Misha, the pug, was giving me her hopeful eyes and cute little waggy tail earlier this morning, so in the middle of a typically busy Monday, I relented, grabbed her leash and followed her happy little body out the front door. 
Carrying my cell phone, as usual, figuring that I should multi-task and not "waste" this doggy walk time,  I couldn't help but notice the beautiful maple trees in our neighborhood which have just begun to display their fall colors.  I put my phone down, took a deep breath and feasted my eyes on the world around me.
Just as we rounded the corner toward home, across the street in a row of small, younger trees, I made out one lone spot of bright red- just one solitary leaf when all the others were still bright green.  I had to get a closer look!   Sure enough, here was just one crimson leaf- the only one on the entire tree!
It was almost calling out, "Look at me, see how bold and beautiful I am"! 
Maybe I need to be more like that little leaf.  Maybe I need to step out quicker to help, try a new thing, greet a new friend, and certainly, make someone's day better!
So, I'm determined to be that bright, red leaf today.  I'm on the hunt to make my day- and that of at least one other person, a great one!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Linda

Story About Life

This is a short story about life. Thought you might like to read it.

Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America (if you remember, she's the wife of Todd Beamer who said 'Let's Roll!' and helped take down the plane that was heading for Washington D.C.):

She said it's the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as hearing the garage door open as he came home, and her children running to meet him. She's now the Mom of a beautiful little girl, Mary.

Lisa recalled this story:

"I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.

With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, 'Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment.

Perhaps this is God's way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day. Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, 'So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice.

It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground. Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted.

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.

If you like this, please pass it on to a friend. If not, just delete it and go on with your life! Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Paying it Forward since 1977

Back in 1977, we were driving from Minnesota to Great Falls Montana. Along the way, we had some car problems and had a repair bill that took the most of our cash. We got back on the road and thought we had enough cash to get us there. But, when we still had about 200 miles to go, we realized that we didn’t have enough cash to get us the rest of the way. We had a check book, but no gas station would take an out of state check. I got on the CB and started talking to find out if anyone could help us out. We found a trucker who said he would cash a check for us. So, we met him at the next truck stop. When we got there we filled up the car with gas, and he asked us to join him for lunch. When we went to write him a check for the gas and for lunch, he looked at us and said to keep it. The only thing he asked was that someday we would do the same for someone else. We never got his name or where he was from. He got in is truck and headed down the road. We made it the rest of the way to Great Falls, and I have never forgotten what he did for a couple of young kids. And yes, I have paid it forward more than once in my life time. It truly was one of those life-changing times, teaching me to take care of others before I take care of myself. Thank you Mr. Trucker who ever you are or where ever you may be!

Wills Park- A Busy Place on Sunday Morning

Linda and I were out for our Sunday morning stroll today, and realized how fortunate we are to live within walking distance of Wills Park, a beautiful green space! As we walked down Rucker Road, we decided to include a stop at the Alpharetta Community Garden to check out the changes from summer to fall crops. The gardens were lush and plots were packed with ripe tomatoes and peppers. A new rail fence has been installed around the garden. Hard to believe that just a few months ago this gorgeous, food-producing spot was just another piece of plain ole' grass! Way to go green, Alpharetta!

As we walked around the path in the park, we came upon a canine agility show in the big arena. All shapes and sizes of dogs and their handlers were getting ready to compete. Then, as we headed back toward Greenmont, we noticed that Rucker Road had been blocked off for something. That something turned out to be the IronKids Triathalon! We cheered the elementary-aged bike riders as they rounded the corner to pedal back toward the finish line. Before we got home, we came across a yard sale and a road-side vegetable stand. I think I heard some baseball game announcing in the background, and, of course, the tennis courts were alive with players, too!

It was all great activity, though- one of the many reasons we love it here. Even though we live in one of the largest cities in the United States, there is a lot of small town feel left in Alpharetta.

So, Make Your Day a Great One! Look around your yard and neighborhood and find a few things that you are grateful for! We are truly blessed to live and work in such a beautiful, active, caring community.

I am grateful for Wills Park, a huge, diverse green space in the heart of Alpharetta- a place I won't take for granted anymore.

