Our New Airman

It is hard to find words to describe all the emotions involved in watching our grandson become one of the nation's newest airmen. Of course we are very proud of him. Getting through basic training was a major accomplishment. We were all amazed at the transformation he has gone through in the past eight weeks. When he left he was a boy. This week-end we met a motivated, disciplined, physically-fit young airman.







Nine of us flew from Maryland to join the festivities of graduation weekend. Thursday we were all up before dark to get our first glimpse of John in the Airman's Run. It was very cold in the Texas morning. We strained our eyes trying to pick him out as the trainees ran by us. It was a bit like trying to find Waldo because they all looked very much alike. Then we saw him. He looked great!

The coin ceremony came a few hours later. This was a big deal. The graduates in their blues paraded onto the drill pad. After a few speeches they received their first Air Force coin, an important symbol of becoming a member of the US Air Force. At the conclusion of the ceremony we were finally able to really see him and hug him and talk to him. To say his family was happy and excited for him would be a great understatement.

During the afternoon he entertained us with funny stories about the past eight weeks. I don't believe I have ever heard my quiet grandson talk so much. It seemed like he just had a never ending list of things he wanted to share. We were a proud and happy audience.

Friday morning was the graduation parade. Flags, marching, airplanes. Now his uniform was decorated with a stripe and ribbons. He was promoted from trainee to airman and took his official oath. There were many tears of pride from all of us.

Saturday we enjoyed a day in the beautiful city of San Antonio while he continued to tell us more stories. He was excited to be off base for the first time since arriving eight weeks earlier.

He is now off to tech school at Sheppard Air Force base for a few months. He is excited about this next next step in his career.

Our little boy has become a man.

Easter

We had a lovely Easter Sunday. Church was good. Communion in the memorial garden at sunrise was a powerful worship experience.

The family gathered at our firstborn's home for dinner. The food was yummy. The weather was beautiful. We sat in the backyard and enjoyed each others company for several hours. This was the first year we did not have an Easter egg hunt. The grandchildren have all outgrown hunting eggs. I do miss having little children in the family. They are all either grown or they think they are grown. I do love my family. They bless me every day.

Tomorrow we are flying to San Antonio to watch our grandson graduate from basic training in the Air Force. He has done well and we are all so very proud of him. He is excited about finishing this segment of Air Force life. I don't know yet where he will be going after this week.

Happy spring everyone.

Cherry Blossoms

Yesterday was a beautiful, warm spring day. We, along with hundreds of thousands of other people, decided it was the perfect day to take a look at Washington DC's famous cherry blossoms. There are beautiful cherry trees in full bloom scattered all around our area, but there is just something very special about these trees. In spite of the throngs of people, the traffic and the noise, these trees were breath-taking. The sunshine, the monuments and the cherry blossoms combined to make a perfect day. It was wonderful to be part of an enormous Washington crowd who were there just to bask in the beauty of the moment.

Looking up through the trees

White House

Washington monument

Jefferson Memorial

The Kennedy Center

Census

I just mailed in our census form. This is the seventh time I have been officially counted. I was born in 1941, so I was first counted in 1950 at the age of almost nine. I was the youngest of three children in our household of five people. In 1960 I was living away from home at nursing school. According to the rules I should have been counted as part of the school's count. I wonder if my parents included me in their household count that year? I'll never know. I was busy during the sixties and by the census of 1970 I was the mother of four children and lived in a household of six people. In 1980 everyone was still at home and again we were a household of six. There were a lot of changes during the eighties. Children grew up, went to college, got married and began to have children of their own. My nest felt empty and we became the foster parents of a teen-aged boy. For the census of 1990 we were a household of three. In 2000 we were a household of two very busy working adults. The form I mailed today says two old white people live here.

I wonder what my granddaughter fills in as her race. Her father, my son, is white. Her mother's racial heritage is black, white, American Indian and a little Chinese.

How many times have you been counted in an official U.S. Census?
How many people dwell in your house?

The Help

I stayed up way too late this week reading. I just finished “The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett. It is the story of three women living in Mississippi during the sixties. Two of the women are black maids in white households in a very racist world. These women tend to all the domestic chores and raise the babies for the white families that employ them. The book talks of the affection, love, abuse, shame and fear that are part of the complicated relationships in an unequal world. The third woman is a young white college graduate who is also trapped in this racist, sexist world. Their lives become intertwined as they work together on a project to share the stories of these black women. I cried, I laughed, I cheered and felt hot anger in this poignant story. If you enjoy feeling part of the story of humanities small triumphs over evil, read this book. It will leave you thinking about it's message for many days.

