I received this email from a SHE (Sidetracked Home Executive) and it’s so inspiring I had to share it with you. I think we can take some advice from Heddy and I‘d like to thank her for sharing it with us. I’d love to hear about the fun you’re having! We do need to have more fun!
Dear Pam,
I let my inner child play MOST of the time because "I" never had a childhood.
I figure if all the email forwards from friends are "regrets" about not playing more and worrying too much, and not burning the pretty candle and wearing the special underwear, then "I'M not THAT girl!"
I'm NOT going to wait until I'm old to wear purple and if you haven't read that poem, Google it! [Pam here: Sorry to interrupt Heddy, but I included it in this blog.]
"I DO use the good china and I often eat my dessert first"
I wear my pearls ALL THE TIME, even when I'm jackhammering, or so I was reminded by a
Home Depot employee who looked at me with awe and admiration. I hadn't been aware of it, but I DO use the good china and I often eat my dessert first. I mean, it's NOT just a bumper sticker about life being too short...it IS and I dance in the rain (often naked) because I can. Ok...I'll admit it was on 7 fully fenced and VERY private acres, but hey, it was great when I COULD do it because now that we're living in suburbia it's not likely to happen without me being arrested, so...NO REGRETS! I DID IT!
And I continue to DO the things that others only wish they could.
Here's a crazy example. We almost never eat junk. I cook most of our meals and am very conscious of what goes into our mouths, but when we DO, there are many times my sweetie gets more than the lions share and I feel bitter that he's eaten 80% of the doughnuts and I didn't
get a chance to even consider the Boston Cream! So, one day, when on a whim I picked up a dozen, I had a bite out of EVERY SINGLE ONE on the way home. Just a small bite...a taste...and then I put each one back into the box nestled neatly next to its neighbor and they looked perfect.
"NO ONE believed me, EVERYONE laughed and EVERYONE ate their doughnuts
with a big smile and a head shake..."
I did NOT, however expect the unexpected company that was already seated in the living room when I arrived home, but Greg happily took the box from me, offered it to our guests and when someone took out one and realized it had been previously enjoyed, he returned it to the box and tried another. I just stood there, doe eyed and remained expressionless until Greg looked at me incredulously and said, "HEDDY! How COULD YOU??" I just desperately tried to maintain my innocence although anyone and everyone who was there already KNEW ME well enough that my urging that it "Must have happened at Timmie's" (meaning someone at the store sampled them) that NO ONE believed me, EVERYONE laughed and EVERYONE ate their doughnuts with a big smile and a head shake. After all...that's just WHO I AM! LOL And probably the only one who would have gotten away with it.
I am a relentless tease, but always kind and never mean spirited...I make people laugh and I light up a room when I walk in. My underwear is on the floor (if indeed I wore some the day before) my socks are never matched...it's the dryer or the dog that eats the mate, I'm sure, but my toes are covered and that's all that matters.
My house may be MESSY, but it's NOT dirty (there IS a difference) and I think your book is JUST what the world needs. We're ALWAYS being told what to do and when and with whom it's appropriate. I'm harmless, so what the heck...I'm dancing to MY drum..."pa rum pa pum pum!"
Hugs,
Heddy
WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Taken from the book
When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
Edited by Sandra Martz
Paper Mache Press--Watsonville, California 1987
Love,
Life is about having fun, peace and Joy.
My latest book, The Joy of Being Disorganized is all about those things.
Get organized just enough to please YOU.
Click on my book to learn more.