POPPIN FRESH RIGHT OUT OF THE OVEN

Close your eyes, and I’ll bet you’ll inhale the spicy aroma of
Poppin fresh pumpkin bread cooling on the counter
Why?  Because after this morning’s Bar Mitzvah service
I asked Steven for a quick Ravi fix before I fly to
The coast, tomorrow, so for a couple of delicious hours
My grand daughter and I donned our baker’s hats (really!) and
Ate up our sweet and spicy confection while it was still piping hot
And once her tummy was happy, our littlest baker departed with
Her daddy after offering up a sweet as sugar hug, kiss and smile as
I readied myself to lie down for a while before
Getting my dancing slippers in gear—just thought I’d
Clue you into my feeling fine as
This weekend shapes up as planned—
Ohhmm ...

LONG STORY SHORT: MY BRAIN SHORT CIRCUITED—HMMM ...

My dear friends around the world,
I experienced a weird event, which, thank goodness, proved transient in nature.
I was enjoying a perfectly fine day, yesterday, when suddenly, much to my dismay, my head began to ache, and though I knew exactly what I’d wanted to say, my thought processor could not clearly convey that which was in my mind to my tongue, which found itself unable to form any words, which could be readily understood by the salesman in the Apple Store or, for that matter, by me!

Long story short, after being driven to the neurological hospital in town, multiple tests were done, the results of which were normal, and though I felt mentally disoriented and slow for a while, other than that I’m fine, once more.  Today, following the neurologist’s instructions, I saw my internist, and I’ll relate a detailed summary of these last two days when my brain feels ready to dive more deeply into detailing the unsettling experience that transpired between yesterday afternoon and right now.

Tonight we’ll enjoy a low-key dinner with our closest friends, and tomorrow we’ll enjoy a Bar Mitzvah service in the morning (the afternoon spent resting) followed by dinner and dancing the night away (till about 10pm).  Then if all continues to go as planned, on Sunday I’ll fly to San Diego to enjoy three days with my niece, nephew and a dear friend from college, so if you don’t hear much from me, over these next several days, please don’t perceive of silence as being worrisome, because my weekend plan is to thoroughly enjoy a series of rollicking good times with loved ones, here and there, all of whom feel as eager to enjoy time with me as I feel good fortune’s smile directing me to appreciate my long lasting friendship with each one whose presence in my life adds immeasurably to my spirit’s on-going contentment, good health and joy—
Ohhmmm ...

So with that said, let’s choose to do whatever it takes to stay well, my friends
And each time we are reminded that life is short, let’s choose to do our best to
Make the most of every moment enjoyed with loved ones, yet to come ...
Warm hugs to one and all,
Annie

NOTE TO SELF: CONFLICT RESOLUTION RELIES UPON A SELF-DISCIPLED SENSE OF SELF-AWARENESS

-I wonder if you’ve ever consciously considered how hard it is
For two (or more) people to sit our defensive reactions
(Which, being innate, prove to be natural) in time out so as to
Minimize contentiousness on both sides in favor of approaching
The task of conflict resolution in a manner of
Speaking and listening that proves so mentally self discipled as to
Maintain each person's sense of balance between logic and emotion in
Hopes of cooling down a potentially heated discussion (before
Adrenaline production, racing through both bloodstreams
Strikes so high as to cause the intelligent portions of
Both thought processors to crash into hot-headed collisions) thus creating
A well balanced, mutually soothing environment where
Every brain partaking in the solution-seeking process has
Been caringly trained to meet the universal challenge of taming
One’s own temper so as to brainstorm, together, toward creating
A mutually respectful plan of action, which, step by step, will
Eventually lead toward considering everyone’s needs in such
A good natured, heart warming, long lasting, mutually enriching
Cooperative fashion as to get the job done—Tough work, you say?
Yup—but someone’s strong spirited emotionally mature attitude has gotta
Focus on maintaining (and then passing forward) the role of leadership that
Keeps the ball rolling in a positively focused direction toward achieving
Life’s on-going series of mentally challenging mutually desired goals by
Training each thought processor involved to conscientiously
Good naturedly maintain such a heightened level of self control as to
Engage in brainstorming discussions until conflict resolution has
Served to thoroughly consider the needs of one and all—
Hmmm ...
                                         Who’s bright eyed, sweet natured smile is missing?

