Easter!! He is risen!!! He is risen indeed!!!

Today was the warmest Easter day I can remember. I believe it was 75 degrees out! It was also one of the most low key quietest Easter days I can remember. When I was a child I remember my mother planning weeks in advance for our Easter celebration. There was shopping for new shoes, a new hair cut and perm,we would search through the Montgomery Wards or Aldens catalog for dresses,or look at patterns and have my aunt sew me a dress. Spring cleaning was done,waxing floors,washing windows,cleaning out cupboards. There was special menu planning.We would usually have a bone in ham,scalloped potatoes,jello salad,baked beans,home made rolls,and of course Lemon pie!!! We boiled and dyed eggs on Saturday of course.

Easter Sunday Morning started early,waking up to a nest of Easter eggs at the foot of our bed, with a small toy!!! My earliest memory of this was when I was four. My brother and I sleepy eyed started eating our candy and all at once felt pain in our jaws and started crying!!! My mother looked us over and told us we had the mumps! 

We always attended church and Sunday School!! It was fun to see my friends also all dressed up special for the day.Of course there was always a story about the death and resurrection of Jesus. My child mind was always obsessed with nails,and the cross,and the crown of thorns. It was way many years latter that I caught on to the resurrection and what it meant for me personally.We went home and after our meal and visiting all day would go back to church in the evening and the day would finally end around 10:00 p.m.

When I got married and had a family, my husband and I carried on many of these traditions. Easter was always about Jesus dying for us,because he loves us so much,and coming to life so that we can have eternal life. We had dinner at my husbands folks home, and our childrens cousins would be there from out of town 

We now have Grandchildren. Ten years ago or more I started collecting bunnies,and enjoyed sharing them with my Grands. We've had many family dinners at our home and my daughter and daughter-in-laws have also shared their homes at Easter. I still believe Jesus died for my sins,so that I can live beyond the grave. This week I've been mindful of this Holy holiday and what it means,and have tried to look past some of the commercial ways we celebrate the day.We haven't attended a church Easter service in several years,and we didn't today. We went to brunch with my Daughters family at a lovely winery, I got the Grands Easter baskets, everyone was spit shined. It's now after the day is almost gone that I wished I'd said something about why we celebrate this day so big.I hope they knew why, I'm sure they did.  . 

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Today I walked all through the mall for an hour and a half without limping and without much pain. Yeah!!  I got a my first cortisone injection in my right knee on Tuesday. My knee has osteoarthritis in it which means the cushioning has worn out and so it's bone rubbing on bone.ouch. I also have rheumatoid arthritis,I'm just so lucky !!!!! Seriously I get to have the chance to see how much pain I can stand and still keep doing everything I've always done.Things like keeping my home very clean,cooking healthy meals,keeping myself well groomed,shopping,and enjoying my three beautiful Grandchildren,and trying to stay positive.

I have also had my fair share of emotional pain in my 69 years of life. I used to think that the heart ache of emotional pain ( crying the moment your eyes opened in the morning,and waking up in the middle of the night crying) was the worst possible pain one could have,it is awful. My experience has been though that with professional help,much prayer and time emotional pain does get better and things are not as painful,there is a recovery.

RA doesn't have a real cure.There are chemo drugs, injections,and all kinds of pills to take that slow the progression of the disease down,while all the time weakening your heart,lungs liver and kidneys. Fun huh? I could just have a "real pity party". but I refuse to!!! Everybody has something,many things like cancer,diabetes,heart disease,blindness,hearing problems,marriage problems, financial problems. This is my thorn to put up with for the rest of my life!!! It could be so much worse. I plan on doing whatever I can to live the rest of my life to the fullest that I can,shaking of negativity,staying positive,enjoying Gods creation,savoring every word my Grands speak,loving and forgiving. RA is really a gift that I get to experience, to grow me hopefully into everything God wants me to be.

So today was pure joy walking with no pain or limp. I bought a pair of shoes with a little heel today. The shot of cortisone will wear off in a few months,but you can bet that I will be wearing my fancy shoes every chance I get with joy in my heart and a smile on my face.

Christmas Balls

My husband and I were invited to our daughter and her husbands house for Christmas Dinner.They gave birth to two of my grandchildren,Jake 12 and Ella 9. We love visiting them in their home.We go visit their rooms and sit on their beds and talk while their mom and dad are finishing getting dinner on the table. It's fun seeing what books they're reading and how their rooms are decorated.

My daughter prepared an absolutely delish roast beef dinner,with twice baked stuffed potatoes,carrots and cranberry salad. So perfectly yummy!!! We had peppermint ice cream and some really special cookies for dessert. After dinner we played Apples to Apples.

