The Blog

The Belated Card Says More Than You Think

01/25/2011 By Nancy Borg With 1 comment

While shopping for a Hallmark birthday card today, I was thumbing through the humorous section searching for the perfect card and when my hand grazed over the infamous belated zone, and I was struck with the irony of it all.  It just occurred to me that the origin of such a category was designed to address and classify the disorganized individual.

The creator of the belated card had to have thought about a person who consistently either forgets a special birthday, anniversary,etc. or perhaps remembers but never gets it together to actually buy a card or send it. Imagine…Hallmark has provided for the guy/gal who messed up, and is capitalizing on the idea that there are people who have failed to organize the special milestone events in their family and friend’s lives.  Moreover, the mere gesture of  sending the belated card is screaming out that you are indeed guilty of such a charge.  I can’t believe that it is a proud thing to declare; “Yes, I totally forgot all about you on your special day.”  How embarrassing, really.

It’s silly enough that there is a barrage of other occasion cards for every kind of relationship imaginable; like “Happy Mother’s Day to my neighbor’s cousin” or “Happy Birthday to our dog”, but forgetting the special day altogether is sending an alert to remind the person that you actually forgot!

Truthfully, a belated card when it is received is one that you surely don’t want to save and cherish.  Once the day passes and the celebration is over, does receiving a card days later even have the same significance?

So do yourself and your relationships a favor, keep records of the special days of your loved one’s lives. Implement reminders on your phone, computer, and calendars.  Make a habit of buying an assortment of occasion cards at the start of every month so you’ll be prepared and have them on hand when you need them.  Don’t be caught short.  Sending a card on time is a small thing that means so very much.

At the risk of sounding sappy,  a celebratory card sent and received on the actual day does speak to how important that person is to you.  Simply said,  it simply means that you thought about them on their special day.  Everybody wants to be thought of, even if you personally don’t need that kind of attention  Be fearful of sending belated cards often, it might become a reputation hard to shed.

Strive to be more organized in this regard and you’ll be appreciated for your thoughtfulness. Guaranteed, it will come back to you. Goodness and respect always return the favor.

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Fighting the Winter Blues and Winning

01/18/2011 By Nancy Borg With 2 comments

I know, the winter doldrums are getting to us all.  Special empathy goes out to my fellow New Yorkers (sorry but I’m the one who’s blogging and I feel for my peeps) because it’s been a particularly rough winter thus far.  Between the multiple snowstorms in a short span of time,  the extreme cold weather coupled with the short darker days, and no end in sight, we’ve just about had it.  Where is the sun?  Better yet, when was the last time we saw a blue sky?   Everything looks grey, even the snow is grey!

It is a struggle each morning to get up and out from under the warm covers and face another blah winter day.  We have a good fight ahead indeed, with at least three more months left to battle.  But don’t stress, there are things to do that can help overcome these plaguing blues.  While we must recognize that a long cold winter is not so tragic, we can still find a way to bring some sunshine into our lives.  My Mom always taught me to dress contrary to the weather, and I always did.  Try dressing happy.  Wear bright yellow.  Shock your friends and colleagues by putting on a bright and bold colored anything, and I promise if it doesn’t brighten your day even just a little, at least you’ll be the talk of the town at the water cooler.

Find your inner happy …. maybe play some favorite tunes from the summer and visualize the long walks on the beach, because you’re definitely not getting the warm fuzzy feeling from the icy sidewalks.  Let’s not give the weather so much power and allow it to dictate our moods.  We’re better than that.  We cannot claim to control the weather but we can certainly create our own happiness, so button up your overcoat and go find some.

My friends, remember if all else fails, know that there are brighter days ahead because the winter has an eventual end.  Like most good and bad things, this too shall pass.

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The Top Ten Virtues of a Snowstorm: It’s About More Than You Think!!

01/12/2011 By Nancy Borg With 8 comments

I have learned that there is great value in an epic snow blizzard event, both prior, during, and after.  First of all, because the weathermen get all excited about forecasting the impending doom and scare us all into thinking we will be stuck in our homes for days, it forces us to be more organized than any ordinary day.  The media urge us to get ready and be prepared.

The survival instinct in us emerges and so we all run to the supermarket because we fear we will be on lock-down for days without food, (and of course, let’s not forget the fresh milk, it’s always a commodity and the very first item to deplete itself)

Apparently, when we receive a weather advisory, we take immediate action and seem to react accordingly with little difficulty.  The day prior to a snowstorm, I notice that wherever I go, I get a sense that everybody is preparing, albeit cancelling appointments or rescheduling them, changing travel, etc., all in an effort to plan ahead.  You can feel it, the “hustle-bustle”  is in the air.  A teachable moment indeed, and a great eye-opener for ANY situation.

So this begs the question, where is your inner alert for readiness in an ordinary week?  Try this.  Take a look at your week at a glance with a little more critical thinking.  Prepare with a more heightened sense of organization and I bet it will bring you better results. Being organized prepares you for the unexpected and helps you focus on your goals, just like for a snowstorm.

As for the actual snow day, it’s a great opportunity to measure how you choose to spend your time.  It’s a time to reflect.  You’ve got a day off.

You could:

  1. Organize a closet, a drawer, or any room (hey, if you’re going to dream, dream big).
  2. Read an old fashioned book, if you haven’t got a Kindle or Nook yet (yes, that requires turning an actual page)
  3. Watch a movie or impose an all day marathon (popcorn a must).
  4. Call an old friend (the kind that the time lapsed never matters).
  5. Get lost on Facebook with no time-management in mind.
  6. Catch up on sleep (an impossible goal but worth the effort).
  7. Eat ALL the food you bought.
  8. Exercise at home (probably not likely).
  9. Sort mail and pay bills (this is a tough one, most likely on your “to hate”- list).
  10. Shovel?

 Or NOT!!!!!! Whether the snow day gives us time to do the things we love to do, or hate to do, the mere break from everyday routine is a great rethink for all of us to recognize how we use our time.

After the snowstorm has settled and you’ve shoveled your way back to the mundane, don’t be down on yourself if you went the lazy route, it’s YOUR time and YOU own it.  That being said, after being a recluse for a day or two, I am confident that you will be eager and happy to get out and rock the world tomorrow.  Everybody needs a snowstorm now and then.

 

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Suffering From Post Traumatic Holiday Disorder?

01/05/2011 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

Shall we discuss the good, bad and ugly?  The good is that the chaos of the holidays are finally over; the bad is that the holidays are finally over and you have to wait an entire year til next Xmas season; and the ugly is the mess you are left to clean up.  For starters, The Christmas tree has to come down, the lights put away, the ornaments need to be boxed up, the wrapping paper and accompaniments need to be organized.  And I’m sure there are still random presents that need to be returned or exchanged. Where did all the joy go?  Doesn’t it feel like the holiday season peaks at Christmas and seems to take a huge nose dive after the New Year? So it is understandable and likely that many of us often feel a void after such concentrated jubilation.  But perhaps, we should look at it in another way.  Take this time to pause and reflect.  Be grateful that you had a holiday and were able to celebrate it. The parties may be over but the memories live on forever, and hopefully you took the pics to commemorate them.  Give yourself a little break to catch your breath, reorganize and reboot…..and then back to business as usual.  Do your best not to wallow in the sorrow of the end of a year and concentrate on the beginning of a new one.  Look forward to the possibilities of new opportunities that lie ahead in the coming new year.  Focus on that.  It just might help you fight the blues until the first bloom of Spring.

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