Family and Home – Long walks and dark chocolate

Costco conflict

November 22, 2015 2 Comments

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The lady was rude; there was no doubt about that. She was rude in a way that made me physically hurt for the person the rudeness was directed to. My much younger companion, the victim of the remark, swallowed the bait and bit back, with a snotty retort, more to assuage her wounded pride than anything else. I wanted to hide under my shopping cart.

“Just walk away, I pleaded. It’s not worth it, she is an elder, and she may have recently lost her husband or something equally traumatic. I didn’t raise you to behave this way.” Alas, there is only so much you can say to an adult child.

My youngest responded, loudly enough for everyone on the same aisle to hear her “Well, I will report her to management for how she is treating customers, then.” I was mortified as I felt the stares. I loathe confrontation to begin with, and I certainly didn’t like the unforgiving spirit I saw in my precious woman-child. She continued to mumble and complain about Costco and how it’s too full of people and she was never going back as I wondered who she really belonged to and how I could get her out of there before she blew a gasket.

Gently and cautiously, I continued to suggest reasons people behave insensitively and how we give them the benefit of the doubt. She calmed down but when we got close to check-out, she said, “I’m still reporting her”, but I noticed she smiled when she said it. Then she said, “I tell you what, Mom, buy me a hot dog and I won’t say anything.” I said, “Done, while I reached into my wallet and grabbed a bill”.

This was her way of pleasing me without having to admit she had lost the zeal to persecute. This made it look like I had to bribe her to keep her from doing the deed, but she knows I would have bought her the $1 hot dog, either way. I’m calling it a win.

Filed Under: Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: confrontation, Costco, forgiveness, hateful, love, peace, unforgiveness

Share the burdens by loving

November 21, 2015 2 Comments

Everglades sunset

On this twenty-first day of November, I have noticed many “what I’m thankful for” posts and memes on social media. Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, we are reminded of all the things that we sometimes take for granted. It’s encouraging and uplifting to see so many people thoughtfully posting their thanks throughout the month of November.

We are a blessed nation, even in the midst of some of our current circumstances. However, I want to encourage all of you, my friends, that as we express our gratefulness we would be mindful that this is a difficult season for many. As the holidays approach, there are those without family, those who are estranged from their families and those who aren’t feeling too particularly thankful at this time in their life. They’ve lost loved ones, find themselves immersed in financial difficulty, they may be going through a separation or divorce, going through debilitating illness or watching someone they love fade away. You may know someone that just doesn’t have anyone else. This is life, and we see this year-round, but holidays can make these situations particularly painful.

I pray that we make it our business to search out, to find out who these people are in our neighborhoods. My hope is that as part of the demonstration of our thankfulness, we would reach out and somehow provide that feeling of home and comfort to the aged, the lonely and the downcast.

Many of us will bake and decorate, and our homes will smell of cinnamon and spices; we will surround ourselves with family and friends and feel that “thankful” spirit for our fellowship. Let’s spread it around; let’s be mindful of those less fortunate.
We can do this by our prayers and by giving, but it’s also in the simple knock on the door of a shut-in or a hot apple pie delivered to someone who might not be able to see well enough to do all the baking they once enjoyed.

Please feel free to share what your plans are to give back or things that you and your family have done in years past to share the love. If we all just reach one, there would be hundreds of smiles that might not be possible otherwise.

Love, Prayers and Happy November!

Filed Under: Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: helping hand, love for people, sharing, showing love, Thanksgiving

Daily Prompt: Sense of Touch

November 20, 2015 Leave a Comment

The Daily Prompt read, Textures are everywhere: The rough edges of a stone wall. The smooth innocence of a baby’s cheek. The sense of touch brings back memories for us. What texture is particularly evocative to you?

Oh, the joys of bubble wrap!

Touch and texture are woven into the very fabric of our lives. God’s beautiful creation offers a plethora of things to touch and taste and see.

