My Favorite Time of the Year

Thanksgiving is over and I will say that even though mine was quiet, it was very nice.  Both of my daughters were unable to come home this year so I spent most of the day with my good friends and neighbors.  Spike and I split the cooking chores and between us put together a very good dinner.  We kept it simple with a turkey roast, mashed potatoes and gravy from the roast, corn, dressing, Waldorf salad and cranberry sauce and of course rolls.  Since we were only cooking for three, there weren't a lot of leftovers but I had my fill plus.  I don't know why our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs on these feast days.  So after a respectable time and some good visiting, I excused myself to come home leaving most of the leftovers for their late night supper.  I admit I took a nap which probably wasn't the wisest thing after a meal but I was sleepy and I admit I had a good nap and was feeling chipper when I awoke so got busy getting the tree set up so I could decorate it.

I had put the outside decorations up over the past couple of weeks when I could get a nice day to work outside.  The timers were set and as the sun went down, they clicked on the colorful display.  All the lights had been checked out and everything was working but naturally the night they were to come on for all to see, I had a couple of burn outs so today will have to make the repairs and keep fingers crossed they will work tonight.

Now one thing I refuse to do during this holiday frenzy that is up on us now is the "Black Friday".  It has been years since I've fought the crowds on this day to end up buying one thing on a list of several items and getting irritated at the shoving and waiting in line.  I decided I would go back to my idea of buying throughout the year and finding things on sale during the year and stay home during this day of so called "bargains".   Years ago I got up at 4 AM to get ready to go out with my daughters.  We had to drive to the nearest town about 30 miles away and then when we got there, stood in line, fought the crowds inside, lost each other and think we only came out with one item we were after since they were limited and we just weren't first in line.  I decided right then that this is not the way to shop and never went again.

So now, the frenzy is on as we head towards Christmas.  I'm sure there will be more sales and more enticements but for me I've decided to be old fashioned and make several of the gifts I'll be giving.  I have had to purchase a few but I'm still keeping it simple.  In these hard times, I really can't afford luxurious gifts plus most of my family have what they want so I think it will be a pleasant change to give them something totally unexpected and made with love.  Maybe we can all get back to the real meaning of Christmas.

So today I will be putting the finishing touches on the tree and decorating inside the house.  I will admit when it comes to decorating, I might go a little overboard but I just love all the colors and lights and sounds of Christmas and yet I always make sure that the real reason we are celebrating is prominently displayed.  

I have my grandparents Nativity which I put out each year and have bought or received other Nativities through out the years, so all will be displayed on the library table with the open Bible to the story of the blessed birth.  This has become a tradition with my decorating and always in a prominent area so it can be viewed and the story read.

I know for some this has been a sad and trying year and that there will be an empty chair at the table.  This is the second year of our empty chair but we have not forgotten and try to include him in our holiday celebration.  We have a special ornament on the tree and we have our memories of the past which we seek comfort from.   Fill that empty chair with your memories and know that our loved ones are watching over us and are with us in spirit.

I want to wish all my family and friends a very Merry Christmas and that you will find the love and comfort of this season and celebrate the birth of our Savior.  Remember he is the reason for this season and we shouldn't forgot him at this time.

11-11-11

11-11-11.  A memorable date in our history but also a very memorable one in my life.  It is Veteran's Day and I thank all the veteran's in this nation for their service and dedication.  But it is also the anniversary of the day I married my husband.

He was in the Navy and it just happened that he got a leave during this time and the 11th happened to fall on a Saturday in 1961.  Since he had just returned from a 10 month cruise to the east and would be making another long one, we decided we were going to be married.  We really didn't think too much about it being Veteran's Day until later.

We first met in 1957 and dated off and on for over a year.  Of course, I was only 14 1/2 when we met so was pretty young to his 16, almost 17 years, but we dated and we got pretty serious.  Maybe that is why we broke up as we both were too young to make that big commitment.  My family moved from the area in 1959 and I lost track of him.  

