Not For Babies Only...

 As I turned on the water to draw my bath, I glanced at the shelf by the tub lined with bottles of bath oils and lotions, reflecting various colors of the sky, the earth and flowering desert plants.  Many of those bottles were given to me by friends at a birthday party who said, "Be kind to yourself, take a warm, long bath, relax, luxuriate and treat yourself like a baby."  Hmmm...

 I began by dipping my elbow into the bath water to check the temperature.  As I slowly stepped into the water, the warmth of it engulfed my leg, and my foot felt the security of the smooth mat on the bottom.  I lowered myself into the tub and cradled my neck in a soft pillow and breathed in the rising steam scented by a mild eucalyptus oil.  Closing my eyes, covered by a cool eye mask, I consciously relaxed every muscle in my body.  I listened to my deliberate, steady breathing, felt my heart beat ever so slowly and I fell peacefully asleep.

 Upon awakening I ran a hot shower and washed my hair, massaging my scalp with the hardness of my fingernails and the softness of my fingertips, making thick lather.  Using one of my scented soaps and loufa, I washed my body, the roughness of the loufa scrubbing away dead skin, the faint lavender scent of the soap making me feel lusciously clean.

 Stepping out of the bath, I wrapped myself in a large, soft towel, heated by the towel warmer.  As I poured the cool moisturizing lotion into my hands to warm it and smoothed it over my body, I luxuriated in the silky feel it was giving my skin, and it reminded me of the obvious joy a baby feels when rubbed with baby lotion after a warm bath.

 Babies are touched, caressed, massaged, nurtured for a reason.  It gives them a feeling of security, love and acceptance. The human touch is so immensely important, not only to babies, but to all of us.

 Even if we don't have the time or resources to indulge in professional massages, manicures, shampoos, or aromatherapy treatments, there's nothing to keep us from pampering ourselves and recalling those same feelings a baby feels.

 As I dry my hair and dress, I think how I feel nurtured, loved, safe and relaxed, and it makes me recall those same feelings as when I was growing up.  And I'm the one who made me feel this way.  Pamper yourself -- treat yourself like a baby!

Warmly,

Susan Hays

Oklahoma, Where The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains.

What a grand time! Visiting good friends, presenting the book and taking a trip down memory lane!

Susan and I braved the 50+ mile per hour winds, just like the Oklahoma natives we are, and experienced the warmth and hospitality of the great people in our old home state.

Presenting to the legendary Acorn Book Club, formed before Oklahoma was even a state, was an honor and a privilege. The ladies were very kind and I enjoyed it very much.

A special thanks to Martha Roth for hosting a reception for us in her home, and to the folks who came to help us celebrate my book.

And while I am passing out thank you's, Barnes & Noble at 6100 N. May Avenue in Oklahoma City and Hastings Books in Enid both did a great job for us at our signings. Thank you to them and the wonderful folks who came and spent some time with us.

A great, great time.

Makes me want to write another book.

Susan and Tom are coming to Oklahoma this week! Please Come By and Say Hello.

Hi Friends, Susan and I will be in Oklahoma City and Enid this week, and we are very excited to get the chance to see you. Please join us for some fun at one or more of our events, and bring some friends! We will try our best to bring rain. Tom Hays

See You Soon!

Help Your Friends Keep Their Mind Working!

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT! ... One that keeps on giving long after the holidays pass. Science has proven that keeping the mind active and working is key to health and happiness as one grows older. And there has never been a more fun way to do that than Bananagrams.

Bananagrams is simple to play for one, two, three or more players. It is a little like Scrabble, except each player builds his or her own words, laid out like a crossword puzzle, that he or she can change as they go along to use all of their letters. Building words increases vocabulary and improves memory, and it is FUN! We play nearly every evening before dinner. Some pistachio nuts, a glass of wine, and Bananagrams. It's a hoot!