Spring Yellow

blahs

Today is one of my weepy days when everything just feels sad and a bit overwhelming. My life is full of more blessings than I deserve. I have a wonderful husband, children and grandchildren who love me, and an unwavering faith in a loving God. I should feel happy, but today I am just so aware of past hurts and their unwanted consequences. I thought I had forgiven and moved on, but I guess not quite completely. Forgiveness seems to be something you have to do over and over again. There were lies and accusations and hurtful words that have left painful scars. My children and grandchildren were wounded badly. We moved on. We found new paths and new ways and new places. We tried to forgive. Today I am angry all over again and trying again to forgive again and to move on again.

I will be better, but today life is painful.

Good- Bye Rush

Listening to the majority of the people, congress tonight passed the health care reform bill.
Has Rush started packing yet? I hope he leaves quickly.

Two Saint Patrick's Day Birthdays

I always thought it was very cool that my big brother celebrated his birthday on Saint Patrick's Day. It just seemed like a fun day in my world. Today Bill is 75 years old. Life has been very hard for the past two years. His beloved wife suffered a terrible head injury in a fall. She has been in the hospital since that fall. Bill is a good man and a faithful husband. Not a day passes that he not at his beloved's bedside. There is no where else that he would rather be. Some days are better than others, but it is a difficult time. He does not laugh very often. I love this picture of my big brother taken a few month's ago at a niece's wedding. It makes me smile to see him laughing and having fun.



On Bill's thirty-fourth birthday I presented him with a new nephew. My youngest child arrived in the world on Saint Patrick's Day and joined his uncle in celebrating an Irish birthday. Last year when Paul turned forty the family took him to an Irish pub in Baltimore. It was a fun celebration. After that celebration Paul decided it was time to start taking better care of his health. He has been dieting and exercising a lot this year. He has lost fifty pounds and plans to lose another fifty. This summer he is planning to enter a 5K race. Next year I plan to post a picture of a much thinner, healthier birthday boy.

Happy birthday Bill.
Happy birthday Paul.

Murray Hill

I'm reading a murder mystery by Margaret Truman. It is a good who-done-it about the murder of a senator's wife. I don't know yet who the murderer is. I am bothered by one of the main themes in the story. It tells a tale of corporate money buying the legislation the corporation wants. With enough money any senator or congressman or judge can be bought. It demonstrates how easy it is to corrupt congress. It is scary because it is so true. The supreme court has ruled that corporations have the same rights as individuals and can give unlimited money to buy an election. A corporation here in Maryland has taken this decision to the next logical step and has filed to run for congress. This way the corporation can be sure to vote for it's own best interest.

Vote for Murray Hill!

Hospitality

Next Sunday I am participating in a discussion about the importance of hospitality. I am looking for a definition and some examples. I'd appreciate some answers to these two questions.

1.What is hospitality?

2.When did someone show you meaningful hospitality?

Retreat

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

I spent the weekend in the Pennsylvania mountains with forty of my girlfriends. We were all attending a women's retreat called “The Art Of Prayer.” It was a beautiful weekend filled with sunshine, laughter, prayers, a few tears and an inspirational speaker. The speaker was my older daughter. She shared her journey of faith with words and music that inspired a room full of women. I sat there just amazed. My little girl has not always had an easy life. There have been some very dark and scary moments. She told about some of those moments and the fear and pain she experienced. Then she told about God's faithfulness and love that brought her to where she is now.

I was overwhelmed with pride and love. It was a weekend full of moments that just took my breath away.

When have you experienced a moment that just took your breath away?

Hate

I was horrified this morning when I learned that a hate group picked our local high school for one of their demonstrations. When my daughter dropped her kids off at school this morning there was a group of people exercising their freedom of speech by carrying hateful signs. My grandchildren and all the other kids were greeted with signs that were horrid. They said things like;

"God hates you" "God hates Obama" "God hates fags" "America is doomed" "God loves dead soldiers" and “God hates football, the devil's sport.”

These signs were carried by some crazies from Kansas who were inspired to pick our school after a young football player collapsed and died while running during an off-season workout. This was apparently a punishment from God because football is evil.

I felt contaminated just knowing these hate mongers were present in my town. I know hate groups exist, but this is the closest they have been to me. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center there were 926 active hate groups in the US in 2009, 13 of them are in my own state of Maryland. Most of them are some sort of white supremest group, a few are black supremest and a few are Islamic supremest group. The group that demonstrated at our high school was listed as a general hatred group.

The police kept the demonstrators and all others apart. There were no major incidents and the hatemongers left shortly after school started.

How do people get so filled with hate? Is there any way to teach love and tolerance to these folks? I just don't understand. Is there anything we can or should do that would lessen the hatred?

“God is Love.”

