House Guest.....

We had an end of the summer sleepover tonight....guest of honor...Brooklynn Mae.  She is by far my favorite houseguest!  She is three years old going on sixteen and I never know what kind of energy she is bringing with her when she comes.

Before spending some serious Gramma-Brooklynn time, I GENEROUSLY let her go out and hang with Gramps while he worked to keep my wilting plants alive.  She is the consummate helper.  No task too difficult for this active three year old.  

 A little play time and then time to get ready for bed.  While the bath was filling B decided to perch on the back of my tub.  A likely place to sit, of course!  Well, what to do while the water ran...discuss the day and anything else that a three year old might have on her mind.  The first thing on the agenda, her new classroom and starting another year of pre-school next week. Brooklynn is clear on the fact that she will no doubt like going to gymnastics much better than going to school because there just aren't enough toys in her classroom.  I get that!  

After covering a wide variety of subject matter, we were on to some of the new jokes she had learned lately....

"What do you call a bear with no teeth?.....A gummy bear!"

(insert hysterical laughter!)

"What game do cows play at a party?....Moosical chairs!"

(insert more laughter!)

"Why do cows have bells?...Their horns don't work!"

(laugh some more....okay, the water is cold now!!!)

So I wonder what kind of memories will stay with this vivacious child.  I have so many things that take me back to the time I spent with my grandparents. 

My grandpa loved hard raspberry candy with soft centers and the jar was always full. 

 I loved watching my grandma stand on her footstool and hang wash on the line.

I looked forward to the days Ray came down the brick road in his bread truck.  I always got to pick out a treat.

I loved my grandparents big front porch and the steps...sitting out there was one of my favorite things.

  I remember the door key hanging on a nail on the back porch in full view of everyone and wondering why they locked the door.

  My very favorite memory was sitting at the kitchen table and having an ice cream soda while my grandpa rolled his own cigarettes.  

I loved my grandmothers house.  It was two stories and a basement.  It had four bedrooms and one bathroom and when everyone gathered for holidays that became a problem!  So the resolution...a Folger's coffee can upstairs in between the two bedrooms.  I am not sure how they decided who had the job of emptying that in the morning!

So what will Brooklynn remember?  Will her favorite spot to have those important conversations be on her perch on the back of the bathtub?  Will it be banana nut muffins and pancakes in the morning?  I just hope that whatever it is that holds a place in her memory it is happy times...because those are the kind of memories I have.

I Have Arrived.....

At 65

...and I am not sad, or depressed, or anything but happy to have gotten here.  No, I am not wishing to move through the rest of my life at lightening speed.  I intend to take each day as it comes and enjoy it....because that is the gift of aging.

I had a great birthday.  I spent it with my family.  No big trips, no giant jewels to commemorate a milestone...by choice.  That is what I chose.  Time with family is what gives me the most pleasure.

Saturday night we went to the Cowboy Game....in style.  Thanks to some generous individuals who shared their tickets to a Suite, we were treated royally.  Food compliments of the Legends Club and....

 desserts galore!!!!!  You know that made me happy!!

 

Sunday was sharing with the rest of the family and another great meal.

Turning 65 calls for a full weekend of celebration.
I have done some research on the life of those they call the "BABY BOOMERS."
There are 8000 of us that turn 65 each day.  8000 more of us daily that are eligible for Medicare, Social Security, and senior discounts.  I am in good company this year as Billy Crystal, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Terry Bradshaw, and Peggy Fleming are celebrating their big birthday too.
Aging is not a bad thing.  I have been saying that for the last 10 years.  Every year I become less critical of myself.  Wrinkles....I earned them!  They are nothing to be ashamed of.  I don't carry around a bunch of baggage anymore.  Things that used to bother me..not so much now.  Some piled up laundry, that will wait until tomorrow.  I am free to spend each day as I choose and somedays I do not make that decision until I wake up and enjoy my coffee! I am happy...really happy.  Grandbabies, children close to home and friends...old friends, new friends, and time to enjoy them. God has blessed me abundantly.  And speaking of God...that is another huge blessing in my life.  I have always had a strong faith, but with age has come a new and much improved connection with God and the church.  I am so grateful to have found myself so lifted up by what has always been right in front of my face.  Maybe with so much of my life behind me, I know that what is ahead of me takes an enormous reconnect with the Lord.  Again, such a huge blessing in my life.
Each morning I can wake up and know that LIFE IS GOOD, and what more can you want?

Just Remembering.....

"I Trust You'll Treat Her Well"
Dear World:
I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day long.. and a flash of light brown hair that bounces in the sun when she runs.
I trust you'll treat her well.

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning...and skipping off down the street to her first day of school. And never again will she be completely mine.
Prim and proud she'll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say "Goodbye" and walk with little lady steps to the schoolhouse.

