Wednesday's Hodgepodge

Another Wednesday, already. That means Hodgepodge questions to answer. It's also 9/11/2013 and that means lots of memories of what took place 12 years ago today. It was the day that changed the world. My heart still breaks for all those who died that day and for their loved ones who still grieve.
May we NEVER FORGET.............

1. What's the best thing about growing older?

The wisdom I've been able to garner in my 66 years.

2. When did you first feel like a grown up?

When my 'best friend' proposed marriage.... as he and I planned our wedding, I think that was when I finally realized I was going to have a house of my own, someone to take care of, and all the responsibilities that went along with it, I was now a grown-up.

3. Chocolate cake with white icing or white cake with chocolate icing?

Actually it is white cake with white icing, but I'll take the chocolate cake too. :)

4. What's the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

This is awful to say but I can't think of a thing. People have gotten so self-centered, they forget the little things that everyone used to do to be kind for a stranger. I'm shocked when someone under the age of 50 holds the door open for me. On occasion a fellow driver will let me pull out into traffic, but that too is rare anymore. It's sad.

5. What's something you learned from your grandparents?

Love.... and that was from my great-grandmother. Both grandfathers died when I was young so I never really knew them. And this too is sad, but my maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother were the meanest women I ever knew. It was my great-grandmother that taught me there was a thing called love. She taught me how to be a gentle, comforting yet strong woman.

6. Wednesday marks a sad day in the history of planet earth-9/11...what's something you do (or can do) to bring peace to your little corner of the world?

I'm the peace-maker in our family. I've grown up knowing the value of the family and when an argument threatens to divide it, I'll be the one to deal with the riff and soothe the tempers.

7. Share a favorite quote, scripture, or song containing the word peace.

"Peace begins with a smile." -- Mother Teresa
Philippians 4:6&7.... "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My 18 year old grandson was just here and he was complaining about the cold he caught. That got me to thinking about the colds we can get during the summer and why they're so much harder to get over.
Is the summer cold actually worse than the winter-time cold? According to the specialists, it is. It's even worse. When we catch a cold in the summertime, it can last for weeks, at times seeming to go away then it returns with a vengeance; whereas the winter cold is gone in a few days. Summer colds are caused by different viruses than during the winter and when we're more physically active, being outside more, then back indoors into air-conditioning, it tends to prolong the symptoms. Plus we could "blame the sneezing and coughing on allergies, when it's actually a cold virus and we need to take time, in bed, to recover"... ok, like everyone can do that?