain running late.  It doesn't mean that I don't care, it just means that along with being directionally challenged, I'm also a little bit time challenged!  Part of me wishes I had TIVO for real life.
:-)

I used to try and ignore the fact that I was tall.  I've fielded every highwater pants joke and every flood joke known to man.  Growing up on the taller side of the spectrum during the 70's was hard for me.  Pants with a longer inseam didn't exist, and therfore I was the brunt of everyone's jokes! 

Right now, I try to just be... to accept me for who I am.  It is still a bit painful when someone points out one of my flaws or weak points, but I'm not against change.  Change is good, and sometimes it is necessary.  I like who I am.  If you have any suggestions, I'm open to hearing them.
:-)

I aspire to be an older version of the child that I am today!  I will have new adventures under my belt... I will make new friends and keep the old.  There will be new things to learn and old things to remember... both of those may be a bit of a challenge, but that's okay.  I just want to be the best person that I can be.

For the time being, won't you join me under the big, ol' Maple tree for some time on the tire swing?  We can take turns pushing and swinging. 

I'll look for you there!
Hugs!
-Susan

I am sensitive about people - their differences and their circumstances.  I have always been a people-person.  Growing up in a town that had lots of diversity, I grew to love celebrating that which defines us as individuals.  I'm sensitive about situations that people are in - circumstances which are beyond their control... being careful to try and not judge before I know the facts.  Being sensitive has caused me to be an open person. 

Recently, I was in a position where I could not help change the situation.  I was on the train.  They were doing lots of work on the tracks, so only one car was exiting - two doors opening on a 6 car train.  The conductor made frequent announcements in English about which doors were opening at each stop.  There was a Hispanic woman with a small baby in a stroller.  She was waiting to exit the train.  The train pulled into the station, and her doors didn't open.  A few moments passed.  A man spoke to her in Spanish.  She tried to push the stroller forward, but it was too wide ot pass, and there was no way she was going to be able to make it into the next car.  I was paralyzed.  I had taken out some work, and there was no way I could leave my laptop and camera behind and sprint forward a few cars so that I could find the conductor.  Those items would have been LONG GONE!  A man ran ahead, and I thought for certain that he was off to arrange something for the woman.  The train lurched forward, and we pulled out of the station.  The woman looked shocked... I felt sick.

 A minute ticked by.  It was a long minute.  The conductor entered our car from the car one up from ours.  I spoke up.  "Excuse me!  This woman needed to get off in South Norwalk, but she couldn't.  Her stroller was to wide to pass.  She needs to get off the train, but there is no way she will be able to move into a different car.  Having a stroller is like having a handicap.  Please work out a way to get her back to South Norwalk."  I felt her pain.  My heart was racing.  Imagine not knowing English... having a small baby... not being able to get off the train and not being able to move forward in order to get off?  Just thinking about that makes my heart skip a beat!   

I am sensitive to the fact that people are people.  When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, we are nothing more than people.  We all love and feel and cry and see... we all experience and breathe and eat and sleep... when it all boils down, we are all the same - no one better than another.  Somehow, we let things like money and skin color and looks and social status and neighborhoods and  job titles stand in the way of the fact that we ARE people.  We are no better than the next guy.  I am sensitive about understanding and celebrating that which makes us different from one another... and realizing that it's okay to be an individual. 

Did you say it?

I love you.

I don't ever want to live without you.

You changed my life.

Did you say it?

Make a plan.

Set a goal.

Work toward it...

But every now and then

Look around-

Drink it in-

‘Cause this is it.

It might all be gone tomorrow...

For those of you who watch Grey's Anatomy, these words are familiar.  These words closed the final episode for this year. 
I thought they were important. 
How many times have you gone without telling someone that you love them? 
Guess what?  Life is too short for that.
Three small words could change how you live your life.
Just in case I haven't told you today,
I love you!
Hugs!
-Susan

*P.S.  My friend Jon has THE MOST BEAUTIFUL bleeding heart bushes.  The hearts hang so beautifully.  I had a lot of fun photographing them! 

     I feel like a broken record here, but my favorite 15 minutes of the day is that tiny amount of time that I spend at the harbor before I catch my train.  It's literally 10-15 minutes a day.  I like to see if my swan is there.  I like to drink in the new day, watch the sea birds, listen to the clanging of the halyards and the bell buoys.  I like to watch the movement of the currents... is the tide coming in, or is the tide moving out?  Some days, the harbor is blanketed in fog.  It is magical to watch it lift!  Chatting with Jeff is always a treat.  The time I spend at the harbor is essential.  I like to let that time wash over me.  I always leave for work refreshed, full of life and often excited from what I've seen or experienced there.  Each day is full of new possibilities.  It is a gift... one that we take for granted way too often.

Part of me wishes I could surrender my stubborn streak, but my stubborn streak disagrees.

I could love more...
     Love unconditionally.  Without limits or bounds or rules. 
I could love on good days as well as on bad days.  I could remember that unconditional love is magic.  I have love for friends, colleagues, family members, myself and strangers alike.  I want to remember to share the love that I have
"When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace."
                                                                                                                       ~ The Dalai Lama

Love

     I would love to learn how to play the bagpipes.  I was thrilled when I could hear the bagpipes in the distance at the Memorial Day Parade.  My daughters just rolled their eyes and shouted "NO!" when I told them that I would love to learn how to play the bagpipes.  Their response made me chuckle.

     I have been procrastinating about working in my gardens.  Karl has a wonderful vision of how they can reach their potential, and I have been dragging my feet.  I haven't been very supportive in his garden beautification project.  I've been a stick in the mud, as a matter of fact!  I think perhaps the idea of failing is keeping me back.  Yeah, sounds silly... especially now that I have put it into words.  I have an idea of how I would like the gardens to look, but I'm not so sure I can get them to look that way - especially the rock garden.  I suppose it's time to try my hand at beautifying the gardens.  I know that Karl will be there to help me breathe life into my ideas.  I suppose if they don't work out right, I can always just rip them apart and start all over again.  I'm going to make sure that the landscaper doesn't get too close with his weedwacker... last year he took out all of my mini-irises with one sweep with that monster!  I will give it my best shot, and I'll let you know what the final product looks like! 

I belong in nature...
     I belong where the ocean meets the shore, where the bees meet to chat, where the birds hatch...  I belong lulled by a frog's melody, or a katydid's declaration or a crickets song.  I long for the scent of roses or peonies or lailac as it is carried on breezes which toss my hair and make it come alive.  I belong under the stars searching for a meteorite or my favorite constellation or under the clouds searching for a cloud in the shape of an object.  I belong right where I am...