Diary of the journey on the path least traveled..just letting the heart do the talking while the fingers do the walking while being different, being me… 🙂
( “I do not do, say or write something to been seen or heard… I do, say or write something because it needed to be done, said or written…” , no nominations please, just sharing thoughts while exploring life 🙂 ).. 🙂
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road your trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and its turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about When they might have won, had they stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another blow. Often the struggler has given up When he might have captured the victors cup; And he learned too late when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out The silver tint of the clouds of doubt And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far; So stick to the fight when your hardest hit, It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit! (Wade Watts)
Hello Diary,
Yes, a life without dreams is a life without purpose indeed and following ones dreams can be difficult at times… I know in the past I have championed listening to one’s heart and following ones dreams and I am not just saying things to hear myself talk… I have witnessed life’s challenges while following my dreams and while the path may not have been smooth and I may have had to adjust my sails, I still followed my heart and dreams…. 🙂
I grew up on a farm here on the prairies in the 1940’s, 1950’s and early 1960’s ( I am standing, my brother is sitting).. 🙂

Having had to deal with two world conflicts, wealth not being what it is today (there were no such thing as credit cards, etc.), knowledge and technology being what it was, we, as a family, did not have a great deal but I had my dreams, and I followed them through the good days and bad, through sickness and health.. Had to deal with polio, measles, smallpox and numerous other diseases… tornadoes, winter storms and other weather events under rather primitive conditions compared today… 🙂
Did not have computers, etc. and our phone looked like this one, had to turn the handle to contact the operator and tell the operator who one wished to talk to, there were no texting… 🙂

The radio looked much like this one, spent most of our time listening to it, Mom who listen to the soap operas on the radio instead of watching… 🙂

Television was a rarity in the prairies and we finally got a tv when I were around 10 years old, it looked like this tv, the screen was about 10 inches square and we could get 3 channels that would come on the air at sunrise and go off the air at sunset… 🙂

I left the farm in the middle 1960’s and joined the USMC… I married the love of my life and with about a year and a half left in my tour, our son came into our life, two days after he were born I received orders to go to Vietnam, he was 3 weeks old when I left and I was a stranger… 🙂

I spent about 13 months in Vietnam where I were shot at and missed, s – – t on and hit but I returned home relatively unscathed and to my son I was still a stranger .. (that is me sitting on the ground).. 🙂

As a family we started to follow our dreams together, our daughter came into our lives to complete our family… 🙂

Together, through the good times and bad, we ventured down the path following our dreams, dealing with issues including the weather, a tornado occurred in 1996, the photo were taken about 2 blocks from our house, fortunately we suffered no severe damage.. 🙂

Knowledge and technology was improving, in 1997 we got on the internet with a dial-up computer with 10 megabytes of memory…. and we got a prototype of the future cell phones, it were called a bag phone, not always dependable and one still could not text.. 🙂

The kids scattered to the winds in search of their destinies, Kathy and I continued on down the path to follow our dreams together and in the spring of 2015, after dealing with cancer, Kathy decided her time in the mortal world was done and her spirit left to follow her dreams and in December of 2015, at the age of 95, my Mom decided she should join Kathy… I continued on but not with a heavy heart but a heart filled with memories for when I grow to old to dream and the words I know that Kathy would say to me.. 🙂 When tomorrow starts without me And I’m not here to see, If the sun should rise and find your eyes Filled with tears for me. I wish so much you wouldn’t cry The way you did today, While thinking of the many things We didn’t get to say. I know how much you love me As much as I love you, And each time you think of me I know you’ll miss me too. When tomorrow starts without me Don’t think we’re far apart, For every time you think of me I’m right there in your heart. (Alena Hakala Meadows)
I may have gotten a little long winded here but with today’s world in turmoil, etc. I have been there and done that, have gotten knocked down and still got up and did not quit.. and YOU can do the same, if you have a open mind and follow your heart… You can follow the advice of Steve Jobs and Annie.. 🙂
“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary” (Steve Jobs )
Or, that of Joel Brown and Rachel Platten… “The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” ( Joel Brown)… 🙂
Or that of Mary Kay Ash and Freedom Fry… “If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right” (Mary Kay Ash)… 🙂
Well, I had better quit rambling as there are dreams to follow and adventures await while I deal with life’s challenges… but I shall return again one day, Fate be willin’ and the creeks don’t rise… 🙂 You can be a girl or boy on fire and follow your dreams but only if you want t0... 🙂 until we meet again.. May the love that you give Always return to you, That family and friends are many And always remain true, May your mind only know peace No suffering or strife, May your heart only know love and happiness On your journey through life. (Larry “Dutch” Woller)