Just came home from a quick trip to the grocery store and I am fuming!
Some people are so rude and inconsiderate. The last time I checked, the Earth revolved and rotated on an axis, not on the whims of certain people!
It was not bad enough that HE HAD 15 ITEMS IN THE 10 OR LESS LANE, but to add insult to injury, he had TWO SEPARATE ORDERS and paid for each of them with the EBT card. I'm not against the use of Food Stamps and aid when it is deserved and truly needed, but prime black angus ground beef, and steaks and name brand everything. Give me a break! Then, this aggravating, disrespectful, world-revolves-around-me-attitude with legs, unloaded the rest of what was in his cart - the beer and cookout supplies AND left the empty cart sitting at the entrance to the lane, totally blocking anyone else from entering or even thinking about putting their groceries on the belt.
So, I gave him my stern mother look and gently pushed the cart until it barely nudged him. Thought that might get his attention! Oh, it did. He pulled it forward a whole 5 inches, paid for his groceries, two different times and walked out of the store with the cart still in the middle of the checkout line! HOW RUDE!!!
I spouted off to the poor girl at the checkout. She agreed, but let me know that it happens all of the time. Had I not been with my husband, I probably would have pushed his cart out to him in the parking lot and announced that "hey, you forgot something!" Thank Heavens, my husband is more restrained than I tend to be, and really doesn't like confrontations. But the real reason that I didn't chase down this idiot in the parking lot was because it was raining cats and dogs. I can take some solace in knowing (and witnessed as well) that he had to skip through the parking lot with his 10 bags of government subsidized food and his beer. He dashed puddles and walls of water falling from the sky and arrived at his Mercedes, soaked to the skin! HA HA. Karma! I'm so bad.
I know we shouldn't smirk at other's misfortunes, but couldn't help myself when I saw that wet, lump mass of rudeness have to get his nice leather interior wet from his soaked clothes. Okay, all together now, let's give it one great big "awe, poor baby".
Yes, I giggled and I got great sadistic pleasure out of knowing that after he put away his $100.00 worth of groceries, that he had to go out and probably apply leather dressing to his seats so they didn't get ruined.
Okay, I've vented enough. I got my grrr's out, and if you happen to be the poor, pitiful man that obviously had no proper upbringing, gee honey, I'm soooooo sorry. Next time, put your cart up!
ARK!
Acts of Random Kindness - the simplest and smallest deeds often make the most difference!
Milestones come in all shapes and sizes and in a multitude of situations. Today was a major event in my son's life. He started back to college as a regular college student and not a dual enrollment student. The rules changed, the structure changed and the expectations changed. He has grown up and is turning into an adult right before my eyes. Can it be? Can this really be happening?
He actually asked to drive. I was in shock. He hates driving. So, an hour in advance, we loaded up and headed out to the campus (which fortunately, is only 15 minutes from our house). He was at the wheel, doing fairly well, but nervous and finally got us there in one piece, however, we really have to practice more, especially on parking in a full parking lot. It was a bittersweet experience from start to finish. Another one of those, taking responsibility for myself situations on his part and mom just sitting there with foot pushed to the floorboard on the invisible brake pedal and the pretend steering wheel clutched tightly in my white knuckled hands. At that point, I stopped hyperventilating. We had arrived safely and he was out of the car and heading towards the classroom building.
"See you at 10", I shouted.
"See you mom, love you" came back to me.
This was a day that I really didn't think would ever happen, and here it was unfolding right before my eyes. I love that kid!
By now, I've done everything a mom can do, I've quietly and inconspicuously worked out all of the kinks and hurdles to try and make this a positive experience for him. He announced that he wants to drive as much as he can, so he can get his license by the end of the summer. Obviously, we have to get in A LOT OF PRACTICE there! I think the trauma of the trip today was due to first day nerves about his college classes. We will get there. It will happen. Everyone should take lessons in determination from this kid. I'm sorry, young man, because that is what he is now.
I watched as he walked into the building and realized that I had a tear running down my cheek. I have got to stop this! I will be a dehydrated mess by the end of the quarter if I keep this up.
I kept my phone by my side all evening. My husband asked a dozen times, "have you heard from him yet?"
"No". I am under the firm belief that sometimes no news is good news.