A Good Weekend

It's March! In my part of the world March is coming in like a lamb, with sunshine and melting snow. I guess it will roar out like a lion in a few weeks.

Our snowy February ended with a most pleasant weekend.

Friday I made a big pot of chili and entered it into a chili cook-off. I was competing against such dishes as Road-Kill Chili, John's Triple Hot Chili and ten other varieties. My “Just Chili” won first place! I am so proud.

We got up Saturday morning and went to our new exercise class. About forty mostly older adults sweated and laughed our way through two hours of working out in a class called Get Off Your A**. After working so hard we obviously needed to go out for lunch. Any excuse for eating out is good enough for me.

The highlight of the weekend came in the mail on Saturday. The letter from our grandson the new airman was the first we had heard since he arrived for basic training in Texas. He sounded good and we felt relieved. It seems the Air Force is very particular about how a bed is made and our boy made his bed fifteen times one day. All in all, even though it is the hardest thing he has ever done, he sounded upbeat and positive. It was good to know he really is doing OK.

Sunday morning I played in the bell choir at church. The bells, when done right, fill the church with such a glorious noise. Even when not done right they make me happy. I think God smiles when we praise Him with music.

We watched the hockey game Sunday afternoon. Even though Team USA lost the game, it was a well-played, exciting game. I couldn't help but rejoice with the happy Canadians. I will miss the Olympics. It has been fun to watch those amazing athletes.

A friend of ours is an amazingly talented pianist. Sunday evening she invited us to attend a dress rehearsal for concert she is is doing next weekend at Carnegie Hall. She is accompanying a Mongolian opera singer. The vocalist had a beautiful voice. She sang the most beautiful Mongolian arias I have ever heard. At the end of the concert I felt like I had just been to Carnegie Hall, except it was free and five minutes from home.

What did you do this weekend?

Civil Rights

Two of the places we visited on our recent road trip were the Civil Rights Institute and the 16th Street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama. The institute is across the street from this historic church where four little girls were killed in a bomb blast during the struggle for civil rights during the 60s. Walking through these two buildings was emotionally draining. I felt much like I did after visiting the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Scene after scene depicted of the horrors people did to other people because of racism and fear. Bombings like the one that killed the four little girls were common. Lynchings happened far too frequently. Bigotry was considered a virtue for the genteel white South during these times. Brutal inequality was legally sanctioned. It took great courage by many people to change the laws. The blatant bigotry of those years is no longer legal. Attitudes have softened in many places. I am grateful for the progress that has been made in race relations. The sad thing I noticed is that these same attitudes are not very far from the surface in many places. While on our trip last month I heard folks complaining about blacks trying to come to white churches and how uncomfortable it was for the white worshipers. Since public schools can no longer be segregated, most white kids go to private schools so they can be protected from other races.

While great strides have been made in giving equal rights to all people there is still much to do. Racism and bigotry of all sorts still is common. The world is still too much divided into “us “ and “them.”

Have you ever experienced racism and bigotry? What did you do about it?

This & That

I finished the jigsaw puzzle that I started for entertainment during our first blizzard. I think that means our bad winter is coming to an end. The sun has been shining and my dragon's teeth icicles fell off the back of the house. The mountains of snow along the roads are starting to melt. I can almost hear spring coming.

I went to an Ash Wednesday service at church. I grew up in a non-liturgical religious tradition and the observation of Lent is a new thing in my life. It seems to me that many of the “sacrifices” people make during Lent have little to do with enriching their faith, but I do like the whole concept of spending a period of time giving extra thought to God and his amazing grace. I am praying my way through the Psalms as my Lenten discipline. Are you doing anything to observe Lent?

My newly retired husband has gone to NASA this morning to pick up his new badge. Is anybody surprised that he is now working part time for a contractor? He will be returning part time to his old desk doing the work he always enjoyed doing.

After missing rehearsal last week because of the snow it was good to return to practice with the senior chorale. Our spring concert this year will be a collection of songs from recent Broadway hits like Wicked, Rent and Les Miserables. It is going to be a fun concert. One of my favorite songs is “For Good,” from the musical Wicked. The lyrics say that people come into our lives for a reason. “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” Is there someone who passed through your life and changed you for good?

My younger son has had a serious weight problem for several years and seemed helpless to control his growing waist line. About six months ago he joined a new weight loss support group and found a diet that he has been able to stick with. Since beginning this new program he has lost 40 pounds and has shrunk his waist by ten inches. I am so proud of him. He is feeling much better and seems much happier with life because he has started to take off the pounds.

Life is just putzing along here. What's going on in your part of the world?

