http://www.bouncebackcafe.com Dedicated to finding useful, resilient solutions to life's adversities. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:03:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/how-i-find-hope-2754 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/how-i-find-hope-2754#comments Thu, 14 Jul 2011 07:01:33 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2754 I love to read! I seldom go anywhere without a book. If I’m out shopping, I’ll usually have a book in my purse and when I get worn out from too much, I’ll take a break. I’ll grab a soda and sit and read for a while. After a few minutes or a few pages, my energy returns and I’m back up and moving. I’ve even been known to ...Continue reading » How I Find Hope]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/how-i-find-hope-2754/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/what-makes-you-tick-2147 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/what-makes-you-tick-2147#comments Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:01:02 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2147 Every five weeks or so, I go to a magician who makes my gray hair disappear. She’s only a minor magician because I still have my wrinkles and age spots, but then I can’t afford a major magician (plastic surgeon). She’s very good at what she does. And whether I look younger or not, I couldn’t say, but it makes me feel better to have the gray gone. Last week she asked me, “What makes you tick? You’ve always got a book with you. You’re always reading.” Without even thinking about it, I answered ...Continue reading » What Makes You Tick?]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/what-makes-you-tick-2147/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/scenic-outlook-ahead-1988 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/scenic-outlook-ahead-1988#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:01:30 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=1988 I grew up in Chicago. My parents wanted to live in a warm climate – Chicago can be a bit cold, and gray and wet and smoggy. When it’s not cold and gray and wet and smoggy, it’s hot and sunny and humid and smoggy. Both of my parents had grown up in Chicago and they both longed for a cleaner, more hospitable place to live. Since we couldn’t live anywhere else, every summer we took a three week driving vacation to the Left Coast – though back then it was just the west coast. My parents must have been nuts: three weeks in a car with three little kids. OY! To make sure that we all returned home in one piece and NOT in a casket, Mom made sure that we had lots of toys to entertain us during the 8-10 hour days as we went across Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Because she also believed that our education shouldn’t stop during the summer, she also brought library books for us to read at night. After all, everyone knows you get sick if you ...Continue reading » Scenic Outlook Ahead]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/scenic-outlook-ahead-1988/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/discouraged-277 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/discouraged-277#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:01:55 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=277 No matter how upbeat we try to be, we all have days when we feel discouraged. For me the past week has been a real challenge. You would think that a short week (I wrote this after Memorial Day week.) would make things easier, but in the end, the week felt like a failure. For some writers, just the act of writing helps them to feel better. For me that isn’t the case. As a matter of fact, when I started this post, I thought that I would probably just trash it because I didn’t see a way out of my discouragement. ...Continue reading » Discouraged]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/discouraged-277/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/riding-the-mood-coaster-221 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/riding-the-mood-coaster-221#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:01:30 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=221 Life is always challenging. Sometimes the challenge is invigorating and sometimes it is draining. When I was younger, I saw every challenge as an opportunity. I believed that if you were smart and worked hard, you would eventually prevail. I was lucky… and naïve. I should have known better. My maternal grandmother died of breast cancer when my mother was 17. She had been sick for four years. Despite that history, it’s taken me 50-some years to learn that not everything can be fixed with hard work and smarts. ...Continue reading » Riding the Mood Coaster]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/riding-the-mood-coaster-221/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/the-power-of-suggestion-188 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/the-power-of-suggestion-188#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 07:01:40 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=188 Today I bought donuts. To set the record straight, I don’t know when I last ate a donut. (Before this morning, that is.) I KNOW they’re pure sugar and fat. I know they’re bad for me. I know, I know. And I usually don’t – eat – donuts! Yet, while I was out running errands this morning, my car just up and drove me to the best donut shop in town. What could I do? I was driven to buy donuts. ...Continue reading » The Power of Suggestion]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/the-power-of-suggestion-188/feed 0