Ray’s

Why?

He was determined not to be photographed

Why?

Who knows?

Perhaps, at the tender age of five, he’d experienced a brief stage during
His on-going emotional development when being photographed made him feel so
Self conscious as to cause anxiety to rise

Once our family huddle had briefly discussed that possibility
(Because Ray’s stubborn attitude, so unlike his natural sweetness, had emerged
During photo sessions more than once), we all chose to heed
The voice of intuitive leadership, which
Suggested resolving this conflict by respecting
Ray's determination to sit this one out, and though we all wished that
Our good natured boy would change his mind

He did not

—Good news—

Once this photo was snapped, a power struggle in the making was successfully

Nipped in the bud, and each time hindsight considers the ‘bigger’ picture of our
Family dynamics while celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary, we come to see
The primary reason why a rollicking good time was enjoyed by one and all

Ohhmm ...

“”LOVE IS THE FIRE WITHIN THAT KEEPS THE SOUL WARM”

Though I wish the lovely thought penned above had
Originated within my mind, my processor absorbed
This sample of deeper truth after withdrawing it from
A fortune cookie, suggesting that this charming vision of
Love’s flame burning brightly to warm our souls was
Offered up by a kindred spirit, who passed it forward to
Me to share with you, suggesting that, over time
The intuitive power of the written word may inspire each of us
To consciously set our defense systems aside in hopes of
Coming together in such a warm hearted fashion as to
Brainstorm toward conflict resolution in a mutually respectful
Manner by embracing positively focused attitudes that prove
So good natured in spirit as to see us creating an on-going
Series of changes for the better, each being so mindful of
Providing our processors with food for thought, tasting so
Deliciously nutritious as to eventually be readily digested
And absorbed, world wide, one bite-sized morsel at a time—
Ohhmmm ...

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL WHO VIEWED THE CUP AS MORE THAN HALF FULL

Being that my blog concerns clarity, the video above was posted, again, because the first version published was blurry (as you may recall, prior to this soccer game, Ravi spent lots of game time arms fully extended, twirling in circles on the field—LOL!); and now on to this quartet of photos, the first showcasing Ravi and Auntie enjoying one-on-one time, followed by Barry's family enjoying the game (Will and Steven were seated elsewhere with friends) while Gramma Annie, relaxing at home, reminisced contentedly over our family's good fortune, most especially noting, once again, that generosity of spirit (woven in with a good natured, positively focused attitude) is truly everything—Ohhmmm ...

PS
As humor is the best medicine, here's a funny aside:
If you watch the video closely, right from the very start, you'll see the coach's three year old son (#1) taking his turn sitting quietly on the sidelines until, suddenly, everyone's excitement spiked so high as to propel him to leap up and dash onto the field as though intuitively connecting with his three year old teammate's very first goal—ever!  These munchkins are so spontaneously adorable—good thing laughing out loud proves to be truly heart healthy!

PSS
White couch is actually washable (What did you think?  That with small grandchildren, I must be crazy?)  If you scroll back to my very first post, ever, you'll see that crazy is not my M.O. unless we're talking Crazy fun, through and through!  Imagine me laughing, again—this time at myself! 😄
Double Ohhmmm ...