Liberal

I am a liberal person. Being liberal seems to me to be right and good. I don't understand why anyone would call being liberal a bad thing. I looked up some synonyms for liberal. I like all of them. These words all describe the kind of person I want to be. Synonyms include words like tolerant, broad-minded, bountiful, giving, generous and big-hearted. Antonyms include words like narrow-minded and stingy. I have always been taught that as a Christian I should be generous in my giving and help those who are in need. Being liberal seems to me to be a virtue.

My politics reflects my understanding of what I think is right. Giving generously to those in need, helping the weak, and being open-minded about things about which there are many opinions are things that I think are important. I see and hear these ideals voiced and practiced in larger measure by the democratic party, so I am a democrat.

I am disappointed in the failure of politicians in both parties to move past their short term political gains, their quest for power and their greed. I was sad today when Senator Bayh said he would not seek re-election because congress is broken. He sees no way he can effectively serve the people of this county in our corrupt and ineffective congress. The corruption on both sides of the aisle make it impossible to do anything that would be good for the people of this nation. It just makes me want to cry.

I don't know any way to fix what ails our political system. It is a mess.

My Valentine

Fifty years ago this weekend I was in the mountains near Big Bear Lake in California. I was enjoying a snow party with a bunch of college kids. We played in the snow and I tried to learn to ski. I was never able to make it all the way up the rope tow on the kiddie hill without falling down. Going down the hill was even worse. Every time I started going I would get scared, panic and fall down. I had these long skis attached to my feet and they made getting up very difficult. It was not a pretty sight. At the end of the day I was cold, sore and tired. I decided then that skiing was not my sport. I like activities where I do not get cold and do not include falling down and embarrassing myself. I am totally impressed with the skill and grace of the Olympic skiers.

The part of the weekend that included sitting by the big fireplace with my friends was wonderful. I had been dating a young Cal-tech student for a few months. He gave me a valentine that weekend that he had carefully picked to say just what he wanted to say. It said, “Happy Valentine's Day to someone I like a lot.” He wasn't quite ready to say more than that. Three months later he asked me to marry him. The next year, and every year since, he has given me mushy valentines that declare his love. That first valentine was the most memorable.

I am indeed blessed to be his valentine.

More Snow

Blizzard number two blew through here yesterday and broke all records. This winter we have had over eighty inches of snow. For an area that goes many winters with no snow that is a lot of snow. This part of the world has pretty much stopped.

The pictures of my firstborn and my young husband taken in 1965 show a more typical snow for Maryland.

Air Force

Our twenty year old grandson left yesterday. His parents took him to the recruiters office and then to the military check-in at a hotel near the airport. He took his official oath at 5AM today and is now an official member of the US Air Force. He is on his way to San Antonio and basic training.

Stay safe John.

Snow

It snowed. It snowed a lot. The blizzard that blew through our part of the world left us over three feet of snow with drifts piling up deeper than that. The storm effectively brought our town to a close. Churches, schools, stores and even the federal government have ground to a halt. It is beautiful looking out. The plows have been working hard and it now possible to get out of the neighborhood, but it is a pretty rough ride. We are grateful to be home. Being snowbound at home is far better than being snowbound in a small motel in Tennessee. We are also very grateful for our family who came and dug us out yesterday. The sun is shining today, but another storm is predicted for tomorrow.

Digging out


Our snow shoveling crew

My Grandparents

I loved my grandparents. Staying with them in their Texas home was one of the highlights of my childhood. My grandfather was a preacher of the gospel. He was not a very well educated man, but he did know his Bible. We made a game of reading a verse from anywhere in scripture and seeing if he could quote the verse following. He always won. The man had the entire book memorized. I thought he was one of the smartest men in the world. When he was a young preacher he traveled all over Texas holding revival meetings. Families would travel long distances by buggy to hear him preach. My grandmother adored him. She was the perfect preacher's wife. They were married in 1904 and raised five children. They had a long and happy marriage.

I was excited when my cousin gave me the photo album from their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Along with the old pictures the album contains many cards and letters from well wishers. They were all addressed to Brother Fowler and wife. (All grown-ups in the church of my childhood were referred to as Brother or Sister.) When I found the letter my grandfather wrote to my grandmother on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary I was eager to see what he had said. It seems like a strange and sad love letter to me. I have copied his handwritten letter. How do you feel about this love letter?

“To My Beloved and Faithful Wife
50 years ago today

At first that my seem a long time, but yet the years have passed so swiftly it seems but a little while. Many have been your trials and great have been the disappointments of your life. I wish it were otherwise, but I can not go back to the yesterdays of our life and correct them. The best I know that is left for for me to do is, “I pray that you may have the grace to forgive all the many mistakes I have made.”

