Yes, yes, I know that it has been 2 months since I have blogged! And since that last post, I have had a very special person come into my life. As my blog readers know, I am now the very proud grandma of a two month guy named Jackson. Hence, you can blame him for the lack of blogs since he was born (I have to find a place to lay blame somewhere and he'll never know I used him!).
Steve and I were fortunate to go out and hold him for the first time when he was but one week old. My, my it was easy to fall in love with him. How does it happen so instantaneously? I remember wondering that with my own children and now, it's deja vu all over again. Thanks to a winter storm we got to stay an extra day but when we left he had doubled his lifetime!
And as gift to me from my school district, I had the opportunity to spend 17 more days with Jackson in January. I hugged, bathed, rocked, sang, did the grandma sway and loved every minute I spent doing those things. I had forgotten the smell of baby neck, the cuddling, warmth, and just general ecstatic feeling one can get while holding a newborn. Yes, they are a lot of time and energy but, from a grandma's point of view, what could be more important.
Ellen sends me pictures of him and my arms just ache to hold him. I can see him asking for me in those eyes! There's no doubt about it. But one thing for sure, he has my heart. And I left it with him!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
No News is Not Good News
Still no word from out east about a new grandson but.......I have to convince myself that I am not the one pushing this agenda so I will get on with my life and concentrate on other things besides being a grandma.
I LOVE this season. Right now I am enjoying a cup of hot jasmine tea, knitting by the Christmas tree while carols entertain me, and have my evergreen candle burning non-stop. The smells, sights, and music of the season overwhelm my senses. I do enjoy buying gifts at this time of year but have never been so busy that I have failed to enjoy the true meaning of the season.
Take time to relive your childhood past and get caught up in the memories that must abound. The gifts you received were fleeting; the memories have lasted your lifetime. And not all Christmas memories are glorious, but they all remind us at this time of year that there is goodness, kindness, and compassion in most people's heart.
I was hoping to share some other good news with all of you at this time, but I have no earth shattering pronouncements, just a reminder to enjoy this season for what it truly is: A gift!
I LOVE this season. Right now I am enjoying a cup of hot jasmine tea, knitting by the Christmas tree while carols entertain me, and have my evergreen candle burning non-stop. The smells, sights, and music of the season overwhelm my senses. I do enjoy buying gifts at this time of year but have never been so busy that I have failed to enjoy the true meaning of the season.
Take time to relive your childhood past and get caught up in the memories that must abound. The gifts you received were fleeting; the memories have lasted your lifetime. And not all Christmas memories are glorious, but they all remind us at this time of year that there is goodness, kindness, and compassion in most people's heart.
I was hoping to share some other good news with all of you at this time, but I have no earth shattering pronouncements, just a reminder to enjoy this season for what it truly is: A gift!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
At The Drop of a Hat
"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. I'm standin' here outside my door!" When the phone call comes, I am on my way to Washington, DC to meet my new grandson. Trouble is, I haven't gotten the call yet and I have found that I am much more anxious and time is moving much slower than it did when I was having my own children. Seems I'm not a good waiter!
So much has been going through my mind since we found out in May that "Buster" was going to join our family. I simply cannot wait to snuggle a little baby neck again and kiss soft, quiet cheeks. I do rocking really well and my gentle lullabies will still convince a small child to fall gently to sleep. What wishes and hopes I have for that tiny little boy.
But, as Ellen says, he's still cooking and right now he holds all the cards. His birth day will be decided by him. But does he understand how excited this whole family is to take him in our arms and welcome him into the family? Maybe he does and that's why he's taking his time. Stay tuned!!!
So much has been going through my mind since we found out in May that "Buster" was going to join our family. I simply cannot wait to snuggle a little baby neck again and kiss soft, quiet cheeks. I do rocking really well and my gentle lullabies will still convince a small child to fall gently to sleep. What wishes and hopes I have for that tiny little boy.
