It's Been HOW Long?

I blog in my head daily.  I write something on the computer every week.  I get ideas everywhere.  No lie.  I'm always writing....so it was a surprise when I looked at Blogger this morning and saw that I have not published anything formally since DECEMBER of 2017.  I missed 2018?  How the heck did this happen?  Well, chalk that one up to time flies when you're having fun.

There are over 80 blogs written in my draft file.  I guess I'm pure lazy about publishing....well, I'm consistent.  All I have to do is hit two keys and my writing is out there.  My goal in 2012 was to publish once per month.  I am behind...as the lady said to the bill collector, "The check's in the mail."

This is a perfect example of wasting time and energy and getting very little completed.  I think of that crazy hamster on a wheel....running and running and getting absolutely nowhere.  This hamster is getting off the wheel and getting some stuff done.  Push two keys, Erin.  Push the two keys.

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The grand girls continue to make me laugh on a regular basis.  Mary Michael just turned 9.  She is long and lean and likes to go climb up BIG walls.  The Harry Potter series has called to her like the Sirens called to the sailors and she's thrilled that there are lots of books in the series-- Mary recommends books that I need to read. AND I LIKE HER TASTE IN BOOKS.  Sally is solid as a rock.  She enjoys orchestrating play (she assigns me a role and then we have a time of it-- I liked it when she told me I was a big baby that was sick...."be a big, sick baby, Nana." Then she covered me with a tea towel.) Sally loved kindergarten and is ready for first grade.  She's social.  Very social.

There's a new baby coming to the Patterson house in late November. Sally told me by showing me a book that stated she was going to be a big sister.  Son-in-law, Brad, told me that we were far down the list of people to know they were expecting.....Sally had told total strangers at a park that her momma was going to have a baby....I just love that child's enthusiasm.

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Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, STARZ, Showtime, HBO, Showtime, Acorn, - there's a subworld that had been hidden from me.....how does anyone get anything done? (THINK about how much I have not published...I guess I have been watching tv).  It started innocently enough....I watched "Weeds."  Then "Nurse Jackie." Then my head exploded.  Binge watching might be the downfall of the world (or maybe just me).  I hate to admit that I find "Shameless" so darned funny, sad, heart-tugging, hilarious, true, crazy and pathetic in each show-- Frank Gallagher is a man that I have dealt with numerous times in my professional life.  I have loved Mrs. Maizel, Longmire, and Michael Scott.

I have a list of "must watches" that will last me until I turn 105 and the kicker is, more great shows arrive monthly.  After finishing "A Place to Call Home",  I am currently enthralled with "Call the Midwife." It is my soup de jour.  It is wonderful to have great stories to watch and enjoy.  How the heck did I find time to work?

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I've got lots to write about this summer....my 50th class reunion, a trip of a lifetime to Ireland and Scotland where EVERYONE on the tour was sick (visualize barking seals on a tour bus),  decluttering my favorite clutter, belonging to too many book clubs, Jack's (the 23 year old cat) trip across the Rainbow Bridge, attending the Victim's Assistance meeting held by the Pardons and Parole Board in Augusta, Georgia, engagement parties, and my furry friends, and feelings, and hopes, and dreams....my musings continue like the shows that are cranked out for our viewing enjoyment-- varied and unique-- something for everyone.

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Talk About It

Three years ago at age 4.....

MM likes stories.  She likes the stories starring MM and the family.

Talk about it......Nana, talk about it!  The airplane that we spot in the sky......talk about it.

Let's have lasagna for supper? Why?  Talk about it.

We were watching a train go by the Fresh Market Restaurant in Locust Grove.

"That train is carrying coal."

Talk about it.

That train is heading towards Plant Scherer near Macon.

TALK ABOUT IT.

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Yesterday, at age 7......

MM likes listening.

She’s the type that doesn’t miss a trick.

Oh, adults, be aware.  Be cautious.  She’s listening, learning, and enjoying the world of adult talk.

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She took off on her roller blades flying through the park.  Her hair was flying behind her as she deafly maneuvered the curves and wet leaves.  She was her own spirit.  My rock climbing, roller blading, cat cuddling little girl.

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We still talk about it.  But, believe me, she has learned the fine art of eavesdropping while seemingly not paying attention to any of the chatter of the adults that surround her.  I think she could be a school administrator.

Happiness

Seeing a deer...not hitting the deer....the deer not eating my flowers.

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Talking to little kids.

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Petting a cat or dog that likes to be petted.

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Trying on clothes and the sales lady saying, “You need to go down one size.  That’s too big.”

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A tenderloin.

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Limeade

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A book that you don’t want to end

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Ice

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Finding a shark’s tooth

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The first bloom on a second year perennial

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EMT’s,  law enforcement, veterans  and firemen (when they are off duty, when they are on duty, when they are just being them).... they run towards danger

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Singing into a fan

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Live theater

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Reading an old journal

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Picking up a phone and dialing a friend and just start talking

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Gravy with mashed potatoes

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A sharp pointed pencil

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Swinging a bat, hitting a ball and feeling the soft spot connect

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Receiving a thank you note

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A creek

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Hearing a song from your past that brings you back to the present

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The final school bell at the end of a long week

As Light as a Feather

Great teachers love their students.  They are always ready to inspire or to go the extra mile to help everyone be successful.  It’s in their DNA.  They are always ready to aid and assist.  Be it to a student or to an old principal, powerful teachers want to share their hearts. Their lessons always are remembered....as Ed Cagle would state, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care."

