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Posted in Our Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings

Let’s try it again

I am going to try and get used to blogging so that as we do something cool I can add it. For example we are at an anime convention, Kikori, in Flagstaff, AZ. We came up last night and arrived around 10 pm. This allows me to be here to greet the guests as they come in today, March 7, 2024.

Last night Michael checked the weather and was bummed and wanted to know who to complain to about the weather not having snow. Today we have a 20% chance – He knows someone!

Today we are hanging in our room, first time we have a room to ourselves! Enjoying the quiet and just being together as we wait for the craziness to ensue.

I will try and get photos to upload.

Posted in Sheila’s Ideas on Everything

Fun with the Grands.

Today we took our grandchildren bowling. The kids said they had fun, we got a pizza and soda and an hour of bowling. The youngest, is seven, so we got bumpers. I used them twice. Lol. Most of the time I did really well. In fact I did so well I got over 100 – even after not bowling for ages, AND, more importantly… I beat Michael. LOL

We are planning on doing more stuff with them now that they are a little older. Hiking, taking photos, camping. Should be a lot of fun!

Posted in Sheila’s Ideas on Everything

Random Thought of the Day

I was sitting here thinking of random stuff. And yesterday’s DnD game came to mind. I realized that the stuff I did as a kid, yes I have been playing DnD since the 80’s, are now cool. Well cooler. Things like DnD. Back in the 80’s not only was DnD considered geeky, uncool, but in some circles it was considered a gateway to Satanism.

Now it is considered the thing to do. People are playing it for the first time all over. For me it has always been a fun way to spend time with friends and family. I would tell people when you play Monopoly do you really think you are rich? If you play Life do you really think you are a doctor?

Where is my thought going? I don’t know either.

Does blogging have to have a purpose all the time? Or can it be random thoughts as they come?

Back to DnD. I had another thought. Having fun with family and friends is important. If it is not hurting anyone, legal (we don’t want to get in trouble), than why not?

Maybe whatever that thing is you enjoy now that is shunned will become cool later and you can be the one going I did this back when…

I guess it did come to a purpose – Don’t let anyone tell you that something you enjoy you shouldn’t just cause they don’t understand it. Find people who do and do it.

Posted in Our Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings, Sheila’s Ideas on Everything

Why a Blog NOW

We have been discussing the idea of having a blog, video blog or something when we begin our conversion and start living the RV life. But now we want to start it. I tried earlier and it fizzled. Blogging is harder than I thought. So I am trying again, I kept my beginning blogs, and edited this to be more up to date.

I will add photos, art and thoughts to this page. I hope I entertain, induce thinking and in the process get to be a better human.

About me – I am an older person – Gen X baby. I am what my daughter call’s the default – white, middle class, Christian, heterosexual woman. I am married with the 2 kids, one male, one female, a dog and a cat.

I am starting a new career and am super excited about it. I get to travel and train people, two of my favorite things. In the middle of it I am going to take photos, make art and grow.

The goal is for Michael to be able to join me and we can see a bit of this country while getting working.

Update 3/7/24

Been learning a lot. Was able to go train once, and had my first cancelation of a flight due to weather! I have done many Online Meetings and training sessions. Learning a ton and enjoy my job and those I work with.

Posted in Sheila’s Ideas on Everything

Platitudes drive me nuts

Bad things happen and we all want to help those we love through them. There are things that for some reason have become the norm. These sayings to me have no meaning and they can do more harm than good.

To me they are just ways to make ourselves feel better because we “tried” to help the other person.

It is God’s plan/will – NO IT IS NOT – His plan was shot to hell with Adam and Eve. God does not plan to let bad things happen. He does not will us to have bad things happen to us. He lets things happen to us, and then He can use those things to help us grow and become closer to Him. But it is not His plan or will.

Time heals all wounds – WRONG. The pain is always there, waiting to sneak up on you in the most inappropriate times. Example a few weeks after the death of a loved one in training class I was asked to read the scenario – that was about a car crash and the death of a loved one – I started crying and had to reign it in to finish the scenario. What happens is that we learn to live with the pain – we learn to live with the lose, and the moments of overwhelming emotion are fewer and fewer – but it never goes away.

