Two Grannies and a Selfie Stick

Because my cousin likes to stop at such things as the World's Largest Ball of Yarn or The World's Largest Skillet, we had to leave early for our trip from Tennessee to Panama City Beach, Florida.  And by early, I mean, to put it in her words, "We leave at Minus Zero Dark Thirty." 

So, as I get out of bed and stumble through the room with my eyes closed trying to get properly dressed for our excursion, I realize I have ten minutes until "departure time." 

We begin loading up our essentials for the week, like ten outfits, seven pairs of shoes, a jacket for those freezing Florida nights and a jar of marmalade.  Since I'm short and she just reaches my shoulder height, we look like two Hobbits on an impending adventure with enough food to last until winter.

Our whole trip has revolved around taking a Selfie Stick with us to record our every movement. I know nothing about Selfie Sticks or how to use them, I didn't even have one and had to borrow it from my granddaughter, but we just knew that we couldn't survive the trip without one.  Hence, the
picture of  a selfie stick made by mistake because I couldn't figure how the goofy looking thing worked.

Once we had loaded the vehicle until there wasn't room for one more roll of toilet paper and we had Poppy buckled into the backseat, we were off.  A couple of hours down the road and we were ready for breakfast.  After slamming down eggs, toast, grits and pancakes, getting Poppy strapped back in, we were on the road....again.

We decided around lunch time we would just get something quick for the road and since you can't chuck a rock in the south without hitting a Krystal restaurant, we decided this would be the lunch cuisine.  We saw many signs for Krystals, tried our best to locate this connoisseur of bite size burgers, but nine hours later, not only had we not located one, we hadn't eaten either, but, hey, we did learn how to use a Selfie Stick during that time.

The ride down was beautiful, we saw some gorgeous scenery and decided to do our grocery shopping in the World's Smallest Walmart.

After arriving, getting Poppy to the room, and getting unpacked,  my cousin made us dinner and it was delicious!




Day One was quite exhausting, fun, full of random laughter and constant hunger, but in the words of my Daddy on one of our trips, "This was a good day."         And so it was.

What a Day That Will Be

Coming home is such an emotional and joyful time. Kids love coming home after school, dads can't wait to get home after a long day's work, and moms enjoy being there to welcome her little family home to sit around the dinner table and talk of all the experiences of the day.

It's also wonderful when there have been days, weeks and even years of separation from our friends and families that are a part of our church. We reminisce about the fun we've had in the past, we talk about what's going on in our lives now, and we talk of what our plans are until the next time we meet. It's such a sweet time. I just love to hear the words....comng home.

When I sat with my mom in her last days here on this soil and she was in that place between here and heaven, I would lean over close to her face and sing into her ear, " What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon his face"

.....and even though she couldn't talk or even open her eyes, I would see her lips start to move as I sang to her and knew that she was singing with me once again.

After my mom's passing, I kept putting off going through some of her things, but finally decided it was time to take care of what needed to be done. While looking through a box of keepsakes, pictures and little odds and ends that she had accumulated while in the nursing home, I came across her Bible. I opened it up and decided to page through it and read the verses that she had underlined.

I flipped it open and it fell to II Timothy chapter four. I glanced down the page to where she had underlined some scriptures and it was verses seven and eight. I was in a very raw and emotional state to begin with, but when I read the verses, I began to weep because not only was God using His Word to speak to me, but so was my mom.

The verses said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

We all have so many loved ones that are waiting in anticipation for us to come home. They have seen the other side. They have experienced the walk with Jesus. They know the joys that await us. And they are standing ready for our homecoming. What a day that will be!

MAMA'S HANDS

                               

　
Her mama's hands were tender as she caressed the fuzzy head,
As she bathed, comforted and tucked the baby into bed.
She would smother those cheeks in kisses and leave little lipstick brands.
The infant loved the gentle touch of her mama's loving hands.

As the fuzzy head turned to copper curls,
And life became full of little girl giggles and twirls.
Toddling through the house and down the hall,
She holds tight to mama's hands determined not to fall.

Later on, the house is full of friends and of all the messes
that young girls make with makeup and princess dresses.
The girls made noises, they laughed, they played pretend
and mama's hands were always opened to every little friend.

The teenage years were full of sleepovers, cheering and boys,
but mama never complained of the activity and noise.
Instead, she smiled, laughed and understood
and made things easier as only mama's hands could.

