reassurance

5:56 AM

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Early to bed and early to rise,

Makes a man or woman healthy, wealthy and wise!

Where in the world did that come from?

A childhood of memorizing old sayings, dredged up from a distant past.  Memories of our local school where we repeated all of the familiar passages from our books until we knew them by heart.  No TV, no internet, no phones for us.  We relied on our reading and studying for everything we learned.

Now altho I have a big digital  clock shining its message in the early morning light I have a built in alarm clock in my head. No matter where I am, north or south, in my own bed or traveling somewhere, I wake up.  It’s Sunday morning here, the one day you would think I’d sleep in, but NO!  I’m awake and I’ve had enough sleep.  Seven hours this time because I stayed up, immersed in a great book, that I just had to finish.

Not only that but I am retired, I don’t have to get up. I could lie here as long as I’d like. No children calling out, no pets needing to be let outdoors, just me, knowing it is time for me to get out of bed. Looking out the window I see the orchard rows, and they are white! It’s May 15th, and we have snow on the ground. This is not good.  The orchards are in full blossom, and they definitely do not need the cold weather.

My mind leaps from one scattered idea to another. I must make the coffee, but I also must write down the words swirling in my head. I search for my notepad and pen, and ah, I am safe. Reassured, all is well.

I am up, it is early in the morning.  I feel the urge to write, and I know the snow will melt eventually. The deck is white now, but it will soon be brown again. I am ready for a new day.  It lies before me, I can do whatever I choose to do, and since I got up early I have plenty of time to do it.

Mornings are beautiful, especially in the country, and I don’t want to waste a single one of them. Come and join the early risers in your life, and you’ll be glad you did.

THE MOON IS WELCOMING ME HOME

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IMG_0134The moon is welcoming me home.

It is shining thru the bare branches of a Michigan maple tree.

I sit on our bed and watch.

To the north the Big Dipper sparkles in the clear midnight sky.

The beautiful moon is glowing.

I can see it reflected in the mirrors of the room about me.

Below my window I can see the lawn and the silver apple trees

In the orchard spread their welcoming branches to me.

I can see the farm spread in every direction,

Waiting for the oncoming spring,

Knowing they are about to bloom in splendor.

It is true. I am home!

The world is rejoicing with me by enfolding me in its beautiful light.

It is showing me my path, my way forward, and I am grateful.

It is so good to be home again.

WHAT WILL MY GRANDCHILDREN REMEMBER ABOUT ME?

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Lake Michigan at its absolute best

Sometimes a question will just leap out from the page to bring forth a multitude of tumultuous thoughts.  That is what this one did for me. I have 6 grandchildren from my own sons, and five from my husband’s family.  Then I have 6 more from 2nd wives of my sons after they were divorced and remarried.  Another grandson was adopted out 30 years ago, and yet another grandson drowned at 18.

The ones that I had the closest contact to turn out to be the ones that have had problems with their parents because of divorce.  A strong bond is formed when a child and a grand parent have to face difficult situations together.

So all of these children will remember me in different ways.  Mostly they will remember the grandma who loved the mountains, who lived on the IPad and loved to write. That is why I published my first book, so that they would get to know me better.  Some of them will remember me as Grandpa’s second wife, and that’s really grown more loving with time and experiences. Almost all of my grandchildren live a long distance from me, and I have very little physical contact with them.  But e-mails, phones, and Facebook can be a wonderful thing. I can keep track of their families, even tho sometimes I shake my head, watching their lives go by.

And there are some grandchildren who still end their calls or notes with “No Matter What”! They will remember that I was there for them when they really needed me, when their whole world was shattered, and these relationships have lasted twenty years and more, and grown ever stronger. Because of them I feel that I was in the right place at the right time, and did what needed to be done.

I am really fortunate to have all of our extended families, and I hope they will remember me fondly, no matter what. I have been lucky to have all of our grandchildren to love and to cherish.

LIFE JUST KEEPS ON GOING ON

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This has been a week full of ups and downs.  We have a new great grandson, and we are eyeing him thru the miracle of the Internet, on our phones or our tablets.  As grandparents do we all smile and remember when our own children were born, and everything seems so different! My own parents didn’t even see their first grandson until he was five months old.  My husband had been drafted during the Korean War and so the baby was born in Colorado.

But we lost a family member this week also, one of my first cousins that I hadn’t seen in many years.  As I went looking on the “Memories” page of the funeral home I saw how much she had contributed to this earth because her grandchildren had written how much they would miss her loving spirit.  And I realized anew how important it is to society to have the bonds of grandchildren and grandparents to each other. There can be a specialness to this relationship that endures forever. The grandparent is filled with love and hope just as they are with their own children, but without the day to day disciplines and responsibilities that come with parenting.

When we see our grandchildren with all of the hopes and dreams that we remember from our own childhood we are filled with joy to see that life does go on. Even if we never managed to do all of the things that we planned on ourselves, we see that there is a whole new generation that can do it for us. The sky seems to be limitless for our dreams for them. And when we actually see them accomplishing the things we never managed to do, that is joy without measure.

Now our own children are experiencing the joys of being grandparents.  It is a pleasure to see their excitement and to know how much it will mean for them. Scattered all over the country, yet we are able to keep a close eye on them and we revel in their day to day accomplishments.

Life is so full of both joy and sadness, but underlining it all is Love.  And having grandchildren is the bridge that will lead us forward. We see the sweetness in them and the hope that we all have for their own expectations, and we are filled with thankfulness that they have been loaned to us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAKING A CHANCE

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Taking a chance on love. The first thought that comes to my mind is the song, “Taking a chance on love” by Ella Fitzgerald. No matter who we meet, no matter how we seem to fit when we meet someone new, it is always a chance that we take.  Smiles can help, thoughts can intertwine with each other, we can feel the instant surge of knowing this is someone we are in tune with, but still, it is all emotion.  We are reacting to the presence of someone new, and the question is really, can we trust our emotions?