FORTUNATELY, OUR FAMILY’S WHIRLWIND WEEKEND OFFERED UP YET ANOTHER WELL BALANCED SET OF MEMORIES

Just a short recap, today, outlining need to neutralize imperfectionist tendencies
Last evening, a disagreement arose between two family members, leaving one
Feeling overwhelmed, however, if that’s the first example of bad news marring
Our family’s fun-filled weekend then here’s the good—quick thinking aroused
Humility and clarity on the part of the one who, having taken the high road
Consciously chose to cool down their heated conflict so as to resolve their
Head-on collision in record time,suggesting why our love fest, experiencing
No more than a minor bleep, rolled on without need to detour away from fun
Now, on to more bad—Tony, feeling lethargic, had developed a low-grade fever
Good news—he recovered, over night, in time to enjoy our home game, today
Funny bad news—no Bbq, because I forgot to remember that a small animal had
Created a nest inside of it to keep her young safe from harm—LOL!
Good news—we have a phone and ordered in Italian take-out
Good news—Ravi enjoyed a sleepover with her cousins, and she and Ray
Played happily, non-stop, most especially within a pop up puppet theater
That being barely big enough for one, held two imaginations spell bound
Bad news—earlier in the week, we realized that my nephew’s birthday brunch
Conflicted with today’s home game kick off time—oh no!
Good news—brunch was good naturedly moved back an hour to accommodate
Everyone's pleasure center, and as we each basked in the limelight of
A loving abundance of mutual consideration, all around, everyone’s spirit
Enjoyed a rollicking good time until our home team lost, badly—again
As my ticket was one of the four offered to Barry’s family, I drove myself
Home after my nephew’s lovely birthday brunch feeling deeply blessed
And not at all stressed, which is why my exhaustion in the aftermath of
Our crazy busy weekend actually felt peaceful, and thus, when Will returned
Home from the disappointing game, he found me smiling, lying on my side of
Our bed where he and I commiserated over our team’s loss, while
My heart, mind and spirit, buoyed by a consciously considered, positively
Focused attitude concerning need to consider bigger pictures, continued to feel
So content about our family’s winning ways as to set aside the fact that
Our home team is as messed up as is true of our home, though Marie
Accrued extra credit points for having insisted upon doing all of
The guest room linen before leaving for the game, after which
She, Barry and their boys drove directly back to the coast, so Tony and Ray
Would not miss even one day of school, while I, decided that the rest of
The clean up will best be left till tomorrow, because, having learned to listen
To my body, which is in kahoots with my intuitive powers, I felt too pooped
To do anything other than snooze on and off, followed by penning and posting
Today’s heartfelt, well-balanced recap of our whirlwind, fun-filled weekend —
Photos to follow tomorrow; why? Brain too pooped to conjure them up, today
Ohhmm ...

A HEARTFELT FAMILY SPORTS-FEST—WOO-HOO!

Last night at half past two, Barry’s family, having driven over from the coast, pulled into our driveway, and amazingly, though minds and bodies were over tired, upon awakening, this morning, everyone’s spirit was dressed and ready to pile back into their SUV to cheer for Ravi’s soccer team by 8:40am😴

As we arrived after the start of her game, Ravi, spying us on the sidelines and having had no clue of her aunt, uncle and cousins last minute plan to enjoy a whirlwind family fun-fest, began to jump up and down on the soccer field, bursting with so much joy as to feel need to release Adrenalin-fueled energy by running straight toward her Uncle Barry where, upon leaping into his welcoming arms, she exclaimed—I missed you, so much!—followed by wriggling back down to the ground so as to grab Barry’s mansized hand as though to pull her beloved uncle onto the field while, we, watching Ravi’s deeply surprised, fully charged think tank become so single minded as to disregard her teammates engaged in the game once her intent to connect her beloved uncle with her good natured coach gained precedence over anything else taking place around her!  And everyone laughed, seeing her enthusiastic reaction as adorable.  In short, young minds react with such spontaneity as to miss the bigger picture much more often than not.  On the other hand, when adults become so singleminded as to miss the bigger picture more often than not, rarely are we seen as too cute for words.

