Summer’s over.  For me, at least.  And, now it is straight on into fall.  (Even though the stores have been selling Fall stuff since Valentine’s Day…NOW is the appropriate time to start the Fall sales push.)  How do I know it’s time?  Well, school starting is one reason.  And, the next is, our family had their end-of-summer Birthday Bash!!!  As usual, it was a wonderful afternoon and evening!

We swam for a while, at least some of the crew did.  As usual around these parts, it was hot as blue blazes!  After (almost) everyone arrived, we really enjoyed visiting and catching up.  It had been a while since I had time to sit and visit with Will (Tara’s hubby).  And, then Patty, Joy and I got dinner ready.  Patty and Mike came to be with us, as well.  Don brought in a Boston Butt, chopped, and a Smoked Turkey, that Ian did a masterful job of carving.  He also brought Baked Beans, Slaw, and Homemade Strawberry Shortcake!  I added to that Chips and Spinach Dip, my famous (just with my family) Cheesycornchilitomato Dip, homemade Pimento Cheese, large Fruit Salad with dressings, and Brownies.  Lots of drinks, tea, lemonade,ginger ale, Grapico, Shasta Orange, And the regulars Dr. Peppers, real and diet, cokes, real and diet….and lots of good ‘ole water!  We feasted. We laughed. We had a ball!  And, so fun to have2 babies to watch this year!  Oh, my! How good God is!  And, no one enjoyed it as much as Pop!  We celebrated his 85 th birthday, as well as Adam’s, Mike’s, Patty’s, Tommy’s, Mine, Joy’s, and Ian’s.  We’ll get the rest in the spring.  We missed Lori, but she was feeling bad, she’s been sick several days.  She needed the rest so she could be at work next week.

My boys…Alex, Adam, Ian, Levi…

Here comes Tommy and Pop…

…and Joy…don’t know which is off kilter – Joy or the door…

Hugs all around…again…

A little hot-tubbing…

Someone’s getting tired…and hungry !

Time to eat…

Presents…

More smiles and fun….Adam and John Thomas…

Alas, eyes are getting sleepy, and Will and Tara have a ways to drive…so pull out the car seats, and load ’em up….

And, this Birthday Bash is at an end…

A short night at The Creekhouse, and then a yummy breakfast cooked by the Breakfast Master, himself…

 After breakfast, Ian suggested a swim…which gave he, Don and I a chance to talk a bit.  And, all too soon, it was over.  A hug in the driveway…a honk of the horn at the street and he’s on the way.

And, one more Birthday Bash/ Family Fun Week-end is over.  Nothing to remember but blessings.  Nothing to fret over, nothing to dread.  Even the things that gives us pause, will work out fine.  We know that whatever troubles us will be turned for the good by our Father.  He promised.  Oh, the blessing of a family!

And we know that it is “God who gives us these times of joy.”

Nehemiah 12:43

A few weeks ago, I posted on my blog and FB about a wonderful birthday party I had for a sweet young girl here at The Creekhouse Pool.  My sweet friend, Juliann, whom I do not get to see very often anymore, posted that it would be fun to have a party here to celebrate her retirement.  She has been a teacher for about 100 years….not really, cause we are the same age, but she taught all of our friends children and mine and then she moved over to teach in GA. for awhile.  She is just a born teacher.    So, we settled on a date and decided to invite some of our friends from ‘way back’.  You know that term- ‘way back’?  We were all young girls…newly married and newly parents and newly working…and we bonded in church together at Southside.  We went to Sunday School together and we taught choirs together and we eventually taught Sunday School,and Bible Drills and Missions and choirs.  And, everyone’s children became our children.  We watched them grow and struggle.  Some headed straight, some took the wrong path, but eventually, they all remembered their ‘training’ and got in line.  When one was struggling in school, we all gave our opinions.  Some of our friends were actually the other children’s teachers.  Which made for a hard year for the kids…they could get away with nothing.  And eventually, they graduated and we celebrated with each Mom as they graduated from college!

