While many might consider this an easy question to answer, already having a list of wishes sitting in their reserve brain bank, just waiting for the day they encounter a magic Genie… CAUTION!!!!
Before you throw out your three magic wishes, in hopes of satisfying the Daily Prompt, I must bid you a warning… check their references!!!
First of all, how many times have we wanted and wished for a thing, only to regret it? I, personally, have some doozies!
Secondly, many Genies come with tricks and undisclosed disclaimers… if they assure you of the rules, do your due diligence to investigate their work history, first!
I suggest that you seek out some testimonials of your particular Genie, just to check on the satisfaction level… or survivability record, of previous users.
I always try to remember, just in case I were to run into a magic genie somewhere, no wish is as simple as it seems, and many come with extras that you hadn’t considered… or were prepared to handle…
Just sayin!
I promise these cookies aren’t magic ones… though they are pretty special…
Sometimes, our kids say the darndest things. Yes, I know that phrase has been widely used, but I am still going to use it though. If we think about it, the blatant truth of all the things our kids say, would be a catastrophe if we grown ups said them out loud. I guess this memory is the closest example I can give to prove my point.
Out of the mouths of our tiny human replicas, come some of the most jarring, yet accurate truths! While it can sometimes be embarrassing and/or even upsetting, we cannot fault the little truth detectors. As they have no clue regarding protocol or appropriateness of word usage, they are innocent of any malice. Just unadulterated truths that we grown ups learned how to keep zipped up.
Our small protégé are also emulating many of our own beliefs and attitudes, whether we wish to admit this or not. Monkey see monkey do, and our kids often reflect our behavior. But they often reflect to a greater extent, when they blurt out things we have said in the past. We were unaware they were mentally recording us. Childhood also does not come with a full understanding of what, or why grown-ups say and do the things they do.
While talking with my brother-in-law the other day, I was reminded of a funny situation back when his girls were little ones. When my husband and I were first together, he took me to visit his brother and family. It was wonderful to spend time with them, and I instantly fell in love with their daughters. These two girls were so sweet, and very bright for their young age, so I was enthralled.
On one of the mornings of our stay, we all sat around the breakfast table visiting and talking about this and that. When my husband mentioned that I was a photographer, the girls got all excited and asked to see my pictures. I pulled out my laptop and loaded up a file of my recent pictures, taken along our journey across the states to visit them. Somehow, I had a picture in the file of a woman I had done some work with recently. The girls were watching me scroll through the file, and when the picture of the woman appeared, the oldest of the two girls made two consecutive statements, one right after the other… without even a moment’s hesitation.
The first comment could possibly be classed as a reaction verses a statement… she exclaimed, “Oh My!”… and right on the heels of that, she declared, “She’s Hideous”!
I am not sure what was funnier… watching the girls mom turn three shades of red, and immediately try to correct the child, or my brother-in-law almost choking on his food, while laughing hysterically. I wish to point out some very important things to note here. One thing to note here, is that the woman did indeed have a unique look about her, and another note was that the child looked at her parents with some confusion… the tiny truthteller had simply called it like she saw it. She was not being mean, but rather, trying to describe what she saw on the screen. It did not help that my husband was laughing just as hard as his brother, and I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face.
Those girls were probably so confused by the grown-ups, they had no idea what to even say sorry about, or if it was ok to laugh with us or not. At the time, I sucked it up and sided with their mom, as I understood the ramifications if the outburst was not squelched then and there. They could have ended up getting kicked out of daycare for being cheeky. On the other hand, they were not my responsibility in the morality and respect departments, that job belonged to the parents. I found it absolutely Haylarious!
I will end this memory with two observations. One of which, is the fact that the child new without a doubt, what hideous meant and she used it properly. When I was small, my older sister blurted out in the grocery store check out, “John, you are so illegitimate”! He was trying to read the cover of the magazine on the rack, and she thought to say illiterate. The second observation I have made all these years later, looking fondly upon those two girls all grown up. Not only did they turn out to be very bright and beautiful woman, both have their mothers sensibilities as well as their fathers sense of humor… guess which parent they heard the word Hideous from… I wonder.
Why would I pay someone money, if I had any to throw around, to get flung into outer space, with the risk of running out of oxygen… or better yet, simply implode?!
The mere thought of either scenario, makes me feel a bit ill. However, for the sake of adventure and all that, I’d consider the mission if someone wants to pay me to do it.
I’ll fly to the moon for no less than a thou… a hundred tho… ONE BILLION Dollars… yup, that feels about right!
While I can make a pretty mean chili, salsa that can melt the paint off a house, homemade soup bowls to fill with dreams, and a good many other dishes I picked up along the way… baking is my passion!
