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05 Things I'll Do Before Turning 50. If I'm Not Dead, I'm Not Done.

6/17/2013

Right before chopping off 10 inches!

2013 is the culmination of my 50th year of life. All my over 50 Pixel Pals are nodding their heads saying, "Been there, Done that." Of course, they know I'm only half way through this journey, and can understand my taking stock to see what's coming around the bend.

I, like all others before me, am feeling the clock ticking faster, and am responding with trying to do more by this mid-century mark. So, here is my 05 by 50 list for your reading and laughing pleasure.

Go Skydiving
Appreciate my curves enough so that I can walk on a beach in a bathing suit without sucking in my stomach
Chop off my long hair and donate it (DONE!)
Finish one of my novels
Pay my monthly mortgage from writing

I'll keep you posted as time goes by. I have until September 2013 to do these five things!

Here's to the next 50 years!

What did you do, or will you do by the time you turn 50?

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

All that is left! LOVE IT!

2 Comments

Einstein and Motherhood

1/28/2013

2 Comments

Sweeping and mopping the muddy paw prints and shoe prints for the second time today made me think of Einstein, and how his intellect, while vast, did not extend all the way to motherhood.

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

2 Comments

Yes

12/27/2012

10 Comments

I have learned quite a few things this year, and have learned to actually live many more that I already knew. Here goes...

Say "Yes" and allow your children to be children as often as possible, unless what they want will harm them or someone else. Sometimes saying "No" becomes a habit we need to break.
Children and adults are moved by and respond to compassionate reasoning over yelling every time, and can see in your eyes if your faking.
Those who don't respond right away, probably expect and are more familiar with the yelling, so they need the compassion even more.
Show those you love that they are loved whenever the opportunity arises, not because that might be your last chance to do so, but because you actually love them.
People actually get the opposite of what they want when they don't make their own educated decisions, and instead, follow blindly whatever group will lead them.
Those older than you almost always have a wisdom worth listening to if you just close your mouth and open your heart.
"Normal" people are just not eccentric enough to imagine and create the advancements the world has enjoyed. Thank goodness enough of those "eccentric" people have not been drugged normal yet so we can continue advancing as a civilization.
It's almost always NOT about you.
When it is about you, say and show you are sorry.
The focus of your daily attention is your current reality and the foundation of your future.
That future becomes your new reality much faster than you expect.
The focus of your daily attention is also your child's current reality, and becomes the foundation for the future reality of your grandchildren.
Making a child smile brings more light and warmth to life than anything else.
It is our choices, not our talents that show who we truly are. (Okay, I stole that one from Dumbledore, but it bears repeating daily!)
Having someone in your life who has been present throughout most of your history, and still likes you is an amazing gift.
Tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it. (Okay, I stole that one from Miss Stacy, but I still have to go to sleep repeating it.)

I would greatly appreciate any other wisdom you can share as we say good bye to one year, and my learning continues in another.

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

10 Comments

Beauty, not Pretty

9/18/2012

4 Comments

They are the pretty ones. Their makeup is flawless, hair shiny and coiffed. Their look is arranged right down to the bulging biceps or slim waist.

They are admired by the masses, and the masses monitor themselves by the pretty mirror.

Son, I know you are attracted to pretty. We all are at first. True beauty, however, goes much deeper and reveals itself through many layers.

Beauty is created through depth of experience.

Beauty sometimes blossoms in the smallest, most fragile form, and may only reveal itself in that
fleeting, delightful moment.

A colorful display is not necessary to experience the deep sweetness of beauty. We may need to close our eyes sometimes to sense it.

Cactus Flowers in Firey Furnace, Arches National Park

However, when beauty unfolds in the harshest, most difficult conditions you know it has reached it's
truest depth and strength.

To find beauty, son, tend your own garden, and the beauty will find you.

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

4 Comments

Stand Alone

8/31/2012

4 Comments

For every unique, amazing child (and adult) who is bullied to follow the crowd...
Stand Alone!
It is worth it, in the end, to stand true and be you.

MommyLoves you!

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

4 Comments

Mindful Me

8/20/2012

4 Comments

Life-changing milestones just around the corner are making me more mindful of the time I have in front of me. The hourglass is running out, and if I live to 100, I'm half way there. Yes, I'm in my 50th year on this planet...if I lived on any others, I don't remember.

