Getting back to things…

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Since moving to our most recent home a year and a half ago, we have been extremely busy “nesting”. We took a 22 year old home and decided to embrace it for what it was, which is an older home in need of a little TLC! We refreshed some of its dated features and we embraced others. We hired workers to paint the entire interior and exterior, walls and ceilings and trim. There is nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make an older home come alive.

We had wood floors laid after removing old and worn carpeting and then installed plantation shutters on all the windows. We put new tile in the laundry room and on the front porch. All floors are now hard surfaces to help facilitate our aging if the day comes where we have to navigate with a walker or wheelchair. It pays to be prepared..

We installed oil brushed bronze knobs and pulls on the kitchen cabinetry to dress up the previously bare old oak cabinets. They look very nice because they actually embrace the vintage look. We replaced all the gold door knobs and hinges on all the doors in the house with the oil rubbed bronze look and it looks amazing as it compliments the cabinetry in the kitchen!

This is our 10th residence in 51 years of marriage so we know the drill of what needs to be done before we settle in, though this time we had a different approach from our last two homes which were both “new builds”. What we learned with those two newly built homes is that “new” is only new for a short period of time. It isn’t long before it is considered “dated” in the eyes of real estate agents, buyers (and designers) because “new” is what we have been brainwashed to believe is better. In all truth, if we are kept in a perpetual cycle of updating, there is a lot of money to be made on a lot of levels by a lot of people. The “latest and greatest” is a term thrown at us on an annual cycle of ads. How else would these retailers survive if we decided to keep what we have because it is still functional? Their mission is to convince all of us that the latest IS the greatest, and that is simply NOT true.

Whatever happened to those of us who enjoyed buying a used home and were up to the challenge of making it our own when we were first starting out? Why did the word “dated” even come into existence? In a word, it is marketing. The marketing and sales departments of home products convinced us that if it isn’t new, it is inferior, whereas the opposite is often the case. In truth, goods and skills are not what they once were, so buying a “dated” home is likely a very wise decision.

So, when we were finished with the refreshing our newly purchased older home, we then went to work creating gardens. The yard was a blank canvas of weed infested lawn around our home with very few plants or trees. Our new plants and gardens are now in place, and look very colorful and inviting.

So, after a long pause, I finally have time to once again write for my website “Thoughts Expressed from our Retirement Nest” site!

We are the B’s…Mr and Mrs B, and we are very much enjoying this last leg of our life’s journey. I think it may be fun to share our thoughts and feelings and adventures! For me, this acts as a journal…and maybe someday, it will hold some amount of significance to our offspring.

Today is Sunday and we attended church as per usual. The closing song chosen by our music Minister was “Jesus loves Me”. What joy it was to sing a song we all learned when we were very young children. The volume of that song almost raised the rafters of the church. 😉. Out of the mouths of babes right? Our younger selves stepped right up and sang this song with gusto. It was lovely and uplifting!

I am going to close for now. I look forward to using my freed up time to once again write for my “Retirement Column”.

Sincerely,

Jjb/4/14/2024

The little things

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We are heading up to see Ms. Andrea for the weekend. Yesterday I baked a whole chicken and then deboned it to make a big pot of chicken chili. The whole chicken was pieced apart and put into that pot. Our daughter loves white chicken chili. We have not been up there in a while so she is excited we are coming for a visit and so are we.

Yesterday I was busy getting ready for the trip and I was washing clothes and using my rolling hanging rack to hang them after they were washed. I always, and I mean ALWAYS, feel such gratitude when I go to the laundry room and begin the process of washing clothes. I remember a time, MANY years ago when I had to go to a laundromat to wash and dry my clothes. In those days, apartments did not include a room for a washer and dryer and so my laundry day had to be scheduled into my week. Even then, it was satisfying to throw dirty clothes into a washer and have them come out squeaky clean. It was enjoyable to throw them into the front loading dryer and watch them tumble their way to a dry state.

One time when I was sitting at the laundromat waiting on my laundry, A guy came in with huge hamper FULL to overflowing with dirty laundry! I watched as he threw his laundry into the washer. It all went in together, his underwear, tshirts, jeans, sheets, and sandy rugs!!!! Yes! Everything he had in that hamper went into the washer. After he threw in a packet of detergent that he bought from the vending machine, he put his money into the washer to get it started. He hit “start” and left the building. I was sitting in front of the washer he chose and I can remember hearing the machine filling with water and then the agitator began its machinations and I could hear how over taxed it was as it groaned and strained its way through the process. It finally finished its cycle and eventually he came back and started pulling it all out of the washing machine, with sand flying out on the floor as he first pulled out the rugs, then the rest of the laundry in a reverse process of how they went in. The machine was so packed, things had not changed position much in the washing process. He rolled his basket cart to the dryer and put it all in there as well, sand still falling on the floor as he threw the laundry in first followed by those sand filled rugs.. He put his money in, pressed start and left again. I could hear the sand in the dryer as well as metal buckles hitting the side as they rolled around the drum. He came back, took it all out, shoved it all in his hamper and left. I wondered what his clothes looked like when he got dressed in his “clean” clothes the next day. 😵‍💫🥹🤣😳

Laundromat

Funny how that memory sticks with me almost 60 years later.

Anyway, its SO nice to have laundry facilities right here in our own home. My laundry room is small. It has just enough room for a laundry tub, washer and dryer and a small refrigerator on one wall all in a row. The opposite wall has the door to the garage. Its an efficient little room and I love it. I also love my rolling laundry rack, because I don’t use the dryer for much of anything (to preserve our clothes). I like to let them air dry. Our Master closet is large so when I have everything hung up, I roll the rack down the hall to the closet where they can dry.

I feel this very same pleasure when I walk through that door and get into our car without ever going outside.

God has done things right. He gave us opposites to learn appreciation. Where once I did not have these things, my memories of that lack make me super appreciative for their existence in my life right now.

Little blessings are often the biggest blessings which allow us to feel gratitude and appreciation for the day to day comforts God has provided. Thank you, Lord, for the little things because in the end, they really are the big things.

What are your little blessings that catch your notice and make you smile?

jjb 3/2/2024

The Art of Crying

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I rarely cry…For some reason tears do not come easily to me, and this does not mean that I don’t feel emotion because I do feel it and often feel it deeply. For whatever reason, I just do not cry liquid tears very often. But this Christmas Eve was akin to taking the finger out of the proverbial dyke.

