Memorial Day Weekend

                 

I always liked having this type of holiday celebrated on the actual day.  With the advent of the 3-day weekend, some of our National holidays have turned into nothing more than a chance to get away, to drink and drive and to party.  IMHO our country is forgetting why we have Memorial Day.  It's a day to remember those who lost their lives to keep this great country free.  Last time I went to a celebration of this sort, the only civilians were the wives of buried soldiers and the men and women who fought in WW2, Korea & Vietnam.  We are older now.  Who will carry on the tradition when we have gone?  Not my kids.  They don't seem to care. 

What will you be doing this weekend?  It's okay to travel, to drink (responsibly) and even to party if you must.  Will you take time to talk to another about why you have this weekend off?  It's a National holiday!  Those men and women serving our country here and around the world have offered up their lives to ensure our very lives.  They have no idea when their service may cause them to offer the ultimate sacrifice. 

My husband did not lose his life in Vietnam or in the Gulf War, but he served and watched men die.  He remembers. 

Please ~ this weekend ~ won't you remember those lives as well?

  

Tags: Memorial Day, patriotism, remember them

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Stuff

             

I justify this because it's still morning here.  I have to type quickly, however.  I am still in Southern California and I couldn't be happier.  It's so lovely here.  Record setting temperatures have plagued the L.A., Midstate and Eastern counties.  Even in the more desert regions in my county.  We are 3 miles away from the ocean and it's been lovely for the most part.  Next Tuesday I head north for the last time.  Temperatures there have been over 100 degrees.  I am not ready for that.  Heat is not my friend.

Andrea and Paige are both graduating.  I am going to take tons of pictures and bore you all with them.  For now I will just share a picture of Andrea cooling off in the creek behind their house.  The water is very cold.  After all, it is the snow melt that comes through there.     

               

I have a ton of cute pictures of her, but they are best shown in a slideshow format.  This is my baby.  She is so happy living with her sister.  It's hard for me, but since I have health problems it is the very best place for her.  I miss her terribly.  

On to the next.  I have truly enjoyed the chance to be online every day.  I get to read your journals, even if I don't comment much.  Maybe I will do that more after I am back here permanently.  I also love to play Pogo a few times a day.  I may be a little obsessed right now after being offline for so long.

Yesterday, we woke up to sounds of our greyhound Sammy crying out in pain.  He was walking around in circles and would not lay down.  Greyhounds don't often sit becaus of the shape of their back legs.  I checked him over and he cried out when I touched his head and neck.  I called all over to get him into a vet, finally reaching someone who could take him right after lunch.  It turns our that his arthritis may have reached his neck or he injured it biting flies.  Also he has two absessed teeth that must come out.  The estimate for the dental surgery and a neck x-ray if that has not resolved is around $700.  I don't know how we are going to pay for it.  We'll figure it out somehow.  OUCH!!

All who know me now that I am always praying for my J-Land friends, even the ones I haven't had a chance to meet yet.  Bless all of you,

 

 

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Something my sister sent

KEEPERS

I grew up with practical grandparents who had been frightened by the Great Depression in the 1930's. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a Name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things ; a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that repairing, eating, reusing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it... it's best we love it... And care for it... And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.

This is true... For marriage.... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards..... And dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents.... And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.... And so, we keep them close!

 

When I think about my mom and the things she did to drive me crazy when I was young, sometimes I feel a little guilty for speaking against her or telling my friends how old-fashioned she was.  I didn't know that one day I would be old-fashioned too.  Mom was my champion.  She stood up for me long past the time when a "normal" person should have stood down.  In the worst of my rebellion, when everyone I knew walked away from me, Mom was my rock.  Mom stood on the rock of salvation for me.  She pleaded with the Lord for me.  She was so happy when I returned to my first Love:  Jesus Christ.  I know that as she rests in the loving arms of my Father, she has joy now.  She knows we have all returned.  Her prayers continued like sweet perfume unto the Father's ears . . . even now awaiting the return of her grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. My mom had as many faults as most of us do however, she always looked to the Lord for solace, forgiveness, peace of mind and joy.  This is why I am sharing with you what my sister sent to me.  We only have one shot at life.  We really do need to hang on to our relationships, get things finished, keep our lives in working order. 

