Bubbles & Bling - a new beginning.

It seems that shopping has taken on a whole new meaning.  Now we can stay at home and not have to worry about the traffic, the weather or what to wear.  We don't even need to check out the papers to see if there's a Sale on because with just a click on the mouse and the whole world of On-Line shopping opens up and many of these sites are offering constant sales and promotions.  So whether we are just surfing internet sites or searching for that special treat for someone special - On-Line shopping has become an important part of the shopping experience.

Obviously, this is great news for everyone - right?  Well maybe, let's think about it.

If you live in a small country town or regional centre you suddenly have access to all the shopping sites and big stores just like your big-city counterparts, so that must be great - right? If you are time poor you can still find your loved ones that special gift, probably even have it delivered gift wrapped for no extra charge, so that has to be great - right?

Well, one of the important things to remember with On-Line shopping is that we miss out on the social side of shopping.  For the last thirteen years, I've run a business in the bricks and mortar retail world and during this time we have worked really, really hard to improve the way we do things, always trying to make sure that our customers have the very best service experience. We are lucky, we deliver both a product and the on-going support and maintenance for that product so we will probably go on trading on real estate rather than a cloud environment for a long time.  The challenge for me and for many other business people is to decide whether we can incorporate more of the On-Line experience into our real-world businesses and if we can do it right then maybe we will be able to attract new customers!  Maybe our experience in the bricks and mortar retail world will mean that we will be great at ensuring that the customer is still considered central to any marketing plan.

The world of On-Line Shopping can be seen as a threat or as a wonderful opportunity for business people.  If we are able to investigate the possibilities that the  Internet offers and see whether or not there are new opportunities just waiting for us...well me actually we will be able to continue our businesses and make use of this new marketing and retailing media but for some businesses, the Internet is probably more than just a threat it probably means the end of a way of doing business.  For me, I want to ensure that I will always have plenty of Bubbles and Bling in my life and perhaps even a better work/life balance so I have challenged myself with the question - If not now - then when? Let the journey begin - it is time to take what I know and see if there are new opportunities out there.

Letters from my younger self.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to go back and leave notes for your younger self - think of the possibilities, warn the younger you about those disastrous decisions - like that perm, REALLY, if I'd only known then what I knew after it was finished!!! Or that truly awful boyfriend, why did I waste that amount of time and tears?  The possibilities are endless.  

Would we concentrate on the big or the little decisions in our life and would we still be the person we are today?   Maybe it is more important to try and pass some of this wisdom on – well maybe!  So I am going to think carefully about some of the decisions I've made and try to work out which ones I would recommend and which I wouldn't.

Rather than lessons to my younger self maybe I should think of them as lessons from my older self to my children – if they want to listen. 

I think if I had had a chance to visit my younger self and give some sound advice the first thing I would probably have recommended was the importance of not taking anything for granted.  It is an often-quoted truism that no one ever goes to their grave wishing they had worked more!  Unfortunately, it's also true that work, either paid or unpaid, does need to be done and the process can take up more time than we would like, but I'll keep this one on top of the list.  

Do we have to keep her?

Over the next few weeks, I am going to consider the lessons I'd like to tell my children - in fact – I think I will call it - Advice from an Interested Mum! 

So first piece of advice - Never take anything for granted, not your health, or your friends or the society you live in - join in, take part.  

There is a song that captures this wish beautifully and the lyrics of this song give a voice to my wish for my children - my wish for them - I hope you have a wonderful life, filled with love, peace, joy and moments that take your breathe away.  I hope you always have something to strive for but still are comfortable and happy.  I hope you are able to enjoy life and see the beauty that surrounds you every day and I encourage you to be open to others and to things outside your control and if the opportunity for something more outside of your comfort zone comes along, then grasp it - Dance in your own life.  

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
God forbid love ever leaves you empty-handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance 
and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance...I hope you dance...

http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/lee-ann-womack-lyrics/i-hope-you-dance-lyrics.html - for the full lyrics.

Songwriter(s):Mark Daniel Sanders, Tia Sillers
Copyright:Sony/ATV Melody, Choice Is Tragic Music, MCA Music Publishing A.D.O. Universal 

A year of firsts...one year on.

