The Corner of Spirit & Brave

EVERYTHING I WANT

4/28/2018

EVERYTHING
  I WANT

I snuck away with my Grandson, Dylan, for an afternoon of feeding the ducks in the park, picnicking and a little shopping.

After the ducks were fed andour tummies were full we moved on to shopping.

My shopping cart spilled over with the arms and legs of a three- year-old. As I maneuvered through the aisle I asked him,

“What should we buy for you today?
Maybe a shirt, a book, a……”

My list was interrupted when he said,

“I have everything I want.”

My cart came to a stop as I looked at his sweet face. I couldn't hide my smile at his remarkable comment.

“You have everything you want?”

He may have been three, but he knew from the expression on my face that he must have given the million dollar answer.
He flashed his killer smile and said,

“Yeah, I do!
   I have EVERYTHING I want! ”

I proceeded to tell him how lucky he was that he was so happy and had everything he wants. He smiled bigger, sat up taller and was very proud that yes, he must be lucky!

I have to say it stunned me. What little person (or big person for that matter) can say they have everything they want? I was still pondering this as we paid for his new football.   My idea – not his.

Later, we stopped by my house to feed my dog, Yogee. Yogee was much more interested in dancing around the floor with Dylan than eating. After about the third time I told Yogee to go eat her food Dylan looked at me and said,

"Maybe she just isn't hungry."

Again, I stopped to breathe in what he just said. I sat down and watched as Yogee’s tiny feet continued the happy dance as she circled around him. As every inch of her body wriggled and smiled, I realized – she too, in this moment of time had everything she wanted.

We took Yogee to the back yard and this time it was Dylan’s turn to do the happy dance. He ran to my garden box. He circled it, hands clapping and sang,

"Oh, this garden is BEAUTIFUL!!!"

That was it!
Three strikes to my heart!
Lessons learned!

At 3 years old he could see the beauty in a garden and understood that "he" wasn't hungry for anything.
-- He had everything he wants!

This tiny boy had just demonstrated to me the simplicity of life. That as long as we are loved we do have everything we want.
That sometimes we don’t hunger for anything - we just need to dance.
And if we look we can find beauty in our own back yard.

I learned that right now, in this moment, I do have everything I want!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
 "When we are surrounded by love we don’t hunger for anything -- we have everything we want."
   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pennie Heart to Heart
EVERYTHING I WANT

  YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to be grateful for what you have. Do you need more, or do YOU have everything you want?
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below .
And please feel free to email me a PennieHunt@gmail.com.
Thank you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013-2018 Pennie Hunt
This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com

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OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

4/22/2018

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Photo Credit: Emilia Ricley

OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

There are words printed on the passenger side mirror of your vehicle that read,
“OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER
THAN THEY APPEAR"
Have you ever noticed it? Have you ever really read it or given any thought to the meaning?

This is a warning for you to be cautious of a potential problem. You see, the mirror is convex, or curved, to increase the field of view, which also makes the objects seem smaller. Since smaller objects seem further away it is easy to misjudge the space you as a driver have to maneuver when passing another vehicle or changing lanes.

The warning is required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and yet, we hardly ever notice it. We drive, pass other vehicles and change lanes as if we are in autopilot.

How many other areas of our life should we be mindful of this warning? We hold our newborn for the first time listening to their baby sounds feeling like we will hold them forever, but we blink and they are graduating from high school.

We believe our parents will always be our rock of strength and support and then, one day, we become their foundation of safety as they become smaller, weaker and can no longer accurately tell us stories of their life. Our life.

We think we have all the time in the world to accomplish our dreams of going back to school, writing a book or traveling to a magical destination. The problem is we misjudge the space of time we have between now and then. We think there will always be time. Lots of time. We forget that objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.

We will wake up one morning and that time is gone. The space has closed. We have passed the opportunity. None of us know how much time we have here in this life, but whether you are given 22 years here or 100 the future comes quicker than we think. That tiny speck in the distance that you think of as so far away is closer than it appears.
Heed the warning.
Do what you want to do now!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“The future is closer than it appears.
Do what you want to do NOW.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to think about how fast time goes by - do what you want to do now before it's too late!
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below .
And please feel free to email me at:
PennieHunt@gmail.com.
Thank you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013-2018 Pennie Hunt
This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.
If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com

Pennie Heart to Heart
OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

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40 Minutes On The 40th Floor

4/14/2018

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  40 Minutes On
The 40th Floor

It was a short getaway.
No speaking engagements.
No work.
No commitments.
Staying on the 53rd floor of a Las Vegas hotel gave a whole new meaning to a room with a view!

