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Originally uploaded by Tonja Owens.

Isn’t this just the most unique old house? It is on Hwy. 231 between Troy and Montgomery, AL. I’ve watched it deteriorate over 30 years. It has been a sort of landmark to our family as we travel back and forth to Birmingham. Last year, my son Adam, the photographer, stopped and made a picture of it and had it printed and framed for me for Christmas. It is a treasure. I wonder who lived there and what their lives were like. I would like to have a studio built just like this in my back yard. A little haven. I would have the only key and visitation would be by invitation only!

I went to Birmingham with Don over the weekend. While he was in meetings, I went shopping. Now, Birmingham is one of my favorite places to shop…but not on this trip. I went to several of the malls and also some specialty shops…and I was not a happy shopper, willing to part with my hard earned money to look cute and stylish. Who are the buyers for these large department stores? Obviously, they take kids right out of college, stick thin, and oblivious to the fact that there are middle-aged women who are bigger than a size 4. Where are we to shop for clothes that are current and stylish, not cut down to there, or UP to there? Most of the clothes that are the NEWEST styles…I wore years ago in high school and college. Remember the baby doll dresses, and the Pucci prints? The stores are full of them. Now, I can tell you this…this 53 year young lady will not wear a baby doll dress. Oh, they do have those old lady clothes, to be fair. You know the polyester pants with the long tops and the denim embroidered with cute butterflies and flowers. You know the ones I’m talking about…the ones that look so good with the Easy Spirit shoe. There is one shop in Birmingham that I love to shop in and thank goodness, THEY had things age appropriate and still very stylish. This shop is in Mountain Brook and it is delightful. It is called White Flowers. All the clothes are white or pale gray with black prints. All cotton and sooooo comfortable. And that will be my wardrobe until my next shopping trip. Maybe the other stores will have a better selection by then. If not, there’s nothing like new shoes or new purse or new jewelry to update an outfit from last year. Right?

I am leaving tomorrow to go to Birmingham with Don. He has a hospital board convention to attend. So, I’m going along to do a little shopping, and a little resting.[or a LOT of shopping and a LITTLE rest]. I will also get to spend some time with my son, Ian, who is in grad school at Samford. So, good-bye for a few days…will see you on Sunday.

I read this poem for the first time 30 years ago in my obstetricians office. He had a poster on the wall next to the exam table . I guess that’s a good place to put inspirational literature. You can’t do much else but read it as you are sitting on THAT table, naked except for that so lovely paper gown. You’ve been there, too. I somehow managed to end up in the same exam room many more times over the next 10 years. The poster, of a very pregnant woman, standing in a field of flowers with a little girl kissing her tummy, became faded and torn. Eventually, they took it down. By then, I had memorized the poem and learned to appreciate the words and their validity. But, as time passes, and other things crowd our brains, little things like poems fall by the wayside. I could always remember bits of it…but never the complete verse.
Then, last year, on a trip to Atlanta…I happened to stop in at a World Market. Don’t you just love to read some of the crazy cards they have available now? I can pass quite some time reading the clever sayings and looking at the silly pictures. As I was walking away…this card, on the next aisle jumped out at me. It was just a plain white card with the verse on the front. Not flashy or bold…just a quiet testimony to the peace and grace of God. Of all places for me to find MY poem. But there it was, and as I took it down and read it, all the words came right back to me. I bought all they had…as I am the world’s worst scatterbrain. I can put things away in a safe place, and they stay safe allright…cause I forget where they are. And, as I am continuing on my life path, I forget even more things now. But that’s o.k. I think of it as planning little surprises for myself. I’ll be looking for something totally unrelated, and there will pop up the most amazing things. But, back to the card… I know where one of them is because I have it posted on my bathroom mirror, so I see it every morning and night. I know for sure that God placed me in that exam room with that poster for a purpose. Those were words I would need to remember as a young mother raising my 3 boys. And, I’m just as sure God led me to find it again in Atlanta. Isn’t it wonderful how he directs our paths when we let him..I wonder how many blessings I’ve missed…just by not looking or by being too busy. So, here it is. I hope you can find the truth in these lines, as I have.

God has not promised
skies always blue,
flower-strewn pathways
all our lives through;
God has not promised
sun without rain,
joy without sorrow,
peace without pain.

But, God has promised
strength for the day,
rest for the labor,
light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
help from above,
unfailing sympathy’
undying love.

Kristone

According to The International Journal of Environmental Health, these are the top 5 bacteria magnets:
5. Chair armrests in public places
4. Shopping cart handles
3. Public restroom surfaces
2. Bus armrests and rails
1. Playground equipment

Scary , isn’t it? Keep those anti-bacteria wipes and hand sanitizers handy.
FYI: another tip from this article…never put food items in the child seat area of a shopping cart.
This is where the diapers have been! [I’ve done that so many times…but no more.]