Between dinner and dessert I was admiring their Christmas tree.They have so many different ornaments that they have collected over their 18years together. I commented that the tree had a delicate feminine feel about it,my daughter said we didn't put balls on it this year. I said, Oh yes I see! Twelve year old Jake from across the room said Yeah! it must be a girl tree because it has NO Balls!!!!!! We just rolled in laughter!!!! Kids are so much fun!! That was the best laugh I had during the Christmas season.

Good things come in small packages

How do you explain  to an innocent 9 year old girl what happened at the horrible massacres that happened in the mall and grade school this past week??

This weekend I had the privilege  of spending some alone time with my granddaughter. We went shopping and saw a movie and then had Mexican food! It was a very stormy,windy, rainy,day. We got our movie tickets first,and then ran for the closet mall entrance. With movie tickets and credit card still in hand we sat down on the nearest bench in the entry way leading into the mall. As I was opening my purse to put our movie tickets away for later,I became aware of my Granddaughters earnest words expressing her feelings about the past weeks shootings in a school and mall. I told myself "be quite and listen she needs to talk." We probably sat on that bench for 10 to 15 minutes while she talked. I can't even remember everything that was said,because I was so struck by her candor and I was so focused on keeping my mouth shut. I do remember we ended the conversation with we have a God that loves us, and someday when we go to heaven we won't have to worry about any of this kind of awful stuff happening.

We went shopping and bought a couple of cute things for her to wear.We laughed ate popcorn and candy. She ordered a virgin mango margarita at the Mexican restaurant and ate tamales. We had a good time.

It makes me sad though that  part of my Granddaughters innocence was robbed from her by the selfish, self-centered act of two mentally disturb people. I can have some peace knowing that this world is not the end of our lives,and that when we die our lives really just start!!! That I got the rare privilege to share that with her in a very,very simple way is the best Christmas gift that a grammy could get.

Vulnerable

December 14 2012

This past week I went to a movie,shopping and out to lunch with a dear friend.We have been neighbors,walking buddies attend the same church,and best friends for over sixteen years.I have shared more of my heart with her than  with almost anybody else I know.She has always been very supportive and  non-judgemental. She lives a life that most other women would envy. Beautiful home with all the bells and whistles,nice car,frequent trips to the beauty salon,nail salon,massages,pedicures,laser treatments etc.etc.she also has many friends that she can call any time for coffee.She spends every winter in Palm Springs for 6 weeks,I think you can get the picture.Like I said I've shared my heart with her and been vulnerable.Sometimes I've felt like she must have things in her life that aren't perfect, I wish she could share them with me,not because I wanted her to have something wrong,I just knew that noone has that perfect of a life.At lunch this week she shared with me how this time of year between Thanksgiving and Christmas are really had for her,because she has no family that lives here.She was very earnest in expressing  her feelings to me.I felt bad for her,and tried to put myself in her place and imagine what it would be like to year after year not to be able to have my grandchildren and children to my home for the holidays or almost never.It is just a heartbreaking thought for me to think about.Yes there are phone calls,and skyping ,and she visits them once a year in their home,but it is just not the same as them coming to visit her! To me it would be such a sense of being abandoned.I felt so bad for her,and so dumb that I have so joyfully blabbered every detail of every moment and even bragged about how much fun we have with our family.I'm so glad that she shared her pain with me.I will think twice before I envy her again. I will also curb my bragging. I am so thankful for the family that I have,no it's not perfect all the time,in fact we have had our fair share of heartbreak,but we still do have each other.I'm thankful also to have such a good friend that has put up with me all these years.

Amending previous blog.

I've noticed lately that I don't always get things right.My memory isn't as good as it used to be.My mother always praised me on what a good memory I had. I'm forever leaving little reminders for myself and now days when I think of something I need to do at home I do it right then!! For years I've b,ought calenders that have big numbered squares so I can,write the highlights of each day down,and I keep a journal as well however I don't write in the journal everyday.My hearing isn't as good as it used to be either.My Grandchildren get the giggles when I repeat back something they've told me and it's all cray cray.Ageing is very interesting.All the things that the medical profession tells us to do are true,but when were young we just believe we'll beat the odds.Things like:
                                         1.Eat your veggies
                                         2.Exercise
                                         3.Stay out of the sun or wear sunscreen
                                         4 Don't smoke
                                         5 Women drink only 1 glass of wine in a day.
                                         6 Floss your teeth
                                         7.Keep a healthy weight
                                         8.Exercise your brain
                                         9.Eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast
                                        10.Meditate


All this to say----My handsome,prince of a son-in-law celebrated his 40th birthday this year!!!!
                          My handsome,prince of a SON turned 45 this year!!!!

This amends my previous blog. I'm not really sure what the ages of the rest of the fa,ily are. Just kidding