Sunday Afternoon Musings...

I'm very blessed, very blessed indeed. Sometimes it's all too easy to play the whoa as me game. That happens when we focus in too much on ourselves. Sometimes we have to stop and look out a bit further to remember how well we're doing.

I don't want to be nor do I ever think I have been the type of person who focuses on what's wrong. I usually always try to find wants right.

But sometimes it's all too easy to have that pity party. I think especially when you're getting older and you realize that there isn't as much time to make things right anymore. Maybe, just maybe, perhaps...this is it! Maybe, just maybe, perhaps this will be all there is.

I won't own a house, I don't have money put away, I won't be taking any fancy vacations...

But what I do have is so valuable. I have been married to a wonderful and loving man for over 30 years. I have 4 children who are doing well and who love me and like to spend time with me. I have a terrific father who is a part of our lives and who adds so much. I have three amazing grandchildren who love to visit. And I have a great son-in-law whom I am so proud of. We are all healthy. And when we get together we have such a good time full of laughter. I love to laugh and I love it when we are all laughing together. I wouldn't trade any of the previous paragraph for what I have just written. I value so very much all of these precious people in my life and I value so very much all that we share together!!

The Adventures of Amy and Alley...(part five)

Amy and Allie have a definite routine they like to follow. Like children they are most comfortable when they know what is coming next.

Mornings are always the same. The heater goes on at 6:45 and it's time for Amy to wake up her peeps. On the bed she jumps with many meows. Alley hangs in the hall, waiting patiently. Amy pesters until her demands are met. When Amy and I come out into the hall Alley is most excited. She may be 77 in people years and her body definitely is, but her spirit is around... oh, I'd say 4 years old. She is happy and excited that the day is about to begin. Me, myself, well I'm not quite there yet.

Amy and Alley greet with sniffs on the noses and down the stairs we all head and into the garage. We collect the can of dog food and off to the kitchen we go, single file. Alley is such the lady, her patience is to be admired. Amy does not like to wait even two seconds. So while Alley lays low on the floor Amy is meowing on the sink as I open the dog food. Half a can for Alley at breakfast, into the dish, and onto the floor. And then Amy finally gets what she has been clamoring for, she gets to stick her head into the can and lick the top of the other half. She can do this because I have a can opener that does not leave a sharp edge and because I am easy. She enjoys her licks while I make coffee. Allie goes outside, comes back in, coffee is made, dog food can is put away, and Amy's chows are poured.

Now it is time to make hubby's breakfast and to pack his lunch, drink coffee, and read the paper. Pretty much in that order. Allie has headed back upstairs and Amy waits for Gramps. She loves to sit on his lap every morning and waits anxiously for his arrival. Finally he comes in and he his greeted with many loud, demanding meows. In people speak I think she is saying..."well it's about time you woke up, now hurry, get your coffee and sit down, I've been looking forward to a lap to sit on and quite frankly I'm pretty tired of waiting". And Gramps is usually happy to oblige, although I think sometimes he'd rather just sit and read his paper in peace.

Yes, those are the mornings around here with Amy and Allie. It's a good thing I'm as into routine as they are...

The Mellow Sound

In a previous post I mentioned the launching of my husband's new radio station. The Mellow Sound...truly a labor of love and truly a laborious process.

My husband's passion is music. Not his own music, but the music of others. And he loves all different kinds of it. He remembers what it's called, who did it, and what he was doing the first time he heard it. That's definitely not me. I have vague recollections of the music I've listened to. I can never remember the titles, the artists, or even much of the lyrics. But I like it when I hear it.

My husband has an extensive music collection. We have cases of actual records in the garage, several racks of CD's in the house, and full music files on the computer. After we were married we spent many a weekend in used record stores collecting ALL of the hits of the 70's. Those finds make up the garage collection. The CD collection has lots of smooth jazz. We are always teasing him about his "no-word" music collection. Especially the Christmas CD's. You'd be hard pressed to find a Christmas CD with words on it in our house. And then there is his mellow sound music, that makes up much of what is in the computer files.

And that leads us to The Mellow Sound. His very own radio station. His very own creation. A dream come true! Any words that I could use to describe The Mellow Sound would certainly not do it justice. But please click on the links and find out from his own words what it is all about.

What I can speak to is the passion he feels for this project and the hurdles he's had to jump to get it off the ground. The learning curve for this as been at times most overwhelming. If not for the help of our very computer literate son I don't think this would be happening. And it's not come easy for him either. There has really been one glitch after another. Every step has been a mountain to climb. But he keeps pressing on. His desire for this is that great. This is a project full of love. He loves to find really good music that few people have heard of and then share it with them. He is at his best when he is able to share.

And I am so proud of what he has accomplished. And so excited for what is to come. And I so hope that you will all give it a listen.

Saturday

This past Saturday was a day of highs and lows. A day of laughs and tears. Not really a day to remember, but a day to consider.

We were going to spend the morning in El Cajon, picking up trash. This was to be our Give A Day, Get A Day volunteer assignment. Give a day of service and get a day at Disneyland. But that was not to be. Our event was re-scheduled due to rain.

So a gloomy, rainy Saturday lay ahead. I don't mind those kind of days...as long as I don't have to go out in them. So a rainy day at home sounded just fine. Coffee in hand, newspaper in lap, morning news on, and the only one awake ( besides, of course, Amy and Alley)...I'm content.

But that didn't last long. The news was not good. Earthquake in Chile, young girl missing from jogging trail, impending tsunami because of the earthquake in Chile...suddenly the contentment of the stormy morning turned into a very unsettled feeling. My world was now eerie and unfriendly.

And reading e-mails later did not make it any better. I learned that an acquaintance of mine lives right next to where the young runner went missing. And I learned that Christian missionaries were under attack in India. I'm telling you it was beginning to feel like the end of the world as we Christians know it. I'm thinking that Jesus will be here any minute to collect us all. It was time for prayer and time to turn the whole mess over and to lay it in God's hands. It was time to remember; "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". Philippians 4:6-7 It was time to feel God's peace.

And I did. And the day wore on. And all of those things were on my mind, but I had turned them over. And I was feeling more at peace with it all.

And then we made cookies. And we all played Monopoly. And we laughed and we had fun. And my teenage daughter texted her friend saying, "I love rainy days, I love hanging out with my family"...priceless!

Oh and I should tell you the funny part. My daughter must think that I am certifiably crazy. My husband and my father were in the driveway replacing the battery in my car. I was in the kitchen making cookies when a downpour hit. I said, "oh, I'd better take an umbrella out there and hold it over them". And my daughter responded with, "oh Mom, don't worry about them, they'll be all right, they're under that big bush you know..." "Ummm, huh?", I asked. "The bunnies", she answered, "they won't get wet under that bush". Bunnies?? I was talking about my husband and my father. My daughter seems to think that I would actually run out into the rain and hold an umbrella over bunnies!! Really??

So now you can see the range of emotions that covered that day. Not really a day to remember, but a day to consider...