Recalling Good Times

We finally made it—the end of January! In less than an hour, we’ll move right into the second month of our new year. When you think about it, it really did go fast despite all the cold and snowy weather. Isn’t it odd that, no matter how bad things get, looking back, we almost always say, “That sure went by fast?"  It’s the nature of time... and human beings. Things always seem terrible while we’re going through them, but when we look back, somehow, they don’t seem so bad.  Mercifully, we tend to forget dreadful experiences and only hold onto the good ones.

Just this afternoon, I was recalling a good experience. I feel a little silly admitting it, but I’m already thinking about summer vacation. I know it’s much too soon, but for some reason, the thought of moving into a new month brought the memories of our last vacation to mind. As I pondered what a wonderful time we had, almost every detail came back. Reliving it was so much fun that I just let it flow and enjoyed the moment.

Our daughter, who lives in North Carolina, had rented a condo on the beach at Ocean Isle for her family. When she so generously invited her dad and me and her sister and her two children to join them there, we all jumped at the chance and a few weeks later, we jumped in the car and headed south.

After driving all day, it was well after dark and raining when we arrived. The daughter who rented the condo was already there with her family. Everyone pitched in to get our luggage inside and then we assigned rooms, got settled in and started enjoying ourselves with snacks and chit-chat. But the real fun started the next morning.

Ocean Isle is in NC, but right on the border of SC. The first day, the temperature was 84° with the heat index much higher – at 92.  I’m not sure what that means; I just know it was very hot!

The younger ones were up early and off to the beach with their coolers full of drinks and snacks, while my husband and I slept later, had a leisurely breakfast and then got ready and headed for the beach, too. We didn’t stay long. Neither of us are sun worshippers, though we love the beach for other reasons – the food being one of them.

What makes us get hungrier at the beach? We had breakfast and lunch at the condo each day along with non-stop snacking, but we tried a different restaurant every evening. After stuffing ourselves with shrimp or other mouth-watering delicacies on the menu, we’d stop at the Homemade Ice Cream Shoppe and add insult to injury! I knew right away that I’d be dieting and working out very hard when I got home, but right at that time, it was worth it!  The food was delicious!

Upon returning to the condo, an evening walk on the beach was in order for some of us. It’s one of my favorite reasons for going to the seashore. To go there and not take a walk in the surf after dark would be a trip in vain as far as I’m concerned.

Walking beside that overwhelming body of water with a huge full moon hanging so low in the sky that you feel like you could reach right out and touch it, and seeing its light glisten from the whitecaps as they roll in, kiss the shore and hurry back out again, renders me speechless. It makes me feel so small and reinforces my belief that there is a God who truly is in control of everything... especially our lives. We are puppets with Him pulling the strings to effect our every move. As my bare feet sink into the cool wet sand and the warm ocean breeze caresses my body, I am lost in another world and not eager to return to reality.

But that is exactly what I need to do, isn’t it?  It’ll be quite a few months before I can think seriously about a vacation. We’re about to enter only the second month of the year. But I'm sure we all agree that, the way time flies, summer will be here before we know it. My daughter is so efficient, I’ll bet she has already made reservations!

The Countdown

Okay everyone, only three more days to go until the long, cold, snowy, dreary, tiresome, monotonous, yucky month of January is gone!  In between this January and the next one, there will be eleven months—each with different qualities—some good, some not so good. No matter how you see them, any of them has to be an improvement.. Right?

My son is the most optimistic person I know concerning the seasons. Like most of us, he can tolerate most anything until after the holidays. After all, fretting about weather conditions pales in comparison to the excitement of getting together with family members at Thanksgiving for a huge feast and the anticipation leading up to Christmas with its joyful gatherings of family and friends, the shopping, the carols, the festive dinners, parties and other social events. Then comes New Year’s Eve with more parties and gala occasions to enjoy. All in all, we have about two months of fun, happy, times.

But on January 2nd, the fun is over!  It’s back to business as usual. Some of us go with the flow. Others don’t take it too well; they whine and complain the whole month! And when it snows all month like it has this year, it’s worse. The moaners are even more miserable!

But not my eldest son!  To him, January 2^nd means – and always has – that “Spring is almost here!” He refuses to accept anything else. He calls attention to the slightest ray of sunshine; the tiniest difference in the time darkness occurs in the evening, and he gets very excited if the temperature rises even one degree. He plants seeds in flower pots and puts them in the windows of his basement, watching diligently for any sign of life to appear.