The days of our life have been busy days, filled with toil and troubles, yet I am glad to have had you as my companion in it all. I know you have done your part well and faithfully.

The days of our “tomorrow,” at best, can not be many and they will soon be spent. Until the silver cord is broken (loosed) let us try to be cheerful and helpful to each other. May our last days be our best days together. We have climbed the hill of life to the point from which we are able to see far back over the valley of the past where lies the regrets of many things that tend to grieve us, but forgetting these things let us look ahead to the better things further up the way that leads to him who is our life and our our hope. We do not now see him in his fullness but soon he will appear and then we shall see him as he is and then our vile and wrinkled bodies shall be changed and we shall be made like unto the glorious Lord who all along life's way has been watching and waiting for our coming.

It is my hope that the sum of our lives together may be a heritage to our beloved children for whose lives we have a great responsibility.

May we be able to remember all the virtues in the lives of each other and forgive and forget all the vices of whatever nature they may have been.

I know not what you would appreciate most that I might give you on this memorial day, therefore accept this and with it get for yourself whatever will please you most.

God bless you forever and ever.
Your hubby”

Winter Road Trip

I'm looking out the window at another school-closing snow. I'm very grateful to be looking at this snow from the windows of home. Maryland is better prepared to handle snow than Tennessee where it almost never snows. After two days the interstate and main roads there were cleared, but the side streets were never plowed. People in Tennessee don't own snow shovels and we never saw a cleared driveway. It seems they just wait for the snow to melt.

Our winter road trip through the deep south was a wonderful experience. Each day was different from the day before, full of different sights and emotions. It will take me a while to sort out the stories from this trip.


The best part of our journey was visiting friends and family that we seldom see. People are what make life's journey so interesting. After spending two night's snowbound in a lovely Hampton Inn we finally ventured out and made it to the home of our good friends, Guy and Joanne. We have been friends for forty-five years. When we saw one another the years fell away and we talked non-stop until sleep overtook us. It was so good to see them. We had to intended to see several other friends in Nashville, but the storm made that impossible. Maybe next time.


Our most unusual visit was with my first cousin, Dot. Last time I saw her she was an infant and I was a young teen. She grew up in Alabama. I grew up in California. We had very different childhoods and have led very different lives. Although she has memories of my mom, she has no memories of me. We had completely lost touch until last year when through the wonders of a facebook we found each other and began to get acquainted. We met at a restaurant in Birmingham where we talked until the place closed and they made us leave. It was so much to fun to learn family stories that I had never heard. She gave me a wonderful gift, a photo album from my grandparents golden anniversary party. It contains pictures of me, age sixteen, in charge of the guest book on that occasion. The cards and letters it contains are definitely from another time. I will have to share them in another post. The letter from my grandfather to my grandmother seemed sad and strange to me.

When was the last time you visited with old friends or long-lost relatives?

Snowbound

We had planned to spend tonight with good friends in Nashville,TN. Instead we are staying in a roadside motel about forty miles south of Nashville. The ride up I-65 was uneventful for most of the day,but then we hit a big winter storm. Trucks and cars littered the roadside testifying to the ice and snow. Driving was getting pretty scary. We have not seen a snow plow. No salt has been spread on the road. The wisest thing seemed to find a safe place to wait until the storm has passed. So we are warm and dry, looking forward to a quiet peaceful evening.

Two days ago we enjoyed walking along the white sandy beaches of Florida's panhandle. The sun was shining and we were enjoyed temperatures in the mid-sixties. These are some of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. Several people referred to this pretty place as the Redneck Riviera.

New Orleans

We have enjoyed our time in New Orleans. Jackson Square was as beautiful as I had expected it would be.


The beignets at Cafe' Du Monde were as messy and yummy as they looked.


The French Quarter was fascinating with all it's unusual shops, bars and restaurants. We walked down Bourbon Street about five in the evening, before the nighttime crowd arrived. Even during the day Bourbon Street made my eyes pop out and my jaw drop open.

This morning we took a city tour. We drove through the ninth ward where the greatest damage was done after hurricane Katrina. The damage done is still overwhelming.Then we rode through the Garden District where the rich and some of the famous live. There was a crowd in front of Manning house. A couple of famous football players grew up there.

So far this road trip has been all we wanted it to be. Tomorrow we head towards Panama City.

Michaela

In a small house about 20 miles from a small town in northern Louisiana is a young girl who calls me Gramma. We have spent a wonderful week-end together. We have played Wii games (I lost everything I played), but I am the champion of our Parcheesi tournament. We drove an hour to the mall where we shopped, built a bear, watched a movie and rode the carousel. We went to church together. Worshiping together with a grandchild is a special blessing. We created some wonderful memories.

