Day 111/365

Heart: Heart of the Matter
When we think Heart of the Matter, we think about what is most important, the crux, the essence of any issue. 

But why Heart of any Matter?
Could it be that Heart will forever remain the most important influence in our lives, the crux of our well-being, the essence of our spirit and soul?

Without Heart we would have nothing to live for,

and that is the Heart of the Matter.

 

 Day 110/265

Humor:

If A Dog Could Change a Light Bulb!
Afghan:
 Light bulb? What light bulb?
Australian Shepherd: 
Put all the bulbs in a little circle ...
Beagle:
 Light bulb? Light bulb? That thing I ate was a light bulb?
Border Collie:
 Just one? And I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.
Chihuahua: 
Yo quiero Taco Bulb.
Cocker Spaniel:
 Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.
Dachshund:
 I can't reach the stupid lamp!
Doberman Pinscher:
 While it's dark, I'm going to sleep on the couch.
Greyhound
: It isn't moving. Who cares?
Golden Retriever:
 The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're worrying about a stupid burned-out light bulb?
Hound Dog; 
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Irish Wolfhound:  
Can somebody else do it? I've got a hangover.
Labrador: 
Oh, me, me!!!! Pleeeeeeze let me change the light bulb!!! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Can I?
Mastiff:
 Mastiffs are NOT afraid of the dark.
Malamute:
 Let the Border Collie do it. You can feed me while he's busy.
Pointer: 
I see it! There it is! Right there!
Rottweiller:
 Go Ahead! Make me!
Shitzu:
 Puh-leeez, dahling. I have servants for that kind of thing.
Toy Poodle:
 I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.
Cat:
 You need light to see?
Tonka: I second that! Finally, something a cat and I have in common!

(source link: http://www.jokesclean.com )

Comments to margo@MomOpinionMatters.Com

 

Day 109/365

Optimism: 

I dream of a better tomorrow...
when chickens can cross roads and not have their motives questioned! - Unknown

 

Day 108/365

Heart: Hanging out with my graduate school kid—watching videos, laughing in the kitchen, walking Tonka, and eating out in the neighborhood. Last month of summer; of having everyone home; of not having to keep my cell phone close by all the time…

A full heart does not come often.  It is a moment, or several moments in time, when our hearts are truly at peace and full of joy. Having such moments is a blessing—never to be taken for granted, or to be forgotten.  This summer will go into my memory chest.

May all parents have such moments. They not only settle in our hearts, they collect in our children’s hearts as well. See Collecting Memories

 

Day 107/365
Humor: And the Moral of This Story Is...

 Tonka, my dog, likes to eat outside.
 But it is boiling hot.
  He will not go outside in the heat.
  Therefore he will not eat
 because his bowl is inside 
and he hates eating inside unless it is raining.
  We have a stare down.
  He has a choice.
  Eat inside or not at all.
  The stare down continues.
  He ups the anty and goes to the biscuit jar.
  He knows he gets treats inside, not outside
 because outside, he might bury them.
  He noses the jar, paws my leg and noses the jar some more.
  I pretend I am busy because I want him to eat dinner not snacks.
  My husband comes home.
  Tonka fills him in on what is going on with soulful-I’m starving to death, please feed me-looks!
  Of course my husband opens the biscuit jar and gives him some on his way to the refrigerator to munch on some cheese
  My son (home for the summer) then comes down stairs to watch TV in the kitchen.
  Tonka paws him, noses the jar and my son says-Oh you want some treats? Give me paw-the left-now the right-good boy! Here!-
as he goes for the cabinet with the pretzels.
  I continue to look busy waiting for the pasta to boil, as I nibble a little of the left-over dip.
  Then I catch Tonka staring me down.
  Oh really, Mom! No snacks before dinner!!????
  I lose.
Dinner is ready.  
I take the biscuits and put them in Tonka’s bowl along with his food.
  He eats.
  I ponder putting pretzels and cheese and dip on the table.
  We eat.
  Lo and behold? Everyone finishes their food!
  Moral of this story?
  Well there are several:

Do not ever nibble in front of a dog!
Hide the biscuit jar!
As long as one is hungry, one will eat.
  Stay hungry my friends!

 

Day 106/365

Heart:Heart is sometimes where the sadness is, and that is a gift.

