Tag Archives: life lessons

Generation X, the Awesome Generation…

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Hands up if you were born between the years of 1965 – 1980… you are well and truly my people, the Generation X people. My generation.

As a Gen X myself, born in 1971, I love being a Gen X. I love how we know a lot of things to do with the generations that precedes us, The Greatest Generation – those born between 1901 – 1927, The Silent Generation – those born between 1928 – 1945 and The Baby Boomers – those born between 1965 – 1980 as they are our great grandparents, grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, parents, uncles, aunties but we also know a lot of stuff from the generations that succeeded us as well. We know about things to do with The Millennials or Generation Y – those born between 1981 – 1996, Generation Z – those born between 1997 – 2012 and the latest generation, Generation Alpha – those born between 2013 – 2025, as these are our children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great nieces, great nephews, our friends children.

We just have a lot of cross generational knowledge with being a Gen X.

Generation X was the last generation who played in the streets, we were the last generation to record songs from the radio onto a cassette tape, we were the first generation to play video games, we were the first generation to use personal computers, we could walk over a kilometre without complaining about not being driven to our destination, we were the last generation to go to our friends homes to see them, remember having to be home as soon as the streetlights came on? We learned how to work the VCR before anyone else, we lived without mobile (cell) phones, we were the first generation who had Sony Walkman’s, we were before the internet, we were the last generation to drive in cars without seatbelts, we were the first generation to use chatrooms, we only had 4 TV stations to choose from and TV stations closed at midnight, we didn’t have social media, the music was also the best.

Generation X is absolutely the best generation in my books.

Until next time

Kaye

Happy New Year 2024…

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Goodbye 2023 and hello 2024… what a year 2023 was? 2023 was a tough year for many, including me with many of us facing the storms of life during the year that was but just like any storm, the storm stops raging eventually and the sun comes out again.

Personally, the year was indeed a rough year for me. Life happened in a big way. I learned a lot about myself and a lot about so called friends who ended up being fake friends and not being in my corner at all.

I learned who was in my circle and my circle got smaller as I removed people from my life who weren’t serving my greater good and were draining my energy or creating drama in my life through their own actions and drawing me into their drama.

I also distanced myself from certain people in my life and haven’t removed them completely.

This is what setting healthy boundaries is about. Life isn’t a popularity contest, you’re not going to get along with everyone in life. It’s healthy to have boundaries and either remove people out of your life who aren’t in your circle because not everyone is. There’s many people who will call you friend but will talk about you behind your back, or not show you support when you are going through a storm in life, there’s so called friends who are toxic, fake friends, friends will continuously disrespect you or badmouth you… these people are not your friends.

These are the people to release from your life, even on social media. Set healthy boundaries and have people who accept you for who you are and will show up when you need that support when life hits.

Surround yourself with people who get you and what you are about and don’t try to change you but they bring out the best in you.

It’s even okay to remove family members from your life as well. We need to be able to preserve our inner peace and just because someone is family, they can cause more issues for our inner peace than friends.

I’m okay about losing people in life, both in real life and on social media. I want people who bring out the best in me, people who understand me, people who will be there in both the calm days when the boat is in calm water and during the storms. The storms of life, this too shall pass but it’s worth knowing who is next to you in that boat; someone who will help you bail out the water if the boat starts leaking or someone who will go overboard and swim to shore, leaving you to bail out the water alone in that boat.

Yeah, I’m okay with my circle shrinking. I’m more about me and no longer about keeping certain people around in my circle because they simply have the label of family or friend. 2023 was a year of letting go.

2024 is going to be the year of keeping my circle small and making sure everyone who is in my circle is worth having there.

Until next time…

Kaye

True friendships…

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Let me ask a question, what makes a friend and what makes a friendship? To me, to have a friend, first you need to be a friend. It’s a clichéd saying but it is a true saying.

