Pools and Pets -- Sharing the Love

I love my pool. Nevermind it's a pain in the neck sometimes -- you know, taking care of it and all. I love my pets. Nevermind they're a pain in the neck sometimes -- taking care and tending and loving and all.

The pool is showing its age. We need a new liner, but who wants to give up swim time and a few thousand dollars to replace it. Soon though, very soon it must be done. The pets are showing their ages. Phoebe, the Brittany beagle mix, is getting white in the face. Cleo, the tiger striped cat has more than slowed down, and she's losing weight. She sleeps a lot and doesn't eat much...at all. The vet says she's healthy except for the not eating thing. No evidence of a tooth problem, but he put her on an antibiotic just in case and gave her a shot to stimulate her appetite. Result, she's nibbling soft food, but...not much...at all. The pool can be fixed. The animals, not so much...their lives are limited.

I'm steeling myself for that. "The great circle of life" is what the Disney movie calls it when mother dinosaur dies leaving Little Foot to fend for himself. I cried over that. I've cried over pets before... and I suppose I'll cry again.

Ah well, we try to be kind to the animals and they are kind to us. Life is good in many ways. Life here in the country is a blessing. Though my urban friends and relatives may disagree -- thinking it's a great place to visit, but maybe they wouldn't want to live here. I'm aware of the advantages of city life we miss out on. But really, if you're a four legged creature this is almost heaven. And even if you're a human, this is almost heaven. I count myself lucky indeed.

I especially like sharing the pool...

 I know... I should pay them

                                                                                          for letting me babysit.

It's more fun swimming with friends!

 

This is Bridget, she brightens my day once a week. She's three going on four and has a collection of adorable miss-spoken words. I told her mother not to look to me to correct them. I can't bear to let go the cuteness. She's wearing her swimming soup. She reminds me to put sun scream on her shoulders. When she wears a jacket I have to help her zwhip it. And she asks ever so nicely to play games on my 'your-Pad'. Don't you just love it?



Happy Mother's Day...

 

 

Good wishes for a lovely day to my mom, my daughter-in-law, my sisters and sisters-in-law, and my dear friends.

 

Me and my mom and dad in February.

 

So many friends are posting remembrances of their moms, followed by the heartbreaking words...I miss you, Mom.   I count myself blessed to still have both of my parents.They've enjoyed and endured eight decades and counting. Six of those blissfully married (for the most part), setting a good example for us, their seven children. They withstood watching our youngest brother, Rob, struggle for 2 years with a vicious cancer, which claimed him 2 weeks after his 36th birthday -- the day before Mother's Day 1999. Tough times. Every year.

Two of my four sons have passed that age. I can't imagine loosing any one of mine; can't imagine how a parent survives the loss of a child at any age. But people do, and my parents have more than survived. They remember and celebrate Rob's life, thankful for the years they had with him, proud of his accomplishments and even more proud of the strength and grace he displayed throughout his illness. In his last months, he cared for those who were caring for him, trying to make it easier for those who loved him, his parents, his family, and his fiancee, Sandy.

This is what I ruminate on the days leading up to Mother's Day...every year since 1999. But, following my mom's example, I allow my sadness to be tempered by all there is to be grateful for...the blessings that abound. Today I'm grateful for Mom and Dad, six wonderful siblings, one in heaven, a terrific loving, patient, kind husband, four amazing sons and the women and children they've brought into my life. Today, I'm feeling blessed by God above.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there!

Is There Life After BIRTH?

I love allegory. This certainly isn't original to me. I found it on a blog by Father Milovan Katanic posted in 2008. (Credits below)

Twins are having a conversation in the mother’s womb:

A: Do you believe in life after birth?

B: Of course, there must be something after birth.

A: That is nonsense. There is no life after birth. How would this life look like anyway?

B: I don’t know exactly, but I am convinced that there will be more light and that we will be able to walk and eat with our mouths…

A: That is complete nonsense. You know that it’s impossible to run and eat with your own mouth, that’s why we have the umbilical cord. I’m telling you, after birth there is no life.

B: The umbilical cord is too short. I’m convinced that there is something after birth. Something completely different from what we are living now.

A: But no one has ever returned from there. Life ends after birth. Besides, life is nothing else but existence in a tight and dark environment.

B: Well, I don’t know exactly how life after birth looks like, but we will, in any case, meet our Mommy. Then she will take care of us.

A: Mommy? You believe in Mommy? And where, according to you, would she be?

B: Everywhere around us, of course. Thanks to her, we are alive, without her, we would not exist at all.

A: I don’t believe it. I have never seen Mommy, so it is clear that she doesn’t exist.

B: Yes, it is possible, but sometimes, when we are perfectly still, we can hear her sing and caress our world. You know, I am convinced that life after birth, in fact, is only just the beginning.

Taken from the “Spring of St. Petka” newsletter from St. Petka Church in Troy, Michigan

First Swim

It wasn't me in the pool for the first swim of the season this year. A young neighbor brought a friend and they weren't put off by the cold pool. I don't swim until the water hits 80. But look at this...

