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

"Life is Just a Picnic in the Park" -Tom Hays

Mable’s Boys  (From the book Twisted by the Wind by Tom Hays)

Ben used to go down to the park on Sundays with Frankie, his cousin.  They were about nine or ten at the most.   One particular summer, things got real interesting. 

Frankie had learned how to look out for himself by that time.  He could squeeze himself into about anything interesting that was going on, and make it work out for his own benefit.

His momma spent a lot of time working, and, with no father to turn to, Frankie kind of grabbed onto Ben’s family. He and Ben were almost like brothers for awhile.  Frankie, a little older and more experienced, tried everything first, and sooner or later, Ben would follow.

So, on most Sundays that summer, Frankie and Ben would be down at the park.  They’d swing, and then slide, and then swing some more and then slide some more, climb on the monkey bars and run up and down the paths.  Sooner or later they would work up quite an appetite.

Frankie would go first, over to the picnic area where he would carefully survey the situation.  Then he’d pick out a table, one with a big family around it and a lot of other kids milling around to provide cover.

Frankie would slide up to the buffet and Ben would follow.  They would take a plate and start filling it.  Fried chicken, red jello with fruit cocktail in it, deviled eggs and pie … lots of pie.

Some woman standing by the potato salad would look them up and down, and ask them, “Now just whose boys are you two?”  Frankie knew to stuff a roll in his mouth before she got to the “you two?”  He’d use an exaggerated munching motion, moving his whole face up and down, and he would mumble with his mouth full.  Ben quickly stuffed his mouth, too.

Frankie would keep up his munching, and before he could finish his entire act, the woman would say, “You must be some of Mable’s!  My, you boys are sure growing.  Bet you’ll both be about as big as your daddy some day!”

Frankie would just nod his head up and down, and Ben would catch on and start nodding his, too, in agreement.  Then, two very agreeable young boys would slowly back away from the scene with full plates of delicious, genuine, Sunday picnic food.  Life was sweet.

That gambit worked all summer, perfectly every time … well, except for that one time … with the black family.

Ben figured the real moral to the story, politics and race aside, is to just approach life like you belong there.

Sooner or later, the world will tell you who it wants you to be to make it happy.

You just have to nod your head up and down, and enjoy the picnic.

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