This special corner

Right now, at this minute, this is the sweetest spot in my house for me.  It's the corner of Bobby's old room so part of the sweetness of it is that there's still some of Bobby here.  The framed picture at the top is a montage of the day Bobby did his solo flight in college and the picture just under that, to the right, is of his flight class from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.  You probably can't see it well but way over to the right, on top of the bookshelf is Bobby's well worn and raggedy U of Oklahoma cap that my mom and dad gave to him when he was in middle school.  I love that cap and it represents to me who Bobby is and his zest for life.  The lamp on the top left of the bookshelf is a lamp I made for Bobby probably when he was in college.  I bought an empty lampstand and filled it with childhood toys and favorites of his.  There's probably a collectable or two in there by now.  LOL!!

The little table and chairs are unique and fun because they belonged to Kaylee's first grade teacher, Miss Wallace, when she was a little girl.  I bought them from her parent's estate sale.  And, of course, the set came in handy when the grands came along.  This table is where we read, craft, color, and paint.  Adeline found another use for it the other day.  She was in the garage and discovered our old landline rotary phone and loves playing with it.  She brought it in here and set up the little table as her "office".  

The books in the bookshelves are, of course, self explanatory but lots of them have a personal story for me.  Some are the special ones I read to Bobby and/or Kaylee as they were growing up and some are new, that I've bought with Adeline, Lee, or Holden in mind.

While I set up this area for my grands, it has just sort of evolved on it's own.  And I love it!  The time with my kids was so short and the time with my grands is moving along at breakneck speed.  But, with this picture, I've made time stand still and I'll always have it to remember the precious Mom and Grammy seasons.   

All the Little Things

My dad passed away this morning.  The last two years have been a long, hard road for him and I'll admit I won't miss them.  But I'll miss all the years before with him and all the little things.

When Mom passed away in 2005, Dad and I had to sort of get acquainted.  I'd been going there at least every other week since I've been married but it seemed like my visits were mostly with Mom.  Dad was there but may or may have not been in the room and just pretty much stayed in the background.  So, when Mom passed, it seemed to be a little awkward.  But Dad and I struggled through to what turned out to be a pretty close relationship.  Which resulted in all the "little things". 

I'll miss going to eat lunch with him.  And the family trips across Willis Bridge to eat catfish.  For many years.  I'll miss the garage sales.  I'll miss Christmas shopping with him (mostly Walmart and Sam's) every year to get every member of the family a gift because he "wanted them to be able to open something".  I'll miss how he kept calendars everywhere, especially the ones Linda made for him for about 35 Christmases.  He layered them on the wall but kept every one hung.  I'll miss his perfect sense of direction on our random but fun drives in the country.  I'll so miss the funny things he said like that he wanted to live to 113 so he could be a teenager again.  And when he got his two favorite restaurants (Cracker Barrel and Golden Corral) confused and called them The Golden Crapper!  I'll miss talking with him about investing and taking walks (fast ones even into his 90's) around the park trail.  And I'll miss him in his overalls. 

It was hard watching Dad get so old and fail so quickly because of the hip breaks and surgeries and then hang in there like a trooper for the last couple of years.  But there are so many other, better years to remember so I'll choose to do that.  I know that Dad's walking around now, free of pain, discovering what there is to be discovered in heaven.  And someday I'll meet him and Mom there.  But, for now, I'll treasure the 
                                        memories and the little things. 

                                                    William Rex Walton  1916-1919


   

A Day With Adeline

 Today is Thursday so typically my day with this tiny bit of joy, aka Adeline.  Some aspects of our day together is pretty routine like stopping by the bank to say hi to Kaylee and visiting my dad at his assisted living facility.  And we did both today.  As we were leaving the bank, Adeline informed me that "Kaylee is a princess!"  Adeline is all about princesses these days and I love that she sees Kaylee that way!  

It also warms my heart that Adeline really enjoys going to see Great Grandpa.  She pretty much owns the place and loves all the attention she gets from the residents and the people that work there.  Today, for some reason, she wanted to walk to the other side of the facility and, when we did, she discovered their small "library" and immediately started going through the books.  She picked these two and proceeded back to Dad's room, books in one arm and her water in the other. 

When we got back to Dad's room, Adeline immediately crawled up on the couch and began to "read" the book.  Here's the first page. She actually called it her Bible Study.......😏

The rest of the day was spent at Grammy's house.  The best thing about being a grandparent is that life gets a little slower and we have a little more time to just be.  Adeline loves to be outside and it was a beautiful day so we stayed out there till lunch.  Adeline made a muddy mess which turned out to be "vegetable soup" and then she discovered that she could "paint" with a chicken feather and water.  After lunch we napped (well, I did), played in the back yard some more, she "washed dishes" at the kitchen sink (I always have to stay one step ahead or she'll get herself and the floor soaking wet), we watched the washing machine fill up with water, we pretended we were butterflies, she sat on my lap watching me sew as I prepared some fabric for a project, we put puzzles together, and then played outside some more about the time G-Dad got home.  Adeline even went over to the neighbor's to play for about 10 minutes.  She loved that because they have a yard full of toys.  


I'm always tired at the end of our day together but it's worth it for sure.  She loves Grammy so much and that just fills me to the brim!   

Throw Back Thursday--"Man in the hall!!"

I thought about this picture the other day for some reason.  Do you ever just go along, minding your own business and a memory from the past jumps into your thoughts?...... But I digress.  