I went to visit my aunt and uncle in Wichita in September 1961 and I wanted to find out about him so contacted his family.  I learned that he had been looking for me as well before he joined the Navy.  I got his address and we began writing and he called me a couple of times and then he got a leave and came to flew in to Kansas City on November 7, where my dad and I went to pick him up.  It had been over 2 1/2 years since we had seen each other, even though we just recently started corresponding and talking on the phone, but there was something that happened when we did see each other that day.  It was if the time had stopped and we had been together always.

We talked and talked and decided since he would be making another long cruise, that we wanted to get married and when he got back we would move to Alameda where he was based.  He was 21 and I was 18 and I think both of our families knew that we were going to get married so really weren't that surprised but maybe because it was in such a short time.  We got our license and talked to the pastor of a church near by and on Saturday, November 11, 1961, we exchanged our vows with just our family present.

He left on November 16, so we only had a few days together but it seemed as if the time we had been apart was forgotten.  We felt as if we were just picking up where we left off.

I wrote a letter to put on the special flower that I will place on his grave today.  In that letter I wrote, "Years ago, the stars aligned and brought us together in ways we didn't know at first, but as we grew and after we met, we discovered how many times in our lives that our paths had crossed and how we both were set on this path to be together."

He was born in southeast Nebraska and I was born in southwest Iowa, not many miles apart.  Our families had made acquaintances before we were born and in later years, the families both moved to Wichita where we lived next door to one another.  Even the years we were apart, there was this bond that we would remember each other and when the opportunity came, I knew I had to find him just as he had looked for me.

I truly believe that it was meant to be that we would be together and for forty eight years we worked together to raise our two daughters, to love and support them and each other.  True, like any marriage, we had our little bumps in the road but the one thing that stayed true was our love for each other and our fidelity to each other.   We were soul mates from the first meeting until the very end.

His passing took a part of me with him and I only wish the fate hadn't been so cruel to separate us after all those years together.  He looked forward to this date as it was a milestone for both of us.  We would have celebrated our 50th anniversary with all the love we had for one another and looked forward to more years together.  He used to say that in this day and age, we were the unusual, we stayed together and honored our vows and fifty years is something to celebrate.

So today, I will celebrate, but it will be with the memories I have of the life we shared.  He was my first and my only true love and he was my friend and my confident, my rock but most of all he was my husband who loved me as much as I loved him.

Happy 50th Anniversary Honey.   ILYTMTYLTT  "Angel"

1961

1961 was a year of excitement and dreams come true for me.  And did you know that it is the only year that can be read upside down and still be 1961.

But 1961 was an exciting year as it was my senior year in high school and I was going to graduate.  It was an exciting time and yet there was a touch of sadness.  For over twelve years, I got up and went to school to learn and be with my friends and now it was going to be all over.  Oh, I would see my friends, but what would I do for the rest of the time.

I knew that I had to get a job and the idea of college was not an option as my family just couldn't afford it.  I considered a trade school but I would have to work to earn my tuition.  And as much as I hate to say it, during that time, there was not as much emphasis on young women going to school.  There were two options, go to school or get married.  That pretty much sums it up and those who went on to school were the lucky ones who could afford it and I will say they also may have had more determination to have a career.  

I wasn't interested in becoming a teacher or nurse, doctor, lawyer or having a professional career.  I wanted to be a secretary and I had the skills to do that.  But going to a trade school would give me a few more which would help with advancement but it was always what I wanted to be.

Through all the excitement of the end of the school year from our Senior Banquet to the commencement, we shared our laughter, our tears and our remembrances.  With the largest class ever to graduate from William Chrisman High School, 523 students faced a new future.

I kept in touch with a few of my closest friends for a while but as we all moved forward with our lives, we began to lose touch.  Just as we all scattered with our school, jobs and even military, we also scattered all over the country.

It was a good time but it was also a bad time during our country but we seemed to forge ahead and do what we had to do.

I made contact with an old boyfriend and as we wrote and talked on the phone, we discovered that the feelings we had years before when we were much younger were still there and on November 11, 1961 we were married.  He was in the Navy so I was one of those classmates that scattered as we moved to California to live until his discharge.

So this year brings back a lot of memories of what was going on in my life fifty years ago.  I was young and looked at the future as being bright and prosperous and I will say that it has had its ups and downs but it has been a good life.