Before I saw this post this morning, I was watching baby videos of my granddaughter, who is now 5. We captured her touching anything new and different with delight. She would put her pudgy little finger on a frog and giggle, pet the cat (while the cat tried frantically to get away) and there is one where she appears to shiver when she touches a furry stuffed animal for the first time.

When I think back on my life, my mind is flooded with images of textures that still evoke emotion. There are memories tied to events and people and I stand in awe once again at the way God made us and the senses he gave us.

With both of my grandfathers, I remember lots of warm hugs and a little stubble when I pressed my cheek next to theirs. It was scratchy, yet comforting in some strange way. Their hands were worn with years of hard work, but not too worn to hold mine. I remember when Granny Byrd taught me to work in her flower beds and my love for having the cool earth in my bare hands was born.

Sitting in the lap of Granny Goff, I remember being amazed at the pages of her bible, so thin they seemed almost transparent, yet strong enough to last years of her reading daily. Her elderly hands displayed bulging veins which I would find great amusement in pressing until she would laugh and tell me to quit.

During church, I would play with my Aunt Terrie’s long, beautiful fingernails and she was always so patient with me about it. When I would go to visit Aunt Alice, our favorite place to be was the beach, with our toes in the gritty, warm sand.

I smile thinking about the texture of mom’s fine, curly hair; she never like us to mess with it once she got it just so. Of course, we did anyway. Thinking of Dad reminds me of the wind on my face as we returned from an island camping trip in the boat.

My husband has held me close and his touch has been a source of comfort throughout the years. Thinking of our daughters elicits memories of cookie dough and jello and ice cream. Some of the textures I was confronted with weren’t so pleasant but still bring a smile! There were days at the kitchen table with paper, glue and lots of glitter! The best memories were their little hands in mine. In the beginning they were slobbery little hands but I didn’t care; it was when they no longer needed to hold my hand that I knew things were changing.

Yes, our sense of touch is precious and my life has been touched this morning by going down memory lane. As I reach out and wrap my hand around my warm cup of coffee, I am reminded how precious every moment is once again

Filed Under: Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: Daily Prompt, memories, proud grandparent, texture, touch

Turkey Troubles

November 19, 2015 3 Comments

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I wrote this a couple of years ago and I hope I have not misrepresented all the turkeys out there!

IF I WERE A TURKEY
If I were a turkey I’d start training in April
to keep from becoming a Thanksgiving staple
In May you would catch me honing my skill
on how to avoid those missiles that kill
There’d be classes on dodging a sharpshooter’s aim
and how to outrun those arrows that maim
In June I would learn how to camo my feathers
and to quickly blend in no matter terrain or weather
In July and August under hot scorching sun,
the training would continue, none of it fun.
In September things would get really hard
this is the month I am banned from the yard
Any fat has to go, that fact remains,
No more picking at insects or gorging on grains.
October would bring full starvation mode for me
I can’t afford to look at all healthy you see
When the dreaded month arrives, if I’ve escaped the fate of many,
you would think I could relax and enjoy and eat plenty
But no! December looms as dark as the winter,
and there are some who would have me for their Christmas dinner.
So still I’ll lie low and eat less than I desire,
to keep myself, another year from of the fire.
In January I will gobble and let down my guard
and enjoy my dinner and prance through the yard.

Written By: Lisa

Filed Under: Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: Christmas, Dinner, funny, Thanksgiving, turkey

Nana’s travel buddy

November 18, 2015 4 Comments

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Ayda enjoying the fall leaves

Recently, my daughter, who lives in New Orleans, bought a round trip ticket for me, so that I could come and babysit for a long weekend. My first thought was, YES!!! Any time I can see my kids or my granddaughter, I am thrilled.

A little later though, I wondered how I was going to fit in my annual fall pilgrimage northward from FL to find some fall weather and leaves. I couldn’t do both…or could I? After some internet research I discovered that Natchez Trace Parkway was a mere three hours from their home. My road trip plans began to formulate and in no time at all, I had reservations near Natchez, MS, where we would get on the parkway. I arrived in New Orleans on a Wednesday and we left on Friday after school (that was a mom requirement).