And so, those of us who were able to make it, gathered at my house and had a wonderful time catching up on each other’s news and things that had transpired.  We talked of children (they would hate to be called that now) who are engaged to marry, and those who have just married.  We talked of grandchildren and how different things are now than when we were raising our own.  We talked of friends of friends and those we had lost touch with.  We talked of parents and those who are no longer with us.  We remembered old days at church and at school with our children.  All but 2 of the group have been in the education field and 3 of us have retired.

We ate yummy food…compliments mostly of Juliann (in white shirt, above)…I just did the fruit and drinks…she did all the rest. We laughed and laughed and talked some more about grandchildren…Shea had great pics on her phone…and the rest of us showed our pics, too.  We talked of spouses and anniversaries.  Three of us will have 40 years invested in matrimony next year!!!  In just this little group, we have children who are bankers, and doctors, and artists, and photographers, and film work, school teachers, and merchants and ministers, and accounting, and computer programming managers and missionaries, and some others I’m not exactly sure of…but I’m sure it is of great importance.  Some are still in school and others will be starting back to school soon for new careers.  Wow!  Are we blessed or what?

We sat through a rain shower and didn’t even know it until we went outside to look at the pool.  That’s hard talking, y’all.  Jan had to leave before we got a group picture…

Shea….Pamela….Tonja….Juliann…..Cindy…..Tina…..and Jan (not pictured)

It was a wonderful afternoon…just catching up.  Isn’t it wonderful the way we are with ‘real girlfriends’?  Not those we were just aquainted with.  The things that were funny once, still are.  And, the things you share through the years have built a bond that time can’t disturb.  Hard times, deaths, serious illness, heartaches, all seem so much the easier when shared with someone who cares…really cares…about the outcome.  These are some of the friends who tell the stories of my life….they watched me struggle….they watched me stumble….they helped me stand again.  As, I have for them.  And the uniting comes from this place…the love of God, which ties us together and joins our hearts in friendship…for keeps!

At the risk of losing all of my readers (the faithful few, I call them)…I am going to post about Levi again.  Yes, I am.  I can’t help myself.  You all just need to know this and I just need to share it.  It has always been one of my problems to keep my mouth shut.  I tend to tell my friends everything.  Yet, you seem to love me anyway.  I’m just so glad I can share my heart with you.  But, if you are tired of hearing about this wonder child…this boy among boys…this sweet angel, Levi…I will understand if you skip this post.   But come right back, OK?  And, just don’t tell me about it.

…INTERRUPTION…

I just lost 4 whole paragraphs!  Have you seen them?  I have no idea under God’s beautiful blue sky where they went!!!  I was busy typing along and looked up and there was nothing there.  Disappeared, I tell you!   WHOOSH!  Gone!  I just find it hard to understand that I can not get a grip on this computer.  (So, OK, you may not have the same trouble understanding it…but I do not want to hear about it. thank you very much!)  What would cause it to just eat up my paragraphs?  Did it not like the first one?  It stayed.  Where do they go when they go?  This bothers me.  Do they end up in Greece or Rome or Italy and just pop up randomly on some one’s computer?  Are they going to show up in some high-flying boardroom today and get some poor employee in trouble?  Do they just go up, up, up, in orbit and fly around and around and around the world?  I really wonder these things.  I did NOT delete them, so they are still written somewhere.  Right?  I don’t know.  I just don’t know.    …END OF INTERRUPTION…

OK.   Back to my post.  Last week, I was able to do one of the things I have wanted and prayed for.  I was able to keep  sweet Levi while his parents worked.  I am keeping him 3 days a week and his other grandmother, Mary, is keeping him the other two.  What fun we had!  Nothing I had to do but sit and hold him and look at him and laugh at him and sing to him and rock him to sleep and then watch him sleep!  What a job, huh?  I know there are those of you who do the same.  And I know that those of you with grandchildren think YOURS is the cutest/smartest/most wonderful grandchild ever.  And, you know what?  They are!  That’s the magic thing about grandchildren…all of them are  right up there at the tippy top of wonderfullness! (Is that even a word?  Should be)  Spellcheck said ‘NO’.)