Atlanta Aquarium

If you are ever in Atlanta on a cold rainy day you should go to the Atlanta Aquarium. The crowd was minimal so we were able to enjoy the fish. it is an amazing place.

Road Trip

Our youngest granddaughter moved to a small town in Louisiana last year. She had been living in West Virginia, just a day's drive away, but it is much farther to go see her now. We have not seen her in over a year, much too long. She sent us her school picture for Christmas. She looks almost grown. Time passes so very quickly and children grow up too fast, so we are making a road trip to Louisiana to see Michaela.

One of the blessings of retirement is time to do things we have not had time to do before. Since we have a long drive no matter how we go, we have decided to take a meandering trip south. We will stop in Fayetteville, NC, and visit with Dennis's brother and family. From there we are heading to Atlanta where we will stay a couple of days. We have never been to Atlanta and decided to stop and enjoy the sights. Has anyone been to Atlanta? What is something fun to do there? The next stop will be a small town in the northeastern corner of Louisiana where we plan to hug our little girl and spend time enjoying this almost grown up eleven year old. She will have to go to school, so after a long week-end with her we are driving to New Orleans. We have never been there. I am excited about spending time in the Big Easy. We plan to drink a Hurricane or two and eat a po' boy. What else should we do in New Orleans? From New Orleans we are heading to Panama City, Florida. We are hoping for some warmer weather so we can walk along the white sandy beaches. I have a niece there that I have not seen in many years. It will be fun to spend some time with her family. Then we will head north toward Birmingham, Alabama. We have never been there either. What is there to do in Birmingham? We plan to take my cousin Dot out to dinner. I have not seen cousin Dot in over 50 years. We have some catching up to do. Before heading home we will stop in Nashville, Tennessee, where we have many old friends. It will be about 3000 miles of road with lots of new scenery and old friends.

I welcome all suggestions for things we ought to see along the way. What do you do on a long car trip to make the journey more enjoyable?

This Ole House

When I was in the sixth grade my parents bought a new house. It is a wonderful, sacred place in my memory. It had a wonderful yard full of trees, a big unfinished basement that included a shelf full of old National Geographic magazines dating back to the 1920's, and a collection of interesting rooms that had been added on over the years. The very best thing about that house was that I would finally have a room of my very own. I loved that room. It was sort of a funny L-shaded room wallpapered with millions of bright flowers. I tried many times to count those flowers, but always lost count. My bed was next to the big windows. When I woke up in the morning I looked out over the tops of our orange trees and felt on top of the world. When an earthquake rocked southern California I would lay in my bed and watch the sky rock back and forth, thinking it was a wonderful ride. I never understood why people were so afraid of this gentle rocking that I felt in my bedroom. The very best part of that room was my balcony. I had a door leading out to my own private balcony. Actually it was the tar paper-covered roof that had a rickety rail around it. I could stand there and see for miles. Occasionally I could see the faint outline of Catalina Island. I spread a blanket out on that balcony and lay in the sun and dreamed of the day my prince charming would come. I dreamed of so many wonderful adventures.

I heard this song recently. It was a favorite song of my daddy's. He would sing it as a happy song about this house that we all loved.

Forgiveness is giving up all hope for a better past!

This & That

My main occupation since the beginning of this new year has been trying to stay warm. My nose is cold. My ears are cold. My feet, hands, legs and all the rest of me is cold. When I go outside I waddle like a duck because of all the layers I wrap around myself in an effort to stay warm. The thermostat in my house says I should be warm, but it lies. I am dressed in warm clothes, wrapped in a blanket and I am still cold. I think they have canceled global warming.

We have a large bookshelf in our kitchen. When our kids were younger and the dinner conversation led us to a topic where we needed more information, I remember one or the other of us often pulling the World Book encyclopedia off the shelf and looking for answers. We had some interesting, unusual, perhaps even weird dinner conversations. Over the years the books have changed. I was sad when we decided to give away our encyclopedias, but the kids were grown and we no longer used them. This week I purged the kitchen bookshelf of books we no longer use and donated them to our local library. We got rid of dusty old Bible commentaries, novels I will never read again, collections of coffee table books with beautiful pictures and several reference books we no longer use. We needed to make room for some of the books my retired man has brought home from work. The shelf is now packed with books I want to read or read again, many travel books for dreaming about trips we would like to take, and lots of bird books for my husband the birder to peruse. There is a whole shelf of children's books. I just can't get rid of them or the memories that go with those books. Perhaps one day my great grandchildren will read them. I think a kitchen is more complete when it contains books.

