gearin' up for the birthday......

it's birthday eve day around here for me.
and i am just gearing up beautifully!
i decorated the other nite.
cleaned this morning.
went to the thrift store looking for goodies,
and soon i'll be headin' to the grocery store looking for food treats!
there really is something cool about getting older -
you don't need to wait for someone else to treat you -
you can do it yourself!

i'm really blessed tho as every time i turn around, there's another
treat from someone wonderful to help me celebrate.
so ALREADY it's been great fun!

tomorrow's the actual day, and since i won't be around the computer then,
i figured today was the day to share the 'birthday wisdom.'

this is a tradition my dad started. he would ask the birthday person
for one piece of wisdom they had to share.

i did this last year here on the blog
and i'm not exactly sure what i said -
but i have a feeling it was the same wisdom,
because this particular bit has really made an impression on me
and this seems to be the recurring thought i want to shout out from rooftops -

hush up and listen.
stop talking - unless it's to ask questions -
and then sincerely listen to the responses given.

i guess the prettier way to say that is to listen with the intention to understand.

i kinda like 'shut up and listen.'  :)

look around you and watch.
we're not doin' it.
watch your own self.
we're not doin' it as much as we think we're doin' it.

and i really really think if we started to really take this to heart,
the world would change.

so that's what i want to leave here as we go into the weekend.
and i'll try to remember to take my own advice this weekend,
which will be hard as i'll be all wound up about my birthday -
but i'll try.