Take The Time To Say Thank You

I read the columns/blogs of Sean of the South by Sean Dietrich every single day. He is like my devotional read first thing every morning. This morning his particular column was about saying thank you – to anyone and everyone who has done anything for you. To say thank you every day to someone for being kind, or maybe just for being themselves.

I’ll admit it sent my own mind rambling about who all I needed to thank on a daily basis. But not necessarily everyone in my life today – just two folks in particular – my parents.

Thank you both for being the parents that I needed - all the times that I needed you. The hard and stubborn times, the skipping school and getting caught times, the thought I knew it all times, and the thought my heart was breaking times.

For all the taking us on vacations times, the learning trips to places we thought inside our heads we wouldn't like but did – times. The letting me choose red bridesmaids dresses in 1984, when you really thought red was too a bold color for a church wedding.

Thank you for explaining what forgery was in such a way when I was 10 years old and had signed your name to a U-slip (for excessive talking if you can imagine that!) that it would stick with me forever. And thank you for telling me once during another growing-up lesson, "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive". I have repeated that more times in my life than I care to admit, and fell down a few times from not doing it, when I knew better.

Thank you, Daddy, for the gifts of art that will be with me until I am no longer here myself. They hang from the walls in my home and speak volumes about the love that went into them.

Thank you both for creating me with kindness, maybe a little too much empathy, and many times, a bleeding heart. But mostly, thank you for making me strong. Strong enough to get through all the trials in my life: the wrong marriage making the right babies, the right job working for a difficult man, the very job which made me able to provide for my children on my own. And the strength to know it takes a village to do it right, and not be ashamed to call on that village when I needed to.

And strong enough to take on this second act of my life with both firmness and kindness and to be able to pull from my heart the right parts to get it done with tenderness and tenacity.

Ya’ll are my touchstone in life. You’re the place that I go when I need non-judgmental reinforcements and clear-minded direction. I love you both more than any words that I know how to use to make a sentence - and I always will. You are the parents some kids dream about having, and that you belong to me, makes me more proud than you could ever know.

Let Us Pray

Last week was as an eye-opening week as I have had in a very long time. For three solid days that weekend, each day was filled with a phone call that would be bring both scary and awful news. None of the news was related and honestly, after it was all over, it was kind of like an outer body experience.

Saturday morning, I would receive a call from one of my co-worker’s/dear friend's family, letting me know that my co-worker had been in a bad car accident. She was hurt pretty bad, banged up and bruised up, black eyes, swollen face and her whole left side was bruised and sore. I have never been so thankful to know someone was alright! I cooked her up a pot of chicken and rice and took it to her Monday morning, and while she said she looked better than after it first happened – her injuries were still very apparent. But she survived and she is going to be alright.

Saturday night I received a call about 8pm. My youngest son was working a prescribed burn in Pensacola Florida and had been there about five days already at the time of the call. It was from a co-worker, calling to tell me first and foremost, that my son and his crew were alright, but that another crew member from another forestry team had just been killed and my son, being his burn partner was unfortunately a witness to his death. He’s 24 years old, but I don’t care what age you are in life, those sights cannot be unseen and the memory will be with you forever. The gentleman who died leaves behind a wife and three children, he was only 38 years old himself. By the time you are reading this, my son will have traveled back to Pensacola for his funeral.

And the following Sunday I received a company-wide text about a man and his wife, residents of Bristol Florida, who were electrocuted working a clean-up day at the local high school. The father also worked with/for another company who our company is affiliated with in business, and it was quite the horrific shock for us all. The couple leaves behind 3 children as well, and I am told, a large family in Bristol that should be a wonderful support system for their children.

I spent a lot of time afterward, thinking about these three horrible events – all unrelated - but all heartbreaking none the less. It’s times like those that so many old sayings come to mind. Every day is a gift, and be thankful for every day that you are able to open your eyes and know you’re still alive, and the best, tell someone you love them today, tomorrow is not promised. 

I can’t imagine the heartache that is running rampant in Pensacola and Bristol Florida. I can’t imagine all of these children losing their parent(s) and how they will manage without them. I don’t know how one goes about moving forward. All I, we, can do is pray. Pray for them all as hard as we can and know that the good Lord had a plan all along.

Bundle up! Nah..Just Kidding!!!