Everything happens for a reason. Well ok and sometimes that reason is because someone made a bad decision. There is not necessarily anything good about the situation. And there doesn’t have to be.

It is what it is. Really that is supposed it make anyone feel better. To me it is a cop out and defeatist attitude. We can’t change anything so we must accept it. Not work to make it better.

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger – WHAT!!! There are many things that people go through that doesn’t kill them. But it doesn’t make us stronger. A lot of times it makes us more susceptible to other things just as bad.

I try to listen and convey that I am there. I don’t have the answers, but they are not going through this alone. I tell them I love them, and I empathize. I look for what they need and help fulfill those needs. I try not to crowd them, but let them know I am willing to drop everything to be there for them.

I don’t have all the answers, I am not a educated, licensed anything – if you are going through something seek help. There is nothing wrong with counseling. I think everyone at one time or another needs it.

Also if you are helping someone through it, don’t just give platitudes because you don’t know what to say. Stay silent and listen. Give them the support they need and not say things just to make you feel better.

Update – 2/11/23

Yesterday this proved itself again – I was getting food and saw someone for half a second I thought was someone else. That someone else is no longer with us and the pain crashed down again.

Update 3/7/24

I am reviewing my blog and hoping to start doing it consistently, even if it is ramblings of an old woman. But I saw something on What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. It said it does not, it can break us. but the HEALING can make us stronger, and if we are not stronger than we have more healing and that is OK.

Posted in Our Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings, Sheila’s Ideas on Everything

What do you MEAN by that?

I tell people I am a Christian. Some cringe, some get excited, and some don’t care. But, what do I mean when I say I am a Christian?

I mean many things. First and foremost I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe that they are three in one. They are equal, but choose to submit to one another. I believe that Jesus submitted to the Father and came to earth as a human. Jesus lived among those that were not the coolest, the richest, the ones who lived by the law. He came to this earth to allow me the ability to go into the presence of God. A being that is so pure that the slightest bit of sin is physically, mentally and spiritually painful. He took that sin and died. He was without God’s presence for days so that I would never have to feel that.

How does this affect how I act – unfortunately not as well as it should. I am not perfect, I prove this every day. I rebel and do what I want, say things I shouldn’t and am not a good example of Jesus’ love.

But what it does do is allows me to be compassionate. To see the other side and realize that I do not have all the answers. In fact, I have no answers. All I can do is continue to strive to get better and be more like Jesus.

I try and love first. To accept others. To not judge, that is not my job. To show people who Jesus is by my actions. And hope that they see Him amongst all the stupid that I do.

There is nothing that I can do deserve what Jesus did. Only accept that he did it and strive to be more like him.

Posted in Our Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings, Sheila’s Ideas on Everything

This is not the blog I wanted to write. (Life isn’t fair)

This is not the topic I expected to write about at the very beginning of my chronicling my journey. It is not a blog I ever wanted to write.

Last week, my friend’s daughter was in an accident. The accident caused damage to her arteries in the neck – which caused her death a few days later. The daughter was a bright light, had a smile that lit up the darkness and had an anger that was scary to say the least. She was stubborn, selfless, and overall an amazing person. She leaves behind devastated family and friends.

She was around the same age as my son. Which causes a wake up call – NOBODY is safe from death. I always just go about things as if we will all die at an old age. There is always time to tell someone I love them. Well there may not be.

I am angry and sad and still in disbelief. I am grieving. But I am grieving for more than my loss right now. I am grieving for the loss my friend is going through. I am grieving for her kids and fiancée. I am grieving again for my dad, my friend Kathy, my friend Kelly, my grandparents…

I am also reminded that our decisions can always have a catastrophic consequence. That there may be fallout. I think about all the things I did that might have caused death – and I am sure many of them caused hurt. And I grieve that.

I yell and scream and cry.

I remind myself the God did not LET this happen. He gave us freewill and things will happen because of it. But I still yell and scream at him WHY. Logically I understand this, but emotionally I want Him to make it better. To have stopped it and allowed a beautiful soul to continue with the life that was finally going her way.

And most important I want you to know that you are loved.