"The Way We Were"

I've been thinking about the past, lately. Specifically my past. Several milestones will occur this year, for me, and those are bringing up memories of long ago.
I recall being the maid of honor in a wedding that took place fifty years ago this year. I remember that I wore a blue dress and carried some sort of bouquet. The church was beautiful and everything went very smoothly, according to plan. Surely, there were glitches and tears, because most of the weddings that I have been involved with since, have been a mixed bag of emotions and situations. Brides have thrown fits, preachers were tardy and out-laws were feuding. But, I remember that event, fifty years ago this coming August, as a really nice event. The couple is still happily married, so I think I am remembering it just right.
Fifty years is a long time. Ask anyone under the age of thirty and they will tell you that anything occurring 50 years ago is surely ancient history. Those of us over fifty, however, often remember our early years as if they were yesterday.
It's a fact, that as we age, our short-term memories sometimes fail. It becomes difficult to remember what we were thinking or doing 10 minutes before. Our long-term memories, or the ability to recall long-ago events and people, often become sharper and more clear.
I'm praying that happens to me. My perfect dream of aging would be remembering all of the good times of the past and forgetting the bad times.

Great Lord: Thank you for the abundance  and richness of our lives. We grow as we are challenged by the ups and downs of our daily living. Help us to look at our lives as glasses half full. Your steadfast love endures forever and our gratefulness is constant.

Twirling In Line

Perhaps there are only two types of people in this world. One personality type thrives on routine and consistency and the other sort seems to be most at home experiencing change. A daily
routine keeps about half of my friends and acquaintances sane. Change makes them crazy.
I believe that I belong to the other half of creation. I love different situations and non-routine. Of course, I shower every day and brush my teeth regularly, but beyond that, my days are never the same.
Most of my work experiences have been of the non-routine type. During my long career as a substitute teacher, every day was a different classroom, a different subject and a different set of students. I never knew, from day to day, what my circumstances would be. I thrived on the challenge.
My current position has me assisting residents, in many different ways, every day. I'm loving it.
But, I know that this lack of routine is driving some of my co-workers bonkers. They lament the fact that there is no routine in the work that we are doing.
I don't think it is possible to have things both ways. We are who we are and we like what we like.
Frankly, we are fortunate that there are people who are creatures of habit and those who wouldn't and couldn't have a habit, even if their lives depended on it.

Creative God. Thank you for the challenges of our lives. Help us all to be forever adaptable. Grant us patience and forgiveness. Allow us to appreciate the differences in our brothers and sisters. We glorify your power and honor your name.

Nanook of the Northland

The New Year is predicted to come blasting in with a major winter storm. Now, we just had a white Christmas, and the weather has been relatively chilly for days, but the weather persons are all predicting a really deep dip in the temperature. One forecaster said that we will hit temperatures 20 degrees below normal, for this time of year.
Most of the time, people in this town take what the weather-folks say with a grain of salt. In other words, they normally refuse to pay any attention to forecasts. When we have the threat of a tornado........we wait to hear the sirens, before we take cover. When rain is predicted, we hardly ever remember to pack that umbrella.  Dry and hot. Well, it's summer and we'll survive. Cold. Maybe a coat if we have to walk a major distance. Gloves, sure, but forget that stocking cap! It might wreck havoc with our hairdos.
However, when snow and ice are predicted, the locals panic. The grocery stores get packed. People everywhere are buying the necessities. Flying off the shelves are toilet paper, bread, milk and the makings for chili. I can understand the milk and toilet paper, but chili beans and canned tomatoes?
This whole town is making chili! You can't find a single can of tomatoes on a grocery store shelf, for miles. (Oh, I just happened to make a run to the neighborhood Price Chopper for some.)
Just let the weather-folks say the S-N-O-W word and we all charge off to buy stuff. Something in that four letter word makes us imagine being snowed in. And, we must have our necessities, chili and all, if we are forced to stay home.....for days!
It's not going to happen, of course. We have modern snow removal in my town and throughout the entire area. Never, in my long existence, have I ever been trapped in my home by snow and ice. I have chosen to stay home a day or so, however, until the roads are perfectly clear.. But never, have we been snow bound.
We are funny creatures.

Lord God. You must marvel at the silliness of your human sons and daughters. We worry about the goofiest things. When we ever learn to "Trust and Obey". Oh, us of little Faith.
Your goodness and mercy is everlasting.

"Well done, good and faithful servant."

