This is the time of Forgiveness!

Many people feel that this time of year is a good time to be forgiving. There is no special time of year that is specially suited to forgiveness. You should practice forgiveness throughout your year and throughout your life! Forgiving someone for some real or imagined infraction against you does more for you than it ever does for them. To forgive someone is to put whatever it may be, into the past. Let go of the negative emotions it elicits in you. Release the anger, frustration, and any other unhappy emotions that it brings out in you. Forgiving someone however does not mean forgetting or making everything return to normal. You can forgive a person for stealing from you, but if they are still stealing, I would not recommend leaving them alone in your house. Forgiving does not mean becoming incautious or stupid. A drug user who has quit drugs for 3 weeks is to be applauded for his efforts and encouraged to continue. You can forgive them for their past transgressions. Do not however think that the behaviour is over or done for good. You do not have to welcome them back into the fold to forgive them. It took them time to destroy the relationship, it will take just as long to put things right. Too many people want immediate gratification. It takes time to heal. It takes time to build or rebuild trust. Be forgiving and let the negative emotions leave your life and end your frustration. Be smart and be cautious though by not enabling future bad behaviour and protect yourself from future problems with them. Do not be so hopeful that you allow them back into your life too quickly, they must earn that. That is not part of forgiving. Forgiving means letting it go, but not forgetting about it and not permitting it to happen again.

Happy Holidays?

"Better late than never!" Is that true, do you think? For me I am a believer in that phrase in all facets of life! It is never too late for you to do anything you really want to do. Just put your mind to it and you can accomplish anything.

Today I am talking about the Christmas Spirit. I was a bit down in the dumps about the holiday's this year. It seems like life was getting to me. My car broke down and who knows what it is going to cost to repair. I ended a very bad relationship, which is both good and bad. I miss seeing him, but I do not miss the anxiety, depression, stress and problems he managed to bring out in me. I have had nothing but emotional and financial problems for the last couple of months. It makes it very hard to get into the spirit of the holidays when your life seems to be crumbling about you.

"Better late than never!" I took that to heart this morning and just decided to get up and dust myself off. Stop feeling sorry for myself. Stop worrying that I do not have money to spend on my family. Today I started thinking of ways I can make the holidays better and happy for myself and those around me. I started cleaning the kitchen really thoroughly preparing to make some holiday cookies. That is a cheap and easy way to spread cheer. I am going to make my famous raspberry cookies, some chocolate chip, sugar, peanut butter, and some pineapple cookies. I figure I will buy some of those cheap aluminum throw away pans from the store and make up cookie packages for the people on my list. Tomorrow I will post the recipes for the raspberry and the pineapple cookies to share them with the world wide web.

"Better late than never!" Remember this when you are thinking, I am too old, it is silly of me to want, I could not learn that now, or any other excuse you want to make. It is never to late to start trying to make your life what you want it to be. Just decide to do something and then take steps to make it happen. It can happen. You can do it!

Happy holidays to all. I hope those of you who get the cookies enjoy them!

The Holidays!

Like many divorced fathers, the holidays can be both times of sadness as well as times of happiness. I am looking forward to seeing my daughters who are all grown and the two oldest are married as well. I know that they love me and care for me as I also love and care for them. However it can be both frustrating and depressing to try and get time with them. They now have there husbands or boyfriends families to fit in as well as their mother and her family. I really do understand that these things come first to them. It can however be hard sometimes to realize that you are the last one on the list. It is so hectic for everyone at this time of year. I do feel great that they love me and make time for me. It is though hard sometimes to muster the holiday spirit when you are alone. I was used to preparing and hosting the big family dinners for many years, now it is a miracle to get two of them at my house at the same time. I know that I am a lucky man that I have such a good relationship with them. I know there are many parents that are estranged and do not get to see their children at all. I keep this in mind whenever I feel like I am the last on the list. I remember the old story about the many who was sad because he had no shoes until he met the man with no feet.

I am a Virgin Blogger

Today I decided to start blogging. I am always a few steps behind the technology revolution. I am always sharing stories and interesting things with my friends and family. They told me I should start sharing these with others. So I have decided to write a blog a share my tales with anyone interested in reading them. Stories and tales of my life and things I have learned along the way. There should be something here eventually for everyone, as I am not your typical or normal individual. Please be sure to read about me, where I will try to give a synopsis of the strange and unique person that I have become through unique and strange life experiences. Here's hoping that at least one person besides my mother reads this!