Not just baking, but desserts mainly… and not just desserts… I LOVE COOKIIIIEEEESSSSS!
I am well versed in baking most types of cookies, but my most highly prized handheld delight would by my secret recipe of ………………..
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are not just anybody’s cookies, but my own twisted version. While I won’t tell you the exact recipe, I will say that it mostly has to do with HOW I bake them, more so than all my secret stuff I throw in before baking the dreamy mouthfuls.
Let me just say that I have perfected the art of perfect oven temperature, yummy ingredients, and a sore back from standing bent over in front of the oven, and watching for the perfect moment to pull em…
They come out golden brown and crispy on the surface, but when you break them open they are perfectly ooey gooey on the inside… A tall glass of milk is a must for these, as I forgot to mention that I make them about the size of an open hand, not a child’s hand, no no no, but a grown up people size hand…
They were Huge!
When my girls were small, we spent a great amount of time involved in church. Every spring the church would do bake sales to raise funds for our Children’s Ministries. I would make a triple batch of my cookies, wrap them individually in colored cellophane and ribbon, set up a spot on the church bake sale table, and watch the cookies disappear within less than a half hour. That’s a lot of cookies people, A LOT!
When I refused time and again to give up my recipe to some of the moms, I seriously worried for my safety a few times… lol… just kidding!
I did often jokingly say that my recipe was a Government Secret and if I told them the recipe, I would have to make them disappear… that always got some laughs.
So there you have it folks, hot off the press… we can bake cookies pretty good!
**The original cookies had mold all over them, so, as per my commitment to quality… These are fresh!
I suppose if I’m to think of the biggest dish I’d like to bake, it would be Baked Pterodactyl… you know, like a Turkey but bigger!
If a Turkey dinner could feed a family of 5 for several days, then why not use a bigger bird? And, as I’ve no desire to eat any of the pretty birds like Ostriches, or Big Bird, for that matter… we’re left with the Pterodactyl.
The down side is, I’ve heard that Pterodactyl meat shrinks in the oven due to being rather dry.
Maybe I should just stick with Turkey…
Yes, I understood what the prompt was actually asking, but as I’ve no risks that need taking, I went with the birds.
Now, I’m not saying someone did something wrong, or anything, but they sure made it confusing for us young readers.
Driveways, Parkways, Freeways, Doorways, and such, all share the Way part… but that’s where any normalcy ends. I get the meaning of way, because it’s describing the meaning of passing through, or
1. a method, style, or manner of doing something.”there are two ways of approaching this problem” h Similar:methodcourse of actionprocessproceduretechniquesystemplanstrategyschememeansmechanismroutinemannerapproachrouteroadmodus operandi
There was more detail in the definition, but I’m only interested in the first part, which is simple enough to understand.
I understand the definition of Way… but that’s the only part that makes sense. It’s the other half of the word never makes much sense…
Why do they say Driveway, when we park there, but call it a Parkway if we drive on it? Have you ever been given gifts or complimentary packages while driving on a Freeway? Doorway makes sense, because it’s a door that you pass through, right? I don’t want to guess what a Highway is supposed to offer, verses the rest of the Ways… sheesh!
I think grown-ups make these word things a lot harder than they should be, if I’m being fully honest. In truth, I’m fairly certain that we all do this at times. I think it’s in our nature, or something like that…
Lazy days, for me, are a far cry from being unproductive! Are you kidding… while I might be resting in my favorite chair, I’m busy saving lives! If the world ever has a zombie outbreak, my services are going to be in high demand.
Do you even realize how much laziness I have to endure, just to keep my trigger fingers in good working condition? Are you going to know how to zombie proof your safehouses? I bet you never thought about that!
Then, there’s figuring out how and where to get food, fresh drinking water… and bullets! I’m forever in search of more bullets… oh, and repair kits. You’d be surprised how often your weapons need repairing.
Then there’s zombie proof clothing (that’s armor) and antibiotics! Don’t let yourselves get bit, or anything. I’d hate to have to shoot you!
Yep! You’ll all be thanking me…
Want a cookie?
Just kidding!
I’d at least pick the cookies up first, just to flick off anything unpleasant! I’m not a monster… just a survivor! Now eat your cookie, and don’t ask what’s in the ingredients…
What a silly question! Are we really so far gone as a society that we need to even ask or answer this question?
Doesn’t everyone pretty much hope for a neighbor that’s quiet, friendly, and unobtrusive? Maybe a few of us that run a bit on the wild side might dream of joining things like neighborhood barbecues, yard sales, and kid’s sports events. But, honestly, does anyone actually invite their insurance agents to their weekend lawn clean-ups?
