Life Math

0+5=5
1+4=5
2+3=5

I was recently asked by a customer at my job if I watched the political convention the previous night. This man was very pumped up about the speeches that had been given, and he is very excited about his choice of candidate. Although I am not in favor of his candidate, I respect his right to his opinion, however misinformed I think it may be.  So I tried to listen respectfully as I got the transaction completed.

But I also believe I am entitled to the right to privacy in my political persuasions. I am not required to disclose to anyone who I vote for, or my reasons why. I don't answer to the world - I answer to my own conscience. And I certainly do not need to answer to a customer who does not even know me.

So I responded to this customer by telling him I did not watch, and in an effort to shut down this line of questioning, I told him I am not political. Apparently he does not share my respect for the opinions of others, nor believe in my right to my personal privacy.

The great social media experiment....

Some years back, Frito Lay came out with a product called "Wow" chips.  The wow was, I assume, because they were fat free, thus people who were struggling to lose weight could suddenly eat chips without guilt.  Or so they thought.

But there was a catch, as there always is when you try to take a short cut on reality.  For many people, there were some unpleasant after effects to eating those chips.  The stomach issues are now legendary, and before long, those chips went off the market.  They are considered a "failure" in the world of snack marketing.

Happy Father's Day!

Until I was 12, I took my dad for granted.  I accepted his unconditional love for me, and for my mother and brother, as a birthright, an expected part of being his daughter.  I thought all fathers were like him, and everyone had what I had in the man they called dad.  I didn’t realize my great fortune in having the father I had.

Vision....

I have been thinking a lot lately about what leads some people to phenomenal success, while others, equally smart and with similar education and experience, languish in obscurity.  I can't prove it, but I think the difference might be at least partly down to vision.

You have to see the possibilities before you can claim the opportunities.  So simple, so obvious, yet so difficult to do in real life.

The voice inside your head....

I don't know about other people, because their life experience is different than mine, but I know that tough times have led to two relationships unlike any other in my life, one with my mother, and the other with my daughter.  (I have a pretty unique relationship with my son, too, but it's different, and anyway, this isn't about him!)

I lost my father at age 12, and ironically, my daughter was 12 when her dad and I separated.  Although each situation was different, it was also surprisingly the same.  Thoughts, feelings, emotions - they were often mirror images at the same age.  I have had the unique opportunity to experience both sides of that coin, and it has allowed me insight to both women that I would otherwise not have had.  As hard as it has been at times, it is a privilege to be in my life, sandwiched by these two strong and independent women.