We stayed in a hotel on the Mississippi River and the next morning we had breakfast, spilled milk and then walked/ran/hopped/skipped the boardwalk and took lots of photos. We crossed the river and made our way through Natchez and on to the parkway.

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The day was a little cloudy to begin with but ended up being sunny and beautiful. We took in many of the sites along the parkway, her favorite being Mount Locust . One of the bedrooms on display there showed some toys like corn husk dolls and she thought it was sad that perhaps that was all they had to play with. I explained all the fun children used to have playing outside until dark. She was a little skeptical.

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Ayda in the front yard at Mount Locust

For a five year old, she sincerely enjoyed learning some of the history. She was certainly a trooper and lasted a lot longer than I expected. We got off the parkway for lunch and I enjoyed Mr “D”s ‘Heavenly Fried Chicken’ at the Old Country Store Restaurant in Lorman, MS. Ayda enjoyed the biscuits.

That evening we found a hotel and she wanted to order room service, so of course I told her that’s exactly what we would do. We were both tired from all of the walking and sight-seeing. We were waiting at the elevators; me with 100 lbs of luggage and her with her new doll, when she said, “Nana, there is only an up button for the elevator because we are on the very first floor and we don’t need to go underground.” I snapped the picture below right before she said that; it shows the thoughtful expression before her announcement.

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Waiting for the elevator

The next morning, I had planned to just take the quickest route home, even though deep in my heart, I wanted to get back on the parkway and go back the way we came. It was rainy though, and surely she wouldn’t want to do that again. While we were at breakfast, we discussed it and she said, “Oh Nana, please can we go back the way we came?”. I said, “Honey, it’s rainy today and we may not be able to get out and explore as much”. She insisted that she did not care.

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It was rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. We couldn’t get out much but the beauty around us was enough. She sang most of the way and I taught her to spell Mississippi, the way I was first taught. MI crooked letter, crooked letter, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I, humpback, humpback I. She got a kick out of making a video to send to her parents.

We stopped for lunch in Natchez and while enroute to the restaurant the GPS took us along the Mississippi River. She said, “Is that the Mississippi River?” and I said, yes, honey it is. She declared, “Well, then our hotel is right on the other side”. Yes, it was. As a matter of fact, we could see it after we drove a little further. I know that I am a typical Nana, but this kid never ceases to amaze me.

The rain picked up and we had to run through it because I parked a little too far away from the restaurant. We got wet and giggled at how silly our hair looked.

We were almost back to New Orleans and she was telling me that if I was looking for a road sign to tell me how far we had to go, to always look on the right. I wondered how a five year old would realize that, and asked her what I would do without her on these crazy road trips. She said, “Nana, I guess if Papa wouldn’t go, you’d just be alone. It’s a good thing you have me.” Yes, it is, baby girl, yes it is.

Filed Under: Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: Autumn, Natchez Trace Parkway, Travel

Resolutions in November

November 17, 2015 4 Comments

This year has been filled with many challenges. This caused me to put one of the things I love the most on the back burner. Yesterday when I saw a “post a day” challenge, I decided it was time to get back on track.

So, I am resolving (in November) to do a better job of making time to write. When you are passionate about something, you should make time for it. That is what living and loving life is about. God gives us all gifts and we are to use them to make a difference.

Although I am not a professional and haven’t had any formal training at writing, I have had people tell me that things I have written touched them in some way. If I can touch one person, then it makes it worth the effort.

Love and Blessings and thanks so much for all of your support!

Filed Under: Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: Creative writing, postaday, writing

Daily Prompt: Adult Visions

November 11, 2015 5 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Adult Visions.”

As a kid, you must have imagined what it was like to be an adult. Now that you’re a grownup (or becoming one), how far off was your idea of adult life?

At best, it was grossly inaccurate. I couldn’t wait to grow up, to reach that pivotal 18 year mark and be my own boss, do my own thing, make my own decisions. How many times since have I said, “If only I’d known then what I know now”.

