Today, we're joined here at WhyBuyChimes by a great writer, a great person, the co-owner of BuyChimes, Jeff Strong. Here's what he has to say:

The other week I was talking to my teenager about his plans for the summer, then asked him what he thought. His response, "I wasn't really listening."

Hmmm... I didn't think I was droning on. And I realize that sometimes conversations about plans aren't always exciting. Maybe that's true of anything parents say to their teenagers. But it got me thinking. Do we go through much of life and not really pay attention? Do we take sounds and people for granted? Are we lost in our own thoughts and world, to the exclusion of other sights and sounds around us? I also realize that we can't be hyper aware of all that's going on around us.

What matters to you? What matters to me is talking with my family and friends, helping someone out, singing in the community choir, hiking a beautiful trail

. Maybe your top priorities are giving time to a grandkid, performing in the local summer theater group, or baking cookies for the school PTA. It's good once in a while to take time, to pay attention, to really listen.

By the way, if your wind chime doesn't sound that great, isn't tuned well, or just needs a tune-up, it might not be worth sitting down and listening to. Life is too short to listen to a bad chime! Give us a call - we can help you with that.