suddenlysinglewomen

Becoming the best version of yourself

Mar 24

Book Backlog – – –

by suddenlysinglewomen

I used to love to read, holding a real book, the smell of the paper when you get it new. Sure, years ago I ordered a Kindle – seemed “with it”. Everyone had one, especially for plane travel. Then after a real lack of use, for some unknown reason I upgraded several years ago to the new version “Paper White”. It still sits in the bedside nightstand shelf, dead battery and all. You see, there’s this stack of real books I haven’t gotten to yet.

So a 2024 resolution is to get through some of those books. I’m doing pretty well. Truth be told, as I read some of them, I wonder . . . now why did I buy this?? However, the latest one has charmed me and made me laugh out loud multiple times. It’s been around for a bit, and clearly someone gifted this to me as they know of my love of canines. I present to you: “Lessons From Lucy – The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog”. The author is a familiar name: Dave Barry.

As promised from my last post, this is light hearted and a feel-good share. I do encourage you to read it in it’s entirety, yes – even if on a Kindle, because there were a few times where I laughed so hard that I had tears, but below I share it’s finer points for a quick “lesson” in being joyful.

  1. Make New Friends. (And Keep the Ones You Have)
  2. Don’t Stop Having Fun. (And If You Have Stopped, Start Having Fun Again)
  3. Pay Attention to the People You Love. (Not Later. Right Now)
  4. Let Go of Your Anger, Unless It’s About Something Really Important, Which It Almost Never Is.
  5. Try Not to Judge People by Their Looks, and Don’t Obsess Over Your Own.
  6. Don’t Let Your Happiness Depend on Things; They Don’t Make You Truly Happy, and You’ll Never Have Enough Anyway.
  7. Don’t Lie Unless You Have a Really Good Reason, Which You Probably Don’t.
  8. Be Grateful for What You Have. (It’s Probably More Than You Think)

When Dave Barry wrote this book (and he’s written many) he was turning 70. Of course the book was published in 2019 (told you I was behind) but since I just turned 70 I took it as a “sign” that I was meant to read it at this time. I’m thinking of printing these “lessons” out and sticking on my refrigerator door so that I can be reminded on a daily basis of ways to be more joyful.

I hope you’ll enjoy these Lucy lessons as much as I did.

Women's Lives after Divorce

Leave a comment »
Mar 19

Makes Sense, But Still . . .

by suddenlysinglewomen

I admit it, I ready my monthly AARP magazine and also the small newsy publication that looks like a “mini” newspaper. I like the crossword, I also like the articles and suggestions they offer. If it’s something that doesn’t pertain to me, I skip it. Not one of those who reads it cover to cover. It does give some interesting info that I can use.

One of the tidbits I found a few days ago was short and to the point. It makes total sense, but sometimes even those things that make total sense are still hard to accomplish. Life is challenging, not like the “good ol’ days” when people behaved and were nice to one another.

Alot of my posts lately have been about people, relationships and even bad behavior. I promise, the next one that I have planned will be alot more fun. Till then, I share from the December 2023/January 2024 issue this thought:

“Lighten Up! Ruminating on grudges, resentments and negative thoughts not only can put you in a foul mood but also has been linked to a decline in cognition and memory in people 55 and over, according to a study published by the Alzheimer’s Association.”

I certainly don’t need anything causing additional decline in cognition and memory. There’s only so much Prevagen “Extra Strength” I can swallow!

Women's Lives after Divorce

Leave a comment »
Mar 10

Sunday Thought – – –

by suddenlysinglewomen

How’s the time change working for you? The older I get the more I appreciate those states who no longer deal with Daylight Savings Time. Spring forward? How’s about ‘Spring’ing into a face plant. Feeling kinda sluggish today, of course I could also attribute that to the very busy two weeks of travel I’ve had and a fairly packed calendar of events. Didn’t used to slow me down, but OK, I’m older now, ha ha.

So after a dog walk, an appointment at the Apple Store, and a grocery run, I found myself on the sofa binging a series on Netflix. “Madoff – The Monster of Wall Street”. You know about him, you think you understand it, but the details are fascinating and wow, would not wanna be the SEC during all of that discovery. Talk about an EPIC fail. But I digress . . .

One of the main people who narrate on camera is a woman, who in summation at the end of the four-parter comes up with a statement that was so significant to me that I had to pause it, write it down, so I could share it with you. Not only does/did it apply to the Ponzi scheme and meltdown of his investment business, but is totally relatable to many other areas of life. Summed it up so succinctly that I had to stop and think about things in my past, and how to handle relationships in the future.

So here it is, for your consideration:

“The only people who can deceive you completely, are people you trust completely. And the price of trusting anyone is that they can betray you like that”.

I tend to place my trust way too often, and way too easily. Do I want to always be suspicious? No, but maybe a few things in my past might’ve turned out differently if I had been? Hind sight is 20-20 but as I move forward, it certainly is food for thought.

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but certainly it is OK to be cautious moving forward with personal relationships. They say that trust given freely, once broken, must be earned back. In some cases, maybe you never give it back. Be careful out there and remember the one person you can ever really truly count on, is yourself.

Women's Lives after Divorce

Leave a comment »
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.