MORNING MUSINGS

Every morning I arise very early, and put my iPod or MP3 player listener buds in my ears and listen to a podcast (usually about quilting, but I'm branching out) or a book on tape while I do Indexing (too long to explain) or answer e-mails (almost daily the first e-mail is to my sister Julia). This morning the podcast person was reviewing interesting books that she'd read recently and she reviewed one called Never Check E-mail in the Morning by Julie Morgenstern. Her advice is to do the most important thing you have to do that day first thing. E-mail can usually wait because if it's really important they will call you. I thought it was an interesting concept, but impractical in some ways. I guess it depends on when you get up!
However, that phrase "the most important thing you have to do stuck in my mind". I realize that I'm retired and I don't have a set schedule anymore. Most days, I do what I choose to do so I suppose I shouldn't be musing on the subject, but my mind went from there to a dozen other things all featuring that word "important".
My e-mails are important to me. This morning I had an e-mail from my sweet friend Cynthia about blogging and one from Julia about their safe return home from Portland last night. Hearing from friends and family keeps me grounded and if I want to read my e-mails in the morning, by gum, I will.
Stuff is important to me. You'll see a picture of the top of my computer desk where a good example of important "stuff" is located. Here's the list of what you'll see and why:

• a pencil holder/clock--a reminder of my years at Royal Middle School.
• a little picture of Great-Grandma and Grandpa Whitby in their prime
• a dusty, cracked, dust catching cherub from Susan's wedding reception which watches over me from her fancy perch. I often notice her tongue is pretty much imbedded in her cheek
• a picture of Tom, Julia, Garth and I at a high school class reunion which reminds me that, unlike many of our friends, we got and married the "best of the best"
• tiny framed pictures of Joe and Julirae which were precious to my dad and to remind me that children do grow up and become pretty nice adults
• a tiny glass bluebird which I purchased to give to my dear Mother on the day she died
• a picture of a toddler Marissa in the bathtub sucking her thumb
• a Jim Shore angel (each of my granddaughters have angels) which is the Angel of Persistence to help me keep "trucking"
• a kaleidoscope which Janeen and Greg made and gave us for Christmas many, many years ago and which still fills me with wonder when I look through it
• a framed picture of my two oldest daughters which I found in Melba's things
• a little cowboy twirling his lariat which makes me chuckle to think that old codger can still "twirl that rope"

These are the things which are important to me at this hour of the day. Like the ad, their price: priceless. Give yourself a break today Do something that will be priceless to someone else.