In every phone conversation we have, he says, “Have you noticed that the days are getting longer?” I always say, “Yes,” whether I have or not. I wouldn’t want to burst his bubble. Agreeing is a little difficult for us since he lives for spring and summer and I come alive in fall and winter. We try to humor each other;  I, going along with his “longer days” theory, and he, telling me winter is not so bad when he actually hates it passionately.

I’m aware that I’m in the minority. I accept that. So I promise I’ll try to play nicely and write pretty little stories about spring (if it ever arrives), and I’ll even try to come up with something good to say about hot, sticky, humid, buggy, steamy, dirty, oppressive summertime... but those of you who know me well won't be fooled. You'll know it’s all a facade.

You'll know. I won’t really come alive until I sense the nearness of magnificent October once again!

Wise Words

We all have three persons to contend with in our lives: the person we were; the person we are; and the person we wish to become. If we can forgive the person we were; accept the person we are, and believe in the person we wish to be, then we will have a happy life filled with forgiveness, acceptance, and hope for each tomorrow.

Five More Days

With only five days of January left, I can hear the screams of delight for miles around.  January is a terrible month for almost everyone: the excitement of the holidays gone, the weather dreary, and nothing exciting to do. Of course this year, it’s been a little worse than dreary. We’ve had a lot of snow! More than most people want. I just happen to be a little “different,” because I like it. But I won’t elaborate for fear of being called names that I’d rather not hear.

At least it’s not so dark when it snows. Sometimes the gloomy days affect me in a negative way. This afternoon, I was visited by the vivid memory of a family funeral long ago at the end of January. It had been dreary the whole month and snowed a lot - like this year. On the day of the funeral, I clearly remember passing huge piles of dirty snow along the sides of the road as the long, black, salt-stained limousine carried our family slowly toward the cemetery.

It’s odd the things the mind retains at stressful times. When we got out of the car at the cemetery, I watched as people carried dozens of beautiful flowers inside. I thought, “Those can’t be real! Flowers don’t grow in January!” It was almost like a dream - a depressing scene that will live in my memory forever. And keep repeating on dark days...

If I could choose, I’d opt to die in the beautiful, sunny month of October. 

 But not this October! 




Photograph by Ron Jones~ 

Comes the Dawn

I wonder... Does anyone know who wrote this?

After a while you learn the subtle difference

Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn’t mean nothing

And company doesn’t mean security,

And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts

And presents aren’t promises,

And you begin to accept your defeats

With your head held high and your eyes open

With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,

And you learn to build all your roads on today

Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans.

And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn

That even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,

Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure...

That you really are strong.

And you really do have worth.

Any you learn and learn...

With every good-bye, you learn.

Letting Go

    

     To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring.  It means, “I can’t do it for 

someone else.”

     To let go is not to cut myself off; it’s the realization that I can’t 

control another.

     To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

     To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

     To let go is not to try to change or blame another, I can only change   myself.

     To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

     To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

     To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

     To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to 

allow others to effect their own outcomes.

     To let go is not to be protective; it is to permit another to face reality.

     To let go is not to deny but to accept.

     To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

     To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and to cherish the moment.

                                                                                ~Author Unknown

Hello Sweetie

With more than half of the first month of the year gone already, I must admit that I’ve done nothing worthwhile. How about you?

I, unlike most of you, totally enjoy the snowy days, but once they’re over and we start getting days like today, I’d just as soon sleep until September. Today was as dark as midnight. It was  rainy, unpleasant and didn't show me a justifiable reason to get out of bed. It was a slit-your-wrist kind of day!

I say that in jest, of course. Last time I used that phrase; someone took me seriously and instructed me to call him the next time I felt that way. Feeling embarrassed and not wanting to embarrass him, I said, “Thanks, I will.”

You cannot deny, though, that the weather has a lot to do with our moods. It definitely does mine. On a beautiful sunny day, I am usually happy – dancing around the house singing, phoning and e-mailing everyone I know and accomplishing a lot. And on a day when huge fluffy snowflakes are drifting down from the heavens, I walk from window to window just looking out and feeling grateful. But on a day like today, I'm half awake, not interested in anything, I accomplish nothing and frankly, I'm in a bit of a fog. I actually said, “Hello Sweetie,” to a pair of house slippers a little while ago, mistaking them for the cat. Now that’s just not right!

Perhaps the sun will shine tomorrow or it’ll start snowing again. Either would be an improvement over what we were dealt today. I’d just finished saying that when a friend reminded me that I have a lot to be thankful for and that, “This is the day the Lord hath made, and we should rejoice and be glad in it.” 

Did you ever notice how there always seems to be someone just hanging around to make you feel guilty when you don’t appreciate things as much as you should?