A Birthday Letter From My Dad And A Childhood Song

Tomorrow on March 16th, 2008, I will be celebrating my birthday. I will be 65 years old. About six weeks ago I received a beautiful letter from my dad. It is written to his three daughters and is an expression of his love for us, his enjoyment of being our dad, and the importance of family to him.

I wanted to share it because I think I was pretty lucky to have him for a dad and to have grown up feeling very loved and that I mattered.

He is 95 years old now and lives just 35 minutes from me. I got a birthday card from him and he included a note saying he would call to set up a time to take me to lunch. Lunch will be at Perkins and he will have pancakes.

Here is his letter..if you click on the letter it will come up in a larger screen and will be easier to read.

The music I have put on is a tape of my dad singing the song he used to sing to me when I was a little girl. I think he was in his 70's when he taped this for me. I think it is really special and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. The name of the song is "That Little Girl Of Mine."

Please click the forward button to play and enjoy my dad's singing.

Thank you Dad! I love you!

A Nice Night...continued....Part 3

The other night when Sarah, Joe, Punkin, Derek and I were talking on the phone, Punkin said he wanted to draw a picture for gramma. While the rest of us talked, Punkin started to draw and the first picture he drew touched my heart so much. Punkin knows I love to swing on the swing in their back yard. This is a picture of gramma swinging. I nearly cried when I saw it!

Gramma swinging

Sarah took a picture of his picture and sent it to me in email. Then he said, "Wait, I have to add something. And, Sarah took another picture with the addition. He had to add the words, "This is the best," because he said, "That is what you always say, Gramma!" He also added himself on the swing, which you can see a little bit of to the left of the words. I always tell him, "I love to swing with you!"

This is the best

Then he said, "Mom, I want to write Gramma a story. So he wrote, "One day, Davey was going to Gramma's house." Below his words, he drew himself on the left and me or my house on the right and the line in between is how he got there.

Going to visit Gramma

And, I bet you can guess what he did next. He said, "Wait, I have to add something," right after Mom took the picture. I also bet you know what he needed to add!"

"I love you"

I love you too, Punkin, and I see you even added a little heart!

Thank you Punkin for all your pictures and your story! This was the very first story you have ever written me!

I Love You Too Punkin....A Nice Night Continued...

It was such a nice night on the phone last night. Punkin is entering a new stage now. He loves to draw and write. He drew me quite a few pictures and wrote a little story which I will post tomorrow.

This top photo is one of Punkin (Davey) pointing to a flower. He told me he wanted to give me my favorite thing for my birthday, which is Sunday. He knows I love flowers. He said to me on the phone, "I am pointing to it gramma."

His mom, Sarah, informed him that he couldn't give me that flower because he had given it to her for her birthday! But, I loved the thought and that he knows how much I love flowers.

He drew lots of pictures while we talked on the phone. Sarah took pictures of his pictures with her cell phone and then sent them via email. It was just so nice. Punkin's love overflows and touches so many people. I am glad I am one of them.

I love you too, Punkin!

How nice is this?

A Nice Night

I was talking to my friend, Joe, in Ireland tonight on skype. The phone rang and it was my little grandson, Davey. Davey is 4 1/2 years old and we often talk on the phone. Every now and then he shares me with Derek, his 2 1/2 year old brother. The boys wanted to talk to Joe too, so I arranged it so everyone could hear each other.

Things were going along just fine until something happened and Derek started to cry. And, at one point Davey started to cry too.

And, then something really nice happened. Joe started to sing a little song he made up, and both boys started to laugh and giggle and want more and more and more. Joe just kept singing.

Joe and I ultimately helped tuck the boys into bed. We stayed on the phone and they said their nighttime prayer, which is the one my parents taught me as a child, and the one I taught my children, and now it is the one my children are teaching their children.

Jesus Savior
Wash away
All that has been wrong today
Help me everyday to be
Good and gentle
More like thee
Amen

It was a really beautiful night shared with our friend, Joe, all the way across the ocean in a faraway country called Ireland.

The video is what I could capture of Joe singing while I was trying to balance my earphones, the speaker phone and the camera.

You are loved, Joe!

You should just be able to click on the arrow and get the video. I surely hope it works for everyone.





This is a picture of Derek laughing while Joe was singing. How nice it is to make such a nice difference in a little boy's life.

Thank You Adam

I got an email today from my son, Adam. He is so nice! And, he took the time to do something very nice just for me. Thank you, Adam!

I have posted Adam's email below............and the result of his email below that.........

Mom,

I thought your post on Totally Twisted was so much fun that I emailed a link to your post to Herbal Essences. They just got back to me today. I hope you don't mind that I did this.

Adam (You will find my post, Totally Twisted, under March 10, 2008)

"Thank you for contacting Herbal Essences. We appreciate you taking the time to tell us how your mom feels about Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Shampoo.

Your letter will be shared with the brand managers, research scientists, quality control specialists, consumer representatives and the entire product team. We are certain they will be delighted with your/her comments.

We make every effort to provide the highest quality products and services for our customers. We are sending her a complimentary coupon good for any Herbal Essences product of her choice.

You will receive her coupon by postal mail in 14-21 days. Please accept it with our best wishes."

The Consumer Relations Team

Name Changes

My son, Adam, wrote a short post today about his son, Kallsen, calling him Dad for the first time today. Up until today, Adam has been Daddy. (Kallsen is 3 years old)

Well, my question is............

When did my three children start calling me Judy?

Actually, I think only Sarah and Adam call me Judy. I don't know that Kara ever did.

Now, I answer to just about anything so long as it is Mom, Mommy, Judy, Gramma, Memah, Honey or Darling. Yep...........

I am a happy woman of many names.......all said with Love!