Mr. B and I were saving seats for the kids at church and they all filed in and sat down from the aisle seat down to the middle of the row where I was seated. A few minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I saw a young gentleman slipping in from the aisle on the other side and he sat down beside me. I looked at him and felt my heart begin to hammer when I realized it was our older son who, on impulse, drove from Minnesota to Texas to spend a few days with us. After my initial shock at recognizing him, followed by the ensuing hugs, we sat down waiting for the service to begin. As I sat there, I could feel my hearts emotion expanding to the point of bubbling up and over flowing down my face as I began to cry great big liquid tears and could not stop. My heart felt like it might not fit in my chest if it expanded even the tiniest bit more. I do not think there is any greater love than that of a parent for their child, no matter what their age is. Geographically, we live very far apart so our holiday times together are rare. Oh how wonderful it was to have him seated at our holiday table and during our gift exchange! I still cannot believe it! His wife and daughter gave him their blessings as they gifted us with the very best Christmas gift ever. The gift of another Mothers son arriving at Christmas. My tear ducts are very cleansed now until the next time they break loose which could be a very long time! Thank you Caroline and Madeline. We are deeply indebted to you for making our day! ❤️

jjb/12/24/2023

The family journey

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Silence can be deafening!  Especially so after the family has taken leave after gathering in our home for a few days time during the holidays. In the first hours after they take their leave, as the noise of extra family begins to dissipate, I often feel a sense of restless emptiness. I wander around peering into rooms they occupied and can still feel their presence. 

But, I also know from experience that the morning after they have taken their leave, when we wake up and pour our first cup of coffee, all will feel right with the world again. 

I think to myself, “once a mother, always a mother.” I remember carrying our children for 9 months in my womb, and the bond created during this time is very  strong.  Later on, when they are independent adults, I carry them around in my mind at all the ages they have ever been… a mind full of their legacy to us which I sift though from time to time. 

This picture depicts one of my most cherished times of family life.  We were living in SW Minnesota and at that particular time, life was very good to our family. Mr B is taking the photo or he would be in this picture as well.

I LOVED being a Mother to a growing family and somehow I thought that our family would never change. I assumed that when the kids moved out and got married, we would all live in close proximity.  Little did I know that a transcontinental move was in our future and our family would be altered forever.  

I often think that maybe I should have continued on a career path while raising our family which would have given me another outlet for my focus and passion, but with how much their father traveled, we felt that someone needed to be that cornerstone to the family foundation, so there I was.  My job in life was to support his career and guide the children, so eventually I became that dusty artifact from years gone by, an antiquated role known as a “stay at home” Mother.  

 I think this is why gardening became such a passion for me.  The tending and nurturing of plants feeds my heart and gives me a creative outlet.  We do have a lot of friends both near and far, so it isn’t that we are living in a static state of being after the nest emptied.  We are busy and happily so.  But, the mother ties are ever present and I can feel a gentle tugging now and again.  

On Christmas day we and the kids took two cars and delivered hot Christmas meals to people in need of a hot holiday dinner!  One of the couples we delivered to was a man and woman who are living independently in their own house, with home health aides checking in on them and helping them with personal care.  The woman said her husband is 95 years old (in a wheelchair) and that she is 92 (with a walker and a gimpy leg). They were bright and alert and talkative.  She said they had been married 72 years and that their children were all living far and away from them.  They had a nice home and I told them they were blessed to still have each other to which they readily agreed.  The conversation was as eagerly received as was the food. 

Working with the public, one quickly learns that there are many, many people out in the world who are not only alone but lonely.  Many have loving offspring, but college and careers take their offspring away down their own life path.  Many parents who saw their grown children off to parts unknown, still see them in their mind’s eye as they once were in their growing years, in addition to how they are right now!  

What we experience throughout the years as older parents and grandparents is experienced by the multitudes.  We each have our own unique story and situation, but we all experience that passage in life of releasing our children into the world and then later on we enter the next phase of life known as our elder years.

So, this is where we live now, in this time and this place….and it is good!  I am looking forward to the New Year and may just take some painting classes, or stained glass classes.  I have a creative side that needs an outlet to express itself.  I read somewhere that God put our eyes on the forward part of our face to look forward, not backward, and so I shall venture forth to see what I am capable of doing and to discover a part of myself that hasn’t manifested yet. For some reason, this excites me. 

ME AND Mr. B….For some reason this phrase makes me think of an old 60’s tune “Me and Bobby Mcgee” for no other reason than that it rhymes and I enjoyed hearing that song all those years ago! (🎼Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose🎼) 

One often ignored fact of life is that we actually own nothing in this life. Everything we see, love, and experience is on loan to us and nothing more…even our children. We arrive naked and leave naked…It all remains behind. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, in whatever  fashion that takes. . So now, the kids have all gone back to their lives and we are back in our life just as it was before the holidays came along.  

I have an itch to dig and plant something and so I shall!  

I wish you a continued holiday season with prayers for many blessings to come your way. 

jjb/12/26/2023

Home for the holidays

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As I write this, I am aware that I have a full day of food prep ahead, and will do so with a song in my heart and a smile on my face. We will have a bigger Christmas attendance than usual this year and even this attendance is not what anyone else would consider big. That said, it is what we have grown accustomed to and we are grateful for any and all feet under our Christmas table.

When we had children, somehow it lodged in my brain that we were going to be like the long ago television series “The Waltons” where eventually Mr. B and I would be like Grandma and Grandpa Walton, not necessarily living together with our offspring but at least living near them. We also imagined a whole parcel of Grandchildren!

Life is interesting and one of my favorite phrases is “Man makes plans, and God smiles”. Indeed! Make plans all you want but be aware of the fact that everything is subject to change.

When we moved to Texas, we did not realize how much this would change the trajectory of our life and the lives of our offspring. Forget the Waltons! We had forged a new path and that scenario just wasn’t in the cards.

When one’s children grow up and marry, you realize rather quickly that holidays are a shared experience and not necessarily with your whole family around the table every year. Rather, the shared experience is sharing our children with another set of parents, or several sets of parents, so, from year to year, the table settings change depending on attendance.

In the early marriage years, because of the annual heart tugging holiday shows on tv and in the movies, also compounded by the relentless cheerful tv commercials, I found myself thinking this is how things “ought” to be. I found myself reflecting on that famous Norman Rockwell painting where Grandma is standing tableside holding a turkey laden platter with Grandpa at her side. The whole family was sitting around the table smiling at Grandma waiting in anticipation of a tasty meal. Oh YES! That Grandma would be ME one day and that full table would be our children and grandchildren in our home. That is how it MUST be, right? Anything less is sad, right? (NOT)

Talk about a set up for our expectations! In the beginning, when we first moved south, far away from our place of origin, the holidays rapidly began to show us how much our life was about to do a 180 for expectations, and in short order, we tossed those expectations aside and learned to embrace change. It took a while to adapt, but we eventually did embrace whatever came our way.

In the 26 years we have been here (time flies) our celebrations are unlike anything we had originally imagined. Oh, we still decorate and have things looking festive, but the gathering is not the large, perfect, scripted holidays found in lovely movies or books! But as time showed us, they had a lot of value! We learned to appreciate and savor one piece of pie, or two pieces of pie, rather than the whole pie, (an analogy for our family). In other words, focus on and love who WAS here versus focusing on who wasn’t.