I had already decided that I was leaving at 9:30 to pick him up, in case they got out early, but they beat me to the punch and before I even had my keys in hand, he called and announced "I'm done. Come get me."
Now, I've told you before that this "young man" is not afraid to be himself. We coached before going to the college about the right time and the wrong time to "be yourself" and that an adult college situation may not be the time for his comical character to make an appearance. We gave all of the solid reasons for that statement and it was accepted with a "yes ma'am". I was hopeful that I would arrive and see him mingling with other students. Heavy sigh, there he was stretched out on the sidewalk with his head on his book bag, "star gazing".
Obviously, his personality had totally taken over and ignored and blocked out all of the efforts from the earlier conversation we had. I flipped out in the car on the way home and did the whole "what were you thinking speech" and the importance of acting like a grown up in this situation, and then I remembered the speech in his honor at the banquet for the graduates from his school, and suddenly, I felt very humbled in the presence of this fearless, spectacular young man sitting in the car with me, and I dropped the whole subject.
College is calling. Yes it is, and it calls on him to do his best and learn and excel. It is not calling to ask him to change who he is. After all, I know a lot of grown ups that are kids at heart, myself included. He wouldn't be the incredible person that he is without that carefree, comical spirit.
Monday, July 5th is very special. It is my husband's 58th birthday! He was actually born over 2 weeks early, because on July 4th, 1952, his mother went rafting on the "hooch" and ate almost a whole watermelon! There might be medical value to this for you docs out there. None-the-less, he backed his way into this world and has celebrated life for 58 years.
I love this man more than he will ever, ever know. You know the old saying that love grows? It does. It grew with every moment we have ever shared together, good ones and the bad ones, too.
He is stubborn, set in his ways, not much for social situations, but definitely a homebody. He is a talented guitarist, a wood craftsman and maniacal about our yard. Don't let him paint, though, because a one day job will take him 3 weeks. Don't misunderstand, he's very good at painting. Everything must be perfect, taped, sanded, covered, meticulously finished down to the last detail. I swear, he has never let a drop of paint fall from a brush that was in his hands! My kitchen cupboards did not have doors for over a year. In desperation, my daughter and I finally did it ourselves when he wasn't home. We're stubborn too!
Getting older is something we all think about. After all, considering the alternative, I think getting older is much preferred and heading in a rather positive direction. We begin to notice a few more aches and pains and that maybe they don't go away as quick or completely as they used to. Things sag, we get brown splotches, hair grays and thins and our memory is not always at its best. But, getting older also has its perks!
Kroger, for example gives senior citizen discounts on Wednesday, which for some reason, they tend to give me without asking any more. Oh well, in the times that we are in now, 5% is 5% and every little bit helps. Of course, Social Security has started to send us our statements regularly so we can see just where we are! That's a laugh! AARP has been bombarding us for years to buy their supplemental insurance, burial insurance, and every other kind of insurance that someone could possibly need. I just ignore those monthly mailers and toss them into the garbage can. I'm not ready to admit yet, that I am joining the ranks of being old, with exception of course, to the discounts that some retailers offer us to placate us and make us feel special.
One such occasion occurred on my husband's 55th birthday. He used to spend time with his mother on Wednesday nights during the summer. They would go get a bite to eat, watch Lost or the Bachelor, then he would head home.. However, on the occasion of his 55th birthday, it just so happened that Kohls was having a BIG sale, so off they went to buy whatever item had to be purchased. In his case, it was a massive stack of neatly bundled white wash clothes (which he uses to clean the spray starch out of HIS iron, I am probably the only person in the whole world that has neatly pressed damp white wash clothes lying in the laundry). At the check out, his mother looked at him and reminded him that officially, he was now a senior citizen at Kohls. Don't forget your discount! His first official extra 5% on his first official senior citizen birthday! I won't ever let him live it down as I am ornery like that! It was so cute, he even called me while he was checking out to tell me about his newly acquired special discount.
I will let him sleep late in the morning. Later in the day, we will be honoring him on his 58th birthday. A nice cookout with the kids and then we will celebrate with a couple of memorable gifts that will only mean something to him. Any guesses? I would tell you, but he may read this before the big reveal. Don't want to spoil the surprise!
So, if you get the chance, tell him Happy Birthday and many, many more! I'd like to keep him around for a long, long time.
