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Unpredictable, innocent humor….oh, my sister

SimplyB 4 Comments

Since Mom’s death in 1993 I’ve been the family member most involved in my developmentally disabled/intellectually challenged oldest sister’s care.  Sharon has been so blessed with wonderful care where she lives in a group home.  (THANK YOU GOD!!!!).

Today I participated in a phone conference call to analyze and evaluate the care she is receiving.  My input was limited and really I didn’t need to say much.  They asked Sharon questions and she answered.  And I listened to it all. Continue reading “Unpredictable, innocent humor….oh, my sister” →

One Word. Two Words. Three Words.

SimplyB 7 Comments

One of my favorite Christmas gifts ever was from my sister Lois.  I was eight or nine years old, she was 16 years older than me and, in my little girl eyes,  quite wealthy.  She was a Medical Technologist and worked in a hospital laboratory in a big old hospital.  😜💲💲💲  What was this magnificent gift, you ask?    A Scrabble board game.  I was ecstatic.  Seriously!!

Continue reading “One Word. Two Words. Three Words.” →

Texas, the final chapter. For now.

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tyler state park hiking trail.jpg

Tyler State Park.  Our final campground in Texas.  This picture was taken on a hiking trail near our campsite.

There’s no end to Texas.  I’m certain of that.  It is vast and so diverse topographically.

Our stay in Texas was initially going to be 6-8 weeks.  Due to various circumstances we were only there a bit shy of 4 weeks.  But even if we’d spent all 8 weeks touring Texas we could never have seen it all.   We shall return.  I want to see more. Continue reading “Texas, the final chapter. For now.” →

Hills. And flowers. And friends. And adventure.

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bluebonnets.jpgTexas in the spring.  This was our first experience with camping in Texas, and oh my it’s been so very nice.  Bluebonnets rule the fields.  And sometimes Indian paintbrush rule the fields: Continue reading “Hills. And flowers. And friends. And adventure.” →

Does Ft Worth ever cross YOUR mind?

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Fort Worth has never been a place I dreamed of going.  On this particular extended trip to Texas, I assumed it would just be our first stop on the way to somewhere better.

I was wrong! Continue reading “Does Ft Worth ever cross YOUR mind?” →

Where’s your sense of adventure? Stay tuned.

SimplyB 3 Comments

For the last several springs and summers we’ve taken frequent camping trips to local lakes.  And the Mr. worked remotely from our RV. While he worked, I did, uh, very little. Mainly spent time outdoors in exquisitely beautiful surroundings, hanging out with the Creator. Continue reading “Where’s your sense of adventure? Stay tuned.” →

Emergency recipe post

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Rarely do I prepare a recipe for the first time and have the Mr say, “That was restaurant quality”.  But this evening, it happened.  I suppose his response could have been triggered by the fact that he’d not eaten one bite of food since an early breakfast this morning.  Starvation can make any entree more palatable.  But we both found it quite tasty.  And you know I didn’t go all day without eating.  That never happens.   Continue reading “Emergency recipe post” →

Hmmmm. Did not expect this.

SimplyB 5 Comments

A couple months into this new experience.  Hearing aids.

hearing aids

My goal was better hearing.  Being able to be more “present” in conversations instead of constantly thinking to myself “what did they say?”.

Mission accomplished.  I love them.

There has been, however, one result that I didn’t expect.  I can hear myself better.  Continue reading “Hmmmm. Did not expect this.” →

Lullaby voice. Just see what happens.

SimplyB 3 Comments

The year was 2006, the month was March.  I’d been longing to be a grandma for oh so long.  Prayers were prayed, decisions were made to adopt, and we traveled to Guatemala with our daughter and son-in-love and Grandma Cindy to meet the baby who would be our very first grandchild.  

We met him, we held him, we watched him react with his new mommy and daddy.  And we fell in love.  My grandma heart was fully activated.   Continue reading “Lullaby voice. Just see what happens.” →

The Man.

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Every now and then I’ll be doing something and a long-forgotten memory floods my mind.  You, too?  Often, it’s something I’d just as well leave forgotten.  You, too?

