You Can Make A Difference; Yah, But...!
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE; YAH, BUT...!
Blog By
Joan Giorgianni
The Savvy Old Lady ©
Joan Giorgianni
The Savvy Old Lady ©
I woke up this morning in a very pensive mood, I guess maybe I feel a little like those days when the sky can’t decide whether to smile or cry. You see lately my life has taken a rather curious path and new challenges have appeared that years ago I would have found laughable and said was utterly impossible. The mere thought of my putting words on paper or in this case the Internet under a pseudonym of The Savvy Old Lady was incomprehensible. Even my five children never wanted to see anything that I had written unless it was formatted into an absent note or permission slip for a class trip. Yet here I sit pecking away in my Golden Years at my computer and wondering how I got here and why?
If you think The Savvy Old Lady is blathering and rambling please bear with me I really do have a point to make or at least my little gray cells (the ones that are left after raising the cherubs) seem to think I do. So many people have written about the benchmarks or crossroads that each of us come to at different points in our lives. There are oh so many paths that each of us must chose to take and with each one of these choices come hurdles, sacrifices and hopefully fulfillment. Still the big question in my mind is am I making a difference in any one’s life beside my own or am I just sitting on this incredible planet taking up space and inhaling the air?
There is a wonderful song written with lyrics that state...YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. But what kind of difference? I’m not an Einstein, Michelangelo or Mother Teresa and I know I won’t ever be nominated for a Nobel Prize. However, I sit back and think of all the little things that have made such a difference in my life. Oddly enough it’s not the life altering changes that appear but the memories of maybe a time when I was so preoccupied with my own circumstances that a smile from a stranger brightened my day. The small kindnesses extended to us from those who are mere acquaintances or often strangers, who for one brief moment enter our lives and make us pause and recognize the importance. Sometimes when you try to tell people they can make a difference in someone’s life you hear the “Yah....but”. Can you take an extra moment to thank the clerk in the supermarket...yah, but I’m in a rush. Can you help the mother who’s pregnant and carrying a toddler in her arms put her shopping bags in her car...yah, but I’m late for an appointment. Can you take a moment or three to ask that little old man who you see everyday shuffling down the street how his day is going...yah, but I have an important cell call to make. “Yah...but I’m just too busy getting along with my life to make a difference in someone else’s life”.
The majority of people have hectic, fulfilling lives and that is a good thing but from time to time we all need that little extra boost which often comes from the most unexpected places. In the past month I have experienced three different incidents that have stopped me in my tracks and made me think. The first was a conversation that I happened to overhear among a group of friends. One man stood out as he proudly boasted that he was born to aggravate and enjoyed every minute of it. As he spoke he would from time to time pass a very unkind remark to one or two in the group and unfortunately the others would laugh. Who knows if it was out of loyalty to the man or just plain fear that he would turn on them but not one single person had the courage to stand up to him. What a shame that no one was willing to make a difference. When we think of bullies we usually think of the playground “bully” but guess what little bullies grow up to be insensitive, empty, adult bullies who never for one minute consider the damage their words can do.
I’m sure you will chuckle at my second story because to most it would be considered quite inconsequential but to me it was important. One of my readers, Phil, recently emailed me a sweet, funny little joke which instantly brought a smile to my face. Now I know that many of you are asking yourselves, so what makes that so earth-shattering we do that all the time. Yes, we all share jokes on the internet but when it comes to filling in the “TO” section on your e-mail it tells the receiver that you thought about them even for one brief second and wanted to share a smile or a story. Snail mail (US Postal System) today has been reduced to bills and advertisements while e-mail has become the socialization process of the decade. So perhaps today, you can look through your list of names in your address book and think of those who you thought enough of to list them there. You may be surprised and maybe never know but you just might make a difference in someone’s day and for that they will be forever grateful.
Lastly, I have to admit The Savvy Old Lady and The Crabby Old Guy were born in the Etch-a-Sketch© generation. This doesn’t mean that we are stupid it just means we are not computer savvy (Oh, to only be a computer geek). Our children and their friends can run circles around us when it comes to manipulating the Internet. When “Crabby” and I decided to set up a website we thought...just how hard can this be? Millions of people have websites all over the world, why not us? Let me tell you 7 weeks of trying to understand terms such as “meta-tags”, “trackbacks”, “computer optimization”, “page rankings” and my favorite the creepy, crawler “robots” has The Savvy Old Lady pulling the hair out of her head. Finally, the good Lord heard my plea and sent me a young man named John. Now let me tell you John has never met The Savvy Old Lady personally and was only introduced to her on the phone by a friend. However, this young man has taken time out of his hectic schedule to help educate (I must say with extreme patience because “Crabby” has lost his) this old girl regarding the techniques used to enhance and keep her website running. All I can think is that sometimes we take the easy way out and donate a few dollars to a cause and don’t get me wrong in many cases that is very important but giving of yourself and your time can be extraordinary to someone’s life.
So, John and Phil, thank you so much for leaving a mark on The Savvy Old Lady’s life. Mr. Bully, you have my pity since you will never experience the sweet moments in life. Join me today in making a difference and let’s delete the “Yah, but…” from our vocabulary. The differences we make might not be monumental but hopefully, it just might help someone make it through a difficult day and isn’t that what life is all about...people helping people!!!
hi,mom!! hugs to you for you have helped me lets just say a LOT,and YES you do make a difference!!and you give us a all a place to do the same.and im not alone on this WE ALL love to her from you keep up the good work please!!thank you mom....tommy
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Dear Savvy Old Lady.
Your web site looks wonderful. Thanks for the effort you put into it. I think I'll subscribe
I think you might have left a message for me at my Shipwatcher web site, but unfortunately it got truncated. I'm not sure if you were making a request of me, but I would be happy to help if I can. Perhaps you could email your message to me. Just send it to mail (at) Shipwatcher (dot) com.
BTW Once you retrieve this message from me, I don't mind if you delete it. I was just trying to make sure you didn't think I was ignoring you
Kind regards
Neil
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Would love to cruise with you!
Glad I read your review of the Rotterdam
You sound like my wife who was described to me" You must have a very interesting life"; nail-on-the-head comment.
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