The polar vortex arrived this morning with a vengeance. It was -26 in our little town of Fox River Grove, IL. It brought back memories of our time winter camping in 2002 up at Kettle Moraine, WI. Larry talked me into winter camping up at Kettle Moraine, WI after our first night in a motel. It had been a relatively mild winter and after begging me to camp, I finally agreed, half heartedly. The advantages he said were as follows: No bugs, no mud, no loud obnoxious campers, almost free lodging and our choice of campsites. We had bags that went down to zero degrees and a tent used on Mt. Everest. During the night, I was cold and put on his stinky sweater. He had been X-country skiing in it for the past two days. I spent the night ducking in and out of the sleeping bag. Under the bag, I would gage because the sweater smelled like stinky feet. Outside the bag, it was freezing cold. We woke up at 6:30 AM to -12 degrees and rushed over to our favorite coffee shop in Oconomowoc where our teeth chattering while drinking our hot coffee. Like a homeless person, I made my way to the bathroom and brushed my teeth once they settled down. This was another lifewithlarry adventure but my heart goes out to homeless people who be looking forward to much warmer temperatures at the end of the week.

In a life time, the heart will beat 2.5 billion times. What is your heart beating for? What is your vision? What keeps you up at night? These are questions I ask myself. I strive to make each day a masterpiece. I have found that my greatest joy comes from helping others attain their vision. Without a vision, the people perish. If you listen well to others, you will know what makes their heart skip a beat. Then I can come along as a mentor and help them climb their ladder. We cannot remain stagnant if we want to grown spiritually, mentally or physically. John Wesley has worded it so well. “Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.”Just think of Forest Gump as he ran across the United States inspiring others to run. Fictional, but it had a point.

Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it, is your gift back to God.” Have you noticed that the talent you have been given needs to be developed and honed by hard work, sweat and tears. My goals are to be a better writer, to improve my piano skills, to speak Spanish and to be in good physical condition to accomplish my goals. You may ask. Why these goals? These are the tools I can use to further the kingdom of God. . To bring others into the abundant life I am experiencing. Our purpose is the change the world. Now that is a lofty goal. “In this life we cannot do great things, we can only do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa. That is true but Helen Keller had another way at looking at life. “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. “ Continue to check my blog, www.lifewithlarry.org for tips about stepping out of your comfort zone and into the person God created you to be.

There is so much to do in the month of December. It can be a stressful time as we prepare for the holidays. But my advice to you is to take time to laugh at yourself and with others.  Larry and I love to laugh. No matter what trials we have faced, we can’t stay blue for long.  And that is a good thing. “Laughter is good medicine.” Physically, laughter triggers the release of endorphins that cause a sense of well-being. Studies have demonstrated that children laugh on average more than 300 times a day. We adults only laugh a dismal 15 times a day. No wonder grandparents enjoy being with their grandkids. I watched a group of three-year-olds today. I was the big bad wolf who was trying to blow their house down.  They called themselves the piggies and ran from one house to the other. They squealed with laughter and brought out the child in me.

Did you know that 85% of what we worry about never happens; and if the problem occurs, our excellent coping skills help us to manage successfully?

So find people that make you laugh.  Play with kids. Pass around good jokes.  Be like the Proverbs 31 woman who smiled at the future.   “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.” Victor Hugo

Share a laughable moment on my website. I have a great one to tell you called Sweet Delusions.

Where were you on 9/11? I remember teaching a class in British Literature where we were studying Beowulf on 9/11/01. A student went to the nurse’s office and came back with the news about the twin towers. We thought he was joking since he was the clown of the class.  Beowulf is about the nature of good and evil and we read the rest of the book with this thought in mind. In the end, good overcame evil but not without sacrifice. I thank God for the protection he has provided our nation since then. Let us stop and remember and pray for those who lost so much that day, and for those who have died with illnesses related to that day. 

On our block, we lit candles in remembrance of those who died. The silence of no planes overhead was eerie. The nation was in mourning. The churches were full as many were looking for direction and answers.  One of our teacher’s husband, a fireman,  volunteered at Ground Zero.

We rejoiced the day President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden.  Just like in Beowulf, justice was measured out with the help of the Navy Seals.

Sometimes I wonder why we get so upset over a triviality when so many in our world have gone through so much trauma.  One way I measure problems is to ask myself this question,”Is this a first world problem?” If it is, I can deal with it and thank God it isn’t something worse.  Wish all of you well, and feel free to share where you were that day either here or on my Face Book page Sue Schuerr

We entered the first cathedral

On a cold winter day.

The room was filled with patrons

All in silent repose

Hovering over their beloved treasure

Like a sea of urchins looking for bait.

The prize that would take them out of the world

of loneliness and connect them

in one vast symphony.

Just one byte.

But the walls were white stone

The faces glued on an  endless search

for significance and meaning

in a world of endless chatter.

Just one byte.