Another valuable lesson that came with this new life was when we weren’t fully immersed and totally focused on a gigantic family gathering, we were able to look outward to see how others were faring at Christmas and realized that there are many, many people who are alone and lonely on any given day, but especially so at Christmas!

Through the years, on occasional holidays, we had the time to spare to see who we could bless, so we used our extra time to enhance someone else’s experience, which interestingly enhanced ours!

I guess what I am trying to express is that we need to lower our expectations in life in general, but especially so at the holidays. We don’t get everything we want in life, but neither does anyone else. It may seem that some people get it all, but I doubt that. I imagine there are those who manage to get exactly what they want at the holidays, but that is just how life plays out. We just choose to dance through our “part in life’s play” as best we can.

One thing that has been my greatest blessing has been having the time to enjoy Mr. B and grow old with him. We don’t have many distractions, so we focus on each other aging in tandem and we pray this continues for a long time to come. His eyes aren’t as good as they once were so as I grow whiskers he doesn’t seem to notice and it all works out! Is it his eyesight or his heart that creates this spot of blindness? I suspect a bit of both! No harm, no foul! Lol! We embrace each new day as if it were our last because it very well could be. Old love really is the most precious of all!

The sun is shining and it is a glorious day. We always watch the weather in Minnesota since we lived there for so many years and it looks like it will be beautiful there as well. As much as I like those snowy scenes on Christmas cards, I also enjoy sitting on my patio at this time of year if the weather permits.

Our first company arrives tomorrow and our daughter has already asked what’s on the menu because her husband loves comfort food…holiday fare. ☺️ The fridge is bulging with more food than we can possibly eat (old habits die hard) so thank God for freezers. We are going Christmas caroling this coming Friday night with the neighbors, who are welcoming our kids to join us on a hay wagon ride through the neighborhood. A couple of days later, we all will be delivering meals to shut-ins on Christmas day. mWe also plan to walk the Georgetown Square in the evening to see the lights and will celebrate our daughter in law’s birthday on a day while most are still here.

No, it is not me and Mr. B standing in that Norman Rockwell picture with our whole family around. But, it’s quite o.k.! Taking life as it comes has many advantages and blessings that we likely would not have had time (or a sensitivity) to see and appreciate if we had got all we wanted in the first place.

Our long ago adopted motto is….
“Embrace what life presents to you” as it is likely far more beautiful than what you had planned!

Enjoy your holidays everyone…look for the magic because it IS there….just possibly not in the shape or form you expected! Also remember, the party next door is likely not as perfect as you imagine. ☃️❄️🎄🌲🥳

jjb/12/20/2023

Encourager

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We attended our friend Frieda’s 90th birthday yesterday and had a chance to see a lot of people we knew back in Lakeway where we lived for 25 years. That in itself was fun.  We only live about 50 minutes from where we used to live so its not hard to get back there every now and again. 

Frieda’s son wanted to honor her, so the date was set for yesterday, a Saturday, because her birthday actually lands on a Tuesday which is a work week. 

What impressed me so much was how her friends stepped up and organized the table settings, flowers, food, water and a “nugget” basket, where people could write a personal note of reflection about something they experienced together.  They all pitched in and helped clean things up afterward.

After lunch, her son passed around a mike so people could speak on Friedas behalf, and here too, she was honored nicely. At one point she stood and said “I have always thought it would be nice if people could attend their own funeral to hear what people have to say about them and this is getting pretty close to being a Memorial. If you find yourself unable to attend my funeral, it’s now o.k.”. Of course, everyone laughed at that remark.

But, she is right….why DO we wait to say our thoughts about another person until they are no longer here to hear it?  Every day should be a memorial day of sorts…telling our friends and family what they mean to us. It would be akin to fertilizer on a plant…we grow taller and more robust with encouragement. 

We live in such a chaotic, abrasive world where so many factions are at odds with one another and these factions are right in our face whether we like it or not.  Why not combat all this negativity with expressions of love, one person at a time? For every negative thing we hear or see in the course of a day, we should negate that by offering up love.  

Darkness hates light, so let’s turn up the light in this world. One candle pierces the darkness, and so too, does one kind comment pierce the negativity in another human beings life. Even the hardest of hearts begin to soften with expressions of empathy.

Anyway…we enjoyed ourselves so much. We were among people in and around our age bracket, give or take a few years, and it felt good to be among people who grew up as we did in a world of rules, manners, church, school, and polite, civilized society. This is where Mr. B and I bloom and grow because when we are with like minded people, in an environment that is not hostile to our culture that took many decades to create), we flourish. The familiarity of what we have all mutually come to learn and understand about the world around us is comforting when shared with friends. We are proud to be part of the Baby Boom generation. There have been many articles and pieces written about this group, but I know, first hand, how wonderful most of these people are. Without doubt, we all have made mistakes as we pressed forward in life, but I know that most of us crave the better, softer world of our childhood and we want this for our kids and grandkids as well. Most of us are willing to roll up our sleeves to accomplish this.

Anyway…my coffee cup is empty and I am heading into the kitchen for a second cup. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and if you are my friend it is because you mean something to me. I am not in this game for the numbers…Just sweet good people who offer up positives along the way and touch my heart in the process. ❤️

jjb/12/3/2023

Indeed!

The tree of life

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Another leaf has fallen.

We received word that another friend has passed. He was only 6 months older than I am. By the time a person reaches this ripe age, one would think we would get used to the loss of yet another person we have known from this life, but we never really become accustomed to it. While we are surprised and saddened each time we receive word of another passing, we are no longer shocked as we were when we were in our prime receiving the same news. Death has long ago lost its shock value.

Because I am a gardener, I see things through the seasons of change. When we come into this world we are like a young sapling being planted. Similar to a mother with a child, the gardener waters it, cares for it, and tends to its needs. The sun and the rain take care of the rest.

When the tree is mature, big and tall with wide, ever expanding branches, it supports a full crown of leaves. Spring is the time of the rebirth of its leaves, emerging as a bright shiny green, happy to be out in the world. Throughout the summer they grow larger, deeper in color and robust. Then Autumn comes along and one by one they begin to wither and fall but not before they show their full flush of changing color. One last showing before they “leave” us.

Mr B and I are in the Autumn of our life and leaves are dropping all around us at an ever increasing speed. These leaves represent our friends, family and colleagues.

We watch as the wind shakes the branches until the leaves fall off and float away on the currents of the brisk, cold, motion filled air. Off, off, they go!

We are a leaf on this tree of life, and from our branch, the density of the leaves is no longer surrounding us. We can see the world easily now as our view becomes broader and more open with time. We are “of the few” of the greener leaves, not quite ready to depart and hanging on for dear life. We want to remain for one more sunrise or sunset. Just one more…one more…and one more!

These losses serve as reminders to us that our turn will come when we are wrenched free of this earthly branch of sustenance. We, too, will ride the current of death on our journey to a new life where light and love surrounds us and nurtures us. A place where death is no more.

