A life well lived – Connie's Comments and Verse

Another Hat is Added

It seems like it’s time to rework my identity again.

I have become a great grandmother! A little boy named Henry

Has enriched my life immeasurably. He arrived several weeks early,

which kept the whole family in hopeful prayer for weeks.

He is home, thriving and of course–adorable.

And in other areas: Big News for this GGMa.

My other news is about my new author hat. I will wear it proudly after toying with a story for several years, starting and stopping, finding and losing a couple of illustrators, and finally seeing my book in print. The image above is from Amazon where you can purchase this children’s book. It is based on a true story of my former neighbor, Gloria, a young girl, and two cats.

So happy to join you all here on my blog again. For those few who actually like rhymes:

Willow, Willow, where art thou Willow? (My cat, remember?)

Are you hiding under the bed? Or perched on a kitchen chair?
There's no doubt you're here still,
For your hair is everywhere.

You play mean tricks on me,
In the middle of the night.
From tangling in the venetian blinds-
To turning on the light.

The light is a touch lamp on the dresser,
So it's easy for Willow to manage,
And I was sound asleep,
Which worked to her advantage.

As I jerked awake and swung my arms about, 
She seemed to find this funny,
So she jumped on my neck and pinned me down,
My mood was far from sunny!

I can't stay mad though because,
With her wide-eyed stare, she's adorable.
She is so pretty and amusing,
Though I find her behavior deplorable.

Looking Back to Go Forward

I’ve been thinking about the new year coming up, which led to thinking about the past. There are many famous and not-so-famous remarks about history. People say you can’t hold on to the past, and you should forget it and move on. Like my family once commented about Kansas–it’s best seen in the rearview mirror. However, the past helped to make me who I am now.

“The past is a stepping stone, not a millstone.”
Robert Plant

The joyful moments, the frightening occurrences, and the sad times contained lessons that I’ve drawn on years later. What you do with those lessons makes all the difference in handling the present.

Most cars today are equipped with backup cameras. You view your area and check the backup camera for any obstacles, and seeing none–you act and move the car out of the garage or a parking space and proceed. So it is with the year behind us, indeed the past two years, we lived through them, learned a lot, and hopefully, we are entering a new time of hope and healthy recovery.

I pray it may be so. #love,#comments#conversation#faith

A Summer of Freedom

On a warm summer evening two weeks ago,

As it seemed the pandemic and illness continued to slow,

I watched people file into the park with their chairs,

Eager for music and mingling and return of the fairs.

But even then lurking around the hedges,

Was the threat of variants as Dr. Fauci alleges.

We need to reach a higher percent to insure there’ll be no spike.

I am loving the warm weather. Will be

posting more often for the summer. There’s so much to appreciate–like sunrises, sunsets, and flowers and lakes….

Tell everyone to vaccinate and tell COVID to take a hike. #health#science#comments and verse#poetry

What Does Underlayment Do?

An underlayment is a layer between a subfloor and a finished floor that facilitates leveling and adhesion.

Where am I going with that? I was thinking about my personality and why I am the way I am. When I was little, the home was not a happy place, but we kept that to ourselves. “It was not other people’s business,” said my mom. She was a very quiet and stoic woman. For a long time, as I got older and saw more people react to things, I thought there might be something missing in me. I didn’t seem to react when scary or dangerous things happened, except to try and deal with the situation.

I wondered more than once where God was that he would let a little girl have scary experiences and not answer my prayers. It took me to adulthood to realize that God was with me or there would have been worse outcomes in my life. Once I accepted that and began to thank Him for the protection, I felt myself revealing more emotions as well.

With my own children, I tried to be more demonstrative and show my love. When I got married, my father hugged me but my mom never did. She was mad because I hadn’t finished my education and thought I never would. Thankfully, I did finish a couple of years later, but that didn’t turn her into a “huggy” person.

What has this got to do with floors or underlayment? I thought about how my faith developed and it seems like underneath is the strong support of faith in God. Over that is a cushioning layer of truth–what I know and have experienced and can sink into. Like a cushioning layer. On top of that today is my joy that lays smooth and adherent. I can be upset and even angry, but I am still secure that I’m not alone anymore. I hang onto my joy and allow no-one to take it away from me.

As bad as the country is with its divisions and hate groups and economic problems–I still feel a sense that all will be well–eventually. Yes, stand up and speak and do what you can to back your beliefs, but if you have faith, you then turn it over to God, the only being who knows the outcome.

How do you all hang on?

Thankful Thursday

The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, every hour, some heavenly blessings.’
Henry Ward Beecher

Gentle breeze billows curtains,
Blue sky, clouds of fluff.
Sometimes the beauty is missed,
By a narrow gaze.

Take joy in the little things.

From a walk through Talleyrand Park–the first peony of the season.

Weather Mirrors Moods

The weather this spring has been strange,

No matter where you make your home.

I think it mirrors the changing face,

Of the pandemic as we stay – mostly alone.

Some days I’m fine and enjoy the free time,

Other days, I’m unhinged, no purpose in mind.

I’m thankful some progress has been made,

And that people are unusually kind.

I see on the news where folks donate food,

And their blood and their time–all is good.

I try to help wherever I can,

Just as I know my friends would.

If I was in need of comforting words,

Was ill or had suffered a fall.

I know I have family who’d come to my side,

And friends who would answer my call.

I pray for those who do not have a lifeline,

When rains create gloomy scenes.

It’s then I am thankful for the frontline workers,

Who fill in for loved ones seen only on screens.

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