You Can Do It Too!

The other day, I figured out that I have now been on my own -- head of household, so to speak -- for thirty-seven years.  During this time I have had no wage earner other than myself.  ( I had $225 per month child support for two years, 7 months).  I've had no human protector.  There has been no human partner to help me deal with disappointment or grief or even happiness.  All of my decisions, right or wrong, are mine. There is nobody else to blame for my mistakes and nobody to share my joys.


So, you are on the pity pot, you say? Quite the contrary!  I have survived being alone.  I've had my children, of course, but the parent-child relationship is based on the needs of the child, not the adult.


Sometimes, I feel like my pitcher -- of love, resourcefulness, power of thought -- has run dry and there is nobody to turn on the tap and fill it back up.  Yet, those who have developed dependencies on me, whether family or friends, keep coming back to exact the last drop from the pitcher.


How have I survived?  Well, certainly not without a strong belief in God, in Jesus and in a better life. These beliefs have made me strong.


If there are widows, single mothers, singles or divorcees (even men alone) out there facing a mountain of woe, remember me.  I have survived thirty-seven years of holding the fort.  You can do it, too.

Developing Relationships

I once heard a well-known family therapist use his own family as an example for teaching.


Per him, his mother was a very difficult person.  There could be no discussion of problems or negotiations about a situation.  Nobody could even imply that she was slightly imperfect.   Her view was always the correct one.


His father, on the surface, always came off like the bad guy.  It was after the therapist reached adulthood that he began to realize his father hadn't had it so easy himself.


How can anyone express his or her wishes to someone who always sees himself/herself as right, even perfect?  The essence of a good relationship, especially a marriage, depends on all individuals being able to say "When you behave that way, it makes me feel . . .".  If an individual can never discuss issues, no progress can be made.


Though this therapist worked with families, the need to negotiate and to see our own flaws is crucial to all of our relationships in the home, at work, in society.  Everyone must be able to express their feelings with the full attention and cooperation of the other individual.  If not, the relationship has little chance.

Prima Donna Trash Collectors

Have you ever noticed how everyone acts like they are prima donnas or divas these days even if they can't dance or sing?


In our neck of the woods we have prima donna trash collectors.  They have designer lists of what they will or will not pick up.  All trash must be in plastic bags that are not set out at the curb before a regulation time.  All trash cans must have lids (they frequently don't).  Sticks and branches can't be longer than a particular size and must be tied together in bundles.  God forbid you should be caught with only one regulation length stick.  If you don't have something to tie it to, it will just sit there until h e double hockey sticks freezes over.  Or, you could disguise it with a plastic bag.


Appliances will not be picked up.  They may not stand outside while you figure out what to do with them.  And, if the neighborhood used furniture store doesn't pick them up at the appointed time, you can be subjected to a fine up to a thousand dollars.


Now, when recycling went into effect, the results were mind boggling.  We will take plastic, but not glass.  Don't put Styrofoam in your bin.  But isn't that a plastic?  Some will take newspapers, but none of the colored pages.  Some will take magazines but others say hold the slicks.


Metal scrapping is so lucrative that police recently arrested a shirtless man trying to steal copper from the top of a school.  But woe to us if we put metal in our recycling bin.


We are considered environmental gremlins if we include chemicals, paints or batteries in our sacks.  We are expected to pay $15.50 per month for trash pickup and still drive out to the hinterlands to get rid of this trash.  And now the EPA wants 19 1/2 % more to save our planet.


There's no doubt that there is much we can do to preserve the landfills of our world.  And I don't quarrel with the thought that some of us don't do enough.  But haven't we gotten a little carried away?


Are your sure, for instance, that our sins of environmental pollution are what is causing the artic meltdown?  If you are, then how do you explain the meltdown of the glaciers?  Were there millions to billions of people driving cars, dumping batteries, spewing smoke and leaking runoff then?


It's trash for Pete's sake.  Pick it up already, that's what we are paying you to do.  And you should sort the stuff yourselves.  Your companies are the ones who are going to earn the bucks when you sell it at the other end.

How Can I Write About A Good Day?

I once read a piece by Irma Bombeck about someone who had told her that in writing humor she didn't have to work very hard.  Bad idea!  She proceeded to tell the person about how easy it is to think up something funny in the midst of a day when everything is going wrong -- say, if your kids are home from school sick, the car is in the shop, your mother-in-law is in the hospital.  We've all had days when everything is going wrong.  Irma Bombeck had to think up funny stuff anyway.


So, why am I thinking of this now?  After I'd written two pieces for Issues, neither one of which I liked, I thought of turning to humor.  At first that sounded good.  Then, I realized I was thinking of humor for Devotes as well, but how can I wring humor from the Bible?


I was back to doing issues for Issues, but aside from the two pieces I'd already abandoned, I didn't have any issues I wanted to address right now.  The weather is beautiful, the grass is cut, the baby bird that keeps coming back to the nest is learning to fly a little.  I just don't feel like rocking the boat.


Back to the thought of humor. A no go.


Then there is where to go with Devotes again.  My gut tells me Jesus wants me to do love -- but I've already done that more than once.  God seems to be referring me to prophesy, but that will take a lot of study.  So where does that leave me?  With Irma Bombeck.


And, of course, I can tell all the Mothers of the world that I hope they had a Happy Mother's Day.  May God bless and keep you -- and shower you with love and humor.

No Money Accepted

I have received a few e-mails attempting to give me (or my devotional program) money.  Much as most of us could use extra cash in this day and age, my ministry through these blogs is free.  I receive no money for the work that I do here. 


Neither am I able to help the individuals who write and ask for financial assistance.  I am a retiree who writes because that is who and what I am and have been since high school. I live on a shoestring budget.


I hope that my three blogs are of benefit to others.  Much as I get discouraged sometimes, I believe that enough people read them to make my efforts worthwhile.


My blogs are as follows: 


louhough.BlogSpot.com   This is a political blog.  Many of my readers might disagree with my positions, yet I pray that they find a new way of interpreting and understanding their own political beliefs.  Personally, I tend toward being a liberal Democrat.  Yet, surprisingly, I occasionally agree with Republicans, such as in matters concerning the right to bear arms.  I strongly believe that we should improve our public schools and see that they are controlled at the national level.  That way we can be more sure that all students are presented similar materials and have equal opportunities to learn.  I believe that we should continue to support education at the highest level we can afford.  These children are the future for ourselves as well as later generations.


lousissues.BlogSpot.com     This is a place where I vent my hurts, angers, observations and knowledge to anyone who feels they can learn and benefit from the work.  If I offend others with my interpretations of their behaviors, I consider it poetic justice for them offending us.  As President Truman once said, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."  If you don't want others criticizing you, don't make waves in their lives.  It is time we demand that others treat us with the same dignity and respect that they expect and demand of us.


lousdevotes.BlogSpot.com    These devotionals are often based on life events.  They are meant to give others my spin on the world as interpreted by Bible passages and/or things I have learned from living seventy-five years. 


I believe that each of us can learn from each other.  I believe strongly in God.  I've had experiences that some would consider ridiculous, yet I know they are real because I have lived them.  I have survived much. 


Many of my beliefs are based on the Golden Rule and on my strong feeling that neither government nor religious preferences should ever interfere with individual rights.  Government and organized religions are meant to help masses of people be better organized and more considerate of each other.  They are supposed to help us survive, not interfere with our quality of life.  I seldom hear a liberal or conservative in either group who does not use his position to bully others into his/her own way of thinking.


I hope each individual who reads my work finds help, entertainment or becomes introduced to new perspectives.  My point of view is presented from the Main Street perspective.  That is how I started my political blog.