We ate dinner at my daughter's house last night. After dinner the adults enjoyed a long, meandering conversation while the kids played Rock Band in the basement. I think singing with Rock Band is a lot like singing in the shower. You sing with great enthusiasm, but you really do not sound as good as you think you do.

I am reading, “Mysteries of the Middle Ages,” by Thomas Cahill. It is a wonderful book. Who knew a book about the history of the middle ages could actually be a fascinating and wonderfully enjoyable read?

What's going on with you so far in 2010?

New Year's Resolutions

I have made some resolutions for 2010.

1.Laugh loud and often. This shouldn't be too hard because I do love to laugh. It just makes the world better when I can find something to make me laugh. When was the last time you enjoyed a good belly laugh?

2.Don't worry. Worry doesn't accomplish anything and just wastes a lot of energy. One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 24:19. “Fret not thyself.”

3.Say thank you. I take so many people and so my things for granted. I am going to live with gratitude and tell folks how much I appreciate them.

4.Just do it. I am going to quit talking about cleaning out the closet, reading the book or calling my friend. I am just going to get up and do what needs to be done.

5.While I am doing all this I think I will also bring about world peace, end global warming and eliminate hunger around the world.

What are your resolutions for 2010?

2009

As my last post of 2009 I thought I would re-post a line or two from each month of 2009. It is an interesting exercise to review the year and remember where we were.

January 1, 2009
I knew before his dad took him to the Urgent Care center Sunday what the diagnosis would be. He had all the classic symptoms of diabetes. When the lab report came back his blood sugar was 1100, about ten times the normal level. He spent the next three days in Children's Hospital while trying to get his sugar under control. The doctors say he will be on insulin the rest of his life. DQ will need to make some major life style changes to get this disease under control.
(Update: DQ has had his sugar under control for many months, controlled by diet and one pill daily.)

February 11, 2009
Happy birthday, Charles Darwin. Thank you for making so many people think.

March 16, 2009
I have never moved a mountain. I have prayed fervently for something that seemed so right and so good and not received the answer I sought. In my pain and anger I have yelled at God and questioned why bad things had happened. And like Job I have found that I can only trust that God is smarter than me and that God's plans are for my good.
“I do believe; help thou my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

April 12, 2009
Our trip was wonderful. Sedona is truly a beautiful place.

May 16, 2009
Graduations are always emotional events. I can't count the number of graduations I've attended, but this morning's event was one of the proudest moments of my life. My son Paul received his Master of Education degree.

June 17, 2009
Today is our forty-eighth wedding anniversary. We were young and in love. We didn't know what lay ahead. We just knew we wanted to be married, so we began life's journey together.

July 26, 2009
I just watched the space shuttle/space station fly right over my house.

August 24, 2009
It was lovely to wake up to an empty, quiet house today. Our Disney vacation with the boys was wonderful, but it is nice to be home to my quiet routine.

September 15,2009
I am grateful that our laundry room is not equipped with a surveillance camera. It might have recorded an ugly sight last night.

October 25, 2009
We are packed and ready to go. Tomorrow night we will sleep in Egypt.

November 24, 2009
Tomorrow will be his last work day. Monday he will go collect signatures from a large assortment of people as part of the official sign-out procedure. He will turn in his badge. Then he will come home.
The adventure of retirement lies before him. We are excited about what the days will bring.

December 5, 2009
I am officially in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas was wonderful. I got the gift I most wanted, my family sharing the day together. We laughed, opened gifts, ate far too much food, played silly games, talked late into the night, and felt the wonderful gift of a family who loves each other. We are indeed blessed.

Christmas Gift

It has been a wonderful party. The food and drink were wonderful, the company was even better. Before you all head out into the snow I want to give you the wonderful gift I got for you. I only bought one so you will have to share. In honor of all of you, my blogland family, I bought a water buffalo from Heifer International. A water buffalo can help a poor farmer to increase crop production as much as four fold. These mighty animals help to plow fields and they provide nutrition milk to hungry families. A farmer in a developing country will keep care of our water buffalo, and he said to tell all of you thank you.

When you hear my friend Larry the Cucumber say, “Everybody's got a Water Buffalo,” you can nod and say,” Yes I do.”

Merry Christmas.

Party On

I am so glad you all arrived here before the big snow storm came. We are buried in the snow and more keeps falling, over 2 feet so far. It looks like northern Idaho out our window. The birds are feasting at our bird feeders and we have more than enough to eat here at our party. The jellied moose nose doesn't seem to be a favorite , but the ribs are wonderful and our sweet tooth has lots of yummy favorites. Since it looks like we are going to be here until the storm is over, just sit back with some wine, or a little more Kahlua. I arranged some entertainment for us. The entire Bowie Senior Chorale has come to perform a few songs for us. (Unfortunately blogger won't let me upload the video so you will have to imagine how wonderful they sounded. They sang everything from the Grinch to the Hallelujah chorus.)

