Mother's Day!

A day set aside for moms. Isn't that nice? And even though there are those who will say it is a Hallmark Holiday just to be added to the list of Grandmothers, Fathers, Bosses, Secretaries (oops, make that Administrative Professionals), Flags and Groundhogs, it is still a day to be acknowledged for that special relationship a mother has with her child.

Rob 1990

Phil 1986

I've always felt totally honored to have been given the responsibility of raising children. My two sons. Precious treasures directly from God. OK - I might as well admit that although it sounds somewhat sarcastic, there is a lot of humbleness attached to those statements. Frankly, without God, what kind of mother would I have been? And without Doug, how could I have managed on my own? And without those two really NICE boys, how easy would it have been?

Phil's not happy

Blue-Eyed Guy

Brotherly Love?

One year we had planned to go to Glenwood Springs for the weekend, but a May snowstorm (yep!) kept us in Denver. Doug was none too pleased when I used the money we didn't spend at the hotel and hot springs to buy the boys a Play Station game system, instead of them gifting me for Mother's Day. Theirs had been stolen not that long before, and since we didn't get to go on the trip together, it brought me joy to surprise and delight them. Opening the presents I had wrapped, they were elated and confused, while Doug looked on with disgust. I wasn't sure if he didn't think they deserved it or if he was just upset we didn't get to go to Glenwood.

Over the years, my boys and I have formed a bond that is priceless. I love my adult sons. Such characters they are! They delight and entertain; they are bright and interesting beyond belief; they are different, yet carry the same moral compass. So I'll accept this Hallmark Moment for what it means in my heart. My mother was a Rock in my life, and I pray that the Lord will continue to guide me to be the same in my sons' lives.

 

Time Keeps on Slipping...

It's been awhile...

My last post was before my oldest's wedding. September was filled with friends, family, laughs and many, many tears of joy. Just a few snapshots of awesome memories being made.

Rehearsal Dinner at Bubba Gump's in Breckenridge

(one of Phil and Sarah's favorite eateries)

                                                                                                                       

Doug, Phil and Me 

My sweet Rob 

Doug and my niece Jeanne  (my lifesaver!)

      

Sarah's Dad, Mom and the Pastor

The Pastor's Wife, Sarah's Grandma and Uncle

And THE WEDDING

Aren't they precious? 

Rob & Vanessa

 Friends and family were pretty precious too!

Doug & Rita

The Walters Family

Steve, Angie, Sarah, Phil, Lisa, Andrew, Jeannie

Bill & Becky

David & LaVon

Phil, Sarah, Mike, Cyndi, Cathy

Jay & Jim

Phil & Sarah with Dave, Carole and Jody

My favorite wedding pics of Phillip and Sarah

A wonderful event and the Lord's Blessing on all who gathered.

Rainy Day Mornings

Generally I’m not a rainy day person, but yesterday morning was like a moist warm blanket wrapped around me. I woke up with a little ditty in my head about rainy day mornings, but then I realized it was probably Gordon Lightfoot’s “Rainy Day People” instead. As I ventured out to fill the bird feeders, I could almost hear the ground sucking in the moisture like a straw, and I swear earthworms were down there, dancing for joy, wiggling their little bodies to the beat of the raindrops.

It's amazing how a change in the weather (up, down, wet, dry) can change our mood so quickly. After so many +90 days, a day in the 60's had me gazing at the sky, sure a snowflake or two would fall at any moment. I put my list of chores on the afternoon "powerplay", and snuggled under a blanket with the doggies for a bit. It wasn't just my reaction to the weather, either. A former co-worker txt'd me that it felt like a "Moongate" day - our favorite Asian delivery restaurant on blustery days at the office.

Autumn is not only on the horizon - it is flying in the wind, clinging to the leaves on the trees and resting on our skin. Turtlenecks and corduroys will soon replace capris and tank tops in the closet. Another year is edging to a close. It's been a busy one, to be sure, with lots of memories to treasure. But that doesn't mean I'm not excited to see what's in store on the flip-side of the calendar!

Are You Over-Sensitive?

I was chatting with a friend today about our both being over-sensitive. Why is it that situations and moments many years past still haunt us and hurt as much as they did when they first happened? I'm a pretty strong person, able to juggle lots of responsibilities and can be depended on for most anything. But just one negative comment can send me crashing to the emotional floor. Strange, isn't it?