Make It A Great Week! Take time to visit Wills Park!

Steve

Compliments Make Your Day a Great One!

In last Friday's post, we encouraged everyone to practice doing some complimenting.

Many of you sent us e-mails saying that you were going to give it a try.

One of our readers, Penny, wrote to tell us that she happened to read the post just before going to a local networking meeting. So, she decided to give it a try and asked everyone at the meeting to practice some complimenting right then and there! Sounds like it was a big success and got Friday off to a great start for everyone.



Thanks, Penny, for sharing the idea, helping to make our world a better place, and for writing to let us know about it! You really "Made Our Day a Great One!"



Steve & Linda

The Compliment Guys

Thanks, Atlanta Journal Constitution, for this uplifting article this past week. We thought it was a perfect fit for "The Day Is What You Make It"!

The Compliment Guys, two Purdue University students, gained web fame by praising fellow students every Wednesday. Well, they have taken their show on the road, and lucky for us, they found themselves in Atlanta a few days ago. Carrying their hand-lettered sign ("Free Compliments"), they spread cheer in Centennial Olympic Park, complimenting complete strangers who happened by. Wouldn't it just Make Your Day a Great One, if someone complimented you on your shirt, your purse, or maybe your big smile?

The students, along with representatives of Kodak, who has outfitted a bus for their travel, are on a 10-city tour they are calling the "Bright Side" tour. "We're encouraging everyone to look on the bright side of life," said spokeswoman Dwayna Haley. Videos of the students gained many hits on YouTube.

Who knows? Maybe this "spontaneous complimenting" thing will catch on! There will be Random Acts of Complimenting going on all over the place!

It's Friday, so let's have FUN! we double-dog-dare-you to give out as many compliments as you can today. Then, write us a note about it! Ok, Ready, Set, COMPLIMENT!!

Steve & Linda

Look Who's on the Cover

Ok, Do I get to brag a little here? It's not everyday you get on the cover of a magazine. They did a great job with it. Click on the title to take you to the article. I guess they made my day great!

Oh, one other thing. I am reading a great book that really fits in with my style of living. It' called "The Energy Bus" by Jon Gordon.

Steve

Bloom Where You Are Planted- sort of!

I've always loved the little saying, "Bloom Where You Are Planted". To one who has "bloomed" in quite a few different places and situations over the years, I have tried to take this advice to heart, and I think I've been pretty successful, if happiness is the measure of that success.

Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers, so funky and fun, but Steve doesn't love them quite as much, favoring a little more orderly look in the front yard. So, this year, in an attempt at a more formal look in our landscape, I didn't plant any sunflowers along my little corner fence.

Well, as you can see, this "volunteer" sunflower from last year's crop, is REALLY blooming where it- wasn't exactly planted! I think it's so funny- and just a little bit of a poke of fun at all the other roses, zinnias and other more "acceptable" front yard plantings. This giant plant has to be at least 15 feet tall with a beautiful bronze blossom at the very tippy-top! The stalk is strong and straight with big, wide leaves jutting out all the way up.

My independent, non-conformist streak is really enjoying this giant "fun" flower! Sometimes I stand inside the door and watch neighborhood children pointing up at the big, green stalk, as their parents just shake their heads. "You never know what that Linda is going to be planting in her garden"!

So, what's my point? Only this: Sometimes, we just have to "bloom where we are planted", and we'll be big, and strong, and beautiful, like my one and only sunflower! We can make plans and plans and plans, but sometimes things don't work out quite as we planned. So, the best thing to do then is to "bloom where we are planted"! In fact, sometimes that works out even better!

Don't forget- Be like my Sunflower and Make Your Day a Great One!

Linda

It has been way too long!

Ok, It has been way too long since I have blogged on here. I have just recieved the first look of our new The Day Is What You Make It! logo.

Here is what it looks like.

Let me know what you think!

Steve

A Chance to Make Telly's Day Great

Here's a chance to make someone else's day GREAT while enjoying a great time with friends!