We know from experience over a lifetime that emotions aren’t always trustworthy.  There is an old saying, “Marry in haste, repent at leisure.” We all have friends who have found that out to be true.  Some of us can attest to that ourselves.  We also have friends who have been married forever, and their lives seem to be very happy and on an even keel.

Throughout our lives we take a lot of chances.  How about deciding on our education, not knowing whether we are really suited for the course we are embarked on? When we start to hunt for the perfect job to learn our trade, there are a lot of detours possible.  As a woman, what will you do about having a family and raising children? If you decide to take a chance and wait until you are in your 30’s will you still have the opportunity to do so later on?

Life is full of taking chances.  I took a lot of them myself over the years. Some of them turned out well, but others definitely could have gone a lot differently.  But the chances that you take are going to affect a lot of other people over the years, your family, friends, and unknown others.  Remember it is not just your self.

So take your chances.  If you feel that you are taking them for the right reasons, for love for yourself or for others, it probably eventually will turn out all right.

At the very least you can always say as did Wm. Shakespeare, “To thine own self, be true.!” You can say, “I took a chance on life.”

 

 

 
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WAITING

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Somewhere in your life you have to decide that it is just time to relax, pull in the reins, and wait for what is going to happen. No matter what it is that you are waiting for, maybe you have waited for a really long time, but it is just out of your hands.
You may very well think that you know what should happen, may have believed it fervently for longer than you care to remember, but it is still a dream in your mind, and you may even have looked at it in the wrong way.
But that doesn’t mean that the “someday” will never come to you in the future.
Things change and circumstances change and sometimes even people change. Who is to know when the dream may appear in all its glory, even better than you ever imagined.
And if you are very wise, you will welcome it gladly, whatever it turns out to be. It might not be exactly as planned but it will surely be a wonderful thing. You will rejoice that all is well in your world and remember your most comforting thought, the one that has carried you throughout your life.
God is in charge, and I am so thankful!

DEEP INSIDE OF YOU

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Deep inside of you and
Deep inside of me,
In point of fact,
Deep inside of all of us
Lies a loving spiritual being
Striving to come forth.
To see the light of day
To see the wonder of the world around us,
To see the beauty and to see the love of everyone,
To feel the oneness and the purpose of all that we encounter.

It is our fate and our future to open our eyes,
To open our minds and to open our hearts and Know
That we are all in this world together.
Sometimes it seems to be a difficult step to take,
To relax and know that we are here to help each other.
Sometimes it is harder to allow another to take a step toward us.
But here we are, on this small globe together.
Our lives are entwined with each other.
Let us resolve to restore the love and caring that lies deep inside,
Deep inside of You, and deep inside of Me.

MY CONSTANT COMPANION

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Walking thru my quiet house on an early winter morning,
I am on my way to my place of sanctuary,
my warm and comfortable chair.
Thru the dimly lit kitchen I pass,
Stopping only to pour the water for coffee,
Waiting for the hot brew to emerge,
picking out my favorite cup for today.
On to the inviting room where my chair awaits me,
Books and journals piled high on the table beside it.
I sink into the chair, cover my lap with a blanket,
Close my eyes, and I am home.

Later I will study a daily lesson,
Write in my journal, read a special book,
Make a list of “to do” things for today,
But now, right now, I relax and know
who and where and why I am,
safe with my Constant Companion.

Outside of this room storms may be blowing,
Memories of old anxieties may prevail,
Duties and responsibilities may clamor for attention.
I may have to plan for tomorrow.
But here in my chair, I am safe, I am blessed.
No fears need dominate my mind and thoughts,
I close my eyes, and the loving Presence envelops me.

I know that I am where I belong,
safe in my favorite chair, safe in the Presence,
safe in the arms of my Constant Companion!

THOUGHTS ABOUT GROCERY SHOPPING

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Have you ever given any thought about how many hours that you have spent grocery shopping in your lifetime? How about all of the thoughts and energy that are focused on one of the main events of your life?
It’s not just the actual walking into a supermarket with a complicated list of all of the products you need, in your hand. It’s the process of making the weekly list. You may also have a monthly list, and even more often, a list of the products you would buy if they were on sale or you had a coupon.
It’s the time spent being a coupon clipper, the hours checking on the specials to see which store has the best price. Maybe you go to one store for meat, another for produce, and a third for most everything else.
It’s the time you spend making sure you have all of the necessary ingredients for 21 meals a week in your house. And it is a known fact that everyone doesn’t always want the same food to eat. It is all of the decisions you make as you look at the weights of the packages, thinking that larger isn’t always cheaper.
It is also the thought that you want your family to eat reasonably balanced meals, and you feel that it is your job to help that along.
So let us agree on one thing. Grocery shopping and all of the hours that proceed it have an important place in our lives. As we get older it seems to get a lot easier with practice. But for young people first setting up a household it is definitely a learning experience. And once children are added to the mix it becomes a whole new ball game. I still remember standing in a checkout line, one child screaming in the cart, and another rummaging in the articles tempting them on the shelves. Disaster City!
We solved it by my husband watching the three others at home. Each week one different boy would go with me, and he always got to choose one thing for himself. Even more important he got a lot of close knit attention from his mother with no one else around.
So grocery shopping can have its blessings if you look for them. Now that we are retired my husband goes right in the store with me. He is a great help loading and unloading, a new experience for him also. We can have quality time whenever we choose to.
So grocery shoppers, Unite. Now we know why we are such an important part of keeping our world on keel. We plan, we shop, and we execute, setting a good example for our families around us. We provide a terrific service, with love.