LOVE

Haven’t been here for a while.  So many things happening in my world.  But watching our country battle for control over who’s running things brought me back.  We All need to Stop the Bickering, Relax, Take a Deep and Cleansing Breath, and Remember What This “Trip” is Really All About. Found the following “list”, and Knew I needed to share.  I wish I knew who compiled the contents so I could give credit where credit is due.  It will, however, resonate with anyone my age who has “Been There, Done That”….and paid attention to the lessons offered.  Enjoy!

Love Is…….

Love is scaring away monsters in the middle of the night, then again at 1:00 am, 2:00 am, 3:00 am
Love is putting peanut butter on anything as long as they’ll eat it!
Love is knowing how to disguise vegetables 30 different ways
Love is reading the same bedtime story for the 999th time.
Love is a hug around the knees.
Love is watching “Mr. Rogers” instead of All My Children.
Love is cutting off the crusts. (Bread is yukky with the crusts left on)
Love is a refrigerator covered with creative works of art.
Love is standing in line for 2 hours for “Disney on Ice” tickets.
Love is not grimacing through the dirtiest of diapers.
Love is trading in the Camero for a station wagon.
Love is the magic kiss that heals all “ouchies.”
Love is a cuddly kid in a blanket sleeper.
Love is the first kick, first smile, first laugh, first step, first anything.
Love is your child pointing to a picture of Christie Brinkley and saying “mama.”
Love is your child sound asleep, any child sound asleep.
Love is a macaroni macklace.
Love is wearing the macaroni mecklace to church with pride.
Love is a peanut butter kiss,  a syrup kiss, a chocolate kiss, any kind of kiss.
Love is when Bert and Ernie replace Robert Redford and Tom Selleck as your most admired men.
Love is not worrying about those few extra pounds cuz they make you more cuddly.
Love is knowing how to get out amoxicillin stains.
Love is a bouquet of dandelions.
Love is the smell of a baby’s neck.
Love is saying “no” at the right times when it’s easier to say “yes”.
Love is saying “yes” at the right times when it’s easier to say “no”.
Oops, I hear someone calling.  I’m off to chase monsters out from under the crib!  By the way, LOVE IS WHAT MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE!
No matter how old you are….You are still #1 when a baby-sitter is needed!

Sounds like a mom wrote this, yes?  That is what I thought also.   When you can relate to this list you can be assured that you “Learned the Lesson”:  Children come to us Not just so We can Teach Them….it is so We  Can LEARN from them.  In this case….Unconditional Love.

 

 

Love the Changing Seasons

Why do I put up with this?

April 3, 2011

Because of this…..

A little more than a month later...

Happy Spring Time, Everyone!

“Lower-Phylum Guardian Angels”

I firmly believe that every one of us has at least One Guardian Angel.  And, if the truth were known, we probably have ‘groups’ of them hanging around us constantly.  How else can you explain all the unexpected  protection, or guidance, or love that we feel “from Somewhere’?

One of the many things I studied over the years was just What angels were, and where they were, and what classifications there were, and what they looked like.  I found many surprising things, including that Some angels Do, Indeed, Have Wings!  There are many different ‘levels’ of angels, depending upon their ‘job’.  One of my very Favorite levels is what this Post is about…the “Lower-Phylum Guardian Angel”.   This is dedicated to some of these Guardians that have been a part of my Cousin Mary’s life.  Thank God she had the presence of mind to get pictures of them to share!  The ‘stories’ are by Mary.

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“This is Cha Cha:  b.1976, d.1990.  She was our hellion.  She came from a wild litter and she never really lost that wildness.  We gave her that name cause that cat food commercial was so popular at the time… Cha cha cha!! ”

Chillin' for the camera

“Jasper: b.1993 d.1995.   We only had him for about 18 months. He died from surgery complications. The little stinker would eat anything, and I don’t mean just food.  During  his operation the doctor found 32 cents in his stomach.  He was loved even if for that short time.”

"Can I have those pennies on the table? Or a shoe lace? Or Something?"

