Memorial Day

I really do like Memorial Day. I love all the flag waving. I love the parades. I love the picnics. I love the concerts full of music that makes me proud to be an American. The ugly politics we usually hear has been replaced by words of gratitude and patriotism. I truly am grateful for this great country of ours. God bless America!

I have a small flag hanging in my window with two stars shining brightly, one for each of my family who are currently serving in our military. One star is for my grandson, the airman. 

The other star is for my son the soldier, who is safely home after four tours in Iraq.

Senior Chorale

There are lots of problems with growing old. Teeth fall out. Aches and pains become a normal part of life. Old friends are lost. Fortunately, God, in His great wisdom, also gives us many joys to help this part of life become a time rich in blessings too.

 For me one of the best things about getting older is being a part of the Bowie Senior Chorale. Once a week for the past eight years I've gone to the senior center to spend two hours learning to sing and learning to live. The time we spend together is one of the highlights of my week. This group of 100 people have learned to make beautiful music. Half the group can't read music and most have no formal training, but our lively young director, Craig, inspires us and teaches us and makes sing far beyond our expectations. Our inner divas shine through our wrinkled, well worn bodies and for a little while we feel young again.

 Last night we sang a rousing program full of songs about America to a sold out house. I believe our audience left happy and proud to part of this great country of ours.

The Dentist

“Wow! That's really big. It's enormous.” These words did not bring me any comfort as the dentist checked my mouth to inspect the tooth that had broken last week. He told me the entire front half of the tooth had broken off, and the back half was a filling he had put there five years ago. He wasn't sure if he could save it. I like my dentist. We've become friends over the forty years that he has taken care of my teeth. He is a kind and gentle man. I try to be a good patient, but I really am a wimp. I hate sitting in the dentist's chair. “Open wide,” he said and he went to work. First there were needles. Lots of needles. I don't get numb easily. Then there was the the little jack hammer drilling away the part he didn't like, along with the the suction machine, the blow gun, an erector set and the little sunlamp. I didn't know my mouth could open that far. He poked and punched and prodded around in my mouth for almost two hours. Finally he was done. I still have my tooth, but if it breaks again it will have to come out. Teeth wear out over time. I had done everything right and the tooth still broke. This getting old stuff has a lot of disadvantages.

Mother & Grandmother

These four children of mine fill me with love, joy and pride. I am indeed blessed

We had Mother's Day lunch at our granddaughter's house. I don't remember growing older. When did she become such a grown-up?

Nurse's Week

This is national nurse's week. To celebrate I thought I’d share one of favorite nurse stories. Thirty years ago I worked in a big inner-city hospital. It was hard work, but usually I enjoyed the job and loved taking care of those in my care. One day I was assigned to care for Agnes. Agnes was an elderly lady who had suffered a stroke. She was not able to do much for herself. I had spent a good deal of time with her that morning. I had fed her breakfast, helped her brush her teeth, given her a bath and even a back rub. I got her up in a chair and fixed her hair up with ribbons. She seemed grateful. I have a habit of singing while I do chores, and as I was changing her sheets I was singing a song without even being aware that I was singing. Agnes sat and listened for a while. Finally she said, “Honey,when you were young, I bet you could sing.” Do you know any good good nurse stories?

Lunch Conversation

My astronomer husband and I have been married for more than fifty years. We really have almost nothing in common - except for the many years of living together, the five kids, the ten grandkids, and the fact that he is just so cute. Recently he joined the SLOOH Space Camera site. He spends many hours viewing the sky and observing the stars and planets. He is enthralled by all he is able to see. His conversation is now dominated by his observation of the sky using this telescope. Our lunch conversation today sounded sort of like this:

D - “When you plot the same right ascension and declination you see a different part of the sky each time you look.” S- “This is a big salad. I'll give you some.” D – “I am about to complete photographing Pluto's movement.” S –“ I still think Pluto is a planet.” D – “It's only a plutiod - only 14th magnitude brightness.” S - “This is a good sandwich.” D – “The sun is 10 to the 16th times brighter than Pluto.” S -”I think I'll have ice cream for dessert.” D - “Me too.”

Communion

One of the things I get to do at church is prepare the communion for our Sunday morning services. This has never been a chore for me. It has always felt like a privilege. I have so many memories that surround communion. Usually the church is quiet while I get things ready and it becomes a time a peaceful meditation for me. The scriptures say that we are to remember Jesus as we gather around the communion table. I do think about Jesus, but I also feel surrounded by all the people who have shown me Jesus over the years.

In our tradition we pass trays filled with small cups of grape juice along the pews. Each person takes one of the small cups and drinks the juice as we reflect on it's meaning.

