Dear Reader,
A friend of mine called me the other day. She needed to make a decision about something and was asking for my advice. But instead of weighing-in on whether I thought she "should or shouldn't do something," I suggested she take my grandmother's advice instead.
When I was growing up, if I was troubled about something and wasn't sure how to solve the problem, Grandma would say, "Suzanne, take a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle, listing pros and cons about possible solutions. Pros on one side of the line, cons on the other, and the answer, you already know in your heart, will be in front of you on the paper." As I grew up, I discovered that adult problems can be more complicated than a 'line down the middle of the paper' solution. But looking at pros and cons listed in front of me, always helps me make a decision.
In addition to a pros vs cons solution, Grandma Hale taught me another problem solver that I still use today--and I've passed it on to my husband, our children and our grandchildren. (My grandchildren looked at me strangely when I first told them about it, but after successfully trying it, now they're on board.)
Hiccups? Grandma's remedy worked for me again, just last night, when I woke up with the hiccups at 3 a.m. How a person gets the hiccups when they're sound asleep is a bit strange, but so is my grandmother's prescription to stop them. Fill a glass 1/2 full of water, stir a #2 yellow pencil around (lead end in the water), three or four times, then grip the pencil in your teeth like you were trying to take a bite out of it, now drink the water with the pencil between your teeth, and magically hiccups disappear.
No fancy prescriptions needed, Grandma's paper and pencil are the remedies for me.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
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* Congratulations to the winners of Lost In Oaxaca by guest author Jessica Winters Mireles: Connie C., Salado, TX and Nancy R., Norfolk, VA.
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A mysterious creature haunts the Great Dismal Swamp--can the Shockoe Slip Gang discover its secret before it's too late? Find out in SWAMPFIRE: A Shockoe Slip Gang Adventure for readers ages 8-12. For a chance to win free copies, talk with the authors, and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.
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