Have you ever sent a post out into the blogosphere, absolutely convinced it was going to be Freshly Pressed? And then it wasn’t?
You’re not alone.
I’ve asked some fantastic bloggers to select the post that had them muttering,”THIS One Should Have Been Freshly Pressed.” A new blogger will be featured each week to receive the coveted Freshly Pegged distinction. Participants will be awarded a genuine, simulated “Freshly Pegged” JPEG badge, suitable for posting in a place of honor on their blogs. Or not.
Be sure to read all the great Freshly Pegged offerings to date. But before you do, let’s check out…
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Sandy at A Mind Divided. I don’t remember how I met Sandy. She visited my blog, I visited hers, a friendship was born. Her blog’s tagline describes her theme as “Artful, Conscious Living with Bipolar Disorder.” OK, OK, I know what you’re thinking, but don’t run away – it’s not like that. There’s anguish there sometimes, but usually it’s leavened with humor. Her posts share a common thread – good writing.
Sandy also makes incredibly cool, one-of-a-kind greeting cards for sale on her Etsy site. Be sure to check out everything at A Mind Divided, right after you read…
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Rooster in the Road
Sometimes I wonder if being sane is worth all the trouble.
The psycho-spiritual work is endless, flashes of insight dim under the daily grind, and the load just gets heavy. I catch myself schlepping along the sidewalk like an old woman, hobbling with one pain or another, dragging two or three bags everywhere I go. Sometimes I catch my reflection in the big mirrors at the Y, and the pinched, scowling face shocks me.
Holy crap. Where is the Joy?
Today I drove to the post office, deposited a letter (another attempt to qualify for Medicaid), and when I stopped at the intersection, a red rooster looked at me from the middle of the road. What? I watched him cluck-cluck his way zig-zaggy across the street, and then burst out laughing.
Joy is a Rooster in the Road. It drops off a Cosmic truck or escapes from a Holy coop to land—splat—a few inches from your tires. All you have to do is turn toward it and say hello.
Last night I watched some hilarious videos on UTube that made me laugh so hard I lost urine (as we women of a Certain Age like to say). It had been awhile since I laughed that hard. My face ached, my belly hurt, I whooped and hee-hawed until my cats ran for cover. And I had just stumbled over those videos. A rooster in the road.
Some mornings, when I go to Haven (my coffee shop), my friend Joyce will treat me to coffee, or give me a muffin she thinks is too stale to sell, or ask me to try a new kind of truffle. Her generosity makes me feel rich and loved. Like speckled eggs, her gifts are joy and hold the potential for more as their warmth stirs a shift in me.
When I lived with my friends, Tom and Cheryl, I also lived with their dogs, Sage and Gracie. If cats are a subtle pencil sketch, dogs are a slap of high gloss with a sloppy paintbrush. I loved their largeness. Now, nine months after moving out on my own, Gracie greets me like she can’t stand to live without me. A fierce watchdog, she barks at kids walking on the other side of the street. But, if she hears me, she starts whining while I’m still out on the porch. And when I finally open the door to her, her black and white torpedo body wiggles uncontrollably. Snorts and grunts and snufflings accompany the whining until I can love her thoroughly and apologize for being gone so long. Her unabashed, unconditional high regard clucks like a chicken.
Marianne Williamson says, Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.
I get tunnel vision, Watching and Working every day. I forget to look up and out, to place myself on the earth, to take a breath and relax into who I am now. I forget how far I’ve come, how well I am and all the things I’m capable of. But, then, a rooster crosses the road, and I remember.
Are you jealous of the ocean’s generosity? Why would you refuse to give this joy to anyone? Fish don’t hold the sacred liquid in cups! They swim the huge fluid freedom.— Rumi
Peg-o-Leg's Ramblings 
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to take a breath and relax into who I am now
So well said. This is something I strive to do every day. It’s very easy to get that tunnel-vision you mentioned. What helps me find the joy is laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Not taking things too seriously. My kids definitely help me be more in the moment.
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Great idea, Darla – to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
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Sometimes we just have to remember not to take it personally, too.
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This is a fantastic, FP-worthy post. Thank you!
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Sandy gives you something to think about, doesn’t she?
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Thanks so much. And I have a CPAP machine for that snoring thing…
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Nicely done. I love the part about Gracie the dog and how she makes you feel–if ever joy can be seen or captured, it’s in a dog’s unabashed greeting!
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I have to keep reminding myself of that when our exuberant puppy jumps all over me. That joy is so freely given.
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My Scrappy just turns around and around then lies down to get his belly rubbed. But he’s an old man now, so he has to conserve his energy… 😉
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So true. My cats are generally, “Oh, are you home? I didn’t notice.”
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Yes, I’ve found the same tepid response from cats… 😉
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Love this. Perfect start to my morning.