Oh the joys of being provided for, loved unconditionally and yes, even the guidance and direction given to help me navigate the treacherous passages of youth. At the time, all I desired was more freedom from my parents; these older folks who surely had never experienced anything quite like I was going through. If they had, they had forgotten it by now. They just didn’t get it. Just wait until I was in charge!

Words of wisdom went in one bejeweled ear and out the other. Advice was received with a nod of the head a smile, with a closed heart and mind. You see, I already knew everything; well actually more than they did, or so I thought.

I don’t think I really “got it” until I was married and even more so after my first child. Being a wife, mom and productive member of society was more difficult than I had anticipated. The bills kept coming, emergencies happened, life didn’t go at all like I planned. Even in my twenties, I was still making some bad choices, feeling like I had forever and I was invincible.

In my thirties, I lost my mom and found myself dialing her number for months after she was gone, craving words of wisdom, spoken from a heart of love. I wanted her to help me make decisions, to tell me what to do and she was gone.

At fifty, I can tell you from years of experience, that I was wrong about being an adult. I thought it meant all fun, frivolity, and doing what I wanted to, with no interference. Although I have had my share of fun and I love my family dearly, I can tell you that being an adult isn’t all fun and games. I love the wisdom that comes with being older, but the sheer reality of life is hard sometimes. I didn’t realize the responsibilities of being a parent, that your love and devotion would continue to grow, even as your influence waned. I didn’t know that my choices would all have consequences, some of them life long. I couldn’t have imagined the joys of parenting, nor could I have anticipated the fear of getting it all wrong.

Yes, I was most definitely wrong about what I thought adulthood would be, but I am still happy I am here and glad that I am open to learning from those wiser than me. I am blessed to have had so much great influence in my life and pray I can be a good example of an “elder” to others as long as I have breath.

Filed Under: Family and Home Tagged With: adulthood, grow up, life

Come Autumn and especially October

October 15, 2015 3 Comments

Great Smoky Mountains

Those who know me well know that fall is my favorite time of the year. I prematurely long for October beginning in June or July. In this, my 50^th fall season, I endeavored to determine why. After all, every season holds the promise of something new. It’s as if God knew our fickle natures would tire and need a change.

As I pondered my preference for all things autumn, I mentally made a list of all of the possibilities for why this season holds such charm.

For one thing, this month is the month of my birth. Granted, that isn’t nearly as exciting as in years gone by but perhaps in my formative years, it was one reason I developed a strong preference for the beginning of autumn and for the month of October.

It also holds the promise of the rapidly approaching holiday season and cooler temperatures. Although I am a Florida native, I’ve always favored the chillier weather, and I am grateful that I travel a lot and get to partake of it more often. The drop in temperature means that even we Florida girls will get to wear boots!

If all of that wasn’t enough to help me understand my love for fall, I was reminded of something else just this morning.

I live in what I would describe as a small fishing village. One of the livelihoods is stone crabbing and if you are a local, it is very likely that someone in your family is or was in the stone crabbing business or benefits from it in some way. My dad was a stone crabber and my husband added a crab boat to our business just last year. You may be wondering what crabbing has to do with my October love.

Well, you see October 15^th is the first day the crabbers can begin pulling stone crab traps and bringing in their catch. Today signifies the start of a more lucrative season for crabbers.

When I was a child, after a long penny pinching summer, it was exciting to wait at the docks and see how many pounds of crabs daddy had caught that day. Even as a child you felt that fiscal tension ease up quite a bit within a couple of weeks after crab season started (as long as it was a good season). The question of how many pounds was often a precursor to what kind of Christmas you were going to have.

So this morning, around 4:00am, when I began to hear the sounds of those diesel engines as the crab boats headed out, I smiled and reminisced for a while and then said a prayer for a bountiful harvest and safety for all.

Now, if I could just get the days to slow down, so I can thoroughly enjoy every moment of my October.