One of my favorite movies of all time is "You've Got Mail". I don't think that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan could make a movie that didn't tug at your heart strings a little. It's so sweet and romantic and it's predictable. The soundtrack features Nilsson's "Remember" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and your heart melts. You've got that lump in your throat, your eyes get misty and maybe a tear trickles down your cheek and you feel like a total sap, a 100% total sentimental fool. But that's okay. We don't see or hear enough of that type of sentimentality these days. Sometimes, I think we really need to be reminded of the dearer, sweeter things of life, like love, simple beauty, sacrifice and happy endings.
If you've been following me on this "journal journey", you know very well by now, that I wear my heart on my sleeve. I tear up at commercials that a lot of people would ignore, because I am that 1 out of 100 person that can't help but seeing an adorable baby and having an "awe" quietly escape from my mouth. The Hallmark commercials just absolutely do me in. And to quote Nilsson, I "Remember". I can't help it, that's just the way God hard wired me, so sometimes, I have sappy sleeves. I have a soft spot as big as Texas and I look for the greater good in every situation that comes my way. That's part of that "lemonade" mindset. My glass is never less than half full - all the time.
Tom Hanks character, the big bad monopoly book store owner, has fallen in love with vulnerable Meg Ryan, the owner of a quaint little family owned bookstore that he has run out of business. I've seen this film more times than I count, and it gets me every time, every single time. I don't sit there watching it and say, "it's him, silly, it's him". I sit there and watch it as if this were the first time I had ever seen it, like it is all fresh.
Then comes those commercials with Sarah McLachlan. It goes something like this "Every day in America thousands of animals suffer from cruelty and neglect.Thousands were rescued last year, but for thousands of others help came too late." They show numerous heart-wrenching pictures of dogs and cats that have been abused and they are all looking at me with those deep, sad eyes. In the background, you hear McLachlan's voice singing her song "Angels". That's it! I'm toast. If my throat didn't already feel like it had un-swallowable lumps in it already, it does now. My heart is heavy, my eyes are teared up and it's about all I can do to sit there and subject myself to this commercial, so I look away and wipe my eyes. They got me, and they got me good. Unfortunately, they played that commercial at least 4 more times during the movie. I finally started changing the station so I didn't have to see or hear it again.
Yes, the ASPCA gets a little bit of money from me once a year. My daughter is just as bad, and has personally rescued, restored and found homes for more strays than I can count.
Advertising companies know our weak spots. They know that songs like "Angel" will touch us. They know that those Hallmark commercials are going to reach that soft spot in a lot of viewers. Deep, sad eyes of abused animals are going to tug at our hearts. They're good, they are really good at what they do - and they know it!
So, why didn't I just get up and change the channel, you ask? Why did I subject myself to the "fuzzy moment's" of not just the movie, but the commercial? The answer is simple, we all need that stuff from time to time. We need it because we live in a world that can be and usually is just exactly opposite from those "fuzzy moments" a great deal of the time.
Several years ago, I was the Children's Minister at our church. I served for 7 years. During my service, we created a Puppet and Clown ministry and we toured every spring break. We also went to churches in Atlanta and performed. All of our comments and reviews were good, but what blew me away was the feedback that came from one church in particular in downtown Atlanta. They thought we were too evangelical. WHAT! Isn't that kind of the point of the whole thing? It's not just about silly skits, making kids laugh and magic tricks. There's a message in everything we did. I was dumbfounded. Did this person totally miss the whole point of the performance? If so, I was very sad for her.
This all brings me to the point of my mushy, sometimes evangelical rambling. It's not just been about old movies and sappy commercials. This is why, we can all be in the arms of an angel. We all have tough moments when we need to be carried, when our burden is too much to bear on our own. Those are the moments when our Angel lifts us high in His arms and lightens the load for us so that we can bear our burden with His help. We all need to know that it's okay to ask for help. It doesn't mean we're weak, it means we are human, and we are vulnerable in one way or another. The He in my life is Jesus. He is my rock, my salvation, my strength, my light, my truth. He is my "Angel". When He is not carrying me, He is walking right by my side. We talk a lot, multiple times throughout the day and I tell Him "thank-you" every chance I get.
Something I like to share is "I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength", Philippians 4:13. It's true. It is my mantra. If a situation arises that I think someone else needs to hear it, I quote it to them. At my house, we call it 4:13-ing it. I share the verse with them and let them know that they need to not only hear it, but they need to believe it - and, generally, I will then ask them to repeat it until they can say it with such strength and believability, that they have convinced me that they are ready to "walk on". Does that make me too evangelical? Maybe for some people.
God puts people in our path for a reason. There is purpose behind absolutely everything that happens to us, sometimes we just don't know what that purpose is.
So, as you make your way through this day and the next and so on, remember this - that the person standing in your path was put there for a reason. Maybe you will find out why, maybe not. Regardless, good or bad, be a "lemonade" person all of the time. Look for the good in every situation and every person. Maybe, just maybe they need to see that example so they can learn to do the same. But most important of all, I am, you are, we are all "in the arms of an Angel". "May you find some comfort there."
What are you doing this Sunday? Is there a family picnic, a parade, a trip to the lake and then fireworks? Whatever you are planning, remember why this day is special and no matter what you do with the rest of this day, start it and end it by remembering and reflecting and pledging.
Sunday is July 4th, 2010. It is unlike any other Sunday that we will ever have again. It is the 234th anniversary of the signing of one of one of the most magnificent documents ever written in this country of ours, The Declaration of Independence. It is a document that, much like the Bible, is taken for granted. Both contain powerful living words offering truths and promises and a way of life - Under God.
On January 14th, 1969, comedian Red Skelton offered his television audience a very uplifting version of the Pledge of Allegiance in which he explained word by word, the intention, the meaning and the depth of the entire Pledge. This is how one of his teachers taught the Pledge to his class when Skelton was a young boy. At its conclusion, Skelton noted that since that time, there were two states and two words added to the Pledge. Those words are "Under God". Remember starting every day in school by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance? Remember? As children, we used to also learn parts of the Declaration of Independence for recitation in class, the most widely repeated paragraph being this one:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Remember? I know I learned it, had to recite it and never really understood its meaning until I was an adult. This past week, a friend of mine posted several powerful videos on her Facebook profile, one of which was Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance. I played it over and over and listened while I chatted with Jan. We spoke of truth and its absence and that so many of us, literally, are starved for it. We want our heritage, our tomorrows, our salvation, our nation. We want our children and grandchildren to have a sound future with the freedom that we all grew up with.
Today, I'm not going to ramble and reminisce about silly things or even fond memories. Instead, I want you to read the text of the Declaration of Independence and absorb it and think about it and share it with others. I want you to remember the men and women who have and are still fighting to uphold our Constitution, our Declaration of Independence and the reason that we are The United States of America. I want you to take time to talk to your "Creator" about your unalienable Rights, being Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Friends and family, please take a few moments to read from here on down. It is your heritage and the reason for this day. I have given you the complete text of the Declaration as it was written. If you haven't read it since you were in school, take time to read every word and digest it and reflect upon it and think about our tomorrows. Are you doing your part to uphold the very substance that our nation was founded on. If not, why not? Think about your future, your children's future and reflect upon your answers on this 234th anniversary of the birth of our nation this day and every day.
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Remember, Reflect and Pledge! Remember why we have this day, Reflect on the meaning of these words and what they represent, Pledge you allegiance to always honor and uphold your country and your heritage.
We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident...........
"What would you think if I sang out of tune, Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song and I'll try not to sing out of key."
I have been singing and humming this song for days. It is making me crazy because I can't get it out of my head. I've tried singing other songs, but I just keep going back to the beat and pleasant sing-songey melody and then I catch myself with my head gently bobbing from side to side and if I don't remember all the words, then I end up humming through part of it. The bad part of this is, I don't know when I heard it recently to plant it so deeply in my brain that it has taken root and I cannot get it out of my head!!!!. Literally, I was laying in bed last night and caught myself humming again! Enough! Enough! Enough!