“Sambo: b. 1974 d,1988.   Our 20lb plus cat!.  We had him before we got Cha Cha.  They bonded right off and when Cha Cha got hurt, Sambo (“Sam”) nursed her back to health.  Cha Cha and Sam we got while living in Hawaii and brought them both back with us to Okla.”

"I used to be a Panther....before I shrank."

“Skipper:  b,1975, d. 1993.  He was our first ever Peke!  He was given to us when he was already at least 10 yrs old.  He had been abused but settled into our home and hearts.  And how he was loved!  He would sleep on top of John’s pillow at nite.  He was definitely John’s dog.”

"I Love John! I Love John! I Love John's pillow!"

“Taz (‘White Tazmanian Devil’)  b. 1994, d. 2010.  He was our charmer.  The name really didn’t fit him at all but that is how we had him registered.  One spoiled dog I can guarantee that.  He never really knew he was a dog. ”

"I am Beyond Cute, and I Love You So Much!"

“Trixie ( ‘Trixie Southern Belle’).  b.1995 d.2010.  She was definitely my dog!.  Girl-to-girl is what it was. She would pick on Taz continuously…and Taz just ignored her big time! ”

"Pardon me, Sugar...did you want to capture of photo of little, ole me?"

Finally we have  Angel.  This sweetheart  belonged to my Mom until she passed, then went to live with Mary whom she adored and who  loved her back just as fiercely!

"This is my 'Forever Home'."

“Each one of these special pets gave John and I love and compassion, and total devotion.  God gives us His animals to take care of and love…and we wouldn’t have missed any of it!”

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I am willing to bet you have had a few “Lower Phylum Angels” in your life, too….and you just didn’t suspect  it!

“I think I can…I think I can…”

"I'll bet I can get in there..."

You are SO not going to try that, are you?  Seriously?

"Uh, Hey? A little help here?"

“Are We There, Yet?”

“So…..so…..sleepy…..

....Can't keep my eyes open ...(photo by Mary/Mom)

….let me know as soon as we are done with snow, ok?”

The only way…Hibernate

I am Sooooooo bored.

Spring will be here in about 8 weeks.  Or so.  How the heck do I make it till then?  I started watching my feline family members, and then I knew…..

Drop everything.....

Hibernate!!!

(Beats watching TV all winter…I guess.)

The Ear-Shattering Silence….

Well, would you look at us!  We made it through another blizzard.  Snow is knee-deep at it’s shallowest, and shoulder-deep when you least expect it.  And it is everywhere, covering everything from out West to back East.  It is  bone-biting cold, yet  beautiful at the same time.  But the hardest part for me after the unending howling and blowing of the storm  is the Quiet.  It is one of the loudest ‘quiets’ you will ever hear.  And in the midst of all this whiteness nothing seems to move.  There is no traffic, or people, or noises of any kind.  Just cold, and silence.

Lonely, and So Cold

Then, after a few days inside to recover and hide from the chill, all of a sudden a little sunshine…and a much appreciated visit from our ‘friends’ who have weathered this storm with us.  They were hiding all this time!  And, they are back  just when we need them!

Red on White....Perfect

Movement, and happiness….just what was called for!  We can do this!  Together, we Can Do This!

I am Here for you

Was there ever any doubt?

(Thank you, my Dear Cousin Mary, for the pictures….they have captured the essence of our ordeal, and of our survival.)

Thundersnow?

 

The cars and parking lot are quickly disappearing.

 

It is 4 am, and I am up watching a blizzard take over our area.  I hate tornadoes.  I am scared of ‘meeting’ a hurricane.  I can take only so much rain.  BUT, I Love blizzards!  That is one of the reasons I moved back to Michigan.  The wind is fierce.  The snow is blowing and coming down sideways, and sticking to screens and cars and sides of houses.  And I am enjoying every bit of this.

omg…we just had a thundersnow strike!  For those of you who are wondering what the heck I am talking about, it is when thunder is a part of the snow storm.  This does not happen often, but it does happen.  And, when it does, it usually surprises everyone.  Thunder is expected with the rain in the summer…but during a snow storm?  Yes, indeed, during a blizzard.