I have a select small group of friends, real friend who I know have my back and are there through all times, the good and the rough times. I also have a lot of friends who are really just acquaintances. Then there are the fickle, fair weather friends who are only there when the going is good but are no where to be seen in the tough times.

As I get older, it’s more about quality over quantity with the friends I have as life isn’t a popularity contest and I just want to surround myself with people who are genuine in there friendship and are always around.

I had friends who would try and buy friendship with giving things to me but they always wanted something in return, it was never anything given because they were true friends who gave something out of the generosity of their heart but only given with an ulterior motive. Then there’s the so called friends who kept score on what they gave me as they felt it proved their friendship but felt as though I wasn’t being a true friend all because they expected something in return and try to guilt me into giving them something by telling me all the times they gave me something .

I give the people I consider friends things all the time but I never expect anything in return. I do it because I want to. I don’t make anyone feel obligated to reciprocate the gift giving, even if it’s just a cup of coffee, I never expect anything in return.

Then there are those who will tell you the things they think you want to hear, or pretend to be something they are not in trying to earn a friendship.

For me, I want friends who will be open and honest with me. I want friends who don’t gossip behind my back because if you have friends who talk with you about their friend behind their back, guess what? those people you call a friend, they are saying things about you to other people.

As I get older, I am in a place where I don’t want to deal with so called friends who are disingenuous, fake, full of drama, selfish, self absorbed, toxic or narcissistic people. I have let go of a lot of friends who fit into those categories as I want to be around kind, caring, nurturing people who are always there, who are real, trustworthy, provide a listening ear or a shoulder I can cry on and those make me laugh.

I want people around me that I don’t have to explain myself to, people who don’t judge, friends I can trust wholeheartedly and be trusted, so because of this, I don’t have a big circle of friends and that suits me fine.

Be true to yourself and surround yourself with the people who will serve your greater good and raise your vibration and not drain your energy by making you feel some kind of way just because you feel it necessary to have certain people as friends. Some people are not for you and are not the right fit for you and it is okay to release them as those people definitely not for you as they will only keep bringing you down to their level.

Until next time

Kaye

Making the most out of it…

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Recently I had to do a sleep study… I had no actual symptoms but the doctor I see thought it would be a good idea after I marked high as a candidate for sleep apnoea on a check list… the questions asked could have covered basically anyone as having sleep apnoea as most people would fit into the categories asked but hey, the questionnaire said I had symptoms of sleep apnoea, so I had to undergo a sleep study.

I saw the sleep specialist a couple of weeks after being referred by the GP and they arranged for me to take an at home sleep study. I booked a date and time to pick up a sleep study kit for the at home sleep study.

The day of the sleep study, I went to the medical centre and picked up the kit and took it home.

That night, I followed the instructions on how to place all the wires and electrodes on my body before going to bed. I looked and felt like a lab rat once all the wires, electrodes and electronic devices were attached and ready to collect the data from my night of sleep.

I am no stranger in doing a sleep study as I’ve done one previously a few years ago, a hospital sleep study, which involved a night sleeping on the narrowest and hardest hospital bed I think that they could find for me to sleep on. There were more wires and electrodes attached that time and the wires were connected to a bigger box I had to wear but the memory is still in my mind like it was yesterday.

The following morning before 9am, I had to return the sleep study kit back to the sleep specialist centre, then wait for the results which were given several days later by the sleep specialist.

At the appointment with the sleep specialist, I was diagnosed with having severe sleep apnoea and I would need to have a CPAP machine. Oh joy… not.

I then had to book another appointment with another person who would help me choose a suitable face mask and CPAP machine for me to use.

I went home with a CPAP machine, an Airsense 10 Autoset and a full face mask. The first night using the face mask, a Resmed Airfit F20, I couldn’t stand it… I couldn’t stand the air blowing straight on my face, the feel of the full face mask on my face. That night was a interrupted night of sleep. In fact, I hated the mask so much, I took it off, turned off the machine in the very early hours of the morning and left it off to sleep.

