That's All Folk's....

There is simply no turning back now.  It is a done deal...holster hung up, uniforms turned in, and goodbyes said.  Jimmy is officially retired.  It was a great celebration of a job well done with people that have been his family for many, many years.

Actually I think that maybe for the last 39 years I have mistakenly addressed my husband by the wrong name.  No one really knew who I was talking about when I said Jimmy ten days ago at his retirement send off.  He is J.J. to all he works with and I feel a bit odd calling him by anything else now.  It was an Oprah aha moment.  Maybe that is why he has ignored me for years.  He did not know I was talking to him!  I won't let that slide any longer.  It is  J.J. from now on and I know he will answer when I call.

It was a great evening.  I guess everyone should retire at least once in their life so they can sit back and listen to a room full of people people say great things about them.  It has to be an ego builder.  I have full intentions of letting him hold on to all those wonderful thoughts until after the holidays and then I will remind him that he is really the same person that has always lived here and all those ego boosting thoughts are to remain in his memory book but not in his enlarged head any longer!

We are now in the practicing togetherness mode.  We had lunch out the other day...with all the businessmen who had computers and notepads on the table.  There we sat with merely our menu and an attempt at conversation that did not include our day at work and the grandkids.  It is a work in progress!  I am looking forward to learning how this will all play out.  This is the the best time of our lives I have heard!

"A retired husband is often a wife's full-time job."

Ella Harris

Recap...Thanksgiving 2012....

As usual, we gathered...cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, in-laws, and friends.  It is always fun.  We plan, bake, clean, and organize and in a minute chaos reigns...but it is great.

I love Thanksgiving.  It is more relaxed than the uncontrolled mania we call Christmas (though I pretty much love it too).  It is too much food, beer, wine, and football...which lead to the need for expandable front jeans (think maternity wear) after dinner and dessert.

So now that the holiday is over and I have consumed the remainder of all of the pies, each and every salad leftover, turkey, dressing, and broccoli rice casserole, I thought I might recap on paper how our meal has evolved over the years.

To keep this semi condensed just let me say that my mom would roll over more than once in her grave if a table minus good china and burning candles were not part of the day.  We started out that way.  There was only us and a small family so I did as I was taught and got out the linen tablecloth and the china and served a proper meal.  Forty two years later let me say....it is paper plates.  That is like saying you are an alcoholic in front of the world.  I don't necessarily want it to be that way but with 26 people I would have to combine several sets of dishes to to cover the crowd.  Finding silverware is tough enough.  So I am guilty...but they were nice paper plates!

And then there is the food.  When you combine families the menu you grew up with is out the window.  Cornbread dressing vs. white bread dressing with raisins (the truth).  Mashed potatoes vs. sweet potatoes, green been casserole, broccoli-rice, corn casserole, green salad, marshmallow salad, jello salad, turkey, ham, or brisket?  Well, just bring it all on because we are a people pleasing family! So as the family grows the menu grows and the leftovers grow and the waistline grows...and I do not believe there is an end in sight.

It was a perfect day.  It was laughs, memories made, pictures taken, cousins bonding, and new babies hugged.  As I finally dispose of the end of the leftovers and pick up the remaining cups found in hidden corners, I know that given a chance to change any of it I wouldn't.  Paper plates and eating on the floor did not dampen anyone's spirits...it is what our family has become.

Blessed....

I have been noticing on facebook lately that users have been posting what they are thankful for each day.  It is the expected list and I have seen no surprises, but enjoy reading the way people prioritize what is meaningful to them.

I sadly have been focused on much too much negative lately and have not taken the time to really think about the gifts this year has brought.  I will not include on my list the West Nile Virus, an animal bite, and a medical procedure gone terribly wrong, a family with multiple bouts of the flu and various viruses, excessive summer heat, and lack of water at the lake.  Negatives abound.  BUT, there are so many, many gifts and it is way past time to look at the bright side of the year while we are all preparing for Thanksgiving.

So on this years Thanksgiving I will count my blessings including:

* a new healthy grandaughter in January 2012

*a total of two beautiful grandaughters that could make the cloudiest day look like nothing but sunshine

* children with successful careers and wonderful lives
*an engagement!!!!

