Struggle with your Mother Daughter Relationship?

For a decade or more, my mother (Barbara Janice Hughes Wilfong) and I have realized that we have something really special. We get along really, really well. A true lifelong blessing. And many of my friends, all of them from now all the way back to grade school friends, just love my “Mom Barb.” They ask about her, want to see her, admire her fashion and jewelry, want to receive a hand-written note with her lovely hand-writing, spend time with her, listen to her, share their story or issue with her, eat her delicious home-cooking, hug her, ride in the car and talk with her…the list goes on. You get the point!

During the COVID pandemic, Mom Barb and I took the opportunity to do a few projects, intentionally. The first project was pulling together all of my old t-shirts, and some of her t-shirts, and we then designed a t-shirt quilt. Mom Barb found an online group of quiltmakers, and got it done and delivered in August 2020. Then Mom Barb went thru her jewelry, and her mother’s jewelry, and she shared some pieces with me that she knew that I would willingly wear now. Today, I’m wearing some pearl studs. The third project had been started, stood in standstill, and then renewed itself again after we both were vaccinated in Spring 2021: drafting a book, highlighting the A-Zs on having an outstanding Mother Daughter Relationship.

So get ready to laugh, to cry, to think, to reflect, to take action, to love, to forgive, to make the extra effort, to stay quiet, to be supportive, to listen, to learn from, to help, to teach, to support, and on and on. And we will deliver it in an easy to grasp, from “A to Z” format.

Stay tuned. If you have a great story about your mother daughter relationship, please share it. If you’re struggling with this important relationship, I pray that our series of blogs/articles will help you and others.

Jen Wilfong, Sept 21, 2021

Spectacular SpaceX

Tonight, I witnessed the most spectacular thing that I have ever witnessed: four American citizens, who are not trained astronauts, buckled up and headed to space for three days. Yes, three days. And they will travel beyond the international space station. Beyond it!

In July 2021, Jeff Bezos and three fellow citizens were on his initial Blue Origin flight that orbited up and back in approximately 11 minutes, reaching approximately 100 kilometers above earth. Richard Branson’s initial Virgin Atlantic trip in early July 2021 reached about the same distance above earth, with his five colleagues, and they were in flight for more than an hour.

Billionaires in previous centuries changed our lives. Rockefeller did it with Standard Oil. Vanderbilt did it with steam engines and shipping, and then railroads. Carnegie did it with steel and steel rolls, which helped build the infrastructure of the USA. Ford did it with the Model T and the assembly line.

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, TESLA, and Starlink, is an execution genius, with the mind-boggling strategic combination of four inventors: Steve Jobs (Apple), Henry Ford (automobiles with gas engines), Albert Einstein (genius), and John Glenn (first American astronaut to orbit earth three times in 1962).

Elon Musk and his SpaceX

Jeff Bezos and his Blue Origin

Richard Branson and his Virgin Atlantic

What is happening right now, in 2021, during a global pandemic, is spectacular. It’s far-reaching, futuristic strategy, that is being executed brilliantly and safely. Don’t miss it! Wake up, look up, be amazed, as we are all living in sensational times.

Jen Wilfong, Sept. 15, 2021

Learning From Centenarians

We all have life goals. One of my top life goals is to remain active, healthy, and really embrace wellness throughout life. Recently finished a few books about Centenarians, because I want to gain their insights and wisdom regarding what they did to hit 100+!

These 100+ year old people have always made me smile, but so many of these stories had me taking notes, crying, sharing the story out loud with others, and wanting to find more books to keep reading and learning.

What are some of the common traits that help them live to 100? My handwritten notes inside the front covers of all three books, that obviously impacted me the most, highlighted these areas of life:

Faith: Worship and believe. In something. And a willingness to give and be charitable.

Connection: Being around friends, family, and remaining social, as well as connected to a purpose. If that means making tortillas daily, and walking to the market to sell them, then so be it. That gave them the connection needed to keep going, at their pace.

Consistently physically active: Many of the children and grandchildren mentioned that their centenarian father or grandfather probably lived a long time, because they were always staying active on the farm, gardening, walking, traveling, or attending exercise classes.

Moderation: These centenarians really embraced the phrase, “all things in moderation”, especially with food, alcohol, (no)smoking, mood swings, etc. A bit of wine daily worked for some.

Sense of Humor: Many loved to laugh, and sought out being fun, funny, memorable, and unique. Being happy! And having a positive outlook, living peacefully with others.

Easy Going/Embrace Change: They understood the natural flow of life. The highs, the lows, and how to be resilient, as well as having the foresight to embrace change to forge ahead.

Water: They drank water, and ate from their own land. And were located near water, where it’s warm.

Lifelong Learner: Many of the stories focused on how they had to learn new skills, to handle job changes, relocations, and new things being introduced at rapid rates in the 1900’s.

Bottom line: keep one foot in front of the other, head up, living with no regrets, and moving forward in moderation. How are you doing with these? If you aren’t really focused on them, what do you want to focus on that’ll make you happy? In my future, I foresee myself interviewing centenarians, to share their incredibly resilient stories…and continuing to learn from their wisdom.

Jen Wilfong, Sept. 2, 2021

sources: If I Live to Be 100, by Paul Mobley; The Blue Zones, by Dan Buettner; Aging Gracefully, by Karsten Thormaehlen