Silent chatter with bodiless faces

Paying homage to

their screen god.

Just one byte

They silently drifted out of the first cathedral

hopeless and greeted by

harsh winds of emptiness.

I am one of those people who loves mornings. I’m looking out the window as the morning wakes up. We have a dusting of snow and a pink horizon with a canopy of purple blue sky. The days are getting longer but the squirrels are not yet scampering up and down the trees in their game of hide and seek. My heart is full of love for my Lord and for my life as I greet another day of promise.

I am happy for so many things—-a warm house, a neighborhood of friendly people and a husband who loves and understands me. Over our long marriage, we have learned the secret of being patient and forgiving regardless of life’s road blocks.

That evening, we quit our jobs around the house to prepare for a volunteer dinner at Brave Heart in Popular Grove which is near Harvard. Larry began volunteering at this therapeutic horse farm to help Veterans suffering with PSD and people with special needs. Larry looked handsome in his cowboy hat and boots. I wiggled into my stylish boots straining to pull up the zipper over my ample calves. I felt good in my new green sweater, a Christmas gift from my daughter, and a new sparkling necklace from my South Korean friend. With excitement, we took off for our long journey through scenic farm land.

After over an hour trip, we arrived at our destination only to find the parking lot empty. Something was not right. We figured the dinner was at another site but Larry did not have his phone with him for contacts. From Popular Grove, we went back to Brave Heart’s other site in Harvard and found out the dinner was February 18th. So here we were in Harvard on a Saturday night in January having wasted our time and gas money. It could have been a witches’ brew for a tasty fight but instead of quoting Macbeth’s “Double, double toil and trouble” we vowed to do better.

In the past, I would have said,” Why didn’t you put the date in your cell phone, and why do you insist on never having it with you when you need it? Why do you even have a cell phone? We could have had a really nice Saturday night. But here we are in the middle of nowhere land.” He would retaliate with,” Stop ragging on me, Miss Perfect.” When was the last time you made a mistake? His voice would get louder while pointing his finger. I would begin crying and say, “Just take me home,” and we would drive home in silence.

But after a marriage of more than 40 years, we have finally learned grace. Instead of ragging on one another, we talked about what we should do next.  The night was still relatively young.

The Bensons had called us earlier inviting us for dinner but we declined because of the volunteer dinner. I called Carol and she had a hearty laugh about our dilemma. We’ve all been there at one time or another. We decided to pick up pizzas and get together at their home in Palatine, another 25 minutes East from us.  We went all around the world but ended up having a delightful evening together. I slept well that evening until I woke up to the sound of racoons racing over our roof—–so glad they weren’t in our attic—but that’s another story.

Lessons learned

1. Check your calendar thoroughly for events
2. Bring your cell phone.
3. Forgive one another. We all make mistakes
4. Salvage your day in some way.
5. Turn lemons into lemonade.

Now, what’s your story?

A friend asked what Larry was up to after his knee replacement.  It has been 4 weeks since his surgery on June 1st,2016. Larry was on the roof cutting down limbs from a tree. That is what he was up to. I told him he was crazy to be up there but he just asked me to throw up a broom. He was on his mountain bike last week taking a short ride. The physical therapist said he is way ahead of schedule at this point. But he has trouble sitting for prolonged times so long trips are out of the question.  He needs to still take it literally one step at a time.

He is already planning serving opportunities and helping our daughter who had a massive plumbing problem that destroyed her bathroom ceiling.

Yes, Larry is on the move and I’ll do my best to keep him off roofs but then again I’m not even 5 ft. and he is 6 ft. 2 in. Any suggestions?

Less Mess I must confess

No piles of clothes by the side of the bed

No giant work boots to trip over

No stinky socks and trails of drywall

No fudgesicle sticks stuck to the counter

No sugary cream filled coffee mugs

No I-Pod music pipping Carmen and Hank Williams

Yes, Life without Larry is less mess I confess

But the plants scream for hydration

The birds search for seeds

The weeds beg to be picked

My arms miss his embrace

So come home Larry from your trip to Costa Rica

Where tools and cutting boards are your friends

Let laughter and fun reside once again

In this home you build with your very own hands

Bring on the mess I confess

Life with Larry is the best                

By Sue Schuerr

Everyday Heroes. I got a call from Northwest Herald saying that a friend of mine wrote a letter recommending me as an Everyday Hero. Since my retirement, I have volunteered for various organizations including Adaptive Adventures which is featured here. My thoughts were that this award should go to my husband Larry instead who in the past has fixed up more than 2,000 bikes for the needy. He also has used his construction skills with Habitat, Willow, Bright Hope and Conference Point as well as helping many individuals. But I was chosen since I accompany him on many of these outings. It definitely is a time in our lives to give back and it is what has given us so much joy. If a person is wrapped up so much in his own life, he makes a small package. Enjoy the video and look for Larry as well.