ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

Today I am going to write about endings and beginnings. I am an Oprah fan and have been glued to my TV at 4:0o PM each afternoon since she announced her retirement from daytime television. Yesterday, was the end of her show as we know it. I was delighted at the dignified, professional way that she ended 25 years of interviewing and teaching (as she called it) about life and how to live it without letting it get you down and making you feel like a failure. Sometimes in my life I have felt like a failure. I did not know how to be a wife when I married. I did not know how to be a mother when I had my first child or, for that matter, any of them. Each day was a learning experience for me. Some days I passed the test and some days I failed. Be that as it may, the days of raising children came to an end and the new beginning was the grandchildren and now the great-grandchildren. One thing that Oprah taught me along this line is that you never quit learning and you can always help someone else that is beginning where I have ended.

Well, on the subject of TV endings and beginnings - I was a fanatical watcher of Dancing With the Stars. My choice came in second but I had a soft spot in my heart for the man that won and I am happy that the show ended on a happy note. I hope that the people that participated on that show learned a lot and as their part ended they went on to a new beginning with wherever their life takes them. The same thing is true of American Idol which was another TV show I became quite enamored with. I loved the young man that won and I was so happy to see him with the title of American Idol last night as the show ended. His life will be changed from now on and his new beginning will include lots of singing, recording, entertaining and, hopefully, making lots of money.

I was invited by my daughter, Corinne, to accompany her to Dyersburg, TN to my granddaughter's home to attend the Kindergarten Graduation of my great-grandson, Connor Cline Pigg. We arrived there and had a nice visit, a delicious supper and then left in a flurry of gathering up the other two boys and their shoes and things and hopping in the car for the ride to the school where Connor attends, Christ Classical Academy. The program was delightful. The children in caps and gowns marched in to the playing of Pomp and Circumstance and each one had something to say - a Bible verse or telling their favorite part of Kindergarten. They sang their class song which was Trust and Obey and that, I thought, was so special. Each child walked across the stage to receive their diploma, pause for a picture with their teacher and then another picture as they moved the gold tassel to the other side of their cap. Connor did everything that he had been prompted to do with much seriousness and determination. Oh my goodness, what a beautiful, special, precious child he is. After he, with great patience, allowed his picture to be taken many times we went home where my granddaughter, Leslie, had prepared a beautiful celebration table of balloons, pictures, cookies and cup cakes with Connor's school colors and the initials of the school. She also had made little roll up sandwiches to look like a diploma plus strawberries stuffed with a cream cheese filling and topped to look like a mortar board. Connor graciously received his gifts and expressed his appreciation and the party was over. He had ended his life as a little boy student and will begin in the fall to be a part of the real school world as he grows up very fast, completing each grade. I do hope that I am able to celebrate his graduation party when he ends his schooling before beginning his higher education life. You see when one door closes another one truly opens.

There will always be endings and there will always be beginnings because this is the plan that God has set in motion from the time of our birth. Sometimes we have to search for our new beginnings because we did not plan the endings but we will always find our way because we know that God is good - all the time.

MY MOTHER'S DAY WAS PERFECT

It is unbelievable that I am sitting here writing on this blog so soon after the "random thoughts" blog, but as I mentioned in that blog yesterday was Mother's Day. I just can't let that occasion go by without talking about My Mother's Day. My day began with telephone calls from each daughter - some in the car on the way to church, some just having breakfast, others doing their regular Sunday morning chores but the point is that they each took time to pick up the phone, dial my number and greet me with "Happy Mother's Day". Now, can you think of a better way to start a day? Neither can I. My order of day was coffee, toast with Houston, get dressed for church and as the weather was warm and predicted to be warmer I had a couple of decisions to make. I drove to Madison Church of Christ and drove around the parking area twice hoping that I could find a "Senior Citizens" spot (yes, one advantage of getting old) but to no avail so I parked and walked into the building and on to my Sunday School Class. I have never studied Revelation before - never wanted to - scared of it - not interested, etc. but Nila Sherrill has given me a whole new perspective on the book and I am loving the study. Worship Service was good. Phil, the preacher does a good job every week. I wish that we would sing a few songs from the "old days" but that seems to be beyond our Praise/Worship Minister so I have given up on that subject. After church I enjoyed lunch with Jacque, Wayne and Jeffrey and then came back to Hendersonville. Houston and I took a long walk and I realized that it is fast becoming Summer. He and I was glad to get back inside to the air conditioning and a drink of cold water. Next comes the purpose for this blog - MY MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATION. Corinne and Mark picked me up and we drove to Anchor High Marina. Corinne bought two balloons that were heralding the purpose of our dinner - Happy Mother's Day they announced. We were given the best table at the restaurant - inside the building but by open windows right by the lake. One by one the girls and their husbands arrived and Patrick, Mikka and Joesea with Kim. We numbered 13 at this table. I was given gifts of money from each family because I am going to take a wonderful trip in June and money for travel extras is not in my budget. Well, let me tell you this, they were so generous that I am embarrassed. I plan to eat the best dinners on the trip and I want to buy me one really significant treasure souvenir while I am in New York City or Philadelphia or Atlantic City which are the main cities on the agenda. I had said many times that it made me sad to think I would never see New York City again because travel to that place is too demanding and my stamina is not up to it now, but this time I will be seated on a sight-seeing bus and get to view all of the places that I have visited in the past in the easiest manner possible. Of course, I won't get to walk the majestic halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Guggenheim Museum or see the fantastic merchandise in FAO Schwartz, or Tiffany's but I will ride by and remember. My trip will be enhanced a thousand times because of the generosity of my family. I announced that I would like to make a speech shortly before we adjourned but I didn't do it. Why did I choke? Well, that is exactly what I did do - choke!! I could feel my throat tightening and my eyes filling and I could feel the tears coming to the surface. To end this perfect day with a bunch of words of gratitude accompanied with tears would have been a travesty. So, I just said thank you and let it go at that. I am pretty sure that each one of those beautiful people looking right at me knew what I meant, knew what I thought, knew that I loved them beyond belief and knew that I prayed each day for their health, their safety and their happiness. I give their lives to God with my prayers because I know He has a plan for each of them and I know that plan will be good. Why do I know this? Because God is good - all the time.

Random Thoughts This Saturday Morning

The grass is green and shiny with dew, the trees are leafed out with tender green leaves, the sky is a vivid blue with little puffs of white and the sun that has decided to get up is shining in my window. It is very quiet here at my apartment. Isabella (the 2 year old across the hall) is obviously still asleep because by this time she has usually had two or three of her "terrible twos" episodes. No dogs are barking - not even Houston who has had his bites of toast and now gone back to sleep for another nap. So you see, with all of this quiet solitude it provides me with time to reflect and think about life in general.

This has been a week of ups and downs, laughs and frowns, happiness and sadness - many emotions. My week started with the news that one of my friends had lost her 47 year old daughter to death. Her daughter, Monica, like my daughter, Kim, had followed each others progress through the head/neck cancer malady, even sharing the same radiation oncologist and chemo oncologist and surgery doctors at Vanderbilt. Both daughters were pronounced "cancer free" and both were still suffering the ravages of radiation and chemo to their bodies. Monica, however, had a stroke and has been battling that for a couple of months. Saturday she took a nap and woke up in Heaven. Good for Monica - Sad for her mother, Joanna, and for the rest of us that knew and loved her. After arranging food for the family at the funeral home and being a member of the audience at the funeral I moved on to the rest of my week's activities. My volunteer work at Vanco Manor Nursing Home is such a rewarding activity. I go into the rooms that are assigned to me and take away the dead flowers from the previous week, wash out the bud vase that has a Madison Church of Christ tag around the vase, fill it with fresh colorful flowers and if the patient wants to talk, I talk. If the patient wants to be left alone I quietly leave. If the patient wants to cry I put my arm around her and we pray. Sometimes we tell each other a joke or an incident that we deem to be very funny. This takes two hours of my day once a week and if they, the patients, enjoy it as much as I then it is a great way to spend a Monday morning.

I went back to my eye doctor and after the most thorough examination through every kind of weird looking machine you can imagine he pronounced my eye surgery to be successful. All scars that were on my eye are gone and the surface is smooth as can be. I do not have to go back to him for a year. The macular degeneration is the same and that is a good thing (the no change part not the disease). I have to wear dark glasses when in the sunlight or even the glare of a cloudy day. My regular glasses that I use for reading may need to be changed but that is for another doctor to decide. Anyway the door is closed for now on eyesight problems!!!! A praise that all went so well, I say.

My committee that is planning a 60th Anniversary Class Reunion met this week. We really didn't have a lot of business to conduct but we all brought a sack lunch, discussed our plans for the event, visited with each other as we ate our sandwiches and parted with plans to meet next month and "really get down to work". These people are so dear to me. Some of the members of this committee were people I went to elementary school, junior high school and graduated with in 1951. Isn't it wonderful to have friends that you have loved for 60 years? I find that this condition does not exist for a lot of my friends or even for my children. We were a different breed of children in the "good old days" I guess. Another praise for good friends.

Speaking of school, East High in particular, I went to East last night as a guest at the Dinner to Honor the Graduating Seniors. My friend, Rip Ryman (President of Alumni Association) and I sat for several minutes prior to the event and talked to the principal, Steve Ball. He is such a fascinating man and has made such a difference in the school since he came from Chattanooga to work at East Literature Magnet School. He told us that the school will be dropping the Literature word from it's name and become East High Magnet School. This is to reflect that it is a true magnet school, admissions governed by a lottery drawing (they have a long waiting list) and their programs are hard and extensive. The graduation rate is 99 percent and 90 percent of the graduates go to college. I met the Salutatorian who boasted a Vanderbilt shirt and has a scholarship to the university where she will study pre-med. My role at this dinner was to speak to the graduates about the scholarship program and to present a certificate to the Scholarship Recipient who happened to be the Valedictorian of the 2011 graduating class. She is a delightful young woman who will go far in this world. The whole evening was a grand experience to be invited to walk the hall and sit in the place that I spent so much of a happy childhood while looking at a totally different environment from what it was at that time. I consider this school, the programs, the teachers and most especially the dedicated principal to be a praise also.

So you see this whole blog has been just as the title implies - random thoughts. No real theme, no real purpose, just things I'm thinking and sharing with whomever takes the time to read this blog. I need to say to some of you that have written me encouraging me write a book that I started a book years ago and just don't seem to be able to be consistent. Maybe one day I will do with the book like I do with this blog - sit down and just start writing and not know when to quit. I do know that now is the time to quit this session and say to all of you that tomorrow is Mother's Day. I love the way that my children honor me, not just on Mother's Day but every day. I am the most blessed of all women. On Mother's Day, however, I give so much thought to my mother whom I miss every day since she died on May 13, 1988. Nobody loves you like your mother except God. They both love unconditionally and that gives me great comfort and allows me to say to you that God is good - all the time.

FINALLY TELLING YOU ABOUT OUR EASTER

Good morning. Yes, it is raining and dark and gloomy and one of those days that makes you say "I believe I will lie here another hour and then get up". However, Houston does not share my laziness and he is ready for his toast. It was called to my attention by my sweet sister-in-law, Rosemary (is Rosemary one word or two? I have never decided) that I omitted a blog about Easter. I apologize to each of you that enjoy my family stories and will tell you that our Easter this year was "different". By that I mean that we did not have the entire family, nor the big yard for egg hunting and game playing that we had for the last 20 years at Freda Villa. The Maddux family went to Jackson, MS to have Easter with Chris, Ashley and the children. They had a wonderful time and Chris made the week-end fun filled and happy for all of them. The rest of us went to our respective churches for Easter Services and then met at Kim's house for our celebration. Each family came dressed in their Easter Finery and kept dressed in it until all the pictures had been made. (The men and children love this part). Then, and only then, were the children allowed to put on their play clothes. Kim had decorated her home so beautifully and also had tables set up on the deck covered with green and orchid colored cloths. She used those two colors in the plates, cups, napkins and serving dishes. The day, which had been predicted to rain was warm, semi-cloudy but enough sun peeking through those clouds to make for a happy scene. Everyone enjoyed being on the deck and watching a big barge go up the river. The children were fascinated. After a feast of delicious food prepared by all of us we adjourned to the front yard for the "Big Hunt". The children had been patiently playing ball in the back yard, safely out of sight of Corinne and Cassie (the egg hiders) and when they were called to the front yard with their cute baskets they were told to sit down for instructions. Big groans went up from those five little people because they wanted to get on with the hunt. When they were turned loose they screamed, laughed, knocked each other over as they would dive for the same egg and we loved the sight of those happy children running in all directions. Then came the time to count the eggs - who had the most, who had the golden egg and how much money or candy get they collect from their eggs. Of course there were tears because "he got more than me" or "I found that egg and she took it away from me" and, well, you know all the wails and gripes that accompany a group of cousins in competition. After the hunt and the games, and the prizes had been awarded everybody began to gather up their dishes, their clothes, their tired, sleepy children and just as everybody left the rain that we had worried about came in abundance. What a wonderful day. We had started the day with a celebration of the risen Savior with hymns, prayers and praise and then spent the rest of the day celebrating with our family and friends with laughter, good food, fun and so much love. Just makes you know with all your heart that God is good - all the time.