My mother died 4 years ago.  Today is her birthday, and all day I keep visualizing sending her beautiful birthday cards, whimsical presents, and wondering how she still managed at 90 to look no older than 70.  We spoke every day.  And each morning when I called, she would answer—Good-morning my darling!
I miss her still,  so much.
But part of having a deep Heart is feeling the fullness of sadness.  It is a far greater  blessing to feel the fullness of tremendous loss, than to feel the emptiness of little difference. And, to truly miss the times one has spent with a loved one, sit with a mental scrapbook full of memories, and look around at the treasure trove of mementos than to remember lost opportunities, abandoned bonds and broken trusts.
So, yes, I miss my mother still so much.  I would give anything to hear her say-Good morning my darling!  But that I have the memories I do to be sad about, I am most grateful.
It does, in the end warm my heart

Day 105/365

Heart, Humor & Optimism: Toy Story 3 (Bring Kleenex!)

 A note of Warning:

There a is a segment of TOY STORY 3 that could be scary to young children. Not all the toys are freindly-one is actually a very dark character--psychologically damaged by loss and separation--not a good script choice (in my opinion). Cannot say more without giving plot away.

The ending, on the other hand, is very moving and wonderfully  hopeful. And yes, everyone in the movie theatre cried-even college age boys!!!!!!

 

Day 104/365

Humor: Donald Trump On The Oil Spill

'What's with all these engineers! We don't need an engineer, we need a plumber!'

Saturday-Sunday June 19, June 20

DAY 103/365

Heart, Humor & Optimism

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL!! 

SENDING YOU AN E-CARD!

LINK TO E CARD: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

 

Thursday June 17

Day 102/365

Heart/Optimism: To the Mama and Papa Bear in all of us! 

Don't worry, this film has a happy ending!

Link: The Bear Movie

Monday, June 14

Day 101/365

Heart:
God bless the heart of our veteran.
God bless the heart of man’s best friend.

 There are a few perks to living in Washington DC-one is free museums and another is a free daily newspaper called Politico a by-partisan review and analysis of all the goings on in government.
On Monday, June 7, an article caught my eye by Representative Henry Brown  called ‘BUGETARY PRESSURES PROMPT CREATIVE VA PROGRAMS’
This brought together two issues I care about. Veterans and Dogs.
‘As more soldiers return home with mental and physical wounds, the need to improve and expand VA services intensifies every day,’ says Representative Brown. One of the more creative ways, is a program he discovered in Palo Alto ‘ in which veterans with post –deployment mental health issues help train assistance dogs for placement with other veterans recovering from combat related physical disabilities.’ To borrow a phrase from my husband and son (usually in reference to techie stuff!) how cool is that?

Representative Brown goes on to state that this is a win-win because ‘veterans confronting mental health battles benefit from the sense of responsibility, normality and stability that the dog-training program provides.
Meanwhile, veterans who are physically disabled benefit from receiving well-trained assistance animals. And the dogs have a good time too.’
(I think Tonka would love this!)

Representative Henry Brown who served on the House Committee on Veteran Affairs and is now a ranking member of the Sub-Committee on Health , was so impressed with the success of this program that he introduced the  Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act which passed the House.

I know Tonka would greatly approve.  Anything that can bring the unconditional heart of a dog together with the fragile heart of a human is more than a win-win.  It is a most powerful antidote for any illness-mental or physical.  
God bless the heart of our veteran.
God bless the heart of man’s best friend.

 Day 100/365

A Nation's Heart: Memorial Day

In Memory...In Gratitude...In Admiration...In Support...

With a Nation's Heart, God Bless (Margo@MomOpinion Matters)

Day 99/365

 Heart:

Daily Om: May 26, 2010
The Soundless Center
Silence of the Heart

It takes a sensitive ear to tune in to the silence of the heart, it can offer us profound experiences if we listen.
Silence of the Heart
We spend a lot of time attempting to put the feelings in our hearts into words, to communicate to others our passions, our emotions, and our love. Often we are so busy trying to translate our heart's roar into language that we miss the most profound experience the heart has to offer, which is silence. Every poem arises from this silence and returns to it. When all the songs have been sung, the soliloquies delivered, the emotions expressed, silence is what remains. As each wave of feeling rises and falls back into the silence, we have an opportunity to connect with the vast, open, powerfully healing wisdom at the soundless center of our hearts.

