Dust If You Must

Dust If You Must
by Rose Milligan

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go (and go you must)
You, yourself, will make more dust.

Used by permission from John M. Sweeney on whose website this was found (www.johnmsweeney.com)


Note from Lois:
Along the line of dusting, we can make quick work of dusting and still have plenty of time for other adventures and productive activities.  Here's how!

Purchase several lamb's wool dusters, which will grab the dust for you much more quickly than a dust cloth will.  Don't use the static-filled dusters though (usually bright colors). The static they cause while dusting is not good to use near electrical appliances, and the dust clings much better to lamb's wool.  The job of dusting can be done in about ten minutes with lamb's wool dusters, and still give you plenty of time for other things.

Simply dust over furniture and decorative items quickly with a lamb's wool duster until it is filled with dust.  Then use the next one and take several dusters outside at one time to hit against your hand to make the dust fly. 

We're All Getting Older

Thanks to Barb Campbell in Mississippi for this great humor!

Lost in the Strangest Places ~ An elderly Floridian called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car has been broken into. She is hysterical as she explains her situation to the dispatcher: "They've stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even the accelerator! " she cried.
The dispatcher said, "Stay calm. An officer is on the way."
A few minutes later, the officer radios in. "Disregard." He says. "She got in the back-seat by mistake."

Family ~ Three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, live in a house together. One night the 96-year-old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other sisters, "Was I getting in or out of the bath?"
The 94-year-old yells back, "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She starts up the stairs and pauses as she wonders, "Was I going up the stairs or down?"  The 92-year-old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says, "I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood." She then yells, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."

Cruising Along ~ Two elderly women were out driving in a large car.  Both could barely see over the dashboard.  As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection.  The stoplight was red, but they just went on through.  The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself, "I must be losing it. I was sure we just went through a red light!"  After a few more minutes, they came to another intersection and the light was red again.  Again, they went right through.  The woman in the passenger seat was sure that the light had been red again, but was really concerned that she was losing it.  She was getting nervous!  At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was red and they went on through.  So, she turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred, did you know that we just ran through three red lights in a row?  You could have killed us both!"
Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh, dear!  Am I driving?"  

Old Friends ~ Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play games. One day, they were playing games when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me.  I know we've been friends for a long time, but I just can't think of your name!  I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is."
Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her. Finally she said, "How soon do you need to know?"

Driving on the Freeway ~ As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang.  Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Interstate 77. Please be careful!"
"Gracious!" said Herman, "It's not just one car. It's hundreds of them!"