A Simple Woman's Daybook~November 15, 2013

Our lives pass swiftly by! I want to do something to remember

the everyday moments and my thoughts about them.  

That is what this Daybook is all about.

Focusing on the little things that become my life.

One entry at a time.

Just for today~Friday, November 15, 2013

 

Outside my window...it is dark outside now.  About 6:30 pm.  It feels much later as I am still not use to being back on Standard Time.  It is chilly outside and I am thankful for my little space heater under my desk that keeps my toes from freezing.
  

Have you ever been back east where at this time of year people put those single taper candles (battery operated) in all their windows? Well, I love that.  This year I bought some and slowly but surely I am putting one in each window.  They are on a timer so every night at precisely 5:30 they come on for five hours.  I have such sweet memories of driving through the woods of New England and seeing them shimmering and flicking in the windows of the houses with so much space between them and no fences. That is just iconic for the feeling of Christmas in New England and being there with our sweet kids.

I am already feeling that little twinge of wishing we were going this year.  But we just cannot go anywhere else this year.  Jim just returned from a week in Rhode Island helping the kids put a new kitchen in their house.  That means that since May one or both of us has been either to Utah or Rhode Island every single month.  We are beginning to feel like transcontinental commuters. So are staying put for the holidays and beyond now until spring or summer.  But I still miss all of them during this season.  I guess that is something a mom and dad never get past.  Christmas is family, friends and our Savior.
 

I am thankful for....the fact that our Savior is always right beside us when we miss our family and special friends.  Once we recognize that and feel it and know it in our hearts, we never have to feel alone.  I have been missing my sweet mom today.  It was just ten years ago tonight that she left this world for her greater reward.  She is always near to my heart, always close. And yet it seem like an eternity since I could touch her.  Ten years might as well be 50.  But I know I will hug her again one happy day.  If it were not so, what would be the point to any of this?

From the learning room....I will never be too old to learn new things about life, people, the Gospel or myself.  I like that don't you?  I never thought there would be big revelatory surprises at this age.  I was wrong.  Things happen all the time that teach me otherwise.  I have met some of the best friends of my life in the past few years.  The heart's capacity to love is endless, deep and surprising.  I think that part of us lives on forever.  At least I hope so because it is a wonderful thing to love.

I am reading...nothing that is just for enrichment and leisure time.  I must fix that.  Reading is so therapeutic and broadening.  To be honest I find I get restless reading these days.  The electronic version of things really helps though.  I like having the light behind the page, it helps me see a lot better.  But mostly I just have other things I need to do pulling on me all the time.
 
From the kitchen... I need to go shopping tomorrow.  I don't care to go on Saturdays but it has to be this week.  So, I will. We are spending Thanksgiving with Jim's cousins again this year.  It has been way too long since I have cooked a turkey with all the trimmings.  I might do one on Friday or Saturday of that weekend.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...I have been thinking about how spectacular the Gospel Plan of Jesus Christ really is.  How wonderful that we have so many ancestors and so many people coming after us in a long line of posterity.  Families are so amazing.  As I have been working on our Family Tree I have come to know the stories of our ancestors, their hardships and challenges and sacrifices for their posterity and I am in awe of their journeys.

If you want to have complete contentment and happiness in your life, you might want to do your family history.  As you learn to love them you learn to be more grateful for your blessings.   I can promise you we have nothing to complain about.  We are so blessed.  That doesn't mean we don't have trials like they did because we surely do.   But we have so many new ways of coping with the age old problems that they never imagined in their wildest dreams.  This work brings an abundance of gratitude.  I always have thought you cannot be grateful and unhappy.  I recommend you look back in time.

I am hearing...Eva Cassidy an artist I just recently discovered.  She is singing Autumn Leaves right now and it is simply beautiful.  She is kind of a folksy, melancholy, sultry singer with a great style and a voice like an angel.  She died at age 33 of melanoma back in 2007 but her music lives on.  Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Danny Boy and Tennessee Waltz are some of the best of her work.  She is very relaxing and inspirational.  Perfect music for writing.

One of my guilty pleasures...shopping and lunch with friends.  We had a serendipity experience today.  A couple of us decided to go to Room With A Past and then another friend joined us at the last minute.   Then we went over to Clayton to a favorite shop and decided to have lunch at La Viranda.  Perfect morning, so relaxing and it was so beautiful out.  And we all felt we had gone on a mini-vacation.  We already decided to do something equally as fun next month and take our friend out to lunch for her birthday.  She couldn't come today and I could not reach her by phone.  She has a lot of health issues right now and I hope she is OK.

