Category: Happy

Good Peeps

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, family, Happy, lifestyle, parentingLeave a comment

There are many people we meet throughout our life. Some we’ll be friendly with. A few will become good friends. Life-long even, if we’re lucky.

And there are those folks we see seldom, they live too far away, or are living busy lives like many (all?) of us are. Consumed by the day-to-day, week-to-week responsibilities and interests and fast-paced world, it’s difficult to make “extra” time for others outside our immediate sphere.

But then we get lucky. We find a sliver, a segment of time that’s FREE!, and the starts align, and the other person can do the same. And then maybe magic happens. We’re able to reconnect easily with another because of common values and maybe experiences and certainly mutual affection and appreciation, we slide ride back into easy convo even if it’s been a long while since you last saw one another.

My family had the good fortune to reconnect with another family recently. They live in So. Cal.; we live in Nor. Cal. We hadn’t seen each other in a while. Didn’t matter. Our families are pretty much the same format: three kids, each fam; two girls each, one boy each; fun-loving and pretty easy-going and soul-full and intent on living the best family life we can. We adults catch up and swap stories; the kids get along ok, and play and live another day, like kids most often seem to do if given the chance.

And that sort of connection, that validation of relationship and history and commonality and appreciation? There’s really not much else in the world like it, I suggest. That sort of experience makes us happy and thankful and feeling lucky, at least it should. Because that sort of experience is special; being connected to other people is special.

One might argue that we humans are of course, social animals, so these connections are not unique, special, sacred. But I would say instead, these connections with others are what make our life experience worthwhile, adding depth and dimension and texture that makes us whole.

Pretty thankful for good peeps.

Song of the Week

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, culture, faith, Happy, lifestyle, voicesLeave a comment

Listening to several songs this past week that were from music I listened to decades ago.  Many of those songs’ lyrics still ring true for me today.  I feel the old feelings I had when I first heard the music, listened to the tunes over and over, until I knew all the words.

And so I had the idea to bring those lyrics back, to share some of them, share a song a week with the words that spoke to me at the time, still do today.  Often it was inspiration, and still carries that weight; other times it was just good story, or something I could otherwise relate to.

Beginning this week, every Thursday, I’m going to post lyrics from a song; maybe I’ll share a little personal background as well.  And if I can find the tune on YouTube, will include that link too.

Not sure what the first song will be.  But I’m pretty excited.  I hope this weekly practice provides a boost.  I know it will for me.

More GOOD.

Friday, Saturday, Weekend Good

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, Happy, TipsLeave a comment

I saw a classmate from grade school on Friday night. During the course of our conversation, she told me she reads my blog. She mentioned too that she could tell by some of the posts from time to time that “something was going on.”

That is good insight from an old friend and person I greatly admire and respect.

True enough, I do periodically (frequently?) write in a bit of a vailed manner. It’s an approach that allows to process and share thoughts on a given topic that might be otherwise too close or personal for me to write about directly, with a lot of intimate, maybe revealing detail.

In this post I’m happy to write in a very direct way.

It was FANTASTIC to see my old friend. Every time we get together (which doesn’t happen very often given the distance), we cut to the chase quickly to life events.

Super grateful for the time with her. Super grateful for our friendship. Even if a long LONG passes, we pick right back up and get current.

And then the next day, our family met up with another family who we hadn’t seen in a long while. My wife grew up with the woman; their family has two girls and a boy, just like us.

Though we hadn’t been together in a while, we settled into easy conversation pretty well immediately. And our kids played together like they were old friends too. It was another AWESOME day.

So I’ll say the obvious:

it’s friends and family that make the difference in life happiness. If you have that foundation, whatever the configuration, consider yourself blessed, consider it GOOD.

To top it off, the mundane and magical too on Sunday:

  • National Women’s Soccer League game on as laundry get’s completed –
  • Science experiments with a microscope to explore the world –
  • More chores around the house, we all gotta do ’em –
  • The highs and certainly lows to of kids’ behavior after sleeping in (sleep much needed) –
  • A sense of keeping up, catching up, which in turn lifts me up, a bit more –
  • Some work for Grammy –
  • Errands to load up for the week ahead –
  • A breeze blowing through the front screen door, cooling down the house –
  • Dare I say, looking forward to the week ahead…?   🙂

Celebrating Susan, 2017

On By jeff ludlumIn Happy, voicesLeave a comment

A dozen years back I met this amazing person. Her name is Susan.  I was really lucky. She taught me a lot about myself and love and learning. 

A few years later she became my wife.  Together we made a family, now with three little children. I am even more lucky now. 

Susan teaches me about myself and other ways of being that are good. She challenges me and loves me and stands with me. She helps make life worthwhile. I am SO lucky.

Today we celebrate her birthday, and I thank God and fate and my lucky stars in the sky for Susan, this amazing, smart, funny, inspiring, caring, solid human being I’m going through life with. 

The kids and I are so fortunate, so blessed so filled with GOOD because of her.

Happy Birthday to You, Susan!

Ingredients

On By jeff ludlumIn Happy, lifestyle, parentingLeave a comment

I’m known for putting together rather eclectic meal combinations from time to time.

Might be my dad’s influence — peanut butter, bananas, some mayo, maybe with a pickle, was one of his favorite “dishes “(so to speak).

One of my lunches this week provides a good example: I found in various places in the fridge…Brussels sprouts, gnocchi, and ground beef from left-over hamburger.  Tossed in in a Tupperware, threw it in my work bag, and away I went.  At lunch time, I heated for two minutes thirty seconds in the microwave at work, voila!  Chow Time.

Crazy?  Well maybe, but it was delicious, and it used left overs in the fridge I felt compelled to gobble up.   This situation also provides some insight on a life approach that goes beyond the kitchen and meal prep.

Access your ingredients, consider your combinations, be creative, “re-purpose” as needed (“hamburger” becomes “ground beef”) make the most of what you have.

I feel like I’m in the Iron Chef competition every time I open the fridge to figure out what to take to work for lunch the next day.

The core skill-set is the same:  base knowledge, open mind, and creativity.

And then?

Well it’s pretty simple. Get some good. Make it tasty.  And what else?  Well of course, teach your kids.

What exactly?

It’s all in how you use the ingredients before you to make a dish, or the best of any situation, and put a little smile on your face.