I also have a child just starting high school. Talk about a milestone...letting go. I feel very strongly the lyrical meaning of "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" by Sting. I am preparing to set him free, and it's scary and exciting all at the same time...just like when gave birth to him.

I now understand I must be more mindful of my actions, not just in parenting, but in everything I do.

I am one of those types who can get sucked into the black hole of links imbedded in everything I read online, so my day could easily pass by me faster than a toddler escaping his mother. Consequently, online is the one area I must fight to stay mindful every minute. To this end, I have started putting every little thing I need to accomplish each day on my calendar, and I adhere to my "social media posting/reading" time slot more strictly than any other. Because there are several wonderful writers whose posts I visit and comment often, I will need to make time to seek out, and read new writers weekly in order to expand my mental horizons with new information and opinions. I now know why posts and books are getting shorter and shorter - supply is following demand. I also use HootSuite to schedule regular postings to both Facebook and Twitter, and keep them scheduled at least 5 days in advance.

My mindfulness is also being applied to my writing. I have always been a "project" person - I get ideas, and if I don't write them down or record them on my iPhone while driving, they are lost forever...or until I happen to experience the same impetus to think of them again. This more than anything else has allowed me to get more writing done in a shorter amount of time! Since I am sort of a procrastinator...okay a lot of...even though I love to write, it is much easier to read. I can use a deadline as an excuses to lollygag all day, and power through my work at the last minute. With my new mindfulness that life is running out, I only allow myself this laziness occasionally, rather than weekly.

Back to my 14 year old...I only have 1460 days until he goes to college. Actually, I only have 12,030 HOURS of my son's time over the next four years until I let him loose on the world to make his own mark. (Yes, I'm also showing my OCD in having calculated this number four years in advance, considering extra time for weekends and holidays and only 6 hours during the school days, but if I'm confessing my procrastination, I might as well go all the way.) This number really made me sit up and say, "What?!" like I did when I heard Bill say what he did with Monica was not considered sex. I must have heard that wrong, I'm sorry, calculated that wrong...I don't understand...How could I only have mere hours left for my son to wake up every day to a breakfast I make, and go to sleep every night to my "L'amo"...? What about my youngest? He's turning 11 next month, and middle school goes by in a blink!

Hence, my mindfulness in everything I do. I won't overreact to this realization that I'm like Wile E. Coyote chasing after my Road Runner of a life. I won't wait outside the bathroom door while my oldest is inside taking a shower just to say, "I Love You" when he comes out - he told me that was creepy. I won't write for hours on end because I have so much to say, and so little time - my weak bladder muscles won't allow that.

I will simply be mindful of my thoughts and actions, and exercise my power of choice. I don't have time or energy to waste on petty thoughts, conversations and deeds. Life and love are too beautiful to cast a shadow on the world through my heedless actions.

How do you keep yourself mindful of all you want to accomplish and enjoy each day?

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

4 Comments

Idea Digestion - Calling All Moms (okay Dads Too)!

8/15/2012

6 Comments

I have an idea!

I know what you're saying..."So what else is new, Mary, you get ideas all the time. How do we know this one is any different than all those others written in your little notebook?!"

First of all, my notebook isn't so little. Secondly, I'm totally devouring and digesting this one until it becomes...no not that...a book full of Everything Mommy Loves.

I need your help, however. This idea isn't about me, it's about all other Mothers who can express themselves and Everything Mommy Loves in 140 characters or less.

If you are up to the challenge, and want your Mommy Love shouted out to the world, please visit MommyLoves140 and find out how you can contribute. (The title of the actual book will be much more glamorous and catch, I promise!) Pass this on to every Mom you know, and let's see how far around the world the Mommy Love spreads. Love is the universal language, after all...or is that music?

If we get enough Moms to participate and share meaningful, insightful, snarky, loving, sarcastic, nurturing, funny (you get the picture) messages about Everything MommyLoves in 140 characters or less, I will do all the work to publish the book created by all the amazing messages by amazing mothers, and all those contributing get their name/twitter/facebook/business name/website/etc. included! I will donate all profits to a children's charity, and would love some ideas on those you love! Just give me some suggestions, and together we can make a difference in a few more lives.

The page listed above says it all, and if you have any questions or comments you know where to find me, right?!

