85 And Change!

Post Easter Blog...

This was to be posted shortly after Easter, but since I still need my granddaughter's assistance in getting my entries posted, it was a little delayed. I am happy to say, her business has been keeping her quite busy. In a short couple of months, I will be heading back to the east coast to stay with her and my darling grandson-in-law and she has assured me that I am more than capable of learning how to post these myself. I look forward to that challenge! Anyhow... read below if you are interested in my Post Easter entry.

I hope you all had a joyful and fun Easter. I had all of the above, plus an adventure. My daughter and I roused ourselves at 4:30 A.M. to attend a sunrise service, high on a hillside, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Our view was incredible and added to the spirituality of the occasion. On one side of the site, we viewed the waves breaking on the sand from high above, much as one would view it from a low-flying plane. On the other side, the sky changed from dark blue to bright and brighter orange as the sun rose and broke through the mist. An open-air church, surrounded by the beauty of mother nature, adds another dimension to the worship of a deity, making it even more inspiring. And for us, well worth the narrow, curving climb in my ancient but loveable, stick-shift Honda, vintage, 1990, My husband and I bought her in Virginia and christened her “Honey Child” because she is southern and the color of wild clover honey.

When my daughter and I left the service, faithful “Honey Child” would not move. Her gear shift refused to budge out of neutral. Finally, with a great deal of effort and a few tricks, known only to me, I managed to shift into first. Afraid to attempt another shift, we retraced our winding path back down the curving road and on to home. We had a long following of cars behind us, a virtual Easter Parade, although none of the entries were voluntary. When possible I pulled to the side to let our entourage pass, but I kept the car slowly moving along. In this fashion, we made it home

In my daughter’s car we joined the family for a wonderful family brunch, complete with children and the inevitable hunt for eggs. My Great-Granddaughter, Ella, was as gorgeous as ever in her Easter outfit (see photo below). She wasn’t too interested in the hunt, but humored her mother who followed her around, pointing out eggs and putting them into Ella’s basket. Ella was more interested in driving her toy car and bouncing on the trampoline. Ella’s parents joined her bouncing and this was our entertainment for the day. Really fun to watch, although I feared for Ella’s life. She is 14 months old now and walking everywhere, or should I say waddling? Isn’t it interesting that we begin our walking adventure by waddling from side to side, and as our walking days begin to wind down we come full circle as we waddle away from life? I find that I am waddling more and more at 86 years and that my beloved Honda at 20 years of age is beginning to stiffen up in her gears. Poor baby is still incapacitated while the mechanics operate on her. 

“Honey Child” was in fine shape before her sudden breakdown, similar to the onset of severe arthritis. As proof of this, I drove to the post office just before Easter, only to be confronted by a shocking sight. Two picketers were walking up and down with crudely lettered signs that read “Impeach Obama”. Something within me could not ignore such blatant disrespect. I approached them and pointed to their signs, “Why?” I asked. This was a simple question but was greeted with a torrent of abuse which ended in “If you have to ask you’re an idiot!” My response was my usual in this kind of situation, “It takes one to know one!” Whereupon, I got into my ancient chariot, shifted into first gear and gunned the motor as I triumphantly yelled out the window, “I bet you idiots can’t even drive a stick shift.” Shocking behavior for an 86-year old Great-Gramma, but I’m sick of all this nonsensical abuse. Bad behavior just breeds more bad behavior and I guess I should have told them in my best lady-like voice, “I’ll pray for you”, or something equally ineffective. Anyway, how much do you want to bet they can’t drive a stick shift as well as this 86 year-old great-gramma can?!?! The metaphor I find in this is as follows: sometimes it is the loudest, most screeching problems that give us the biggest headaches and embarrass us the most, but it is the quiet, harder to diagnose problems that can cause real problems. And it takes an intelligent and patient person to handle those problems.

Wishing You All a Happy Easter...

It has been a long winter in more ways than weather-wise, but with Easter comes the season of hope. Whatever your faith, or lack of it, the return of the flowers and blossoms surely gives you an understanding that nothing in our universe dies and is gone forever. Everything renews itself, but often in a different form.

We may differ in how we express our faith, but the order of the universe connects us all to one another in a commonality of man. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. etc……..we are all connected by this order. No one faith is totally right, making another one totally wrong.  My ideas of right and wrong may differ from yours, but as long as I bring no harm to another life, my differences will not weaken or destroy yours. I wish we could all just live and let live. If everyone followed The Golden Rule, it would mean the end of hatred and war.

Tomorrow, as we celebrate this holiday with family and friends, let’s be loving and kind and respectful in our disagreements. Let’s celebrate the goodness that is in each one of us. ENJOY, ENJOY. These moments with family and friends all pass. Nothing is eternal, except what we carry in our hearts.
 
That goes for the Tea Party people and their message of hatred and fear. I heard about a new group centered around coffee klatches. Their motto is civility as they discuss their differences. Hooray! That’s a group I’d be interested in joining. Why not start one in your home town?

Will Wonders Never Cease...