Filed Under: Family and Home Tagged With: Autumn, crabbing, fall, october

Hold on a minute

July 3, 2015 1 Comment

Mossy phone booth; Olympic National Park

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Going Obsolete.”

Of all the technologies that have gone extinct in your lifetime, which one do you miss the most?

Initially, I struggled with this. Why would I miss cassette tapes that I had to rewind with a pencil, or a television without a remote, or a 7 lb boombox? The more I thought about it, I realized it’s not the technology I miss, but the time period it represented. It’s not even just the memories, but the way things just seemed slower and people seemed to have more time for one another.

There are the memories of standing in front of a television, physically removing my little brothers hand off the knob as he tried to change the channel to Creature Feature which I abhorred; the days of listening to the Top 40 so that I could record those favorite tunes; my aunt and uncle recording my little cousin’s voice and sending the tapes in the mail to my grandparents, and who could forget “film strips” in school?

I miss a landline telephone that emitted a busy signal when people were actually tied up. Imagine a world where the person you were speaking to and your conversation with them was actually important enough where interruption was denied. How many times in our current culture do you hear “hold on” a minute, at precisely the wrong time?

Then, there is the written word; from the notes sneakily passed in class to the newsy letters received from a pen pal, stamped from a foreign country (mine was from Sweden). As I looked through a table of books yesterday and my husband asked, “I thought you had a kindle, why do you need to buy those?”, I said, “I love these too.” I didn’t bother to explain that I love the feel and the smell and the sound of the pages turning because he wouldn’t understand. He isn’t a lover of reading. I don’t think books will ever become completely obsolete, but I fear the generations to come might not appreciate them as much as we do.

So, in closing, I miss those days, the slower ones, but at the same time I am grateful for some of the new inventions and discoveries. I’ve always lamented jokingly that I was born in the wrong generation. Maybe the older we get, we all think that? As we age, the memories accumulate and (hopefully) the wisdom and knowledge increase and we realize what’s really important.

Filed Under: Family and Home Tagged With: Daily Prompt, reminiscing, technology

Summarizing summer

June 30, 2015 Leave a Comment

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “In the Summertime.”

Summer only began on June 21, which was a week ago last Sunday. I was shocked when I saw someone say something about it being the first day of summer, as I thought we were already deep in the midst of it judging by the temperatures and humidity. But, I do live in South Florida, so it’s not like I am not fully aware of my lot every year after the winter-less winter and a day or two of Spring. This year though, the heat is really bothering me. So much so, that if I had the money, I would have a house somewhere up north and retreat there until at least October.

I remember a time when I lived for summer; my favorite place was on the beach; multi colored towel spread in the sand, radio blasting. Smelling like Hawaiian Tropic I baked in the sun damaging my young, tender, spot free, wrinkle free, skin. Ah, didn’t I just write a post about unheeded advice? These days, after several non-benign skin cancer removals, I’m not as likely to be found sunbathing.

When you are school age, summer is synonymous with “no-school” so of course it’s your favorite season. There is staying up late followed by sleeping in, vacation, summer camp, and many adventures with friends. Then you grow older and while your children are still in school, you have mixed emotions about summer. At first, it’s great and you are excitedly planning trips and activities. Your precious pumpkins will be home with you and you anticipate lots of quality time, family fun and long talks. Near the end of July however, you are counting down the days until you don’t have to hear “I’m bored” anymore. That lasts until they don their new school clothes and backpack and head up the walk the first day, and you turn into a puddle of tears because you know you will miss them.

At my age (we will call it the young grandmother age), with no one at home except myself and my love, I am free to pick a season as my favorite for other reasons. Mine, for as long as I can remember has been fall. I love all seasons and they signify different seasons of life and I thank my Creator for each and every one of them. Most of the time, I am content and can put on my Pollyanna hat and find all the goodness about summer. Today is not one of those days.

So, here I am, enjoying my beautiful, blossoming plants and green grass as I sit sweating in a lawn chair in the shade, swatting mosquitoes…..waiting for fall.