" The Good Old Days " v "Today"

 

KIDS THESE DAYS WOULD LAUGH AT THIS, BUT IT'S SO TRUE…..

When I grew up our tea time was at a regular time, Sunday’s was a roast, simple as that!

Eating out was not heard of, we only had a take away on special occasions, only received a present on birthdays and at Christmas. None of this Halloween, Easter and Play dates.

Fast food was fish and chips and having a bottle of lemonade from the shop was a real treat.

You took your school clothes off as soon as you got home and put on your 'playing out' clothes. - children looked like children, we didn't pout, wear makeup or have anxiety. There was no taking or picking you up in the car, you walked or rode your bike!

Our house phone had a cord attached, so there was no such things as private conversations or mobile phones! Ours was out in the hall.

We didn’t have Now TV, Sky or Netflix, we had only 3 channels to watch. Channel 4 and 5 was an exciting addition! we had to watch all of the adverts unless you switched to BBC.

We played rounders, kick the can, Hide & Seek, nick nack, Football, climbed trees, daisy chains and Rode Bikes.

Everyone could play ball! We used tops for goalposts. A wheelie and bunnyhop on your bike was a standard skill and we used cartons in the spokes of the wheel so it sounded like a motorbike.

Staying in the house was a PUNISHMENT and the only thing we knew about "bored" was --- "You better find something to do, before I find it for you!"

We ate what me Ma made for our tea or we ate nothing at all. If we rushed our tea we weren't allowed to go back out and if we didn't eat it, we weren't allowed back out either

Bottled water was not a thing; we drank from the tap.

We had scraps, some we lost, some we won but we always had a go back.... Or we got another one when we got home

We watched cartoons on Saturday mornings, and rode our bikes for hours and ran around.

We weren't AFRAID OF ANYTHING. We played till dark... street lights were our alarm.

If someone had a fight, that's what it was and we were friends again a week later, if not SOONER.

We watched our MOUTHS around our elders because ALL of our aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, AND our parents' best friends were all extensions of our PARENTS and you didn't want them telling your parents if you misbehaved! Or they would give you something to cry about. Everyone had respect.

I did my research by borrowing books from the library. Internet was non existent and no Google!

We saw toys on adverts and had to wait until 'santa' came before we expected. None of the amazon same day crap

These were the good days. So many kids today will never know how it feels to be a real kid .

  

" A Bird without Wings "

 

A Bird Without Wings

Song by Celtic Thunder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYv4gy_Sh4c&ab_channel=CelticThunder

Like a bird without wings
That longs to be flying,
Like a motherless child
Left lonely and crying.
Like a song without words,
Like a world without music,
I wouldn't know what to do
I'd be lost without you
Watchin' over me.

I get so lonely, when you're away
I count every moment, I wait every day,
Until you're home again
And hug me so tight
That's when I know
Everything is alright.

Like a bird without wings
That longs to be flying,
Like a motherless child
Left lonely and crying.
Like a song without words
Like a world without music,
I wouldn't know what to do
I'd be lost without you
Watchin' over me.

You're my guardian angel
My light and my guide
Your hand on my shoulder
And you by my side.
You make everything beautiful,
You make me complete.
Everything in my world
I lay at your feet

Like a church with no steeple,
Where a bell never rings.
In a town without people,
Where no voice in the choir ever sings.
If a boat on the ocean
Would be lost with no sail,
Then without your devotion
Surely all that I dreamed of would fail.

Like a song without words
Like a world without music,
I wouldn't know what to do
I'd be lost without you
Watchin' over me

I wouldn't know what to do
I'd be lost without you
Watchin' over me

"Letting go of Resentments"

 

LETTING GO OF RESENTMENTS

A story tells of a merchant in a small town who had identical twin sons. The boys worked for their father in the department store he owned and, when he died, they took over the store.

Everything went well until the day a dollar bill disappeared. One of the brothers had left the bill on the cash register and walked outside with a customer. When he returned, the money was gone.

He asked his brother, "Did you see that dollar bill on the cash register?"

His brother replied that he had not.

But the young man kept probing and questioning. He would not let it alone. "Dollar bills just don't get up and walk away! Surely you must have seen it!"

There was subtle accusation in his voice. Tempers began to rise. Resentment set in. Before long, a deep and bitter chasm divided the young men. They refused to speak.

They finally decided they could no longer work together and a dividing wall was built down the center of the store. For twenty years hostility and bitterness grew, spreading to their families and to the community.

Then one day a man, in an automobile licensed in another state, stopped in front of the store. He walked in and asked the clerk, "How long have you been here?"