 

Celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow with great joy and thanksgiving if you will.  Remember the moms who have passed on and their children who are ever changed by the loss.  Hang on to your kids as our mom did to hers.  She was a wonderful mom and I miss her.

 

Heather and Krissy, I am so proud to have you as my daughter and daughter-in-law. You are both good moms and good wives. Happy Mother's Day, girls.

I love you,

Mom

Tags: Keepers, Mom, relationships, Heather, Krissy, blogplugs

Hi friends . . . this is my first attempt at a slide show . . .  let me know how you think it came out, ok?

I am back visiting in Ventura.  I drove my car, the dog, the birds and a bit of my "stuff" down here starting mid-day Tuesday.  I spent Tuesday night with Rob's sister and brother-in-law, getting up early to make my way to Ventura.  It was a long, hard trip, but I am here safely, stitches out, bruises turning a ghastly shade of green and ribs still giving me fits. 

However, the most important thing is that I am here and smiling.  I have another "new look" as you will see in the slide show and on my About Me section. 

I am preparing myself for Mother's Day.  Since my mom passed nearly 11 years ago, Mother's Day has been kind of a bummer for me.   I'm not sure if Mother's Day or Father's Day are happy days for a lot of us whose parents are gone.  I never get cards from my kids . . . their lives are over-busy with the lives they have as adults with children.  I pray that my daughter Heather and DIL, Krissy will have good Mother's Days on Sunday.  This will be the first year that not only do I not have my mom, but no children living under the roof.  I struggle with that.  So for those of you who have lost a parent this year or still grieve moms and dads long buried, please know that you are not alone.  There are those like me who feel sad or humbug about parents' days.  It's not the same anymore.  I know where my mom is.  I'm glad that she has been given a new life in eternity and that one day I will see her again.  There's such hope in that for me.

One of my sisters has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will have a mastectomy next week.  Times have changed so drastically since our Auntie Merrie had breast cancer and later died from it when it came back.  Now there has been such a bunch of research done.  There is a way to begin implant therapy at the time of the mastectomy now.  Chemotherapy and other treatments are so advanced.  Two of us other sisters are having our mammograms in the next week.  The other I believe is up-to-date on hers.  I hope all of you are caught up on your mammograms and that you go daily to the Breast Cancer Site and click.  While you are there,  click on the other sites as well.  You could be the click that finishes paying for that mammogram, feeds those children, gives out books, saves an animal, etc.  What's a few minutes of your time worth? 

More than you will ever know.  

I am still weary from my long drive and think it's time for me to rest.  I can be online the whole time I am here and will finally have time to get to some of your journals.  As always, you are in my thoughts and prayers.

            

Tags: Slide show, travel, new look, Mother's Day, grief, Breast Cancer, blogplugs

Stumble Bumble

Hi all,

        Just after noon on Saturday.  I'm hoping to drive to Ventura on Tuesday.  Just one little problem:

  I hate this picture!  However, this is what I look like today after my big fall on Wednesday afternoon.  I didn't break any bones that we know of, but both knees are badly bruised, my shoulder is bruised as are my ribs.  I hated it here in the mountains before this.  Now I dislike it even more, LOL.

My girls,  grand-daughter Paige and daughter Andrea, are graduating from high school and middle school in early June.  I will be back here to be the proud mom/grandma.  I have never seen any of my grandchildren graduate.  I will be more than thrilled to do so now. 

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I travel on Tuesday for a visit to my home.  Blessings to you all,

Tags: Home again, falling, bruises, graduations, blogplugs

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