“It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary, and only the wise man can see them.”-Paulo Coelho

Recently, a friend told me that she enjoyed reading my blog. However, (oh no, here it comes…) I wasn’t discussing the issues of our country and touching on the problems of real-life. That I should be focusing on politics, religion, global warming, etc.…etc.… She went on to tell me that it lacks the “nitty gritty” and “intellectual stimulation” that she finds important in articles that she reads and shares. My first reaction was to start giggling. To be honest, I really didn’t know how to respond! Was this what she considered “constructive criticism”? Those of you who know me, already can guess what happened next…my lips tightened, I became angry and was at a loss for words. I shook my head and walked away. I knew that for me to “put her into her place” I was going to have to practice the “24 Hour Rule”. I would not say a word to her for the next 24 hours. This would give me the opportunity to think if this was important enough for me to lose it! Well, I am here to tell you that during those first few hours, I thought of some great comebacks…wow, she was going to hear from me. How dare her…. this was my blog, not hers! If she thought it was so easy, she should put herself out there! I really was going to rock her world. BLAH!! BLAH!! BLAH!!
Then I remembered what my next blog was going to be about. Sunrises and Sunsets. They are two of my favorite things. I started appreciating them in my twenties when I realized that the simpler things in life were so important. I can remember sitting on the porch admiring the beauty of the early morning sun rise and the intense colors as the sun was setting. I soon found out that several of my family members and friends were “sky” watchers. We would call and remind each other to run outside and look at the vibrant colors that were stretched across the horizon. The funny thing is that we all would take pictures at the same time and the photos would look different. We would describe the colors of the sky and shapes of the clouds and no two descriptions would be the same. All my “sky” watching pals would be sitting on their own porches, looking up at the same sky, but we all saw something unique. I believe the best term for this is “in the eye of the beholder”. We all had our opinions and thoughts about what the sky looked like, and guess what, no one was wrong.
When my “24 Hour Rule” was over, I took myself out of time-out and knew what I had to do. I brushed off the chip on my shoulder and called my friend. I thanked her and I told her how much I appreciated her opinion, but (yep, it has been said that I always must have the last word) she was going to be disappointed. I told her that I wouldn’t be writing about politics, religion, global warming, etc.… etc.… I would be blogging about my “nitty gritty”; my family and friends, my 4-legged companions and how to encourage each other. I would write about hopes, dreams, memories and how everyone sees sunrises and sunsets differently….and you know what? That’s ok!! Cheers!!