Blink and you'll miss it

 

 

 

Someone I follow on Twitter posted a beautiful short film today. It's called 'tidy' and shows him tidying up the debris from his toddler having fun.  All the toys go in a box, the phone goes back on the hook, the furniture is straightened. And, lastly,  his discarded shoes are picked up, ready to be put away.  I won't spoil the ending, watch it for yourself.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgDMe3y4Ij8

 

 

This reminded me of my own tearaway toddler and I was transported  back to the constant picking up of discarded stuff.  What seemed like the remnants of mess I now realise were the remnants of fun. The remnants of learning. The remnants of a life being lived happily. 

As I got into my car this evening I remembered I have kept one of those remnants and I look at it every day.  My 23 year old daughter's toddler shoe hangs from my rear view mirror and it constantly makes me smile . 

I can hardly believe it once fitted her. It hangs above, in all it's glory - Isn't it cute.

When she got her own car a few years ago I beamed with delight as she asked for the partner shoe, which now hangs from her own rear view mirror.  

Cherish the time you spend with your children.  Blink and you'll miss it... 

Keeping my spirits high

My day felt tough today. At least it did as the clock ticked by.  I'm plate spinning at work and am easily distracted so I find sharing an office difficult at times. 

One of my office chums - a big man's man as it happens - but very perceptive, gave me a free hug this afternoon.  And it lasted for more than 6 seconds.  The time taken to establish genuineness apparently.  He instantly made me feel better. 

And I'm developing a bit of a crush on Jackson Browne.  Where has he been all my life?  I'm listening to him continually on my long commute and he makes me feel calm and grateful.  

My favourite song at the moment contains a great line, I wish I'd written 

"Let the music keep our spirits high" 

Here's the link

Before the deluge

As my day draws to a close I've regained my perspective and know that, after a good night's sleep, tomorrow will be a better day. 

What would we do without music.  And hugs. 

Thank you Jackson for making my todayoutof10 an 8.2 x

A blip in my blogjourney

One of the things I wanted to be when I grew up was a journalist.  I have loved reading, thinking and writing for as long as I can remember.  I even got a conditional offer to study journalism at Napier University in Edinburgh, the only place offering such a course in my school days.  Unfortunately - or fortunately - I didn't make the grade academically and went on to follow other pursuits.  A love of reading, thinking and writing however, has always been a big part of who I am.

When I became aware I could read stuff, think about stuff and write about stuff online, my world became much more exciting as I realised it was just like being a real writer. 

So, my todayoutof10 online life was born.  Unfortunately, my love of procrastinating has meant the reading and thinking hasn't translated into writing as often as I would like. 

And then I found Blipfoto.  This online platform, with the brilliant strapline - save your life - encourages us to post a picture every day, with or without accompanying words.  Developed by a guy who wanted to keep an online photo diary and was inundated by people asking if they could do it to, it was just the motivation I needed to post regularly.  It's a wonderfully positive haven for  photographers and diarists alike.  My pictures are pretty lame but it's enabled me to start seeing my life with fresh eyes, ever looking for a picture to accompany something worthy of writing about each day. It's the perfect place for me to record my todayoutof10 positive thoughts. I've been blipping faithfully since Dec 31 and plan to keep it up for 365 days. 

I hope this new found discipline will enable me to blog here more often.  I certainly have enough to say.

If you haven't seen Blipfoto before, check it out. 

http://www.blipfoto.com/todayoutof10