I had two lovely daughters and now have four wonderful grandchildren.  So I've been very prosperous with my family.  

Recently my graduating class held a 50th school reunion.  I was unable to attend due to the distance and cost factor and I also discovered that most of my closest friends had either passed on or had disappeared so no one knew where they were.  It would have been nice to go back to see the school and it was one thing my husband had promised that we would do but we planned to make it a double celebration.

However, in October 2009, we got the diagnosis that he only had a short time and even with treatment, the cancer won the battle and he passed away on January 14, 2010.  The one thing he had looked forward to so much was our 50th anniversary which would be on 11-11-11.  He wanted to do something very special because of the unusual date.  I will not forget though and even if I couldn't attend my 50th school reunion, I will go visit my husband that day and I will remember and make it a special day.

But 1961 will always be a year for me to remember.

A Birthday Remembrance

October 18, 1940 was my husband's birthdate.  He would have been 71 today.  

Over the years the month of October meant Birthdays to our family.  Our oldest daughter was born on Oct. 14 and the youngest on Oct. 28.  So, it was just our thing to celebrate one big birthday for all three of them.  Of course, when the girls were smaller, they did have their own parties for their special days but for the family, it was one big celebration.

Now, he is gone and the girls are scattered so today has been a quiet day but not forgotten by any means.  It is one of those days that will always be remembered and celebrated in one way or another, mainly like it has been today.  Quietly, as we remember him and the birthdays past.

I want to wish him a Happy Birthday and I know he is watching over us and knows we are thinking about him and remembering him today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!   I miss you and love you .

OCTOBER -Facts & Trivia

When October arrives, we usually think it is Fall, even though the official first day of Fall is in September, somehow October just seems like the beginning of Fall, just as we think of December as the beginning of Winter.  But October has its own distinction, somewhere between late Summer and early Fall.  With the roller coaster of temperatures, it eases us into the cooler months as well as giving us a colorful exit of Summer.

October is also noted for some notable and some not so notable celebrations.  October is Class Reunion Month, Frugal Fun Month, National Crime Prevention Month, National Positive Attitude Month, National Cookie Month, National Seafood Month, National Dessert Month, National Popcorn and Popcorn Poppin' Month, National Pretzel Month, National Pork Month, National Stamp Month and National Chili Month.

Of course, we all know about Columbus Day on October 12 and Halloween on October 31.  But did you know there is also Mule Day on October 26 and Punky Night before Halloween.  Punky Night is when the pumpkins are carved and in ancient times, the children would carry the carved pumpkins throughout the village asking for candles to light them up and then they would carry them as lanterns.

More presidents were born in October than any other month: John Adams (1735), Rutherford B. Hayes (1822), Chester Arthur (1829), Theodore Roosevelt (1829), Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890) and Jimmy Carter (1924).

A few interesting facts:

Henry Ford introduced the Model T on October 1, 1908.

The first message sent between two computers in California on October 20, 1966 (The first E-Mail)

The Great Chicago Fire started on October 8, 1871 and lasted for 30 hours.

Thomas Edison had his first successful demonstration of the electric light on October 19,1879.

Sam Houston was inaugurated the First President of the Republic of Texas on October 22, 1836.

The Erie Canal opened for traffic on October 26, 1865

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

The moon in the month of October is called "A Hunter's Moon."

Opal and Tourmaline are the birthstones.   Calendula is the flower. 

Folk Lore Sayings:

Rain in October

Means wind in December.

If the October moon comes without frost

expect no frost till the moon of November.

When birds and badgers are fat in October,

expect a cold winter.

When berries are many in October,

beware of a hard winter.

If ducks do slide at Hallowtide,

At Christmas they will swim.

If ducks do not slide at Hallowtide,

At Christmas they will slide.

Always will there be Twenty-Nine fine days in October

October Quote:

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundred came;

The Ashes, Oaks and Maples,

And those of every name.

Source: George Cooper - taken from World Book Millennium 2000

Happy October!

