TO HONOR THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

To a special veteran who never was given the honor he deserved. He served in an undeclared and unpopular war. He had to leave a young wife and law school. The only honor given was by the government in the form of recognition and awards. Returning home from Vietnam on Christmas morning he walked off the military base, a civilian, greeted only by his wife and brother-in-law.

                                                                              

He served his country with HONOR and so he continues to live his life as one of service to his family, community, and church.

                                                

Sweetheart, you are a wonderful veteran. I am sorry the United States people didn’t recognize the service you had given. But I recognized and love you all the more for your willingness to answer to serve when called.

TO BLOG

There are so many blogs that are inspiring or profound. The authors are would be novelist, if they had time. They see the unusual in the usual. That’s not me. I have always thought I don’t want to be remembered by what I wrote but by what I did. In spite of all that I still blog. I guess it’s a journal of my life or a civil way to keep connected with others. I lasted on facebook for about a week. It can get a little rough from me.

So today I blog about my noxious plants. I have two in my yard. The first is a five leaf plant that is a parasite. I don’t know its real name but I have always heard it called the wild grape. This plant (without grapes) finds a host plant and then the vines attach and for a while make the host plant even more beautiful. Unfortunately the end result is death for the host and the five leaf parasite moves on. The second plant I have in my yard is a three leaf variety. Yes, it’s the “leaves of three let them be” kind of plant. Destroying and disposing of the plants can be very difficult. Even when the plant seems dead and gone you can rub against a dry leaf and have a weepy rash. It only has one name, poison ivy.

This weekend Kent and I will go outside and try to rid our yard of these plants. It must be done before we have nothing but wild grape and poison ivy in our yard.

THOSE THOUGHTS

We all have those thoughts. You know the ones that creep in and will not stop or go away. Sometimes it’s something someone said and we review over and over what we should have said in return. We remember our mistakes or shortcomings. We wonder why someone didn’t return an email or a phone call. Someone cut us off in traffic. Work isn't going the way we want. The list is endless but the thoughts circulating in our brain feels the same. We feel bad about ourselves and others. How can those thoughts be stopped.

The easiest is to be in the present. When the thoughts start that is the time to recognize everything around you. Can you hear a clock ticking? If you are outside what do you see. Recognize the weave of a fabric, the different colors in a single flower, the taste of what you are eating, the feel of what you are touching or anything else that brings you into the present. Staying in the present keeps you from going on a history tour. If once you are in the present if you find that you can’t stay there then go to your least favorite thing. Mine is multiplication tables. Going though the tables so completely redirects my thinking that I can completely leave those circular thoughts.

2 x 2 =4

2 x 3 = 6

2 x 4 = 8

I guess the final step in stopping thoughts is to go to positive thoughts. I am lucky that my husband, children (including
daughters/son-in-laws) and grandchildren are always happy thoughts.

Stopping thoughts is a habit that takes work to develop but oh the rewards are wonderful.

(Happy Birthday Becca)

SATURDAY NIGHT

Tonight I am going to another fundraiser. This time it is for youth to attend camp. The youth are coupled with adults to contribute services or products and our bids earn them the money they need for camp. There is also an enchilada dinner.

I always love the yard work that comes up. Kent gets tired of my continually wanting flowers here or moving a plant there. I want mulch and a lot of it. We always enjoy the end result but the work is hard for 60+ adults. Biding on youth helps them and helps me. That is always a win-win situation.

A LITTLE HELP NEEDED!

Taken from my son and daughter-in-law's blog:

This is not a typical post, but we really feel strongly about it and hope you'll consider supporting the online auction (already in progress!) on the blog of our friend's sister. The cause? To help raise funds to pay for the funeral expenses of sweet Baby Hailey, who passed away recently way before her time.


Some cool items were auctioned off yesterday, and today is Round 2, the final round:


http://fabulousfunfinds.blogspot.com/
 

The Hunters also have a blog: http://haileyangelbaby.blogspot.com/

 

This is a picture of my grandson, Wesley. It is a reminder to me that lives are so precious and yet so fragile. When the Hunter's baby died of SID's I wanted to do something but didn't know what. Now I have something I can do to help.

MOTHER'S DAY

The tree in front of our house was the home to a family of robins. Sunday we came home from church to find that some thing had taken all the babies out of the nest. It’s now empty. We were heart broken. I realize that many babies in the wild do not survive but we had hoped to watch them take flight. I had been watching another nest and saw a baby bird fledge. It was so exciting to watch the mother encouraging it to come out of the nest. First he flapped his wings and then took off. After a couple of seconds he came back to the nest. Finally he left and was gone. Both nests were empty. One brought me sorrow and one brought me joy. Mothers feel both when their children leave home. We want to know we have raised independent children but hate our children not needing us. This mother’s day was a day of joy for me. I loved talking to and being with my children and grandchildren. I’m glad they are independent and living the lives they want. I can’t think of a better gift than that for mother’s day.

REWARDS

Today I picked up my grand puppy from the groomers. She hates going there. The relief was very obvious when I walked in the building. We came home and played for a while. Khloe sat outside for a time and then it was nap time for grandma and Khloe. Now awake it is time to play again before starting dinner. I see Khloe waiting at the window for grandpa to come home. Pets bring a dimension to our lives that can’t come from any other source. It takes time and consistency for a pet to learn to trust us but the result is so rewarding. They are so dependant on us and yet so loving when we are less than perfect.

HOW DO I FIND HAPPINESS?

Happiness seems elusive. You fall in love and begin planning a wedding. You do many things to make sure your plans come into fruitions. Finally the happy day arrives. Family and friends assemble to help share your happiness. After the honeymoon a life together begins. Why is it that after so much work and such a well planned wedding the next year is the hardest and so many marriages fail?

I don’t have all the answers but I do think I have an idea of what is needed to be happy both in marriages and as individuals. For me I need time alone and time alone with my husband every day. If my or our time alone is spent worrying or thinking about what needs to get done then happiness is not going to occur. The companionship of stress is real and make being alone impossible. Planning and worrying about what needs to be done are two very different ideas. When I am alone and enjoying time thinking then I have met a very important personal need. The same hold true for my marriage.

To be happy I need to feel that I have a purpose in life. Marriages also need to have purpose. Most marriages focus on employment, bills, physical needs, children, housing, yard work, etc. These maybe considered necessities in a marriage but don't give a purpose to a marriage. When my husband and I each individually have purpose and then come together with a combined purpose we are happy. Having a purpose in life usually requires eliminating much of the things we feel are important. I had a friend that gave up a high paying job and fancy house so he could be home in the evening to play with his children and spend time with his wife without worry about his job. He had time for friends and service. He was happy and so was his family.

I find this is just scratching the surface of finding happiness. What about you? Are you able to find happiness?