An inexpensive gift that will last and last. Buy for all your family and friends. Fun for all ages. Order now, because this is this year's "hot ticket" gift idea. Just click on Bananagrams. You will be glad you did, and so will your friends.

Peace,

Tom Hays

Building Pearls - Important Today!!

One of the important steps to achieving a fulfilling, more rewarding life is to realize the ramifications of this simple observation: A PEARL is the only natural gemstone that can be made in a human lifetime. A tiny grain of sand or piece of dirt gets inside the shell of an oyster. That creature’s way of dealing with an irritation is to coat it over, over and over, until it becomes a smooth thing of deep beauty, the pearl.

Much like the oyster, we too must manage life’s irritants, those things that get into our shell. And, like the oyster, we have to work at dealing with those irritants, learn to cope, to smooth and round, polish, maybe even enjoy, so that eventually, they become us and we become them.

All that we are as a person is a collection of those “pearls”, how we’ve dealt with the problems in our life, how we look at them now, the opportunities we’ve taken to build things of beauty out of what at first seemed like adversities.

You will find helpful information at http://www.platinumpearls.com/. PLATINUM PEARLS® is designed to sharpen your pearl building tools. To arm you. To help you with the changes, the bumps, the rough spots of the next era.

We are all pearls ... now going platinum. Welcome to your new life.

Seniors Find Eye Care Improves Lifestyle

By Tom Hays, ABOC, NCLE

Some older adults may be able to improve their quality of life with a simple device: new eyeglasses. In a recent study, those seniors who received eyeglasses for uncorrected vision problems were found to have improved quality of life and decreased symptoms of depression when compared to those with vision problems who had not received eyeglasses.

Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., and colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a trial in which 142 nursing home residents age 55 or older were assigned to a group that would receive eyeglasses one week after check-up (78 residents) or a group that would receive eyeglasses at follow-up two months after check-up (64 residents).

Vision-related quality-of-life and depressive symptoms were measured at baseline and at two months.

At baseline, both groups had similar demographic and medical characteristics and had similar visual problems uncorrected by eyeglasses. After two months, distance and near visual abilities for the right and left eye improved in the group that received eyeglasses, while the group that had not received eyeglasses had no change in visual ability.

At the two-month follow-up, the group that received eyeglasses reported higher scores for general vision, reading, activities and hobbies and social interaction as well as fewer depressive symptoms.

“This study implies that there are significant, short-term quality-of-life and psychological benefits to providing the most basic of eye care services—namely, spectacle correction—to older adults residing in nursing homes,” the report authors conclude.

You do not have to be in a nursing home to benefit from new, properly prescribed and fitted eyeglasses. They will make your life easier and more enjoyable wherever you live. See better, live better!

Tom Hays is a Board Certified and Registered Optician and a Fellow of the National Academy of Opticianry. He is currently President of Velocity Business Advisors headquartered in Napa, California. http://www.velocityup.com

Not For Babies Only

by Susan Hays

TREAT YOURSELF LIKE A BABY

As I turned on the water to draw my bath, I glanced at the shelf by the tub lined with bottles of bath oils and lotions, reflecting various colors of the sky, the earth and flowering desert plants. Many of those bottles were given to me by friends at a birthday party who said, "Be kind to yourself, take a warm, long bath, relax, luxuriate and treat yourself like a baby." Hmmm...

I began by dipping my elbow into the bath water to check the temperature. As I slowly stepped into the water, the warmth of it engulfed my leg, and my foot felt the security of the smooth mat on the bottom. I lowered myself into the tub and cradled my neck in a soft pillow and breathed in the rising steam scented by a mild eucalyptus oil. Closing my eyes, covered by a cool eye mask, I consciously relaxed every muscle in my body. I listened to my deliberate, steady breathing, felt my heart beat ever so slowly and I fell peacefully asleep.