Our hearts may seem noisy and tumultuous so much of the time that we do not even associate them with silence. It takes a sensitive ear to tune in to the silence of the heart, but it is there in each one of us, so close and so large that we do not even notice it. We can begin to become aware of it in the same way we become aware of the negative space in a still life, the background of a photograph, or the open sky that contains the sun, clouds, moon, and stars. We are accustomed to tuning in to objects and sounds that are one-pointed, solid, and three-dimensional. Seeing and hearing the apparently empty space that contains these sounds and objects takes a little practice.

We can bring our awareness into our hearts by simply breathing into the general area of our heart. The first thing we may notice is feelings like joy or sadness and physical sensations like tightness or tenderness. We acknowledge these as we continue to breathe and focus, listening attentively. We surround these feelings and sensations with breath and recognize that they are contained and held in an immeasurable substance like water or air, intangible, ineffable, but utterly real. This is the silence of the heart, and the more we listen for it, return to it, and accept it, the more we bathe and purify ourselves in the soundless center of our being. Silence of the Heart/Daily Om

Day 98/365

Humor:

DOG RULES
    1.    The dog is not allowed in the house.
    2.    Okay, the dog is allowed in the house, but only in certain rooms.
    3.    The dog is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.
    4.    The dog can get on the old furniture only.
    5.    Fine, the dog is allowed on all the furniture,but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed.
    6.    Okay, the dog is allowed on the bed, but only by invitation.
    7.    The dog can sleep on the bed whenever he wants, but not under the covers.
    8.    The dog can sleep under the covers by invitation only
    9.    The dog can sleep under the covers every night.
    10.    Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the dog.
From "My Dog is the World's Best Dog" by Suzy Becker

Day 96/365

Heart:

On Sunday, off a coast in Italy, an American mother drowned

trying to save her 12 year-old son knocked into the water by a giant wave. 

She did manage to save him before she died.

This sacrifice has happened many times before.

It will happen many times again.

A mother’s heart is like no other.  

It's power is truly fierce, and boundless, brave and selfless. 

It is, in the end, our child's life line.

 Day 95/365

Heart: If this doesn't make you cry tears of joy...

Link: Soldiers surprising their children

 Day 94/365

Humor: A naked dog for a naked lady.
--Gypsy Rose Lee

Day 93/365

Heart, Humor & Optimism:

Ode to the Journey towards High School Graduation

Heart: Ready?  Here we go my love!  I will lead you.  Do not be afraid.  You will not get lost.  My heart is attached to yours, like a rope.
If you fall, it will pull you up. If you drift, it will hold you fast, and if you are afraid, it will draw you close and give you strength.
I shall carry you until you can stand on your own.
I shall hold your hand until you find your balance. I shall stay beside you until you feel ready to walk ahead. Here we go!
I have bought along enough love, and laughs and faith for the two of us.  Do not worry.  Here we go!
We will take pictures of moments in time, and send postcards along the way,
and put together an album of remembrance when our journey is ended.
I am ready.  Here we go, my love!

Humor: Look! A bridge! It will take us safely across the currents. We can look out and below.
We can lean over and watch the water churn, swirl and punch the nearby rocks. Tomorrow will bring calmer winds.
But until then, let's take in the view and laugh at such aqua Kung Fu imagining the waves having a very bad hair day fighting the enemy!
 
You are Finding your bearings.  I'll show you a trick.  Don't look down.  Look straight ahead.  Keep your eyes focused up the path and you won't get stuck.  I will be right there to encourage you to keep going forward even when the fog rolls in and you can see nothing.  It will clear.  It always does.  And then the sun will grant you a much farther and brighter view.  It always does...      

And while we walk, my homework will be to present you with a road map of Values and Principles so that you may have a Moral Compass.
And while we walk, your homework will be to grapple with choices, and do battle with decisions so that you may grow Moral Courage.

Optimism: The views are more panoramic, but the climb has become steeper. You can now see a little tip of the summit. But you have to reach it in time. You need to cover a certain amount of distance per day and complete many tasks along the way. We're both tired And you're anxious about making it to the top. You look back You're a long way up. This part of the journey is taking a lot more effort. You want to sleep. You want to relax, but you can't. You will encounter some unexpected wind, and rain and will have to keep going. Your body will keep growing, and your mind will keep expanding, and you will have to stop more often to refuel, and a lot more is now expected of you and the pressure is on, and you're huffing and puffing towards the top, and I'm there at each rest stop to cheer you on, and tell you I have no doubt you can do this... no doubt.
 