Saying a final goodbye to a loved one is never easy, saying goodbye to a beloved Mother is one of the hardest things anyone ever does – last year on October 15^th we said a final goodbye to our wonderful mother.

Life is a journey, with a start and a finish: for some people, it's a short journey and for some, much longer.  For Mum, who was born in 1920 it was a reasonably long journey but on the evening of October 15^th  2012, it was almost over.   

I looked at Mum's broken body and I knew that we shouldn't begrudge the fact that she was leaving us; every breath was now a struggle, each movement was painful.  She had slipped into a coma that afternoon without any fuss and without us realising that we would never get to speak to her again.

I didn't realise dying was such hard work but now I've watched my Father and my Mother die and it seems their bodies become smaller and deflate towards the end.  How is it that these people, so big and strong when we are small can seem so small and frail as they age - truly getting old is only for the brave and my Mum was a brave woman.

Mum lived her life as a lesson in true humility; she raised a family of seven children; all of whom are blessed for having had her as their Mother.  She maintained strong friendships throughout her life and worked in her community for others. In the last few years, Mum's world contracted and this was a great hardship for her.  My sister did a wonderful job of making sure that Mum was socially and physically well cared for but Mum missed the independence she once had and tried hard to fight these changes.

Mum’s life was in Perth and my life is in Darwin and it is a busy one; owning a small business is challenging, owning one in the motor industry since the GFC has been especially so.  I wish now I had seen more of Mum but it is always easy to say 'what if' but the reality is that you have to play the hand you're dealt...I learnt that lesson from my Mum.  

There is a lovely poem, often quoted at funerals and written a long time ago by Canon Henry Scott-Holland which I find deeply moving and comforting.

Death is nothing at all I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I, and you are you, whatever we were to each other 
That we are still call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you alway used
Put no difference into your tone 
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we alway laughed at the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant 
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Some things will never change.

It seems that the more devices we have to connect to family and friends the less time we actually spend connecting.  What a dilemma – shall I text, email, phone, Face Time, Private Message, post, poke or Skype – just excuse me while I take a small nap to consider the possibilities !!!

Modern Dating Rituals

Sometimes it almost feels that I am cyber stalking my family and friends – checking in to Facebook to see what the latest news and events are – always hoping for up to date of photos of people I love and still being surprised that Facebook has become the best way to keep in touch with everyone around the world.  When my Mum was alive I think she was our proxy Facebook channel.

While I love the convenience of these forms of communication and it does seem to be quick, cheap and inclusive I also yearn for the time when we picked up the phone or wrote a card or letter to a loved one and took more than a moment to include them in our lives.  One thing for sure it will be impossible to have a box of well-thumbed love letters in the future.

Dating for an earlier generation

Left Brain/RIght Brain

I always thought that I would like to be more creative– popular psychology used to tell us that it all depended on whether we were right or left-brained – so as a bookkeeper, someone who likes lists, logic etc. I decided that creativity may be off my agenda – surprise.   Now I find that the popular notion has been debunked – WOW – new goal – START SOMETHING CREATIVE – EVERY MONTH.  Now I know that creative for me and creative for someone else is completely subjective but that okay – this Blog is an example of me trying to be more creative with my life!

Lessons from Dr Seuss

You just have to appreciate the art of making life lessons as real as Dr Seuss – “Today you are You, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

Probably my favourite but really hard to follow through on “Why fit in, when you were born to stand out?”

What happens to all the time we save with labour saving devices?

On my way to work this morning I was sitting at the lights, waiting to turn right.  Minding my own business, chilling out to the music on the radio when the driver behind beeped me to move closer to the car in front so he could squeeze through the gap and turn left.  REALLY!!! so he is now 3 seconds further down the road than he would have been if he had just chilled and waited. 

We keep hearing about the rise in on-line shopping, we have amazing access to a wide array of labour saving devices not to mention products from take-away meals, home help, home organisers you name it it is available.  But we still don’t seem to have any more time or more importantly patience, in fact, people seem to be on perpetual ‘speed’.

There is an obvious theme in my posts – SLOW DOWN – Life is not a dress rehearsals for the main event – there are no do overs.