I am a baby boomer. My generation has been witness to an unbelievable number of events, good and bad. Some of them quite scary and others just incredible. Of course, one major entertainment event that I remember is the night that the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. February, 1964 and I remember all of it. I was 10 and a smidge, a preteen of sorts and I thought these 4 guys from Liverpool were just absolutely the greatest thing I had ever seen. Barbie, Ken and Midge took a back seat in my life for awhile. I have an aunt that is 9 years older than me and we were as much like sisters at that point in my life as aunt and niece. But we both agreed, these guys were really something! I also remember quite well, the reactions that my parents and grandparents had when these 4 really, really cool guys tempted fate and dared to perform looking so "radically different". After all, they all had LONG hair. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were every young girls dream. This was a night that history was made not only for television but for the music industry in this country as well.
Funny, the things that really stand out in your mind as you get older. I recently reconnected with one of my cousins that I grew up with and we just absolutely had a wonderful time "remembering" all the way down to the colored aluminum drinking glasses that his mother had in her kitchen, to the little portable reel to reel tape recorder that we used to do "Spotty on the Spot" interviews with "people on the street" (which were in actuality, the two of us making up really stupid characters and situations).
Time really does seem to move more quickly nowadays and memories flow so quickly from my brain, that some days, I don't think I can keep up with all of them. That specifically, is one of the reasons that I started to keep a journal, which has now led to blogging, which hopefully will lead to a published collection of short stories. Who knows!
I have a couple of questions for you. Are you ready? This is a test. You can't fail it, but you might just surprise yourself when you finish taking it. The number of answers is entirely up to you! So here goes, pencils up, paper ready! Okay, start!
I want you to make a list of every standout historical event, epiphany and major progressive and technological wonder that has occurred in your lifetime that YOU CAN REMEMBER and as far back as you can remember! No cheating. It cannot be what others have told you. It must be your specific memory(ies). Send me an email and share your list. I would love to see what you came up with.
Bonus Round Questions!
What were you doing on Friday, November 22, 1963 and why is that date important?
How many times did the Beatles perform on Ed Sullivan in February, 1964, and do you remember the songs that they performed?
Those are easy, you can look up the answers! Isn't the internet great! The rest of your list, however, depends upon your brain! Looking forward to your comments and answers!
Until then, feel free to hum from here on down if you want. I'm reasonably sure you will get this song stuck in your head the way that it is in mine! But, it's a great song and it could be worse, it could be "This Is The Song That Never Ends!" (by the way, who sang that and when?)
by the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 and originally entitled "A Little Help from My Friends".
"What would you think if I sang out of tune, Would you stand up and walk out on me ?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song And I'll try not to sing out of key. Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends What do I do when my love is away (Does it worry you to be alone ?) How do I feel by the end of the day, (Are you sad because you're on your own ?) No, I get by with a little help from my friends Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends Do you need anybody, I need somebody to love Could it be anybody, I want somebody to love. Would you believe in a love at first sight? Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time What do you see when you turn out the light, I can't tell you but I know it's mine, Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends Do you need anybody I just need someone to love Could it be anybody I want somebody to love. Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends with a little help from my friends."
The FDA recommends that everyone consume a daily serving of nuts. Okay, so, I love cashews and pecans, and walnuts. Not so fond of almonds and some of the others. Too hard to chew! But those incredible tree hugging treats all have magnificent qualities and miraculous goodies for our bodies. God is so good! There is no end to the wonderful stuff He put on this Earth to make us happy and healthy. So, you can choose from a variety of nuts and each one has its own special "goodie" for us. For example, a one ounce serving of almonds is loaded with Vitamin E which is a natural antioxidant that helps heart disease, and almonds also are high in magnesium. Cool! Brazil nuts are great for your metabolism and energy. Cashews are loaded with minerals, and macadamias, bless their hearts, have the highest level of cholesterol lowering unsaturated fats. Peanuts are not really a nut, but they are a good source of several different vitamins, minerals and proteins. So, sometimes when you feel like a nut. grab a handful and make yourself a little healthier.
Now, if you've been reading my blogs for awhile, you have figured out that I always have a hidden meaning in my titles and first paragraphs. That hasn't changed with this one. No, this is not just a science lesson, it's a tribute to the "nuts" in my life, my two dearest friends. I won't name them, but they know who they are.
I get really wrapped up in my work when I design a wedding or a centerpiece for an event, and I tend to take myself too seriously. That's where these two "nuts" come in and remind me of just how human I am.
