The Day After

The Day After

Now I know where Thanksgiving  got it's name.

Thanking God that it is over. I know I must have gained

a dress size. I ate so much Turkey that I am beginning to gobble.

We had so many pies and treats that I still remember how great each

one was. We played Dirty Santa with ornaments and what fun. Of course

I did not win the one I wanted but my sweet Nephews wife gave it to

me after it was all over. I said Oh! I can't take this from you and she said

we only wanted it to keep anyone else from getting it. How sweet :(

I got to hug my strong handsome son once again and my daughter in law

did an outstanding job as a hostess. The children played and laughed and

we were thankful once again for all the fun, joy, and food.
Even the dog was happy. My mom had

such a good time at 86 years old. We got up this morning and it looked as if

a bomb went off during the night. As we packed up and was getting in the

truck for the long ride home we heard shouts coming from inside the house.

I went back to the house to inquire if something was wrong. My nephew

laughed and said No! I was just shouting to drown out the silence.

Thank God it it over till next year

Thanksgiving Givingthanks

Thanksgiving       Givingthanks

Today I sit here among family who are here and the thoughts of family who are coming and ponder what it is I am most thankful for. The first things that come to mind right now without much thought is family. From the ones who are stooped and need the assistance of a cane or walker to the youngest who can't function alone. I have to say that right here right now it is not money or a fine home or a nice ride. It is family. My daughters who love me as daughters should love their mom and call me often just to tell me that they love me. My son who loves me in his own way and who calls me and says the funniest things. It is my husband who I depend on and lean on in more ways than even I know. It is my mom who has supported me in many different ways all of my life and who I find pleasure being in her presence even now. It is my sisters who make me laugh and who I still like to be around. It is their children who I helped raise.  It is a brother who is strong and a steady influence in my life. It is even my dog who right now is in a crate in the corner watching the commotion of a loud family with children running to an fro. I am thankful for love and the comfort of belonging but most of all above all else it is the breath of life that I have been given by a God who is much, much bigger than myself. Who has put me here for such a time as this. For these things I am thankful and may I never quit givingthanks for even the simplest of things.  

As Autum Breezes Blow

Cool gentle breezes blow the brittle dry leaves indicating that fall is here.

The squirrels are frisky and leap from one branch to another, one tree to another

as they feel the freshness of the mountain air. They can sense that things are different.

The leaves are changing from a deep green to an array of many colors.

Red and Gold, Purple and Orange are seen across the hills starting at the top

and creeping down toward the valley as though an artist has painted each leaf.

Fall, the time of year when steps grow brisk and  children's laughter seems a little bit

louder, a little happier. I am reminded of the autumn of life. I had the privilege of listening

as a doctor told a story. My parents are getting older and the time has come that they need my help.

They took care of me all my life and now is my time to give back to them. He told us of parents

who gave him love, laughter and financial support. They live in Florida and he lives in Anniston, Al.

I am going to move them here. I am buying them a house and I will be sure at all cost that

they have what they need from now on. I believe that I saw tears in his eyes as he told the story.

I know you may think it is easy for him. He is a doctor and can afford this. I think of another

story similar in deed but this involves someone not so financially well off. It involves my sister.

Almost one year ago she opened her home to my parents. She is no doctor and was not able

to just buy them a home near her but she did something equally as noble. She moved them in with

her. Two people soon became four. Attitudes differed, personalities had to transform to become

able to accommodate the change. My mom cried, my sister cried, my dad cried. Sandy's husband Jimmy spent a lot more time outside. Since that time my dad passed over to the other side of the rainbow yet my

mom still remains in the care of my sister. Their lives are so different, more changed than even I

can comprehend. My mom who is the sweetest mom, the best mom in the whole world now lives

 in a new home. She left all that she had in this world and it wasn't easy.  Her hair is gray and her

hands are not as strong as they used to be. Hands which spent years helping others now need help.

As she tries to fix her long hair into the neat little bun my sister gently takes the brush and softly

brushes wisps of fine broken hair into the updo. This is a major feat because my sister has

short hair. She helps my mom to the store to shop as she tenderly pushes her in the wheel chair.

Mom can walk but she has fallen many times and it is safer this way. She takes her to the

doctor and makes sure she has all her meds but most of all she makes sure

that in the autumn of her life she can still have the happiness

she has been afforded by God above, a child who loves her. My mother has 4 children and we

all think she hung the moon. We all love her but as life would have it I work full time and my husband

is disabled. My brother works full time and takes care of his household. My sister Jeannie has a husband

who is not only disabled but bedridden. My sister Sandy quit her job as a nurse and made a tremendous

sacrifice. A sacrifice of love. So now as the air does become a little cooler and wind is crisp it makes me

remember to say a simple prayer. Thank God for love and family and that life doesn't really end with the

change of the seasons but it goes from joy to joy. It's makes me to know that autumn is beautiful in all arenas and that even as it changes slowly to winter with barren leaves and trees which become naked and stark in

the cold winter air life continues, also love and family, and the things which really do matter..

My Sisters Don't Know It All

My sisters don't know it all. Of course they always think they do. They are pretty smart and often give advise whether I need it or not. This past week my sweet husband Benny had a major abdominal surgery and experienced some complications and it was during this time that I learned exactly what my sisters don't know. Both of them. There really is quite a lot that they don't know. First of all they don't know just how much I love them and that would be with all my heart. They don't know that even though I might not have been as jolly as I should have been I was comforted by their presence. They don't know how awesome it is when I say "but you don't have to come" for them to say hush We will be there. They don't know how beautiful their faces at a time of sadness and tense calm. And then they went home, a four hour drive yet when I called and told them he had a heart attack they turned right around and came back. Did I say how much that meant. Did I mention how much my heart leaped at the sight of them. Oh yea and let me mention my sister Sandy who cooked the best Lima Beans and Cornbread and Pork that I have ever tasted and my sister Jeannie who stayed home and kept the children and cleaned my house so we could be at the hospital. I can never thank them enough, I can never repay their kindness, but then I don't have to cause they are my sisters, my friends, my family. Oh yea and I know I will think of them each and every time I see those little hummingbirds getting fat while drinking from the feeder which my sisters gave me. I say again thank God for them, Dumb siblings, Sisters.