Reunited

 Early this morning, I was just waking up, and had a memory, or maybe it was a dream, of my father. My best friend, Ivy, and I had a wreck on a motorcycle just down the street from our house. We were just ten or eleven years old and, yes, we had no business being on a motorcycle. Well, Ivy was hurt pretty badly and her parents were out of town, so my mother was riding with her in the ambulance. I was just a little bruised and shaken. In all the commotion, I looked down the street and saw my father standing at the end of our driveway, arms crossed and looking very upset. I took off running to him. He grabbed me and held me so tight, I thought I would break in two.
 I thought about that for a minute, then went to the kitchen to make coffee. My phone rang. It was my oldest brother calling to tell me Daddy had just left this world.
 I feel so sad and alone right now, I don't know what to do with myself.
 I asked God for one more conversation with Daddy. He told me so many great stories about his childhood. I wanted to hear more.
 I believe God gave me that memory, this morning. Maybe so I could remember being frightened, needing comfort and running into the arms of my father. Maybe so I could see Daddy running into the arms of The Father.
 He is in the Presence. He is with Mom, and Sherry, and that little blond haired girl, Lauren.

 I will love and miss him for the rest of my life.

Diary Of An Attention Deficit Housewife

It was a beautiful morning, so I thought I would have a cup of tea on the patio. I ran water into the tea kettle, and went outside to wait. It looked like a good morning to start getting flower beds ready, so I went to the shed to get a rake.

 I grabbed the rake and gardening gloves, noticing a very sore hangnail on my thumb. I thought I might need to bandage it before putting on, not so clean, gloves. I went in the house to get a Band-aid just as the kettle started to whistle. I quickly poured water over a teabag and left it to steep.

 I then saw the magazine, with the recipe I wanted to make for dinner, and remembered I needed groceries for the meal. I reached in a drawer for pen and pad to make a list and saw a picture of my grandmother. I knew I should put the picture back in the photo album, where it belonged. I opened the album and just as I was getting lost in memories, the clothes dryer dinged.

 I quickly took the towels out of the dryer and dropped them on the sofa, where I could fold them, after I put the wet laundry, from the washer, to the dryer. But first, I needed to check the hamper and see if there was enough dirty laundry for another load.

 I stepped into the bathroom and saw the vanity counter was spotted, so I grabbed some spray cleaner, but needed to find a rag. I looked in the mirror and thought I should put on some make up, so I can run to the grocery store here in just a minute.

 I started to do my face and realized how badly in need I was of a haircut. Where did I put that girls card? I liked the way she did my hair and said I would call her again. Maybe it's in my purse.

 But then, I saw all that loose coin and knew it was making my purse too heavy.  I thought I should clean it out. After all, why should I carry around a purse full of old Walmart receipts? I found a nail file, I had been looking for, set the purse aside, and began filing my nails.

 Oh, but that hangnail hurt. Why hadn't I put a Band-aid on it yet?

 I looked around. After such a busy morning, what did I see? A rake lying in the yard, a pile of towels on the couch, wet clothes in the washer, a bottle of bathroom cleaner on the vanity, an open photo album on the table, a cold cup of tea, and a woman in the mirror, needing a haircut and makeup. I'm exhausted.

If Looks Can Kill, I Have a License

 Yesterday, I finally went to the DMV and got my address changed on my drivers license. I know it's rare for anyone to have a good drivers license photo, but mine are always so bad, sales people gasp, yes literally gasp, when they ask for it.
I believe the lady taking my picture yesterday, was trying to win some kind of contest for the worst photo ever. I swear, she was smiling as she previewed her work.

 I tried. I fixed my hair, did my makeup and picked out a green sweater to wear. Green is one of my better colors, or at least I think so. Well the wind blew my hair and my cowlick was standing straight up. Of course no one told me. The lady said, "Stand in front of that blue back drop and look at the green dot". I looked at the green dot and just as I was about to tell her, if I look at the green dot I will be looking down,..CLICK! It looks like a mug shot after a really bad night. Think Nick Nolte. When she was telling me to look at the green dot, I think I heard her say, "and hold this bloody ax". Are you required to fail a photography test, when applying for a job at the DMV? Also, must you be able to show a genuine lack of interest in your job and folks requiring your service? If so, I think I may have been in the presence of the Employee Of The Month.

 

Rainy Daze

 It has been raining all day. I love rain. I think I may even be just a little weird about rain. Most people like it when needed, but soon tire of it, and are ready to see the sun shine. They say, areas where it rains most of the time, have high suicide rates. I don't know why I am the way I am. I just think rain makes everything more beautiful.

