the pink Easter dress

my childhood Easters always, always,
meant a new dress.
it might have been home-sewn by momma,
or sometimes i got a store-bought dress.
but always a new dress.
and new sunday shoes.
once in a while a hat and gloves, too.

in spring of 1969 my paternal grandma was 
in the hospital very very sick.
this was when children under 12 years
weren't allowed in to see patients.  
since i had the gift of living next 
door to her on the farm,
i really missed her 
and desperately wanted to see her.
my folks even checked to see if an 
exception could be made.
but we were told no.

mom suggested i write grandma a letter.
i didn't know what to say.
mom suggested i tell her about my new easter dress.
it was a store bought one that year.
so i did describing the dropped waist,
the row of pintucks down the front
embellished with small pink embroidered flowers. 
then i even drew a picture of it. 

i can remember standing outside on the 
back side of the county hospital
desperately trying to see my tiny
little grandma through the screens
on her hospital window.
i could only see a blur, but 
was assured by one and all
grandma could see me.
they told me she got my letter
and liked the dress. 
it sounded real nice.   

grandma never got to see the dress.
i did wear it for Easter
but i also wore it for her funeral.
momma agreed with me it
was just fine to wear a pretty pink
dress and that grandma would have 
liked the fact i was wearing my best
for her.   

fast forward 42 years.
my sweet momma is lying in a bed,
waiting for Jesus to take her home.
the tumors in her brain have compromised
her memory a bit, but some things she could
still pull out from long ago.
we'd been chatting about a myriad of things.
and then she said, "i remember a dress you had.
you wrote a letter to tell grandma b about it."
i smiled big replying
"you're right i did."
we talked about what the dress looked like.
momma's memory was fuzzy, 
but once i described it, she said she 
knew which one it was.  
we agreed it was one of our favorites. 

 interestingly enough i mentioned 
"i recently found that letter in your desk
mom. i was surprised."
she just lay there, her eyes far away and smiled.
she had kept it all those years. 

happy Easter to my much loved momma
and my darling grandma valentine.
two precious women who gave me love. 
i miss them more than words can say.       
 
     
     

   

optismistic nature.

there was a strange sound overhead.
honk,honk, honk,
geese. 
or ducks.
what?
where are they?

and there they went,
just a small flock heading north.
NORTH?

it's still winter.
it's still february.
the ground hog said we have more winter.

however,
the geese, the daffodils,
and the tulips must have 
gotten a different memo.

there they are proudly doing 
the things God has made them to do.

even with 4 inches of snow on the ground. 
        

"you been sick-a-bed?" uncle ernie

that's what my uncle would ask me
when i was a child and i would get a cold.
the kind that forces you to bed with
a fever, body aches, perpetual runny nose
and voracious sore throat. 
i would miss days of school,
eventually returning with my box 
of Puffs and maybe a small jar of mentholatum.

very rarely did i get the flu.
you know "the flu".
the upset stomach,
both ends expelling whatever
is put in.
sometimes body aches and fever too.

but now the experts say 
the cold   is really   the flu.
huh? 

regardless of the name,
i've enjoyed raw throat,
drippy nose, achey body,
now coughing
this week.
  
i don't care whatcha call it,
just call it away from the earth!
     
      

mysterious mind

once again i'm shaking my head in amazement and wonder.
see i'll be taking a small adventure
in a few months.
so...
have been checking into flight options.
i find a good deal.
yeah!
the airline wants to know if 
i want to sign up to be a rewards member?
hmmm,
i think i already did.
many moons ago.
but...now they want my
crucial info regarding that.
sure thing.
it's in the file labeled credit cards.
or not.
okay it's in my old billfold.
or not.
okay, check the other purses.
nope.
sigh.

alright already.

i will wade through the desk-drawer-of-mysteries.
the one where you put things to keep
because you will need that info some day.
and guess what?
yup, 
2 tubes of lipgloss,
3 paper clipped stacks of 2 year old reciepts,
2 email address lists of former classmates,
3 really nice bookmarks,
1 birthday card,
2 christmas letters,
echinacea care info card,
3 calculators-1 small-2 big,
the valentine "stained glass" window thing,
woohoo,  
and many more pieces of v.i.p. stuff
that just got slipped back in.
:-)
but...........
i found it!
yes!
 i most sincerely did.
honest to pete,
there all along just waiting for me.
ta-da!
those 2 gift cards i received last May
for my birthday!!!
the ones i lost, re-located, whatever.


but,
the rewards info,
only God knows where it is.
truthfully.

"My mind not only wanders,
it sometimes leaves completely." 



   
      
    

   
   

       

and some people wonder what's wrong with society?

rant rant rant!
 
i am frustrated.
totally disappointed.
and saddened all at the same time.

we have a friday night off.
no place we have to be.
great!
"lets go see a movie" i suggest.
brown-eyed-handsome-man agreed.

i check the local(?)
 27-miles-away
theater's selections.
hmm...
lets see, there are 6 movies showing.
i can choose from 5 assorted types---
of  R-rated violence.
violence???
violence!!

i don't want to see violence.

what's entertaining about violence?

being a firm believer of 
"what goes in is what comes out" 
 or...
perhaps this is clearer?
"you reap what you sow?"

in simpler terms:
what you fill your mind with
is what your life will display.  
it defines who you are,
how you respond,
what you become. 

i prefer to follow this:
"fix your thoughts on what is true, 
and honorable 
and right. 
think about things that are pure,
lovely, admirable.
think about things that are excellent 
and worthy of praise." 


violence is not entertainment.



bring back mary poppins please.