I grew up in a family where church was very much part of our everyday life. One of my earliest memories is standing on a chair in the church kitchen helping my mom put the little glass cups into the trays. As I got a bit older I was allowed to fill a bulb syringe with juice and squirt it into the little cups. My mom made this chore seem like a great privilege that only big girls were allowed to do. I'm a big girl now, Mom. I am allowed to fill the little cups all by myself.

Just as funny things happen around the dinner table at home, lots of funny things have happened over the years around the communion table. I think God must have a wonderful sense of humor, and God must laugh with us at our funny mishaps.

One week we prepared the trays on Saturday afternoon and put them into the refrigerator until time for services the next morning. Somehow the refrigerator got set to very, very cold. The juice in the little cups froze solid. We did not notice this until the trays were being passed along the pews and people tried to drink. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. It is impossible to drink an ice cube. People tried licking the frozen juice. People tried turning the cups in their hands to thaw them. Some people banged the little cups on the pews or their legs. Everyone got the giggles.

Scripture refers to the fruit of vine as part of the communion. This inspired one minister to substitute grapes for the juice. Instead of trays of juice, plates of grapes were passed along the pews. This felt a bit odd, but it became very funny when we realized that these were not seedless grapes. Just what is the polite thing to do with grape seeds in church?

One Sunday one of the teen-aged boys helping to serve communion was coming back down the steps from the pulpit area when he tripped. The tray flew out of his hands, spilling juice all over him, the floor and everyone sitting on the front row. There was a great deal of jumping up and scurrying around in an effort to clean up the mess. Poor Chris just sat there and said, “Uh-oh.” For years afterward the people getting ready to serve would pray not to pull a Chris.

One of my dear friends would frequently look at me with a sparkle in her eye as we took the cup. We would clink our little cups together and whisper,”Cheers.” For us it was a happy little celebration of being together in God's family. I miss you Julie.

Next time you gather around the communion table, remember that you are part of the family of God. Remember Jesus, and remember all the people who have helped you to celebrate the joy of being a Christian.

Do you have any good stories about communion?

Come to the table.

If I Were A Supreme Court Justice

Obviously I am not a Supreme Court justice. I am not a lawyer nor an expert on the law, but if it were my decision I would support the Affordable Care Act that was approved by congress and signed into law two years ago. Everything I read about this law seems like a good idea to me.

Medical care is too expensive. We spend far too much individually and as a nation for health care. In 2009 the nation spent $2.6 trillion on health care, that is 17.9% of the U.S. Economy. Something needs to be done about this problem soon. The Affordable Care Act is a step in that direction. Decreasing the cost of health care will be a complicated process, but steps in that direction have begun with this law, and that is good.

The big question before the court is the issue of forcing everyone to buy health insurance, the individual mandate. The vast majority of people already have health insurance. Those people without health insurance receive little if any routine, preventative care. They still receive health care, but it is usually administered in emergency rooms and paid for by higher premiums on those with insurance and by taxpayer dollars. People without health insurance make health care more expensive for the rest of us. Mitt Romney editorialized in 2009 that imposing a tax penalty on those who choose to remain uninsured encourages health care free-riders to take responsibility on themselves instead of passing the costs of their health care on to others.

The way I understand the law, those who choose not to buy health insurance will be required to pay a modest fine that could never exceed 2% of their annual income. This would be a “shared responsibility” payment. The fine is meant to be a financial incentive to find health insurance that would be more affordable. No one would become a law-breaker by refusing to buy health insurance.

If we are supposed to call social welfare programs after the president that signed them into law, then I support Roosevelt Security, Johnsoncare, and Obamacare. None of these programs are the perfect answer to the problems they address. They all could use a bit of tweaking to make them better. They are all good programs.

All of these are laws in our country. I believe all of them should be upheld by our justice system.

Philadelphia

We have just returned from a two day trip to Philadelphia where we managed to cross three more items off our bucket lists.

On our way into town we stopped in South Philly to enjoy an original Philly cheese-steak sandwich at Pat's King of Steaks. According to the advertising this is the place where the cheese-steak was invented. The sandwich was every bit as yummy and messy as I expected it to be. South Philly, with it's narrow streets and crowded houses, looked just like I expected it to look. There were two problems with lunch at Pat's. It was a cold day, and sitting at the outdoor picnic tables was a bit too chilly. After riding up the road for two hours I was in need of a restroom. Pat's has no public restrooms. We enjoyed our quick lunch, crossed another item off the list and headed on to our next destination.