I am not afraid to die. Not at all! But like most people, I want one more day, just like the wishes of the leaves on that proverbial tree. I want one more day to bring me a sunrise or a sunset. I want one more day to smell my roses, and one more day to dig in the soil with bare hands and bare feet connecting with earth itself. I want one more day to say “I love you” because love is the reason we are here in the first place. I believe we are here to see the damage that a “lack” of love creates so we understand the immense value of being loved. No one survives a lack of love. Like the leaves on a tree in Autumn, we would wither up and die if we were not loved.

I am sorry for my friend who lost her husband a couple of days ago. Finding words of comfort for her is not an easy find. No one can be replaced…no one. But, like soldiers in a battle, the battle of life, we must pick ourselves up and carry on. Someday it will be me or Mr B having to “pick up and carry on” and without doubt, the one who goes away is in a much better place than the one who remains.

When my eyes opened this morning, my first thought was of my friend who is a brand new widow. I looked over at my partner in life, slumbering softly beneath the warm covers. As I look at this man, the one who enriches my life here on this earth by loving me and caring for me, I immediately understand the randomness of life, for he is 6 years older than the one who just passed on.

The book of life has our arrival and departure dates and it is good that we are not allowed to see it. We don’t really want to know the time too far ahead of our departure, because we are so attached to the gifts of this life…our loved ones, particularly, we never want to leave. It would be too painful to wait on a date.

God bless you Sue! I have you on my mind almost continuously. I pray for you too. Much love sent your way! ❤️🙏🏼

jjb/11/29/2023

Sunny Side

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This is the last “Reflection of thoughts” for a while, but I want to make a point of explaining the content of alot of my posts.

First of all, I just love to write. I also love to garden. In both places, I reside inside my head and find myself sorting through a lot of old and new files, old and new lessons, and old and new experiences, reflecting on what they mean to me and mulling over the lessons I have had.

It is second nature to me to roam around in the happy thoughts section of my mind because it is there I find the most peace, happiness and gratitude for the blessings bestowed on me.

My writings could easily give the reader the impression that I have had an unblemished, almost idealized type of life, and if that is the impression given, it would be most aggregiously wrong.

Throughout my life I have experienced a lack of many things that I have wanted which have been held back from my grasp. These experiences arise from imperfections large and small. A lot of my lessons have evolved from hurts or withheld love, done either intentionally or unintentionally. Some people have been unkind towards me and some have held me at arms length which has left me baffled. Because of these experiences, I have learned how that negative behavior affected my heart so I became determined to avoid doing these things to others because I know firsthand how it feels.

At the same time, I have also been well loved and unreservedly so, by many others. I learned love firsthand by so many big hearted family members, I came out of that fold filled to overflowing, so there is no feeling sorry for me! I was well cared for!

In other words, just as I am imperfect, so have been many of the people in my life. It is in this mix of imperfection where we find our greatest lessons on how to treat people, how to love them, how to show appreciation, and how to allow them to feel the love. I also know that we ALL have our turn to feel the raw and unfiltered lessons deeply and greatly and I think most of us come out of that experience with the desire to offer up some love and beauty along the way as a gift of caring, hoping someone will offer a similar gift of love, no matter how small a gesture, in return.

The description of God is love…one hundred percent, pure, unadulterated love. If a person had that kind of love in human form surrounding them all their life (no one does) then there can be no real appreciation for it. You cannot fully appreciate what has always existed for you because you don’t know the lack or pain of being without it.

God surrounds us at ALL times, despite occasional evidence to the contrary. God knows we need the tough lessons to become strong and clear in our convictions, so while he allows us to feel the earthly worlds problems firsthand, sometimes in painful, crushing ways, He is there anytime we choose to call him for comfort.

It is these type of disappointments that are the result of the “free will” God granted all of us, and where a person learns the value of the difficult lessons. Once learned and never forgotten, we can then choose to go down a more positive road, brightening others outlook on life and in the process, appreciating the value of turning away from the negativity.

When I write, I see my words as a visual experience, similar to someone picking out fabric for making a quilt. A quilter will pick out the colors and patterns that make them happy before they begin to piece together their own unique pattern. Those of you who are creative can appreciate the fact that when we make our choices in fabric, yarns, music, gardens, paintings, and many other creative materials, we generally go in the direction of what speaks to our soul and makes us happy. Most of us want to add beauty to the world in whatever way our talents unfold, so we try to repair and disguise our imperfections so we can offer up something beautiful that brings a smile to another persons face….a real heart lifter!❤️

So…….rather than write about my neighbor who is disgruntled in life and refuses to reach back in friendship, I choose to write about the sweet neighbor who stood on my doorstep with cookies when we first arrived.

Rather than focus on those who remain distant, I focus on those who reach out.

The reason for moving to Texas was not a whim on our part. We knew we were making a drastic decision, having been midwesterners all our life, but it was a decision made out of necessity, not a yearning to leave all we had loved and known.

An unfortunate result of this move was that we were never granted the blessing of living close by our only grandchildren, as so many others have been blessed, so, regretably, this has been a long distance relationship.

When we see a multitude of photos posted from friends surrounded by their many grandchildren having sleepovers, pizza parties, and great big family gatherings of life events, we know this is not our lot in life. In time, my emotional response became one of feeling good about seeing the happiness of those grandparents, knowing this is one of their blessings and they make me smile.

At the same time, we look for our own unique blessings, so we take a look at our own adult children, and we feel uplifted by their many kindnesses and sensitivity and we KNOW that they love us dearly and the feelings are returned equally. We know that our blessings look very different from other peoples blessings, but they are blessings, nonetheless..

So, you see, none of us get everything we want in life, but most of us get a whole lot more than we deserve. ❤️

These are just a few of the many things we have wrestled with in our life, but long ago we made the decision that it makes no sense to dwell on the lack or loss that exists in our reality. We know that it feels a whole lot better to look at the gifts and blessings rather than at the lack thereof.

So, dear friends, as you read this excerpt from the book below….it explains how I choose to live my life following the beauty and blessings with a strong willed laser focus.

Is our life problem free? Absolutely not….but just as flowers grow in and among the many weeds in a garden, the beauty of the flowers (our life) is what we focus on while we remove the very real threat growing around them just waiting to choke them out!

I write what I choose to focus on, but always lurking nearby are all of lifes problems just wanting me to turn my attention on them. No thank you!

Happy thought for the day? It was a great birthday weekend with our daughter. She was SO thrilled we came and we were happy that she felt this way! 🙂

The excerpt below from a wonderful book is a great way to live ones life! As the song goes, “ Keep it on the Sunny Side”

As a Man Thinketh
Book
As a Man Thinketh is a self-help book by James Allen, published in 1903. It was described by Allen as “… [dealing] with the power of thought, and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues. I have tried to make the book simple, so that all can easily grasp and follow its teaching, and put into practice the methods which it advises. It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances!

jjb/11/19/23

Upside Down

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So, after a year of non stop busyness which included selling a house, buying a house, a 50th anniversary party, two road trips, celebrating a couple of important birthday markers for husband and son, celebrating all the holidays that come around in a years period of time, rehabbing lawn and garden, getting our newly purchased pre-owned house in “relatively” good form with paint, floors and shutters, and my ever present and ongoing obsession to lighten the load by donating even more “stuff”, I finally felt ready to have a local couple over to our home. We have had family here multiple times, as well as friends from our previous community, but have had no one over from this community where we live now. 

