Mary Beth's Things I know: THIS MARRIAGE SUCKS, TOO!!!!

Mary Beth's Things I know: THIS MARRIAGE SUCKS, TOO!!!!: You, with your promises of good times, new experiences, visiting old friends and making new ones, have now broken my heart. I left my spac...

THIS MARRIAGE SUCKS, TOO!!!!

You, with your promises of good times, new experiences, visiting old friends and making new ones, have now broken my heart.

I left my space of friends, family, and fun because your all seeing attitude convinced me that I would never have any success with anything I was involved in. 

You tempted me with all your free gifts, your connections to everywhere and the idea that I could have my business flourish just by mentioning your name.

A tear is making its way slowly down my cheek as I reach the conclusion that you and I might be over.  How am I going to explain it to my friends and family that there might not be any more us?

Do you feel any guilt or remorse or are you so isolated in your world of me, me, me that you forgot about one of the ones that put you in that Ivory tower?

I loved you and gave you 100% of my time because I trusted you.  After all this time, I now find you changing, manipulating, working things to as to cut me off from all the friends I have come to love and enjoy.

When I push that final button, you won't even care because there will always be someone else to lure into your world of deceit.

Thank you for all the times that were good and perhaps I'll keep in touch.

Google me if you need to. I'll be here for a little longer but then, one of the best loves of my life, forget you!!!

So Long Facebook...it was a good marriage while it was.

My Bedroom isn't just for sleep!

As I glance around my bedroom, a sense of peace comes over me. A small room compared to some I've had in my life, but big enough to house my world that I've come to love.

One wall is painted by me with Forest green swirled everywhere and stems painted in so if you are on the bed looking at the wall it's almost like being outside among the trees. One wall has leaves and flowers  and the other wall has splatters of colored flowers very small as in an impressionist painting. The wall paper on the other wall is striped green with light traces of the flowers cascading down several rows. Stars that you find in children's rooms are splattered all over the ceiling so when I turn out the lights, the twinkling begins. It's such a peaceful way to end the evening.

My computer faces the street and when I put the blinds and the drapes up, I can watch the cars go by, the people taking a stroll, children skipping down the road, skateboards in hand to find that perfect ride.

I have been in and out of this room many times in my life. When the house was occupied by my Aunt and Uncle, I spent many nights visiting and enjoying the comfort of the room. When my Mother was very ill, I spent many nights in the room offering her comfort.

My television is on the dresser and the remote never far from my hand. Pictures of my children and family everywhere give me comfort for their not being with me.

People grin when I explain how much I love my room. When they've viewed it, I'm sure the same inspired feeling of awe didn't even come to their mind. But they don't know the memories that this room holds so all the feelings I have could never even be related to them.

This house is small in size but big in heart. Strangers would see a cottage, I see a haven.  Friends with their big homes in their gated communities can't even imagine  living in a place so small. The difference is they still have their "stuff" and their mortgage and a few have houses that own them. I got rid of "stuff" and got a life.  All I need is the comfort of comfort.

When I close the door of my bedroom, I leave all the drama, the problems of the day and any aggravations that have come across during my day.  I'm in my room and I'm happy.



I

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.

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.

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.

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.