The clerk replied that he'd been there all his life.

The customer said, "I must share something with you. Twenty years ago I was riding the rails and came into this town in a boxcar. I hadn't eaten for three days. I came into this store from the back door and saw a dollar bill on the cash register. I put it in my pocket and walked out. All these years I haven't been able to forget that. I know it wasn't much money, but I had to come back and ask your forgiveness."

The stranger was amazed to see tears well up in the eyes of this middle-aged man. "Would you please go next door and tell that same story to the man in the store?" he said.

Then the man was even more amazed to see two middle-aged men, who looked very much alike, embracing each other and weeping together in the front of the store.

After twenty years, the brokenness was mended. The wall of resentment that divided them came down.

It is so often the little things that finally divide people - words spoken in haste; criticisms; accusations; resentments. And once divided, they may never come together again.

The solution, of course, is to let it go. There is really nothing particularly profound about learning to let go of little resentments. But for fulfilling and lasting relationships, letting them go is a must. Refuse to carry around bitterness and you may be surprised at how much energy you have left for building bonds with those you love.

Author Unknown

" No Admittance " - a story to never give up.

 

NO ADMITTANCE

Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.

Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE." When the houselights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.

Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obligato.

Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. And the audience was mesmerized.

Whatever our situation in life and history--however outrageous, however desperate, whatever dry spell of the spirit, whatever dark night of the soul - - God is whispering deep within our beings, "Don't quit. Keep playing. You are not alone, Together we will transform the broken patterns into a masterwork of my creative art. Together, we will mesmerize the world with our song of peace."

Author Unknown

Life Lessons- add to the list ?

 

Life Lessons - What Could You Add To This List??

·        I've learned that the best teachers are the hands of the elderly.

·        I've learned that when I'm in love, I can't hide it.

·        I've learned that when someone tells me you've brighten up my day, they brighten up mine.

·        I've learned that being kind is more important that having all the reason.

·        I've learned that I can't learn to be wise, but that I must always strive for wisdom.

·        I've learned that I must always accept a present from a child.

·        I've learned that I can always pray for someone when I haven't the strength to help them in another way.

·        I've learned that it doesn't matter how seriously I must face life, I'll always need a friend by my side to act foolishly.

·        I've learned that sometimes everything a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

·        I've learned that I must be glad God didn't give me everything I asked him for.

·        I've learned that money doesn't buy everything.

·        I've learned that the simplest things, everyday, are what make life so wonderful.

·        I've learned that behind the hardest shield there's always someone that needs to be appreciated and loved.

·        I've learned that the Lord didn't make everything in just one day. What does make me think that I can?

·        I've learned that those who ignore reality never change it.

·        I've learned that love and time don't heal all our wounds.

·        I've learned that everyone I greet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

·        I've learned that to live I need to be strong and I'm the strongest one.

·        I've learned that I never lose chances. If I let them go, someone will take them.

·        I've learned that when I hold my sadness, happiness goes and holds someone else.

·        I've learned that I must keep my words soft and sweet. Maybe tomorrow I'll have to chew them and swallow them.

·        I've learned that a smile is the cheapest way to make my appearance better.

·        I've learned that I can't decide how to feel, but I can decide what to do about it.

·        I've learned that we all want to get to the happiness at the top of the mountain, but experience and inner strength are learned as were climbing.

·        I've learned that there are only two situations in which I must give advice: when I'm asked to, and when my life depends on it.

·        I've learned that the real treasures in my life are those that will go to the grave with me.

Author Unknown 

" Anthem " from Chess - support for Ukraine.

 

Anthem from Chess

https://www.facebook.com/treorchymalechoir/videos/1162158201188522/

 

No man, no madness
Though their sad power may prevail
Can possess, conquer, my country's heart
They rise to fail

She is eternal
Long before nations' lines were drawn
When no flags flew, when no armies stood
My land was born

And you ask me why I love her
Through wars, death, and despair
She is the constant, we, who don't care
And you wonder will I leave her
But how?

I cross over borders but I'm still there now

How can I leave her?
Where would I start?
Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart
My land's only borders lie around my heart

 We must not become immune to what is happening to the people of Ukraine. This was the home of ordinary people. 

Stop for a moment and Be Thankful for what we have : 

I AM THANKFUL ...

For the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight, because she is home with me, not with someone else.
For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato, because he is home with me, and not out at the bars.
For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes, because that means she is at home, not on the streets.
For the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed.
For the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.
For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.
For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.
For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.
For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech.
For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.
For my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.
For the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear.
For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.
For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.
For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive.

Author Unknown