Congratulations to us!  We did it! Take a look out and beyond!
I told you the view was wonderful. I told you it would stretch as far as you could see!. I knew you would make it! See all the way down behind at where we started? And look at you! You've grown heart and soul. You've grown Humor and Optimism. Yes, I'm crying, for this journey has now ended and I must say good-bye but still with so much joy and with such a peaceful heart forever attached on a string to yours.
And while not near, never far . .. never far.(From H20 to Go! Growing Emotional Resilience & Navigating Through Childhood  with Hear, Humor & Optimism by Margo Judge)

Day 91/365

Optimism: Good times always follow bad. Margo@MomOpinion Matters

Day 90/365

Humor: “Dogs need to sniff the ground; it’s how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard.” – Dave Barry (Humorist and Author)

Day 89/365

Optimism:

When you get to the end of your rope tie a knot and hang on.
- Winston Churchill

 

Day 82/365

Heart: Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with those who are reckless with yours.  Mary Schmich

Day 81/365

Optimism:

...When you were born, you were crying
and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end,
you're the one who is smiling and everyone
around you is crying.(Author Unknown)

Day 80/365

Humor:Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home. (Phyliss Diller)

 Day 79/365

Heart:

One of the greatest gifts we can give another human being is to act as their guardian, to hold space for them. (Anonymous)

Day 78/365

Humor:
I have six locks on my door all in a row.  When I go out, I lock every other one.  I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.  ~Elayne Boosler

Day 77/365

Heart: Notes From The Big Apple.

It is crowded.  Full of tourists.  I pass by 42nd street on my way to an office.  I pretend I am new to the city and look up instead of straight ahead.  I wonder what I would think if I had never seen skyscrapers, or huge neon signs.  I wonder how I would feel amongst throngs of people pushing past.  I especially look at the children and think: I cannot wait to take my grandchild/children to New York.  I cannot wait to revisit it with their wonder. I am and always will be a New Yorker at heart.  I cannot wait to share that part of my heart 

Day 76/365

Heart & Humor?

FOR  THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE PETS, THIS IS A TRUE STORY.
FOR  THOSE THAT DON'T, IT IS A TRUE STORY.    
The  following was found posted very  low on  a refrigerator door.
Dear Dogs and Cats: 
The dishes on the floor with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. 

The other dishes are mine and contain my food.

Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate does not mean that it is suddenly your food,

nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
   
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.
Racing me to the top of the stairs is not the object. 
Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this.

Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. 

Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. 

It Is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. 

I also know that sticking tails straight out

and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space that you are taking up,

is nothing but sarcasm.
    
For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom!
If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut,
it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn  the knob or get
your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit
through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -

canine/feline attendance is not  required.
    
The proper order for kissing is:  Kiss me FIRST, then go smell
the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.
    
Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:  
(1) They live here.  You don't.      
(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.      
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.      
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters 

who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly. 
Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:    
(1) eat less
(2) don't ask for money all the time,  
(3) are easier to train,    
(4) normally come when called,      
(5) never ask to drive the car,     
(6) don't hang out with drug-using people;       
(7) don't smoke or drink,        
(8) don't want to wear your clothes,      
(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions,     
(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and     
(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children ...
Day 75/365
Heart:
H  is for Holy
E  is for Eternal
A  is for Affectionate
R  is for Righteous
T  is for True
God Bless and God Bless our children twice!
Day 74/365
Humor: Moments In Time and the Heart, Humor & Optimism, therein-
From H20 to Go! Part II-Margo Judge

AND LIKE??!!!!
I had to get more dog food,
and so Tonka and I went to the pet store-
it’s his favorite place to roam around off leash,
and I bought some new toys,
and everyone wanted to pet him,
and then,  we had to take an elevator back up to the entrance,
because I had two huge bags of food,
and Tonka wsn’t sure about the elevator,
and I had to bribe him with treats,

Then it was lunchtime
and so I decided we could eat outside,
and we sat near this young college couple talking
and  he was telling her about like his ex-girlfriend,
and why like he’s not with her anymore,
and the girl sitting with him was like,
so like you haven’t seen her at all?
and like he says, no way!
and then he says, like,
well, except she called to tell me like she was getting married,
and like she invited me to the wedding,
and then the girl sitting with him says,
so then like you have seen her!
and like he replies,
yeah, I went to the wedding and all,
like I felt that would be a nice thing to do,
and she replies,
then like why did you tell me you haven’t seen her,
when like you have?!