My good friend and colleague, Telly Olympiadis, was seriously injured in an ATV accident last November. Telly, a self-employed contractor and handyman, was hospitalized for several weeks, and he has been wheelchair-bound in his home since then.


Telly's friends have organized a benefit concert, coming up on Saturday evening, February 28th at Trilogy in Marietta featuring live music by THREE great bands from 8:30 pm-12:30 am

http://www.trilogydining.net/ 4930 Davidson Road, Suite 200, Marietta GA 30068

8:30- Fox Trot November
9:30- Kevin Spencer
10:30- The Mixx
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Dinner is available at Trilogy.

Admission is FREE, and donations for Telly and his family will be accepted at the door.

Mike Cohen, who is heading up the event, books bands and said that one of these three is ready to sign a recording deal!

Bring your friends and join us for music, fun and a chance to help a young family!

There's nothing like good friends and good music, all for a good cause, to......

make your day a GREAT ONE!

Hope we'll see you all there!

Linda & Steve

Cruisin' the Caribbean Makes a Great Day

Cruisin........., the Caribbean we're cruisin.............,

Ahh, it was wonderful! Steve and I sailed out of San Juan on a huge, beautiful ship called "Adventure of the Seas", and it certainly was a fun adventure! The trip was even more special for us, since we were part of the Jim Brickman VIP Fan Club members, about 200 strong- or should I say HAPPY! As we made many new friends and met loyal Brickman fans from all over the country, we realized that this group has a very high happiness component- just the kind of people we like to hang around with! There didn't seem to be a negative person in the whole bunch.

Coincidentally, Jim mentioned during his concerts that he tries to impart positive, happy messages in his music! This combination made for a fun-filled, inspirational week, that's for sure! There were concerts, a song-writing class with Jim and Ellen, "Brikki-okke", Gourmet cooking class with Chef Jamie, Wine-tasting sessions- on TOP of all the other activities AND spectacular ports of call to visit.

This very special get-away was a surprise Christmas present from Steve, but I think I surprised him right back with an impromptu, original song during the Karaoke session!

Ironically, while on the trip, I received e-mail news that a former colleague and friend had died very suddenly of a heart attack. A seemingly very healthy, younger man who was devoted to his young family, taken from them in an instant. It was hard to grasp, but it made me appreciate even more this wonderful, special time that Steve and I had together.

So, don't pass up a chance today to tell your loved ones how you feel. And, try to carve out some time to get away from it all sometime soon. You'll be so glad you did!

And, oh, don't forget......... The Day is What You Make It, So Make Yours a Great One!

Linda

Patrick's Piano Recital

This morning I was sitting at my computer when an e-mail arrived that really Made My Day A Great One!

Patrick is my talented young piano student, and I have mentioned to Steve several times how hard he is working. I can tell that he has practiced his assigned pieces, and he is really making a lot of progress each week.

The writer of this morning's e-mail message was Patrick's mother. She wanted me to know that Patrick had entertained at their annual holiday party this past Saturday night with an impromptu recital featuring his newly-mastered Christmas music! She went on to tell me that her creative son had seized the opportunity of a rather captive audience by making tickets for the guests who were lucky to be present for his first public performance!

I immediately replied, telling Patrick's mom how proud I am of him! If I had known, I said, we would have asked him to perform for our holiday party, as well!

These are the kind of precious little gifts that are, as they say, priceless!

Thank you to Patrick's mom, for sharing this special news with me and giving me the perfect gift this year.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Remember to make someone's day a GREAT one!

Linda

Overheard in the Produce Aisle......

The other day I was working in one of our stores when one of the Team Members came up to the new Store Team Leader and said, "There's a Customer over here looking for the Store Manager". Most of the time, that means somebody isn't happy, and it's the Team Leader's job to "Fix It". This Team Leader, wiser than his years, knows how to deal with customers. Trevor had been the Team Leader at this store for only a couple of weeks, but he knew just how to handle the situation. As he approached the obviously unhappy shopper, she proceeded to tell him that she had just moved to this area and couldn't find five things in the store that we stocked in her former location. Trevor turned the conversation around to a positive one, stating that he too had noticed that the store was missing some standard items. He jokingly said, "It's a good thing you didn't get here last week. That was my first week, and this store has been without a Team Leader for a few weeks. I noticed, too, that we were out of quite a few things. We've been working on getting everything back in stock again."