As I have aged, I have lost the desire to put on a full scale dinner for friends as I used to do with pleasure, but I still do love to entertain so I decided to ask them over for dessert. I asked her to name a favorite dessert and I would do my best to make it for them.  She said, “Pineapple Upside Down Cake” and I replied “Done and done!” 🙂

I retrieved my oven mitts and slapped them together on our back porch to remove any kind of dust and debris! Lol!  Yes!  It’s been that long since I have used them! 

I decided that I did not want to make this dessert in a cake form because I was likely to have some left over and we didn’t want a temptation to beckon to us every time we opened the fridge.  I would make cupcakes so I could freeze the remaining ones and bring them over to our son and daughter-in-laws place for Thanksgiving to sit on the buffet next to the annual pumpkin pie.

 I pulled out my large capacity muffin tins and went to work.  Baking is like riding a bike…one never forgets how, so I dove right into it, putting the pineapple slices into the buttered brown sugar at the bottom. I then placed a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple slice and  spooned the cake batter on the top! I popped them in the oven and they came out beautifully browned with an accompanying aroma that had my sugar addicted senses calling out a full alert! They turned out so pretty! I had fun and was busy congratulating myself as I cleaned up the kitchen. 

Our company did not know this, nor did we, but they were going to be our dress rehearsal for future guests when it comes to serving food. When we downsized to this new lifestyle we got rid of the dining room table that just takes up a lot of space in a room that is seldom used or utilized. I desired additional open space a lot more than having a dining room table so we bought a flip top table to bring out and open up for those 1-2 times a year we may have a sit down dinner with the kids.

I love the new table which looks like a narrow sofa table most of the time,  but having two people over did not warrant opening that table up.  I then looked at our little table in the kitchen and considered having our dessert there.  This little table readily accommodates 6 people.  But when we gave our guests the choice of eating our dessert in the kitchen or living room they all (Al included) chose to sit in the living room. They wanted to sit on a comfy soft sofa for conversation.

It worked fine, but I realized as we were navigating plates on our laps and our coffee on little beverage stands that I could make this much more manageable with bigger sofa trays.  These are the modern versions of t.v. trays and are much sturdier and more attractive. They easily fold up to slip into a closet.  

The evening was fun and we all enjoyed getting to know each other better.  They are nice people and I am sure we will see them again. 

In life, every single one of us has a personal book of memories inside us with as many chapters in it as we have years of living!  So, visiting with friends is somewhat like being a member of a book club, where as we sit and sip our beverages, we share chapters from our lives while they share theirs and we discover how much we have in common.  Certainly, we all have more in common than not.  

With this couple, we realized we are all Baby Boomers and it was so delightful sharing memories from our early adult years.  We talked about our first experience with drinking alcohol and I told them that my prerequisite was it had to taste like a dessert.  No beer or hard booze for me!  He brought up the name “Tom Collins” which I had forgotten about and that brought back memories of drinks like “Tequila Sunrise”, “White Russians”, “Baileys and Creme” “Grasshopper (ice cream drink) and many other sugary concoctions.  I asked if they knew if anyone even made Tom Collins anymore and he thought they did, but modern times has brought about wine as the socially acceptable drink of the day.  (If you like wine).  Mr. B and I don’t drink alcohol much at all, but we do enjoy a glass of wine now and again or the occasional cold glass of beer for Al. 

While none of us could ever be classified as “drinkers”  it was still fun reminiscing about how we navigated into adulthood while we enjoyed our “adult” choices. So many funny stories came about as we shared our stories and we had a few good laughs!  

So, I would say our first social event in our home went well.  There are a couple of modifications in our future pertaining to where and how we serve food with beverages but it is easily managed.

I know this is an overused saying, but honest to goodness, “Less really IS more”! 😁

Today is chilly, overcast and drizzly…We leave tomorrow for Andrea and Griffs place to celebrate her birthday and I plan on making her birthday cake today.  Her favorite cake is the cool whip jello cake (lime please, she said) and so it will be. 

There is a saying, “Happy Wife – Happy Life” and I am sure Mr. B is pleased it is working out this way! 😁

Have a great day everyone.  

“Today is the day which the Lord hath made…let us rejoice and be happy in it!”🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼😇😇😇😇 I am not only happy, but grateful as well! 

jjb/11/16/23

Flip Top Table

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There is a chill in the house as I get out of bed, so I throw on a sweater and a pair of house slippers. I pad on into the kitchen and make myself a hot cup of java with a splash of whole cream and a pinch of sugar. The house is quiet..hubs has gone for a walk and I stand by our front window and look out onto the street. The sky is overcast and it is misting. What a change in weather from just a month ago when we could literally fry an egg on the driveway! That said, THIS is actually what I love about Texas! The weather is quite random and its very enjoyable that it is.

I look down upon our little kitchen table at a small vase of flowers which sit there, compliments of Mr. B who brought them home for Mrs. B yesterday. My zinnias were finally all done and gone for the season so I mentioned to Al how much I would miss having fresh flowers in the house. To my surprise, he brought home a small bundle which I separated into two vases, a tiny one one on our little table in the kitchen and the rest in a vase on a stand in the living room. I was so tickled that he thought to bring them home. Its times like this where it feels like when we first met and I feel that rush of love rising up over something small that made me feel special. Young love! The heart is forever young.

I sit down at the table and watch people walking by. I always wanted a house with a table placed in front of a street facing window where I could watch the world go by and the angels allowed for us to have that.

Its a cute house…not too big, not too small, it is “just right” as things are described in the Goldilocks fairy tale! 😁

This is our 10th home…in 50 years of marriage. Imagine that! We have had two brand new homes and all the rest were previously owned. As much as I enjoyed the brand new homes, I came to understand that no matter how much one has the “latest and the greatest”, in short order it isn’t either one anymore!

So much for that…When we bought this house, we painted inside and out, eliminated all carpeting and put down wood floors where the carpeting had been. We added some lighting, got rid of an old chandelier, and added a number of outlets. The house is aging but very functional, much like its owners. 😁 He and I and the house are a very good match. We all look so much better after we have primped and freshened up a bit.

I get up and walk to the back of the house and peer through our southern exposure windows which give view to a greenbelt through a tiny porch. On the porch, there is just enough room for two swivel rockers, a couple of ottommans and a tiny table and chairs. This is truly our final empty nest house. Kids are long gone, our two Granddaughters are in college and almost in college respectively, and we have now arrived in the winter of our life just like we began, which is the two of us, he and I, Mr. and Mrs., and I thank God every day for this.