So, on his first day staying at Lulu’s house (that’s me, Lulu)…here is a collage of faces that makes me laugh and smile and thank God for this gift.

I have tried to click on this pic to make sure it will enlarge.  But, when I do, the whole picture goes away and I have to upload it again.  But, Alex said it would enlarge, so I’ll have to trust him.  Enjoy!

Oh…I might as well show you this one, too.  It was made last week, too.  But, trust me on this…it’s better if you do NOT try to enlarge this one!

You do know, don’t you, that water makes things seem much wider than normal….just saying….

  I found this delightful piece of art in some of my picture files.  The prayer written within made me laugh..especially a few of the words…you’ll know which ones.   There was no information other than what is included on the piece.  And, try as I may, even with a huge magnifying glass, I can not read the name written sideways at the bottom of the card.  So, I do not know who to give credit to.  If you do, please pass along the info, so I can give the artist credit.  And, he/she deserves to be credited for this amusing piece.  Enjoy!

PS.  Please take no offense that I wrote the words to the prayer out for you.  I am sure none of my readers have any need of a magnifying glass, and could probably read this just fine with no aid whatsoever.  However, I had to use my handheld magnifier to read the instructions on the box of Rice-a-Roni tonight.  I’m now getting the large print Sunday School books. I already wear TRI-FOCALS!!!   This is not something I am proud of, in fact, it distresses me greatly.  However, I really did enjoy the look on the cashier’s face in Michael’s the other day when I pulled the glass  out to read the expiration date on my coupon!  (I tend to lose things if they are small and inconspicuous…so this magnifier is 10 inches high…and the glass is 4 1/2 inches across).  She tried to stifle a smile.  I fixed my steely glare on her and said, “Be very careful, my dear.  My grandma told me this would happen if I laughed at her.  I laughed anyway, and look at me now.”  Then, I told her that my coupon had expired.   She gave me my 40% off anyway.

Dearest God,

One day I will be old.  One day my body will be six inches lower than it is now.  But, before I sag…will I have learnt how to be a decent human being?  Can I…through practice…not become selfish, cranky, arrogant, grumpy?  I don’t mind becoming a saggyugly,wrinklycrinkly lady…if in the meantime I learn how to act stunningly beautiful.       AMEN

Forgive me, please, if I don’t share with you how many more inches I have to go.

This is the day, 79 years ago, that my Mom was born.  She was born and lived in North Carolina until she married Pop and moved to Alabama.  And here she stayed until she moved to her heavenly home.

I think of her so often, and I know many others do also.  When you speak of her to me, it is as if I am seeing her again through your eyes.  When I hear you say that you remember her kindness, or her dedication to her church and missions, or when you tell me of special notes she wrote to you…it reminds me again of how blessed I was to call her Mom.  She loved to pick out special gifts for others, and I could not even begin to tell you how many of her most delicious pound cakes she made to give to friends she loved.

I have written of her often on this blog, and you have so kindly read and commented accordingly.  But, I  have nothing new to add today.  I’ve probably said all there is to say several times over…(I have a tendency to do this more and more the older I get).  That’s OK…I’m just ‘taking after’ her…she did it, too.  🙂

In my files of things I like, I have this poem.  I am sorry that I do not know who to attribute it to.  But, whomever it was who wrote it, did an excellent job.  My Mom lived her dash well.  And, I am grateful to have been there to see so much of it.  And, I am grateful that my children and Joy’s children were there to see how she lived it as well.  As I have said before…she was a wonderful example and we were blessed to live in her heart…as she lives on in ours.

HOW YOU LIVE YOUR DASH

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years. 

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth…
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars…the house…the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard…
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile.
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy’s being read
With your life’s actions to rehash…
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?