Spring Forward

March 8, 2014 / www.spilledcookies.com / 7 Comments

It’s time to move the clock forward again. We watch the sunrise many times on the way to work in the morning now. Bright hues of orange and yellow streak the sky as the sun comes up and signals the start of another day.

I love this time of year. Even though I like winter with the cold and snow blanketing things in white and adding an icy coat to the trees and streets, I love it when spring comes bringing sunshine and warmth to wake up the sleeping trees and plants.

I look forward to Spring this year. It’s a time for renewal, a new beginning. A perfect time to start writing again.

I welcome this new phase in life. This year is proving to be more challenging in some ways and more fulfilling in others. Each year we live is filled with different experiences and opportunities waiting to be taken advantage of if we have the courage to step forward and the willingness to try. I am thankful there are new things to learn.

So tonight, don’t forget to set the clock forward. Take advantage of the longer daylight hours to come. Time is a precious resource, once it’s spent you cannot replace it or relive it. Spend your time wisely.

Cherry Coley

Words To Ponder

March 19, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / 1 Comment

“One should, every day at least, hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if possible, speak a few reasonable words.” – Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe

Motivation

February 25, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / Leave a comment

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last.

Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar

Quote 02-24-2013

February 24, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / Leave a comment

“It’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you use that makes the difference” – Zig Ziglar

Begin With the End In Mind

February 19, 2013February 19, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / 5 Comments

Have you ever struggled trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B? One good way to figure out how to set priorities and goals is to visualize where you want to go, see yourself there, then start thinking of what you can do to get to the place you want to be.

What about life? Don’t you hate it when your employer asks you that dreaded question, “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” How about looking even further into the future? Where do you see yourself in 20 years? What about when you retire?

If you really want to have something serious to think about, what would you want people to say about you in your eulogy? If you can visualize your friends, family, co-workers and the people at your church or the charity you work with getting up to share a few words about your life. What sort of things would they say? What do you want them to say?

It makes you stop and think doesn’t it? It did me. It’s made me realize where I’ve fallen short, the mistakes I’ve made and all the work I still need to do. It’s made me realize I need to invest a lot more time in the people I care about and appreciate.

Life is short, time is precious and there’s no time like the present to get started. Start with the end in mind and put your heart and soul into where you want to be, the influence you’d like to have and the legacy you’d like to leave. You will leave a legacy, the great thing is you have a choice what that legacy will be.

Cherry Coley (c)

Dream the possible dream… (normsmilfordblog.com)

Quote Jan 29, 2013

January 29, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / Leave a comment

“There is little to be learned by doing nothing. When you conceive an idea in which you fervently believe, go after that idea – especially if people you respect believe it’s a good one. Hang in there and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!” – Zig Ziglar

Take a moment today to be thankful for the blessing in your life. Be thankful for your job, your family and friends, the roof over your head, the ability to read, and learn. There are so many things we take for granted each day. Look around you today and be thankful.

I am thankful for you. No one can ever take your place, you are unique, one of a kind. Only you have the ability to do the things you do the way you do them. Only you know all the people in your life that you can touch with a simple act of kindness. You can make a difference.

Cherry Coley (c)

Grief as a Teacher

January 26, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / 7 Comments

photo by Casey Keal

Grief can play with your mind and your perception of the way events happened. The tricks of the mind can lead to feelings of regret and guilt, hurt and betrayal, and leave you with a feeling of loss that can drive you to your knees at times.

All week the residual feelings of the grief felt earlier this week have been with me. I finally got to the point I was asking “what is it I’m supposed to see or learn here?” “What am I missing, and why am I feeling this way?”

By asking these type of questions the feeling of distress is lifted a bit so that I can see what I need see instead of lingering on thoughts of how I wish things had been. My girls are teenagers and the oldest is getting ready to move on with her life. She is trying to find her way, changing her mind, debating what she wants, and taking her first steps forward.

Through the other milestones with my kids, my mom has been here. She was my voice of encouragement, my voice of reason, the person that would laugh at my worrying and say, “karma works.”

I think of all the times I was out too late at night, talking on the phone and tying up the line (before the age of personal cell phones), trying to find my way and changing my mind, and often driving my mom crazy with my ideas and dreams.

There are days when I feel lost without mom, yet I know her words, her wisdom and her love live on in me. I will not forget, Mom, I will remember and we will go forward.

Cherry Coley (c)

Stages of grief and special needs parenting: Is acceptance all there is? (durgastoolbox.com)
Top 15 Tips to help you through the beginning stages of grieving the loss of a loved one. (lifebalancehealthcoach.wordpress.com)

Quote Jan 21, 2013

January 21, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / 2 Comments

” Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” – Albert Einstein.

The End or the Beginning?

January 14, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / 4 Comments

“Every Beginning has an end, every end had a beginning.”

It’s a funny quote that can lead to some deep thought if you let it. It’s sad sometimes when things come to an end. There are a lot of things we don’t like to see end, yet everything in life has a beginning and an end.

When relationships end it can be a sad event. You don’t really want them to, but things just start to drift apart. Sometimes you can stop the drifting and sometimes you can’t. I’ve been in relationships like that where things just changed and it was time for the relationship to change too. On a few of those occasions I was fortunate enough to see the relationship evolve and become a lasting friendship, in other cases it was simply time to say goodbye.

How we respond to the changes in life can help define who we become. After all, if there is one thing that is constant and certain in life it is the fact that life will change. We will lose people, animals, friends, family, in our lives. They will leave, move, die, or just choose not to be a part of our lives anymore. It’s just the way things go.

We have a choice how we will respond to these changes. We can hold on for dear life and choke any chance for reconciliation or healing out of existence. Or we can learn to truly love with an open hand and realize that love, friendship, all relationships (other than those of parent and child) are a choice. Actually, in some ways I suppose the parent and child relationship is a choice too.

Keeping in mind that the people in your life are there because they CHOOSE to be there can lend a different perspective. Realizing that it’s a choice that they are there can make a you appreciate the other person more, treasure and make the most of your time you do have together instead of wondering why the person falls short of all the expectations put on them. Take a moment to appreciate that they are there because they care and they want to be there, and maybe a different approach is what is needed if there is stress in the relationship. Take a break.

This is life, there are no dress rehearsals, no redo’s, no rewind or erasing moments that suck. You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. BUT…isn’t it nice, we have a choice, we can get up in the morning and change our attitude to thinking that each day, is a new beginning and then make it happen.

Tomorrow, will be the start of something new.

Cherry Coley (c)

Lesson Learned (tylatimes.com)
People come and go…life goes on:) (palife11.wordpress.com)
Lifelines: Endings and beginnings (scotsman.com)

Rain and Memories

January 12, 2013 / www.spilledcookies.com / 8 Comments

It’s cold and raining again. Kind of unusual weather for Texas. This is the first steadily cold winter I can remember. Usually, we have bi-polar weather that can’t make up its mind from day to day. One day it will be 70+ and the next in the 40’s.

I’m not complaining. I like the steady cold temps, I’m not sure I’m carried away with the grey days though. The rainy grey days make me feel mellow, and somewhat sleepy.

It reminds me of grey days I spent with my mom growing up. Often she would make chicken and dumplings, have me help her roll out the dough then cut it in strips to put in the pot.

Rainy days were great for reading, watching old movies, listening to music, or just spending time cooking. It’s pretty much the same now with my kids. I like rainy days now and then. There’s something soothing and nice about listening to the sound of the rain and watching it trickle down the windows.

Cherry Coley (c)