Leaving the room to meet my husband, I grabbed my almost empty Starbucks cup and finished drinking my Chia Latte as I turned the hallway corner to the elevators.
It was my lucky day... no waiting…the center elevator was open and I quickly joined the man already inside.

After the normal elevator greeting – you know the quick eye contact, smile and head nod -- we both leaned against our separate sides ready for the ride to the lobby.

Suddenly there was a very loud CLUNK!
       “That doesn’t sound good,” I said.

The elevator then forcefully jerked as it came to a sudden stop on the 40th floor.
      “Oh, this can’t be good…,” I began to say as I was interrupted by the elevator alarm blaring and an automatic message telling us the elevator had “malfunctioned” and to push the alarm button for help.

My new friend, Pat, followed directions and pushed the button only to be met with the recording,
     “Thank you for calling Vdara, all of our operators are busy, please stay on the line and you will be answered in the order of your call."
Hmmm…
...obviously not in the order of importance, I thought.

In the next 40+ minutes I learned a few
Life Lessons:

1. Closed spaces get hot very quickly and
  water is a good thing. ~
In the first ten minutes the temperature began rising dramatically. I could feel my face flush and saw the same in my friend. Typically, I am not a fan of drinking water. Suddenly, the health benefits of water became very clear to me and I began wishing I had some.

2. Little things matter. ~
Rapidly the circle of my thoughts became very small. The show tickets for later that night didn’t matter. In a world where time speeds by at the pace of technology, each minute in this elevator slowed to an excruciating drag. Looking at my empty Starbucks cup and with no restroom in sight, I began regretting drinking the whole thing! Then I realized in my hand I held the biggest treasure I could think of at the moment – an empty cup. If worse came to worse, I was prepared.

3. You can become friends with strangers
quickly. ~
My elevator mate was obviously not a talker. He kept his eyes focused on the elevator control panel most of the time. I thought he was a kind, gentle and calm person.
I on the other hand, may have been his worst nightmare to be stuck in an elevator with. I’m a speaker--I love to talk!
By the end of our time together we had negotiated our communication styles and become friends.
(I will be honest here and admit that now I survey the people I step into an elevator with- you never know when you may enjoy spending a lot more time with them than you thought. I also will never squeeze in as the-last-one-that-can-fit in a crowded elevator just to save time.)

4. It's All Communication. ~
No one on the outside can hear you when you are trapped in an elevator and you cannot hear them. As Pat continued to try the emergency button, I remembered my husband was waiting for me, so I began texting him. The texts would not go through the steel box I found myself in.

At some point I reached for my phone again to call my husband. Amazingly the call worked and he answered. I blubbered out the story of being trapped in Elevator “E8.”
As he quickly found a manager, a woman’s voice began talking to us through the elevator speaker. There was relief in knowing we were finally being “heard!”

5. What if’s make you crazy! ~
At first I thought this is minor and the elevator would start in a minute, but at about the 30 minute mark I began to think,
What if we are here for hours?
After realizing my phone worked, Pat called his wife. I heard him say to her,
     “I am fine …as long as we don’t
   fall 40 floors!”

I told him that I had not thought of that and thanked him for giving me that visual that began to loop the What If scenarios in my mind.

6. It's only a story for a minute then
   everyone moves on. ~
We began to hear a faint pounding from the outside. This was the first indication that we may actually be freed. When the door was finally forced open, we found ourselves four feet from the landing.
Reaching my arms up, I was swiftly lifted out through the opening and greeted by a grouping of security staff, elevator technicians and my husband.
I remember being handed water, asked if I was okay and in a blur I was back in my room.
Everyone had moved on and the incident was over.
The fact is, when something like this happens, whether it is 40 minutes or 4 days, it is only important because it's happening to you...no one else cares or notices.
It's your story- a quick impact in your life that changes you.

7. You DO have to get back on the horse –
   or in my case back in the elevator. ~
The next day I came around the same hallway and pushed the down arrow for an elevator.
E8 opened.
I froze.
Did I really want to get on the same elevator?
Really, Pennie, what are the odds of it happening again? I told myself.