As the conversation ended, the customer was smiling, understood the situation and was looking forward to coming back, probably to see if Trevor would make good on his promise! She and the new StoreTeam Leader have "bonded". I am pretty sure that this new customer will be a loyal one, thanks to Trevor's sincere and friendly attitude!


The moral of this story? It's not the situation itself, but how we handle it that really matters!


Trevor really did make both their days- and mine, "Great Ones"!







Steve

Serving Customers Makes ME Smile!

This past week I traveled on business with a colleague and friend. He admitted as we were leaving Atlanta that he had "gotten into a funk" over the past week and was just plain unhappy in general. We know each other pretty well, so over the next few days I just kept on in my normal manner, hoping that a few smiles and laughs would help him climb out of the doldrums. As our conversations carried on during the week it became clear why my buddy had been so stressed out. He had been cooped up in the office for way too long! We’re in the customer service business, and he had missing his customers!

As we worked together over the next couple of days, we both spent a lot of time on the sales floors with our team members. A number of times I happened to notice him striking up conversations with customers. The more he became engaged with the customers the bigger the smile that appeared on his face! Even better was that the customers wore big smiles on their faces, too! They were both making each other’s day Great!

Customer service, isn’t it fun? The better service you provide to your customers, the better you feel personally. All we have to do is figure out how to get everyone in the customer service business to realize that they will feel so much better if they just enjoy doing their job!

Oh, by the way. When we got back to Atlanta my friend was back to his usual, cheery self, even though we had plane delays and didn’t get back until after midnight.

Have a great week, everybody, and don’t forget….The Day IS what you make it, so make YOURS a GREAT one!

Steve

Real Estate in Any Language

As a Realtor, I have the privilege and pleasure of working with people who have come to Atlanta from many countries and cultures. In fact, this opportunity to make friends from so many places and learn about and appreciate their customs, is one of my favorite pieces of the relocation puzzle. The bad part for me, though, is when my clients move back to their home country after their home is sold! As a result of sales this past year, I now have friends in The Netherlands and Columbia, but I have new friends from Pakistan and Ireland!
Even in my Keller Williams office of 100 agents, we are a very diverse group of people from many countries. Countries represented among my colleagues include India, Iran, U.K., Italy, Peru, Argentina, New Zealand, and I’m sure several others that I have missed. I’m from Wisconsin, and of course, my friends give me a hard time about my “accent”. “What accent”?
So, my agent friends and I thought it would be fun and educational to put together a panel discussion featuring the agents in our office who have come to us from other countries. Our first Cultural Awareness Panel Discussion was even better than I had hoped, and we all learned so much about each other! Our primary goal was to learn more so that we could make a better impression when working with international clients, but I think something even more important happened. We began to realize that even though we come from so many places with such different customs, all people need to be listened to and appreciated. We love to feel welcomed and respected. Isn’t it great that a smile is the same in any language?

Linda

The Happy Gene

I am sitting here tonight reading a new book that I purchased this past week and came across an interesting cartoon. It was a picture of what looked to be an unhappy man sitting in the examination chair at his doctor’s office. The doctor was looking at him with his clip board in hand. The caption read "The tests show you have an over active grumpy gene". I had to laugh out loud. It is just the opposite of something one of my daughters said a number of years ago. I can't remember now the entire conversation that we had back then. I just remember we were looking at or talking about someone who didn’t look very happy at the time. That’s when my daughter said without hesitation, “They don't have the Schulte Happy Gene”! I have never forgotten that comment. I don’t know if all happiness is in our genes, but I am sure some of it is. I just look at my three daughters and see very happy girls. They have all had their tough times but always seem to come out smiling. Which reminds me, how often have you seen someone looking kind of sad and not having the best day? A lot of times a warm smile and some kind words will totally change their outlook. So, it works both ways. The day is what you make it, AND what you make it for others. Either way it’s a win- win. When you make someone’s day great, your own will be even better!