Pet Peeves...all seems right with my little world today.  But I sure wish it was that way for each and every one of us more often.  The beginning of the week was difficult.  My youngest brother had a stroke on Monday.  God blessed him, it was a slight one but nonetheless very scary.  He is home and doing a lot better but now the threat of that happening again is always in one's mind. Meds should be a great preventative.  He has a heart defect that was discovered and then we learned our other brother already knew he has the same thing.  Then our little Hazie has been having some problems with her eyes and had a CT scan yesterday.   All turned out well there but the problems still exists so what it is is a mystery?  Also one of our very best friends is recovering from a major surgery so that is good news too. My world is all right compared to the beginning of the week.

I am quoting...Pinterest

If I could change one thing it would be...that the disaster in the Philippines had never happened this past week.  Terrible destruction and so much suffering is going on there.  The good news our friends' son was working there and he is OK.  We watched the path of that one I promise you.  So thankful John and Carol's son, Michael is safe.  

An enjoyable movie/ TV show we have watched lately...We watched Cast Away with Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt last weekend.  It was very good to revisit it after many years.  I just love Helen Hunt. She portrays being in love so beautifully.

I am curious about...healthcare!  Holy Cow!  People all around us are getting dropped by their insurance companies and especially small business owners.  Some people have said their insurance will rival their mortgage.  Seriously this is the lamest political disaster in a long, long time.  Even the Chief himself admits it now and has extended the deadline another year for some it seems.  I saw the headlines but did not actually read the article so I don't know for sure what the reprieve entails.  Apparently it applies to only those who have not already been canceled by their companies.

Plans for the rest of the week... are all about Trees.  Work on my Family Tree, teach two lessons on Tuesday and keep up with the house work and get some of the fall decor put to bed and I may even start on the Christmas Tree.  I decided to start there and then decide how much more I am actually going to put up this year.  I will probably do it all but I am pacing myself and taking my time. 

Jim is planning or at least hoping for a work crew here next Saturday to help him finish putting the roof on the work shop.  Then he can rest up a little during the rainy season and maybe get his hip replacement.  What a concept.  First we kill ourselves on all these huge and very physically challenging projects then we have surgery.  Why are men so stubborn about this sort of thing?  I hope he does it soon.  Tomorrow the Scouting for Food food collection for the region will happen. Yes I did say region.  Not the troop, not the district  not the town, not the county but the REGION!  He is in charge for the 18th year I am so glad it is almost over.   I am getting very weary of all the big projects and just want to get back to our regular life soon.  Do we have one anymore seems to be the big question?

 

One of my favorite things...Genealogy Conferences.  We went to the Ancestry Day in San Francisco this past Saturday.  We had a great time and it was fabulous to be back in the City after a long absence.  We went to dinner with our good friends afterwards and that was so nice and relaxing.  There is one in SLC I'd really love to attend in February but I'll be content to see some of it streaming live from the conference this year.  Planning to go in 2015 for sure.

 
One thing that made me so happy this past week...the condo is in its final escrow days, Jen and family got a new house in the exact place they wanted, The RI kitchen is getting closer to done every day and the health of my brother and Hazie are much better than what might have been.

The most surprising thing this past week...definitely my brother's unfortunate stroke.  Just did not see that one coming at all.  And finding the rose from my mother's bridal bouquet.  72 years old.

2 photos I am sharing this week...A blast from the past!

My Great Great Grandparents
 that immigrated to the US

 from Sweden in 1881.

Johan Andreasson and 
Albertina Josefina Christiansdotter.

They had 8 children.

Three of their sons, and two grandsons:

Fritz and Daisy, George and Hattie

Victor and Lida.

The little guys..

Howard and Virgil.

The babies were my Dad's first cousins, 

making them my first cousins, once removed.

 

UNTIL THE NEXT DAYBOOK,
 BE HAPPY AND CARRY ON!

❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon

Our Parents Wedding Day~28 September 1941

Ross Colberg and Josephine R

September 28 1941

St. Paul, Minnesota

Just this past week I found this in an old envelope as I have been going through some things from the past.  It took my breath away when I saw it.  This is a rose from the wedding bouquet of my mother.  The rose is over 72 years old.  I don't remember ever seeing it before.

I have not retouched this or altered the photo in any way.  I was astonished at the color and the green fern.  I just removed it from the envelope and placed it carefully on the back of my iPad for a dark background and snapped the shot.  I put it right back into the envelope and am now trying to decided how to preserve it and display it.  What a treasure, I am thrilled to have discovered it!

The following is an excerpt from the biographical sketch I wrote and complied for our family after my father died in 1979. I wrote the introduction and my piece and then I asked my Mom, two brothers, my husband,  and a close friend of Dad's to add something.  The compilation was a very exciting project portraying a unique perspective of my multi-faceted father from the people closest to him.  It was also excellent grief therapy for me.

The following is a portion of what my mother wrote about their meeting and marriage:

"To My Darling Children,

I was born in Pierre, South Dakota on May 17, 1919.  There was another big event that day as I have a twin brother named Joseph.  At that point in my life I had four sisters and three brothers; Letha, Lena, Harold, Margaret, William and Wilma who were also twins.  We lived on a farm about twenty miles from Ft. Pierre, South Dakota.