That first night while struggling to get used to the machine and battling with the full face mask, which was a losing battle, I thought of giving my machine a name as something fun. Since this machine was going to be my new sleeping companion I have to sleep with, I had better get used to it. I also decided that the machine was a He as well as it looks like a male. After much thought, not really, I came up with the name “Colin” for my CPAP machine… call me weird for naming a machine if you must… but Colin is named after the inventor of the CPAP machine, an Australian by the name of Colin Sullivan in 1980, a fitting name I thought. Here’s the funny thing, now I can talk about Colin, my machine and have people think he’s my partner haha.

After having a word with the company I obtained the CPAP machine from, they provided me with 3 other masks to try in the hopes that one of them is more suitable for me.

The face mask I have been using is a nasal pillow which just sits under the nose, which is perfect for me as it’s not a full face mask, I don’t have air blowing on my face and I’m not feeling as though I’m suffocating. I’m also a person who sleeps with their mouth closed, so I don’t need to use a full face mask to cover both my nose and mouth.

It’s early days with using the CPAP machine but I hope the set up I have now with the face mask I am using, I hope I feel the benefits of it soon and get a better night of sleep than I was having after receiving the results from the sleep study.

Until next time

Kaye

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When the universe and life throw stuff at you, you had better be prepared for it, good, bad or indifferent.

Life has throw at me some heavy stuff this year, so much for starting 2023 of on a positive note and starting off the year in a good way.

It seems my 2023 is a continuation of my 2022… one steaming hot pile of manure…

2022 started the year of upheaval in all aspects of my life… work, home, health and the stuff that has happened, without going into detail, it’s been huge and I feel broken deep within.

I’m not writing this for a pity party because I’m not. 2022 was a huge year of upheaval for me, which is continuing into 2023. Despite everything that is going on, I’ve strapped myself into the roller-coaster of life and I’m in for the ride… all the twists, the turns, the sharp corners, going upside down, I’m there for it all.

One thing I’m looking forward to though is after all the tough stuff has been dealt with and I’m on the other side of it all, I look forward to being the butterfly I am going to become.

Through the storms of life, as the storm rages, you’ll go through hard stuff, tough stuff but eventually the storm will pass and you will find yourself in calm waters again. It’s not going to happen overnight but it will happen. Have faith and belief that the storm will pass and you will get through to the other side.

The other thing is that the storms of life are often experiences of personal growth and realising how strong and resilient you really are.

Right now in this storm I’m going through in my life, I picture myself as a caterpillar, then in a cocoon but I know that the beautiful butterfly that I’m about to become, that is worth all the tough stuff life and the universe is handing me right now.

Watch out world… that beautiful butterfly is coming… it’s not going to happen overnight but she’s preparing herself and proving how strong and resilient she is in the process.

Until next time

Kaye

New things in life…

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A couple of weeks ago I went to see an optometrist as a suggestion from my doctor who wanted to see if my eyes were being affected by the start of an early medical diagnosis.

I went to the optometrist and was taken into an examination room where she  checked both my eyesight and if my eyes were affected by this medical condition.

The eye test was first, with reading lines and letters on a mirror, first the right eye and then the left, then given a card to read, I was able to easily read the small print with both the right eye and then the left eye, I was told I needed glasses for distance sight and my reading sight was still good.

Then the optometrist put drops in my eyes for her to be able to see the back of my eyes… those drops as they went in, stung a little bit as they did make my sight go blurry as she said it would. I was then informed that the drops will take 10 – 15 minutes to take effect.

So with 15 minutes to wait, I went and was going to get a quote for the glasses. There were a range of glasses frames being sold for half price, so I was directed to them. After trying on several pairs, I found the frame I wanted, with flexible arms and not chunky, or frames that stick out like a dog’s hind leg. Once the frames were chosen, I sat down in the front of the store and the quote was worked out… lenses – magnification with transition tinting and digital glare free. After being told the price and knowing that I’m going to need these glasses, I decided to just get them. Lucky for me as well, I do have optical as an option with my private fund, so they paid for the bulk of the cost of these glasses, I just had to pay for the gap.