It’s a confusing sight to wake-up to greenish/yellow dust covering everything in sight, and then, to cap it off, a white crunchy layer of frost. Man alive! I just thought me and my sinuses had seen and sucked into my nostrils, a lot of pollen just a few weeks ago. But good grand – I hadn’t seen nothing yet – compared to what is happening now.

And I also knew, that we were not done with – for the sake of using standard terminology – we’ll call it winter. I mean this is Florida so we jokingly refer to our occasional 30-degree mornings as winter, but you know, let’s keep it real and acknowledge that we really don’t even know what winter is! A real winter is ski caps, layered clothing, and snow boots. Some days, it’s real hard to even spot a windbreaker on anybody’s back.

Matter of fact, last week, before this last “winter storm” came blasting in, it was 80-something-degrees and folks were walking around in their khaki shorts and sandals. And believe me, they didn’t have to dig far into their closets to find them again, because Florida folks don’t bag up summer and winter clothes. We have a year-round line of clothing that hangs from the closet rod, and a jacket that sits on that same rod to the far right, just in case of an emergency.  Heck, I have some friends that live in the southern region of Florida that were building sand castles at the beach just last week!

The switch on my air conditioner remote will have to be replaced far before the actual unit itself gives up and dies. I am constantly punching the up and down button for whatever weather the day may bring. And you know that funky smell your heater always seems to put out the first time you turn it on? Well, we don’t just smell that when fall rolls around, I’ve smelled that three times this “winter” because we’ve also used the a/c in between times.

And God Bless America! You know I told ya’ll that my husband had advised me the last time I asked him to move my front porch plants to safety, that he wasn’t doing it again. They would stay in a covered, safe area until spring. Well, it was 80 degrees for gosh sakes and they needed some sunshine, so you know he really did move them for me. So, the other night when I spotted the cold snap coming our way on the weather channel – you already know what I asked him to do. I mean my Angel Wing Begonias already had blooms for gosh sakes! We couldn’t let them die now, we’ve protected them for months! Well, he moved them, but there was a generous amount of grumbling involved, and I think I may have heard something that sounded like my name with some spicy adjectives slung-up in there as well.

Cover your noses, stay off the porch rockers, and try not breathe while you’re out there folks – that pollen is deadly and so is the next heat wave that’s just around the corner.

Spring Forward!

In exactly ten days everything will change. My evenings as I know them now, will not be the same for quite some time. Much more will be expected of me, of my time, my efforts, and my contribution to life in general.

We have a light system on our front porch that is set-up to come on at dusk each evening. It has a sensor that faces the sun as it goes down, and when it gets to a certain point of lightness, it comes on. It used to pop on at 5:45 pm, but slowly, over the last couple of months, that has changed almost weekly. Last night it came on at 6:22pm. Why you ask?

Well, because it’s staying light, longer. And it won’t be much longer before that contraption won’t pop-on until close to 8:30 pm or so. And in the dead middle of summer, it probably won’t come on until almost 9pm.

It stays on for 6 hours after activation so we may have to adjust the timing on it when it gets to that point as I don’t think I want that light still burning at 2am or after.

Many more changes are about to happen besides just a light going on and off at regulated times; so many things are about to totally change-up my nightly routine and I’m not all that happy about it.

I’m a self-proclaimed hermit for the most part; as a matter of fact, in my next life it would be most fitting for me to come back as a bear. I would love to come back as a butterfly, but I don’t see graceful and beautiful in the cards for me, in this life or another.

I’m a social bee when I need/want to be, but I’m getting older now, and night time activities which run into darkness are just not my thing. By the time dark-thirty rolls around, I want to be in my own home, safe, and relaxing with a good book or my favorite television show. Going to the movies, and extra-long-timed functions are made for daylight and weekends in my opinion.

But man, oh man, when that time Springs Forward ten days from now, I’ll have to leave my day clothes on longer. You never know who’s going to stop by, but they rarely do it after dark, no matter what time it is or what season. I can’t be sitting around in my nightclothes with folks rapping on my storm door, wanting to come in for a chat!

And you know, with the time change also comes weather changes, yard changes and flowering plants – changes. Can’t very well be dragging a water hose around my yard in my night clothes either!

So, this is everyone’s more than fair/advanced warning: I may very well be a major grump for a week or two after my hour gets snatched from me. I know I’m going to be sleepy and likely pretty irritable about it, so keep your distance and give me a chance to acclimate.

It’s coming folks – whether you’re excited or dreading it – it’s coming.