I think Mother Nature is trying to get the fall weather to come back. She’s been running me off the porch with rain and wind and now she’s making it too cool. Was too chilly to comfortably sit on the porch last night after supper. Tried to eat my breakfast on the porch this morning but it was cool. Penelope crawled under the quilt in her playpen. The sun tried so hard to break through the gloomy dull cloud cover but just couldn’t do it. I’d catch a small slit of blueness but the clouds would quickly erase it. Finally gave up my swing sitting, filled the bird feeders, and came back in the house to read in my daily quote book.

Love this short quote from Abraham Lincoln also credited sometimes to William Thackeray. “Whatever you are, be a good one.” Inspired me to be a good housekeeper today and get The Gran spiffed up for my guests next weekend. Cleaned the sunroom and one bathroom. Went to turn on the dishwasher and looked out the side porch door and saw the fighting finches battling on the tube feeder. Now I’m being a good bird watcher and porch swing sitter! I’ll get back at it in a little while. Well, two hours later and I’m still pondering on the porch and I’m cold. I think I to try to be a good one. Maybe I don’t try hard enough, though. I get distracted.

I’m pondering on what it means to be “a good one.” Good is the opposite of evil. Good as an adjective is something to be desired. Used as a noun it means something that is morally right.

Being a good one might just be doing your best at all tasks. Being kind and considerate and being positive in a negative world. I can be a pessimist so I need to work on being more positive. My oldest is “a good one.” Wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, he always does his best. No matter what happens or comes his way he can usually find a positive side, keeping the negative at bay. You ever heard people say, “He’s one of the good ones.” Well, he truly is.

We need to do good and be good. We need to choose to be an inspiration to others. Life is not about pleasing everyone but about being true to ourselves.

Thought again about this quote tonight when my oldest grandson, Alexander, received a good citizenship award at a school assembly. I think he consciously tries to be a “good one.” Describing the students who received the award the speaker said, “These students show kindness, grace and mercy, friendship, helpfulness, and respect when working with all individuals.”

Those are traits the world needs to emulate!