Reflections of Thanks

Several weeks now, I have been in 3 card stores and 2 retail stores searching for the perfect Thanksgiving card for my son and daughter-in-law.  Much to my dismay, I have found none...none!  Being the observant, diligent card-sending guru that I am, it amazed me to see the stacks for Thanksgiving cards were limited with just a minimal number of each, yet...the Halloween cards, the Pastor Appreciation cards, the Sweetest Day cards, and of course, the Christmas cards ALL had endless supplies to whomever you wished would be the receiver.  I am aghast!  However, to keep up with my goal of maintaining a positive blog, I am going to turn this into a learning experience.  Perhaps I will make Trent and Kristin a card...perhaps I will send an ecard... or, perhaps I will forgo the card (naw, that won't do. Hallmark would definitely miss me!!!)  Ok...so back on track.  Thanksgiving is about remembering and making memories.  It's about family and friends - past and present. It's about getting together, laughing, singing, teasing, cooking (anybody BUT me!), taking lots of photo's (my favorite thing to do!), and looking at old photo's of loved ones passed or present.  I love the holidays - all of them...but Thanksgiving has many fond memories of my childhood.  Growing up, there was an elderly couple that lived across the street from the schoolhouse near our home.  They didn't have a lot of money and their family never seemed to visit.  I loved Nick and Twila.  I would go visit whenever I could. Mom and Dad encouraged us to always share - even if we were poor, so one Thanksgiving, my sister and I piled plates high with turkey/stuffing, plus all the trimmings, and delivered them to Nick and Twila.  Their faces lit up when they saw us and we were thanked profusely with tears streaming down each of their faces.  After that, everytime our family had a feast, we made sure plates were made for Nick and Twila.  We did this until the year they both died (within a couple of months of each other).  This is a memory you can't buy, but will never lose...  So, Nick and Twila if you're looking down at us - we all moved on, but never forgot and I always SMILE when I think of you both.  God Bless... 

Heaven's Resident Angel

Aunt Laurine died last week.  She was 91.  During her life, Aunt Laurine was blessed so many times, but 14 of which I am aware.  First she married Uncle Roy, then the thirteen blessings were born - 8 boys (one set of twins) and 5 girls.  In family pictures, they created stair steps.  Growing up in a small town in Kansas, we would often pack up the old pickup and head to Aunt Laurine's farm a good three hours away in the country in Missouri.  The roads were windy and hilly and I suffered many boughts of carsickness - much to the chagrin of my sister, who inevitably sat next to me and would gain the contents of my stomach on her...but who cares, afterall, the story is about Aunt Laurine.  We would arrive at the old farmhouse way after bedtime.  She immediately greeted us, offered food or drink and then direct us to the very full bedrooms.  That was such a great memory.  Sometimes there would be more than four of us girls in a bed, but we didn't care.  To this day when I hear John Denver's song "Grandma's Feather Bed", I smile and think of Aunt Laurine. (the lyrics go, "It was nine feet high, six feet wide, soft as a downy chick...would hold eight kids, four hounddogs, and the piggy we stole from the shed...didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun on Grandma's Feather Bed...")  In the morning, she would be awake before the sun rose, baking the most wonderful smelling bread, churning butter, and frying up bacon, eggs, pancakes, you name it...she made it!!!  I never heard a harsh word out of her mouth, nor see a frown on her beautiful face.  I'm sure she did, but my view of Aunt Laurine was of a niece looking in awe at a woman who put her faith first and then her family.  She was and is one of the most spiritual women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.  She began each day with a prayer, each meal with a prayer, and ended the day thanking God for his Grace and her blessings.  Aunt Laurine's smile could light up the room - she emitted goodness to everyone.  It didn't matter if she saw you daily, once a month, every year, etc. she treated everyone like they were her family.  At her funeral the Priest stated that he had often heard in reference to Aunt Laurine that if she didn't get into Heaven, nobody has a chance.  That is so true.  Her granddaughter recited a poem about the twelve jewels created that have come to symbolize goodness and mercy. After the service, I told her granddaughter how that poem touched me.  She simply stated "It sounded like my grandma." I totally agree.  Aunt Laurine was solid as a diamond, tough as a ruby, soft as an amythest, and bright as an emerald.  Perhaps I didn't get to see her as often, or keep in touch like I wish, but each visit was quality time with an Aunt who loved everyone unconditionally. She is now soaring with the eagles under God's roof and I have to SMILE as I look to the Heaven's and feel comfort knowing she is there watching...