Old houses, old people, and old love are something to be admired, if for nothing else, just for their resiliency in life. I look at our gigantic old oak tree outside our windows and I know, without a doubt, that I much prefer the old oak tree to a brand new sapling. Seeing it, replete with its many old scars, giving evidence to branches breaking off or having been removed, one just has to be impressed! I kinda want to go give it a hug! Lol!

Well, church is on our horizon for today and so is an Arts and Crafts show. There is always something beckoning to us out here!

Its a very good day! The perfect life would be so boring. (There is NO perfect life here on this plain) It is in the imperfections of ourselves and our surroundings where we find our challenges and our conquests. Its where we grow our spirit and it all keeps us moving forward.

“Old gardeners never die….they just spade away”. (A sign on my porch wall!)

Love and blessings to all!
jjb/11/5/2023

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Old souls….

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Old souls…..We have often heard this description of people we know who are introspective, observant, thoughtful, discerning, deep thinking, etc. In my opinion, it also refers to people who are drawn to things from another time frame in life and to those who are occasionally highly immersed in childhood memories. The latter two refer to me, but the first description comes fairly close too.

This morning we dressed in warmer clothes for church because the skies are gray and a cold front arrived during the night. The air is chilly enough to warrant long sleeves and a shawl. I love Texas for its “wait a minute” climate. Cold one day, warm the next, hot the next…you get the picture. “Wait a minute” does not apply to summer down here where its just plain hot for a few months, but the rest of the year is delightfully random. I love random!

Church was lovely and the music was the usual…all old hymns, which is our personal favorite. We recognize that across the globe, the church is slowly losing its old time culture in hymn conducted music, but thankfully, for us, this church embraces the hymns written so long ago.

As we sing these hymns, my mind carries me back to when I was a child, sitting next to my Mother (or Grandmother when Mom sang in the choir). I can still hear their voices as I sing with the hymns being played today.. “Rock of ages”, “Children of the Heavenly Father”, “How Great thou art”…All songs so familiar to this older congregation that the music and voices soar upward with enthusiasm on the refrains. Awe, I can feel my soul stir in warm response.

The Minister gave a wonderful Bible based message and he had our attention from beginning to end. Yes, he is a very good preacher.

Afterwards, as I reflected on our morning, In my minds eye I could see myself as a small child, so long ago, sitting in a pew next to my Mother. My hands, which were encased in white gloves, were clasping a nickle tied up within the corner of a hanky (handkerchief) for the offering. I see my young self observing the candelabras through my severely myopic eyes. Through the near sighted vantage point of a young child, I see huge glowing golden orbs above candles arranged in the ascending and descending order of a bright brass candelabra. Even at that young age, I enjoyed the structure and formality of a church. It felt safe and peaceful.

Here in our Sun City community, my husband and I enjoy watching the choir file into church up to the center front of the church where they sit facing the congregation under a huge, beautiful stained glass window. It’s orderly and I like order. It feels so right….so familiar to us even though we have only lived in this community one month shy of a year.

When my Mother lived in South America where the people and the culture were so different from anything she had ever known or was accustomed to, she said that the interdenominational church they attended offered her a feeling of familiarity in a foreign land. They followed old hymns and familiar prayers and passages. It brought her “home” in her heart and thoughts.

We live in a world that has become so fast paced there is no time for stories around the campfire as it were. People have moved far and wide following career paths far away from family. Handing down family traditions has taken a back seat in many homes to modern times and modern thinking.

We have been blessed with wonderful children who make a difference in this world and we have a very good relationship with them. We enjoy each other’s company and love each other very much. That said, I find myself wondering if they really know us for who we actully are other than that of an aging parent? Do they realize our love of all things music…(or maybe I should say most things music?) Do they realize our love of dancing….waltzes, two step, rock and roll? Do they know how often we sit on our small back porch listening to an old time favorite radio station, sipping a glass of wine and watching birds and butterflies and dragonflies flit by, sometimes riding the currents? It is almost a dance of their own making when they glide in the air, sometimes chasing each other.

Sadly, I don’t think any child sees their parent as an individual walking around encapsulated within ALL the ages we have ever been. Some days we are 16 when we excitedly get dressed for a special event. Some days we are 6 when we delight in the magic of something brand new. Some days we live in the present…in the sad reality of our elder age when we are hit with the unwanted news about loss of health or life of one of our contemporaries. 

Yes! We ARE ALL the ages we have ever been and our mental rolodex contains all the experiences we have ever lived. So we flip that rolodex to view the good times, the happy times, the blessed times…all the positives we can find.

Maybe fast paced and busy is just the way it is these days. Fortunately for me, I was blessed with a close relationship with my Mother where I knew her thoughts and feelings on so many issues because I had the time to listen and the curiosity to ask a multitude of questions. From her, I heard many family stories that my own children don’t know because they haven’t heard them. Time and distance has just not supported that dialog. It’s a different world.

This is why I write down my thoughts. I have no illusion about my writing. I will never be an author, but WILL always write down thoughts as they come to me. Maybe in my Mothers heart, I hope someday one of my children will find my “Musings” box of writings and find out who their Mother really was, what she thought, and how she felt about living in these times. On the other hand, they may look at that old box of yellowed papers and think that there still is no time to read what someone once thought and decide it would make an excellent fire starter. LOL! Ca-sa-ra-sa-ra! What will be will be! I won’t be here to know it one way or another. Still, the writing is therapeutic to me, so it serves a good purpose. As I write my thoughts and observances, it is like having a conversation with myself (who, by the way, is my best friend). Yup, I like this old girl despite all her flaws because she has a good heart and her intentions are usually very good! She is good company for her introverted side. I wish my children knew this! 😁

Enough for one day….What is your favorite hymn and where does it carry you when you hear it? Is there a favorite childhood memory that you like to take out on occasion and give it a good long look? Aren’t we lucky to have made it this far in life? God is good!

jjb/10/29/23❤️

Day to Day

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Its early morning and the sun is sending shafts of light through our south facing windows into our living space. I love a morning sun! ❤️

As my eyes travel about the room over a steaming cup of coffee, my gaze falls upon this little crystal vase on our coffee table. Presently it holds a grassy plant and a small zinnia but when I first received it, it held a perfectly formed yellow rose! This memory of that rose brings me back to that long ago day when our son Phillip gifted it to me for Mothers Day.

A while back, as we made decisions about what to keep and what to toss in our shedding of material goods to accommodate moving into a smaller home, this vase stayed with us. My Mother’s heart could not part with it, and even as I say this, I would guess he doesn’t even remember giving it to me after all these years! Lol!

As I age, I find I am more reflective in my thoughts. This doesn’t mean I live in the past…..no! I am enjoying the present day to day life way too much to do that, but my sentimental side seems to thrive in the memories files so easily accessible to me.

That said, the times seem to be becoming more frequent that an item such as this will jar my memory of the gift bearer . When I see it, hold it or use it, it always brings a smile to my face and the feeling of love once presented to me in this form revisits me….and it feels wonderful!