Totally Twisted

When I was at the grocery store yesterday, I stood in the shampoo aisle looking over tons of shampoos. I wanted to try something new. I didn't want to make the trip to the mall to get the expensive salon brand I usually buy. I read labels and opened caps and followed the directions to press here so I could get a whiff of the fragrance of each shampoo.

And, when I saw this one by Herbal Essences, I knew I had found the one I wanted to try. I liked the name, Totally Twisted. It made me smile. I liked that it was for curls and waves, which I have. I thought to myself, if this smells good and can give me a soothing and calming experience in addition to curls and waves control, it is the one for me.

I tried it this morning. Honest to goodness, who knew a new shampoo could be so exciting? I put some in my hand and it felt rich and silky. When I put it in my hair, it felt rich and silky, it lathered up really well, and made my hair feel thicker. I thought to myself, am I making this up? I knew I wasn't.

When I dried my hair and started to style it, I said to myself, "Wow, this is great!" My hair was more manageable and seemed to have more body and control. I was truly impressed.

So, I am singing the praises of my new shampoo find. It smells good, works great, and is somewhere between $3.00 and $6.00 per bottle. I am going to buy out all the stores in case they stop making it so I will have plenty on hand.

Who knew happiness could be affordable and found in a bottle of shampoo?

The Good News And The Bad News

Actually, I have bad news, then good news, then bad news. Don't worry! It is nothing serious.

One of the bad news things is I thought I had nothing to write about today. The good news is.........I do have something to write about. The next bad news is I don't have time to write about it right now. But............

Rest assured! I will be doing a post later today. Perhaps, I have built up too much excitement here. We will see, won't we?

This might be an exercise in finding news where there is none. And, then again, it might change someone else's world like it has changed mine....and, it is affordable!

A Nice Healthy Recipe

Since I have been on my new eating program and choosing to make lifestyle changes, I have been adding new food choices to my diet. I have been reading articles and books on Glycemic Index foods and generally the foods that are good choices.

Based on my reading I made a soup/stew the other day that was totally delicious and there is not one thing in it that is not good for me.

The ingredients are.....

1 1/4 lbs ground turkey

4 oz whole wheat healthy harvest pasta

2 cans of Progresso low sodium Minnestone soup

2 cans of diced tomatoes (15 oz)

2 cans of tomato sauce (15 oz)

1 can of dark red kidney beans (15 oz drained and rinsed)

black pepper

minced onion

Mrs. Dash's Table Blend seasoning

Mrs. Dash's Onion and Herb seasoning

Mrs. Dash's Tomato/Basil/Garlic seasoning

Brown the ground turkey and minced onion. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Add the soup, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and seasonings to the browned turkey and minced onion. Drain and add the pasta and let simmer.

This makes a nice big pot of soup/stew depending on how much you let it thicken.

The truth is...If I had ordered this at a restaurant, I would have wanted the recipe and Tom said a number of times how good it was!

It's Official

Yep! It's official! I am now an official subscriber of Medicare. As of March 1, 2008, I entered the ranks of health insurance that I remember my parents talking about.

I knew it was going to happen. I knew there would be decisions to make. There was talk of Medicare, supplemental plans and prescription plans. There was talk of which doctor you could go to and it all seemed like things old people did.

Ok, I am laughing! I am not old. I just have to do things old people do.

It is now March 5, 2008 and all the decisions have been made. I have two of my three health cards and the third is on the way. And, if there is anything I have decided that I want to change, I must know the window of time in which those changes can be made.

I did make one decision that gave me great pleasure. In fact, I looked forward to it. It symbolized what felt like a huge life transition....that of changing health plans. It is right up there with confirmation, graduation from high school, going to college, getting married, having children, taking and leaving jobs and anything else that alters your life in a significant way.

The decision I made was to shred my old health insurance stuff. There was something that just felt good about doing it. It marked an end and it marked a beginning. I don't like endings nearly as much as I like beginnings. It just seems they go together. It is like we can't say hello to the new until we say good bye to the old.

The Shredder On Shredding Day March 1, 2008

My Dad And Food

This is the most recent picture I have of my Dad. It is from Christmas 2007

You have to understand my dad and food. I don't know what it is or exactly how he does it, but he can make food sound better and look better than anyone I know. In fact, when my friend Joe visited last year, he and my daughter, Kara, and I went out to lunch with my dad. Joe said on the way home, "There are just some people you enjoy watching them eat!" And, Joe was right.

Ever since I was a child I would watch my dad get his plate ready to eat. By the time he was ready to take his first bite, the rest of us were halfway done with our food. At that point, all I wanted was to take a taste of his food. And, I did! Was it as good as it looked? What is your guess?

I can hear a resounding "YES!"

Well, believe it or not, what I just wrote was not the point of this post at all. Go ahead, laugh! You know, one thought does lead to another, and if you hang around long enough, eventually I will get around to my original thought.

Which was................

I had a nice talk with my dad yesterday. He called and we ended up talking for about 45 minutes. During the course of the conversation he told me he had just finished his lunch. I asked him, "What did you have for lunch?" Now, we are getting to the point of this post.

He said, "Well, I had a burrito." This is never enough information when you ask my dad what he has eaten. Never!

He went on to say, "I put it in the microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Then, I took it out and unwrapped it. Then, I put it on my plate. Then, I put butter on it. Then, I put sour cream on it. Then, I put salsa on it. Then, I put grated cheese on it."

I said, "Are you going to have your arteries checked?" He laughed and said, "That's the way I like it." I laughed and said, "Well, at 95 years old I think you can do exactly as you want."

He laughed. I laughed. We laughed. Then, he told me how he learned to fix a burrito this way. You see, the story is never really over.

It makes you want to watch him fix that plain old burrito and turn it into a delicious work of art.

I bet even if you didn't like burritos you would want to take just one little bite.