I just went outside to get a picture of the gloomy, snowy, cold night…and my camera instantly shut down!  Took me about 10 minutes to warm it up.  Guess my pictures will have to be of the aftermath.

So, for now I shall snuggle up in a blanket, with a cup of hot cocoa, and watch us become buried.  From what I have heard we have about 20 hours of this to endure.  At least a foot of snow is predicted.  I know a lot of other states have had it Much worse than that…and I sympathize with the folks who have had to live through it.  But I can’t help myself…..I Love Blizzards!

Tomorrow:  Pictures (if my camera is willing).

Another Year…Mate Still Missing

On April 12, 2010 I did a blog entry about the pair of doves I got to ‘know’ from the previous years.  Then this Spring I wrote about seeing the single dove left from the pair.  I hear the cooing.  I don’t hear an ‘answer.’  I don’t see the mate.  There is no nest being built in the carport.

Today, the dove is back.  Alone.   Calling for it’s mate.  And looking a bit ragged.  I got my camera…..

Trying to find a place to hide..

One last look around....no mate.

I wonder how many years this dove will make the trip here alone….

Letting Go

So the “Robin Family”  was created, the babies  raised, then pushed from their home, and now successfully on their own.  I really enjoyed being a part of this…on so many levels.  While this Saga developed, pictures and updates from my Cousin Mary came often, and I couldn’t wait to write all about it and share the wonderful photography with the world.

When the “kids” were all gone, Mary sent me one last  picture… of the Empty Nest.  Oh, the melancholy began to set in!  The “Empty Nest”….something I was facing in my own life after 40 years.   I ‘swore’ I was going to get a print of this photo and frame it and hang it where I would look at it often!

The VERY empty nest...

How fitting…and poignant.

My grandson has been living with me since he was 8 years old.  He is 21 years now, in school (college) full time, and in love.  He is also slowly moving out of my home.  “Oh, woe is me!  All alone….after dedicating my life to kids for 40 years.  Whatever shall I do?”

Well, I am home by myself most of the time, now…..and, I LIKE IT!   And I like that he has grown into a strong young man with values I admire, and a simply wonderful girlfriend.  Their visits are often, and the conversations are fun.  My own “Empty Nest” is growing to be a comfortable place to be.  Maybe I don’t need to make a shrine out of the Empty Nest picture!

As a matter of fact, I have spent some time actually examining that photo…there is more there than I first noticed.  It is becoming even more appropriate as a symbol of my own life than I first thought it was.  Take a closer look.  It is empty of ‘kids’, but is it truly empty?

As my kids grew up and left home to start their own lives, I:   Cleaned carpets of stains (candle wax, crayons, ink, spilled soda, mystery filth (Ew!)).  I patched the holes in the walls, screens, furniture, whatever ( however it got there???). I peeled the tape off the walls from where the posters used to hang (which I discovered were hung to cover the holes made from the darts being thrown and missing the target…among other causes). I moved, then moved again to smaller and smaller homes.  And as my living space got more limited, I packed into boxes of all sizes whatever they left behind, marked them with the various names as best I could without kids here to fight over who originally owned what, and put them into whatever storage I had to use.  Phew!

Now, look at the “Empty Nest” photo again….there are ‘remnants’ of ‘stuff’ left in the bottom (Ew!), the surrounding leaves (Walls?) are discolored (from posters, maybe), the edges of the nest are showing wear and tear (from darts and fights?), and it is a bit dirty in general.  The parents are going to have to work hard to undo what has been done to their home.  And, while they are busy ‘removing the stuff on the bottom’, I will be in my own space re-sorting and re-packing boxes.  Mom and Dad Robin  are readying their home for a new brood.  I am preparing to ship “4 Lives to their Rightful Owners.”  Both intense, and loving, and spirit-worthy jobs.

I have my own little pieces of several childhoods….they can each have them after I have passed.  Meantime, they are my own precious memories, and they are over there –  in my newly cleared out closet by the “Empty Nest” photo…with the Smilie Face sticker in the corner of the frame!.