This time the elevator was empty as I stepped in. When the door closed, I quickly realized I didn’t have an empty cup in my hand. I checked to make sure I had my phone. I took a deep breath and the elevator began to move.

This is good, this is good! I thought.

Then the elevator stopped –
     ON THE 40TH FLOOR!
My heart raced and my mind went right back to the experience of the day before – the heat, the uncertainty….
The door opened and a happy young couple joined me.
I had the urge to tell them about my experience the day before.

Instead, we did the elevator greeting – you know the quick eye contact, smile and head nod - then we all leaned against our separate sides for the ride to the lobby.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“When you experience an event, it's your story- a quick impact in your life that changes you. How you carry the story and learn from it is the reason for the experience.”
   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pennie Heart to Heart
40 MINUTES ON THE 40th FLOOR

YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to pay attention to the experiences that happen to you and what lessons you gain from them.
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below .
And please feel free to email me at:
PennieHunt@gmail.com.
Thank you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013-2018 Pennie Hunt
This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com

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MY PATH TO GRACE

4/7/2018

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MY PATH TO GRACE

“Let’s name her SPIKE,”
J.T. said with a grin as he dangled a tiny black spiked collar in front of me.
“We are not naming this cute little puppy that will be all of 12 lbs full grown SPIKE!”
I snapped.

My son’s grin told me that was the point- the humor of a tiny fluffy Shih Tzu with a name that conjured visions of an attack dog.

She was named Yogee, and yet even after both my son and Yogee passed away, everyone remembers the joke that followed her through her 15 years.

The sadness of losing a pet after that long opens up a thought process of do we want another dog? Can we handle the puppyhood? Did we want the responsibility? When should we think about it- is it too soon? Can we handle saying goodbye in another 15 years?

Loss is hard, but with everything in life, as they say…the beat goes on.
The heartbeat of love and life goes on.

I researched Shih Tzu breeders and found three, in three different states. All of them had a detailed process of applications and background checks before they considered the forever homes for their puppies. The waiting lists were 9-12 months, so I filled out the applications and put it out of my mind.

The crazy chain of events that happened next was, I believe, Grace in action!

It began with a simple text message from my daughter that read:

Brady just said, “Yogee is in heaven and Grandma is going to get a new Yogee  puppy –on TUESDAY!” Is he correct?

This made me chuckle coming from my 4 year old grandson. I responded with,

“Well, everything except Tuesday…
     maybe late summer.”

A few nights later I had a dream that Yogee had puppies next to my bed. The dream was clear, in color and felt like it was REAL. I reached down and picked up a white and copper brown one – the color I hoped for in my next Shih Tzu. I knew there were other puppies in the dream, but I could only see this one. Yogee was walking away.
I called to her saying over and over again that she needed to come back and take care of the puppies. She just shook her head and kept walking away as if she knew I would do it.

The extraordinary clarity of the dream spurred a long conversation with my husband the next morning about what it meant and why Yogee brought a puppy to me – the exact color that I wanted.

A couple of days passed, but the comment from my grandson and the dream lodged in my mind. Watching TV one evening, I received an email to my phone from one of the breeders saying she had a female puppy available and wanted to know if I was interested. The picture attached was of a white and copper furball of cuteness. It was her eyes that drew me in.
As I stretched the screen on my phone I saw familiar eyes … they were Yogee’s eyes looking deep into my heart.

Tears welled and I heard the word, --
   “Grace.”

Not wanting my husband to see my tears, I forwarded the email to him. I waited for his reaction. I saw him enlarge his screen to see the very thing I saw. The eyes.
He looked at me and said,

“What are we going to do?”

I didn’t know. We had resigned ourselves to wait and allow the loss of Yogee to settle. To enjoy a bit of freedom without the responsibility of a dog. And yet, the messages were clearly being laid before me. My tears surged with every conversation about this puppy and with every photo the breeder sent.

The messages continued.

We were told this puppy was the runt of the litter. (Just like Yogee.) After sleepless nights of caring for the tiny pup and worried about her ability to survive, the breeder wanted to keep her. Deciding she shouldn’t, she scanned her waiting list reading the profiles of prospective families and kept coming back to us.

When we found out that the puppy’s mother was named Beah, I knew. I ran to the scrapbook I had created for Yogee and pointing to the registration papers I showed my husband… Yogee’s mother was namedBea!

