Sunday Smiles – Connections

There are days when the internet makes me twitchy.  I log on to Facebook to be met head on with a barrage of negativity.  This candidate is a hate monger.  That candidate is a criminal.  I see “friends” tearing one another apart with snide comments, all because they sit on different sides of the political fence.  I read post after post disparaging this group or that, this thing or that.  Cops suck, the weather sucks, the traffic sucks, this restaurant sucks, work sucks…everything just sucks.

I “unfollow” a few political pages (I could have sworn I had removed them all).  I hit the “hide post” option multiple times as I scroll through my newsfeed.  I am almost thankful to come across a few cute cat memes.  I “like” a picture of an idyllic beach in Aruba.

I scroll a bit further, sigh a discouraged sigh, and prepare to log off.  But wait, what’s this?  Could it be?  An uplifting post?  Yes!  I click happily on a story about a former classmate’s 11-year-old son reporting on the NCAA Tournament for Sports Illustrated Kids.  I read with delight about one of the coaches taking the time to applaud this young man for his thoughtful question.  (You can view more about this here.)

Feeling hopeful, I read some other posts.  Oh look, a friend received good news on a medical issue.  Another friend just finished her first half marathon.  Yet another is celebrating buying a new home.  Yay! Here it is!  The good stuff!

Now it comes back to me, and I remember why I still log on to Facebook every day.  I do it not to learn the political leanings of friends and family.  I do it so that I can hear the news of their lives.  I continue to scroll and read in order to tie the past in with the present.  I put up with the negative aspects to reap the benefits of the positive ones.

I return again and again because of the connections.  We can cross the miles, cross the years, and cross the distance to come together as if we had never been apart.  We can share in each others’ victories and console one another during trying times.  We can use words to convey emotions from afar, as sure as the touch of a comforting hand on a shoulder.

Yes, it is the connections that I crave and that I seek.   It is the connections that lead me back to this blog after a writing sabbatical.  It is the connections that sustain our souls the way that food sustains our bodies.  It is the connections that bond us together as humans, in friendship and in love.

Thank you for being one of my connections.  Cheers! Karen

Stay connected with me and “like” Fill Your Own Glass on Facebook here!

photo credit:  www.pixabay.com

Sunday Smiles – In Love with Love

At the risk of being a buzzkill on this day of hearts and roses, I must admit that I do not celebrate Valentine’s Day.  For this I have my husband’s eternal gratitude as he can go about his business each February while ignoring the barrage of commercials telling him what an absolute spousal failure he will be if he does not buy me this exact diamond pendant or that specific dangly charm bracelet.  No, there are no special dinner reservations or floral deliveries headed my way today, and I am all in favor of that.

Since I’m in a disclosure kind of mood I may as well admit that I do not like romantic comedies or romance novels either.  I understand they can serve as escapist guilty pleasures, but I have to say for the most part they leave me feeling unfulfilled.  I do not like the way they set men, and women for that matter, up to fall short in real life of the great romantic feats and gestures of the cinema.

By now I’ve probably convinced you that I should head up the local chapter of the new Love Haters Club.  I promise you this is not the case.  In reality I am in love with love.  I just happen to be in love with the kind of love that happens, well, in reality.

Sunday Smiles- Holiday Memories

I am sitting here in the quiet early morning, nursing the mother of all head colds and savoring my first pot of White Chocolate Peppermint coffee of the season.  Yes, it is that good, and the peppermint is cooling a throat made scratchy and raw from a night of relentless coughing.  I would love to invite you over for a cup, but it would be hard for you to sip through the surgical mask you might wear to guard against the germs.

As I enjoy a stillness interrupted only by my sniffling, I find my mind wandering to the holiday seasons of my youth.  Was December not the most magical month (and really, isn’t it still) filled with wonder and surprise?  I need only to close my eyes, and I am transported back to my childhood home and Christmases past.

Sunday Smiles- The Comforts of Home

Here on the coast of South Carolina we are having a major weather event this weekend with historic rainfall amounts and substantial flooding.  There have been flood warnings in effect since late Friday, and we are looking at several more inches of rain coming today and tomorrow.  We are dealing with closed roads, overflowing  lakes and ponds, sinkholes, and beach erosion.  To the south of us parts of the cities of Georgetown and Charleston are closed down due to flooding.  Many of the roads around us are impassable and dangerous.   

Sunday Smiles- Do You Mind?

Sunday Smiles!

“Do you mind?”

Have you heard these words spoken in irritation, in frustration, or in anger? Have you heard them used more as an exclamation than a question? Picture the stressed out commuter after a long day at work as he is being jostled on the train, and when someone inadvertently steps on his foot he snaps, “Do you mind!” Or the woman sitting in the movies as the person seated behind her repeatedly taps his foot against her chair. She lets it go for a few minutes, but each little kick sets her jaw on edge until she finally turns and huffs, “Do you mind!” The person issuing this exclamation is often wearing an expression like this one:

Do you mind! (Not smiling…)

I, for one, prefer that “do you mind” be issued as the question that it rightfully should be. So if you don’t mind (ah, you see what I did there), please indulge me as I attempt to restore these three little words to their proper, pleasant use.

Sunday Smiles – You Are Someone’s Reason

There are days when you may feel less than appreciated. There are days when perhaps you feel left out, ignored, or maybe even less than loved. There are days when you question your purpose, your value, and why you do what you do. These are the days that you need to remind yourself of one simple thing. You are someone’s reason today.



You are someone’s reason today. You are their reason to smile. You are their reason to laugh. You are their reason to love.

You are someone’s reason today. You are the reason they feel loved. You are the reason they did not give up. You are the reason they are trying harder.

You are someone’s reason today. You may be just one person’s reason today. You may be several peoples’ reason today. You may simply be your own reason today.

You are someone’s reason today. Whatever the reason is, even if you don’t know it, you are someone’s reason today.  And that is reason enough.

Cheers! Karen