As mama got older, her steps a little slower, her mind not as clear
she needed the daughter that she held dear.
She needed the help to do chores, make decisions and such
because mama's hands were not able to do as much.

While the daughter watched as her mama became small and frail
she would not leave her, she would not fail.
As her mama reached for her with her aging hands,
and held on with a strength the daughter could not comprehend.

The daughter began to softly sing to her the hymns of long ago
to ease the fear and restlessness her mama began to show.
She watched her mama's hands begin to slowly ease
as she listened to those songs of old, giving her sweet peace.

Her daughter had traded places with her mama that day.
and decided that beside her mama's bed was where she would stay.
She would caress her mama's graying head,
she would bathe her, comfort her and tuck her into bed.

On that last day of time here on earth, she kissed her mama's face.
She said goodbye and asked the Father for His loving grace,
She will know her mama is in the place called Gloryland,
and always remember the touch of her mama's hands.



Blessings in the Cubbard

Sitting here looking out my window at the drab scenery, I wonder what I can be thankful for today.  It's cold, it's dreary, it's foggy, and did I mention, it's cold?  As I close my eyes to block out the drabness, I remember seeing a video of a little girl sitting at the dinner table, wearing oversized glasses for such a little face and her eyes squinted shut in deep concentration as she begins pouring out a list of things to be thankful for.  She mentions everyone from parents, to cousins, to animals, on down to the forks and spoons on the table.  Oh, to be as one of these, to have that child like innocence and thankfulness for everything, including forks.


So, I ponder on things in my cubbards.  My cabinets hold, not only dishes, but memories.  I have a bowl and rolling pin that belonged to my grandmother.  She was just a little whisp of a woman, married to my Papa, a gentle giant of a man.  Papa preached and Grandma shouted.  What a heritage they left me.  Papa never learned to drive nor had a car, but he preached all over eastern Tennessee. He would walk into all the little communities and preach his heart out, sometimes getting rides to his destinations and sometimes not, but it never slowed him down.  Grandma was ever faithful to cook, sew, make soap, can foods and clean the house that was the resting place for the man of God. What an example of servitude they were to me.



I have the china cabinet that sat in my mother in law's kitchen from the time I started dating her handsome son at the age of fifteen until she passed away.  It sits in my dining room, holding some of the dishes that belonged to her.  My mother in law took me in when I was a young girl alone.  She treated me as one of her own, she taught me how to cook and how to clean.  She helped me get through weeks of colic with my newborn little boy.  And she loved me.  What an example of generosity she was to me.

Also in my cubbards are little bowls and plates made of plastic with bright colors and cartoon figures on them.  They were some of the first dishes my boys used their little dimpled hands on to pick cheerios out of, and now they're being used by my beautiful grandchildren. My stepmother gave me some of these dishes when I was a young bride and now they are being used two generations later.  What a beautiful example of the continuation of life.

So,as I plan and make preparations for my family to gather on Thanksgiving day, I'll be thankful that God has blessed us with four children and their families.  I'll be thankful that they are all healthy and that they all bring joy to our lives.  As I begin to prepare the feast for the day, I'll thank God for the provisions he has given us...our home that is above anything that a poor, little country girl could ever have dreamed for....the finances to live comfortably, to never go hungry, and to enjoy.

Yes, I have plenty to be thankful for on this dreary day, even down to the last fork.

 

Psalms 31:19 - [Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

Ephesians 5:20 - Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Going Back Home

Going back to your childhood home is wrought with emotions.  On my last trip to Tennessee to see my mom and stepdad I decided to take the route we used to take when I was a little girl.  When I was travelling down that road, I began to reminisce about the times I rode, as a young girl, with my youthful mom driving.  I thought about her dark hair that was always fixed to perfection, her lipsticked, dimpled smile showing strong white teeth, and her sky blue eyes behind those dark lashes. My mom was beautiful.   I thought about the conversations, the landscapes we saw routinely, and the music we listened to.  And I thought about how that mom knew exactly which roads to take to get us back home to Tennessee.

Things have changed since then.  Now I drive alone, my mom is not able to even get out of bed.  Mom's dark hair has turned silver and white and it's always a little mussed from laying in bed.  Mom's dimples have turned to wrinkles and her smile isn't as frequent. Mom wouldn't be able to find her way down those roads now because her mind isn't as sharp, but her eyes are still sky blue, their still the same, and my mom is still beautiful. 