But sometimes, a memory takes me back to an experience that was fun and so worth remembering.  A memory that wraps around me like a warm hug.  Such a good feeling. Continue reading “The Man.” →

For Real

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“Wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door.”   Words from an old Beatles song.  I’m old enough to have listened to it when it first came out many, many, many years ago.  About the same time I started wearing makeup.  About the same time teenage acne made its unwelcome appearance on my young face.  About the same time my confidence and self image plummeted.   The face in the jar by the door became my routine, my shield against insecurity.  I really never used very much makeup, honestly just enough to feel comfortable with the girl in the mirror.  Not always a successful endeavor.  Continue reading “For Real” →

Unfortunate LOL. And 911 Humor.

SimplyB 3 Comments

Have you ever found yourself laughing in a totally inappropriate setting for laughter to occur? Like loud laughter with potential snorting? And nothing you try can stop your laughter. With tears streaming. You might manage to stop but then right away have a trigger that starts it up all over again.  The struggle is real. Continue reading “Unfortunate LOL. And 911 Humor.” →

Where seldom is heard… an encouraging word

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The dentist office has historically been a very unlikely place for me to receive words of encouragement. My oral cavity has been the location of a lot of drilling and bridgework and excavation…. seriously there should be tiny little orange cones in my mouth most any day of the week. Always a work zone of some sort.

Continue reading “Where seldom is heard… an encouraging word” →

A Father’s love

SimplyB 3 Comments

Once upon a time in the land of my childhood, there was an alley running between our property and the neighbor’s property.  You don’t see too many alleys anymore, especially in big cities,  but in our small town they were a significant part of life.  Kids could congregate there, learn to ride bikes without traffic, play with their friends.  And trash was collected in large steel drums generally placed near the alleyway.  Periodically you could light a match and revel in the pleasure of watching your trash burn.

Not gonna lie, I miss burning the trash. Continue reading “A Father’s love” →

The fluff of stuff. And the power of a photograph.

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A few months ago I was in my mom-in-law’s house with her.  My eye caught sight of a vase I’d not seen before and I said, “Wow, that is gorgeous. I love it!”.  To which she immediately and without hesitation emphatically said, “Take it. It’s yours. I do not need all this stuff.”  And she waved her hands around the room.

So, I took it home.  Continue reading “The fluff of stuff. And the power of a photograph.” →

The worst everything.

SimplyB 2 Comments

Thanksgiving.  Time to make the list.  The “what I’m thankful for” list.

You know the drill.  Most lists have the same items on them year after year no matter who is writing the list.  “My family.  My friends.  Food.  Shelter…”

Gratitude is a good habit to practice.  One time several years ago I sat down and quickly wrote 100 things I was thankful for.  All the wonderful good things in my life I could think of.  It was good medicine for my attitude and kept me happy for, oh, maybe 10-20 hours.  Continue reading “The worst everything.” →

Subliminal learning. The beauty of failure.

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For the first twelve years of my education I attended the same school system.  Tiny little town, tiny little school, tiny little class sizes.  There wasn’t much mobility in family life back then, so for the most part the class members in Kindergarten went through all 12 years together and graduated high school together.  Continue reading “Subliminal learning. The beauty of failure.” →

Pools of antacid and looking ahead to the future. Subtitle: So Cal, the grand finale of work travel.

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With the hubby’s retirement date approaching with alarming swiftness, I opted to travel with him this week on what will be most likely his last travel trip to a luxurious location.  No offense to St Louis, where his current project is, but Huntington Beach California appears to be decidedly more appealing.  Because of one word:  ocean.  Continue reading “Pools of antacid and looking ahead to the future. Subtitle: So Cal, the grand finale of work travel.” →

All we know.

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Don’t you love looking at a baby’s face for the first time?  Looking into eyes that stare back at you like “What in the world is that thing? Put me back, please”

Prior to this newborn moment, baby was a well thought-out design of God.  Being formed in His image as God picked out hair color, eye color, size and shape…. fearfully and wonderfully thought out and created with love as the main ingredient.  And those months in the warm womb were a blissful time of just baby and God.  And mommy, of course.  But I believe God knows baby long before Mommy does.  Continue reading “All we know.” →

Young. And Old. And Future.

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Sixty three years ago on this day, my 15 year old sister loaded up my pregnant mom and my two other sisters in our old car and drove to the hospital 25 miles from home.  My sister’s skills included driving a tractor and she could drive a car, too.    Dad was working, driving a road maintainer for the county. Probably far out in the country on a dirt road and there weren’t cell phones in that day.  He was probably clueless that the whole hospital thing was happening.  I don’t think I was quite due to be born yet. The first and last time I was early for anything.  Continue reading “Young. And Old. And Future.” →