Upon awakening I ran a hot shower and washed my hair, massaging my scalp with the hardness of my fingernails and the softness of my fingertips, making thick lather. Using one of my scented soaps and loufa, I washed my body, the roughness of the loufa scrubbing away dead skin, the faint lavender scent of the soap making me feel lusciously clean.

Stepping out of the bath, I wrapped myself in a large, soft towel, heated by the towel warmer. As I poured the cool moisturizing lotion into my hands to warm it and smoothed it over my body, I luxuriated in the silky feel it was giving my skin, and it reminded me of the obvious joy a baby feels when rubbed with baby lotion after a warm bath.

Babies are touched, caressed, massaged, nurtured for a reason. It gives them a feeling of security, love and acceptance. The human touch is so immensely important, not only to babies, but to all of us.

Even if we don't have the time or resources to indulge in professional massages, manicures, shampoos, or aromatherapy treatments, there's nothing to keep us from pampering ourselves and recalling those same feelings a baby feels.

As I dry my hair and dress, I think how I feel nurtured, loved, safe and relaxed, and it makes me recall those same feelings as when I was growing up. And I'm the one who made me feel this way. Pamper yourself -- treat yourself like a baby!

Warmest regards,
Susan Hays

Baby Boomers Discovering Wine Country!

by Tom Hays

It’s not as if baby boomers aren’t acquainted with drinking, partying and having a good time. But as they are entering mid-life, many of them are discovering the joys of fine wine. Wine is an acquired taste, more valued for the nuances of its flavors than beer, which was the boomers’ choice to be chugged in great quantities at a frat party or ball game.

Now that they are older and somewhat settled, the mid-life baby boomers are discovering a variety of new tastes, including food and wine. That discovery has led many of them to want to learn more about the gracious lifestyles found in the prime wine growing regions of the world.

Wine tastings, tours, and visits to Wine Country are increasingly leading to the purchase of a second home or a retirement home in the vineyard regions. A simple lifestyle, based on fresh, locally grown foods prepared by excellent chefs, paired with delicious wines, and presented in a beautiful, small village or country atmosphere is a powerful magnet to the boomer who is entering the second half of his or her life. And for those who are not quite ready to move to Napa, Sonoma or Tuscany, many are ordering food, wine, cheese and other items from Wine Country over the internet to bring a bit of the charm, tastes and treasures to their own life.

Up-scale real estate continues to hold value in Napa Valley and other wine regions. Most have strict ordinances controlling conversion of vineyard land to housing development, keeping the idyllic rural atmosphere that people are seeking in their Wine Country dream home. That bodes well for the future housing prices in these desired areas, in spite of housing downturns in other parts of the country.

Those mid-life baby boomers who can are buying now. Those who can’t are buying as much of the lifestyle as they can, either on visits to Wine Country or over the internet from websites such as http://www.winecountry2go.com.

I Need How Much To Retire?

by Tom Hays

I've flunked "Retirement 101" four times. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention. Maybe I have a low boredom threshold. I have plenty of hobbies and I enjoy all of them. But maybe when I am trying "retirement" I have too much time to think about what "might" occur in my future instead of what "is" going on at the moment.

I think about my father, mother and all my other ancestors who lived to very ripe old ages. I can see the financial world changing every minute, the cost of living increasing and the cost of medical care spiraling onward and upward. With only a "comfortable" sized nest egg, it is enough to scare anyone to an early grave!

Point is, I'm just not sure how much is enough. In a perfect world, my wife and I would spend our last dollar on the day we passed on. But, no one can tell me when that will be, or what our cost of living will be between now and then. And, heaven forbid, one of those illnesses comes along later in life that creates huge medical expenses and long-term care costs.

I may have enough. Several times in the past I have thought I did. But each time I eventually realize I have no idea how much of a nest egg will be enough to sleep comfortably every night. (I'm sure Bill Gates does not have this problem.)

So, I go back to work, and I feel better physically and mentally. Besides, making money is fun. I enjoy the game!

Give me your thoughts.