I would truly love to meet those who have such a close relationship with their insurance provider, they’re frequently given things like free babysitting, house watching, and providing cups of sugar, when we’ve run out of what’s in the cupboards!
Personally, I’d be far more willing to let my neighbor into the back yard than I would an insurance agent. I stopped letting salesman enter my home years back when a carpet salesman threw coffee grounds on my living room carpet and then tried to vacuum them up with his fancy machine. Whose bright idea was that? The company had to pay for the spot to be professionally cleaned.
Years ago, when I was heavily pregnant with my second child, the pump went out, flooding our entire basement with that which we shall not ever mention… it was horrific! We had little money, and no idea what to do. Until our neighbor from across the street, along with several other neighbors, completely repaired, replaced, and re-sanitized the entire lower level of the house, while I simply sat dry-heaving in the front yard. If your insurance agent provides this kind of neighborly service, would you please send my their telephone number, cause our truck is about to throw in the towel!
Maybe it’d be easier to answer this prompt if we opted to use the word brother instead of neighbor, or, for that matter, insurance agent? Why? Because, when you consider what to expect from a family member, can’t your neighbor simply become an extension of that? Or better yet, switch this whole prompt to What Makes a Good Human Being. Let go of names, titles, and relationships… just focus on your fellow humans.
I believe that you should treat every other human being in this world with the respect, love, and kindness that you seek for yourself. Scripture says that we should treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated. I can certainly attest that I strive to never do to others, that which was done to me. Note that I said strive… I’m far from being flawless!
What I am, however, is forgiven, and redeemed; bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ! Therefore, I am called to love my neighbor, my brother, AND my enemies, as myself… Just sayin.
Doesn’t Fall always give birth to nostalgia, or am I the only one who thinks this way? Every year, just as the weather begins cooling, I find myself digging through the archives, and pulling out some of my old articles to read. Though I realize this site has an archive page, but many readers don’t have hours of free time to go digging through all that stuff.
That’s why you’ll occasionally see them re-posted, because the more recent readers might not have read them, yet.
From now on, if you see (20__) on an article, those will all be called Tuesday Thoughts and Things, like this one. I will be pulling up some of my favorite goodies from the archives, going all the way back to when Journey With Me began, in 2016. Yes, you get to see all my typos, commas,,,,,,,,,,,, and poor sentence structure, but hey, I’m still learning. If nothing else, we can all see how my writing skills, and style, have changed over the years.
So let’s do this!
This came from October 24, 2023…
I was going to post a picture of my plant today, but found this while searching my photo files… I figure that the plant can wait a few days. Have you ever been in a place where you see something you yourself have done, written or said… but it seemed as if someone else did the writing or saying, though you know it was you?
I guess I write so much, I occasionally find myself surprised at things I myself wrote. It is not a disappointment, nor something to be proud of necessarily, but it makes me happy inside for some reason. Perhaps I am able to see my true reflection in the words written for others…
I think all too often in life, we do and say mostly what the world will accept of us, or what we perceive the world might accept from us.
I think I like the way I write better, when I don’t care what the world thinks, but more so what I think or even better yet, what God thinks… in my opinion.
Maybe reading old writings of my work, encourages me, because it reflects a spirit of healing, growth and faith, which had not been there for so much of my life. Our human propensity to overcome, rise above and walk on, always amazes me… that comes from God folks, not us, but the one whom we were designed after. We are all made in His image, and therefore by design, are fully capable of tapping into this part of our spirit.
It comes down to Freedom… freedom of choice! God has given us all we need to get this life done, we need only accept the tools given and get it done! Will it be easy? Is it ever? Life interruptus happens for everyone.
Choices, choices, choices… what we do with what we have is what makes us who we are… Period!
When I look back over the things I have written over time, I clearly have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of my choices, as well as the lasting scars of the choices made by my predecessors. I have also witnessed a resilience within myself, that has apparently always been there, but had been obscured by my attempts to just survive!
Perhaps I have simply arrived finally, at the cross roads of Too Damn Tired and Suck It Up Buttercup! Whatever it is, I like it! When someone came up with the phrase, “What don’t kill you makes you stronger”, I now have a full understanding of what they meant.
When I read that poem I wrote a ways back, it resonated with me, as if a stranger had written it for me to read, and not the other way around.
That folks, is growth! As I heal and grow in my walk with God, the words that begin flowing onto the page are actually quite beautiful, and I can say that without pride, as I think they fully come from God… maybe not for you, but rather, for me…
Journey With Me! 