Paper Daydreams | Uniquely Yours Craft Journal

Happy Father’s Day

13 Jun 2014 Comments Off on Happy Father’s Day

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Seeds of thought Tags: Father's Day, gold, kisses, unconditional love, wrapping paper

The following post for all Dad’s is one of a “G” classic:

~Sallie

Some time ago, a friend of mine punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper.

Money was tight and he became infuriated when the small child tried to decorate a box for Fathers Day.

Nevertheless the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said “This is for you Daddy.”

He was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction. But his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty. Then he yelled at her, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present there’s supposed to be something inside of it?”

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh Daddy it’s not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you Daddy.” The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl and he begged her forgiveness.

My friend told me that he kept that gold box near his bed for years. Whenever he was discouraged he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense each of us has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

G 6/13/14

Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given

To Sallie and uniquelyyourscraftjournal with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

You may reach Sallie at uniquelyyourscraftjournal@outlook.com

Paper Daydreams- Old and New

11 Jun 2014 Comments Off on Paper Daydreams- Old and New

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Paper Daydreams Tags: endeavors, retirement, tiime, travel

Dear Fellow Journalers,

“It’s the end of an era and the celebration of future endeavors!” A friend of mine told me that on the day of my retirement.

I wrote that quote on one of my first pages of my journal to remind me of the past and to motivate me to always look forward. Someone remarked offhandedly the other day, that the plans we made before retirement usually took on a new shape. She told me that the plans she had made flew out the window, the day one son was deployed overseas, and the other one came home from college. So much for free time!

In the year since, so many things happened and so many of my plans that I had made fell apart only to have new endeavors take their place.

My husband and I are not world-travelers by any means, but we have explored our state and ventured beyond its borders to sample new food and visit local attractions. We’ve had a lot more time to spend with our Granddaughter “L”. She’s such a joy to our family. Although she’s entering the “terrible 2’s” stage, she still has some mannerisms that are delightful. My crafting time has increased and I more confident to try new things. NEW ENDEAVORS!

I took down my e-commerce site uniquelyyourscards.com last month with some sadness, but I look forward to more blogging. I have to tell you that about 6 years ago, I thought about blogging but at the time I was working for a very demanding company and the hours were long and to be truthful I doubted my own abilities. What would I say and could I even keep a schedule? Well time has taken care of that and all of you and my contributors have told me that what I share matters and what’s more, you look forward to each post! WOW – who knew?

I joined a new club in my town and am volunteering more. I’m even thinking of joining a book club. Next time I’ll give you some insights into my future pages.

~Sallie

Life is a puzzle

06 Jun 2014 Comments Off on Life is a puzzle

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Seeds of thought Tags: life, puzzle

~Sallie

Memorial Day

26 May 2014 Comments Off on Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!

~Sallie

Image by uniquelyyourscraftjournal

Who is your hero?

23 May 2014 1 Comment

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Seeds of thought Tags: courage, hero, sacrifice, stage of life

Dear Fellow Journalers,

“Our favorite heroes and heroines live forever in their stories and in our memories, cheering us forward in our daily lives and presenting splendid tales of the valor and indomitable spirits that are a lasting testament to our cherished values.”

Paul Colella

Stories connect us. Have you ever listened to an older person talk about their life and the things and events that shaped their lives? We honor active-duty and retired service men and women during this month and pause and remember the acts of courage of those who sacrificed their lives.

“Real American heroes don’t wear capes. They wear dog tags.”

“G” 11/12

I often wonder though, about the teenagers of today. Have they any heroes? I wonder if the adulation shown to movie stars and music and TV personalities is hero-worship? I’m at an age now, maybe because of Grandparent status, that I wonder, and to be honest, worry about the future our “L” will be living in.

While thinking about this subject I surfed the web dictionary for a definitive description of what a hero is:

“remarkably brave person: somebody who commits an act of remarkable bravery or who has shown an admirable quality such as great courage or strength of character
somebody admired: somebody who is admired for outstanding qualities or achievements
main character in fictional plot: the principal male character in a movie, novel, or play, especially one who plays a vital role in plot development or around whom the plot is structured”.

A tall order being a hero.

I always thought of who we now call “First Responders” as heroes. The firemen and policemen who rush into peril when everyone else is rushing out. For those of you who watched any documentaries or news programs after 911 you know who the heroes were – ordinary people some of them, just helping out.

There is a web site that I found recently: http://www.stageoflife.com

This multi-generational global community writes and shares their life stories. It’s like an on-line journal read by everyone. The question “Who is your hero?” was part of their ongoing Teen Writing Contest. The number one hero, was, you guessed it – their MOM. The winners of the essays are readable on the site, but I wanted to share the other hero choices with you because my faith has been restored. They are listed in no particular order:

MOM
My parents
Grandparents
Brothers/sisters
other relatives
Member of the military (read the post “My heroes are the men and women of the Armed Forces” by BetweenMe&U)
Famous person
Friend
World Leader
Teacher or Coach
Character
Member of a group (lifeguard, person with disability)
Everyday person