Out and About – Week of August 24th

Stress is not a good thing. Too much stress can be fatal, so we must continue to find ways to relieve it. One way that I’ve found to do just that is to get away from my daily routine for a day or two. We decided to take three days in the middle of the week and go camping. Yankee Springs State Park is about forty-five minutes north off US-131, just south of Grand Rapids, in Barry County. We arrived there late afternoon on a Tuesday, had a family gathering on Wednesday, then returned home on Thursday.
The state park didn’t have Wi-Fi, so we couldn’t use our laptops. We have televisions in the motorhome, but it takes time to get them set up, so we were forced to sit back and relax. We enjoyed campfires both evenings that we were there. We love sitting around a campfire and watching the flames dancing around the logs. The mornings found me sitting outside observing the other campers having a good time with their families and friends. It was difficult for me just to sit there. I tried to think of someone to call, but I couldn’t come up with a reason to call anyone, so I just sat back and let the stress go its separate way. My wife convinced me that it was okay to do nothing.
I have found that if you really want to enjoy some time off, you must get away from your routine. You must put yourself in a position where you don’t have things that need attention right away. Camping is one way of doing this. You are forced to slow down and relax. Probably the most difficult thing about getting away from it all is leaving “Stress” at home.
The caffeine in coffee doesn’t do much when it comes to relieving stress, but most people can’t start their day without it. Whether you start your day off with a cup of coffee or a Mountain Dew, the day just seems to go better after a jolt of caffeine.
I’m usually good with just one cup of coffee in the morning. Depending on whether someone stops by the office or not, some mornings I have more than a couple cups of the stuff. During the summer, some might prefer something colder to drink. I’m not referring to beer or lemonade, but rather a refreshing coffee popsicle. All you need to do to prepare this cold, refreshing treat is to take three cups of leftover coffee, add three-quarters of a cup of half and half, plus a one-half cup of sugar. Blend until the sugar dissolves, then pour into a mold and freeze. I’m sorry, but cold coffee doesn’t appeal to me very much, let alone frozen, but, as the saying goes, different strokes for different folks. Enjoy!
Part of life is having rules we must obey. Some rules that are difficult to live with, and others make a lot of sense to all of us. Here are ten rules that I don’t think are too demanding, but remembering them might be difficult.
Express gratitude.
Keep your promises.
Say, “I love you” more often and mean it.
Be gentle with others, especially those you love the most.
Speak the truth, although it might hurt.
Share your love.
Laugh at yourself.
Use words of kindness.
Consider others.
Do your best.
For you guys out there, remember, the final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.
See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman