Can't let you down

I know.  If I don't post regularly enough, then I'll lose my huge fan base.  Even when I have no words of wisdom to share.  I've just been so busy, I haven't had time to think about sageful thoughts.  Ok.  Right, how busy can you be, being retired.  Actually today is the first day in a long time that I can actually say I have some down time.

I keep making more stuff to decorate the float truck. Last time we won first place, but we didn't get a trophy or anything.  This time I understand there are trophies for the winners. So I'm throwing everything I can come up with at it. Wouldn't it be something to have a trophy to show off at the church?  Wish us luck.

Yesterday I made covers for new pillows for the couch.My sister helped, actually.)  Michael helped pick out the fabric and he really does have good taste.  Then I put the same trim on top of the dining room drapes, which really ties it all together nicely.  Sure does give a whole new look to the place and have to say a great improvement. 

Michael's birthday is Saturday.  He'll be 65.  I can finally cancel my health insurance. I bought him two small watermelons, some beer, a thermometer and a massage.  Ok, so he bought them.  But I told him those are all for his birthday.  Aren't I just sooo nice?

Just who was Dad, anyway?

My niece is in town for a few days.  She has been the spark we needed to start finding out something about my dad.  His birth certificate has a different name on it than he knew as his name.  Not only that, his birthday is different on it than he thought it was. His mother was very secretive about any information about the family. He had no other living relative that we knew of other than his mother and she never remarried. So we started on Ancestors.com, looking for some solid facts. 

We found someone who matches up pretty closely with the facts we have who was a boarder with a family at a very early age.  Putting pieces together, he may well have been put in foster care after his father died when he was probably 3 years old.  His mother must have had to go out and find work somewhere before she was able to care for him on her own. 

So the search will continue until we get some truth about his family.  It is interesting how there were more skeletons that stayed in closets back then than there are today.

What's in a Generation?

We had a mini family reunion picnic today.  Two of my daughters have been visiting, as I had previously mentioned, along with my sisters two daughters and her daughter's two grandchildren by marriage. Add to that my two sisters and our husbands. So an interesting discussion came up.  My niece's grandchildren are only a couple of years younger than my daughter's children.  Add to that, my daughters' boyfriends are closer to my age and definitely Michael's age then theirs.  Age and generations all seem so relative anymore.  Not to mention not so important as in the past.

I remember my grandparents.  There was no confusion with which generation they were in.  Or my parents.  I knew my grandmother was of the old generation.  She got one dress a year to add to her wardrobe and I would never be caught dead in anything in my mother's closet when I was a teenager. 

Ok, so there is no confusion in my kids' eyes about what generaton I'm in.  I always give away what generation I'm in by my comments about are they eating right or what they are doing about that cough, just like my dad always asked me if I ever gave off a little ahem.

One daughter had to remind me, when I memtioned a classmate that had passed away of natural causes,  that in fact yes I was of the age that people die of "natural causes".  Really, now?  I think that is all relative, too.

Summer time in Lewistown

It has been great getting out in the mornings now that the weather has improved, hearing and seeing all the signs of activity and energy coming alive in the community.  Yesterday there was a little league tourny in full progress at one end of the park while a huge Midrivers customer appreciation picnic was being set up at the other end. Every neighborhood had painting or roofing crews working away on houses. Across the street they have been working on remodeling the old donut shop  for weeks. We have no idea what business is going in there. The preschool on the corner has more little ones than ever out side screaming and having a great time. Today there were people streaming to the garage sales on many blocks around. Something about summer that just makes the world come to life.  Guess it is even more noticeable after the long winter that has everyone huddled up tight inside just trying to keep warm.  Summer time is just too short around here, but boy we all really appreciate it that much more when it comes!  Even me after only one month of rainy,cloudy, cool weather.

My daughter came today.  We have had fun just chatting, mostly.  We even chat on FB sitting across the room from each other.  Now we're even siting next to each other, on our own computers.  But, we are together, and that is what counts.  She can't blame me for all of her distractions from her studying, though.  She is chatting with her niece and sister now.  What fun.  This sure has opened up a new vehicle for communicating with my kids.  Tonight I learned that my grandson hit two home runs tonight and my granddaughter has a boyfriend she didn't want me to know about apparently. She blamed her mom for telling me.  She didn't get it that i figured it out by reading FB.  It just showed up on my page.  I didn't even have to snoop.

So when the miles  and time separate you from your loved ones just hop into FB and get the latest scoop.

Summer's warming up

The summer is warming up in more ways than one.  Not only do we finally have some real summer weather(actually right on cue), but it's getting pretty busy around here.  Michael is dealing with all of my busyness pretty well, but I can sense he misses the neat and tidy daily routine that hasn't been part of his life recently. 

Since I gave in( I really swore I would not do it this year) and took on the Team leadership for Relay for Life I have gone alittle crazy.  One idea generates another until it all snowballs into one big avalanche of activity.  We now have 25 members on our team(not much money coming in but an eager bunch), which leads to big communication logistics. Some have email addresses, some have old ones that don't work, some have phone numbers that don't work either.  Some are in church on Sunday, some aren't.