Now she'll learn to stand in lines...and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called. She'll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school-bells...and deadlines...and she'll learn to giggle...and gossip...and look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy 'cross the aisle sticks out his tongue at her. And now she'll learn to be jealous. And now she'll learn how it is to feel hurt inside. And now she'll learn how not to cry.

No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch on a summer day and watch an ant scurry across the crack in the sidewalk. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn and kiss lilac blooms in the morning dew. No, now she'll worry about those important things...like grades and which dress to wear and whose best friends is whose. And the magic of books and learning will replace the magic of her blocks and dolls. And now she'll find new heroes.

For five full years now I've been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and mother and friend. Now she'll learn to share her worship with her teachers ...which is only right. But no longer will I be the smartest woman in the whole world. Today when that school bell rings for the first time...she'll learn what it means to be a member of the group...with all its privileges and its disadvantages too.

She'll learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud...or kiss dogs...or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms...or even watch ants scurry across cracks in sidewalks in the summer.
Today she'll learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. And I'll stand on the front porch and watch her start out on the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.
So, world, I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes...and a flash of light brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.

I trust you'll treat her well.
Author: Victor Buono

As I pulled up to the church parking lot this morning I noticed there were a lot of cars that are not usually there.  Then I realized it was the first day of school at St. Joseph's.  Armed with crisp new uniforms and backpacks full of school supplies, parents and children walked into the building to begin another new school year.  The kids were mostly eager, the parents apprehensive...I understand!!!!  Ironically I had heard the above poem read by the late Kidd Kraddick  earlier this week on the radio.  I could not help but think of my own four kids on their first day of school, and now the prospect of my grandchildren making their way into a new classroom much too soon.  I am still a teacher in my heart...and all of those eager faces whether they be kindergarten or high school age are so affected by those who teach.  Regardless of age, they need to be nurtured. I pray that everyone who guides students will know that they are a parent's treasure....be gentle. 

Most Obviously Absent.....

 Yes, I have been decidedly absent lately from anything that might resemble a blog post.  I could list a million reasons....just lack of enthusiasm, summertime blues, a ridiculous bout of the flu, piles, of laundry, ect., ect.  But the fact of the matter is, though those things do come into play I have been drowning in Medicare MESS!  If you are or will soon be approaching 65 please get a RX for Zanax soon.  The above pile of literature is only a small portion of what has arrived in my mailbox weekly for the last two months.  I did not know that there was Medicare Part A, B, C, and D.  I really don't care.  Well, I thought I didn't until I realized that my medical condition as of late has not been superior so I might need some kind of coverage when I least expect it.  Best I research.  What I have decided is that you might need a Maters Degree in deciphering redundant ridiculous rhetoric.  Not only do you need to wade through all of this, you then need to decide on supplemental coverage because one is no good without the other.  I am really an intelligent individual and this has come near to making me question my ability to comprehend anything.  I had awesome insurance after I retired.  Now that my income is dwindling I am being forced to pay more for insurance that most doctors don't even want to deal with. Yes, friends, Medicare coverage is expensive and add to that supplemental coverage and I am about $60 in the hole.  Whoever said these were the golden years has not yet filled out his Medicare packet.

So...I am now finished.  It is signed and mailed and I guess when I head out to pick up my first RX or visit the doctor I will find out if it all works.  I am thinking positive.

And on a positive note let me say that we are being blessed with an amazing week of beautiful weather in August.  It was 70 degrees this morning when I went outside to have breakfast and read.  What a treat early in the morning!
And...I am no longer stressed over insurance.  Those much older and wiser than myself have managed moving over this tremendous hump from 64 to 65 and survived.  Maybe all the added senior citizen discounts will make up for the hike in my insurance cost...and I am surely not afraid to use them!

The Heat Has Hit.......

 It is August...the "dog days of summer" are here.  Cooler weather is months away and though the stores are starting to put out boots and jackets, we have a lot of hot ahead of us.  It is brutal walking down the sidewalk to check the mail and anything more strenuous than that just has to wait until after dark!.  I am a fan of the out of doors.  I dread being housebound but I am not going to wish these summer days away......I am just remembering how important it is to be creative when the heat drives you inside by 9 a.m.  

 So when the kids visit we become creative.  Brooklynn is a crafter at heart already.  Five minutes after she arrives she wants to know what our activity for the day will be.  That is when I am grateful that Hobby Lobby has put all of the summer crafts on clearance!!

 Baking ranks high on our list of thing we love....and cracking eggs is her favorite.  She has it mastered.  Not a shell in the batter.

 Perfect!!!!

 Of course, we swim....

 An Olympic athlete in training!

 Really do not even know what to say about this!

Back inside some independent play while Gramma fixes dinner.  No All American princess would dare be caught without a tierra while she rolls her automobiles down the ramp.

Too soon it will be fall and play will be different.  Out doors again and loving the walks and the falling leaves....time for that later.  Today we embrace creativity!