But, as Ellen says, he's still cooking and right now he holds all the cards. His birth day will be decided by him. But does he understand how excited this whole family is to take him in our arms and welcome him into the family? Maybe he does and that's why he's taking his time. Stay tuned!!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
You Never Know What It Means
About a year ago this time, Steve and I were having some problems with our septic system not draining correctly. I know, too much information, but that is a fact. We knew that something needed to be done quickly as we would have guests over the holidays and certainly did not want to be dealing with septic systems during the "ho ho ho's" of the season so we called a man who had been recommended highly to us.
I'll call him Dale. Dale was pleasant to talk to on the phone and he agreed to come by to look over the situation the following day. He was prompt, pleasant, and seemed very capable of doing the job for us. He couldn't pinpoint the exact cause of any problems but he was the kind of guy that you are so confident in that we just said: "We'll be gone. You do what you would do if it were your system and send us the bill." Whew, a leap of faith but that we had.
Within his promised time, our system was fixed and running as good as new. It just so happened that Steve was able to observe him at work and was quite impressed with Dale's expertise.
The bill for his services arrived and I gladly paid promptly. Since it was such a pleasure to do business with Dale, and you always want to keep the septic guy happy, I enclosed a note to him commenting on his promptness, ability, and how much he had saved us by having a second sense about so many things having to do with drain lines, pipes, and systems in general. Took me about three minutes and the note, along with a check, was in the mail the next day.
A week ago, my brother-in-law saw Dale at a farm sale and had a nice visit with him. Dale mentioned how much the note had meant to him. He said no one had ever thanked him with a note before, how good it made him feel, and how he had framed it and put it up in his office! He went on and on about how we were at the top of his list for any work we ever needed done.
I wrote this blog not to brag, but to remind each of us how important those random acts of sincere kindness can be. Something that took me three minutes to do has lasted this man an entire year and he was still talking about it. How easy it is to call a company when we are unhappy about a situation yet we take little or no time to tell others how much we appreciate them when we do. Next time you pay a bill or send something in the mail, or someone waits on you that just makes you happy, let them know how much it means. What a wonderful world it would be if we just did this a little more often.
I'll call him Dale. Dale was pleasant to talk to on the phone and he agreed to come by to look over the situation the following day. He was prompt, pleasant, and seemed very capable of doing the job for us. He couldn't pinpoint the exact cause of any problems but he was the kind of guy that you are so confident in that we just said: "We'll be gone. You do what you would do if it were your system and send us the bill." Whew, a leap of faith but that we had.
Within his promised time, our system was fixed and running as good as new. It just so happened that Steve was able to observe him at work and was quite impressed with Dale's expertise.
The bill for his services arrived and I gladly paid promptly. Since it was such a pleasure to do business with Dale, and you always want to keep the septic guy happy, I enclosed a note to him commenting on his promptness, ability, and how much he had saved us by having a second sense about so many things having to do with drain lines, pipes, and systems in general. Took me about three minutes and the note, along with a check, was in the mail the next day.
A week ago, my brother-in-law saw Dale at a farm sale and had a nice visit with him. Dale mentioned how much the note had meant to him. He said no one had ever thanked him with a note before, how good it made him feel, and how he had framed it and put it up in his office! He went on and on about how we were at the top of his list for any work we ever needed done.
I wrote this blog not to brag, but to remind each of us how important those random acts of sincere kindness can be. Something that took me three minutes to do has lasted this man an entire year and he was still talking about it. How easy it is to call a company when we are unhappy about a situation yet we take little or no time to tell others how much we appreciate them when we do. Next time you pay a bill or send something in the mail, or someone waits on you that just makes you happy, let them know how much it means. What a wonderful world it would be if we just did this a little more often.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Hello, This Is Your Conscience Speaking
I have a dear friend, who I will address in this blog as my conscience, who emailed me today and rattled my chain about my blog that has been neglected for a VERY long time. She's right, I have been on a hiatus! Doing what I am not sure, but since I last wrote, harvest has been completed, we have finished our first quarter of school, and are well into the second quarter, and I will become a grandmother in about one month! So, it really has been a long time!
Aren't friends just wonderful? They can nudge us when we need a jumpstart, help us get perspective when we are zooming out of control, and be there for us when we just need someone to start us back down the right path. And I have been very blessed with many caring, loving, friends through the years.