Now that the frames were chosen and what I wanted was included as well, the order was put in to be processed.

By this time, the optometrist was ready for me again. I went back into the examination room and sat back down in the chair. A machine was manoeuvred towards me that the optometrist used to look into my eyes, the lights of the room were turned down and the optometrist used this machine and a bright light shining into the parts of the eye she was looking at, she did her thing. First the right eye and then the left.

One thing she did notice, apart from my eyes not being affected by the medical condition but I do have a freckle at the back of my eye, which is something they will keep an eye on yearly.

Today, I picked up my new glasses, or as I refer to them, my new friends.

Am I bothered by the fact that I now have to wear glasses? No because if they help me to see in the distance as they are designed to do, that’s going to be something in my favour, although it is quite humorous seeing people in a particular age group in denial they do need glasses for reading lol.

So for anyone who does wear glasses, I’ve joined you all now… and I can see clearly now, so that is definitely a good thing.

Until next time

Kaye

Life lessons…

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Here’s a few things that I have learnt about life, so listen up the younger generation.

Kids, time may go slowly for you as you have to wait forever for your next birthday, or Christmas, or for some event you are eagerly awaiting but as you get older, time flies by, days just roll into one at times. I actually enjoy those days that simply drag.

Enjoy your childhood as you are only a child for such a very short time and you miss those years as an adult. I do love it when I get the chance to be a big kid though, being an adult isn’t always about being “grown up”, there is having some fun. Even when you are an adult, keep the “big kid” side of you. Just because you are an adult, doesn’t mean you have to always act like one.

Respect your elders and when the opportunity arises, ask them about their life, nothing better than a real life history lesson.

Life doesn’t revolve around those gadgets you have either. You can actually live without them. You can also live without Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok or whatever other social media platform you use too, trust me, I grew up in a time before those things and I did okay. You can actually miss things that are actually going on around you when you are constantly looking at a screen. I definitely precede the technology you enjoy today, and I live to talk about it. Going without my smartphone is for me liberating as no one can reach me… I enjoy going off the grid and not allowing my smartphone to rule my life so when I do back to my smartphone, the messages and whatever I’ve missed will be there ready for me to see it when I’m ready to see it…

Ah, yes, if you think you know everything, believe me, you don’t. We adults may be older but we do happen to know a lot more than you. We have experience, life lessons and a vast amount of knowledge. There are some things you can teach us but we can teach you more.

Another thing, if you want to try and pull a fast one on your parents to get something, forget it. Your parents are onto you already and they have probably tried the same things on their parents growing up but I will give you points for giving it a good try though 😉

Enjoy life as a kid because those times you will never get back.

Until next time…

Kaye

Memory Lane…

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On Thursday, March 18, I will be celebrating my 50th birthday. 50 years?! Yes, 50 years! Who would have thunk it, me 50? I am unable to act 50 as I’m still haven’t left my first childhood yet because if there are toys around in a department store with buttons to press, you bet I’m going to be pressing those buttons and making a lot of noise in the process, trust me on this!

In those 50 years, I have also seen a lot of history and changes in technology as well.

Last year I went to the Birdwood Motor Museum in Birdwood, South Australia, where I’m from. There were cars from old vintage cars to the last Australian made Holden car which rolled off the Holden Factory production line in Elizabeth, South Australia in 2017 when Holden’s ceased car manufacturing at the Plant and Holden’s closed their doors.

There was a 1981 Toyota Landcruiser 4 Wheel Drive there and me, being older than that 4 wheel drive, it made me realise that the museum could put me on a platform and I could become an exhibit and talk about the technology changes and history I’ve lived through and used.

I’ve lived life before mobile phones (cell phones), computers, atms, cassette tapes, DVDs, CD’s, smart TV’s, smart phones, digital radio, digital cameras, smart watches, Facebook and other social media platforms, streaming services, credit cards and many other things.

Atari play stations, pay phones, rotary phones, Commodore 64, bank books, Beta and VHS video recorders, black and white TV, video arcade games, pinball machines,  roller skating rinks, Walkman’s, Gameboy… if you remember these, you must be as old as me… lol

I’ve witnessed history with the coming down of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War ending between the US and Russia, 9/11, the death of Princess Diana, Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, just to name a few events.

Remember being the remote control and being the one to physically change the channels on the TV?

Taking photos was fun as well when you had no idea of what you were taking on the camera as you only had a view finder to look through and if it was a blurry photo, you couldn’t delete it. The roll of film would be taken to the chemist shop (pharmacy or drug store) and you would have to wait several days for the photos to be developed and then go to back to the chemist to pick them up and get your first look at what you had photographed… a foot? Half a head? Some other random thing you had no idea you took a photo of? Yep, looking at the photos once you’ve collected could be an interesting experience.

I was in the generation who downloaded music from the radio and recorded the songs on a cassette tape making the original mix tapes.

We all will experience changes in technology in our lives and see history in the making, or be a part of it, in witnessing it.

To the younger generation, when you look back on your life and see the changes in technology or the history that’s taken place, remember that you are in an unique place because you got to be a part of it and that is special. You get to be a teller of history to the next generation who follow you.

Until next time

Kaye

Life Lessons…

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Just thought I’d share a few lessons about life I’ve learned throughout the years…

Smile and laugh often

No matter how bad you think your life is, there’s always someone who is worse off than you

Let the inner child come out to play often. Just because we grow old, it doesn’t mean that we have to grow up

Your true friends will not badmouth you or tell lies about you to other people. If they do, they’re not your friends to begin with

Maintain your sense of humour. It will help you to retain your sanity in life

Respect others, you don’t have to agree with them, or even like them

Take responsibility for your actions and accept accountability for all you do in life

Always take the time to learn new things in life

It’s perfectly okay to say no. Don’t feel guilty about saying it

Tell the people in your life that you love them. We don’t tell them often enough. (I need to work on this one myself)

Be yourself

When life gets on top of you, if you’re overworked, or feeling stressed, whatever the situation, dance it out. A good 30 second dance party works wonders

Listen to your body and what it is telling you. If you are in tune with your body, you’ll be more aware when something isn’t right

Give to others without expecting anything in return

Don’t be afraid to speak up and let your opinions be heard

If at first you don’t succeed, try again

All work and no play makes for a boring existence


Speak to elderly people when the opportunity arises. They have much history and knowledge and we can learn a lot from them

Don’t worry about the things you have no control over. Whatever is going to happen will happen and worrying about them will not help, so just go with it

Treat others how you would like to be treated

Enjoy the simple pleasures in life

It doesn’t matter if you are a bad singer, sing away like no one is listening and enjoy yourself

An afternoon nap works wonders for the mind, body and soul

Try to have a positive outlook in life. Negativity does more harm than good

Your true friends will always have your back no matter what

Just when you think you’ve seen everything, it’s then you find out you haven’t

A hug can say so much when there are no words

Be thankful for everything in life you have, there are those in the world who would give anything to have what you have (when we can go back to hugging again)

Don’t wish to have the life of someone else, you don’t know what possible struggles they have to deal with or what their life is like

Life isn’t fair all the time, however, it’s still good

Life’s too short for hating people. We all need to get along with one another

Don’t take yourself too seriously

You don’t have to win every argument, it’s okay to just agree to disagree

It doesn’t matter what age you are, you’re never to old to play with Lego! Or colouring in

Simple pleasures in life, are often the best

Until next time

Kaye