Visiting the Franklin Institute has long been on Dennis's bucket list. He was like a little boy in a candy store at this hands-on science museum. It was great fun to watch him pulling levers, twisting knobs, and pushing buttons. He grinned his way through one science demonstration after another. Nothing makes him happier than seeing how things work. He left happily at closing-time and checked one more item off his bucket list.



The next morning we headed to the convention center to enjoy the Philadelphia Flower Show. I've been wanting to do this for many years. It is said to be one of the biggest and the best flower shows in the country. The show was fabulous. There were displays that were huge with waterfalls, volcanoes and magnificent orchids. There were beautiful miniature displays only a few inches tall. There was an emotional and patriotic display featuring the USS Arizona Memorial. There were stalls selling everything to do with gardening There was also one the biggest crowds I have ever seen. It was hard to move. I was exhausted at the end of the day, but I’m glad I went. One more item checked off the list.

What's left on your bucket list?

Senior Citizen Adventures

We celebrated Leap Day today with a group of friends at a local dinner theater where we saw a wonderful production of The King and I. We had such fun and came out of the theater singing, “Shall We Dance.”

This Wednesday matinee showing had an audience of senior citizens. There were buses from several assisted living homes and various groups of senior citizen clubs. Many people were in wheelchairs and walkers lined the wall. It is hard to realize that these old folks are my contemporaries. I looked around and saw a group of folks who move a little slower, but who are still moving. The conversation was lively. The laughter was abundant.

I had a great time. Getting old is not so bad. Life is still full of wonderful moments. Perhaps the best really is yet to be.

My Life in Five Pictures

1941

My mom's name was Byrtle. She has always been my hero. I love this picture of her holding me. I can see the love shining in her eyes. She and Dad gave my brothers and me a childhood filled with love, faith and family. I love knowing that I am Byrtle's girl.

1961

This picture was taken the day of my graduation from nursing school and the day before my wedding. I was ready to embark on my new nursing career with the man I loved beside me. I don't think the picture shows how very happy I was that day.

1969

Here we are on Easter morning. My four children were 5 years, 4 years, 18 months, and 2 weeks old. They were all healthy. I was very busy, very happy, and very tired.

1996

This picture was taken right after the birth of our sixth grandchild. It was a moment of great joy. Two months after this picture the sweet boy in my husband's lap was taken from us. I didn't know it was possible to hurt so much. My faith was shaken. More grandchildren came and brought us great happiness, but there will always be a painful void in our life where Jared belongs.

2011

We have grown old. We are both retired. Our children are grown. Our grandchildren are quickly becoming adults. We are moving a little slower, but we are still together and looking forward to whatever life may send us, trusting that the God we love will walk the journey with us.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Instead of giving up chocolate or some other food, I have decided to very consciously try to find a way to demonstrate God's love to the people in my world. Maybe I will be able to continue this for more than 40 days.

These verses from I John chapter 4 are my inspiration. These verses are the basis of my theology.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

We love because he first loved us.

Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Ordinary Days

It has been a couple of weeks since last I wrote something for this blog. Some days it is hard to think of something worth writing down. My days are happy and full, but they seem so ordinary. I know that each day, each moment, is a special gift that is even better when I notice the beauty of the moment and stop to savor it. Here are a couple of the moments I savored over the past few days.

Yesterday was a beautiful, warm sunny day. It did not feel like the middle of February. I worked in the back yard for a few hours. I trimmed back my butterfly bushes and felt the sun warm my back and enjoyed the memory of seeing these bushes covered in flowers and butterflies last summer, and felt the promise of the flowers that will bloom again and attract a whole new generation of butterflies. God did make us a very beautiful world.

My sixteen-year-old grandson stopped by for a few minutes Friday with a grin a mile wide across his face. He had just passed his driving test and is now an officially licensed driver. There is nothing grander than being sixteen and having your first driver's license. What a joy to share his joy.

Each morning I wake up in a warm house next to the man who has shared my life for more than fifty years. I thank God daily that this good man loves me, and God has given us another day together.

Were there any moments that you stopped to savor recently?

Boats & Birds

Yesterday we had a delightful day with friends. It was the last day of January, the middle of winter, and the temperature rose into the 60s. It was a day to savor the beautiful weather.

Our friends have scheduled a trip next year on the still to be completed Mississippi Queen. It is being built in the Chesapeake Shipbuilding yard in Salisbury, MD. Yesterday we joined them on an excursion to the Eastern Shore to see this boat under construction. If you have never toured a shipbuilding yard you have missed a fascinating experience. We donned our hard hats and followed Tony, the construction foreman, for a tour of the boat.

We learned about insulation and wires and potable water. The number of details that go into building a large passenger boat are overwhelming, and far more interesting than I expected.

