I know I’ve been AWOL for a few days, but there are valid reasons. Here are two of them:
Zoe’s first ballet recital.
She and the others acted silly during warm ups, but when the music started, she danced like a princess.
Mattias got his yellow belt.
If you’re a grandparent or had one, you understand.
We’re getting back on the flying standby merry-go-round at 12:55 am. Pray it doesn’t take us 22 hours to get home.
Blessings,
Linda
David and I don’t have a regular date night. We enjoy each other’s company enough that watching a movie on our 47” television with a bag of microwaved popcorn seems like a date. But thanks to David’s growing reputation as a chili cook-off judge, we had a special date night last Friday in Quitman, another small East Texas town about 25 miles from Emory.
A couple of weeks ago, David got an urgent call from a friend in Quitman. They went to school together in Jonesboro, Louisiana, and the tale of how they reconnected after all these years is a tribute to coincidence, but that’s another story. For now, she was in a bind and needed help. She was coordinating a chili cook-off to benefit the Special Olympics, and one of her judges had pulled out for medical reasons. She needed someone from a county other than hers and preferably someone with a little bit of experience. Lured by the chance to expand his resume and by all the free chili he could eat, David said yes, and I went along to watch the show. I didn’t take my camera, and my phone didn’t have enough of a charge to take a lot of pictures, but I took enough to show you that people in Quitman know how to have fun. (more…)
On Tuesday I posted the written account of the Ladies’ Conference our church hosted on January 12. Here’s the pictorial version. (more…)
Young Lovers
One of the hardest things about being a caregiver is grieving a loss that is ongoing. We had a grief counselor speak at one of our caregiver support meetings, and she suggested that we consider personal and or group rituals to help us to let go of the relationship as we knew it and to move into acceptance of the present reality. The tributes I wrote about on Wednesday were part of that process. Another was our “Favorite Photos and Memories” night. The idea was simple. Each caregiver brought a favorite photo of their loved one and shared the memory behind the photo with the group. It was one of my favorite meetings. (more…)
Five weeks ago, I wrote about the garden I planted and showed you a picture. It was pretty sad looking.
My Charlie Brown garden 5 weeks ago.
It’s still no prize winner, but it’s making progress. (more…)
When I finished my post about my brother Jim and his grandson, I sent it to him for permission to publish something so personal. I also told him I had the recent picture I used at the end of the story, but I asked for a picture or pictures of the two of them when Kyle was younger. What was I thinking? Of course, I got fishing pictures. It’s what he does. Why didn’t I ask the photographer in the family, Jim’s wife Jo Lynn? After exchanging a couple of e-mails with her, she sent me the photos I’m posting here. My intention was to edit the original post and add or substitute a photo or two, but these are too beautiful take a chance that someone might miss them because they’ve already read the story. So here are three more pictures of my brother and his grandson, a real life love story. (more…)
One of the things that attracted us to the 2+ acres we now call home was the abundance of trees. Out of curiosity, David once took an inventory and counted 85. Now we have two less. (more…)
My brother Jim, his wife Jo Lynn, my husband David, and I went to the New Year’s Eve dinner hosted by the assisted living home where Mom lives, and we wanted a photo record. If you’ve ever tried to take pictures of an energetic toddler, a lively puppy, or a happy loved one with Alzheimer’s, these pictures may look familiar. (more…)
Top Ten Comments from the First Year | by Linda Brendle
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