Byrtle's memories of the olden days

Cleaning out closets is like a treasure hunt. Among all the clutter of a lifetime I sometimes find a precious gem that needs to be enjoyed again. Yesterday I found a copy of a talk my mom gave in 1977 to a group of church ladies. It is a collection of her memories growing up as a preacher's kid in Texas in the early years of the 20th century. What a lovely find. I fixed a cup of coffee and sat down to read my mom's words. It was a lovely moment. I miss my mom.

Here's an excerpt from her  speech.


My memories of these early days are very clear about certain events -one is about a very sincere prayer that I know God answered. Mother was expecting another baby and Ruby and I knew she was very sick. We sat on the door of our storm cellar -waiting and waiting. Finally a lady came out to us and said we had lost some baby sisters -Mother had borne twins, but they lived only a short while and now our mother was so very ill that she probably couldn't live long.

Well, the shock was almost too much for me -I took Ruby by the hand - he was barely 3 and I was only 5 -but I knew we had to talk to God. We went out back of the barn and across the big plowed garden -as far as we could go to be away from everybody. I told my little sister to kneel down and I did too -then we prayed to our heavenly Father to please spare our mother. We stayed on our knees a long time. Ruby was too little to fully realize what we were doing and she tried to get up. But I pushed her back down in the dirt and told her not to cry, but pray -and so we stayed out there a long time -till I began to feel that we had done all we could. It was in God's hands and so we came back and sat on the old cellar door again. It wasn't long till that same lady came out to see us. She smiled and said, "Girls, the doctor says your mother is going to be all right." God has answered many of my prayers since that day -but that first time gave me a faith that has stayed with me all my life.

Big Changes

Big changes are coming our way as we open the door to a new chapter in our story.

Last week we went to look at a retirement community near us. We enjoyed a delightful visit with friends who live there and ate a delicious lunch in the dining room. After lunch we went to talk to the folks in marketing to find out about getting on a wait list for an apartment. We expected to be told there would be a one or two year wait. As it turned out the exact apartment we wanted had just become available that morning. Did we want it? It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice kitchen, a big living room and a balcony overlooking the lake. We looked at each other and knew this was it. It just felt right. We will be moving in May.

We have lived in this house for 53 years. We have raised our children and grandchildren in this house. This house has been filled with the laughter and tears of a lifetime. So many memories! And all those memories will be coming with us.

We are extremely excited to see what adventure lie ahead for us.

Aqua Yoga

I love my aqua yoga class. Life has been stressful lately and this class helps the chatter in my head slow down and I feel a bit of peace. The warm water surrounds me and holds me up. I greet my fellow yogis and feel their friendship and love. The teacher smiles and we begin to breathe deeply and to sway and stretch in this this place that feels safe. I stretch and hold a pose. I concentrate on breathing in and out. I stand in tree pose and gaze out the window at the bare trees of winter. The sky is dark with clouds. The scene is gloomy. Then suddenly a ray of sunshine breaks through and I see a patch of blue sky. I am reminded that the sun is still there. Blue skies will return. The trees appear lifeless, but I know that spring will come and these trees will sprout new green leaves.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Spring will come. Life will return.