Bless All Buttons

What life has this button seen?

A wedding, a funeral,

A cheerful greeting,

A bitter quarrel,

And ordinary moments

Filled with the extraordinary.

Breath and sight,

Words and step,

Taste and touch.

Bless all buttons,

And fasten me to this life

With energy and love.

Buttons have seen a lot of life.  It’s a pretty intriguing thought if you really ponder it.

And we’ve seen a lot of life too.  But how do we keep on keeping on?  Day in and day out, how do we fasten ourselves to life with energy and love?

We’ll save the love for another time (and I find that one easier), but energy.  Wow.  It’s not always easy to have the emotional and physical energy to step lively with life.

When I was thinking about this post, I read a slew of tips on how to have more energy:

Drink a combination of grape and lemon juice.

Unroll your ears in the morning (never heard of ear unrolling!)

Change your socks.

Sniff lavender.

Consume caffeine. 

Do not consume caffeine.

Get your entire office to stand up in their cubicles and sing a rock song (in unison).

Wear an energy patch.

(Raise my right hand, as my dad used to do, I read each of these tips on some pretty fascinating websites.)

I’ve only tried the socks (a bit of a pleasant pick-me-up) and various experiments with yes and no to caffeine.

CNN’s Heath site has some ideas that have worked for me including Tip #2 Faking it, Tip #3 Spin your situation, and Tip #4 Change up your routine.  These take some energy, actually, to implement, but they are worth trying and can help you get to the root of your energy troubles.  They can spur other energizing techniques, too.

For a boost of mental energy, especially when you’ve hit close to bottom, counting your blessings can help.  Write those blessing down  or say them slowly, with intention.

Make sure you include buttons!

Photo Above:  A lone, brave button.  Photo Below:  Eyes light up when you mention Grandma’s button box.  Many a grownup can tell stories of rainy days and winter days when that button box empowered  the building of roads, the creation of a collage,  the fastening of handmade doll clothes, the detailing of puppets, and countless other happy pastimes.

“Bless All Buttons” was published somewhere, because I have the invoice for payment, but I don’t remember which magazine.  I wonder if any of my buttons  remember.  Bet so!

Keep It Simple and You’ll Put on a Happy Face

Just a few simple lines and dots.  Yet they work.  The happy face smiles, and you smile back.  (If you’re not a fan of happy faces, I’d love to have you agree with me today for the sake of this post.)

Simple.

When life is so stressful that even Glinda the Good Witch couldn’t calm you down, keep things simple, especially if your hormones are playing nasty.  This isn’t new advice.  It’s age-old, and it works:

• Buy, don’t bake the cookies.
• Get the bride and groom a gift certificate.
• Let your husband or kids or friends or all of them win the argument.
• Put Anna Karenina aside and pick up the junky beach read.

Another day, when you’re in the mood and have the time, you can get fancy:

• Recreate your grandmother’s rolled sugar cookies (using her 100–year-old cookie cutters).
• Use a zillion colors and a whole dictionary of stitches to knit the couple a throw for their first anniversary.
• Spend hours articulately proving to everyone that you’re an authority on most subjects and issues.
• Finish Anna Karenina and then write a happier ending, in perfect Russian.  Give that girl a break, too!

Fancy and complicated can be fun, but when your mood says, “One more thing and I’ll pop like Glinda’s bubble,” remember:  Simple!

Photo:  My button’s name is Helga Happy Face.  She lives in my button collection where she cheers up the more serious buttons by cracking jokes and reciting limericks.

Guest Posts:  I’m simply delighted to have a guest post on Girlfriendology!  http://girlfriendology.com/blog/4533/z-is-for-zest-girlfriend-advice-from-barbara-younger/#

Happy Birthday on Tuesday:  To Daughter Number Two, Laura Younger, who makes me happy every single day, even though raising her wasn’t exactly simple.  http://takingbackmytwenties.com