Mugsy, So sorry to hear of your daughter-in-law’s death. Sympathies to the entire family. There will never be too many doctors in this country. (Too many lawyers? That is another question for another day!) Certainly there are not enough sensitive, insightful, discerning, thoughtful women doctors in our country! Welcome back! How was your birthday? Did you see all the love posted your way yesterday? I hope you saw the numerous best wishes for a happy birthday directed your way for your birthday yesterday, including mine! Stay in touch. We missed your words of wisdom here in WOW. Love, J Boylynn

Oh, Frank, You are so cute! Your vocabulary betrays your age. Not to worry; I have enjoyed your posts and responses quite a bit in the recent past, and hope you remain part of “our club” for quite some time. Your viewpoints, though they may be of the “male persuasion” are always respectfully expressed, which I am sure we women appreciate. Thank you and I smile at your “tough bipppies”!

Whoopie, Muchas gracias for this cute video. I have sent it to my own mother and several other friends who are moms. So endearing. THANKS for filming it for us and making it possible for us to transmit it. :)

I think, yes, but more, I hope for love for and between people. God intends for us to further goodness, affection, and true devotion for and amongst people. Can we do better today? We can try! I guess I am an optimist, in spite of current hard times at home, in the family, and in the world. (Why was that not one of the choices?)

I share the fun of this site with so many women I talk to in the course of a week. I truly enjoy it, for so many reasons. In this particular case, I was telling my daughter about this conversation, and she told me I could share the experience I’ll relate. My husband is friends with a man who teaches at Stanford. One day when our family was visiting, he asked if we would like to meet Edward Teller (terribly intelligent man, and designer of the hydrogen bomb). We said yes, and about four days later we five went to lunch, and afterwards to Edward Teller’s house, which is very close to the Stanford campus. My husband (a CalTech graduate, was in awe of meeting this person); older daughter was pleased and curious; younger daughter, all right with meeting someone new, and me-always anxious to meet anyone new and different. (“Never a stranger, just someone I haven’t yet met”). He was older at the time, hard of hearing, andwasn’t able to move around too freely, but his mind was excellent. He sat in one chair by the window, speaking with his very Germanic accent, and answered science type questions my husband presented. I did not know quite what to contribute to the conversation, but did summon up a question regarding children and learning of Math (teacher in me always wins out—-how can I do better in helping students over the rough patches?). He didn’t have much of an answer as far as I was concerned, because I think Math is so easy for this type of person, and they don’t grasp how anyone else doesn’t “get it”, too. Oh, well. So, for her turn in meeting “the great man”, my younger daughter, in second grade at the time, asked if she could play something for him on his grand piano, which sat nearby. His eyes enlarged, and he said yes. I don’t know if she was trying to think of something “appropriate” to play, but she played something like “Railway to Heavan,” a very American song. She tells me she enjoyed playing the simple song, and Teller expressed delight that she’d been able to play for him, and that the piano got some use. For my part, I don’t revere people for the fame they may have hanging about them, and I try hard to relate to the “famous” person, one person to another. As I see it, we are all God’s children. Some people just have more direct responsibilites for service to others. We can all laugh and cry, hurt, and sing. As my daughter relates the meeting now, she says she tells friends about it from time to time, and is now in awe that she was able to enjoy what was for her a unique afternoon in the presence of a very capable and accomplished person.

Yes, yes, yes! I waited four days or so to send this greeting so that it would be on the right day. (I could have sent it sooner, but it wouldn’t be quite “right.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mugsy Peabody! You yourself are a tremendous boon to so many of us. Take a walk to enjoy the weather (if it is as nice as I think it might be today where you are), sing, and allow others to pamper you. Blessings and joy, Mugsy! Thank you for being a part of WOW!

Diana, You are SO right. There is a significant difference between being focused on goals and one’s ambitions and being too serious! Also, it is possible to seriously focus, but perhaps the word we are looking for is not to have such heaviness about goals and ambitions. It is important to set one’s course and stay the course, but enjoyment and fun can be part of the accomplishment of goals, too! Thank you for your contributions. You are a gift to today.

Mugsy, Wow! You are so articulate. And correct! Yes, change ourselves…”….Courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Maybe not with Hilary, but I believe it will take a woman to do it right.

When I lived in Japan as a foreign worker (teaching English as a Second Language—what a fabulous experience for someone single and in her twenties!), I was covered under the National Health Plan. Although I was healthy and stayed fit, I did need some testing at one point. I paid nothing with submission of my Health Card. Here, today, that series of tests, even with my current insurance, would cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. Why can’t the candidates take a look at how England, France, Japan, and Sweden or Finland handle their citizens, and model our coverage on those plans? I will not criticize our insurance companies outright, without more information of how they work, because I am sure they too are feeling overwhelmed and unable to change much of any of their ways and means, or change it fast enough, to be of substantive help to enough people who badly need the help. I just know that without insurance life is just too expensive now, and even with insurance, which I pay myself, necessary procedures can ruin one’s savings.

Thank you, ki b and Frank, I have done something for myself today and call the SafeHouse People. You are so kind to give the support and reference number. I will do all I can to believe in myself again and live my own life, for myself.

ki b, Do you know anything about SafeHouse? Can they be trusted?

ki b, Could you help me with finding a resource for getting free of an abusive/destructive marriage? I live in Colorado and need help along these lines. Any contacts I can go to today, while I have the nerve?

The idea of being my chronological age sometimes catches me by surprise. I really have to stop and do the math, because I just don’t feel like whatever that number is “supposed” to be. I usually feel the same as I remember feeling when I was about 35. I remember being anxious to turn 30, because then, I said to myself, I will be taken seriously by others in my (certain) profession, and I will feel like I know what I am doing here. Now I am quite a bit over 30, but enjoy the profession. I work with elementary aged children for the most part, and I appreciate that they keep me energized, happy, and curious. They help me have hope in tomorrow, whatever is going on in the news. I don’t necessarily keep up with the fashions the younger ones wear because I feel they are ridiculous and insulting to women, but like to dress well. (Think Jacqueline Kennedy type classics.) I am fairly fit physically, but wish I actually were 35, so that I had more time to travel and see more people in the world. I love to travel in order to experience other cultures and foods, sights, and share faith with people in other places. I would like more time to get out and about.

Ginger, I HAVE to say, I think you sound so healthy! Good for you. May you always be so strong.

Yes, Gianna, you are not alone. Being married isn’t necessarily the best life choice, is it? I wish the younger generation would write songs which do not extol “love and romance” as the best life activities for everyone, or sing as if it is the best life has to offer. I amsorry I believed the wishful thinking, and I wish I could get divorced, but I am not in a financial situation to do so. I do know what you mean by feeling out of place in the marriage. My husband doesn’t really have outside activities he wants to do without me, and he has no friends; worse, he wants me to do all of whatever he wants to do, which at this time means going to swinging clubs or dance places, which I just abhor. Please just find things to do that you enjoy doing for yourself. You will enjoy your life once you figure out what you like to do, yourself.