Thank You!

You just have to whistle when flowers are delivered to your door unexpectedly. Yesterday was one of those whistling kind of days.

Remembering Our Mom

It is Memorial Day weekend and we are going out to the cemetary today to visit my mom's grave. It is hot and breezy. I think she would have liked the weather today. She loved being in the air. If my mom loved anything, she loved being outdoors. Just to feel the air...fresh air.

This picture is of my mom and dad in 1934. My mom would have been 20 years old and my dad 22 years old. If you magnify the picture you will see that she is holding a snowball in her hand. I think my dad was going to be the lucky recipient of that snowball. Perhaps that is why he is holding her. At first I thought, "What a romantic picture!" But, upon closer inspection, I saw the snowball and the smile on their faces. She loved to have fun. The poem is one my father found and wrote to her in 1986.

The picture below is of my sister, Linda, and me at the cemetary.


Mom, I see you in the stars and the moon and the clouds. I love you! I miss you!

Holly Holy...Holy Moly

I was sitting at the kitchen table this noon looking out the patio door into the back yard. I look out this door each time I sit at the table. I am getting used to seeing deer and birds and squirrels and chipmunks. But, today I saw a huge bird sitting on a branch. Then I saw another huge bird fly in with its huge wing span. And, there just yards away, were two huge owls sitting on a branch. By the time I got my camera, one had flown away, but this one stayed close enough that Tom could capture this picture of him. How beautiful is he?! I love that nature is so close to us here. I took four short videos of this lovely bird. Holy moly! I think he is so majestic! I am so lucky!

Sometimes All We Need....

Sometimes, all we need in life is a little different perspective. Thank you Kara roo for showing us one way to get a different perspective.

Kara, (my second child), you used to do this all the time. Why, I don't know, but you seemed to be perfectly content being upside down.

Funny thing is, Kara darling, you grew up to be an upright girl that others can always lean on.

Every Now And Then

Every now and then I am touched to the point of tears. Tonight was one of those nights. I was watching the Country Music Awards show. Vince Gill was presented the Home Depot Humanitarian award. I have always liked Vince Gill. But, tonight sealed the deal. During his acceptance speech he said he had seen a little girl running around with her autograph book. He called her up onstage. She was maybe 9 or 10 years old. She looked beautiful in a long white gown. It makes me smile. Her hair was done up like a big girl's hair. He said, "I believe she is a Make A Wish girl." And, then he gave her his award. She carried it offstage while her mother cried. Yes, every now and then I am touched to the point of tears.

With This Ring I Thee Wed

My dad stopped by unexpectedly yesterday. In the short time we had to visit, I opened up the laptop and showed him pictures on both Adam's and my blogs. It was so nice to have the laptop at the kitchen table. It meant he didn't have to walk down a flight of stairs, and he could enjoy the pictures and the music by pulling the laptop close to him. He kept coming back to the picture of my mom and me at the restaurant...and just kept saying, "Yes, that's a nice picture. That's a nice picture of your mother!" It led him to tell a story of how he bought her an outfit later in life. Cost was no object. It was simply if it fit her, they would buy it.

Pictures have power. We can't stay in the present when we look at pictures. Pictures take us back in time. It is as if we can relive that moment and feel the feelings. The picture of my mom enjoying the music captured my dad. He ended by saying, "She never gave up!" And, she didn't.

This picture is their wedding picture.

Her Name Was Margaret

My mom's name was Margaret. I wish everyone had been lucky enough to know her. There was something about her. I suppose like all kids, I didn't know how lucky I was until later in life. But, I know I always watched her and took note of how she lived her life. I listened to her talk about her parents, her best friend, Gladys, how she came to be a bookkeeper, how she loved Shakespeare, would love to have been an actress, and how her three daughters were her life. One of her employers always said, "All Margaret thinks about is those three girls."

I grew up hearing her quote Shakespeare's..."To thine own self, be true......." and later in life, I asked her once what she would like on her headstone. She said to me, "You may not have liked me, but you will know who I was." She enjoyed good conversation, new ideas, having fun, reading, helping people and music.

The picture above is from the night my family took my parents to a local Italian restaurant. I knew on occasional Saturday nights, there was an accordion player who strolled the restaurant. I called to make sure he would be there this night and when I saw him in the lobby, I explained to him about my mother and her health. During our dinner, he came to our table and serenaded her for a full half hour. He took her all over the world with his music. He took her to Germany, France, Italy...anywhere she wanted to go. As I watched her listen, I saw her transform. She was anywhere but in the restaurant. She was back in her childhood with her dad as he played in a band, and she was all over the world. She was wherever the music took her. It was a sight to behold.

When we went home I asked her what the highlight of her night was. She said, "Oh, Judy, it was the music, always the music!"

Mom, you still bring tears to my eyes! I love you and how I miss you!

It's In The Eyes

I had a nice surprise yesterday. Actually, I had two nice surprises. My first surprise was Kara roo inviting me to have lunch with her. We knew we wouldn't have enough time to say all the things we wanted to say. It is always true! The things we have to share always outnumber the minutes and the one hour lunch she gets. So, we talked as fast and as much as we could, threw in a lot of laughter and left the restaurant to head back to her work.

It was when we got back to her work that I saw my second surprise. I got to see this beautiful robin keeping her babies safe hidden high on a cold hard pipe. Such incongruity. I love the textures of the pipe and the nest. And, I love the mother robin and the look of protection in her eye.

As my kids have always told me, "It's in the eyes mom!"

Lilacs And Letters

I love it when I get a picture and a quote in my email on the same day.......and they go together!

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. " Marcel Proust

Lilacs are special flowers for me. My mom loved them and I always hoped they would be blooming by Mother's Day. They are blooming this year and I will always be grateful to have had my mom for almost 87 years.

Recently, I found a letter I wrote to my mom when I was a child. I am sure it was a school assignment as the letters of the alphabet are neatly written at the top. It is titled....

"What My Mother Means To Me"

I know my mother loves me, and does everything she can for me. Some things she can't give me and I try to understand, but sometimes it's hard. The things she does give me are always nice.

One time I did something that I never should have done. When I got home I talked a little bit and then told. She didn't really get mad at me, but I knew she was disappointed. I haven't done it again. From then, she hasn't mentioned it. I'm glad.

Our dog, Bingo, is an awful pest. Mom feeds him when either my sister or I should be doing it.

If anything would ever happen to her, I don't know what I would do. I really appreciate what she does for me, although I probably don't show it. I just want her to know it.

Judy

Mom, you were a charming gardener in my life, and you made my soul blossom. I love you and I miss you!

Sunshine On My Shoulders Photos Page 4

Sunshine On My Shoulders Photos Page 3

These pictures were taken in October 2003, the day of Davey's baby shower. I hope you enjoy them. I think they are wonderful!

Sunshine On My Shoulders Photos Page 2

Sunshine On My Shoulders Photos Page 1

Sunshine On My Shoulders

When I sit at my computer in the early morning hours, if I am lucky the sun will shine through the window behind me and cast it's morning light on my right shoulder. I love to start the day that way.

I have been looking through my hundreds of photos on my computer and over the next several days I will be posting many pictures that are filled with sunshine.

I hope they will bring sunshine into your life too!