Anniversary

Our anniversary comes so close to Labor Day.  Another reminder of how fast the summer has gone. And this a year without the boat and it still seemed to fly by.  Number 44 this year.  It made me realize anew just how fast LIFE goes.  I have been married longer than my parents...however, my mother went on to have a 22 year marriage with a second husband!  Lets see...44 plus 22...that would make me 88 and BJ, 97. Yeah, we aren't planning on that but you never know.  Hope we are off the mountain by then!  :-)

Guideposts

I have been reading Guidepost magazine for years.  I read every one cover to cover.  I find them amazingly inspirational.  This month, there is a short article titled "Bench Buddies".  A child and his parents were investigating schools in Germany in anticipation of a possible move there.  On one of the school's websites, a special bench was seen.  Kids who felt lonely sat on it to signal that they wanted an invitation to play.  The family did not end up moving but when the child, Christian, started second grade, the family bought a bench, painted it and put it on the playground.   After explaining its purpose to the students, a kid does not have to sit on the bench for long before a buddy asks him to play.  Now schools across the country have their own buddy benches....buddybench.org.  It got me thinking that what if there were benches for things like....I just lost a spouse....or...I'm going through a divorce....or... my teenagers are driving me crazy...or....how long before I stop missing my dog.....Most peoples' issues are unknown and maybe if we had benches we could react quicker and use our past hurts to help others get through a tough time.  I think they also call that empathy.