The lemonade stand

2009 is almost upon us and I've finally decided what my new year's resolution is going to be.

My goal is to create a virtual 'lemonade stand' to show others that greatness can come from something so normally bitter. I want them to see.

I am going to respond to the lonesome soul on Craigslist who posts wanting a new friend as he has no one. I am going to extend my olive branch and let him see that there is still good in the world if you only look for it.

I am going to show my kids that adversity does breed character. I will show my kids that its about 'what you give' and not 'what you get.' There is oh, such a difference.

I want my dear sweet boyfriend to see that love is something to be worked on and nurtured and I want to show him that its really magical and full of hugs and kisses and understanding and love.

I want him to put the ring that we picked on my finger with love and I want him to see the love growing from within both of us. I want him to see the gentle soul that I have within that is yearning to come out and feel the sunshine and laugh in the rain and jump in the puddles.

I am going to go to the gym and show myself that bodies can be fixed after they have been broken and they can be better than before. So much better than before.

I am going to pay for the guy's coffee in the drive-thru line up after me. He will never see me or thank me but he will always remember the 2.00 contribution that I spent making MY day and not his. I will do this every-time I want a java fix and a 'me' fix.

I am going to learn how to use my new camera to forever capture what is dear to my heart to show my kids what I am about. I want them to understand me and love me and appreciate all that I value that doesn't have a dollar figure attached to it. I want them to have my memories so they too can see what I see is important.

I want to wake up each morning and do something good for someone else and I want to re-live it again before I go to bed. I want to have that feeling of knowing I did something good today. I want it EVERY day.

I want to take every little bit of knowledge that I've learned about others and about me and I want to embrace that and wrap it around dejected souls that need a lift-up to become better and understand the fragility of life.

I want to help others going through treatment that can't see the end of the road. I want to share with them the meaning of 'hope' and 'perseverance'. Its not just about today. Today is almost over. I want to show them how to embrace tomorrow as tomorrow is what we all have to strive to attain.

I want to feel puppy dog kisses and puppy dog breath from a whole bunch of dogs that are happy to be inside, safe and sound in a caring and nurturing home. I want them to see that not everyone beats them or keeps them outside. I want to see the wagging of tails and the bouncing of bodies and I want to feel them curling up behind my legs when I sleep.

I want to learn all I can about dealing with cancer. If I do this, I can help others going through what I did a few short years ago. If I have lived through it, surely I can help others going through it.

I want to show everyone that life is not about money nor is it about the car that you drive or the clothes that you wear. No one will remember that at the end of the day.

Life is really all about setting up your own virtual 'lemonade stand' and handing it out to everyone you meet.

I embrace my task at hand and I will wear my camo and my lipstick and I will try to hand out 'lemonade' to everyone that I meet.

Life is really a bunch of lemons. The trick to surviving life is knowing that what you see in your hands as lemons might not be really lemons, after all. :)

Cheers and a good-bye to 2008.

"Head down, tail up and get 'er done". (another mantra of mine:)