Traveling In Unknown Territories

Traveling across Highway 36 East in Missouri to take my mom to a funeral was quite an experience educationally and socially.  I had reserved two rooms (one for me and mom, and one for my cousins from Illinois) at one of the two Hotels in this small town sight unseen...Needless to say when mom and I exited the highway and saw the OLD billboard, minus color and letters on the add, I knew we were destined to a learning experience neither one of us was prepared for.  Pulling into the dilapidated building with the air-conditioners so old, trash littering the premises, peeling paint, and holes in some of the doors, I somehow managed to drag myself to the office (which was the residence of the owner) and request a 'look-see' at the room, as my mom was fragile. (Prior to that, I had told mom to make her physical disability a little more prominent because we were gonna get out of this reservation one way or another!!!) The office stank of old cigarettes, mold, and grease.  The proprietor asked what mom's disability was and I told her she had had two hip replacements and that walking was difficult.  She then stated "you didn't tell me she was disabled" (as if that was any of her business to begin with...just saying) and the rooms are on the second floor.  I looked up at the frail steps with the rotted railing and informed her that mom could not walk up those steps and that she had told me we would be in rooms 3 and 8 not upstairs. I stated we would not be staying and would head on down the road.  The woman actually followed me to the car and said "come and look at room 8, it's available after all and has a bed and a half "(I'm thinking what the heck???), so being considerate I agree to look - after all, we are there and I did give the woman my credit card.  Entering the room, I was engulfed by mold - I swear it was everywhere!!!! When commenting on the smell and discussing my allergies, the woman asked "You can smell that dearie?" Uh...YES!!! The room had two doors to the outside and one of them had no doorknob and you could see light from outside around the entire door and there were holes in the wall (going to who knows where).  She said "come and see how clean the bathroom is".  By this time, I just want to leave, take a shower, and get a penicillin shot for whatever germs had landed on my body, so I peeked in quickly and said "no thanks' we are leaving.  She followed me to the car again and wanted me to see if my cousins still wanted a room. OMG LADY - NO!!! ARE YA NOT LISTENING???? I jump in the car, tell mom we might be sleeping in the car and head east. Amazingly, we found a quaint little motel about a mile away that was CLEAN, had fresh sheets, TV, parking, and no stairs. I paid for the two rooms quickly and we were set!!!! I called the other proprietor back to make sure she didn't use my credit card for the disgusting rooms, and she informed me that she would be charging me for one of the rooms because she might not be able to rent it out for the night. (ya think???)  I just SMILED and considered it a blessing...after all, it's only money - NOT GERMS!!!!!

Reflections of 9/11/01

At about 8:50AM, on 9/11/01, our school counselor came into my office and told me that one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers had been hit by an airplane and terrorism was suspected.  I immediately went to our High School classroom and asked the teacher if we could turn on the TV.  The picture of the tower on fire was so devastatingly sad.  Several minutes later, while watching, the second tower was hit!!!! The students were shell-shocked to the point of disbelief.  Staff was hauntingly quiet.  I remember watching, not sure I was processing, and praying to God this was someones idea of a sick joke and the newsmen would come on any minute and tell us the TV stations had been hacked and the film was photo shopped.  When that didn't happen, and all TV stations were reporting the same news, we all became mesmerized by the images.  Book learning was not going on at this time, but actual history lessons were taking place.  Later in the morning, the entire school assembled outside to Pledge Allegiance and sing God Bless America.  During both, people were solemn, tears in their eyes, and others (myself included) couldn't stop the tears rolling down their devastated faces.  All in all, we came together not only as a nation, but as a school.  Watching the towers implode on TV and seeing the people jump to their deaths from the top of the towers took its toll on everyone impacted.  The images became nightmares for some, and death reports for others.  
     It is now the tenth Anniversary of 9/11/01 and I have been watching the memorials, the minute-by-minute replay of actual footage, listening to the interviews by survivors, and basically, just reliving the horror that all the victims and their families felt ten year ago today.  It is so overwhelming, as I am so empathetic to the pain of other people (it's nothing I do, God gave me this gift) that I actually feel like I know these people personally...  I have watched the movie, Flight 93 at least twice this week, and every single time, I sob with the passengers and their families.  How unselfishly brave all those passengers were to save complete strangers in the USA.  I wonder how many of us would have done the same as Todd, Jeremy, Elizabeth, (just to mention a few), and the flight crew.  I like to believe and hope that most of us would be as selfless and loyal to want to save many more lives enough to sacrifice our own to keep the world a safer place. 
      Watching the memorial events today has definitely cleared my tear ducts and sinus passages, but has also made me realize that God is good.  As I look to the Heaven's today of all days, I SMILE and thank him for my wonderful life in America...God will continue to Bless all the victims of 9/11/01, as well as the people of the United States.

Random Acts of Kindness...

