Joy of Doing Without

It is a mid life goal to learn how to live simply, so that others may simply live.

This is one of the toughest life lessons to reverse.  Everything we see or hear in the media, tells us more is better.

I’m teaching our son that less is more, not more is better.

Assets become liabilities.  Seriously.

You get a nice car and then you worry about it being damaged or stolen.  We live where most people drive upscale vehicles.

I drive a 20-year old car and love that it starts every time the key turns. Over a year ago, it was damaged when I was a victim of road rage.  I’m thankful to be alive.

Never fixed that front fender, a daily reminder of what’s important.

The joy of doing without is something I need help on everyday anyway.

Food For Families

Central Florida volunteers gather at a local High School every Thanksgiving Day morning to pick up and deliver boxes of food to needy Families.

Tomorrow will be our tenth year of this Thanksgiving Day family tradition.

A decade ago, and even before Cheryl was pregnant, I suggested to her that we find a way to show our children that we are here to serve and not to be served.

This is a simple, and seemingly insignificant act of kindness influences our thinking, and our actions, all year long.

A Publix Grocery Store Produce manager started Food For Families many years ago.  With help from Central Florida Churches, Schools, and community members, needy Families are identified.

The Central Florida Community also delivers Food for Families on Christmas morning and Easter morning, providing us opportunities to put others first on three special days where we traditionally didn’t.

Thanksgiving Tradition Cancelled?

“Dad, would you cancel Thanksgiving?”, my son responded brilliantly to my serious-sounding question.

I had just antagonistically asked him, “We don’t need to go to Twistee Treat today.  I mean, we can skip one Monday.  It’s no big deal, right?  What’s one Monday?”

Five years ago, I spontaneously suggested to our son, as we were leaving his school, that we stop by Twistee Treat on the way home. “Let’s get some ice cream and celebrate a great week and kick off a great weekend ahead.”

What child turns down ice cream, right?  The very next Friday, as we where leaving his school, he asked, “Are we getting ice cream?”  We all know how this turned out.

Every Friday, for more than a year, was Twistee Treat day.

Until one casual Monday, when I said, “Why don’t we go to Twistee Treat and celebrate the great weekend we just had and kick off the week ahead?”

So here we are, five years later. Do you think he’ll have trouble recalling ice cream with his Dad?  I mean, for as long as he lives?

Going Through the Motions?

It’s really easy, isn’t it?  Why?  Because that’s what we do.  It’s safe. It’s predictable.

However, I just can’t accept the status quo.  Can you?  Do you? There has to be more.  Intuitively, there has to be more.  Doesn’t there?

So if there is more, how do we strive to get it?  Why do we strive to get it? Should we strive to get it?

Whatever it takes to give ourselves Peace and Contentment. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, I think:

“We aim above the mark to hit the mark”.

Family Time At Disney

Family time at the Walt Disney World Resort. This month in particular, we’ve visited Disney Theme Parks every week.  Why?  Cooler temperatures initiated it.

Mid Life Celebration has kept it alive.  A mid life crisis is when a sort of panic (or doubt) sets in that has us question if we are on the correct path in our lives.  Can’t remember ever being so busy with life. Can you?

Perhaps it’s the economic situation and the constant change that is happening all around us.  What to do?  Go to Disney.  Walt Disney wanted a place where Families could do nice things together and forget about reality for a couple hours or a couple days.

We take frequent, but short trips to Disney Theme Parks. Here’s a jeff noel midlife You Tube from earlier this month:

Hope your Mid Life Celebration includes some Family time. It’s challenging to find quality family time, when you’re so busy dealing with all the things life places in front of you. Carpe diem.