REFLECTIONS

Today, September 11, 2011, is the tenth anniversary of one of the most atrocious attacks on America ever.  True, Pearl Harbor was atrocious but at the time it was not part of our country but the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th was on American soil and not only were innocent Americans killed, but many who came from different parts of the world, so in a way, it was not only on Americans but on the world as a whole.  Only because one man thought he had the power and was doing God's work.  The only problem was he worshiped a false God, one who has the principles of Satan.

It was a beautiful September morning ten years ago.  As I sat in my living room watching TV waiting for the local station to come on with a weather report before my husband and I started our morning gathering of eggs.  We were living on the farm at the time and he had gone to check the poultry houses so I was alone when I heard the first report.  I was watching the Today show and I can remember Matt Lauer saying, "A plane has hit one of the Trade Center towers."  His voice echoed his concern and the curiosity as to why a plane would hit one of the towers.  They went to a film footage taken by someone, I don't even remember who now, as the shock of seeing the plane hit was so overwhelming.  The Today Show managed to get a live shot of the tower and then with horror, not only to me and millions of people watching but to the cast of the Today show itself, we saw the second plane come in and head straight for the second tower. It was like it was a movie and it didn't seem real at first and yet we knew it was.  

My husband came in and I told him what had happened.  We sat there as they replayed it and talked about it while trying to get information.  Just as we were about to leave, they broke in with the news that the Pentagon had been attacked.

We sat there looking at one another and then to the television screen, not saying a word.  I think we were in shock and numb from the visions before us.  How could this be happening?  What was going on?  Were we under attack and by who?  Were we safe?  What about our children and the rest of our families?  The thoughts racing through our heads were limitless and the fear inside us was nothing like we had ever felt before.

It was a feeling of shock and horror.  It was unbelievable.  How could anyone attack us?  I can remember that it wasn't just us who felt this.  We could hear it in the voices that came from the television set.  They were as numbed and shocked as everyone watching.  It was the unspeakable and it was hard to believe that it had happened even as we watched, it just didn't seem real.  But it was.

We had to go to our gather and rushed through it so we could get back to find out what was going on.  Our propane delivery man arrived just as we finished and was going back to the house.  I went on as my husband stopped to talk to him.  He hadn't heard the news as was out on his route.

I turned on the TV to hear about the plane crash in Pennsylvania and that they thought there could be more attacks in our large cities.  I hurried back to tell my husband, breaking down in tears as I thought about my brother and his family in Chicago, my oldest daughter and her family in Tulsa, his family who lived in the Dallas area and Wichita, Ks. area.  Friends we had over the country and the fear was almost more than I could bear.

We stayed in front of our television set as much as we could during that first day and the days following.  We watched in horror again when the towers fell and again the silence as we could find no words to say.  Our hearts were heavy as we thought about all those innocent victims on the planes, those in the towers, the Pentagon and on the plane that went down.  We prayed and hoped that more had survived.  We prayed that there would be no more planes with terrorists who had no regard for life, not even their own.

The days that followed were as numbing as we watched them clear the rubble from where the two towers had stood.  We saw the ground where Flight 93 went down because of the bravery of the passengers who knew they had to do something and gave up their lives in doing so.

It was a time when all America came together as one.  We had been violated and it affected every single one of us whether we had a loved one or not in the tragedy.  It was our fellow Americans so it was a strike on us as well.  The flags flew, people gathered together and prayed and our country was strong as we forged ahead.

The evil man who thought he could bring us down was hunted down and his henchmen were eliminated and it took longer but in the end he was caught and eliminated as well. But the terror does not end as he seeded the hatred in many of his followers so they continue to fight his war.  Yes, it is a war.  As part of his belief, he felt that anyone who didn't believe as he did was an infidel and needed to be killed.  That is not God's way.  But it is Satan's way.

We have been fighting this evil for ten years and will go on fighting it.  The bonds we made immediately after that horrific day have lessened but as we remember today, perhaps some of them will return to us and we can become strong again and continue this fight.  We can't let the devil win.

I sat quietly this morning listening to the quiet outdoors.  No one was moving about and only the birds were signing, as I imagine they were on that fateful day.  The sun was shining and the sky was clear.  It gave me time to reflect on that day and what has happened since then.

