A Personalized Touch

I have wonderful family and friends.

Many have gained wisdom, learned through life and it's unexpected turns.

All have had their share of adversity and joy while finding more about their lives.

I have asked them to share these lessons with the readers of my blog that we all might be enriched with their stories.


I will call this series, 'A Personalized Touch: Stories Shared From Others' Hearts'. 

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."~Auguste Rodin

Sweet Potato

"Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there."~Thomas Fuller

 Do you think this potato came from someone who LOVES gardening?

Someone who planted it with love maybe?


And was it specifically put in my bag to show me that someone loves me?
(If so, could you please come forward?
I would like to meet you.
Is your name by chance Johnny Lingo?)July 13 post


My son is en route to his new home in Washington state.

Today he entered Idaho.
Humph! Potato Country.
I sent him a picture of my potato.
Told him to see if he could find any spud as special as that in the whole state?!

I was also sending him a secret culinary message about how much I love him and already miss him.


He can't roll his eyes on that one.
I didn't create it.
(Well, I guess he could, I can't see him a thousand miles away.)


It isn't like I made a heart shaped cake with his name on it and invited the football team over or hung a I Love You and Am REALLY Going To Miss You~Love, MOM banner in the front yard
or wrote it on his car windows (like newly weds or all-star soccer teams do)


Nope, just sending a piece of my heart via Mother Nature!

"Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden."~Robert Brault

Hero

Today a dear friend and teammate of my son and daughter was laid to rest.

A young man.
He died serving his country.

There are few expressions of condolences that can be shared with the family that could begin to ease the heart wrenching pain and loss.

It may be that it can best be shown,
By honoring our country,
Respecting our United States of America flag,
Thanking our servicemen,                                                                                 
(Past and present)
Reverencing the National Anthem,
Including our soldiers in our prayers,
And praying for peace.
Praying for a blessing upon his family.


















Faith is one of the only things that can bring solace at these times.
And a knowledge that our Creator knows each and everyone one of his children.

"..That even a sparrow shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."(Matt. 10: 29-31)

That His is not a world of chance.
That His love transcends all understanding.

That He will hold an aching heart until it heals.

However long that takes....

"The Savior's loving warmth and healing touch lift us and give us strength to endure."~The New Era

Our Time Together

I was doing fine.

Well, holding up pretty good, until my son (who is moving away) asked me if there was anything I wanted to do with him before he leaves.

I was thinking: Yeah, I'd like to help you find a job here,

Unpack your belongings,

Change you back to an infant so you have to stay,

Try to brainwash you,

Make you into a mamas boy,

Once again, try those manipulation tricks I tried your whole life that never worked before,

Or use wisely the time I have left to share with you.

I tried to answer him but had to hide my face in the kitchen so he wouldn't see the tears starting to roll down my face.

(He would not have wanted to make me cry.)

I watched him from behind the wall, as he lay on the couch with his eyes closed waiting for me to come up with an idea.

He was getting blurry.

I tried to make myself see him as the 23 yr old young man that he is, but I kept seeing a determined and yet vulnerable 4 year old little boy making sure I was watching him from the sidelines with a big smile on his face, sure that I was still there,

I saw the 10 yr old who was so heartbroken by the divorce,

The 12 yr old who wanted to Big-Time wrestle me or challenge me in a game of basketball,

I saw the high school athlete of volleyball, baseball and football,

I saw my college son who would get me tickets to the University football games where he played.

But I could not focus on a son whom I would not see almost daily anymore.

My thoughts started changing to ,"How dare you grow up?

How dare you for imprinting your soul on my heart forever and ever?

How dare you for being such a loving son?

How dare you to not get me tickets to the games?!

But mostly, how dare you become the independent, confident young man I brought you up to be?

I ended up opting for the choice -'use wisely the time I have left to share with you'.

I was trying to think of a place where I could cry the whole time and no one would notice.

Maybe a chick flick that gets all fairy-tale-happy-ever-after-in-the-end movie.

