Gone too soon....

I have been thinking a lot today, because it was the birthday of my youngest cousin, who would have been 53 years old.  She left this life much too soon, after a long battle with breast cancer, and my heart is still breaking with the loss.  She was irreplaceable in my life, as is everyone I love, and I miss her like crazy.  There is a hole in my heart that will never be filled, even as I have moved forward.

Mother's Day is not just for me and mine!

It is Mother's Day weekend, and naturally, I celebrate my own mother, who made a spectacular success of it.  (And who better to say so than her daughter, who got to see her in action up close and personal?)  Just as naturally, I celebrate my daughter, who is a wonderful mother to my two precious grandsons (the HUGE payoff for not strangling her when she was 15 and impossible, as I like to remind her whenever I can work it into the conversation!)

But I also know that there are a lot of people for whom Mother's Day is a painful reminder of what they don't have, whether through loss by death, or perhaps because they never had it in the first place.  We all have our own picture of the perfect mother in our heads.  Whatever your vision of her, most of us had some variation on that theme, and we know and appreciate how fortunate we were, or conversely, what we missed out on.

Life is not a competition....

I have seen a meme on facebook quite a few times about not judging others, because you don't know what is going on in their life.  I like that meme, because of the solid truth in it.  In fact, I have been thinking about that idea, and have taken it a step beyond.  I think that not only should we not judge, but instead, we should try to uplift wherever we can, because, quite simply, life is not a competition.  It is a communal event, and the better one does, the better we all do.

It is impossible to see inside the heart and soul of another person.  And although their life may not seem overwhelming to you, if it is to them, well, then it is.  Everyone's crisis is personal and overwhelming to them.  And really, does it matter whether it rises to your bar or not?

Calphalon shows the way...

Very rarely will I say anything about a brand online, for better or for worse, because that is not my deal.  (And to be clear, this is not a paid ad, because that is not my thing, either.)  I am making an exception today, because I think Calphalon deserves some extra credit and recognition for treating their customer well.  If anyone is thinking about buying new pots and pans for themselves or someone else, especially in this coming "wedding" season, you should seriously consider buying Calphalon.

Influencer.... When did this become a thing?

It has really come home to me in the last couple of weeks that I am not a part of the young and hip generation, no matter how young I feel inside my head and heart.  (Do they still say hip, or is that another way I have identified I am [late] middle aged?  And I am asking myself, was I ever hip to begin with?  Young?  Definitely.  But hip?  Hm.  Probably not.)

I have been seeing a lot in the news about a young woman who is reportedly no longer speaking to her parents because she blames them for ending her "career" as a Social Media Influencer.  [Never mind her own role in this whole debacle, which I won't even get into.  Personal responsibility doesn't seem to be A Thing with this group.]  Apparently this girl (and many others just like her) has made a small fortune being flown around the world by various companies she "represented" for the sake of flashing her photo having a good time on their dime, and people actually paid attention.  I can't believe any major company handed out these types of freebies for no reason, so obviously, it must bring them business.