There was dust, noise, wires, and timber everywhere. Construction workers were busy on every level. From the back deck we could see The Glory, the boat we are scheduled to cruise on in 2013.

It really was a fascinating, tour.

After lunch we went to the Ward Wildfowl Art Museum. This place is dedicated to wood carvings of birds, mostly duck decoys. I was totally blown away by the beautiful sculptures we saw. They were breathtaking. These hand-carved wooden sculptures looked so lifelike, just like birds in flight. If you have opportunity you really should stop and see this place. I loved it!

I love enjoying unusual special days with friends.

Republican Bus

Did you ever play that game about who you would rather sit by on a cross-country bus trip? Someone gives you two names and asks which one you would choose to sit by on a cross county bus trip and you have to explain why. Who would you choose, Marilyn Monroe or Sophia Loren? George Washington or Abraham Lincoln?

I decided to take an imaginary cross-country bus trip with the Republican presidential hopefuls. How would I, a moderate Democrat, fare with this group of people? In my imagination I got on the bus in Iowa just as Tim Pawlenty was getting off. He seemed like a friendly fellow, but I didn't have time to get acquainted with him. I looked around and decided to sit with the only woman on the bus.

Michelle Bachmann seemed like a nice Christian lady. We showed each pictures of our kids and told each other funny family stories. I told her about my faith in a loving and gracious God. Her faith came across as far more judgmental than mine and has a lot more rules. She seemed to be very uncomfortable with my interpretation of scripture and very uncomfortable with diverse opinions. I was relieved when she got off the bus. I thought she was scary.

Next I sat next to a man with a big, friendly smile. Herman Cain made a fortune selling pizza and thought he could use this experience to make America a better country. He kept saying something about 9-9-9. He thought his tax scheme would fix the economy. It seemed to over-simplify a complex problem and I had my doubts. When I asked him about foreign policy his answer got really weird. It turns out Herman had a mistress and the Republicans are the party of family-values. The mistress was a big no-no, so Herman had to get off the bus.

There was a nice man from Utah who rode the bus for awhile. Jon Huntsman seemed like a nice guy . He had worked for Obama as ambassador to China. I admired the way he put serving his country ahead of political ideology. The Republicans didn't seem to like him very well. He too got off the bus.

A good-old-boy from Texas was my next seat-mate. Rick Perry liked to hunt and fish. I don't hunt or fish and I found it hard to talk to him. He just never seemed to quite figure out what to do with himself outside of Texas. He got off the bus and headed back home.

I looked around and decided to sit with the older gentleman from Texas. I really liked Ron Paul, but his fellow passengers don't pay him very much attention. He comes across as an honest, sincere man who champions the cause of small government and withdrawal from all foreign entanglements. I find myself disagreeing with his proposals, but respecting him as a man of honor. I don't want him to drive the bus, but I do like him.

Rick Santorum was my next seat-mate. He reminded me a lot of Michelle Bachmann. He is driven by faith. I'm sure he is a loving husband and father. I think he is sincere. Sincerity just doesn't seem to be enough to qualify a person to president. Especially not when I disagree about many of the things that he holds dear. I think he will be getting off the bus in the near future.

I look at the last two men on the bus and decide to sit by Mitt Romney. This man has money. I think he probably paid for the bus. He seems a bit stiff, but still likable. He has a nice wife and has raised five sons. I find it is easier to talk to him as I get to know him better. He was once the Republican governor of a Democratic state. Somehow he seemed to be able to talk to people with different opinions and find a consensus they could both agree on. That is a rare talent. He really wants to be president. He has made this bus trip before. I'm not really sure where he stands on several issues because he seems to have changed his mind about lots of things. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Did I mention that Mitt has a lot of money.

There’s one man left on the bus. I approached his seat, but just couldn't make myself sit down. There was a stench that completely repelled me. Newt Gingrich is a man with a very bad history. Congress convicted him of ethics violations. He has been through two messy divorces. He owed Tiffany’s $500,000. Surely the party that stood for family values would find this man repellant. He comes across to me as a creepy, dirty old man.

It was an interesting bus ride, but I don't think I want to ride with this group any further.

Warm Nights

I woke up this morning, as I do most mornings, in my comfortable, warm bed. My husband of fifty years slept beside me. We were safe in our warm, quiet house house. The only difference was that this morning I was acutely aware of the blessing of having a home and family.