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Mom ~ Entrepreneur

Tweet Me
Like Me
Read Me like a Book

6 Comments

It Comes in Waves

7/13/2012

7 Comments

You probably don't see it, because neither do I. It's just beyond the horizon, just out of sight. That experience we've never had before...do we really want to see it before it gets here? Do we want to be forewarned in time to prepare?

Both my sons (as well as their parents) will have that experience this fall. One is going to high school, and the other is starting middle school. Just like everything else in life, there are benefits and drawbacks to knowing, or not knowing what's coming.

My high schooler has no idea what his new adventure will bring, because he has no friends already traveling the path to guide him. The campus is huge, and scary, just like the seniors. Luckily, he will play trumpet in Marching Band, so he is being exposed to the campus and some of it's inhabitants before school starts in preparation for the upcoming Football season. He is still very nervous.

My middle schooler has an even better idea what awaits. You see, his big brother had already been to his middle school, and we have toured the campus throughout three years of Orientations, Back to School Nights, Open Houses and Band Concerts. The Music Director already has a spot for him in the Trombone section, and his Principal was the Vice Principal in his Elementary School until 3 years ago. He is still scared.

Inherent personality probably plays the largest part in how we anticipate a new adventure or a fork in the road in our current one. My oldest is a "glass half full" kind of guy, so he is a little more optimistic about what awaits him, and being tall for his age, he feels a little more secure in the way he will carry himself at the start of this new journey. My youngest is a "glass half empty" kind of guy, so even though he knows most of what awaits him, he is concentrating on what he doesn't know, and since this pessimism creates some difficulties when making new friends, those fears are maximized.

Sometimes it's better not knowing what awaits, because we have an opportunity to bring a more positive outlook to new situations, however, the blind polly-anna may be blind-sided. Sometimes it's worse knowing what's around a corner, because we spend time anxiously anticipating the negatives, but the pessimist can also be pleasantly surprised when it's not so bad after all.

Even a detour in the road on the way to the grocery store can bring about these optimistic or pessimistic attitudes, so you don't need offspring to relate.

The picture above shows us watching the sunset last night, the three of us and the pups (poor dad is home working) with the entire beach to ourselves. At that moment, I knew we would all handle whatever happens...just like the waves.

Which do you prefer, knowing what awaits, or taking it as it comes?

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

7 Comments

88 iPhones?

7/10/2012

4 Comments

I'm already starting to worry about my firstborn going to college, and he's just starting high school this fall. Am I nuts? I don't think so. Check this out!

Look at the savings on getting Pell Grants (I got those when I went to UC Berkeley in the 80's) for only the amount needed for expenses for a Graduate Degree - it's under "FA Comparisons" - I agonized over buying him one iPhone this summer, and he could save enough for 88 more...

That's it, he's getting a job.

Navigating the financial aid system infographic by Southern New Hampshire University, SNHU.EDU

Brought to You by SNHU.EDU Online College Programs

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

4 Comments

Dadjectives

6/14/2012

9 Comments

Shocked
Scared
Loving and Protective

Worried
Oblivious
Trying to Help

Awestruck
Fumbling
Cautious and Tentative

Overtired
Annoyed
Looking to Escape.

Learning
Adapting
Teaching and Encouraging

                                                                                   Changing
                                                                                   Responsible
                                                                                   Waiting to Play

                                                                                   Amazed
                                                                                   Relieved
                                                                                   Helping and Surprising

                                                                                   Growing
                                                                                   Admired
                                                                                   Showing the Way.

                                                                                   Older
                                                                                   Proud
                                                                                   Honored and Dignified

                                                                                   Wiser
                                                                                   Content
                                                                                   Still the Love

                                                                                   Knowing
                                                                                   Enlightened
                                                                                   Happy and Satisfied

                                                                                   Peaceful
                                                                                   Insightful
                                                                                   Offering the Dove.

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left

9 Comments

<<Previous

05 Things I'll Do Before Turning 50. If I'm Not Dead, I'm Not Done.

Einstein and Motherhood

Yes

Beauty, not Pretty

Beauty is created through depth of experience.

Stand Alone

Mindful Me

Idea Digestion - Calling All Moms (okay Dads Too)!

It Comes in Waves

88 iPhones?

Dadjectives

Author

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