When we got home,
I sat down to look through mail with the word ‘like’ swimming through my head
And I began to panic that if my son, who does NOT speak like that,
because every time he started to in Middle School,
I’d make him repeat what he was telling me without the word “like”
So anyway, if his wedding ceremony were to go something like this-
Like do you take this man...
Like do you take this woman...
and like if there anyone here who can show just cause
like for why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony,
let them like speak now, or like forever hold their peace--
I would think-
Do I really want my future, adorable, four year old grandchild saying,
Grandma, like Happy Birthday?
Or,
Look Grandma! I like learned how to write 'like'!!
And I can use it like in ten different sentences!!!
-No! No! No! 
I WOULD HAVE JUST CAUSE!!!  
Then phone rang!  
Thank goodness!! Like that was scary!
Margo@MomOpinion Matters

Day 73/365
Optimism:
Comedy is acting out optimism-Robin Williams

Humor: One never needs their humor as much as when they argue with a fool.(Chinese Proverb)

  Day 47/365

Optimism: Thinking Like An Olympic Athlete:
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill  

Day 46/365

Heart: Family

 

Day 45/265

Optimism: Tribute to the Olympics: 'It Ain't Over Till It's Over!'

(Yogi Berra)  

Day 44/365

Humor?
Unemployed?  There were 473,000 more of us just last week!
Well, forget building Bridges and Roads-It's taking too long!
(see Day #33/365 of  365 H20 Moments Of The Day!)
Way too much snow anyway!  
Snow!  That’s it!
We could fight enemy potholes and save cars!
Obliterate snow banks that make lane merges suicide missions! 


Liberate alleyways so that fuel and garbage trucks and other supplies could get through! 


Do community building and put pedestrians back on sidewalks,
make paths passable to buses, and drugstores and supermarkets,
and clear parking spaces so others could put away their ghastly lawn chairs!
Obviously, we have to suggest this to our Government!!!!!
Hello? Anyone there? Can you see me waving behind the snow bank!!??

Day 43/365

Heart:
I wrote your name in the sky,
but the wind blew it away.
I wrote your name in the sand,
but the waves washed it away.
I wrote your name in my heart,
and forever it will stay.
- Jessica Blade -  

Day 42/365

Optimism: Sing out everyone to

'Oh, the sun will come out...'
Oh, the snow will all melt-tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow,
it's all gone-
Just thinking about-tomorrow
makes me brave with drivers who are horrors
come what may...
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow,
you're only a snow melt away!   

Day 41/365

Humor:  Lawn Chair Pledge
'We Lawn Chairs of America are proud to have been called into  service; to have been dug out of basements and attics and back closets; to join forces, and line the streets of communities across this great nation; and to protect and defend, at all costs, the rights of our owners to have their parking spaces available when they return home.  We may be tattered and old, on our last leg or seat, discolored or scratched, but we serve proudly, unashamed of our appearance, with only this pledge in mind-
Not sleet nor snow, nor dark of night, will keep us lawn chairs from the fight!'(MCJ)


Optimism: Wishful Thinking?? I will find a plowed parking space
Day 38/365


Humor: Small children almost never misquote. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said - Etienne Marchal  
Day 37/365
Heart The Heart of the Matter:
To get to the Heart of the Matter as a baby– you cry
To get to the Heart of the Matter as a teenager-you shout
To get to the Heart of the Matter as a parent–you listen...
Margo@MomOpinion Matters  
Day 36/365
Optimism: That even with white out conditions, 45 mile an hour winds, blowing snow,
and grass buried deep beneath 30 inches of snow
Tonka will find a spot to pee and poop before a tree branch falls down on my head!  
Day 35/365
Humor:
“Humor helps us to think out of the box. The average child laughs about 400 times per day, the average adult laughs only 15 times per day. What happened to the other 385 laughs?” (anonymous)
Day 34/365
Heart: Love is waterproof

Our job is to polish it...every day.(MomOpinion Matters)

Optimism:

   :

(William James. Philosopher, Psychologist)

 Optimism:A person who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the man doing it.(Chinese Proverb)