Steve
p.s. The title of the book is, Happy for No Reason by Marci Shimoff.

A Day of Grace!

....Camp Grace, that is! Yesterday afternoon a few of my Keller Williams colleagues and I drove up into the foothills of the North Georgia mountains to share some time and treats with young campers from Atlanta. The campers and counselors are enjoying a week of outdoor fun at Camp Grace. Keller Williams Realty and its realtors are very involved partners with Camp Grace, raising funds and helping with projects. The goal of yesterday afternoon's adventure was to furnish and serve afternoon snacks to the campers and staff. In true Keller Williams style, realtors from the KW North Atlanta office, along with family members, loaded up three vehicles with cupcakes, cookies, chips and drinks, and headed north on GA 400- until there was no more GA 400! The Camp Director gave the children a guided golf cart tour of the camp while KW folks set up the snack tables.

After shooting some hoops and hula-hooping some hoops with the KW gang, campers lined up for chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, chips and ice-cold juice.

Many big smiles were seen and thank yous heard. We went to give grace, but as often happens, we got more in return, and of course, we made our day- A Great One!

If you would like to learn more about Camp Grace, and find out how you can get involved in a wonderful ministry, go to http://www.visionatlanta.org/.

Linda

The Happiest People......

We heard a great quote the other day and wanted to share it with all of you!
"The happiest people don't HAVE the best of everything, they MAKE the best of everything".

Isn't that just the best thing you've ever heard? Now we don't have to get up every day and try to get more stuff. We just have to get up every day and do our best to be happy with what we already have! How liberating! There are so many situations in which this philosophy will come in handy. Now, when you're stuck in rush hour traffic, just be happy while you find some relaxing music on the radio or listen to a great audio book. When you're waiting in line at the grocery store, make friends with the people in line with you. Think of all the money we can save making the best of what's already in our closets!

So, make the best of it today! You'll be one of the happiest people around!

This is Makayla, our granddaughter. Like most babies, she knows how to make the best of whatever comes her way each day!

Steve and Linda

Spoiled Rotten Puggies!

It's a rainy Friday evening and the Schultes are all snug as pugs in rugs, enjoying some R & R on the family room sofa. When the puggies see me grab the newspaper and a cup of coffee, they know that I'm going to be sitting still for awhile, so they jump up next to me and settle in for the duration.

Mikey and Misha joined our family via Southeast Pug Rescue and there has not been a dull moment since their arrival last August. Devoted, loving and down-right comedic, these two have decided to make the most of their new lives as SRP's (Spoiled Rotten Puggies).

They are definitely "The Day is What You Make It" subscribers! Misha spent her whole life as a puppy mill mother, but these days she won't even consider sitting on a hardwood floor or going outside in the rain! And, a day better not go by without a walk around Greenmont Circle!

Happiness is a romp in the bed covers or jumping in the back seat for a ride to-- wherever.


If you want to make all your days as good as you can make them, adopt a new best friend from your local shelter. You won't regret it!



Steve, Linda, Mikey and Misha

Can You Make a Great Day for Others?

I have always been The Day is What You Make It guy. I get asked so many times, “How long have you been like this”?
I always think back to a seminar that I attended back in about 1980 or so. This was a great day of great days of great speakers.
Zig Ziglar, Art Linkletter, Dr. Robert Shuller and a guy named Ira Hayes. As Ira was talking, he brought up the question, “How many times have you asked someone how are you doing?”.
When you go on to tell them just how bad a day you had or all things wrong in your life, they really didn’t want that much information.
How often do you hear people respond when asked the same question, “My day is going great” or “It’s the best day of my life”? I came away from that seminar with a totally new attitude.
When people asked me how I was doing, I told them “Great”, and then thought of what was going good in my life that day. They would walk away with a big smile!
I know people llike to hear more good than bad. It was amazing to hear people say, “Thanks for sharing that with me. I wasn’t having all that great a day until I talked with you. I think my day just got better”, they would tell me. I realized that making my day great and sharing it can help others have a great day, too!

So, don’t just make your day great, but share it!

Steve

It's a Dog's Life!

