Crabby Old Woman

When an old lady died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Dundee, Scotland, it was believed that she had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through her meagre possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Ireland.

The old lady's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the North Ireland Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on her simple, but eloquent, poem.



Crabby Old Woman



What do you see, nurses................What do you see?

What are you thinking......When you're looking at me?

A crabby old woman..........................Not very wise,

Uncertain of habit,......................With faraway eyes?



Who dribbles her food ............... And makes no reply.

When you say in a loud voice.......'I do wish you'd try!'

Who seems not to notice ..........The things that you do,

And forever is losing .....................A stocking or shoe?



Who, resisting or not, ..............Lets you do as you will,

With bathing and feeding, ..............The long day to fill?

Is that what you're thinking?......... Is that what you see?

Then open your eyes, nurse,.....You're not looking at me.



I'll tell you who I am .......................As I sit here so still,

As I do at your bidding, ................... As I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten..............With a father and mother,

Brothers and sisters.......................Who love one another.



A young girl of sixteen ...................With wings on her feet

Dreaming that soon now ..................... A lover she'll meet.

A bride soon at twenty, ................... My heart gives a leap,

Remembering the vows ............... That I promised to keep.



At twenty-five now,.....................I have young of my own,

Who need me to guide ............... And a secure happy home.

A woman of thirty,.................... My young now grown fast,

Bound to each other.....................With ties that should last.



At forty, my young sons..............Have grown and are gone,

But my man's beside me.....................To see I don't mourn

At fifty once more,...................Babies play round my knee,

Again we know children,................... My loved one and me.



Dark days are upon me,.......................My husband is dead,

I look at the future,.............................I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing .................Young of their own,

And I think of the years.......... And the love that I've known.



I'm now an old woman......................... And nature is cruel;

Tis jest to make old age ............................. Look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles,..................... Grace and vigor depart,

There is now a stone.................... Where I once had a heart.



But inside this old carcass................ A young girl still dwells,

And now and again,...................... My battered heart swells.

I remember the joys,.......................... I remember the pain,

And I'm loving and living.............................. Life over again.



I think of the years..................... All too few, gone too fast,

And accept the stark fact......................That nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people,.............................Open and see,

Not a crabby old woman;..........Look closer......see,.....ME!!



Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within.....we will all, one day, be there, too!

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

-Abraham Lincoln

Year Half Over!

As we come to the end of June, it is a great time to reflect on the months we have just visited.

Have your New Year resolutions, dreams and goals for 2009 been put in place? Have all or some been achieved or have they been forgotten about and put into the "too hard" basket or "it was just a dream" basket?
This time of year is a great time to re-visit goals that you have and uncover new ones to accomplish. Did you write a list at the start of the year that you can now read over and excite yourself again about?
Do you need some encouragement or support with putting plans into actions? All goals and dreams need a starting point ~ which is to realise that that is what you want. See, you've started already, you have some of those already. Next step is to break that goal down into baby steps and even work with your coach to turn your dreams and goals into realities.

This year has found me graduating from my coaching coarse, publishing my web site and building my coaching business. It was a goal I set for myself last year and have such satisfaction seeing it complete. The joy I get from working with my clients is more than I could have expected and each day brings new insights, challenges and ways for me to grow.

Over the next half of this year I intend to turn my hand at writing some articles for publication, a dream that I have had for a while and one that I will turn into a reality.

Have a wonderful second half of 2009 and don't loose sight of your dreams ~ make them happen.

Eat Chocolate

I found this quote in a new magazine I bought myself on the week-end and want to share with you.


"Put 'eat chocolate' at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done" - anonymous


That just takes all the guilt out of eating chocolate doesn't it!

Being able to tick things off a to-do list is very satisfying, even small tasks can make a huge difference to how you feel at the end of a day. Just knowing that you accomplished something that you set out to do was done. Even if it is to give yourself a treat and eat chocolate!

"A Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood,

and I—I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

By ~ Robert Frost

What road will you take when it comes time to make a change in your life. Are you ready to let go of the safety rails and jump?

Habits

Habit dulls your senses.

As comforting as your routines may be, change them sometimes. Leave your comfort zone behind. Sleep on the other side of the bed. Use your other hand to brush your teeth. Go out mid-week or to places you have never been. Learn a new skill or try a new sport.

Invite friends to picnic in the park at sunset or gather at the beach early morning. Do whatever wakes you up.

Let the leader follow and the follower lead.

Your moods

Your moods and emotions affect everyone around you, regardless of how powerless you feel.

Take total responsibility for the emotional atmosphere you are creating.

Behave cheerfully and courteously.

Your feelings will follow.