Not for him.

Weight lifting?

Umm, not for me.

So we settled on bowling.

Oh, what fun!

None of us are big or maybe I should say experienced bowlers but we had a blast!

At least I did.

When I accidentally (while purposefully trying,) got a strike, I squealed and clapped for myself.

He, acting like the a parent of a noisy child in church, tried to quiet me down.

It was payback time...

I just ignored him and clapped some more!

(Or course looking at him from the corner of my eye while continuing to do it.)
He ended up with the high score.

And for that space in time, I forgot what inevitably is coming and I just enjoyed that moment.

(Something I am learning to do more of in my life.)

And a memory was created for the album in my heart.

"The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected."~Nicholas Sparks

Remember The SpongeBob Twins?

Well, tonight was my last night house sitting.

The twins and I had a good cry the first day or two.

After that there has been very little humidity in the air.

The monsoon is predicted to come in this weekend though.
(When my son will be leaving.)
(Not just leaving, but moving away!)

I am not looking forward to that storm..... 


"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain."~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Insanity: A How-To Guide To Get Guaranteed Results

My latest book.

"I don't suffer from insanity.  I enjoy every minute of it."~Author Unknown

Due to space limitations I can not include all of the possible ways to go insane.
Here are but a few to get you started on your road to Insanity:

*Get married and expect eternal bliss daily, 

*Talk to a foreign telemarketer - named Sam,


*Have a baby and think your world will remain the same,

*Drive behind someone talking on their cell phone,

*Get a cat for a pet and try to make it do what you want,

*Have another baby,



*Believe the time frame your contractor gives you,


*Get divorced and expect it will be amicable,

*Have a conversation with an inebriated person,


*Expect your two-year old to be compliant and reasonable,


*Plan around the repair man coming at the beginning of his four hour window,


*Try to reason with a teenager,


*Have yet another baby,


*Believe that the lose-weight-while-you-sleep products work,

*Get fish, thinking they are easy-to-care-for-pets,

*Try to understand your child's texting codes,


*Give birth to twins,


*Think there should be visible results after exercising one week,

*Try to change someone,

*Teach a sixteen year old how to drive,

*Love someone.


If you have done these things and you are still in your right state of mind,
YOU ARE NOT NORMAL! 

"No man is sane who does not know how to be insane on proper occasions."~Henry Ward Beecher

Seek help immediately!

Dear God, Can You Please Send Me A Johnny Lingo?

                                                                                                        "Everyone has beauty but not everyone sees it."

What a Johnny Lingo is NOT:

A Johnny Lingo is not a mixed drink although there might be one I don't know about.
(It'd be a HUGE hit with women!)

A Johnny Lingo is not some sexy lingerie from Victoria's Secret.  (I always thought it was Victoria Secrets- Like Ryan Seacrest's mom or something.)

Nor is a Johnny Lingo an upscale outhouse with a sound system.


What he IS:

Johnny Lingo is a Polynesian man who saw in a woman what no one else did.
He wanted her to become his wife.
So he payed 8 cows for that right. 
An unprecedented amount, especially considering she was a homely girl.
Good wives sold for 4-5 cows tops.
The price of 8 cows was more than had ever been paid for a wife.

Because of his actions Johnny became the joke of the island.
Although he had a reputation for making a deal,
He became mockingly known as 'the foolish man' regarding that transaction.

Five months later when a tourist came to the islands and heard about what Johnny had done, she wanted to meet him.
She traveled to another island where they had moved to and found a beautiful woman as his wife.

When she questioned how this could be, he explained that a woman would not feel good about herself if she knew her husband had paid a low dowry for her.
But he said, "Imagine what happens to her when she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands?"
"It will show!" 

Johnny proved to his wife that her true worth had nothing to do with what others saw, but only what she truly was.