  We went to Cooper State Park this morning. The fog was so heavy on the lake, it appeared to go on forever. I felt a calmness, I haven't felt in a very long time. We walked through a thickly wooded area, hearing only an occasional raindrop or leaf falling. I looked up at the grey wintry sky, just in time to see the tiniest little red bird, a cardinal, flying over and perching himself in a tall tree. In the peaceful quiet, I could almost feel God's breath on my neck.
 I've heard it said, Our objective in this life, is not to arrive safely at death.

 I don't know why I am in this place, but I know God has placed me here. And makes me calm.

 

Happy 2013

 I'm a little late on my New Year wishes, but happy New Year, anyway.
 It's only seventy two more days until Spring, and eighty two days until my little girl turns thirty. This may kill me, so I am going to concentrate on the fact that it is also Opening Day at the Ballpark.

 Of course, over the last couple of months all my Texas Rangers Tshirts, except two, have become obsolete by  trades and free agencies. Sarah said she wanted to give me a new jersey for Christmas, but the only name she felt safe to buy was Jon Daniels.

 We had a White Christmas. Big fluffy flakes fell all day and I think we got somewhere around 3 to 4 inches. It looked like someone had broken a feather pillow. I didn't realize, at the time, but this was like a Christmas miracle. Several people said they  lived around here all their lives and never had snow on Christmas. One Tyler radio station was asking for old timers to call in, if they could remember a White Christmas in East Texas. Eric's girlfriend, Stephanie, was a South Texas girl and this was her first snow, ever. Pretty cool, until it took Sarah and Jonathon two hours to drive thirty miles.

 By now, I suppose everyone has settled back into a routine, back to school and all. I always felt sorry for my kids when they had to go back to school after Christmas. Most mothers were glad to have them out of the house, but I just had this feeling time was going by too quickly. Turns out, I was right.


 

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

  Four years ago, today, I watched my precious daughter, Sarah walk down the aisle, to begin a new journey with the love of her life, Jonathon.
 After months of planning, the day had finally come. The hardest part about the whole thing was convincing this total opposite of a Bridezilla, she was not just throwing a party for the convenience of everyone else. She could never grasp the idea that it really was all about her She didn't want anyone to drive too far, or sit through a long drawn out ceremony, or even worry about where to park their cars. She didn't want anyone to wait around while she was having pictures taken, and, really, why bring a gift? She had all she needed.
  This is my little girl. She has always been this way. The middle child, the peace maker. She spent her childhood keeping her brother and sister out of trouble, even if it meant doing their chores. She has never liked drawing attention to herself. She was happy cheering on the teams she played for and preferred binding their wounds. She is the kind of girl who will hold your hair while you throw up, a good friend to have. She grew up to be a teacher and athletic trainer, and I believe any student of hers is truly blessed.

  After months of choosing music, the day of her wedding, looking at her, all I could hear was Van Morrison singing "She's as sweet as Tupelo Honey".
Everyone thought I would cry. Not just because my girl was getting married, but her baby sister, Lauren wasn't there. But, I believe she was there. I think God makes cool things like that happen in Heaven, just so it's more like Heaven, ya know, and she would not have wanted to miss it.
 Anyway, I didn't cry, not until the next day. Maybe it was the let down feeling you get after something big, like Christmas. But I felt like I had lost both my little girls. Just silly, I know I haven't lost either of them, we're are just separated for a season.
 

 

  Well, I'm back.
   We are finally here in our new home, and pretty much settled in. I hope we are happy here because I am never moving again.
    Really, I had a fairly good idea how hard it was going to be, but I had forgotten the fact that I am old and married to an old man. The move was bad enough, but all the painting and remodeling was worse than I imagined. I wonder what it is like to move into a house that needs nothing done.
    I love my little town. We have found a church I am growing to love as much as I did Harvest. We have a Life Group with people as old as us and that's pretty nice.
    Last weekend there was a tree lighting on the square along with fun things for kids to do and fun things for adults to buy. I only bought pecans, but that's all I needed. After moving, I know I have all the stuff I need. There were bouncy houses, a petting zoo and pony rides. There was a big slide with snow. It was 80 degrees, but they brought in snow for sledding.
    The next night they had a parade and more junk to buy. Santa was even there.
     This weekend, my brother and his wife came to see us. We visited with relatives and drove over to see the house where my grandparents had lived. Afterward we went grave yard hopping and found some more relatives. Then we went to a wine tasting. After that everyone was too tired to see the Elvis impersonator do his Christmas show, so we ate Chinese food instead.
   I guess I will start looking for a job next week. Life cant be all fun and games.