Making Volkswagens in Chattanooga...

...and making dreams come true.

Humbling, awe-inspiring moments of pure gratitude come at the oddest times and from the least likely sources.

I was shopping in a local Goodwill store today when the news broke that Chattanooga had been chosen as the site for a new Volkswagen plant. The facility is expected to provide about 2,000 new jobs between now and when the first sedans roll out sometime in 2011. All the employees of the store cheered - loud, happy, "Praise Jesus!" cheers - at the news. One woman was literally running toward the back to tell other employees, her face lit up like Christmas. You could feel the energy in the room change almost immediately. The whole place was suddenly full of potential, of possibilities, of hope.

I have a good job, one that pays me well and offers me all kinds of opportunities for personal and professional fulfillment. I forget just how wonderful that is sometimes. Seeing the excitement on those folks' faces and feeling the fresh hope wash over them humbled me, inspired me, and filled me with gratitude for my work and the opportunities I've had.

Chattanooga offers lots of jobs in information-based industries, call centers, insurance companies, hospitals, and the like. If you have those skills you can usually work and, while the salary may not be the greatest, you'll likely have access to decent benefits. But if you lack the education and skills for those opportunities, your choices are pretty limited. Hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, and retail offer limited hours at incredibly low wages, usually with few, if any, benefits. When benefits are offered, they often end up being out of reach for some of the people who need them most. Could you support yourself and your family on seven dollars an hour? What if you had to pay a health insurance premium out of that? The prospect of 2,000 good paying jobs with decent benefits is a shining beacon of hope for those whose skills aren't likely to land them jobs at Unum or Cigna.

I'm glad Chattanooga got the Volkswagen contract. I'm glad that a couple thousand Chattanoogans will have a chance at a better life. I'm happy that some of those who remain in low-paying jobs in the service, retail, and hospitality sectors will benefit from the overall economic boost all those new jobs will bring. Most of all, I'm grateful for the reminder of just how good I have it.

Thanks. A lot. Again.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign...

...blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind...

I find signs amusing sometimes...like this one:



More great signs to come...stay tuned...

Come Saturday morning...

...I'll be doing my regular Saturday stuff and loving it.

I cherish Saturday mornings for a lot of reasons. It's the first no-alarm-clock day of every week. I get to wake up with my beloved; we cuddle and make love and laugh and wish the coffee would make itself.

After breakfast, I tackle my two Saturday chores - trash and recycling. The trash run isn't exactly fun, but it's satisfying to get the bags of yuck off property and into the landfill. Recycling, on the other hand, is one of the highlights of my week.

We do what I call "big chunk" sorting throughout the week; steel and aluminum cans go into one container, paper into another, glass and plastic into a third, or sometimes in with the paper. Come Saturday morning, I take it all outside to the big table and sort everything. It can get a little messy but I don't mind. It all gets loaded into Bessie (our trusty Ford Ranger, 190-odd thousand miles and still going strong) for the trip to the recycle center.

This is my friend G___. Actually, he's just a guy I met this morning at the center and I don't really know anything about him except that he recycles. He gives up part of his Saturday to keep some of his family's trash out of the landfill. That's good enough for me to call him a friend. He was a nice guy with a good sense of humor; when I promised him I wouldn't identify him or say where he was from, he immediately replied, "Thank God! I have to beat off the stalkers already." A good steward and a quick wit...what's not to like?

The recycle center was full of people like G___ and me today. That gives me hope. There aren't enough of us yet, but the numbers are growing, and every can, bottle, and bag that G___ and I and others like us recycle is one that doesn't wind up in the landfill. It's a small thing, but it's important and I'm happy to be part of it.

To G___ and all recyclers, reusers, reducers...thank you. Enjoy your recycling chore...it's an act of love and life.

Beautiful place...beautiful attitude...

A small piece of my weight loss puzzle revealed itself yesterday.

I have been actively exercising for several months now. In the last couple of weeks, however, I've not done a thing. Sciatica has sidelined me for a little while, but I made up my mind that I would walk yesterday regardless. My husband helped by playfully saying, "...after you finish your walk," after every statement. He's good that way.

So I walked across the Walnut Street Bridge when I left work. Total walk was about a mile and a quarter...walked about 30 minutes so not a fast pace but not strolling. I thought I'd share a little of that walk with you, a 360-degree view of the beauty surrounding me...

Isn't this just an amazing place to live, work, and play? Stunning!

More importantly, I learned something really important. The last few weeks have been a struggle to stay on plan with Weight Watchers. I thought maybe I was just bored, but that's not it. I'm a good cook, I enjoy cooking, and there's plenty of variety to be had. No, it was something I couldn't put my finger on, and it was powerful enough that I was wondering if I'd reached the end of my weight loss.

But when I walked yesterday...what an eye-opener! My resolve, my excitement about feeling better and being strong, healthy, and capable came rushing back with every step! My usual stop at the grocery store didn't result in the usual urges to buy everything and eat it all immediately. I was hungry and still experienced a remarkable lack of craving. I was happy to go home and enjoy a healthy dinner, content that I was doing good things for my body.

We're told frequently that exercise is good for us and that it's the key to sustainable weight loss. What they don't tell us is that it redefines your world view. I don't know exactly how it works, but when I've had a good walk, I don't want to put junk into my body. I want to treat me like the goddess I am and be good to myself with nutritious food that doesn't contribute directly to obesity. And I don't experience the cravings for sugary junk that have plagued me lately.

Who knew? Well, I guess the experts did...but maybe I wasn't listening. I am definitely listening now.