I am a HUGE proponent of Random Acts of Kindness.  It makes my heart smile to do something nice for people and not let them know who it was from.  Some of my favorite ways to bless people include: leaving car wash money for the next person in line and leaving before they notice; paying for a drink at a local convenient store for a random person still filling their drink; giving chocolate bars to the WalMart checkers; paying the quarter for the cart at Aldi's; buying a biscuit at Burger King for the person behind you; and going into a laundro mat and handing people quarters for the washers.  Sometimes at the car wash I will pull over to the gas station and watch the face of the person getting the free wash.  Some people leave the money, some look around for the person who just left, and others just smile and use the quarters!!!!  Lately, I have had had several random acts given to me and it's awesome to know that some stranger (or perhaps someone I know) wanted to make me smile.  I challenge all of you reader's of my blog (all 2 of you!) to bless someone this week with a Random Act and watch yourself SMILE!!!!!

A Moment in Time...

I love taking photos of barns - old, new, it doesn't matter.  Barns have such character!  Last year, after a snowstorm, I was driving west on Picket Road and my favorite Red Barn was sitting on the hill in all her splendor...snow covering her with it's winter blanket and creating a spectacular sight on the barren trees.  I ran home and grabbed my faithful Sony and returned to take the perfect picture.  Oh my, it was breathtaking!  I immediately enlarged and framed that picture and decided to take pics of that particular beautiful barn in all four seasons from the exact same spot.  I made a copy of the 'Winter Red Barn' and drove to the home of the owner of my beauty.  Mr. A. was thrilled and gave me permission to take any and all pictures of 'her' whenever I wanted.  Wow!  I went in April for the Spring pic and today I went for the Summer shot.  All four are so different and unique.  Today, Mr. A. was in his garden working and watched while I shot the wonder of his precious red barn.  We talked for a bit, he showed me his wonderful flower garden that must have been 1/2 block long, and even gave me seeds to plant in my yard.  He is such a sweet gentleman.  He and his wife have lived in this house with my barn for many years.  We shared photo  and flower stories, and Mr. A. asked if I would email my pics of the beautiful Red Barn to him so he could email them to his brother, the photographer.  We exchanged emails and phone numbers with the promise I would share all pics of my favorite barn with him anytime I took them.  What a blessed day, and as I drove away, I looked up at God, told him 'Thanks' and SMILED!!!!

Hell Hath No Fury As A Woman "Scorched"!!!!!

I abhor heat, hate to sweat, and everybody who knows and loves me, accepts this...Yesterday, 103 degrees...need I say more?  I have become a hermit - only venturing out if necessary.  And why should I?  I work the dream job - June, July, and some of August off. (Yes, I am in Education and those are the perks!) My car stays in the garage until I am ready to go, so it is pleasantly cool as I leave the house.  (Haven't figured out how to find a cool spot when I go out, but am working on that!!!!) At home, I have the air on, two wind tunnel fans running directly on me at all times, (fans stay on even in the winter months!!!) and the shades are drawn to maintain the 'cool' atmosphere.  All in all it's a great life!  So again I say I HATE HEAT! Give me anything below 30 degrees and I am in Heaven and will often sit outside in my hot tub with snow and ice falling on my face.  How glorious is that!!!! School will be starting soon, and the heat wave will continue.  My fans are already in my office, and I will look to the Heaven's and smile and thank God I have a job I love, but underneath I will be thinking "It's too damn sultry, sweaty, sweltering, and scorching to be back until the temperatures dip..."Smiling is the key to surviving the heat and realizing Heaven is where I intend to be in the future...