We have some spirited old gals who I don't want to squelsh their enthusiasm.  One said,"We should sing a song on the stage".  So, I wrote new lyrics for "Over the Rainbow" (Sorry Judy Garland). We have a huge banner I made.  I thought it was good enough until my sister said it would be better lined(it's a rainbow of fabric with painted words. So I lined it.  Then I made another one for the in memory of and lined that one, too.  One said we needed a bell.  So we have a big bell to ring.  Guess it will fit in some how.

Well, that wasn't enough.  So I said we needed to be in the 4th of July parade.  So now we have been making a huge rainbow of individual tissue paper flowers.  (I'm sure Michael loved having two big refrigerator boxes spread out on the living room floor).  And streamers made out of rainbow colored tulle for them to wave as they sit on the truck.  Then, of course you need a truck and people to decorate the truck and people to ride in the truck and people to walk beside the truck and pass out candy to the kids and pass out a flyer to the parents (which had to be written and produced).  Then I figured we needed music on the float.  So we're going to get Judy to sing(burned CD, of course). The bell will work there, I guess, too.  Then we had someone with an American flag.  So we'll throw that on the float somewhere, too.

But, that has all been put aside for now because more important things are coming, starting tomorrow, for a few days.  Two of my daughters and two of my grandkids.  That is pretty special since I don't get to spend much time with them.  They are worth being busy about. 

Happy birthday, Dad!

Today would have been our dad's birthday.  My sisters and I celebrated in our traditional way. Milkshake(Dad's favorite) and fish sandwich (Mom's favorite) from Mac Donald's. It was too rainy and cold to sit on the bench we had put in the city park ,over looking the flower garden,  in their memory.  So we sat, with Dad's picture propped up on the dash, in the car eating our fish sandwiches and drinking our chocolate shakes.  We toasted him and reminisced about our fond memories of our dad.

Dad was a very special man.  I have to say, we haven't seen many men who could ever match him. He was an unassuming man, yet in church his booming voice resonated through out.  He knew how to sing a joyful noise unto the Lord and I doubt many fell asleep during his sermons.   He didn't tell us what we had to believe, but allowed us to talk it out and helped us come to the best conclusions for ourselves.  I never felt judged. I never felt I was odd for my thinking.  I remember when I was with him, as a child, I always felt I was special in his eyes.  I always felt he was proud of me for just being me. 

We miss you dad.  I have a feeling you are being looked after very well.  Happy birthday, Dad!

Family

It was pretty great getting together with kids, grand kids, and great grand kids last weekend. It was fun seeing the different age groups from young marrieds with children, teens in love, rambunctious  grade schoolers to a baby. An array to proclaim I'm getting up there in years, I guess.  The weather was great, which was a god sent since it hasn't been since.


Who could believe it is June, it's so cold, gray and windy.  My son and family will be here tomorrow for several days.  The challenge will  be to keep the kids (10 and 8) from getting bored and driving everyone, including themselves, crazy, since the weather won't be too welcoming outside.  Thank heavens, at least they won't mind being out in any kind of weather.  Not at their age anyway.  But I don't think I'm in that age group.  I just like to stay nice and cozy, curled up with a good book and a couple of hot tea and pastry. 
 We have two birthdays to celebrate on Saturday. An eight year old grandson and a 75 year old sister. Hope we don't mix up their presents!

Too much info

Sometimes I thing less is better.  I think knowing the weather minute by minute stifles my life.  If I don't know from one moment to the  next the chances of rain or the wind speeds predicted that day, I'd get out and just do what I need to do.  Half the time the prediction doesn't meet up to expectations anyway.  And the other half of the time it really doesn't matter.  It's just the thought of going out in weather that you have built up in your mind out of proportion and it doesn't feel half as bad as you expect. And I noticed I never have regrets for just getting out there and doing it.

So I went up to the fitness center to put in an hour of aerobics, machines and stretches, because I heard it was supposed to rain and have winds up to 35mph.  None of that materialized and the weather is just fine.  Not exactly summery, but just fine for outdoor activity.

We're finally going to get our flowers tomorrow, even though it is supposed to rain again so we won't be able to plant them.  There we go again, too much info about the weather.  We just can't let it control our lives.

Why is it?

Why is it that people won't recycle even when there is a recycling bin they pass on the way to work or even picked up at their own home? Sure, it is their American, God given right not to, but where is their American, God given responsibility to preserving this American, God given planet Earth?

Why is it that if one political party espouses that it loves our country  assumes that the other party must not love it as much?  Can't we have differing views of how to fix things without defaming the other view? Often the answer to a problem lies somewhere in the middle. Extremes are seldom the best answer. Yet if a politician dares even imply that possibility he sees things a little more broadly, he is lambasted by his party.  Oh, politics!

Why is it that many people feel they have a right to "justifiable hate" of groups of people or individuals and say they are Bible believing Christians?  Yet the Bible explicitly says to love your neighbor, no ifs ands or buts about it?

Well, these are just some things I've been wondering about.