A Favorite Quote...

Most people have a quote that resonates with them, something that they fall back on when they need some inspiration or motivation. You see quotes mostly from famous people, not so much from just ordinary people, but maybe those are the ones that say anonymous because the person is unknown. Rather than put a person's name that no one knows they choose to put anonymous - something to ponder!

I have a quote that I have said for many years, one that applied not just to my life but many others that I have worked with throughout my career. Someday I will share that quote with you, or maybe I will post the quote and give credit to anonymous. Oh well, that is another post in the future.

The whole point of this blog post was to share with you one of my favorite quotes that has given me a lot of motivation throughout my life. It’s by W. Clement Stone.

"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Things don't always turn out exactly the way that I conceive them to be, but I have found this to be God working in a way that is best for me. Part of my Let go and Trust God!

If you have a quote that you love, please share!

All the best, always!

Smiles,

Jackie

The photo is of Tracy and I on the Bill Cunningham radio show on WLW. When we were preparing for Tracy’s Don’t Stop Believin’ Benefit in 2010, I wanted to get as much exposure to her story and the benefit as possible so I contacted the media and they invited us to come on the show. It was so much fun. People knew it was us on the radio just from our laughs. Tracy would call me her manager but I told her that we needed to do whatever it took to get her story out there to inspire others and that is what we are continuing to do today with Help Your Hero.

At times, it is your turn to be the recipents of the generosity of others...

Forty-Six years ago today, my family lost almost all their material items, but we were all okay and that is all that mattered. Everything else was replaceable. Following is an excerpt from Traces of a Hero that tells this story:

My parents always taught us the value of paying things forward, but there were moments in which they had to be the recipients of the generosity of others. One of my first memories as a young child was traumatic. Just a few days before Christmas, when I was three-and-half-years old and Tracy was one-and-a-half-years old, my dad was painting in the basement. He had a can of paint thinner close by and accidentally knocked it over. It caught the pilot light on the water heater and exploded.

Mom and Trace had been out Christmas shopping, but I was upstairs in the living room playing with my dolls when the explosion occurred. Dad ran upstairs yelling my name, but by this time I had hidden behind a chair. The noise from the explosion coupled with my dad’s yelling scared me. Nevertheless, he found me hiding behind the chair, scooped me up, and ran out the door.

My dad volunteered at a fire house just a block away, and he ran straight there with me in his arms. He threw open the garage door to the fire truck bay and set me up in the truck’s seat.

He then began to yell, "My house is on fire!”

The others thought he was kidding at first because he was a big joker, but when the garage door came down, he yelled, "If you don't open that door, I am going right through it! My house is on fire!” By this time, they knew he was serious.

We pulled up to our burning house and flames were engulfing it. Our neighbor took me and held me as we watched my dad and the fireman fight the fire.

When all was said and done, the shell of the house was left, but we lost everything from our baby pictures, Mom’s wedding gown, and all our personal items. We had to move into a rental home for many months while our house was rebuilt.

Only one week after fire destroyed much of our home, my mom had to have major surgery. I witnessed from my earliest memories, my parents struggling with some really tough stuff from which they had to pull from their inner strength and faith to deal with. They taught us great lessons - that when your strength is tested, you give it your all. My Mom would say, "What don't kill you makes you stronger.”

Well, my parents should be able to bench press a house by now with all the strength they’ve been building! As important as it is to help others, sometimes it’s just as important to allow the help of others.

All the best, always!

Smiles, 

Jackie

When I shared with my cousin David about the 1967 fire last year, he put out a call to our family to find any pictures they could of my family before the fire. My cousin Diane found this photo - it was taken just 2 days after the fire on Christmas day with our cousins. I am in the stripped shirt and my dad is holding Tracy in front of the Christmas tree. I am very thankful to my cousins for taking their time to find this photo, something that is now so precious to me.

Does Music Speak to You?

Letting the Music Speak to you!

Music has been a big part of my life ever since I can remember. I cannot imagine my life without music. I work with music coming out of my computer - unless I really have to think harder than normal, then I may have to mute it until I get through my task at hand.

I also like to sing, but I am not very good at it. I have a saying that those around me just ignore because they hear it so much. When I hear a song, I will say, "Oh, this is such a great song!" and then I sing it. Even though I am not a good singer, I have been known to belt it out.

There are so many genres of music, which is awesome because we have many choices for our moods. I have found that music has been healing for me. I turn to music a lot because it changes my mood within seconds of hearing a great song.

Years ago a friend of mine told me that she did not like music because she did not like the pain it evokes when she would hear certain songs. Always being a lover of music, I was shocked when she told me this. I remember telling her that there are so many great songs that also remind you of good times, so why not look at it that way. My friend went on to love music and just made a point to change the channel or remove herself if she did not like the song she was hearing.

Brian and I like a restaurant on the river that we visit during the summer months. They have a jukebox that you can pay to play songs. We have walked in many times when no music is playing. On those occasions, the place seems so boring! But the moment you put music on the jukebox, you immediately see people’s moods change. Brian and I look at this intentionally when we are there. We know the owner and have shared with him that he needs to have music playing all the time. He says that he makes money off the juke box, and as Brian pointed out, when others are enjoying themselves, they will stay longer and that could possibly mean more sales for his restaurant.

I believe that music speaks to the soul. It helps to wake it up when needed or it just reminds us that life is meant to be enjoyed!

All the best, always!