Playful Antics of Two Sisters

Katy and Abby were adopted.  Katy came to us four years ago, and Abby three.  They were both rescue puppies.  From the start, they were fast friends, inseparable, and a double bundle of energy!!! I wasn't sure I would survive the first year with Katy, let alone adopt another one a year later (as Katy ate 12 pair of my shoes, chewed the legs on the dining room table, dug holes to China in the yard, and made messes)! But here came Abby with this cute little lost face. (She had been found by the Humane Society running the streets.) Watching the girls together became a favorite pasttime for me and Glen.  They would chase each other, stop, give a long stare and dare the other to move - then look out!!!! One would begin the game of chase and soon the other would take over.  Their growls are different for each game they play.  If they are mad, Katy uses a high pitch verbalization to tell Abby to stop - and Abby will stop!  Abby has a very deep growl, followed by a bark when she is angry.  Abby, being the youngest, often tattles to me regarding Katy taking her bone or that Katy won't play with her (and believe me, she is very vocal when she is tattling! She will 'talk' to me for several minutes!!!!)  It's like watching twins and listening to twin language that only they know what is being said!!They always fight over the same bone - even though each of them is given a bone of their own.  They are so rambunctious and love to run in the yard and see who is walking by.  We put in an electronic dog door just for them (to save ourselves from going to the door so often!).  For a week, Glen and I would be on either side of the door, pushing it open, offering treats, pushing the dogs through, etc. to no avail.  Several times we would poke our own heads through to show them, but they wouldn't buy it. (I'm pretty sure it's because we looked stupid and they didn't want to look stupid!!!)  We finally ended up taking the door out and having to purchase a new back door as the old one had a big hole in it...  Guess we all know who the bosses are in our house!!!! LOL  We wouldn't have it any other way.  Whenever we come back from errands, the girls greet us at the back fence or the top of the steps in the house, depending on whether they stayed out or in when we left.  They love us unconditionally and always make us laugh!!!  I swear that Abby has a smile on her face the minute she sees either of us and that makes all the bad days go away!!!! So, those of you with pets, if your day is bad, just look to the top of the steps or the back door and wait for the absolute love of your friend, then smile at the Heaven's and thank God they allowed you in their life!!!!

Thankful for a Darling Six Year Old...

The past three weeks have been extremely time consuming, tiresome, and very hectic with assisting my mom, brother (and family), and others in small town Kansas move to higher ground due to levee problems and a very swollen Missouri River.  On Tuesday of this week, my friend "Mary Poppins" (as I call her very lovingly, as she is one of the kindest and sweetest people I know) and her six year old son called to see if they could stop by for a visit.  I was in between carloads of totes, trash, groceries, and medicine for mom, but I was going to go home before heading back to mom's apartment.  Hunter and "Mary" come into the house, and this adorable six year old immediately let me give him a hug as he looked up at me and simply stated, "I missed you, Ms. Lyons." OMG did my heart melt!  As we visited for a while with our over-rambunctious dogs, Katy and Abby, "Mary" filled me in on how Hunter had prepared for his visit with me...He got up that morning and stated he had hair on his chin and needed to shave it for ME! He put on deodorant before coming over.  This is a 6 year old!!!! How precious.  Of course I had to pat his smooth chin and cheeks and smell his arms since he did this just for our visit!!!!  At the end of our visit, I walked them to the car, and as Hunter is telling me goodbye, he asked when I could come to his house and visit.  I said maybe next week.  He immediately asked "Can you stay all night at my house?"  "Mary" and I giggled, but I told Hunter I would have to ask my husband, and he would have to ask his dad.  He made my day and I am so grateful that Hunter found the time to come and visit and accept me as his equal - I smiled for several days after, and have told this story over and over... Hunter, you are a GREAT kid, and thanks for the special time.

A River Runs Through It...

Watching the Missouri River above flood stage the past three weeks and witnessing mass chaos, extreme paranoia, and many, many different versions of just what the truth is regarding the 'potential flood', I have come to one conclusion and one conclusion only.  People love DRAMA and love to keep stories going and add their own interpretation to the real facts to the point not a soul knows and understands what is really going on at this particular moment in time. It's really annoying to hear 60 different versions of the same story line, but all we can do is watch and wait as the 'higher ups' make the continual decisions to release more and more water until there is no room for it to go but into towns and innocent people's lives.  What gives them the right to determine if my family and friends are to lose their homes? What gives them the right to use scare tactics and/or keep the truth quiet?  What gives them the right to play GOD - as this particular flood isn't an act of GOD, but an act of willpower and coercion.  Just my opinion, but hey, I am guaranteed freedom of speech like the next guy - besides that, nobody reads my blog so I am pretty safe with my own thoughts. Still, I choose to look up to the Heaven's, smile at God and say 'thank you' that everyone I know is safe and well...
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There is no 'I' in TEAM...

We are all governed by self-indulgent behavior - be it chocolate, technology, tools, cars, shoes (such as the case with me), etc.  After all, it is about US.  The question is "When did the 'we' mindset become an 'I' mindset?"  Some may call it self-centeredness, narcissistic, or just plain arrogance.  If you do something great, absolutely take the credit, but if others assisted, give credit where credit is due with a humble heart, afterall, the BIG GUY knows the truth right along with you and the person you have slighted.  Some people seem to bask in the limelight and demand all the attention, even to the point of ignoring the truth.  One must feel bad for those attention-seeking drama kings/queens, as they must not feel very good about themselves and want the world to believe they are actually better than they imagine they are. Whew...the drama alone makes one tired, but remember to take a deep breath, look up to the heaven's and SMILE. It'll make your day brighter and perhaps bring a little emotional contentment to someone else.  After all, it's not always about YOU!!!