This picture brought back so many fun memories from my college days back in 1979-81.  Dang, I'm old!  I went to Wayland Baptist College (now University) in Plainview, TX for two years and it was the perfect place for me to transition from a kid into an adult without my parents around.  It was a small college and since it was Baptist, there were rules.  And one of the really great rules was that boys weren't allowed into the girls' dorm and vice-versa.  

But for one night each semester, an exception was made.  In one semester the girls could crash the boys dorm and the next semester it would be the girls turn to host sort of an open house.  And it was an event, believe me!  At least it was for the girls.  We'd clean for days in anticipation and wonder which boys might pick our rooms to check out.  It might sound a little boring by today's standards but I'd like to describe it more as sweet and innocent.

The picture is of me (middle) and two good friends, April and Cindy, on the night the guys dorm was open.  Wayland still has separate dorms for boys and girls, thank goodness.  I wonder if they still practice this fun tradition.      

The Happy List........Pants!

I am thankful for pants!  I know it sounds silly but it's true.  I own a dress but it never gets worn.  I look dumpy in a dress.  There!  I said it! 

I am a huge fan of old movies and I keep the DVR busy recording TMC greats and mostly I enjoy them because of the clothes.  Seriously, women just had it right in the 40's and 50's as far as I'm concerned and I'm happy to see some of those same fashions coming back.  They knew how to look feminine and classy.  I know there were dumpy women back in the day but I have a feeling there were lovely items like girdles to keep the lumps at bay.  I guess I could try one of those...........nah! 

And so I'll be thankful for pants!  Every day I don't have to wear a girdle is a day to be thankful, don't you think?  

My Heart Remembers

A couple of weeks ago, May 13, was the birthday of my mother-in-law, Ruth Virginia Jacobs.   She passed away in 2014 and it left a big hole in our family.  To celebrate her birthday, Bob's dad (Pop) wanted as many of us that could to meet together at her grave site to just remember her together.  And we did.  Somebody told about the time she gave us three newlywed girls sexy lingerie for Christmas.  Only Jinny!  Another told of a time when, on a trip, Jinny slipped in the hotel bathtub but was more concerned with the perceived germs in the tub than she worried about being hurt.  Only Jinny!  Then somebody mentioned the time when the gas meter man asked Jinny to hold on to the dogs while he checked the meter but, as he was walking out of the yard she let them go and they chased him.  Her excuse was that he asked her to hold them "while he was checking the meter".  Only Jinny!!  There are so many more funny stories about Jinny and she would've been the first to tell one on herself.   

But Jinny was so much more!  I had the pleasure of knowing her for 33 years and she became another mom, a spiritual mentor, Nan to her grands, and just a really good friend.  Because of Jinny's example, I wanted to perfect the art of pie making.  She was a really good cook but her pies were so yummy!  Almost every time I bake a pie, I think of Jinny.  And when it came to making a home, there was nobody better!  Her home was not only always beautifully decorated but it was a warm and welcoming place for her immediate family as well as lots of church family and family from Arkansas.  And Jinny was an author.  She could always tell stories better than anybody I know so it just seemed natural when, in her late 70's, she wrote and self published a book based on her life growing up in the hills of Arkansas titled "My Heart Remembers".  What a gift she gave us and now my grand kids!

Happy Birthday, dear Jinny!  Remembering you is easy because it always makes me smile.

     

The Song That Spoke Twice

(I started this a couple of weeks before Christmas but just now finished it)
I heard it again.  The song.  The one that played on the radio just hours after my mom passed away.  

 

 She died in 2005, about a week before Thanksgiving, and I was driving home that evening after being with my dad, making preliminary funeral arrangements and calling friends and family to share the sad and overwhelming news.  The radio was on but I wasn't really listening and I have no clue what station was playing but, as I was driving through Gainesville, it came on.  I heard the words of the song saying "Grandma's home for Christmas" and that's all it took.  I had cried pretty much throughout the day but now the tears really flowed and I almost had to stop driving.   I immediately understood and was so grateful for the message that God was sending me that Mom was now "home", well, happy, and in the midst of God and those loved ones that had gone before.

It felt like my own little comforting and healing miracle.  I mean, it was a week before Thanksgiving so Christmas music hadn't even been playing that much and I'm not sure what radio station, at that time of night, would've been playing southern gospel.  It was the first time I'd ever heard the song and I've not heard it since. 

Till this morning.  The grief of Mom's passing has all but gone away and I simply enjoy remembering, almost daily, who she was to me, the good and the bad, and what it meant to our family to have her for our mom.   So when I heard the song again I thought of her.  But I also thought about how I, myself, am a mom and will become a grandmother at some point in the hopefully not so distant future.

I really hadn't listened to the other words of the song on that sad day back in 2005 but this morning I heard them.  And the voice sang about the influence that "Grandma" had on the family and how, growing up, he had enjoyed going to her house because of the smile she wore on "her tired and wrinkled face" and how she'd squeeze him close in a big hug.
 
I want to be that kind of grandma.  I want my home to always be welcoming and warm when my kids and grandkids come.  I want to be so intimate with God that I will never leave impressions of myself but only that of Him and His Son, Jesus.

So this random song was a comfort in 2005.  And it has now become a challenge in 2013 for me to prepare to be a grandma full of smiles, hugs, and a life that points to God.