Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Princess is the Ruler of this castle!!

Once upon a time there was a princess who ruled as if she was a queen.

Her bed had to be made and no wrinkles found or the nasty side of her disposition reared its ugly head.

Her meals were served on dishes that resembled Silver. Once she was served her dinner on  a paper plate. She immediately turned the plate over onto the floor. Ice cubes had to be put into her water or the pouting began.

Every day at the same time, she expected her physical fitness workout to be started. Her head servant was to walk with her until she decided it was time to return to her castle. As per her daily routine, a snack had to be prepared upon coming back from all the physical exercise.

Bath time was a triumph to any brave soul who wanted to draw the bath water. The temperature best be right, and dinner best be ready after her soak of which she despised.

When one or more of her servants would get fed up with her holy attitude, then the punishment would begin. Everyone would change their attitude to soothe hers or the peace in the castle was a very unpleasant atmosphere.

She did not like for the servants to have visitors because then time was taken from her.  She would sit in the middle of the visitors, make weird sounds and tried to drown out the conversations.

Her servants were asked one day why they felt she deserved all the special treatment. Their answer was very surprising.

"For all the aggravation, all the constant catering, the good side of it is when you are ill, she never leaves your side, when you are sad, she always tries to comfort, when you are lonely, she always keeps you company."

That's why Mya the dog continues to rule this castle.

Monday, August 15, 2011

CRYING IS NOT A BAD THING!

They say that tears cleanse the soul. If that is the correct philosophy, then my soul should be immaculate.

Ironic that at this older age of my life, I find myself shedding tears for days long gone. Mistakes I've made in the past make me cry, having to be the life of the party and leaving my kids with babysitters make me cry, not doing enough for my parents make me cry, realizing the different paths I could have taken in my life make me cry.

What a joke it is on us as we get older and wiser to look back and worry about the events of the past, and we see the young
people around us making the same mistakes. When offering suggestions to them, they just shrug their shoulders because, after all, we are old so what do we know.

I want to scream at them to listen but instead, I cry again. Depression is not a factor in my crying. My life is blessed today with so many good things that I cherish. My crying is when I realize what I let slip by in my life. My crying is my way of dealing with the knowledge that the days are getting shorter so memories are to be made so I don't leave others crying.

When people hear my name, the first thing out of their mouth is about my being funny and how I am always laughing. That is a good legacy to leave but now I'll probably cry about them not knowing about my tears.

The best way to sum up my moments of tears is that old song,"Tears of a Clown." I think that was written with me in mind.

The point of this writing of mine is to let the young person reading it, realize the importance of cherishing each moment, to make their children the priority, to dance in the rain and bathe in the sun, to do the best you can everyday so when you are at my age, you won't look back and cry silent tears of where you made your mistakes.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Summer with Grandmother.

Summertime not only brings the hot weather but also the memories of my youth and the end of the school term. The day after school was out and we knew Summer  was upon us, my sister and I made the plans of what fun things we might get to do.

The first thing on the agenda was the visit from my Father. He always picked us up to spend the Summer with him and my Grandmother. I'm sure a sigh of relief was from my Mother as that meant she would only have my younger sister and brother for the three months that we would be gone. Mother and my stepfather would now have the time to devote to the two younger children because my sister and I were always having to be taken someplace, in some activity or just sometimes being the older siblings and demanding more of the time.

On the way to my Father's house, we got to take turns steering the car and knew that we would get to stop to have a hamburger. It may not seem like a lot of excitement now, but the thought of getting to stop at that little drive-inn was the highlight of our trip.

We would always miss Mom, Dad and the children but we knew we would have a fun filled adventure with Grandmother and my Aunts and Uncles. My Father had it made because about a week after arriving at his house, we always got invited to my Aunt's house and we loved that.  Her children were our best friends and getting to help her children make homemade cakes, can tomatoes,go swimming at the springs were some of the most fun a child could have.  It was always sad to leave them and come back to Granny's but only for about an hour.

I was named for my Grandmother, Elizabeth, and I am pretty sure some of my habits I got from her. Everyone was always expected to wash their hands and be at the dinner table when it was ready. One night would be the best Pinto Beans I have ever tasted, with fresh sliced tomatoes and of course corn bread. Father, my Uncles, my sister,Grandmother and myself would eat until we could hardly move. The only time anyone would get up from the table was for more ice for the sweet tea.We were the center of attention and the grownups acted like they really enjoyed our chatter.

Of course after dinner, my sister and I were expected to clean off the table and do the dishes. It seemed overwhelming at times but when we were finished, not only could we watch television but usually with a big slice of chocolate cake. It was now Grandmother's time and everyone had their place to sit in the living room. As we had gotten to chat at the dinner table, it was now time to be silent so everyone could hear the television. After watching a few programs, it was time for a shower and off to bed on a feather bed set up in Granny's room. We would sit in front of her vanity table and brush our hair forever to keep from having to go to sleep.

Every day when we would go outside to play or visit the close neighbors, Grandmother would be very stern and insist we put our shirts in. We always had a small tee shirt that she wanted us to wear under our shirts. I thought that was the worse thing but years later I realized that she was afraid our shirts would blow up in the wind and our bodies would be exposed. A little old fashion but one of the wonderful traits I remember about her.

During the day she had plenty of time to go about her daily fare because we roamed the neighborhood. All the kids on the block like to sit at this little old ladies house on the corner. She had a swing on the front porch and always had apples, pears or peaches. I laugh today at the thought of about five or six of us gathered on her porch. What a kind lady because I'm sure we must have driven her crazy. The lady on the other side of Granny's always made us take off our shoes and stick our feet in a pail of water before we entered her house. They say it takes a village to raise a child, well this small little neighborhood was our village for the Summer.

I hope when I have Grandchildren that I can be as loving and kind as Grandmother was to us. We learned so many things, from crocheting, gardening, cooking, canning, cleaning, and all the things that go with running a home.


How proud I am , that not only am I her namesake, I have turned out to enjoy some of the same things that she did.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

OLD WOMAN AND THAT GREEN THING..

I GOT THIS IN AN E-MAIL AND WANTED TO PASS IT ON!!!!!
 
The Green Thing--You WILL Love This

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she
should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for
the environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green
thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not
care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to
the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and
sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.
So they really were recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store
and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb
into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the
throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling
machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the
clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters,
not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't
have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every
room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember
them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have
electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up
old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the
lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by
working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills
that operate on electricity.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or
a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.