Gift of Time

ve to give presents. I get so tickled when I find that perfect something for someone that I can’t even wait for their birthday or Christmas to have them open it. I think there is a true art to being a good ‘gift-er’. You really have to immerse yourself in that person. Know what they love, their humor, their being. And when you do you will hit it out of the park every time. It’s awesome.

But this year I’m stumped.

My mother has seen 93 Yuletide seasons. As she has grown older she has liked the season less and less. I used to tell her to keep her “bah, humbug” to herself as I added more roping and ornaments to the house. I was still in that stage of hand writing Christmas cards, making disastrous ginger bread houses and baking cookies.

But over the years I too started to feel less of the joy of the season and more of the stress and materialistic undertones. I too look at the calendar and with a sigh see that Christmas is once again approaching. It’s all too much. The reason for the season long forgotten overtaken by layaway, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, car commercials and sales. Our expectations are high and when we can’t find the perfect tree, perfect family photo, perfect family we feel let down and disappointed.

Today I heard on NPR radio that when we long for something like a new computer or the latest iphone once we get it that feeling of total satisfaction and fulfillment lasts for less than a few hours.

But what will bring us long term and total fulfillment? Time spent with the people we love. Good friends and family in gratitude.

And there it was! The perfect gift for my almost 94 year old Mom!

Time

So I sprung her out of the old lady home and as I write this she is happily puttering in the kitchen. I have no other gift for her this year. She doesn’t want or need anything. For that matter neither do I.

I couldn’t be more fulfilled and more blessed and more excited about the Christmas present I have given and received….. the gift of time. Time just enjoying each other’s company and life long companionship. Time to reflect on the past, miss my Dad and life’s lessons learned.

Time; impossible to stop, hold, capture in a bottle but the most valuable of all commodities. Time with no distraction. Time to listen. Time to sing. Time to reflect. Time to love.

I hope you are able to give and receive the same gift from someone special in your life. It will be the best present ever!

“God Bless Us Everyone” - Tiny Tim

Climb On!

- Wendy

Wendy Booker
Author, Speaker, and Life Adventurer

Smelting

Okay I wasn’t even sure ‘smelting’ is a real word. Every time I write it my spell check puts a bright red line underneath to remind me that it is not a word; course I was spelling it with an extra letter. In the Urban dictionary it has a million definitions many of which are very, well letʼs just say theyʼre very…..

But itʼs my word and so in my mind I can spell it anyway I want and I can define it any way I like. Just to be precise, I will spell it without the ʻhʼ. Even though I like it better that way.  
 
Not to be confused with “smelt” as in: “He has the personality of a dead smelt”, to me smelting is one of those great words that rolls off the tongue like gargoyle and pergola.  
 
Smelting – the act of melting down metal to make something new. To re- purpose something out of date but of value. Example: I smelted my wedding band and engagement ring. It was cathartic!  
 
Three years ago when gold was at an all time high, I scoured my jewelry box, sock drawer, childhood memorabilia collection and sought out remnants of gold. The backs of old earrings, gold chains given by some eighth grade beau, something I think a great aunt left behind (although it turned out to be fake….shh donʼt tell Mom) and re-purposed all those lovely but out of date items into something new, something of value. It felt good.
 
It felt right because I was not discarding these bits and pieces of my past, I was reworking them. I was acknowledging their value, their memories and re-purposing them into a new memory.

So now, today Dec. 10, 2014 I am smelting yet again. But this time Iʼm not digging for gold in my attic trunk; Iʼm re-purposing myself!

Iʼm taking all that I have done the past 14 years and melting it together. A pinch of savvy here, a dash of humor there followed by at least a ton of perseverance, sweat, tears and failure.

Add to this some luck, gumption, will power and the most important ingredient, people! The people who have believed in my journey to educate, motivate and challenge.

I have all the ʻingredientsʻʻ and Iʼm almost ready to smelt them all together…

And wait until you see what I come up with!

Climb On!

- Wendy

Wendy Booker

Author, Speaker and Life Adventurer

Team Player

Team on the South Pole

Now don’t get jealous….but on a recent perfect October morning it was too good to pass on so I headed to the beach with my over weight mutt, Cada. Perfection summed it all up.

So as I walked the half-mile stretch of beach my mind was all over the place. For those of you who know me this is no surprise. I have been called out on this characteristic of mine many times. My kids refer to my distracted moments as similar to the dog in the movie UP – when anyone said to that pooch the word “squirrel!” – and he was then all over the place.   

Anyway, the surf, the sand, the happy pooch running after the gulls took my mind on a ride. Suddenly I began to think of a dear old friend, Josh. Josh and I have climbed many a mountain together, shared tents and lots of laughs. Josh is a firefighter in Phoenix with the biggest heart I know and the loyalist friend on earth.

Josh never forgets me. He calls frequently just to check in. He follows my blog, my website and if I am speaking anywhere near Phoenix, he will show up. He is always upbeat, always positive and I don’t know what I would do without his steady, unfaltering friendship. There aren’t many Josh’s out there. How lucky I am to have him.

Speaking last week in Las Vegas at IMEX International, the theme of the conference is Team Work. You know, when you start to analyze your life and how things evolve and unravel you will see the common thread of the people who were there with you, your team. Personally, I don’t think we ever accomplish anything alone. Look at every success and failure for that matter you will always see people there with you in one form or another.  

Recently I went to a symposium sponsored by MassBio. The theme was the value of Biotech: Defining & Building Value in Healthcare. Investors, providers, payers and patient/patient advocates made up the distinguished panel. They were there to address what biotech and pharma need to focus on to provide value and be relevant moving forward. Wow! There are actually people out there identifying and listening to the patient, the investor, the physician and huge companies. Talk about a team!

It got me to thinking about my work with the local food shelter, Open Door. We serve meals to the public, have a food pantry and many community services to provide food and care to the people who need it. I love volunteering in the kitchen preparing and serving the meals.

Course my status as a ‘non-cook’ is often put to the test. I would much rather sing out of tune and wash the vast quantity of pots and pans. But Ken who runs the program is a gem! Never once has he so much as raised his voice to me, or anyone else working there. He treats each and everyone, from the dinner guests to the troops in the kitchen with respect. His leadership creates harmony in the kitchen and a hot wonderful meal to those who need it. Not possible without that team!

So here we are, those of us with MS. Everyday can be a challenge. Everyday can be both frightening and exhilarating, depending on the day…depending on our MS. But look around did you make it through your day alone? Most likely you did not.  

There was probably a team behind you, some silent, some cheer leading, some helping you get to a doctor’s appointment or a stranger helping you on the city bus.   I’m betting your day was defined by teamwork. I know mine always is.

These are just a few examples of the value of teamwork that popped into my daily life as I was happily walking the beach. I will thread these examples into my talk next week.   I will carry all of you with MS along with me since you are a big part of my team.

And Josh? He will be the team leader because we all need someone like Josh, who likes us for who we are…despite ourselves.

Come climb, explore and join my team with and for MS!

- Wendy

Wendy Booker
Author, Speaker and Life Adventurer