Parent

The trouble

with parents

is that

by the time

they are experienced,

they are unemployed.

We are the people our parents warned us about.

"The incomparable stupidity of life
teaches us to love our parents;
divine philosophy teaches us to forgive them." ~ Baron Brede de Montesquieu

Having a child does not make one a parent any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.

God's world is evolving faster and faster and as each generation produces more knowledge the

parents of the next generation are always one step behind.

The telephone of 100 years ago was connected by wires to those parts of the world

that could be reached, today's generation is texting messages around the world faster

than they can get up the courage to ask their parents about the facts of life.

Stuck between the generation that invented Mother's Day and Father's Day and a generation

that may clone its next progeny is a difficult conundrum for the current generation.

The solution to finding the lost generation is to teach love, the will of a Higher Power.

The will of a Higher Power has transcended every generation since the beginning of time.

A baby understands love and the warmth of a parents caress before they ever know their first word.

Be kind, every generation has reaped the benefits of kindliness.

Be loving, understand that race, creed and national origin will be issues for many a generation to come,

and if they know kindness and love the issues will be easier to resolve.

Share the technology, the education, the love and become a parent to the world.

"The wise man must remember
that while he is a descendant of the past,
he is a parent of the future.” ~ Herbert Spencer

Our differences should be in how we can resolve to overcome a problem, not in how we see each other.

Three heads can solve a problem better than one, even if the heads are black, white and yellow.

"The pressures of being a parent are equal to any pressure on earth.
To be a conscious parent,
and really look to that little being's mental and physical health,
is a responsibility which most of us, including me,
avoid most of the time because it's too hard." ~ John Lennon

Hard is as hard as you make it.

Fear is a lack of knowledge.

Sometimes it is hard to love the ignorant and the rebellious, but children need to be shown

that love and learning can make fear go away.

Parent or child, there is no need to wait for one special day a year to celebrate the love for one another.

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and trust in our Creator who loves us.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

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ME and the Boss

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Photo Credit: Gail Ackerman

Father

Like father,

like son.

Whether

it is

genetics

or the

environment,

the apple usually

does not fall far from the tree.


Just as every person has a different concept of what their

Higher Power is, so does every person have a different

idea of what a father is or what a father should be.

Any man can be a father,

it takes someone special to be a dad.

"By the time a man realizes
that maybe his father was right,
he usually has a son
who thinks he's wrong."           ~ Charles Wadworth

Right or wrong, physically present or absent,

emotionally present or absent, just about everyone has

a father figure that they can remember.

Some may have more than one.

Most well balanced people grow with the ability

to learn from the many fathers, coaches, mentors,

teachers, preachers, rabbis, priests, shamans,

or maybe just the man next door, those who

were a part of your learning about life's purpose or meaning.

Best friends growing up were proud to share

with you the good virtues of their fathers.

Everyone loved the mother who could bake:

OOps, different subject for a different time.

The most important lessons in life are those lessons

that teach one about emotions, about feelings, what they feel like,

how to express them to others, what is appropriate or inappropriate

when it comes to showing your feelings.

Love, but do not hate.

Like the good, but dislike the bad.

Be kind, and humbly accept kindness.

Have the courage to do the next right thing.

Have the honesty to say I do not know, let us learn together.

Show sincerity in all that you do.

Have the willingness to change.

Be the person your children think you are.

"Son, brother, father, lover, friend.
There is room in the heart for all the affections,
as there is room in heaven for all the stars."           ~ Victor Hugo

Today, do the will of your Higher Power.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.
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ME and the Boss

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In loving memory of
Guy Robert Erb,
deceased.
Born August 13th, 1916.

Photo credit: Gail Ackerman

Compromise

"They say


it is better


to be poor and happy


than rich and miserable,


but how about a compromise


like moderately rich


and just moody?"

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~ Princess Diana

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Compromise works in many situations, however,

the reality to a person with an addictive behavior,

alcohol, drugs, over-eating, gambling, bulimia, anorexia,

sex, workaholic, and the list goes on, and on, and on,

is that there is no compromise,

there is only complete abstinence and the

willingness to change,

one day at a time.