Thank you! Thank you, very much! Completing this article will mean that I accomplished one of the goals I set for myself this year. I mangaged to post 52 blogs, one for each week of 2013. It's taken me a couple of years to achieve that number, but I finally did it.
Goals are essential for a meandering soul like me. I tend to just live my life, from crisis to crisis, just doing what comes naturally. That does not mean, however, that I am not a hard worker. I work pretty darn hard. It's just that I have found myself in a "survival" mode for a couple of years. And, since I'm still living and breathing, you will have to admit, I've been pretty successful at that.
But, striving to achieve designated goals keeps you moving forward.
I actually met some other goals this year. I found a really great job. Actually, I found two, but ended up settling on just one.  (There's nothing like gainful employment to make you feel successful.)
And, I made some awesome new friends. I've really cherished these new contacts. Learning and caring about new lives has enriched my own existence. I connected with some old friends, too. That song about "one is silver and the other gold", rings true.
Lastly, I became a Notary Public. The process was a little complicated and time consuming, but after I complete the last task of being sworn in, at the Clay County Courthouse, I will be an Official Certified Notary.
Becoming a Notary, must make one "Notorious", which Webster says is "well known or famous especially for something bad". Add Notorious to my favorite self-describer, "Infamous", which means MORE than famous, and you have a whole lot of Nansense.
Happy New Year, 2014.

Great Almighty Lord. We look forward to this new year, full of hope and joy. We are continually humbled by the wonder of life and we are blessed with our bounty of  riches. Help us to be forever grateful, giving and forgiving.

shhhhhhh

It appears that I will be ringing out the old year with a full blown head cold. It was bound to happen. No amount of hand sanitizer, Air Borne or Lysol can keep the germs away forever. My spouse and grand kids have been passing around a similar illness for the last two weeks. They have been coughing and sniffling for days.
Whenever I catch a cold, however, my voice just goes away. Today, I cannot say a single word, above a raspy whisper. I catch colds like this because I talk too much and this is God's way of occasionally putting me in my place. That's my personal theory, but dozens of fine folks would agree with me.
It's so hard for me to keep quiet. I am a vocal person. My current job has me answering the phone, for Pete's Sake. I couldn't do that at all, yesterday. It's difficult for a teacher and receptionist to loose her voice. I have so much to say to so many people.

Great and powerful God. You have my attention. I am slowing down, keeping quiet and catching my breath. You have made your presence known and I am thankful for your healing power and grace. Remind me that I am not nearly as important as I often think I am. Remind me that I am just one of your beloved children. For that and many things, too numerous to mention, I am eternally thankful.

"We need a Little Christmas, Now"

Just name one person who doesn't get just a little sad during the holiday season. As we get older, the holidays become bittersweet, don't they? We remember Christmases from years gone by. For many of us our parents and maybe some of our siblings have passed on. We remember celebrating with them and we can no longer do that.
Even the Jolly Old Elf, Santa Claus, must shed a few tears every Christmas.
That's the bitter.
But, Christmas is still a great time. The joy of the holiday remains. For those of us who don't have our parents, we have our children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. Life continues.
The music is beautiful, the lights are bright and Christ has come again. That's the sweet.


Dear and Glorious Lord: We think of your birth at this time of year. We remember the presents you received and the miracle of your creation.
Help us to keep the Holiday Spirit, all throughout the year.
We are thankful for your coming.

Cliche's

The giant tree has gone undecorated for several weeks now. It has been sitting, sort of naked looking,  in the two story lobby of our brand new building. Yesterday, was the day that my co-worker had set aside for finally hanging the balls, tinsel and garlands on the tree. Many of us were looking forward to seeing the tree in all of its glory.
But, of course, "the best laid plans...". You know the saying. 
Well, the pre-lit tree wasn't lighting. Just part of it was working. To quote the Grinch, she had more than "one light that won't light on one side." The whole top third was lightless!
So, she went to the giant box store and purchased more lights. Then, she had to climb the ladder, numerous times, to get them looking just right. Her two hour project turned into three, and it was time to go home before she got it finished.
So, she'll do the final trimming today, and we will all finally get to enjoy her "toil and trouble" this holiday season. Better late than never.

Dear Lord: Sometimes we get to feeling like our lives are one long cliche. Our big time ideas never seem to work out the way we plan them. When will we learn that we are not in charge?
Give us the patience to go with the flow. Grant us courage to face what we don't want to face and the wisdom of acceptance.
Dear Lord: You are in charge. We don't need to be.