At this point, Ravi was encouraged to wait till her teammates took a water break, and while restraining herself from dashing onto the field with zbarry in tow, she took turns hugging her Aunt Marie and Tony and Ray until her coach, advancing straight toward her, matched the sparkling smile dancing in our fully energized munchkin’s eyes while extending his hand to everyone in our extended family, one by one!  LOL! Once the game resumed, we joined in the fun as every spectator on the sidelines laughed aloud to see three and four year olds continue to kick the ball, oftimes toward their opponents’ goal with no clue that they were heading the wrong way no matter how persistently their coaches, running along side their pint sized players, felt need to raise their voices in a good natured manner in hopes of guiding these self propelled young minds, (focused solely upon making a goal) to turn themselves around and kick the ball in the right direction.  Every once in a while a small teammate would run off the field crying—everyone is trying to kick me!  Or no one will give me a turn to kick the ball into the goal!  And then there were miraculous moments when goals were kicked into the correct goal, and one of those moments, the most miraculous of all if you ask me, showcased  our extended family leaping with utter delight to see three year old Ravi gaining control over the ball, and as she kicked it down field in the right direction, no one was more thrilled than our blond pony-tailed little sweetheart to see her very last kick in a highly focused series of kicks land that rolling ball into the goal so that, with her extended family cheering her on,  Ravi, self confidence soaring, had scored a point for the first time ever in her short career of participating in a team sport!! What a great morning—enjoyed by one and all!  So now, you can readily see why today’s unexpected, high spirited family fun fest offered up a proud gramma’s dream come true!  Seriously, in addition to Ravi’s first self confident team participation, I watched three generations of our family meld together in the most loving fashion, thus, once again, validating my determination to raise our three sons to grow ever more supportive (less competitive with each other) in hopes of inspiring each one to be an integral part of our family’s cheer squad, and each time our ‘all for one, one for all’ attitude has reason to shine like a sunbeam directly overhead, brightening our memory banks with rollicking good times enjoyed together, the heart of this head cheerleader feels reason to smile as joyfully as had been true of Ravi’s heart, this morning, first when her spirit’s absorption of familial love felt naturally buoyed to soar as high as a kite, no strings attached, followed by my three year old grand daughter, riding today’s wave of self confidence straight toward the shoreline, running across the field, mindfully focusing her brain’s burst of energy upon securing the ball so as to score her very first goal, ever, for her team!  What a jubilant memory, shared by one and all!

As for Uncle David, he, connecting with all of us in real time by way of group texts, was heart-fully excited (though he’d admitted to feeling understandably jealous of missing this milestone in Ravi’s life while he was separated from this family love-in by hundreds of miles).  Of course, upon receiving the video shot of Ravi’s successful first team effort, ever, David’s next text expressed delight, matching ours in depth.

Hooray family, whose hearts feel connected wherever we are!😍

Now, Ravi is off to a fitting with Celina in readiness to enjoy being a flower girl, several weeks hence, while the guys (big and small) relax, sprawled out on a trio of couches placed in a conversational U in our living room, watching football while dozing, on and off.  As to Marie and yours truly, she is resting in the guest room while I, feeling relaxed, am happily engaged penning this post in my bedroom before we all (inclusive of my niece and nephew and their puppy, Bandit) await the imminent arrival of Steven’s family for BBQ—whoops, there's the doorbell—
😍Ohhmmm ...

AT TIMES COMMOM SENSE BOWS TO IMPASSIONED EMOTION IN NEED OF HEALTHY EXPRESSION

Hi!😘I just realized that with so much going on this week—Will’s ‘esphogalscope’ and colonoscopy on Monday, followed by Yom Kippur on Tues. and Wednesday, (break fast at Celina’s and Steven’s—first time, ever!) compounded by my aging mind 😳, I’d not thought to mention all of the texts that flew back forth amongst Barry, Steven and me relating to we three working, last minute, to magically conjure up four free tickets for Sunday’s football game, suggesting that my heart has not yet openly communicated how excited we desert dwellers are to find ourselves enjoying Barry and Marie and their precious boys, Tony and Ray, all of whom are driving in for the weekend, arriving late tonight, as they’ll not pile into their SUV until after the boys’ touch football game, which, kicking off at 6pm, lasts about an hour.  (See what I mean about times when impassioned emotion overwhelms common sense in a healthy manner when the subject is love of a sporting good time—pun consciously intended.  Just yesterday, Ravi, with a wistful expression covering her naturally animated face, was looking through family photos with me while she’d repeatedly expressed how much she, missing our family, wants to go to California—just imagine her thrilled reaction to having her aunt, uncle and cousins pop into town, unexpectedly, late tonight, planning to arise bright and early, eager to get to Ravi’s first soccer game of the season—so since Crazy Fun-Family Style is straight ahead, my next posts may be short and (hopefully) sweet—as for now, imagine Gramma Annie happy—soon to be tired out and in need of rest in the aftermath of a weekend that’s sure to offer up some rollicking, good natured memories in the making!

Warning—the inner workings of my blog went haywire, again, suggesting that I did not choose to post all,of these photos, but since they showed up on their own, in the interest of time, I plan to leave well enough alone—LOL!

Sent from my iPad