"Human love is dependent upon the value of the object.  The  Love of God is not dependent upon the value of the object, rather it creates value in its object."~Johnny Lingo movie

Johnny Lingo is the kind of guy I'm hoping shows up at my farmers market with his cows in tow.
All 8 of them! 

"Do I love you because you're beautiful,

Or are you beautiful because I love you?"~Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

I Think SpongeBob Has A Twin

I say this because I think there are two saturated sponges residing somewhere in my eye sockets.

Practically every time I blink drops of water come out.

Now I would have just thought it was me, with the 'need to cry', but even after the cry-movie (July 3 post ) I am still draining.

So I am thinking the SpongeBob twins have migrated over from Krabby Patties.

I am starting to feel like what the name implies.

Well, not so crabby I guess as just moist and crummy.
(Whatever does that mean?)
(Sounds like a gross infection.)


Perhaps it can be attributed to the challenges that have come up with different relationships.
Or maybe I am just grieving the loss of letting go of what had 'appeared' to be 'a dream'.
Even small losses need to be grieved.

I wonder if it is possible to have a need to grieve the loss of the 'old you'?
I like this 'new me' who is showing up, but I was really close with the old me.
We have known each other practically our whole lives!

Or maybe the fact that one of my sons will be moving far away in a couple of weeks is making my heart sad.
(That counsel to just text him (June 27 post) isn't bringing me much comfort right now.)

I have started looking for a safe place to wring out my spongy stowaways.
I don't want to get anyone else wet.
I also don't want to drown.
It is starting to visibly show on my face too.
(Make-up can only do so much when it comes to covering crabby baggies.)


I know I have been writing about tearful stuff lately but I want to assure you I am not depressed, just experiencing some emotional-growth-expansion (sponges remember??)

I start a house-sitting job today.
That will be a great place to do some wringing.
I will keep you posted.

Now that sounds disturbing.
Any of us who are waiting to see what happens with sponges have some major housecleaning that is waiting (and probably badly needing) to be done!


"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." ~ Anatole France

The Freedom to Be Grateful

"Freedom is never free."~ Author Unknown

 I do not think I have ever been so moved to appreciate and feel love for soldiers I have never met.
By hearing the simple spoken word.
In truth it was anything but simple.
It was the most heartfelt and humble testimony I have ever personally heard from a returned Vietnam Vet.

He shared his experience at church yesterday of his coming back from war, to American soil with a group of soldiers.
Many did not make it back.
He explained how one by one each soldier started to cry as their plane approached landing knowing that they were coming "Home".
He told how each of them descended from the airplane, got on bended knee and kissed the ground.

Oh, how I take for granted My Country, My Freedoms, My Blessings, My "Home"- because someone I have never met has fought to preserve them!


God Bless America and ALL Those Who Defend it!!!!

"We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights."~ Felix Frankfurter
 

 

I Wasn't Looking, But I Found One

I wasn't looking for a cry-movie (June 30 post) but I found one.

Actually my son brought it to me.


It is titled Two Weeks.  Anita, the mom who is dying of cancer, is played by Sally Field.
She has three sons and one daughter.
I have four sons and one daughter.  (April 7th post.)
I could relate to many of the family dynamics.


It was one of my kind of movies.
The criteria for that is:
That it makes you cry,
It makes you laugh,
And it makes you think.
All three of those things happened for me.


Thoughts, real-life thoughts came up, at times they were uncomfortable for me.
Nevertheless they are provoking thoughts.
Things I might want to give at least a little more consideration to.
Especially since it is not something I have to do at this time.
That might make it a little easier.


It also brought with it gratitude.
For the blessings and privileges I so readily get to experience and live.

It is good for me to be reminded of all that I have.
To cherish that which I so easily can take advantage of.


To be reminded of how precious life is and the loved ones who are in it!


Thank you son, for thinking of me and offering to share the movie with me!
(I have to say though that I would've cried harder if you had been watching it with me.)
Love Ya! 

"We should give meaning to life, not wait for life to give us meaning."~ Stacy