Guest blogger Lorie Sheffer: Souffle

Souffle
Souffle (photo: Lorie Sheffer)

 

For those of us with kids and grandkids, how can we ask them to try new things and expand their world if we are stuck in our own rut? If we’re too bored or lazy or fearful, then that is the example by which we lead. While comfort can be found in routine and tradition, it’s also important to exercise our brains with new challenges. Those new challenges don’t have to cost a fortune or involve months of planning. Small projects count, too. The point is to just have fun, not take it too seriously, and show those around us that it’s never too late to learn a new trick or two.

We live in a pre-packed, overly processed, fast food/chain restaurant world.  With that in mind, I decided my new little adventure would be to make that iconic, old fashioned, and much-feared classic, the cheese soufflé. I didn’t get off to a good start. I had trouble finding a 2.5 Qt. soufflé dish. Three hours and two sore feet later, just as I was ready to wave the white flag, I found what I was looking for; it was sitting on a clearance table at the very back of the store. Armed with a recipe I found on one of my go-to Internet sites, I went to work in my kitchen. The end result was pretty darned good, if not perfect. Another minute in the oven and it would have been a home run. Still, in spite of the tablespoon-sized area in the center that was ever so slightly too jiggly, we enjoyed a delicious dinner. If I had failed miserably, so what? We could have eaten grilled cheese sandwiches with a hilariously deflated soufflé centerpiece.

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Where would be be if we didn’t quit for a whole decade?

2013 High School yearbook picture quotes
When Philip is 28, what will he have acoomplished that 10 years ago seemed unlikely?

 

It would be a dream to see society not look at weight as a beauty thing but rather a heath thing.

The whole point of exercising is to support and nourish all the vital organs that keep us alive.

The point of earning and managing money isn’t to get rich, it’s to be able to function without financial assistance from others.

The point of spiritual awakening and growth, isn’t to be a saint, it’s to be at a place where we can serve others before self. If we can’t feed 100, feed one.

The point of being organized isn’t to win a better Homes and Gardens feature, it’s to manage our things and be able to find things them we need to. And to not be burdened with their care and security.

The point of our attitude isn’t to be Pollyanna, it’s to simply be able to handle the never ending onslaught of life’s challenges that will either force us to live as survivors or thrivers.

Keep moving forward. Imagine us making a decade worth of progress, in any area of our life – it can do nothing but astonish the determined, focused, and disciplined warrior.

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PS. Promise today’s next four posts will be brief. 🙂

Katie’s future is so bright, it reminds us of us

Katie Felegy's 2013 High School yearbook picture
Katie Felegy, honor student and college bound soccer player

 

Katie’s future is so bright, it reminds us of us. She and her classmates have something most Baby Boomers will never have again – youth.

And a limitless (for now) hopeful optimism for endless possibilities.

The relentless attack of the real world, stronger and seemingly more brutal with each passing decade, hasn’t hit them yet as a homeowner, parent, and career obligated adult.

While we can wish that they’ll be immune from this, we know it ain’t gonna happen.

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Here’s the real 9/11, and it’s happening to too many Americans

2013 Disney World tee shirt featuring popular Disney characters
They know I love Disney, but do they know my end-of-life wishes?

 

Here’s a very real clone of 9/11, and it’s happening everyday, to too many Americans:

Excerpt from MyBestBuddyMedia site:

Most dying patients don’t want their family troubled with end-of-life responsibilities. Sadly, many never share their wishes. This gives critical decisions to doctors or family members who may not know their loved ones preferences. One example is the desire for most Americans to die at home. According to 2009 government data, only 24% of people age 65 and over actually do so.

Does my Family know? Do we have, if nothing else, a living will? And is it easy for someone we love to find?

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Pausing for a midlife moment of silence

Jet plane cruising above clouds at sunset
Cruising day-to-day on auto-pilot?

 

Pausing for a midlife moment of silence. I’m writing this post 102 days before September 11. You’re reading it now on 9/11.

There’s something extraordinarily calming, stimulating, liberating, and educational about not going with traditional herd-mentality mass market hype saturation which surrounds big-time anniversary dates.

Not a fan of that. Too limiting.

Why do we only celebrate our birthday once a year? Everyday sounds much more alive.

Pausing this morning, Friday May 31, and wondering where America is with their memory of where they were when the world stopped turning.

And wondering were are all the American flags that used to be on our vehicles, in our lawns, and on our lapels.

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