We made arrangements to visit the puppy. A sweet women invited us into her home. She picked up the smallest of four puppies and laid her in my lap. She called her, Emma – mysteriously close to the name of my granddaughter Emmie – the daughter of my passed son.
She said,

     “There is something special about this
   puppy. I tell everyone I believe she is
   an angel.”

The day we adopted her our home filled with joy. We heard the patter of paws running on our floors. We enjoyed snuggles and cuddles and puppy kisses.
I was convinced she was brought to us through the mystical process of graceorchestrated by J.T. and Yogee … a process others may not understand or comprehend, but to me it was clear.

We named her Gracie Beah.

The next morning I took her to my daughter’s home so Gracie could meet her family. As I was leaving I told them all to say goodbye to Gracie. Hugs and kisses irrupted and the last in line was Brady, the one who predicted the arrival of a puppy.
He kissed her, looked in her eyes and said,

   “Goodbye Spike, Spikie, Spike.”

Stunned, I asked him why he called her that. He had no way of knowing the Spike story. He simple shrugged and said,

“I just felt like it.”

My daughter and I smiled at each other.
The last message had been given, and yes,the beat goes on.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“Pay attention to the magical messages of Grace. Follow the path they lead you to.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gracie 2016
and
Gracie now

Pennie Heart to Heart
MY PATH TO GRACE

YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to watch for messages of Grace --and follow the path they lead you to.
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below .
And please feel free to email me at:
PennieHunt@gmail.com.
Thank you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013-2018 Pennie Hunt
This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com

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IT WON’T HAPPEN TO ME

4/1/2018

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IT WON’T HAPPEN TO ME

It was a quick visit. Routine really.
It was more of a vanity issue to have one ugly mole removed than a health concern.
The ugly one and a few others were frozen with liquid nitrogen and one removed and sent in for a biopsy – just to make sure, the doctor said.

I got dressed, gathered my purse, paid the receptionist, took the brochure the doctor gave me about skin cancer and went on with my day.

When I got home I cleaned out my car and the brochure went in the recycle bin. After all I thought, - it won’t happen to me.

There have been many times in life that I have been surprised. This phone call was one of them.
“The biopsy came back positive,”
the nurse said.
"Melanoma."

She scheduled an appointment for me to have a larger section of skin removed for another biopsy.
Where was that brochure? I hadn’t even read it.

“Melanoma is a BIG DEAL,” the doctor said, as she sat down next to me in the examining room.
We read the lab report together.
This had been found early and the hope was that by removing a larger section it would capture all of the Melanoma cells.
This was a longer visit. Numbing of my leg. Stitches.

As I got dressed I searched through the doctor’s display of information for the brochure.

The one titled, “SKIN CANCER.”
This time I read it.

It outlined three types of skin cancer. I scanned through the first two and came to the third. I read -
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer.

The brochure went on to outline all the things you should do to Prevent-Detect-Live.
I have pretty much done everything it said I shouldn’t do.
I remember so many years ago splashing on baby oil to lay in the sun to gain the perfect tan. The years of water skiing, swimming and hiking. And yes, visits to tanning beds.

As time went on I heard about skin cancer and sunscreen was added to my life, but not in the intensity it should have been.
I always thought it won’t happen to me.

Now I know – it can happen to me.
It did happen to me.

Regular dermatology appointments will now be a must in my life. Being self-aware of changes in my skin will be routine. Encouraging others to do the same will become my advice.

I will wait another week for the results of this second biopsy, optimistic that the expectation of a clear report will be correct.

The minor ache in my bruised leg is a gentle reminder to love myself enough to take care of ME!
A reminder that if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“Love yourself enough to take care of YOU!”

Pennie Heart to Heart
IT WON'T HAPPEN TO ME!

YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to take care of yourself - schedule regular dermatology appointments - if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone!

Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below .
And please feel free to email me at:
PennieHunt@gmail.com.
Thank you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013-2018 Pennie Hunt
This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com

0 Comments

EVERYTHING I WANT

Pennie Heart to Heart
EVERYTHING I WANT

OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

Pennie Heart to Heart
OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

40 Minutes On The 40th Floor

Pennie Heart to Heart
40 MINUTES ON THE 40th FLOOR

MY PATH TO GRACE

Pennie Heart to Heart
MY PATH TO GRACE

IT WON’T HAPPEN TO ME

Pennie Heart to Heart
IT WON'T HAPPEN TO ME!

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Pennie Heart to HeartOBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

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Pennie Heart to Heart
OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR