We all try not to be judgmental. Truth be told, most of us probably believe that we do a pretty good job of it. Do we, though?  Really?  Just because we don’t say it out loud, or we do it under the guise of “just joking” or “just saying” or perhaps just with a quick expression, a head shake, an eye roll or a sigh, doesn’t mean we are not judging others.  Judging their words, their actions, their clothes, their hair, their body type, their opinions, their choices, their speed at completing a task, their mannerisms, etc.  The list is literally endless.  You name it and it’s likely being judged by someone and, no doubt, that someone is sometimes you and me.  “It's just my opinion” or “if you want my 2 cents” or “if you ask me;” and such phrases, are just gentle ways of passing judgement.  

*** Note - this piece was written nearly a year ago. ***

Dreams are an interesting thing.  Some you remember, some you don’t.  Some seem like complete and utter nonsense while others have nuggets of truth, just enough to make you wonder if it was your mind wrestling to resolve something or if there was a deeper meaning.   Oftentimes I wake with no or very limited recall of my dreams.  I think this has a lot to do with when I dreamt in relation to when I actually woke up.  My brain getting busy with other thoughts as soon as my eyes open can also send dream remnants into the forgotten recesses of my mind.  Few dreams were ever vivid enough to stay with me into the following day but last night’s dream was definitely a keeper.

Penmanship is a bit of a lost art.  I have the good fortune of being in possession of an autograph book that belonged to my grandmother (Circa 1876).  The well-aged pages hold beautifully written sentiments from long ago.  I love to gently stroll through the fragile pages to catch glimpses of a bygone time.  One of the standout qualities of this little book is the lovely script in which it was written, each more beautiful than the last.  Clearly people took great pride in the presentation of their written communication.  So many curls and swirls that some were hard to read, though the pencil lead used stood up very well against the test of time, especially given it is nearly 150 years old.  With all of the required testing these days, the expectation of elegant penmanship has fallen by the wayside, along with teaching cursive for that matter.  It probably doesn’t help that everyone can type or text information rather than writing it.  How often do you really get handwritten correspondence?  Except for my mother in law, it is almost nonexistent for me. 

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound