JUANITA

This evening, as I sit here at my computer, I am immersed in unbelievable sadness and grief. I was notified this afternoon that my cousin, Juanita Russell McClanahan, has passed away at the Jackson Park Christian Home. She had been a patient there for three years. She had Alzheimer's disease and had not been able to speak or walk for a long time. Nita and I visited her on Tuesday. She was sleeping when we arrived and her daughter, Patti, tried in vain to get her to respond to our presence. However, after the nurses came to turn her and attend to her needs she was more alert and I knelt by her bed to talk to her. She looked at me and did her little "jabber" talk and I would love to think that she understood who I was and what I was saying. The same goes for Nita when she talked to her. We left that day thinking that she probably would not live long but we intended to go back for another visit which will never take place.

For many years Juanita has not been herself. That horrible disease takes away a person's dignity, personality and no matter how intelligent or talented someone may be nothing is apparent other than frustration and anger with an occasional return to loveliness. However, I have spent this entire afternoon going back beyond all of that to the days of my childhood, my youth, and my young adult life. She was such a huge part of that time of my life. In fact, I think I can say without reservation that she was the greatest influence in my life. As a child she took care of me, she took me to the library and taught me to read, she took me on trips, she bought me beautiful clothes and accessories, she loved my children and was so delighted that my first born daughter was named for her. She taught me to love art and gave me entry into the "art community" where I was exposed to people of every persuasion. Visiting art galleries was a rare and enjoyable experience for me as I was introduced to all of the masters at an early age. As much as I loved rock and roll music I learned that Bach, Brahms and Chopin were wonderful and to be enjoyed in their own right. When she married Jack McClanahan we shared a duplex on Greerland Drive and it was so much fun to "play house" with my big sister. We would cook together and talk for hours. As she moved into the role of wife, mother to her two children - John and Patti - and lived in one part of town and I, with my family, lived in another part of town our visits were few and far between but we stayed connected nevertheless. In later life we were able to spend more time together and she was a help when I was caring for Aunt Ree in my home.

I could go on and on and write many stories of things we did, our trips to New York, our beach trips to Daytona and our many afternoons sitting on her porch just talking about life in general but I will just say that my life will have a big empty spot without Juanita and I will think of so many things that I would like to tell her and ask for her advice but she has gone on to be with her husband, her brother and her mother. She will be able to talk again and, boy did she love to talk, and maybe she will paint some more paintings and chisel some more marble into interesting sculptures. I would like to think so anyway. I will miss her and I will always love her and my life is richer for having had her in it. Wasn't God good to let me have her for 77 years? He is good - all the time.

Good night, Sis!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIMBERLY CLINE PIGUE

Today is Kim's Birthday. Just saying her name makes me smile. If I had a week and space in this computer I could tell you just what she means to me and also tell you some really good stories about her. However, with limited space and time I will just condense it all into the statement that she is now, and has always been, a blessing to my life. She was born on a Saturday night in the midst of a party that I was having and I think that she has been partying from that night until now. Even though she is in pain from her health issues and has been through the rigors and horrors of cancer she does not complain and she goes way beyond her limitations to take care of me, her son, her husband and anybody else that needs her. For many years she took care of all of my many needs - physical, financial, things that needed to be fixed or taken care of at my house or with my car or just anything that she thought would help me to be less stressed. Even as competent as she is she still seeks my advice and ideas on many aspects of her life. This pleases me greatly. She and I share a Mother/Daughter Day during Christmas where we follow the same traditions starting with breakfast at the same place each year and then shopping for our gifts. We do a lot of laughing and joking and go home with all of our shopping completed and very tired but happy and ready to continue the holidays. We share the love of Scrapbooking and when we get busy and get to work we can put out a "knock-out" book that is the envy of every person that enjoys the craft. We also have another day during the year - actually two days - when we take her mink coat to storage and then pick it up. We make it a day of lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, going to Tiffany's as if we were going to buy a beautiful necklace or something (the security men in the black suits really do watch us closely) and usually a visit to the Green Hills Kennel to visit Patti McClanahan. I told her the last time that we were like Audry Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's when she had $10.00 and asked what they had for that amount of money. I doubt either one of us had $10.00 but we had fun anyway. I have many stories about Kim - some that would be good to write and some that she would rather I didn't - but the big story is that Kim is the most unusual woman that I have ever met and I am so blessed that God gave her to me to love for 52 years. Once again I have complete evidence that God is good - all the time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM AND I HOPE YOU HAVE MANY MORE AND I AM HERE TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU.

JUST RAMBLING THOUGHTS IN THE SNOW

As the words of an old song from the Broadway Play, Oklahoma, goes "Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Oh, what a beautiful day. I have a beautiful feeling, everything's going my way". Well, I don't know about the "everything's going my way" part but it is a beautiful morning. My eyes could hardly take in the scene at 7:00am when I looked out to snow heavily coming from the sky and covering the ground that just last night had been melting away. The jogging track that is just yards from my apartment and had been black when I went to bed was now totally white with no human or dog tracks in evidence. I think this new blanket of white in Hendersonville is a complete surprise to all of us. Nita reported that Ray was on his way to the dentist and said that it was very slick on the road. Tracey reported that she had made it to her work and was lacking quite a few teachers and her extra room that she opens when the schools are closed was full with a waiting list. She will need a vacation when all of this "winter wonderland" is over. As I said my prayers last night I thanked the Lord that I had this lovely, warm, apartment in which to live and a refrigerator and pantry full of food and there was nothing I needed nor anyplace that I had to go and I was privileged to stay in and be comfortable with the company of Houston. He loves the snow and when we walked yesterday he just had to walk through the deepest piles of snow he could find until his body became very cold and he just practically galloped back to the door to come in. I took him straight to the bathtub to a warm bath and he stood so still and enjoyed the bath to its fullest. After a bath and a treat he got into the chair beside me and wiggled under my warm throw and slept for two hours as I read my book and napped. See how blessed I am these days? I never cease to thank God for all that He has done for me and continues to do for me every day.

It seems as though snow causes everything to change - schools are closed, meetings are cancelled, no shoppers in Target yesterday except for Nita, a couple of women and myself. No problem finding a parking place anywhere that we went. I had to cancel an eye doctor's appointment and a luncheon this week. Hopefully, we will be able to celebrate Kim's birthday on Saturday with a brunch at Mimi's Cafe here in Hendersonville. Looking at TV and seeing the hardships that the snow and ice storms are causing in New York, Boston and all around the northeast as well as the west it makes you think that maybe God would like for all of us to stop or slow down for a while and reflect on His handy work and our lives. Are we all living too fast? Are we spending too much time on the unimportant and neglecting the really important things in life? I know that when I was a young wife and mother trying to juggle all of the items in my schedule I missed a lot of life that I should have enjoyed. Thinking back on my time in that small house bursting at the seams with four girls, my husband, friends, family, etc there just never was enough time. Time is one thing that does fly by and the next thing you know you are at Act 3 of your life (at least I am) and I, for one, am trying to take advantage of my time in a good way. As the saying goes "you can't go home again" and I know that the past is the past and can't be changed but I can embrace every day as a new page to be written carefully, intelligently, and with lots of humor and joy. It just takes a new mindset to "let go and let God" and that comes with the knowledge that God is good - all the time.

Enjoy the snow. Enjoy the leisure time that you may have during this time. Read a good book. Make a pot of chili or soup. Raise the blinds to the ceiling and let the beautiful scenery permeate your entire atmosphere. It won't be long before you will be saying "sure is hot today, must be 100 degrees in the shade".

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR - 2011

Here it is January 3, 2011 and this is my first post on this Blog. I have tried many times to sit down and write and nothing came. Have you ever had that experience? It is most unusual for me because writing has always come easy for me and my mind is usually running rampant when I start writing on this site. Maybe I am just tired from Christmas and all of the festivities. Actually, I know I am tired. I had a wonderful holiday season and everything went just perfect and my daughters and my friends went that extra mile to insure me a good time. Nonetheless, a lot of going, doing, eating, cleaning, shopping, staying up later than usual, etc. at my age adds up to the sum of TIRED. Today I tackled my office - papers, papers, papers on my desk and on my table. Receipts, notes, cards, pictures, you name it and it was all there cluttering up the entire room. I went through every single thing and what needed to be saved went in the file, what needed to be destroyed went into the garbage and the rest of the mess I dealt with one way or another. Now, I look around and I'm thinking that I probably got rid of something that I will need. Danny Wiseman, my son-in-law, told me when I was packing to move that if I hadn't used something in six months put it in the dumpster. I believe that his philosophy is good and I am trying not to accumulate the clutter that I had at the house before I moved. My decorations were beautiful here in the apartment. The girls came the Sunday after Thanksgiving and went through all of my storage boxes and put up a beautiful tree - smaller than the ones I used in the past but pretty. They did other decorating and my apartment was cheerful, pretty and very festive. This past Sunday they came and took it all down, packed it away, and put the boxes back in the storage closet. Now, it looks pretty but it also looks drab and not nearly so colorful. Funny how Thanksgiving comes and the holidays begin and before you can blink your eyes its all over. Maybe it doesn't go so fast for people younger than I but at my age I can tell you, without reservation, that each day starts and ends in just minutes. Looking at my calendar from last year as I made my notes on my 2011 calendar I was amazed at how quickly 2010 went by and all the things that happened during the year.

Our Cline Christmas Party this year, on the 23rd of December, was held at Nita's house and attended by 39 people. That number is just my descendants!!! Can you believe that Billy and I had 4 daughters and now we have grown to that number? I was excited to meet my two new great-grandchildren, Patrick Ray and Nicholas Drew Maddux. They are beautiful children. Of course they were overwhelmed with all of the people that were packed into that house but they were well behaved and seemed to be very happy to be there. Last year I, with Kim's help, compiled a book of poetry for the great grandchildren. This year I gave each family a book of Twas the Night Before Christmas recorded with my voice. They seemed to be very appreciative of the gift. I told them that when I was no longer here to read the story to them at Christmas they would have the book and could pretend that I was there. Needless to say, my girls do not like my saying things like that but my mortality at my age is becoming quite real to me. That is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a good thing. Christmas at Kim's house on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was so much fun. The biggie this year (besides the two new children) is that Patrick and Mikka became engaged on Christmas afternoon. He gave her a ring, she said yes, and they are making plans for a March wedding. I am so happy. I have prayed for Patrick to find a good woman for a wife and he has found one who meets all of the criteria. Also, in addition to Mikka we get her 5 year old daughter, Joesea, who is just so very precious and has such a darling personality. My New Year's Eve this year was probably the quietest that I have had in my adult life. Billy and I always had a big group of friends that we went out with to eat, dance and ring in the new year. This year Paul and I went to Woody's Steak House, had a delicious meal, came home and watched a little TV and he left and I was in bed with my dog, Houston, at 10:00PM. I did wake up, watch the ball drop at midnight, heard some fireworks outside my window and went right back to sleep. Times change don't they? I always called Aunt Ree at midnight and she would answer the phone with a cheery Happy New Year. I have called her from nightclubs, restaurants, people's houses, you name it and when that clock struck 12:00 I was dialing her number. I guess I will always miss her and my mother. Holidays bring out the nostalgia in everybody I'm told.

I started out with a blank calendar, with the exception of some appointments and birthdays, and was thinking that I don't have any commitments this week or next when suddenly after today I find that I have a luncheon with Courtney and Bobbie Wiseman tomorrow, and something that I must do every day the rest of the week - even Saturday when I have an East High Board Meeting. Looks like 2011 is going to be another year of going places, seeing friends, enjoying my family and I am ready to embrace the year with all of the excitement and happiness that I can have. God was so good to me in 2010 that I just know that He has good things in store for me in 2011. I know that because God is good - all the time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY THAT IS READING THIS BLOG AND I PRAY THAT 2011 WILL BE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY YEAR FOR ALL AND THAT WE WILL HAVE PEACE AND LOVE.