*a husband who is leaving 40 plus years of police work and has lived to enjoy the years ahead despite multiple gunshot wounds and countless other random accidents

*a teaching career that has ended but still allows me to to return to the classroom as a substitute at will.  What other job gives you that flexibility?
*a home that is my happy place.  I love waking up here everyday and thanking God for the roof over our heads and the pleasure being here brings us.
*free time....retirement style that allows me to choose how to spend each day
*FRIENDS who have given me more than support and encouragement each day...they have given me strength
*friends, who in so many meaningful ways remembered the loss of our son 10 years ago
*a God that has answered so many prayers
*the opportunity to look ahead and see so many wonderful things in our future
*life...a blessing in itself

I guess this list could pretty much go on forever for there is really not an end to the things we can all find to be thankful for.  Knowing that this year we will be able to celebrate with almost all of our family is reason to smile.  As we sit down to abundant dishes on Thanksgiving day I know that I really could not ask for more than what I have been given.

Very Soon.....

I have come to the realization as I sit here this evening that it is a mere 10 days until "Gramps" here retires and becomes my permanent roomate...like a 24 hour a day, we are pretty much always together roomate.  I am processing what this means for me and the lifestyle I have become accustomed to since the day we married.  You see, my husband has always worked no less than 60 plus hours a week.  That allowed me to stay home with the kids and mange the house. It worked for us.  No day care, no two working parents.  I stayed home.

It also meant that by necessity I was alway "in charge".  Jimmy did not have time to worry about making decisions about anything.  Hmmmm....I liked it that way.  I did not have to run anything by him.  I just did it and he did not question it.  Even after the kids were in school and I went back to work, I was still the manager so to speak.

Well, what now?  The other day my husband actually asked me to give him a running tab of the money we spent each month.  He wants to know how I allocate all of our income.  Are you kidding me?  Just let me tell you what needs to be in the bank and accept that I have this under control.  I do not need a micromanager now!  Just hang out on the patio and clean your golf clubs or something.  It is time to relax...not get involved.  Find a hobby that does not involve looking at the check book please!

To compound this need to be involved in the finances, he also wants to go with me to the store...like Walmart.  I have forever laughed at the elderly couples strolling through the store mid-afternoon reading food labels.  Please, do not ever let that be me.  I know what I need.  I am in and out.  I DO NOT want to browse. And do not drop me off at the front door and go park (which happened Saturday).  Then you go in the wrong door and I will have to spend twenty minutes looking for you...and I can't call your cell phone to locate you because you can't hear it.

So I am thinking.  I know we will survive this, if you will just find a hobby and stay out of the checkbook.  And please do not come with me to the store!

Moving On.......

It is officially over.....thank goodness!  Long months of debates, campaigning, campaign ads, Facebook posts criticizing anyone who voted one way or another...enough to make me delete myself from Facebook (almost).  There is no question anymore who will lead us for the next four years.  It only took until 10:35 last night to declare Romney out, Obama in.  I will refrain from stating my real opinion on this because it does not matter.  America has chosen and for better or worse we move on...AND PRAY.  I find it very disheartening that the Republican party could not find a candidate in the United States who could motivate the people toward change. Why couldn't they find someone who could ignite passion in a crowd of citizens who wanted different than what we saw the last four years?  What we were given was a lackluster man who I never understood.  I am no political genius but the ordinary man has to get what your platform is and Romney you left me wondering.  So it is what it is and we move on.

So today, I am putting this all behind me, celebrating the end of all of it, and deciding it is time for some holiday cheer!!  Christmas always makes me feel good.  I have struggled with the fact that it is still 88 degrees in November.  I have rationalized that I could just tell my family that I have had a horrible fall recovering from unplanned surgery and I just do not have the strength to tackle an attic full of decorations.  I could just do minimal and call it a day.....BUT....I love Christmas and I would only let myself down.

 Today I drug out my dad's favorite Christmas music (and that would be Perry Como, of course),  turned on "There Is No Place Like Home For The Holidays" and began to get festive!!!!  A little deck the halls and fa, la, la is good for the soul!

And to make the day a little brighter we added two new stockings to our fireplace this season...Heather and Finley.  It is full!  But, make no mistake....there is always room for more!

I feel better.  Christmas is always a three week long project.  By Thanksgiving it should be complete.  I am only through CD number one...I think Bing Crosby is next on the list.  I can't wait!

Berry Cute!....

I had some very special trick or treaters Halloween night.  Straight from the strawberry field was Strawberry Shortcake and the littlest strawberry in the patch!!!

 What fun to watch Brooklynns excitement as she realized that when you knocked on the door...magically candy appeared!  And some were giving out peanut M&M's which is surely her favorite. 

Our neighborhood was packed with kids and big bags for all the goodies they would get, and then parents would secretly hide the next day. 

I have to admit, I pilfered a little myself out of the candy dish.  Just can't give away all of the Milky Way bars!