"More than Famous"

 The other day, I started thinking about fame. Besides talking to myself, these days, I do a lot of un-meaningful, internal thinking. My thoughts were running along these lines, "Am I acquainted with any famous people?" Sure, I thought. I was married to a Grammy Award winner. And, a newspaper columnist, who won a Pulitzer Prize, used to live down the street. (I'm really thinking now...) I went to school with a successful professional baseball player (Dodgers) and I know someone who has patented his inventions. Several of my friends have written and published books. My friend, Anita, has a city park and a public building, named for her.  (Then, I started stretching relationships, a tiny bit.) My aunt went to school with Mickey Mantle, and I went to school with a girl, whose brother, often appeared on Oprah. (No, I don't think those should count....) I once stood next to the artist, Thomas Hart Benton, at a local bar, but was too much in awe, to engage in any type of conversation. Oh, and once, I sold a pair of shoes to Len Dawson!

As I continued to muse, I thought about these "famous" folks. What makes a person famous? (Continuing, with my train of thought) My belief is that a person becomes famous, only because other people think they are extraordinary.... pretty special. There you go. Fame in a nutshell!

So, actually I know hundreds, maybe thousands, of famous people. All of my friends, and many casual acquaintences, brighten my life every single day.  To me, each and every one is terribly important and famous! Quite humbly, I am blessed. 

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Great and All-powerful Lord. Your Grace is a gift to all of us. Thank you for all of Your gifts. Each of us is unique and our talents are God-given.  Lord, help us to use them wisely.

I'm Thankful For.......

Church services and elementary classrooms have an unusual thing in common. Around Thanksgiving, both always ask you to share  "What are you are thankful for?" Well, for me, that's extremely unfortunate grammar and an hugely uncomfortable bit of confessing! I hated that assignment, as a kid, and I'm none to fond of it, as an adult.

The truth is, I'm thankful for a multitude of things, however, I'm not comfortable sharing those things, aloud, in a group. Talking, incessantly to friends who will listen, is one thing. In a crowd, however, I'm often silent.

So, here are some things, I wish I could share:

1. I'm thankful that I didn't follow through, with my childhood dream, to become a cowboy. I discovered, quite early, that it was not at all romantic, and I probably would have screwed up my ovaries and never have become a mother of four remarkable adults.

2. I'm thankful that I didn't become a nun. Same reason as above.

3. I'm thankful that I have lived almost long enough, to be an embarrassment to my four children. It is a blessing that, for the most part...so far, most of them think I'm just fine. 

4. I'm thankful for my many life experiences and challenges. The ups and downs, of a long life, make us who we are. Thanksgiving does not always come from abundance, it is built by adversity.

5. I am thankful for my kids, my many grand kids, relatives, good friends and acquaintances. People are, not like the song says, all "crazy".

Good and all knowing God. We may not always express it, but we are thankful.

Nanners Redux

 The following, is a post I wrote in 2018. As everyone, who speaks of the past is now noting,  it was pre-pandemic. Times have changed and change is inevitable. Even the though the 9 grandkids now total 13, and I am, for the first time in my life living alone, life goes on, and I am constantly blessed.

Enjoy.

In a current TV commercial for something (I can't recall just what the product is), an actor makes a statement, something like "our Thanksgivings used to be small" and immediately a mob of folks, presumably family, rings his doorbell. Then the same actor makes a follow-up comment about how times change.

Change is a fact of life. In reality, the only constant in life is change!
I remember thinking that the babies were never going to get out of diapers, and then that the afternoons and evenings watching little league baseball and soccer were never going to end, and on and on. Now, I wish I had taken the time to really enjoy all of those rites of passage, instead of wondering how and when we could move on.
Now, we have nine grandchildren. We certainly have many blessings for which we are so thankful. If I had one gift to give to all the teenagers and young parents of today, it would be to enjoy the journey.  We will never have enough time to experience all of life's joys and sorrows, but take time to enjoy the people and events of your life. No one knows just when we will reach our final destination.

Lord, I am thankful for the life I lead. Life is not a bed of roses but it isn't a mattress of prickly pear cacti. It's a journey and we are blessed to be on the road. We are all fellow travelers.
Guide us and show us every opportunity to share our blessings.

Mrs. Smith

 My life has been blessed with some special longtime friends. Growing up in a relatively small town, I have a few, probably 10 or twelve, folks that I have known since Kindergarten. It's hard to believe, but that has been over 70 years ago.

My friends and I have a special bond. We were the first Kindergarten class to attend a brand new grade school. All of us, and to this day, we visit quite often, remember the large room, at the end of the new, blond brick building, which included, of all things, a slide, tiny wash-up sinks, a bathroom, and a working fireplace. All wonderous things, to little folks used to tiny two bedroom, one bath homes. All of us shared bedrooms with siblings, and no one, I knew had a TV, or two cars.

Kindergarten was full of experiences, that most of us remember, to this day. We learned to play together. We learned to share. Carrying chairs and scissors (hands gripped around the closed blades pointed down) correctly, were stressed skills. 

But, the activity that I remember most vividly, was our Rhythm Band. Our instruments were shiny new. There were triangles, with little wands to make the sound. Drums, with sticks. There must have been bells and cymbals, too. We believed we made marvelous music, playing together with great enthusiasm.

However, I don't remember playing any of those glorious instruments. I was relegated to playing the lowly sticks! Now, there were many more stick players, than anything else in our band. I wasn't alone, but I truly envied those kids who got to play the "real" instruments. 

It was never to be. Lesson Learned. 

It's okay to be just one of the average folks. Life has plenty of times to shine and be special, but mostly we must learn to be part of the whole group, caring for others, like ourselves, and blending in. A group that makes beautiful music, needs stick players. We are the back up singers, the family, the crew, the army, the support for the triangle players, of this world. We are needed. It's not a band, without us.

Dear Lord. the opportunities that you give us are vast. Learning is a never ending activity and lessons learned are part of our life long journey. Being supportive of others is, perhaps, the most important lesson of all. Teach us patience, understanding and, of course, show us how to love our neighbors.