 

It didn't deter these gals...

 

Today the heater kept chugging along and the water temp reached my magic number. I dibbled my toes, sucked in my breath, and took the plunge. Yes, I realize that's a bit dramatic, considering Kelsey and her friend immersed themselves in 73 degree water the day before. But still... 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed swimming laps. Ahhhh, let the swim season begin. Come back again, Kelsey, the water's fine...now. Anyone else wanting to cool off? Come on over.

Everybody's Busy

Long over due updates...

Yesterday we helped David and Melanie at their new house. They are in the process of moving in. Tom mowed lawn and trimmed shrubs. I helped scrub the kitchen and put things away. That Melanie is one trusting sweetheart, letting me unpack her kitchen boxes! Mel's mom cleaned out the garage -- hosed it down ceiling to floor! Grandma, sister, cousins and friends. What a productive day it turned out to be, and fun too.

I teased on facebook this week that Betsy's Day Care was open. I had three little girls, and one not-yet-trained puppy, keeping me company on Friday. It was all kinds of fun. But you know -- our house is stocked with mostly little boy toys from a bygone era. It turns out that girls who left their Barbies and Polly Pockets home are quite happy to play with Matchbox cars and a Fisher Price Little People Garage at my house.

Two sisters and my little neighbor who is my regular Friday charge. Aren't they just adorable?

The cute-as-can-be pup loves to run in the grass and then come in the house to tinkle on the floor.
It's okay, she doesn't hold much water and I'm sure she'll get the hang of it sooner or later.

 

People are busy. Teachers are winding down their school year. Farmers are readying fields for planting. Homeowners are mowing lawns and beautifying yards, porches, decks. When the weather is inclement there's the indoor spring cleaning to be tackled. We're opening the pool. It's all ready, just needs heated up. We've got to put a little heat to that sparkly-clear cold water. (Give us a day or two and then come on over.) My friends with little kids or grandkids are off to t-ball and little league practices and games. Ah yes, it's a busy time of year.

 

Flowers are busy growing, blooming, and dying back to allow the next variety to grow and bloom. It's so nice that they take turns. Is there anything prettier than spring flowers? A vase of daffodils graced my table every day for the past three weeks. They're not as long lived when cut, but there's a plethora of them. I'm sure the dear little things were glad to bring their bright countenance inside just to make me happy, even if it did shorten their lifespan a bit.

 

These flowers are all spent now. The Tulips still in bloom are on the way out. They'll make room for the Dahlias. Oh, but alongside the fence are the Narcissus. They look like Daffodils, but I'm guessing they get their name from a character trait. They bloom after their cousins...standing proud all by themselves...too narcissistic to share their bloom time with anything else that might overshadow them. No need to fear, little flowers, you are all beautiful, and very much appreciated, in your own time. 

 

Trees are budding and will be in full leaf quick as a wink. Birds flit about gathering bits of this and that building nests. And bees buzz around terrifying little children. (I'm not scared of bees anymore. I outgrew that back in my 50's -- last year.)

 

Everyone's busy. We're all in hurry. Gotta get ready quick. Summer will be upon us before we know it. Then we'll slow down, stop and smell the roses while swatting mosquitoes. We'll all enjoy this gift of life to the fullest then. Next season. Or so we promise.

Making a List...Checking it Like a Thousand Times...

And still nothing to check off. I can fix that. Revise the list, add: shower, eat breakfast, go get trash bin and drag it back up the driveway. Check, check, check. Now I'm on a roll.

The clean-out-the-barn project was a huge success, not a hundred percent complete, but still. Our artist friend who built a h-u-g-e sculpture in our barn a few years back stopped by to lend a hand, but we were nearly done for the day. He was awed by all the clean empty space. Not necessarily awed in a good way. His comment, "Looks great, but now it's too clean to get any work done in here." Different strokes. Here's some of the work Ron Bayuzick made in our barn. Ronnie's -- oh, I'm guessing, 9' by 15' -- sculpture titled Flotsam and Jetsam is on display at the Bay Front Convention Center in Erie. (Click on Ron's name to see some of his fabulous paintings!)

 

 

Wait, this post is about making lists and and getting things done. Instead I've searched and searched through old pictures and blog posts -- lost in nostalgia. Time continues to wait for nothing and no one, just keeps rolling on. And so shall I.

 

Post a blog -- check.

 

So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 

 

Avoidance, the Great Motivator

So everyone who knows me knows I want to be a writer. Or do I? I've heard that writers write. Not me, I think up ways to avoid writing. But man, can I ever get a lot of work done when I'm in serious avoidance mode. This month for instance...I've got a writing project going, I'm a little behind on it. But two rooms, two closets, and three cabinets are hoed out, cleaned, and organized. We're talking intense clutter busting.

This week I planned to complete another writing assignment, which with a bit of finagling, I could incorporate into the bigger writing project. Two birds and all that. But instead I started cleaning the barn. Yes, the barn. Not the kind of barn that animals live in, unless you count bats, pigeons, and more than a few rodents, but the kind of barn where you store junk, work on projects, and leave all manner of leftover mess from said projects. It's also the place you cram broken bicycles, spent appliances, old windows, and unused/unusable building materials until township cleanup day.

