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Arlene can be followed via You Tube
Posted on October 3rd, 2012 No commentsAn important update to friends is that we will be closing down our Facebook page at the end October 2012. The only way to keep up to date with Arlene’s adventures is through her You Tube videos.
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Thanks Angelina!
Posted on April 16th, 2010 No commentsMom and I were excited about arriving in Las Vegas to see The Cher Show. As we approached the ticket counter at the showroom I recognized the kind lady who had helped months before in getting our show tickets to see another of mom’s favorite celebrities, Bette Midler.
“Hi Angelina! How are your kids? How are the newly-weds doing?”, I asked as I remembered our past conversation. As her associate, Christine, helped us select our seating location. I asked Christine where she was from. “Hawaii,” she responded. “What are you doing here?” I asked her. I thought she might be in high school or a college student. “Well, I have four kids and the cost of living in Hawaii was too difficult. “Four kids! Wow, I would never have believed you had that many children.”
From that point on, our conversation (besides reserving our seats) became kid orientated. I gave Christine my $1,000 piece of advice in raising kids, which I learned from Dr. Sid Simon, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts.
Angelina added, that as a single mom she had another suggestion that contributed to the success of raising her kids, who were now all grown up. And from our previous conversations it was clear that the relationship with her adult children was a connection to be admired. She continued, “One evening a month was designated as “The Round Table.”
“During that evening, I asked my children what they wanted me to improve on during the past month. Maybe it was too many hot dogs, or I had embarrassed them by what I wore to the parent conference at their school. Then I also told them what I would have liked from them.At the conclusion of The Round Table, the kids would select the next months meeting date, the dinner menu, and we scheduled it on the family calendar. Nothing was allowed to interfere with our selected date for The Round Table meeting.
Some of my contemporaries, who were also parents, told me it was a waste of time to have a Round Table every month! Sadly, many of those parents do not have as successful a relationship with their kids as I do.”
Hummmmm, what a great idea, a structured Round Table scheduled once a month. What a great way for parents and kids to communicate their needs, wishes, feelings and concerns.
Best of all, what a great way for parents to model good communication skills by being vulnerable, making the effort, and keeping the commitment.
Imagine, being in a family as a grown up and knowing you could always schedule “The Round Table.”
We went to buy tickets to see the dazzling “Cher Show” and we were given a bonus in getting the dazzling practical advice of time-tested successful parenting skills.
Thanks Angelina!
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Remembering Magic
Posted on June 16th, 2009 3 commentsMagic, My Beloved Peruvian Paso, May 28, 1986 – June 24, 2008
Throughout my life, I have said the final goodbye to family and friends. Sometimes it was expected and other times a shock. Death is never easy, at least it hasn’t been easy for me, to say that final good bye. June 24, marks a year anniversary of saying goodbye to Magic, my beloved Peruvian Paso horse.
The story behind Magic is an interesting one. At age 47, I became an equestrian. Before that I had never leased or owned a horse. I had only rented them at stables during vacation. The experience had been pleasurable, but I had no concept of how to groom, saddle, or take care of such a huge animal.
When I turned 51, Magic came into my life. My husband picked her out and she was his horse until I intervened. At first she intimidated me. I was afraid of her because she was so big. My trainer, Laurel Papadapalos, said, “Arlene, you were an award-winning educator. You know how to work with junior high kids successfully. So when she gets a little stubborn and wants her way, talk to her like you would talk to those junior high students. Let her know you are in charge! Ask her firmly.”
That was all it took. After that there was no turning back. Magic was devoted to me. She was mine!
Magic and I had many adventures together. We rode in cattle drives, parades, and trail rides. She would calmly walk into the trailer and back out, trusting me in my direction. Magic could open gates with me riding her so I didn’t have to get off and on. She also passed the test to be a member of the team for Search and Rescue, as well as the County Volunteer Park Patrol. She was gentle, sure-footed, and took care of those who were privileged to ride her.
Magic and I went through a lot together and I was never afraid of Magic. In fact, one time she saved my life, but that is another story. When she was 14, she had major surgery. During the healing process, I washed out her wound five times a day. It had to be uncomfortable because it was in a sensitive area, yet she didn’t finch, become irritated, nor try to escape the routine.
And Magic had the most beautiful big brown eyes. Joy, one of my trainers, often said, “Magic never looks at any others the way she looks at you.” Magic was pure love!
Regrets, yes, I have a few. I suppose the same ones I would have with a human loss. I wished I had ridden her more. I wished I had spent more time with her. I wished I had shown her more love. And I wished I had given her more horse cookies and carrots.
I miss you Magic! Thank you for thirteen wonderful years! And thank you God for helping me through this loss and the wonderful surprise you had for me the day after Magic’s passing, and that’s even another story.
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Internet at Last
Posted on June 4th, 2009 1 comment“For Further Information Go to www.” or “I Can’t Believe You’re Still on Dial-up”.
For those who are computer savvy, I admit I have been on dial-up for the past 16 years! My home/office had no other connection available. A neighbor subscribed to satellite and admitted it wasn’t much better than dial-up. Daily runs to the “It’s a Grind” coffee shop afforded me the luxury to read my email attachments and travel about the World Wide Web.
My family and friends knew better than to send me attachments, but still others loaded my email with items I never did open. But what was worse than all the attachments being sent were the times I needed to make contact with a company regarding my business, family, or personal matters. Always they referred me to their website. “Website?” I screamed, “I can’t get to your website. It is torture to watch your thousand page website load. Please, someone just talk with me.”
Sometimes I felt like a second-class citizen because the assumption was that I was on dial-up as a choice! Often I would here something like….“You’re on dial-up? Fred, Arlene is still on dial-up. Hey everybody, Dr. Kaiser is on dial-up. Can you believe it?”
People would then proceed to tell me the benefits of DSL, wifi, and how I could even put a telephone card into the slot of my computer and volahhhhh…instant connection.
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It’s All About Hay, Or Is It?
Posted on February 16th, 2009 4 commentsI was out of town for a few days. In my absence, I had made preparation for moving sixty bales of alfalfa and grass hay from the covered stack outside into the barn. With the escalating prices of hay from $15-$22 per bale, I had been motivated during the summer months to buy 240 bales at a much more reasonable price. I was a novice at buying, delivering, stacking, and covering hay. But, to make up for my lack of experience, I had done extensive research and met with ranchers who generously shared their knowledge and expertise on storing hay.
Whenever I gazed at that huge covered stack of hay, I was delighted with my accomplishment and felt secure in having enough hay to feed my horses over the cold wet winter months and through the remainder of the year too.
“The hay is ruined. There was a tear in the tarp topside and water seeped down and all the bales appear to be moldy.”
Those were the words I heard on the other end of the telephone call from my mom. I was dumfounded and heartsick. How could this have happened? I could not use the moldy hay, as it could sicken my horses, and they could even die from eating it. The hay was now worthless to me.