Smiles, 

Jackie

The picture is of Tracy breaking into a dance in the middle of the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. I grabbed my camera and started snapping pictures in between my belly laughs. 

Can over used words lose their meaning or keep it?

Sometimes words can get over used, but I hope in many cases that the meaning of the word (or words) is never undervalued, like the phrase pay it forward. There is a great movie with this title that started a movement and it continues today.

To me, Pay It Forward means giving back to someone else because of something that someone did for you. Now paying it forward doesn’t have to always be the result of someone giving something to you. You can pay it forward any time you want, just because you want to help someone. A Pay It Forward does not have to be something big or include money. A kind gesture will also do.

I can be known as a Pollyanna at times. I want everyone to have the best life that they can envision for themselves – to have all their great dreams come to life. I know that I am not alone, though. Many people want the best for everyone. As I sign off on each of my blog posts, All the best – Always, I am not just saying this. I really want the best for everyone. Can you just imagine what kind of a place this world would be if that were the case?

We don't want the phrase pay it forward to be meaningless words. Let them become something in your life - a way of looking at life as one constant pay it forward. I believe we all have something that we can pay forward in our lives. 

All the best, always!

Smiles,

Jackie

The photo is of Tracy and her SuperFriends in 2010. They are a big reason why Tracy always wanted to Pay It Forward. They were there for Tracy throughout her journey with her brain cancer. 

Thoughts on Christmas Movies...

Do you watch Christmas movies 

this time of the year?

I will be the first to admit that I am a sucker for a Christmas movie, but it has to be on the "not-too-cheesy side." Brian and I have a rule. We will tape the movies on Hallmark or Lifetime and we give ourselves 20 minutes to watch. Then we decide if it is a keeper to watch or on the too cheesy scale. We usually agree on which ones should stay or go.

But why is it we watch these movies?Is it because of the spirit of Christmas? For me, this is a big part of it. I love a feel-good story. They always have positive endings, and they make you feel the true spirit of Christmas. On a side note, they really need to come up with some new story lines because they are too often repeated. Brian and I were even brainstorming about some new story lines just for the fun of it.    Is it the Christmas decorations that we like to see in the movies? I love Christmas decorations. I grew up with a lot of them, and we continue that tradition at our house so we are not in short supply them. I do like the old fashion scenes in movies that remind me of my childhood.

Or maybe it’s just because it is that time of the year? This is one that is definitely true for me. I don't like to watch a Christmas movie unless it is Christmastime. Some people like to watch them in July when they have Christmas in July on some TV stations, but not me.I am sure there are other reasons why you watch Christmas movies. Please feel free to share your take on why you watch them.

All the best, always!

Smiles,

Jackie

Keeping Humor and Fun in your Life...

Life cannot always be fun, but keeping your sense of humor can help you through some tough times. Tracy and I would say that this life is not always easy, but without some comedy and sense of humor, boy would this life be even harder.

Tracy loved to have fun and enjoy life and she did that. I remember one time, she went out to eat with her son Austin and then they went back to her condo and played a game. She told him that she had so much fun. He later recounted that story to me and said, "We didn't really do anything special, but she said she had so much fun!" That amazed him. It was a just a night out for no special reason but she knew how to make fun out of the little and big things.

This is one of the biggest things I miss the most about Tracy not being with me in the physical world. We would just be silly and laugh and have fun. Don't get me wrong, I still have a lot of fun in my life. If I did not, Tracy would not be happy. I have to honor her by keeping our fun alive!

Tracy had one doctor who said to us, "Please be the last appointment of the day because I like to sit and just talk to you all." We would tell stories, laugh, talk about things Tracy was experiencing with a funny twist that would catch them off guard, but it was all in how we dealt with things.

When I wrote the letter to my younger self, the last thing that I said was "Most importantly, laugh out loud a lot.” Laughter is the best medicine and it helps make those not-so-easy times a little easier and it makes those easier times a lot more fun!

All the best, always!

Smiles,

Jackie 

A Way to Cope...

No fear for our future; no regrets for the past

This ran through my head on 1/12/12 as I lay awake unable to sleep - again. I felt in my bones that it meant something, so I grabbed my notepad and pen and wrote it down in the dark as I have done in the past with different things. But this was different. This was similar to the time when the thought of Help Your Hero came to me. I knew it meant something more.

When I woke in the morning and read my note, I was amazed that I could read it because I often have a hard time reading my notes made in the dark, and sometimes even the ones I’ve written to myself in the light. This one, however, stood out like a beacon. This note is about the two things that people do the most - fear the future and have regrets for the past. I was one of those people as well.

This quote has become a mantra for me. I knew it was from God and I knew that I should heed the wisdom in it, although sometimes I find it hard to do within my daily life. But if or when I forget and send up a prayer for guidance, this quote comes back to me again and again, and it has helped me through some tough moments.

1/12/12 was just a few weeks before Tracy's health worsened and we entered into what I call the last 3 months - which are the last three months of her life on earth. I knew that it meant that there were some things coming that were going to test me, but I didn’t want to over think it. I could not fear for the future. I knew that I could be presented with situations that I could regret, but I was being told not to.

I see now with hindsight that this was another tool handed to me to enable me to deal with situations presented before me, and I am very thankful that they were given to me to help me cope.

We all have our ways of coping and skills that were given to us throughout our lives. This was one of mine, and I hope it helps others cope. Now I ask you to share some of yours. Please share anything that helps you to cope through your tough moments in life. It may just help someone else.

All the best, always!

Smiles, 

Jackie