Random Thoughts

"In every conceivable manner the family is the link to our past and the bridge to our future." Alex Haley So, I've been thinking about the time spent with my sisters, and wondering about sibling rivalry. I have spent enough time looking back, weeding through the emotional events that shaped my life to realize that having five girls born at 3-5 year intervals - one just up and walking getting used to being the princess when another comes on the scene to steal her tiara - there is just no way that there would not be some rivalry. I've thrown some of the memories that no longer serve me well (did they ever?) in the trash and some I hold on to like our faithful dog, Black Beauty, with a ham bone. Some I forget about until a button is pushed somewhere in my gut and then they come flooding back like it was yesterday. What I noticed during this visit is that in our adulthood there just doesn't seem to be a place for sibling rivalry. I can't speak for the others, bu...

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you." Desmond Tutu When my father decided he wasn't up to driving to TN, he asked me to plan a 5 sisters reunion. Three of the five live right here in Jacksonville. The others as far away as San Diego and Washington state. Getting everyone together at the same time can be a bit of a challenge. Besides distance, there are work schedules, vacation days and affordable airline schedules to work around. As if the planets all aligned when I called a meeting of the sisters everyone was able to come at the same time. The occasion ... Dad's 93rd birthday. The man who has scoffed at me for years for letting my inner child reign on my birthday seemed to enjoy all the attention. There are certain family traditions that occur when we get together. Most of them have to do with food. Dad requested a rib roast for his birthday dinner (I apologize to you vegetarians, but we have always eaten meat in this house and I don...

Ed. note: I am about to throw this fancy dancy computer into the river. I CANNOT figure out what is up with font size or paragraph spacing. I get it to look great, then publish the post and voila it is all screwed up. "I know of no more permanent imprint on a life than the one made by mothers. I guess that’s why Mother’s Day always leaves me a little nostalgic. Not simply because my mother has gone on (and heaven’s probably cleaner because of it!), but because that’s the one day the real heroines of our world get the credit they deserve. Hats off to every one of you!" Charles Swindoll* As I write this, I'm singing, "I'm late, I'm late" like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. It is a theme that winds itself in and through my life. When leaving the house for most any reason, Sweetie has learned to wait patiently. Even after I've told him I'm ready, there's usually one more thing I have to get. Does it come as any surprise one that the m...

"Memory is the diary we carry about with us." Oscar Wilde Last month my dad woke up from an afternoon nap saying he'd been having a very vivid dream of his old hometown, Newport TN. Later that same night he resurrected the idea of paying one last visit to TN and surrounding environs, stopping to see old friends along the way. It was a trip we had planned a couple of years ago - before his cancer diagnosis. Before he signed up for hospice and began waiting to die, thinking it was only go to take a few months. Aggressive, was the term the doctor used to describe his cancer. Dad was convinced aggressive equalled imminent, therefore it wouldn't be long before he was on a downhill slide. Traveling was out of the question. Needless to say I was surprised when he began making lists, checking maps, having the car tuned up, marking dates on the calendar. When he bought himself a $7000 Jazzy motorized wheelchair because he needed the lift that came with it I knew he was getting...

Note: I have no idea why this is double spaced. And no idea how to fix it. me "A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." Richard Bach I've been told time and again that to be a "real" writer one has to practice the fine art of re-writing. The first time around, the whole exercise is to get one's thoughts out of the head and on to paper (or the computer as the case may be.) When my muse strikes, I'm a whiz. My fingers fly across the keys. I entertain myself by envisioning myself accepting a Pulitzer Prize or maybe just sitting next to Oprah smiling as she hands out copies of my book to everyone in her audience. I come back to reality real quick when I start the process of tweaking and re-tweaking my glorious first draft. That's when I get stuck. That's where I am now. My writing coach has challenged everyone in the group to move up a step and begin submitting our stories for publication. She has actually been suggesting this all ye...

"Whatever is going on in your mind is what you are attracting." * I am not quite sure if I believe in "the Secret". If it is so powerful, why is it a secret? I can understand the principal of the Law of Attraction: We are all energy. Positive energy will attract positive energy and the same for negative. It seems rather simplistic, but life taken to its very basic forms is simple, isn't it. So why can't the law of attraction be true. The Chaos Theory has certainly manifested itself in my life - why not energy, good or bad, appearing on cue? I'm not trying to write about life physics here, just trying to make a point. And what is that you might ask! Well my point is what if the law of attraction is real, even if I don't quite believe in it (think a 6 year old questioning the veracity of a certain man in a red suit at Christmas time. Is he real? Do really have to be good? What if I'm not and he is real, etc) what if it is true, that my thoughts ca...

I'm up early. Not real early, but early for me. I know that Pam and Terri have been up for hours. But here I am, posting on my blog before either of them have anything up for today. Ha! Ha! I feel like a morning person! (Sort of!) May each of you have a delightful day doing new things, Merry ME