I'm sitting here, laptop in my lap (right where it belongs), feet propped up on the corner of the sofa, watching my two pugs, Misha and Mikey, and their friend Miranda, the cat. All three are sound asleep, after their usual carefree day of eating, following me around the house, trying to trick me into giving them treats, and their favorite, sitting on my lap while I try to read the paper and drink my coffee.
Misha and Mikey came to us this past summer through Southeast Pug Rescue, each from a different foster home, but seemingly the perfect pair who get along so well with each other AND with Miranda!
Misha was rescued from a puppy mill after having raised many litters of puppies. Mikey was literally on his death bed in a shelter when he was saved from the needle by an alert health inspector who knew of the pug rescue group and saved Mikey's life!
Talk about positive attitude! These two little spark plugs are happy and loving their new lives as pampered pugs. They seem to know that they have been given a second chance and are eager to please and show how much they love their new family. Their past bad luck and mistreatment doesn't hamper their sheer delight in living each new day. Misha's tail wags constantly, and Mikey literally tuns circles in excitement when it's time to eat or go for a walk.
We humans can learn a lot from our pets. Yes, we've all run into some bad luck in life, but we need to let it go and not let it impair our present and future.
Next time you're feeling sorry for youself, take a cue from the pet who loves you unconditionally.
Live today in happiness and your day will be a great one!

Linda

The Day Is REALLY What You Make It !

Hi Steve & Linda,
What a neat blog and very positive. I think many of us have had neat experiences and interactions that makes for warm and cozy feelings.... plus of course makes life oh so meaningful. Then too, such experiences really helps shape our personalities and goals in life. I thought I might share this lifetime experience with you --- if you don’t mind taking a few extra minutes to read. It’s really from my heart. I have my very own version of the successful play/movie “Tuesday’s with Morrie” experience. Because of my “ Morrie”, in this lifetime, I am on my third career ( Special Education, Medical Receptionist and now Natural Foods Broker) and all have hopefully helped educate me and be compassionate to those I encounter. I feel this lifetime is for me to be helpful to others. I’ll share this true story with you..... When I was a freshman @ the University of Missouri, I was not the greatest student as I was more interested in my new found freedom, dating and the social life of college. My major was nursing and all nursing students were required to attend summer school during the first year and then take an anatomy course during the summer session. After the first exam which I really had studied for, I realized that college and the academic lifestyle was not for me as I froze on my anatomy first major test and turned in a paper with literally just my name on it. I was very depressed as I really wanted to be a nurse with a BS degree... Not just an RN. I wrote my parents a note telling them that I didn’t think I was college material and if I called, to please not ask any questions but instead, just come and get me. My best friend strongly urged me to go talk to the professor before giving up as she thought a lot of him. I did go see my professor --- Dr. Herb Brown who talked with me for some time. He then suggested that I go back to the lab and retake the test ---just for fun — no pressure for myself and then come back and we’d talk more. I did retake the test, “Dr. Herbie” as I would call him graded my test and --- I had scored an 88/100. He convinced me to keep trying and that he would be available to help me academically or if I wanted to just talk. I did get an “F” on that exam and then on the following tests, I made a D, then a C, then a B. He caught me goofing off instead of studying for the final as I told him I had already failed his course, so why bother. I got such a lecture --- “ that I had not failed his course or any other course until I took the final and that I should get my body home and study!” When my parents came to get me after the finals, they wanted to meet my ‘Dr. Herbie” which they did. After returning home I eagerly awaited getting my post card with my Anatomy grade and when it came, it simply stated --- “Delayed, see you in September”. I really did not plan on returning to college life, but that postcard intrigued me as well as my parents. When I returned to school for the Fall session and met with Dr Herbie, he told me he really didn’t know what kind of a grade to give me so he proposed that I could either retake or audit his course and my only requirement was to retake his 4 exams and the final and then this would be my final grade. I did audit his class and ended up with a grade of “B” which pleased me. From my sophomore year till I graduated, I spent many hours just talking with Dr. Herbie and his family became my surrogate family. His wife Betty and their two children became my adopted home away from home. He really was my mentor--- my first really true professor who cared about his students. His family became a part of my family as we shared so many of life’s milestones together --- our marriage, both of our special anniversaries, children/grandchildren, graduations, etc...plus we took our children to meet and visit with them so they could see and meet some of the people who influenced and help mold me growing up. We have shared so many wonderful experiences together and it wasn’t until about 5 years ago that Dr. Herbie told me that my father, may he rest in peace, spoke to him WEEKLY --- not only during my 4 years @ college, but ---till he died, as they became dear friends and spoke weekly for another ~~ 18 years! December 19, 2007, I received an email from my adopted sister saying that Betty had a seizure during the night, could not talk and was paralyzed on her right side and to pray for her recovery. After daily updates, unfortunately, Betty went into a coma and died December 26, 2007. She was so full of life and active in the community and just weeks prior, had chaired an Arts Fund Drive raising thousands of dollars for the Arts. I could go on an on as how wonderful she was but since Dr. Herbie and Betty was always their for me, we went to Columbia, Mo. to be with him and “the family”. Luckily, my husband of 43 years was also loved and adopted by this wonderful family so as we mourned for Betty, we shared many memories as this special bond which has been going strong for 48 years. Betty had sorta planned her funeral and picked out several quotes such as: “You can shed tears that she is gone or you can smile because she has lived.” What I found most interesting with her selections, is for my father’s tombstone, I had the following engraved “ Forget I died, Remember I lived”...... We both really thought so much alike. So you see, when you speak of doing simple acts of kindness and love for our fellow man, Dr Herbie and Betty are the perfect examples and my heroes. We have both been the givers and receivers all these years and we are so blessed to have shared much of life’s blessings --- and I am sure Betty is with my real parents and looking over us all. And Dr Herbie – although unthinkably difficult to loose his lifelong love to whom he was married for 64+ years-- he keeps on going, is now 85 years old and in fairly decent health. He’s being extra strong these days and still teaching us all how to accept life ........ and death.
The Day Is REALLY What You Make It !
Thanks, Annette