I think God purposely gifted us with a very expansive memory bank to store many of our life events just for those times we want to revisit them. The painful events, thankfully, are only a few, but they are stored there as a reminder of that particular lesson we learned. Its the area where most of our spiritual growth happens. It is also the area where because of those same experiences we become a valuable friend to others who may need comfort in their own similar challenges in life.

The happy events are there so when we revisit certain joyful moments in our memory, a warm feeling of gratitude envelopes us as we see how much we have been blessed in this lifetime.

There is even a file for what we think of as the hum-drum day to day events in our life. This is where we learn a belated appreciation for things we did not realize were blessings at the time. Looking back, we realize that most of our memories were created in the day to day routine, this seemingly uneventful existence called life. When we visit this memory bank and look at the things we and our loved ones did, things that seemed insignificant at the time, we begin to understand that much of the day to day journey we experienced was littered with glittering jewels of blessings on the rocky path we traveled. All that was needed to appreciate it all was perspective. As they say, looking back is always 20/20 vision and sometimes we need time and distance before we get that clarity of vision and insight into our life!

Every day I find something to feel grateful for. I really do! Today I am grateful for a sons expression of love given to me so long ago! ❤️

jjb/10/16/2023

Thanks for the good times!

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So we are on our way again…heading home after a very, very nice time (understatement) with our friends at their gorgeous, richly appointed home.

This morning, after packing up, stripping the bed and putting the room to good order, I went downstairs for the final chat of our visit there and as I strolled down the staircase and continued on through their many rooms, I stopped in my tracks when I passed by this gorgeous shoe!

I gushed over how adorable it was and they came to explain that this piece was made by the same Minnesota artist from whom they have purchased many art pieces.   This piece was created in honor of Marilyn Monroe and her beautifully jeweled high heels!  It is so eye catching…no wonder I stopped to look at it more closely. It sat on a pedestal in front of a wall full of art work with Marilyn as the main draw.

As I reflect back, I think about how it would be fun for people’s personalities or lifestyles to be revealed through a shoe.  These friends we just visited are surely of the bright red, bejeweled high heel variety. They have colorful, sparkling, fun personalities.They live a wealthy lifestyle, and they exude warmth to all their friends.  Its a perfect optic into who they are. 

Then I tried to imagine what kind of shoes Al and I would be represented by and decided it would be a tough call to make just one choice.  

With me it would likely be a toss up between my old worn out garden shoes or my house slippers.   The garden shoes depict my love of plants and digging in the earth.  This is my comfortable place where I feel the distress of a thirsty plant and the contentment of a plant in just the right environment for its species.  Yes, the plants and I are “one” when I am amongst them. 

The house slippers equate to my love of all things “home”….(Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home!) I have loved and enjoyed every single home in which we have ever lived  (much like a friend or a much loved family member) and I have felt sadness each time we had to say goodbye and move on to a new place.   Each home had its own unique experience for us to learn from and enjoy.  I am a nester of the first order and I always deeply love the places where within I am blessed to eat, sleep, rest, dine and enjoy! 

So, I  guess the choice would have to be both types of foot attire because BOTH places are my happy places.  So the choice is gardening shoes and house slippers….check and check! 

But then I thought, “Well, J…what about your dancing shoes?” This is also my “Happy Place”  as  I am dancing and swirling around a dance floor in my husbands arms.  We may not be the best dancers on the floor, but after 50 years, we are in sync with each other as we glide and dip and sway to the beat of most any music!  Yup, those black, low heeled, slick soled dancing shoes would have to be included. 

As I ponder the shoe representation of “me”,  I realize I would also need to give a nod towards a pair of shoeless bare feet as I recall the delight I feel when the soft blades of grass caress these old feet as I pad about the yard and as I water my feet right along with the plants.  When I water my bare feet, it gives me an insight into the relief and delight a plant must feel when they are given a bath and a drink all at the same time.  Such a cool, soft and soothing sensation as the water hydrates our individual skins. Yup!  Gods original shoes for his beloved humans.  Bare feet! 

Oh, and then there are the walking shoes….yes!  The ones that carry me along the roads and paths and beaches we visit.  I have the “closed toe” walking shoes in the places where I feel the need to protect my feet and then the sandals that allow my toes to hang out with nature!  

Ok…so I guess it shows that I do not have ONE pair of iconic shoes! 

That said, I have a new respect for the shoe family that sits awaiting my choice on any particular day and time.  This shoe family is a very important part of my life, and I mentally salute them and say “thanks my friends….You are very important to my happiness and to my many happy places and I salute you!”

Kerry and Connie?  I salute you too…You, who see all people as your equals as you share your many blessings with each one of us!  We are so glad our paths crossed in this lifetime.  The other day, as you and we discussed the possible reasons for our individual journeys here on the earth plane, we agreed it was for experiences and learning! I believe we are here to learn and experience because as Kerry said, “they go hand in hand!”

If you two only knew how much you contribute to other peoples journeys when it comes to beautiful experiences!  Wow!  God smiles at all the sharing you do and we thank you greatly!  

We also love you very much!  

(I am being nudged to include an Ann Richards story who was a one time Governor of Texas). She said, when comparing what a woman can do versus a man, one only has to remember Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Ginger danced as well as Fred, as fast as Fred, and as many steps as Fred. But to her credit, she danced all the steps backwards, AND she did it in HIGH HEELS! ❤️God bless Ginger! 😁👠🕺🏻💃🏻

8/30/2023 jjb

Then and Now!

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When I was young we used to visit my Grandparents in their small white frame house that sat high on a corner lot. On one side was a quiet road where occasional traffic would drive by. On the other side was a street where across the way were other similar homes. All were immaculately cared for back in the 1950’s and 60’s.

My Grandparents house was small. It was a simple, beautifully cared for home with pristine white siding on the exterior walls and it sported colored painted frames.

There were gardens that flanked their home in strategic spots all around the corner and the lawn was crisply mowed right up to the street and road. Driving by, it was a “head turner” as they say! Flowers of all kinds and colors, all neatly tended.

Red and Pink Hollyhocks grazed the white wall near the entry door. A huge lilac tree stood off to the side from the front entry and an apple orchard stood between G’ma and G’pas house and the next house, filled with rogue pansies infiltrating the field beneath the trees. The front and side gardens were homes to Peonies, Irises, Tiger Lilies, and Roses.

On the cute front porch sat two chairs where potted red geraniums added a bit of color to the white exterior. On either side of the front porch was a large bridal wreath bush. It was picture perfect in its simplicity.

Next to the house on the side was a very large 4 car garage with two bedrooms above. One full size bed sat on one side of the top of the stairs and was separate from the larger bed room on the other side which presented two full size brass beds and two platform rockers. The rooms were painted a very soft sky blue and each room had a large window decorated with white priscilla criss cross curtains which looked like clouds to a childs eyes against the light sky blue walls.