Next Saturday is township clean up day. This Saturday we've got a crew of family and friends coming to help toss, load, sweep, clean and organize. So you know what that means. I had to go make the place presentable, kind of like cleaning your house before the cleaning person arrives. I've got three stacks going out there in the old barn: burnable, recyclable, and genuine, dumpster worthy junk.

It is so very generous of our township to haul in a bunch of huge dumpsters on an annual basis. The dumpsters are kind of like coffins that take old, broken, dirty white elephants to their final resting place. I'm trying not to think about the carbon footprint. Or here's a thought, perhaps this is helping reduce our townships carbon footprint. We've sorted, now they'll sort further. Yes, yes, it's sounding much more responsible and stewardly now.

So, enough of this writing. It's served the purpose. I wrote something today -- keeping up the image. Now I've got work to do before the clean up crew comes tomorrow and sees what a slob I really am. It's all about image.

All Frivolity Aside

Every time I sit down to the computer and pull up my blog, my heart sinks. The last post "Go Fly a Kite" with pictures of two absolutely carefree little girls and a couple of equally carefree (in the moment) adults, seems too happy in light of the terror attack in Boston.

None of my loved ones were hurt, my family and friends unscathed, our lives went on as usual, except for the black cloud -- being aware of other people's anguish. Some of my blogging friends posted heartfelt messages, calls to pray, reminders to be helpful, encouragement to be hopeful. I appreciated their words and am indeed holding on to hope. Hope that though there is evil in the world, there is much, much more good.

Acts of terror on a grand scale or small make even people of faith question their belief in a sovereign God who is only good all the time.  C. S. Lewis describes the fall of man in his book, The Problem of Pain, "...Christianity asserts that God is good; that He made all things good for the sake of their goodness; that one of the good things He made, namely the free will of rational creatures, by its very nature included the possibility of evil; and that creatures availing themselves of this possibility, have become evil."

Sometimes I would like to direct God, coach him if you will, on how to better run his universe and protect his people. But then I remember He is God, omnicient, omnipotent, omnipresent God. And I am not. I know nothing, can fix nothing, and I live in one little corner of the world. Still, I am called to do my part, if not for the victims of violence in Boston, then here. I can help by offering kindnesses and compassion, meeting needs, praying. I can do that.  I can do unto others as I would like them to do to me. I can love others, appreciate them, celebrate them, and enjoy them today, because I have this day. Tomorrow is not promised, but I have today to live, laugh, love...and to stop and smell the daffodils.

Go Fly a Kite

 

 

And when flying kites isn't fun anymore, you can make bubbles!

 

 

Lots of fun playing with our little neighbor girls! 

Winter's on the Wing, Spring is born...and

David and Melanie will be here to see it!

I'm so excited about my boy Davey and and his Melanie coming home to Pennsylvania. When they
moved to Colorado, I was nothing but happy for their big adventure, thrilled to visit them and see the grand Rocky Mountains under an amazing blue sky, yet... nagging fear lingered. That, thanks to a friend who said, "Oh no, you don't want your kids to go to Colorado. They don't come back from there." Turns out we had mutual friends whose children did indeed go to Colorado and seem to have no intention of returning to PA.

Don't we all want our kids to follow their hearts and the call on their lives? Yes, of course, and I'd be happy for mine to be exactly where they felt they should be. If it happens to be somewhere nearby, as is the case... Yippee!

Melanie is here already, Dave will be on his way soon! David and his black lab, Parker, intend to leave cold snowy Denver behind and arrive early next week. Just in time, our Pennsylvania countryside is greening up, dotted with richly colored crocus and daffodils ready to pop. Winter's on the Wing... just in time to say welcome home!

Winter's on the wing,
Here's a fine spring morn'
Comin' clear through the night,
Come the day I say.
Winter's taken flight
Sweepin' dark cold air
Out to sea, Spring is born,
Comes the day say I,

And you'll be here to see it.
Stand and breathe it all the day.
Stoop, and feel it. Stop and hear it.
Spring, I say.

And now the sun is climbin' high,
Rising fast on fire,
Glaring down through the gloom,
Gone the gray, I say.
The sun it spells the doom
Of the winter's reign,
Ice and chill must retire
Comes the May say I,

And you'll be here to see it.
Stand and breathe it all the day.
Stoop, and feel it. Stop and hear it.
Spring, I say.

I say, be gone, ye howling gales,
Be off, ye frosty morns!
All ye solid streams begin to thaw.
Melt, ye waterfalls,
Part ye frozen winter walls.
See, see now it's starting.

And now the mist is liftin' high,
Leavin' bright blue air
Rollin' clean 'cross the moor
Comes the day I say.
The storm'll soon be by
Leaving clear blue sky,
Soon the sun will shine,
Comes the day, say I.

And you'll be here to see it.
Stand and breathe it all the day.
Stoop and feel it. Stop and hear it.
Spring, I say.

 

From the Secret Garden...Listen here if you like.