This week our church is participating in a program run by the county social service department called Warm Nights. During the cold months various churches in our town volunteer to turn their building into a shelter for a week. This is our week. Last night my ladies' circle prepared dinner for our guests. About six PM our guests began to arrive. They were pretty ordinary looking folks. You probably would not identify them as homeless if you passed them on the street. Some of them work during the day. The children attend school. Some have mental problems that make working impossible for them. The folks I visited with were friendly people who were profoundly grateful for a safe place to sleep and some food to eat. They are nice people who have hit a hard place in life. We had prepared a meal of meat-loaf, potatoes and collard greens, with sweet potato pie for dessert. The greens were the big hit of the evening. The pot was licked clean. After dinner some went to take a shower, some visited and shared events of the day, some watched the TV. One man had a sewing kit and was mending clothes for others. A few curled up and their cots and went to sleep. For this week our fellowship hall was home, and they were glad to be there.

This morning other church folks fed them breakfast and sent them out for the day with a bag lunch prepared by another group of church folks. They have to be out and gone for the day about six AM. Tonight they will return. Sunday morning they will move on to the next shelter for the week.

I am grateful for the work of the county and it's churches in helping these people. I am grateful that I was able to be part of the effort to keep these needy people safe, warm and fed.

I am just overwhelming grateful for my life today.

Our church fellowship hall as a shelter from life's storms.

Cars

I love this picture of my daughters.
I find it amazing just how much the car they each drive says about them.

Dr Pepper

A friend of mine is upset by the new Dr Pepper commercial. According to the commercial the taste of Dr Pepper is, “Not for women.” My friend says the commercial is sexist. She is offended and has vowed to never drink another Dr Pepper. I will admit that it seems a bit dumb to tell half the population that this drink is not for them.

The whole discussion about Dr Pepper took me back to the Texas vacations of my childhood.

I grew up in California where Dr Pepper was not yet distributed, but both my parents were Texans. That meant we traveled to Texas every summer to visit relatives. In spite of the heat and the chiggers, I really enjoyed these trips visiting with all my kinfolk. One of the best things about these trips was Dr Pepper. My grandmother loved Dr Pepper. There was always a case of this wonderful drink sitting in her kitchen. With all my well-meaning relatives watching me I never got to drink nearly as much as I wanted. My crazy, good-hearted Aunt Rubye (pictured with her daughter Janice) knew how much I loved Dr Pepper and tried to help. Every morning at ten she would sit me down with my cousin Kenny and give us orange juice in a Dr Pepper bottle. We sat there on the back steps swigging our juice from the Dr Pepper bottles and talked about how much we would prefer to be drinking the real thing. Finally at two in the afternoon we were allowed to drink a real Dr Pepper. I remember getting the icy cold bottle from the refrigerator and sitting on the shady steps with Kenny We clinked our bottles together and sipped our cold sodas. It was one of the best moments of the day.

I seldom drink Dr Pepper any more, but when I do I am flooded with memories of people and happy times long gone.

Far Away

My grandson is in the hospital. He's in the Air Force stationed in Texas. I'm sure he will be fine, but he is far away.

My daughter came straight to me this morning at church and hugged me tight with one of those, “Oh Mom, I'm scared,” hugs. Her son had sent a text saying he was in the hospital having his appendix out. They had been asleep when he called and found the text just before coming to church. That's all she knew and that just was not enough information for his parents or his grandparents. He called later just as he was waking up from surgery, sounding OK, but a bit groggy. We are grateful that he is in a place with good hospitals and medical care. Appendectomies are routine surgeries. We expect he will recover without problem. But Texas does feel very far away today.

I just called the hospital, really just trying to find out which hospital he was in, and was connected to his room. He sounded good.

Letters

When was the last time you received a long, hand-written letter from someone you loved?

I'm reading a wonderful book,”Last Letters from Attu” by Mary Breu. Most of the book is a collection of letters from the author's aunt who was a teacher in remote native villages in Alaska during the years before World War II. She was captured by the Japanese from the small island of Attu and become a prisoner of war. The letters are long, newsy letters to her family about her life. They are fascinating. I am so glad her family saved them and made them available for others to read.

The book reminded me of all the letters I used to write and receive from my family. My mom and I exchanged letters at least once a week until she was no longer able to write. I loved the long letters full of the trivia that made up her life. We shared stories about family and news about friends. We shared our fears and joys. Those letters were always such a joy to read. Sadly only a few of her letters remain. The few I do have are a precious connection to her and a fascinating family history.

Letter writing is a lost art. We tweet and update our status on facebook. We text and occasionally actually talk on the phone. We don't sit down and write letters to the people we love. I miss the joy of going to mailbox and finding a letter addressed with the familiar hand writing of someone I love.

I don't plan to start a letter-writing campaign, although the US Post Office could use the business. Instead I will write my letters on this blog. I hope one day that my family will find them interesting.