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One thing led to another and I was sitting in Karen Rackley’s classroom on a Friday at the close of the day.....the first Friday afternoon of the school year.  We visited and shared how our lives mirrored each other's.  We talked of school and meeting the needs of all children in our classes.  However, the icing on the cake was when we found out we had both stayed home with our children when they were little.  I had told her a little story from my past when I was teaching fourth grade.  Our meeting was a natural progression from this story of school to her story of love.

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Karen and I had so much more in common than we could have ever imagined......the story that I was going to tell this week was about a former student that had opened my heart to unconditional love....but my thoughts have not been able to stray from my beautiful bouquet of peacock feathers that Karen gave me.

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We talked of our mothers.  Our mothers whose lives were 1000 miles apart but very, very similar.  Both of our mothers enjoyed, no thrived, on loving their families and helping those that needed help.  Karen’s momma had a special calling....a calling that lives on today through her daughter.

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Eastman, Georgia

From the chickens that produced the eggs to the peacocks that produced the beauty (and could create the warning alarm that something was amiss),  there were feathers everywhere.  God spoke to her one day as she worked the chores that were such a natural part of her loving life.  “Share these feathers with those people who might need a visual reminder that I am with them always.  Their burdens are mine.  AND faith in Me can make their trials as light as a feather."

Her ministry was so simple and yet, so complex.  Give feathers to people and remind them that their burdens are light “as a feather” when those burdens are shared with God.  So profound.  So true..”  The Lord’s words were magnified by her faith and her love of family.

Those feathers were shared with those near and far.  Thankfully, the ministry is carried on today by her daughter.  My bouquet has brought me so much joy in the hours since I received them....and God’s love for me has been represented by those peacock feathers.  AND yes, I have shared my burdens with him.

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Macon, Georgia

The bouquet of peacock feathers were put to use this week.  Karen’s love of her career and her students is evident when walking into her classroom.  Her mother’s ministry lives on. And her blessings were shared with me as I left her classroom.  Thank you for the feathers and the daily reminder to “Let go and let God!"

Blessings

It’s amazing to think about all the good in the world when faced with some of the bad things that are broadcast to us via the media on an hourly basis.

Just think about everything that has happened today that has made you happy.

People who work with kids....this one’s for you!

Occasionally, I feel like I live in an alternate universe.

Well, most of the time I know I don’t see things like other people see things.

Oh, heck, I am odder than a six-toed cat, but I have learned to appreciate myself.

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I know many, many things.  I know somethings well....and well, I don’t know squat about others.

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For example, my knowledge about pop culture has dropped dramatically since I am no longer employed working with kids.  I used to make it a point-- to be on point.  I might pretend ignorance while asking so innocently, “Say, why would you own a water pipe?”  All the time knowing why said youth would covet the said water pipe...frankly, my favorite answer was, “It's a museum piece."   I was good at acting dull-witted when necessary......and I just loved how they would make up elaborate answers to satisfy my curiosity.  “Why do you have cigarettes in a tampon case?”  “Why were you at Krispie Kreme during third period?”

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My latest foray into the world of technology has been with Roku, Hulu, Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon Video, etc. Yep, I have learned how to binge watch (and I must say I am very good at this).

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So, back to my strangeness....I thought “Game of Thrones” dealt with-- trolls and hobbits.  I have no idea where I got that wire crossed.  No lie.  I didn’t know it was about kings and queens, knights and warriors in a mystical land.  Go figure!  I have spent the better part of the past six years thinking the wrong thing.  No, I am not sure how I got this idea.  I read Entertainment Weekly.  I watch the news.  I read People magazine.  I converse with the general public.  I just didn’t have any idea.

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SO

I am writing today to tell all my adult friends that kids sometimes get their wires crossed.  (SO DO YOU!) They think one thing and act on incorrect information.  Ask them the whys behind their actions, please.  I know that many times, there’s a great reason to their answer.  AND sometimes, it’s even funny!

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You are sitting there smuggly thinking, “Poor thing, she’s lost her mind.”  To that I’ll remind you of all those lyrics that you have been singing wrong for YEARS or the misconceptions that you have that you don’t even know about.  Frankly, we usually don’t know the entire story.

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Just do me one favor, ask kids, “Why?” before you rip them a new....well, you know.

Spring Cleaning....I can’t believe I actually bought that!

I checked out of the little world I live in from February 11 until mid-March.  I got sick.

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"How sick were you?" you’re wondering.

I was so sick, I became ashamed of my closets because I knew when my dear friends came to clean up before my funeral they would shake their heads and say, “She died from lack of taste.   Can you believe some of these clothes she kept?  We should list some of this crap in her obituary....it would make everyone laugh.”

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Carol Keys Gledhill banned me from wearing tube socks about five years ago.  She sat me down and told me I could never wear them again...not even with my mom jeans....never.  I own no tube socks at this time....but I just threw out some jeans that came over on the Mayflower. Those jeans were hideous.

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Because I have tendencies towards hoarding, there were some items in my closet that I haven’t worn in numerous years....say, maybe....20? 30? years.... I just drag this crap around from house to house, closet to closet thinking....classic piece....when I lose another 20 pounds it will look great....someone could get some good out of this sweater.....I have always loved this color (too bad it’s too small/too large/ too trendy).  You get the idea!

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When I was in the bed, I kept thinking....why?  Why do I keep things I don’t even like?  I had a green and yellow striped blouse that kept coming into my view from the bed.  I don’t remember EVER wearing it.  I don’t remember buying it.  Maybe I had amnesia when I bought it?   I have nothing that it goes with.  I must have had an out-of body experience when that came home from the store with me.  I knew that needed to go!

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I must have gotten a great deal on the blouse I never wore.

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