So Conscience, otherwise known as Barbara, thank you for nudging me. I'll send word on to Ellen to nudge her. And for all my faithful readers out there, probably all five of you, I am just sure that my life will become less complicated soon.
Aren't friends just wonderful? They can nudge us when we need a jumpstart, help us get perspective when we are zooming out of control, and be there for us when we just need someone to start us back down the right path. And I have been very blessed with many caring, loving, friends through the years.
So Conscience, otherwise known as Barbara, thank you for nudging me. I'll send word on to Ellen to nudge her. And for all my faithful readers out there, probably all five of you, I am just sure that my life will become less complicated soon.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Fall Preview
It's that time of year again. Almost 7:30 PM and I have no idea what time we will eat supper, nor who will be here to enjoy the spaghetti and meatballs I have stewing on the stove. I know there will be two, Steve and Dan, and I think there is a good possibility that there will be two more, Mike and Mal. I never really know until I hear the back door open and try to decipher how many distinct voices I hear on the back porch.
Everyone has spent the day weaning our spring calves and now all of the little ones are getting their much needed immunizations, much the same as those kindergarten children get once they start school. It is a long and involved process and I know that it will be several hours before I see the first group come pulling in the driveway.
But I also know that weaning means I will get restless sleep for the next two to three nights. The calves will be bawling for their moms 24/7 and with the weather still quite warm, we will have the windows open and be privy to their serenading. Just as noisy as any city block so I can kiss the quiet and serene country nights goodbye for a while.
I have midterms to make out, papers to grade, and budgets to work on. Really, might as well use my time wisely. But then, I'll probably be awake most of the night anyway!
Everyone has spent the day weaning our spring calves and now all of the little ones are getting their much needed immunizations, much the same as those kindergarten children get once they start school. It is a long and involved process and I know that it will be several hours before I see the first group come pulling in the driveway.
But I also know that weaning means I will get restless sleep for the next two to three nights. The calves will be bawling for their moms 24/7 and with the weather still quite warm, we will have the windows open and be privy to their serenading. Just as noisy as any city block so I can kiss the quiet and serene country nights goodbye for a while.
I have midterms to make out, papers to grade, and budgets to work on. Really, might as well use my time wisely. But then, I'll probably be awake most of the night anyway!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Everything's Relative
I was driving home from school last week and I encountered a situation I very seldom, if ever, have dealt with. I was approaching the stop sign one quarter mile from my house and there, to my surprise, was a lot of traffic. There were two cars behind me, two cars at the stop sign facing me, and we had to wait for six cars before we could go through the intersection. A traffic jam! I had never before seen my intersection so busy. Ten cars! Urban sprawl was happening just down the road from where I lived.
And then I had to laugh. My friends from larger urban areas would call that a peaceful commute home. Two hundred cars would be a gift, let alone ten. As my mind wandered, as it so easily does, I started thinking about other things that are merely relative depending upon your situation.
So many people in our country think they are so poor and yet most people in a third world country would gladly change places with anyone in our lowest economic class. A dinner out in the burg costing a couple more than $50 would be a splurge, but a drop in the bucket to someone else. And in the country, a neighbor closer than one mile away is encroachment while those in an inner city apartment couldn't even imagine the space.
As I ponder these situations it makes me realize even more that no matter how bad or dire or good our situation is, we must always remember that things are relative. I guess I've never had it so good.
And then I had to laugh. My friends from larger urban areas would call that a peaceful commute home. Two hundred cars would be a gift, let alone ten. As my mind wandered, as it so easily does, I started thinking about other things that are merely relative depending upon your situation.
So many people in our country think they are so poor and yet most people in a third world country would gladly change places with anyone in our lowest economic class. A dinner out in the burg costing a couple more than $50 would be a splurge, but a drop in the bucket to someone else. And in the country, a neighbor closer than one mile away is encroachment while those in an inner city apartment couldn't even imagine the space.
As I ponder these situations it makes me realize even more that no matter how bad or dire or good our situation is, we must always remember that things are relative. I guess I've never had it so good.
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