I've always tried to explain to my children the difference between a true friend and an acquaintance. Trust me, on the surface, they may seem one and the same, but on the inside is where it counts. My daughter has a sign in her home office that reads "A Friend Is Someone Who Will Bail You out of Jail, but Your Best Friend Is the One Sitting next to you Saying 'That Was Awesome!'" I am truly blessed with two really awesome nutty friends.
When these two ladies get together, there is no telling what is going to happen. A job that takes an hour, usually ends up taking 3 or 4, because half of the time, they are doubled over in complete and total hysteria, laughing at each other and taunting me. I love them to pieces and couldn't get along without either of them, which is what brings me to this next part of the story.
Nine plus years ago, I had another really good friend. We grew distant for awhile after I moved, but we found each other once again and when she was diagnosed with advanced stages of colon cancer, we lived every moment that we could making memories and laughter and fun for her remaining days. She was the best friend that I had had in my life since my high school days. We made total fools of ourselves, went roller skating with our girls, line danced with all of the kids at the school dance and led their girl scout troop for many, many years.
She always thought I had a direct line to the Man upstairs. One time, she asked me to pray for a miracle. Her estranged brother was out of her life and she simply wanted me to pray for a miracle that they would find each other again. I did, I prayed fervently and then soon after that, she slipped into a coma and the doctors were talking a matter of days. I began to prepare myself mentally for the loss of my dear, dear friend. Until, sitting at work one day, I got a phone call, the voice on the other end was screaming and crying and hysterical. The voice spoke my name and just kept saying, "thank you, thank you, it's a miracle. My brother called and he is coming to see me." It took me a moment before I realized that the voice was that of my dear friend. God had given her the miracle that she wanted and she was reunited with her brother. When I went to the hospital (rather quickly after the phone call), I rejoiced all the way there and gave God all of the thanks and glory for the answered prayer and the miracle of her waking up and hanging in there for a little while longer. As we sat and talked at her bedside, she told me of 4 angels that came to her while she slept and each one stood at a corner of her bed and kept her safe. Pretty powerful stuff. We laughed and cried and prayed. And that was the day that I figured out that God always answers prayers, but sometimes the answer is what we want and sometimes it isn't. She rallied a little over that summer and we did some crazy things. That Easter, we even went and had our pictures taken with the Easter Bunny at the mall.
That was to be our last summer. In and out of the hospital, she was always amazed that I could track her down, whether it was at her doctor's office or the emergency room, and in her final days, I visited her as often as I could and sat at her bedside and talked to her and God and just asked that her final journey be filled with peace.
She died the day after Thanksgiving that year. I had gone out of town with family, and there was nothing that could have been done had I stayed. I had already bid her goodbye and thanked God for every day that I had with my best friend.
It was a long, long time before I allowed myself to really get super close to another friend. I had friends, but I wanted that kind of no holds barred, be totally silly and off the wall friendship that helps hold you together.
And then one day, it just happened. Two entirely different situations and that is when these two crazy, uninhibited ladies walked into my life, and things haven't been calm since. One of them has "noisy" attached to her name at the beginning. We all tell each other and everyone that we were separated at birth, 3 different mothers mind you, but we were and are, clones of each other in so many ways.
We can turn a floral session for a wedding into a stand up comedy routine. There are not enough groans to deal with the bad puns and comical insults. These are the two nuts in my life, my two dear, dear friends, and I don't know what I would do without them.
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't, but there is not a day in our lives that we don't communicate in some way, whether it is text, telephone or live and in person. Our husbands just look at us and shake their heads. Sometimes I think that they truly believe we've all lost it, and sometimes, I might just agree with them!
Sometimes you feel like a nut! Yes, I do and I have my nutty buddies to prove it!
Thanking God everyday for answered prayers and the miracle of friendships!
Remember the old skit "slowly I turned, step by step.....". It was done successfully by a multitude of talent, but the ones that gave it the most life were Abbott and Costello and the Three Stooges. It was also a skit done by Lucy and Ethel on the old Lucille Ball Show. None the less, it is right up there with "Who's on First".
Yes, I know I lean towards the drama just a wee bit! Runs in the family. My two kids are the same way. I guess, in a way, we all have a flair for the drama. However, drama has absolutely nothing to do with this blog entry. It was just a tricky way to get you to read this far, and now that I have your attention, you might just read on. So to quote Paul Harvey, "Now for the rest of the story".
