ONLY A MATTER OF TIME

Have you become your parents? No. Well, if you think it won't happen to you......just wait. 

It was just a short time ago, when I would hop in the car and do the grocery shopping, as fast as I could. I'd grab anything that looked good and hurry home. Now, just like my mother, I make a list, drive ponderously to the super market, check every price, and every ingredients label, then and only then do I make my purchases. 

My husband and I have begun to take short (or long) rides around town and out into the countryside, just for entertainment. I remember my grandparents doing that. OMGolly. So far, thank goodness,  I haven't heard my husband ask, "Where are we going today, MAMA?" (Grampa Tom always called his wife, my grandma, Mama!)

Then, there are the doctor's appointments. Our wall calendar, attached by magnet to the fridge, used to denote notes about future trips, lunch dates and the kid's sports events. Now, our schedule consists of the dates and times of trips to our various doctors. And, some of those future appointments are 6 months to a year off. Only old people have calendars like that. At least we are optimistic enough to assume we will be well enough to make them!

Every morning, I put on comfortable clothes and shoes. And although, I haven't yet succumbed to the temptation to wear to sandals with ankle socks, I can't remember the last time that I wore a dress and heels. 

"The times they are a changin'", and we are happy to go with the flow.

Gracious God, we thank you for our long lives. You have given us countless blessings.

Just A Number

Most of us remember an exercise in elementary school that taught the "value" of large numbers. Sometimes it was collecting a hundred bottle caps or 100 empty soda cans (they were easy to recycle...two lessons in one!) Or in the case of a few of us, writing a sentence like..."I will not (cheat, talk, copy, etc.) in class.", was the punishment for misbehavior. Having to write anything, a few hundred times, was a lesson well remembered.

In the 1953, there was a movie entitled, "How to Marry a Millionaire". Well, it wasn't an award winner. It was just a bit of badly acted fluff, but "a Millionaire". Wow. That seemed like a lot of money, in the 1950's. 

Fast forward to 2021. Now, were are seeing and hearing the words BILLIONS and TRILLIONS. To tell you the truth, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around those numbers. I can't even imagine a number like that! It's only a matter of time before we hear quadrillions, or more.

So, here's my idea for those folks who want to borrow, mint or raise taxes, to cover those exorbitant spending numbers. How about asking them to handwrite the word DEBT, 3 or 4 trillion times? They should be made to visualize and actually experience how much that number really is! That would be a wake-up call, to our legislators, and I think we would see more responsible governing, in the future. 

Dear Lord. I pray for our nation. We must all take responsibility. Give us strength and discernment. You are our Guiding Light.

A few years ago......

I want to write a few words about marriages. In the past few years, I have learned a lot about "the long haul" kind of union.  I know that I am not alone, when I sometimes struggle with caring for a spouse with mobility issues. And, because I know that there are many, many good men and women in the same place as me, I forge on, and in the process, I have learned to appreciate those folks who signed on for marriage, when they and their spouses were young and healthy. 

So, here we all are. Fifty, sixty and yes, seventy years later. We're definitely not young and every one of us has some health issues. But, all those years ago we vowed "for better or for worse", and we meant it. It hasn't always been easy, but it has been worth the struggle. We are keeping on, keeping on. Because. to quote those ancient philosophers, Lennon and McCartney...."All you need is love."

Happy Anniversary and many more to Karen and Mike, Judy and Richard, Sue and Jim, Larry and Julie.

Dear Lord. We are thankful. We are blessed.