While on my visit, my nephew and I spent the day together and decided to go to all the places that used to be familiar.  We went to old homeplaces, old schools, and old playgrounds.  Needless to say, things have changed, yet in so many ways, they are still the same. Each place we passed, we talked about what we used to do there, events that took place, and friends we knew.  I talked about the things my sister and I would do and places we would go and how each adventure was surrounded by laughter.  Not just laughter, but hilarious.... can't catch your breath.... screaming laughter. My sister and I could just say one word that would set off fits of hilarity.

Some of the places were changed, renovated.  Some of the places were there no longer.  The events, the adventures....just memories now, and my sister, well, she's no longer there either.

As I went back to my hotel room that evening, I had the tv on a movie that was about two sisters that were so close and loved each other dearly.  Circumstances caused them to be separated for many years, but their love never wavered.  In the end, when their hair was whiter, their bodies not as young,  the younger sister came back home.  They spotted each across a large field.  They ran screaming toward each other, their arms reaching for that hug that was to come.

While I sat there with tears streaming down my face, I was thinking.  This is it!  This is how it will be when I see my sister again.  She'll be waiting, feet dancing in anticipation, arms ready for the first touch, and then it will happen....I'll see her across the vastness, we'll run to each other, grab each other...then we'll burst into fits of hilarious.... can't catch your breath.... screaming laughter.

Going home can be exciting, or, as in my case where most of the people I loved have already passed on, going home can be difficult.  But I like to think what it's going to be like when I go to my final home and see all my family and see my friends that feel like family. 



Revelation 21:1-4  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Happy Birthday Kaybee!!

It's unbelievable how time can fly by but at the same time seem endless.  It seems like last week that my middle son was born, yet it also seems a hundred years ago. 

I just want to say to him how proud I am that he calls me Mom and how proud I am of the man he has become.

 He's gone from my sweet faced baby boy to the athletic, lovin' life young man.....

 from riding little boy toys to big boy toys...

     from being silly with his brother to being silly with best friends....

 from loving his brothers to loving his family....












going from our little graduate to the final graduation.....

from adding a wife to giving us grandchildren......

he's been a joy to my life.

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALEB!!

Silly Animals

I'm pretty sure that bird I hear is laughing at me.  I've never heard that sound before and it sounds just like a high pitched giggle.  One just flew into my screen, so who's laughing now, funny bird?

Sitting on my porch this morning, I can hear all the bird conversations going on around me and they sure sound like a gossipy bunch. 

Nature has been going a little nutty around here the past couple of years and I love to sit out here and watch to see what's going to happen next.

Have you ever watched humming birds?  In my keen eye and mind I have figured out that they must have ADHD.  They do the weirdest things.  They have this thing they do where they look like they're on an invisible swing.  They go back and forth and back and forth dipping down with each pass.  What is that?  Maybe it's a mating ritual of some sort, but, girls,  I would steer clear of that crazy boy.

I had one little humming bird fly into my screen and got it's little pointed nose stuck.  I walked over to put my finger on it's beak and push it out, but it got loose, flew out toward the tree and started with the invisible swing thing again.

Then, one evening I watched a bear come ambling across my field toward the woods. La la la la la.  Paying no attention to anything as it walked into the woods.  Then I hear loud wood banging and teeth clanking and the bear comes running out of the woods.  I really don't blame it.  That noise made me want to run in the house, but I couldn't help watching the bear.  La la la la la, it goes back into the woods.  Wood banging....teeth clanking....running bear.  I don't know how many trips into the woods that goofy bear made, but it eventually got too dark to keep watching, and too creepy to sit out in the dark listening to teeth clanking.

Then there is the deer.  They're like those people who stare at you, so you look away hoping they'll quit, but when your eyes drift back, they're still staring.  You know the kind.  They just keep looking, while your wondering if your pants are unzipped, or if there's something on your nose, or wondering why they don't blink.  Just staring.  Staring.  Staring.  I try to pretend they're not there, but they just keep staring.  Staring.  Staring.

And, spiders. *shiver*  Nothing funny about those things, except when I kill one and do the spider dance all over the porch.  It just doesn't seem normal for anything to have that many legs.

And the other evening, love was in the air.  Two coquettish doves flirting back and forth, were putting on quite a show on our fence, while two robins were having a party in the yard.  I felt like I should look away, but I became a deer.  Staring.  Staring.  Staring.

Nature.  What a funny thing.