I remember when I was in school and a "friend" thought my hair would look nice pulled back with barettes. We couldn't afford hair barettes, so I used two shiny red buttons with bobby pins to sweep my hair back on the sides. When she saw what I'd done, she laughed at me and embarrassed me in front of others. To this day, I can't forgive the pain, or the humiliation, she caused.



Then there was the time when I was in the Air Force and someone called me out on a phrase I'd used since my youth... "I hope how soon..." (Like, "I hope how soon Christmas comes" or "I hope how soon these clothes dry"...) Her telling me, in a not-so-nice way, that the phrase didn't make sense and what was I really trying to say, was enough to make me feel stupid and back-woods. It's too bad, too, because she ended up missing out on all the positives that having a friend from a different part of the country could bring.

There are many more such incidents that cause pain to me, or others, because someone thought their opinions or ideas were superior. But although I know it was a reflection on them and not on me, the scars are still there. Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. Too bad that we haven't been able to overcome it.

Where Has August Gone?

Good Morning Monday! It is August 27^th!!! Unbelievable.  Where did the month go? This whole summer I had so much going on, I can identify a month with something that I did that made it breeze by – May was rocks in my yard (and in my head); June was deck (and body) demolition; July was outa town, outa state, outa sight! August seems to have been a blur… star time, friend time... and it flew by just as quickly.  

I always thought that burning the candle at both ends, as I did in that "other" life I led, was the reason every day zoomed past without my taking the time to enjoy, relax or reflect. I'm fortunate to have that time now - an hour here and there to savor a book or puzzle, watching the birds at the feeders, playing (or vegging) with the doggies - so much time to enjoy just living, and yet I can still see the calendar pages flipping like they did in the old cartoons to indicate passage of time.

I'll never forget the feeling I had the spring between 6th grade and 7th when I stood in the elementary school playground and looked up at the junior high a block away thinking, "Oh no, I'm only halfway there! Six more years!" Little did I know, from that moment on time would speed up and speed by so fast that, until now, decades later, I'd be trying to lasso the remaining moments of my life...

Whether I have an hour remaining or a million hours, my time will be spent in awe and gratitude for the life I've lived, the moments I'm now experiencing and the anticipation of what's to come! Live Well!

Family Time

In mid-July, I was able to travel home to West Virginia to spend some time with my sisters and their families. What a wonderful time it was! I stayed almost two weeks - long enough to enjoy the routine of just hanging out yet not so long that the brothers-in-law were ready to oust me (almost, but not quite.)



Billy & Rita

Myron & Skippy

Here are pics of my beautiful sisters:

Rita, Florance, June, Rosa

Rita, June, Rosa, Florance

We spent a lot of time around Florance's large dining room table playing Scrabble, Banana Scrabble, Sequence, and a few other games. One afternoon my nephew Christopher invited us to grill hot dogs and marshmallows at his fire pit, something that's become a bit of a tradition. The kids, and grown-up kids, had a fun time.


Haven, June and Rosa

Mayra

Sarena, Haven, June, food




 


Little cousin Lakin and Florance

Drew and Crissy





Because of the rare weather phenomenon call a derecho that had gone through the area the end of June, there were many downed or broken trees on Muddy Creek Mountain, where most of my family lives.



Look at the way this one was split - it looks almost like mini-blinds:



Such devastation, and although there are thousands more trees in an area this dense, it still looks like something broken and torn. The smell of leaves and branches dying was deeply pungent.  So much clearing to be done on the land.

Rosa kept us well stocked with peanut butter fudge, chocolate fudge and seafoam candy. If you haven't had seafoam, you're missing a rare treat. Some call it divinity, but it is lighter with a distinct brown sugar flavor.

You can't go home without being a part of the wildlife.  From the animals on Rosa and Billy's farm to the perpetual kittens at Florance's, there's always someone to cuddle. 

That is, of course, unless you come too near Billy's honeybees or Myron's hornet's nest:



From sunrise on the way to West Virginia, to sunset on the way back to my beloved Colorado, the trip was a delight!

And the very best part of all was falling back into the arms of my Douggy and those two howling hounds!