Melancholy Blues

There's an old song by Queen that I love - "Melancholy Blues". It just FITS when I'm having one of my down episodes.

I try really hard in my own squirrely way to maintain a bright outlook, but sometimes those Melancholy Blues just get ahold of me.

Sigh.

The Power of Purple

Hello friends of Squirrel Town.

I was looking at the calendar for notable days and saw that tomorrow is an absolutely lovely one :-)

May 16th is "Wear Purple For Peace Day". Anyone who knows this purple squirrel knows I couldn't agree more!

Purple brings up the most lovely feelings for me.... passion, love, serenity, happiness. Do you know, most people wear dark drab colors to funerals. If I really love the person, I wear purple! That shows how much I care :-)

In honor of the coming Purple holiday, I wanted to reprint the lovely poem "When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple". I celebrate the wonderful notions in this poem and agree wholeheartedly - why wait until you're older to do the things you want to do and to act with love and passion and abandon?

In giving my heart to God and trying to live a life I feel is pleasing to Him, I'm trying to "Live Purple" NOW!



WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE



With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.


And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves


And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.


I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired


And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells


And run my stick along the public railings


And make up for the sobriety of my youth.


I shall go out in my slippers in the rain


And pick the flowers in other people's gardens


And learn to spit






You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat


And eat three pounds of sausages at a go


Or only bread and pickle for a week


And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes






But now we must have clothes that keep us dry


And pay our rent and not swear in the street


And set a good example for the children.


We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.






But maybe I ought to practice a little now?


So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised


When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.






Taken from the book


When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

Gratitude

When I started this blog, I wanted to make people smile. I also want to write about everyday life. Everyday life is what I get most days. I don't get big, WOW events, thankfully.

I've been feeling gratitude lately and a deeper sense of happiness. I think it started a few months ago when a lot of turmoil and anxious feelings surfaced regarding my retirement date and pension.  Until very recently, I had about 4 1/2 years until retirement. It's been that way for the past 25 1/2 years. And then reality stepped in a few months ago and changed that. The pension is now not the solid rock I always thought it was. I get to work longer at the job I fortunately love before I can call it a day.

That got me to thinking. I've had things I wanted to do when I retire, but I always had them on the back burner in my mind... until I retire.... and then the retirement date changed.... and that set off a whole new train trip through my mind of pondering life, and how some people die a lot earlier than they ever thought they would..... and I wondered, "What if I die earlier? I'll never have done those things I've always wanted to do." It occurred to me nobody said I have to wait till the magical retirement.

So I'm not. I got out my mental "what I want to do list" and I've been going down it and pursuing the things that speak to me with the most passion.

I want to work with stray animals at an animal shelter. I know you could never tell by reading my blog that I like animals, but I do. :-)  I have such a heart for them.  I've started helping cats with the S.A.A.P. organization once a week. I LOVE it. Who ever thought scooping poop could be so rewarding?! I love helping them, loving them, and getting them ready for their adoptive persons. It's an honor that I'm allowed to do this.

God laid on my heart a strong passion for older generations. I've enjoyed the elderly for a very long time. When I was much younger, I volunteered in a retirement home. I wasn't ready then. The reality of life for them was too much for me.

Lately, God's been whispering in my ear again and the desire to help the elderly and the forgotten has gotten strong again. I checked out a nursing home a few months ago, but it didn't really click with me. Then a few weeks ago I felt God laying on my heart to go out of my comfort zone and find a place that takes care of not only the elderly but also the people totally forgotten about, the people who never get a visit.

I can not imagine any worse poverty than being alone and forgotten.

I found the home where it feels completely right for me to volunteer at. I went there the other day to fill out my application. Upon entering the lobby, I encountered an elderly woman with a walker, waiting for the elevator. I smiled at her and said hello. She looked at me with an amazing quiet dignity and nodded a smile. I can not explain it to you, but her simple act of kindness toward me touched me deeply.

Life lately has been an adventure of listening for God's whisper and then following it. When I do, it's like this internal sunshine floods my being. I am growing to crave it.

Blessings :-)