New Years Resolution

Are you one of those New Years Resolution makers who struggle to make them happen? How about you try a very simple one? I have a resolution that will help you as much as other people you know. Over the years I have found that an easy way to make my day great is with simple acts of random kindness. How many times have you done or said something nice to another person and all the sudden you feel so much better?

My wife came home one day a while back with this glow on her face. She then proceeded to tell me about a person ahead of her in the check out line. Linda noticed that the lady had some fresh flowers that she was going to purchase. She simply told the lady that they were beautiful and that someone was very lucky to get them. The lady got a big smile on her face and said thank you to my wife. They had a short conversation while they waited in line, but before they went their separate ways, the lady turned around and said, “I was having a bad morning, but you have made my day”! Of course my wife had a great day after their encounter, too! Her random act of kindness put smiles on both of their faces.

If you can resolve to go through this next year doing some simple acts of kindness each day, you will not only have a great year full of great days, but you will help a lot of other folks have them, too!

Let me know if you’ve been the giver or receiver of a random act of kindness!

Steve

The Day is What You Make It!

So, what’s this new blog all about, anyway?
The first time I heard this phrase, about 7 years ago now, was when I was getting to know my husband, Steve, the all-time, most positive person you have ever met.

Steve’s voice mail message is very familiar to anyone who knows him for they have heard, “Oh, and don’t forget, the day is what you make it, so make yours a great one”, at the end of every message for the past 20-plus years! Lots of people tell us they call him purposely when they KNOW he won’t answer the phone, just so they can hear his cheerful voice telling them to make their day a great one!

We want The Day Is What You Make It to be a spot where you can come for an inspiring, uplifting thought AND where you can share YOUR thoughts and ideas for making each day great!

Anyway, since it’s hard to curb this guy’s enthusiasm and good humor, why not share it with everyone else! Maybe there are lots more Positive People out there who will share their upbeat ways for living each day, and we’ll “Pay It Forward”, so to speak!

Keep checking in at The Day Is What You Make It! It WILL make your day a great one!

Yours POSITIVELY!

Steve & Linda