Tomorrow I will give you the wonderful gift I bought for all of you to share.

Party

It is time for my annual Blogland potluck Christmas party. The house is decorated. I've made a rum cake and a gumdrop cake. I'm fixing a big bowl of eggnog and I think I'll make some yummy sausage balls. I've bought you all a wonderful Christmas present this year. It's an open house. Come anytime between now and Christmas. We'll tell some good stories and remember lots of good times together. What will you be bringing to fill out my table and make the party more merry?

I look forward to seeing all of you. I'll give you all your amazing gift after everyone is here.

Computers

In 1960 I was dating a cute Cal Tech student. One evening he came over all excited because he had access to look at the computer that Cal Tech had just acquired. He wanted me to come with him to view this wonder of new technology. He was thrilled to be able to get up close to this machine that filled the entire room that housed it. This wonderful new machine was filled with vacuum tubes and was programmed with punched paper tape. It looked like a bunch of over-sized filing cabinets to me. I was not too impressed. He was in awe of it's 24 kilobytes of memory that served the entire Cal Tech campus. That computer cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In 1980 that cute student had become my husband. We had four children, a mortgage and just enough money to pay most of the bills. He wanted to buy a computer. I said there was no way we could afford the $4200 a computer would cost. We fought about it, but he finally convinced me that this was something he really needed. He would be able to use it to do contract work and earn extra money. We took out a loan to purchase this wonderful machine with it's 128 kilobytes of memory. Later he framed a copy of the first check he earned using that computer. He wanted to demonstrate that the computer really was a good investment.

Today we have a home office. In this office we have a network of three computers, each having over 600 gigabytes of memory. My husband also owns a laptop with a memory of more than three hundred gigabytes. Each computer cost a few hundred dollars. I long ago quit arguing about whether or not we need a new computer. I love my computer. I love the world wide web and the access it gives me the world.

Can you imagine living without computers?

Where did the time go?

It is Friday. Where did the week go? I felt busy all week, but I am having a hard time remembering what I did with a week of time. I went the pool a couple of mornings. I always feel better after a bit of swimming. My retired man even joined me in the water.

Tuesday I heard a very inspirational talk. I listened to a brave woman explain her journey through cancer. She is about to enter hospice, but is still smiling and teaching others how to cope. Some of the things that have helped her on this painful journey were prayers of thanksgiving for the good things in her life, looking for the small joys in each day, and finding something to laugh about each day. She inspired me to live my life with a renewed sense of joy.

One evening I enjoyed hearing my granddaughter sing in her holiday concert. The next day I enjoyed singing in a holiday concert at the senior center. I went to bell practice and worked on the music we will be playing during the upcoming holiday at church. Music makes my life so much richer. Life would be boring without music.

Getting ready for Christmas has taken a lot of time. There has been shopping, wrapping, baking, addressing cards and decking the halls. I do love this time of year and all the happy traditions that fill the season.

One of the gifts God gave me was being a good listener. I have spent a lot of time listening to people this week. Many people need someone to listen to their story. I can't do much to heal their hurts and fix their problems, but just having someone to listen seems to help. I hope all of you have someone in your life who listens to you.

So here it is Friday night. I think this week-end I will try to get organized.

In 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Thousands were killed. Our nation was stunned. A long, hard war was fought against Japan while another was being fought against Germany. The wars ended. Japan and Germany are both now our friends and allies.

In 2001 another enemy attacked our country. The towers fell. The pentagon was seriously damaged. Our nation was stunned. Thousands were killed. A long hard war is still being fought. Do you suppose that one day our grandchildren will consider the nations of Afghanistan and Iraq our friends and allies?

Christmas Spirit

The first snowfall of the season is covering my world with soft puffy blankets of white. The house is filled with the cinnamony smell of gumdrop cake. The lights twinkle on the tree. Silent Night is playing on the radio. Three Christmas cards and my order from Amazon arrived in the mail.

I am officially in the Christmas spirit.

Retirement Living

Retirement is such a big life change that you would think it would make an enormous difference in how life feels. Dennis has been working full time since he was teenager. He has been retired for three days. So far retirement just feels normal. Obviously it is still a very new thing, but it just feels so very normal so far. He is sleeping a little later and has taken a couple of naps He has worked in the yard and put up Christmas decorations. He has worked on the computer. He visited a friend in the hospital. He has gone to the gym and even joined me in a water aerobics class. We went out to lunch one day. We are both curious to see how this retirement living will all work out, but so far it is just comfortable.

Life is good.

We feel blessed.