The Gift

A year ago, my family and I were traveling to Florida to take our Christmas cruise out of Tampa, celebrating being cancer free! On the way we stopped by to see our friends the O'Steens. To say the least the visit was wonderful and the cruise was an event. If this gives you any idea, whenever we see advertisement for a cruise we all GROAN.

This year we are thrilled to be in MarDo, a funny name for Oak Ridge. Our girls think it would be wonderful if they (the town of Oak Ridge) would name it after Marshall and me, our personal joke, that has caught on. I've been off from work since the 17th and for the first time in my life, I haven't filled every minute with...... I've enjoyed just being. It's amazing how peaceful and restful I feel right before Christmas. Now don't get me wrong I haven't been sitting around doing nothing, actually I've been doing what I love to do piddle. My Christmas shopping was basically done before Dec 1, much done on line.

One thing we did this year that helped me was, since we all have a google account, I created a google document that we could all access to create our Christmas list, everyone used this to begin shopping. Before Christmas Mar and I created a Christmas budget. I hope we  stayed true to it. I've noticed that the closer it gets to Christmas the more impulsive shopping I do.

Ginna arrived last night, Lucy hopefully tonight and Carrie tomorrow. I love being with family.

The Right Question

Being over 50, having raised three children, married for almost 30 years has set the tone for pondering. Ponder what, you may ask? My life, my struggles, my goals, my habits, my purpose, my next steps. Don't worry I'm not going through a midlife crisis. I have no plans of running up the credit card to purchase my dream car or dressage horse, though tempting. I'm just thinking and pondering.

Recently a friend shared with me a book which had made a difference in her life, The Right Question, Ten Essential Questions to Guide You to an Extraordinary Life. I can be leery of "secular" books that aren't driven by certain principles but ..... respecting my friend and her own journey, I ordered it from Amazon. I'm reading it with pen and journal in hand. It's hitting home to me. Here's a excerpt from the first chapter:

Every day, each of us makes a multitude of choices that will impact our lives. Some of these choices are minor and will only impact the next few minutes, hours, or days, while others will completely change the direction of our lives. Some choices are easy to make, some are more difficult. Some will lead us straight to success, while others will bring us face-to face with failure. Some will seem earthshakingly important, while others will seem completely insignificant. But what's imperative for each of us to know is that, no matter how large or small, easy or difficult, each choice that we make, individually or collectively, alters the direction of our lives.

As I enter this next phase of my life, I am challenged to ask the "right question", "Will this choice propel me toward an inspiring future or will it keep me stuck in the past?"

A lot to ponder. I'll keep you posted.

A Must See

In the past six months I've heard so much about an autistic woman who has a phenomenal story. She has written a book and now there is a movie about her called Temple Grandin. The other night I learned it was at Red Box and with a little time on my hands we rented it. Marshall agreed to sit in the room with me but he had "things" he needed to do, once it started we were both captivated and will recommend it to everyone!

Wine, Sunshine, Sisters

 

Happy Birthday Mom

 Wednesday marked my mother's 85 birthday. I went to visit and celebrate until the "warning tornado" halted the festivities! It didn't matter too much because Thursday her daughters brought the wine and gifts, and God sent the sunshine. Here are a few pictures that need no explanation.



Doesn't take much to make Mom laugh!

  

She loves being together.

Entertainment.
An aid came by with a new portable potty and Diane couldn't resist.





It's obvious the greatest gift we can give her is time together. She loves listening to us talk and laugh even though she can't really engage. We are very thankful to still have her, even though much of her mind is gone.

I do hate Alzeheimers.









Joining the church

This week Carrie called and invited us to Charlotte on Sunday, she was joining her church, UpTown. I realized this is the first time, I think, she has joined the church since she was living with us, though now I remember she probably joined Redeemer in NY. Anyway, it feels like a big deal. Joining the church means you want to be apart of it. You want to support it with your time, money and basically you want to invest in it. We look forward to seeing the place where the Gospel is being preached. Being apart of a church is a very important part of a Christian's life. Tomorrow will be a special day.

1 John 1:7 (New International Version)

⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[a] sin.

After 30 years

As mentioned in an earlier blog today was the first time in 30 years that I've been to the State Fair. We had a wonderful time. We got to Raleigh at 10:15, picked up Jeff and Ginna and headed towards "the people". Marshall had made a comment that maybe everyone has already visited the fair since it ends tomorrow. Well that was the farthest thing from the truth! We paid our $10 for parking and entered with plans to spluge on a few dietary no no's.



Yes, we tried the Deep Fried Snickers!



It was lots of fun and thankfully my emotions were in tack and I really didn't think at all about 30 years ago, I'm just glad I am where I am in my life.

We spent about 3 hours walking around sampling all the "forbidden" fruits and rode and very mild ferris wheel, which left everyone's stomachs in tack. I am thankful for a fun day and time with the soon to be marrieds. We might take the train next time.







Getting ready to take in the sites!

Ginna and Jeff on the Ferris Wheel

The State Fair

Thirty years ago was the last time I visited the state fair in Raleigh; it wasn't an experience I gave to my girls. So why now am I heading to the fair this Saturday? It begins with some background .

It was October 30th 1980, I was a junior on fall break at UNC Greensboro. Several friends and I traveled to Raleigh to experience the sounds, smells, and exhiliration that the fair promises. I don't really remember too much about what I did, but I can imagine it was lots of fun. We drove back to Greensboro in the late afternoon and stayed at my friend Mary's apartment, I think I was planning to eat dinner with her and hang out. Upon returning I got a phone call from my brother David. "Dorothy, come home quick". My friend drove me home. We drove up to my house and I noticed several unfamiliar cars parked out front. With a deep sense of dread in the pit of my stomach, I walked in the front door. It was there, I learned my dad was dead, by his own hand. That was the last time I went to the fair.

30 years later I'm ready to see the fair, again.