Day 8 of 100 – What do sunshine, ducks and friends have in common?
Hey! Hello everybody! How are you? Yes, I know its late and if you are in a hurry, you can watch the replay video at the end of this article instead of reading it, lol. I want you to know that I came this close to flaking, this close to quitting. BUT, I watched a video tonight. An actress that we all know if you’ve ever watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Lisa Kudrow recorded this video. The video was pretty cool and she was talking about “when things happen, it’s okay. Just don’t quit. Things happen for a reason. If you don’t quit, good things come”. You can watch it below (the good part starts about minute 9, but the intro is good too)
My name is Carla Gardiner. I’m known as The Fiery Grandma because I lead women to have more fun, learning how to update their outdated wardrobe using affordable costume jewelry.
Whether you’re 50 and over and want a reason to get out of that rocking chair; or you’re under 50 and need someone to take you under their wing, I’m your girl. That’s right! I’m your girl!
I’m here today because something I learned might help you. I learned that we’re never too old to learn. We learn every day until the day we die. What happens if we don’t learn? Our brain quits working and it, too will die. I don’t know about you but I am not ready to die yet.
So, what do ducks, sunshine and friends all have in common? It’s my secret formula for success. Its fun! Today I took time off from the office although I’ve got a ton of work to do, here’s my to-do-list. As you can see not very many things are crossed off, completed; but, that’s because they’re multi-layered. I’m really excited because one, two, three of them are crossed off. And I’ve got one, two, three, four more to do. I’ll get it done after I go have some fun. Three hours this morning was spent out in the beautiful warm sunshine. It was a cool morning with a slight breeze with friends. We did some community service and we got to know each other, 3 beautiful women now 3 friends. How well do you really know your friends? What they do? Where they’re from? What’s their history is? With no expectations, we are just friends. That was fun #1.
Fun #2 came as we rounded the corner. There were adorable little ducks with their mama. Mama was not thrilled with us wanting to get a closer look to get that picture. She was cackling, fanning her little tail feathers, you know? We probably would have too don’t you think? They were stinking cute little duckies, so little, so fuzzy. Top off that awe moment with some sunshine. Doesn’t it make you want to smile?
When its cloudy outside, it makes me want to curl up on the couch and read a good book. But when the sun shines, it energizes me. Having 3 hours out in the sun with friends, visiting made me feel on top of the world. No business. Just having fun.
When I returned to the office I was amazed at the amount of work I got done. Fun was the cause for being so late now. I am still working and didn’t realize that it was 10:30 P.M. Hubby is like “Hello?” and I’m like “oops! Sorry! I can’t leave the office till I do my live tonight”.
Oh! speaking of roses, I saw some gorgeous ones today. I’m not really good at figuring out how to grow these incredible bushes. One particular house had this rose, it wasn’t really a bush but wasn’t a tree either. The little bush had one stem with a cluster. It was huge. I’ll bet there were 10 beautiful brilliant yellow roses on 1 stem. Oh! it was gorgeous! The next beauty we saw was called a bleeding heart or something like that. They were purple with this little red drop down thing. I’m not a flora culture expert but I do know they were breath-taking. My appreciation for people who have these gorgeous lawns with beautiful flowers was off the charts. You wouldn’t believe the variety. In California, it was so blooming hot. We couldn’t have pretty lawns and flowers or shrubs. Even if they grew in the heat, the deer ate them. Today I took it all in. My eyes were filled with the beauty of the colors of the flora.
The lesson I learned today was really valuable. I know YOU can benefit from it as much as I did. How? Because I know the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west; I know that too many women like you are just like me. You have a really good work ethic, which there is nothing wrong with that. But you work way too hard, for way too long and you don’t take time to smell the roses.
There is a time and a place to work hard, to focus and set limits. I’m talking to me as much as I’m talking with YOU. We’ve got to get out and spend time with our girlfriends. We’ve got to make time for coffee appointments. We’ve got to make time to network, to help each other. By helping each other, we lightened each other’s burden. Don’t you think? I got filled up with my fun today, did YOU?
So, until tomorrow. Go look good, feel good and do good, go have some fun. Set a coffee date with a friend. Keep the date. Don’t break it. Its important to have fun. We need each other more so now than never before. The Fiery Grandma is signing off. Appreciate you all and if this resonated with you, if it did anything for you, if it inspired you, feel free to share this. Maybe somebody needs to hear this message because if I hadn’t seen that Lisa Kudrow video, I’m not sure I would have left my office to have fun today either.
I love how you bring everyday events to a story that helps us in our journey. This is so true…we need to take the time needed to stop and smell the roses and to make those connections!! It’s a win- win for all concerned.
Thank you, Livvie. It hasn’t always been the case for me, that is smelling the roses. It’s a life lesson in my journey that always working hard and forgetting life’s simple pleasures doesn’t serve us in the long run. I’m glad you enjoyed the little ducks, sunshine and friends today. Hopefully it inspired you, too.
Great article!
Thank you, Don. I hope the ducks, sunshine and friends inspired you in some way today, too.