I have been married for over 35 years. I love this amazingly wonderful man that I have shared my life with, more and more each day. But, he does have his moments, actually, he has about 45 of those moments every morning when he ritually spray starches and irons his dress shirts. Let me put it to you this way. He uses almost 5 cans of HEAVY spray starch a week. We have gone through more irons and ironing board pads than I can count, and pretty much at this point, I'm seriously thinking about buying stock in spray starch. He has single handedly done his part to help the recession, just with spray starch!
In the good old days, I ironed for him, used little if any spray starch. I don't like scratchy, stiff fabric. One day, I caught him re-ironing a shirt that I had already finished. He got caught with his hands on the spray can! Apparently, though my ironing skills were acceptable, I didn't use enough of that nasty spray starch and he had been a closet ironer for a long time and I didn't know it.
His sister, who apparently also has the spray starch gene, used to use liquid, non diluted starch straight from the blue plastic bottle. I begrudgingly bought the liquid concentrate for awhile, but he didn't really like it. Back to square one and the aerosol stuff and holy cow, Batman, that cape would stand up on its own!
Over the years, I have ruined and re-washed more clothes because of the buildup of the spray starch residue that sneaked into my iron and onto my clothes. Needless to say, this has always been a sore point! So, I recently went out and bought my OWN iron and my OWN ironing board. Don't even think about touching my iron, mister.
On those mornings when he overslept, I would offer to go down and iron a shirt for him, but "noooo". I didn't do it right! It's a shirt for crying out loud! You spray a little starch on it, your press the wrinkles out of it, you steam down the collar and press a nice crease in the sleeve and you go on with life. Not at my house, no way, no how, not ever, don't even think about it. He uses so much spray starch that when we travel, he packs his starched shirts in his suitcase and they come out of the same suitcase with not even a hint of a wrinkle. Well, I guess in a way, that's impressive.
I tease him a lot and there are worse obsessions in life, but he's mine and I love him, spray starch and all.
Well, it's getting late, and we have to make the trip to Publix to buy the weekly supply of Heavy starch. You know, it's pretty bad when you buy so much that the clerks at the grocery know him by what he buys. I bought some one night for him and the cashier said "you know, this is really weird, we have this man that comes in and buys a ton of this stuff every week. It must really be good stuff if you're buying lots of it too!"
I just let her think it was some miracle cure or something. Bless his heart.
Hey, do they sell this stuff in 55 gallon drums?
G'nite everyone!
Katydid
The refreshing tropical breeze causes the sun kissed beads of moisture on my forehead to trickle down to my chin. I smile as I hear the occasional song of a passing bird and revel in the soft fragrance of the tropical flora. I am totally lost in the allure of that beautiful water in the blue lagoon as it gently laps at me toes....
SCRREEEECCCCCHHHH! Whoa! Got lost in my thoughts for a moment. In actuality, I'm standing at my kitchen sink washing dishes. Those sun kissed beads of moisture, well that would be water splashing on my face as I rinse the dishes and stare longingly out the window at my neighbor's in ground pool. Okay, okay, I have pool envy. I admit it. I have it BAD! As much as I would love to have one of those magnificent blue holes in my back yard, I'm not prepared to deal with the amount of work to keep it that way, nor the extra expense of electricity, water and chemicals, not to mention that all of that would then require the purchase of patio furniture, fancy pool toys and an array of swimming attire. Oh yeah, and don't forget the patio. Don't have one of those either.
The closest I have ever come to having my own tropical getaway a mere ten feet from my back door was one of those new century free standing pools with the inflatable ring around the top. You know the ones I am talking about. Inflate the ring, add water and it miraculously becomes 3 to 4 feet deep as the water level rises. However, there was a recall on the one we had and I returned it and we haven't had anything bigger than a bird bath or a 2 gallon bucket since!
Pool envy is awful, especially when it is 98 in the shade and you have no choice but to stare out your kitchen window multiple times a day and drool at the prospect of one of those in ground wonders. I will just have to get over it. Besides which, cooler weather will be here before you know it! Remind me of that when I'm complaining about the temperature being too cold next January.
Well, dishes are done and I'm off to water the flower bed and the hanging baskets. Not really. I'm using that as an excuse to "run through" the sprinkler and accidentally get wet.