This was our haven, our home away from home and we learned a lot about taking care of our material goods. Those exterior and interior walls were always repainted the minute they showed any kind of wear and tear. They were Swedish people who had a strong work ethic and a sense of gratitude and pride for all they owned, so they took great care of everything, as if in doing so, they were offering up thanks to God for His bounty.

My only regret about this memory is that I do not have one single picture of their home in the state I described above. It would have been a picture in stark contrast to the home we drove by recently.

No one lives there anymore. Long ago, one could see the entirety of the house and grounds from the front road and side street. Now, the lot is filled with big trees, scrub brush, and long grass no longer mowed. Old broken down cars sit long discarded with the tall grass growing around them!

I felt very sad to see it in such a state of disrepair, but also recognize the fact that even the Bible states that we should not store up treasures here on earth. The Good book tells us to not put too much importance on things that will rot and rust and eventually go to ruin. The people who once lovingly cared for their heavenly blessings on this very visible corner are no longer here. This is evident by the condition of the house they once built. Interestingly, these present day images did not interfere with my memories of the beauty of what once graced that corner. My memories overshadowed the wrack and ruin that exists there today.

Grandpa and Grandma no longer live there. I imagine them now in heaven enjoying their heavenly home surrounded by the beauty of flowers everywhere. Juanita doesn’t live here anymore either but she is very grateful for the times she once did. She is also grateful for the people who loved her and disciplined her because every single encounter with another human being had a hand in shaping her and she is very grateful for where God planted her on this earth and for the people she was surrounded by! I was very blessed at the very beginning of my journey here and continue to reap heavenly rewards.

Thanks for the memories!
jjb/8/3/2023

Little Willie…on the road again

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A number of years ago, Little Willie came to live with us and we eventually adopted hm. Our daughter knew that we were huge Willie Nelson fans and while she was at the REAL Willie Nelsons concert, they had these “mini me“ Willie’s for sale… Everyone wanted one, so the line was long and tedious as people jostled their way to the Little Willie table. She snagged the last one and she was jubilant with her good fortune so when she brought him home to introduce him to us, she was thrilled because she just knew we were gonna love him. We looked at him, gazing at us with his hooded, watery eyes, giving us the once over. Looking back, I now know he was sizing us up!

That first evening, as we were getting acquainted, Lil Willie gave us a devilish grin and strummed a few tunes on his guitar. He really knocked it out of the park when he sang his Uncle Willies lyrics to “Family Bible.” He sipped politely on the shot of beer Al offered him and declined a second one, saying “Oh, no thank you…I have reached my limit”. He wowed us with stories of times on the road with Big Willie, telling us of the many famous people he stood shoulder to shoulder with while they all traded adventure stories. He was pretty proud of himself. As the evening progressed, his stories got grander and grander and we fell for all of it….hook, line, and sinker.

Hooked!

It was getting late when suddenly he stood up, stretched his arms towards the ceiling and gave an exaggerated yawn claiming to be exhausted. He gave us a little thumbs up as he shuffled off to the guest bedroom. We all smiled and waved at him and bid him adieu with a very warm “Sweet dreams Little Willie!” Andrea smiled at us, very pleased with herself and we smiled right back, basking in our good fortune!

Late the next morning I started to worry when he opened the bedroom door, I could see the sun beams shining through a thick blue haze. I was wondering if maybe the furnace was on the blink.. I asked if he slept well, because he had bags under red rimmed eyes. His tone had changed overnight from the sweet sing/songy voice of the previous evening. Now it was sharp, even a little clipped. Andrea and Al did not seem to notice so I thought maybe it was my imagination.

As he walked into the kitchen he proclaimed with a raspy voice that he was ravished! At breakfast he plowed through 5 eggs while the rest of us shared the 3 remaining eggs. He ate half the bacon, three sweet rolls, an orange, and chugged coffee like a parched man on desert island. Goodness! Once he was finished, he burped and ran his long sleeved arm across his mouth. Watching this in disbelief and disgust, I found myself thinking that at least I would not have to wash and iron his unused napkin.

This was when he turned to me, saying “Well, little lady…that was mighty fine!”. Rubbing his belly, he said “I can’t wait to see what is for lunch”.

My mouth got dry as I thought of my almost empty refrigerator and nervously glanced at the clock! It was 11:45 so I asked him what time he usually ate lunch. He said,

“Oh you have plenty of time, I usually eat at noon!”

Goodness again! As I opened the pantry door, praying that something for lunch would magically appear, I found myself wondering if he was always this hungry. It was at this moment that I think a lightbulb went off in Andreas head.

So, now it was Andreas turn to look alarmed! She glanced at her watch and said

“Oh my gosh, I am running late. I have an appointment”.

I said, “But I thought you were staying until tomorrow”.

She glanced anxiously at Lil Willie who returned her look with a glare. She said,

“I am sorry Mom, I simply forgot and this appointment is very important!”.

She grabbed her keys and overnight bag and scurried down the walk to her car. I heard the motor rev up and she left tire marks on the driveway as she sped away.

“Dashing“ through the…..🎸

We weren’t quite sure what to do about our new family member because the minute Andrea left for her home, he had a real personality change. When she was around he was as sweet and warm as a big slice of gooey home made pecan pie, but once she drove her car down the road, he started getting very bossy and demanding. Little did we know what was waiting around the corner of our once peaceful life. To say that Lil Willie is a handful would be an understatement.

We decided he needed to be reformed! We decided that by taking him with us on trips, he would see how we behaved in the world and would begin to act accordingly. As it turns out, hope springs eternal. and our hopes were actually what amounted to be, “wishful thinking”.

I will share with you some of our adventures of our road trips with Lil Willie and you will quickly learn a bit of what we have taken on! 🥺

Today we have started out on a new trip and are headed to the north country to get away from the blistering Texas heat. The car is packed tighter that the stones on Machu Picchu. We have a lot of family stuff we are bringing north for our oldest son and various gifts for family and friends. For some strange reason my husband has started to call me “Scarlett” due to the size of my many luggage pieces and his one overnight bag!!! 🤔

To say that Lil Willie is “disgruntled” would be a gross understatement. He is unhappy with his seat arrangement, or should I say with his “lot in life” on this particular road trip. So what if he has to lay on his back for the two day journey. Sounds good to me. However, last I looked, I saw him rummaging around the back of the car, mumbling something that sounded like “Where’s my TWEED?” Tweed??? Really? He usually always wears his old jeans and shirt. Oh, wait a minute….Now I understand what he is looking for. Hmmmm! I wonder at what point we should tell him how long this trip is really going to be? He thinks we are going to be gone a long weekend. Maybe he will need that tweed to sooth him after all.

OKLAHOMA

Already dropped 10 degrees and we are in Oklahoma mid-day. 81 degrees! It feels like heaven!

Willie, already sitting shotgun!
Already Raining!

Too be continued……….

jjb/7/5/2023