I don't think I was alone in my thoughts and even my prayers for those who died and the families they left behind as it was later when I first heard a vehicle and then the sound of children's voices as they came out to play.  For two hours, the quiet was a time for reflection, for prayer and for a renewed hope that our country would be safe and we would never face such horrors again.

Sometimes I think television has opened up a whole new way we see the world.  During WWII, we didn't have that option.  We relied on the radio and newspapers with reporters who were on the front lines giving us details and descriptions.  The news reels we saw in the movie houses showed the horrors of war too.

But then television made it possible for them to be there and record the events, good and bad.  The assassination of John Kennedy.  People were horrified and again when we watched the shooting of the assassin.  All from the comfort of our living rooms.  How could this be happening?  We asked ourselves then just as we did ten years ago.  We watched the funeral procession of the beloved president.

We watched the news every night about the war in Viet Nam and the demonstrations against it.  We watched as the Trade Center was hit before, the embassies around the world, the ships, the planes.  It was all there before us.

But on September 11, 2001, it was a horror beyond horror and we need to find that strength and courage we had following that attack on our country and stand together as Americans to defend our freedoms and our way of life or those who died on September 11 died in vain.  Our soldiers who have been fighting this battle on foreign lands and who have given their lives because of this atrocity have given them in vain if we do not stand together.

I saw something this morning that I want to end with.  GOD BLESS AMERICA -- AMERICA BLESS GOD!

Septembers of the Past

I think I like September the most of all the months.  It is the only month with so many changes but they are usually subtle and most enjoyable.

As a young girl, it always meant that school would start the day after Labor Day.  I always looked forward to that first day of school so I could wear my new dress and shoes and socks and carry my tablet and pencils and crayons in a sack.  We didn't have backpacks and a plain brown sack worked just as well for all that we needed.  As I got older, I remember adding a ruler, a compass and eraser to the supplies.

And we never knew what the first day would bring.  It could be a warm day, the lingering of the summer as fall peeked around the corner.  Or it might be cool so that a sweater was needed for early in the day.  I don't remember a rainy day but I'm sure there was one or two.

But the excitement and just the feeling that summer was over made September a welcome month.  I could even smell the difference in the air.  It was crisper and seemed fresher.  The cooler temperature made the days pleasant even though it was sad not to have the long evenings of summer.  It seemed that as soon as September arrived, the sun wanted to set early so the time we had after school was really the only play time we had.  Once supper was over and chores done, it was dusk so we seldom went out plus the evenings were effecting a chill with just a touch of dampness.

It wasn't just the start of school and the end of summer, but it was the beginning of the change between summer and winter.  Fall.  That beautiful time of the year when the trees display an array of color and the grasses turn from green to beige, the Mums burst forth in multiple blooms and the best of all, the smell of burning leaves as the smoke curls upward and hovers over the neighborhood.

September is the month that brings these changes and allows us to make that transition from those hot lazy days of summer to the pleasant days of fall and before the hibernation of winter.

To this day when I rake up a pile of leaves, I can hardly resist that temptation to run and jump right into the middle of them.  I can laugh about it now but when I was young, I can remember being told to help rake up the leaves and then either my brother or me would immediately jump into the middle of the pile scattering them again with our laughter and glee until our parents called out to quit playing and start working.

There is no spookier sound than to be walking alone with a wind blowing making the leaves travel down the road with their swishing sound.  You can almost hear the footsteps of the unknown and the heart quickens and the breathing becomes labored until you reach your safe destination and feel the relief that you have escaped the unknown whisperer out there.

But my biggest memory is the burning of the leaves. All the color has disappeared leaving the dry brown leaves littering the ground waiting to be raked up into piles. The crackling of the flames as they devour the dry leaves along with the smoke rising from the burning piles signal fall is here.  And by the end of September as we look forward to October, the air was always heavy with the smoke from the numerous piles of leaves.

The cool mornings and evenings are like a sandwich for the warm day in between allowing us to get out and enjoy long walks, children playing or just sitting on the porch watching, listening and smelling the scents of the approaching fall.  September will always be my favorite month and bring back those many memories of childhood and the innocence it held.  September, the gateway from summer to fall.