Left without a program of treatment the old stinking thinking

is guaranteed to return, along with the misery, the guilt and shame

the self defeating attitude of "We are not worthy."

God said you are worthy, addictive behaviors can be held in remission

for long periods of time, proving one does not stop treatment.

Today, let the compromising for those that can afford it.

Today, share the love, share the message, "there is a better way"

when one afflicted person helps another.

Happiness is a program that knows no compromise.

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ME and the Boss

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Photo credit: Gail Ackerman
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Free

.

Such a small word

yet it has so many

degrees of meaning

that we can become

a slave to its

definition.

What is free.

Who is free.

Where does free come from ??

Without other people teaching us we cannot learn what free is.

Without the freedom to go to other places we

would have nothing to compare our lives to.

Without the giving and taking of things we would never learn the

value of what free is.

No person is an island.

No person is free of conscious.

No person is free from having to make choices.

Free is not having a negative feeling, even though most negative

feelings are freely given.

Free is not being a slave to an addictive substance or behavior.

By being obligated to doing the next right thing, we free ourselves to enjoy life.

Free is a responsibility to make the right choice.

Free is to allow ourselves to make a choice that will permit

us to do the will of a Higher Power.

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." ~ Michelangelo

Free is using our God given talents to make this world a better place to live.

It is free to show kindness.

It is free to be patient and tolerant.

It is free to forgive.

It is free to show love

It is free to be the person God wants us to be.

Use your free choice to be better than what is expected.

If your life is free of failures, you're not taking enough risks.

Today, decide for yourself, make a choice, think about free and make it work for you.

Today, free yourself from negative feelings and bad habits.

Today, make a gratitude list and thank your Higher Power

for all the people, places and things that are free in your life..

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

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ME and the Boss
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Show Me

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"Be interesting,


be enthusiastic...


and don't talk


too much."

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~ Norman Vincent Peale

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Do not tell me, you know, show me you understand by doing the next right thing.

Be kind, not just in words, start with a smile and believe it is not just what you

give but the motives behind how you give that matters the most.

Be loving, not just in words, start with a hug and believe that unconditional love

will relieve you of any disparaging, resentful or envious thoughts.

Be patient and tolerant, no words needed.

Do not talk about God, show the world that the love

of your Higher Power shines brightly from within you.

Happiness is knowing that actions speak louder than words.

Happiness is using wise words sparingly, I love you...

Happiness is helping someone help and love  themselves.

ME and the Boss
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Stuff

Stuff, stuff, love the stuff, 

but who do you love??

Stuff is easy to love because; 

stuff is yours, 

stuff rarely changes,

stuff does not talk back, 

stuff does not have feelings 

that can be hurt,

stuff can be discarded, 

and you can change your stuff without asking.

Loving another person is not like loving stuff.

You do not own another person.

You may have an invested interest in a mate or

an obligation to a child or parent, but not ownership.

People are going to grow and change and you must learn to accept the changes

and grow with them or detach and move on with life.

People have thoughts and feelings and to love another is to allow them to think and feel

and to want to have them honestly share their ideas and emotions with you.

You do not discard a love like you would an old pair of shoes.

You can only ask for another person to change, you cannot make them change.

To love another person is to love their quirks, their habits,

their way of thinking and their way of feeling.

Treat sensitive , insecure, paranoid people with kindness.

Stay away from mean people.

Treat old friends, the ones who know you well, the same way you want to be treated.

"No object is so beautiful that,
under certain conditions,
it will not look ugly."  ~ Oscar Wilde

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Stuff or people, love what you love.

Do not be envious of other peoples stuff or of their loves.

Do not allow gluttony or obsessive behaviors make

you become over stuffed with your own stuff.

"Jealousy would be far less torturous
if we understood that love is a passion
entirely unrelated to our merits.”  ~ Paul Eldridge

Love a balanced life; love self, love others, love stuff,

and love your Higher Power, who gave you everything.

You need to know why you love something,

you do not need to know why somebody loves you.

You must love the stuff that makes you happy.

Love those people and the stuff that makes you a better person,

the person God wants you to be.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss
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