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Isn’t it great? Sandy has a way with words.
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Thanks so much. Mornings… starting… ugh.
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Wonderfully written post – on my way over to her blog…
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You won’t be disappointed!
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Ooo, I can’t wait! Company!
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Hilarious. So many great lines. I really like this: “If cats are a subtle pencil sketch, dogs are a slap of high gloss with a sloppy paintbrush.” Phrases like this come from one who notices life ( like speckled egg joy) Roosters are funny. Who couldn’t laugh?
Thanks for sharing – very worthy of Freshly Pegged!
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I can’t say I’ve ever seen a rooster in the road around here, and this ain’t exactly the big city. A turkey, now, that’s a whole ‘nother thing.
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Thanks muchly. Poultry kills me!
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I love this. Now I what to know what the YouTube videos are. Pretty please? I need a good bladder laugh. And I read your comment as “I have a CRAP machine for that snoring thing…” and wondered if CRAP was the new slang for fabulous. At least that gave me an internal chuckle.
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I think that’s cPap, Ms. Sweetie. Because having to live with a snorer can be cRap. 😉
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Oh, I love this! Say it with a British accent. “Oh, it’s utter CRAP, darling!”
And, yes, Peg’s right it’s Continuous Positive Air Pressure–a mask like something a WW2 fighter pilot would wear with a hose connecting to a sort of bellows. Very Vincent Price.
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As a confirmed dog lover I agree that there is nothing like that feeling of abandonment that a dog in love feels — their unbridaled joy. Their inner rooster, as it were!
Congrats on being Freshly Pegged!
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“a dog in love” – what a great line!
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There’s nothing like it!
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Thanks, Elyse! Cock-a-doodle-woof!
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Glad you shared this!
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I know, right? Sandy has a certain way with words.
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Just yesterday I had a similar “rooster” moment. (I will now call them “rooster moments” — I hope you don’t mind Sandy.)
I was slogging along, walking home from work and saw a small bird rinsing himself off in a puddle left from an earlier rain. He kept dunking his head under and then preening his feathers on his wings. What a small, but wonderful moment of joy!
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“rooster moments” – I’m going to use that from now on, too.
What a wonderful picture you paint of nature’s birdbath, and what a gift that you noticed it. Sometimes when life is at its most bleak, and I feel at the end of my rope, those small moments are a lifeline. I’ve often thought if those who commit suicide could just be reminded of these; reminded that their favorite song could play on the radio at any time, they might be able to hang on until that urge passed.
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As one who has tried suicide, I have to say even that wouldn’t work. There’s no reaching the soul when depression is severe, no way to inspire someone to think of future joy. The despair seems permanent and unbearable. The only lifeline, for me, is to remember it will pass. Luckily, I’ve gone through so many episodes now that I can remember it’s true. But, sometimes I still need reminding.
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I had a feeling I was going to expose my clueless, Pollyanna sensibilities with that comment. Maybe it only works with what they call “the blues.”
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Hey, that’s why I’m here! The Righter of Mental Illness Misconceptions! The Squasher of Pollyannas and the Well-Intentioned! I do parties, too.
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Wasn’t that Under Dog’s motto? 😉
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Lovely work. Joy truly is in the little things – we expect too much of it from the big ones. For my cat, in particular, joy is me coming home so she can yell at me as she trots the length of the house, “Where the hell have you been, bitch? I’m hungry!”
Crap. I forgot to feed her before I left.
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Ha! Sounds like our cats went to the same charm school.
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My cat, Henry, takes particular delight in hammering my closet door at 2AM. Extra points if he can wake me up enough to have to pee. He’s a bathroom-bonding kind of guy.
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Thanks for letting me hang out with the cool kids, Peg. I totally rock, now.
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Thanks so much for hanging out here, Sandy. I only invited you BECAUSE you totally rock!
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Peg, another perfect selection! I think I am enamored of a new writer (for me). Such wonderful writing.
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Thanks so much. She’s good, isn’t she Valentine? Go check out her blog – you won’t regret it.
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This is a wonderful post and it couldn’t have come at a better time for me. You are right…it deserved to be freshly pressed.
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This is a wonderful reminder for all of us to appreciate the little moments we get.
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Great post. Unfortunately I’m new to WordPress and know nothing of this Freshly Pressed you speak of. I assume I’ll have to figure it out and aspire to it someday.
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Ah, an innocent. Check out the WordPress homepage where they select the “posts du jour” to be Freshly Pressed. It’s definitely something to aspire to.
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I miss my free ranged chickens 😦 lol
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Walking down the middle of Main st. is free range and THEN some!
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I love in nc and I had chickens from tx and I miss them so much exspecially when I saw your picture of the chicken.
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To be honest, I write every post with the intention that it gets freshly pressed, but it doesn’t lol.
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That’s a good attitude to have – keep it up!
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