Wouldn't You Like to Be a Prepper, Too?

Another hurricane season is upon us, and as responsible adults, we are preparing wisely for it. As Tropical Storm (soon to be Hurricane) Isaac entered the Gulf of Mexico, bottled water, bread, batteries, and generators disappeared from store shelves.

Those who are wise don't wait until a tropical storm is in the Gulf. What is wrong with keeping batteries on hand all the time? You don't know when an ordinary thunderstorm (or errant squirrel) might cause a blackout. You don't know when a sewage or chemical spill might require a boil-order on city water.

Generators are one of those nice-if-you-can-afford-it things. It's noisy & smelly, but if it keeps all the food in your freezer from dying, or keeps a fan running so you can sleep in this heat (forget A/C) then it might be a good investment.

Bread? Never understood what it is about hurricanes that makes Gulf residents hungry for bread, any more than I understood what it was about snow that made St. Louisans thirsty for milk, but so it goes. Maybe they figure, I'm at the super center anyway... might as well do my grocery shopping - oh look! A sale on avocados!

Be wise. Don't wait until there's no place to park at the store. If the parking places are all taken, chances are the bread & milk are, too.

Sooner or Later

My parents weren't perfect. No one is. Nonetheless, I was sure, as an angst-filled teenager, that my parents were the worst, and everyone else's parents were better.

 Once I had my own family, my parents' actions (and more importantly, their motives) became more clear. Ah ha! They loved me with all the love they had and gave me everything they had to give. Same as I am doing with my own children. Why couldn't I see that years ago?

The parts of their parenting style that I didn't care for so much, I'm doing differently with my own children. The parts that work for me, I've kept. From time to time, my sons and daughters disagree with my decisions. That's ok. You'll keep what works for you, and do the rest differently when you raise your own family. It's called growing up.

 "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing Myself." -  Rumi 

Sooner or later you have to forgive your parents for being who they are, instead of who you wanted them to be. Forgiving them has nothing to do with them, really. But it sets you free.

No Excuses!

Success comes to those who persevere, not those who make excuses. 

"One donut won't hurt...."

"A pizza once in a while never killed anyone...."

"I've been so good, I'll reward myself..."

Said by people who will always wonder why their diets "don't work." Stop making excuses. Do you want to lose weight more than you want the donut? 

Decide right now. Then act on that decision.

Ignore your feelings and act on that decision.

Don't listen to the "a little won't hurt" lies. Act on the decision.

Act on the decision.





On what decision will you act today?