Well, I guess it has all fallen into place for that little lady and her dirty tricks! Sarah Palin as a member of the FOX news team!?!? I shouldn’t be surprised, however, considering the content of that particular network. It has all worked out to her financial advantage I’m sure, which is what her resignation as governor of Alaska was all about, no doubt. What does upset me, though, is that we seem to reward mental incompetence with high-paying jobs and yet there are many intelligent members of our society out there who can’t find employment anywhere. I suppose many will watch her cutesy antics and listen to her unfounded pronouncements on all sorts of nonsensical topics. But, let’s hope she’s learned her lesson about attempting any discussion of important national and world wide issues. She is such an embarrassment to our country. Enough said! Of course, she did write a book. I have not read it, nor do I intend to do so. I, too, am in the process of writing a book and I’m sure hers will sell many more copies than mine. I will probably have to self-publish my novel, but I am depending on you readers to be loyal fan club members and help me sell so many copies that I pass her by. When I rant and rave like this my son says I should be called Bad Mama, instead of Granny Gobama. So, enough of this diatribe. Let’s get serious.

The earthquake in Haiti has now superseded any comments I was going to make about our economy, health care reform, etc., etc. As one of my daughters said, “A tragedy of this magnitude puts everything else in perspective.” Our hearts and our money go out to these people, and it is really embarrassing when we hear about the insensitive and ill-tempered remarks coming from those such as Rush Limbaugh and so-called Christian Pat Robertson.  I trust you have all made donations to help Haiti (if not, see my list below), and I also hope you will say a silent prayer for these unfortunate people. God certainly works in mysterious ways and sometimes we wonder what is going on. No matter how you feel about faith, the power of prayer, etc. in a case such as this one, a sincere, and heartfelt prayer can’t hurt. And, if nothing else, it might make you feel better.

Also - if you are in a position to do so, please consider making a donation to one of the many charities delivering aid to the island of Haiti. Be careful which charities you give to, as there are some people out there taking advantage of this situation and running scams. Many of the news sites have dedicated pages that detail the legitimate charities attempting to deliver aid. Here is a short list of links to some of the pages I am aware of:

www.cnn.com

www.msnbc.com

www.abcnews.com

www.huffingtonpost.com - "The Goods"

www.huffingtonpost.com - Full List of Charities

An Early Christmas Gift...

Because I lost an eye in a freak accident over four years ago, I have had to take a driving test every two years in order to renew my driver’s license. I am a good and safe driver with no violations, and no tickets, BUT………… at the age of 86, I began to feel very vulnerable and, as my appointment drew near, I became more and more nervous, imagining a life without driving, imagining a difficult  test conductor who would be extremely strict with me because of my age and my one-eyed vision. In short, I imagined every difficulty under the sun, in spite of excessive practice both alone and with my daughter along to critique my efforts.

I have always believed in the power of prayer to help me through a difficult situation. Many of you will not agree with me, but as far as I am concerned I never could have gotten through  many of life’s extremely hard circumstances without my faith. At an early age, due to my grandmother’s teachings, I began to pray to a higher power. When I contracted polio in my twenties and could not walk without a brace, it meant the end of my career as a ballet dancer and instructor. However, I was able to carry on and not become bitter, due to my belief that there was a power in the universe that managed circumstances for the good of all. Instead of becoming bitter, I decided to become better.  Gradually, I was able to return to a semi-normal existence, and I was thankful that I was not as badly afflicted as so many who were in iron lungs, wheelchairs for life and totally incapacitated. As I resumed dancing in a limited way, and tennis playing with a one-legged hopping gait on the court, I began to realize that perhaps I was an inspiration to many of my normal friends. Thanks to my prayers I have always been able to laugh at myself and to never take myself too seriously. So……why weren’t my prayers easing my feelings over a minor driver’s test? By the morning of December 1st, I was even more nervous than I had ever been, even before I took my college board examinations many (many) years before. In fact, I was so upset I could hardly make myself get dressed and drive to the DMV.

I began to think that I wasn’t praying for the right outcome. "Please let me pass. Don’t make me try again two more times. Please help me." This prayer just wasn’t it. Then I remembered that it might be helpful if I prayed for the person who would be conducting my test. I remembered that God or whomever you believe in, works for the good of all, not just for one person’s good. I remembered that I should state my request and then leave the rest up to the powers that be. This has always been hard. It is hard for all of us to ‘let go and let God’. I made it to the DMV and relaxed somewhat, resigned to my fate. And then, a true miracle occurred!

A very pleasant woman came up to my car and asked me a few questions as she looked at my paperwork. After studying my eye doctor’s report, my license and determining that I never drove at night and rarely on the throughway, she told me I didn’t need to take a driving test because there was no change in my eyesight in the last two years!  A Miracle (of sorts)! My  prayers were answered, but in an entirely different way than I expected, which is so often the case. I was dumbstruck and many of my friends tell me that this was an unheard of precedent. Unfortunately, when I arrived home, I suddenly realized that I had a cold with full-blown symptoms which I had not noticed that morning. I began to think about the day’s happenings and I decided that it was in everyone’s interest that I not take a driving test that day. If that kind and understanding woman had sat in the seat next to me and been confined in the car with me, she might have caught my cold. Perhaps she had an important engagement on her calendar, or perhaps a cold for her would have had dire consequences. Everything worked out for the best. Hooray, hooray and Jingle Bells, too.  My prayers were answered and my cold is almost gone.

I am a very happy and relieved camper and now I shall get ready for Christmas in earnest.