When I was five years old we lost our mother from an infection after giving birth to another baby girl, Ruby.  I am so sorry I never got a chance to know my mother as I know I would have loved her very much.

After I graduated from high school in Pierre in 1938 I moved to Bismarck, North Dakota in January of 1940.  I went to Bismarck to attend Beauty School.  During that six months I lived with a couple I met and who became dear friends, Rose and Fred Gerberding.

That move to Bismarck really changed my life. It was the best move I ever made because this is where I met Ross.  Yes, he definitely was the best thing that ever happened to me.  Through friends we met on a blind date.  He looked so handsome that night.  He had on dark pants, a white sports coat and tie.  We double dated with our friends and had such a wonderful time.  After that we saw each other all the time.  He was such a gentleman and always so nice.  Yes, it definitely was love at first sight!  We met on May 4, 1940 and we always had such a good time when we were together.

About Dec 1st of that year Ross was transferred to Fargo, North Dakota.  He worked for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.  It was a sad day for us both because we knew it would mean many months of separation.  Not having a car he didn't get home very often--I really missed him.  In the spring of 1941 I moved to Ellsworth, Wisconsin to stay with my friends, Rose and Fred, that had been transferred there earlier in the year.  Ross came there to see me a few times.

I August of 1941 I decided to go to work in St Paul, Minnesota.  At about that same time I learned that Ross had been transferred there too.  We were both so happy to know we would both be there.

On September 28, 1941 we were married  in a Lutheran Church in St. Paul at 8:30 in the morning. yes it was a very strange time to be married but Rose and Fred were our attendants and being a Greyhound bus driver, Fred had a run to make in the afternoon.  The main thing was that we were married!

It was a very small and simple wedding.  Ross' mother was the only relative there, but we were just thankful to have her with us.  We were just new in St. Paul so didn't know anyone to invite.  We were both working fortunately but worked opposite hours unfortunately.  So I'd get up in the morning and fix his breakfast and get him off to work and at night he'd wait up for me until midnight and then come down to the Ice Cream Parlor and walk me home.  We always stopped at a little hamburger place and had a nickel hamburger and a ten cent piece of cherry pie.  We were so happy and loved being married.   I really enjoyed being a housewife and always have.

Oh yes, I almost forgot our honeymoon.  It was a trip---from Minneapolis to St. Paul. After the wedding we went to get our pictures taken.  Then we went to breakfast with Ross' mom, Rose and Fred, and a couple of Fred's aunts that must have come along just to increase our numbers. Neither Ross nor I knew them.

Afterwards we jumped into the car, Rose and Fred in the front seat and Ross and me in the backseat. Sandwiched right in between us was none other than "Mama!"  This was so embarrassing to us at the time because we happened to run into some friends of ours on the street corner as we stopped at a light and it was obvious we had just been married.  Why?  Because I wore my wedding dress all day long and there she sat in the middle of us.

The next event of the day was a tour of the Capitol Building.  Over the years we laughed so many times about that, especially going there in my wedding dress.  Of course everywhere we went people stared.

Finally in the afternoon we put his mother on a train to send her home.  After that we stopped in a little place to have a drink and celebrated our wedding day.  After paying for the drinks we discovered we barely had enough money left to catch the streetcar home to St Paul which was just across the river. We had also been able to see Horace Heights put on big band show so we were pretty exhausted so we were happy to come home to our little apartment that we had just rented the week prior to our wedding.  I stayed there and got things ready and Ross lived at the YMCA until the day we were married.  The night before the wedding Rose and Ross' mom stayed with me in our apartment.  Everyone was a little frazzled and cramming three women in the bed was a bit much.  Just as we were about to go to sleep I said, "This is the first time I have ever slept with a Colberg!"  This sent my future mother-in-law into fits of laughter!"  She told that story repeatedly over the next many years.

Our apartment was tiny and our first home was so much fun.  In our home our living room was also our bedroom.  We had a Murphy bed that pulled out and down from the wall   So every day and every night we had to rearrange our furniture.  When the bed was up it had a nice mirror on the back of it so it looked just like a real living room.  Those were wonderful times.

I can remember how proud I was to be his wife, and how through our marriage I'd look at him and find it hard to comprehend that he was mine, all mine!  We didn't have much in the way of material things then, we went into our marriage with a few dish towels without hems and a few cents in our pockets but we were very much in love and we had each other, so what else really mattered?"

The End of Part I

Invasion Of Our Privacy...Pure And Simple!

One thing about where we live, we don't need any pets.  For the past several years we have been invaded by all kinds of wild life.  People think it is so neat...think again.  Between the deer who eat flowers and plants, the turkeys, the raccoons, the possums, the squirrels, occasional coyotes and the neighborhood animals that wander freely through here it is a constant video of animal life out every window.

These turkeys are testing my patience.  They are literally all over the place.  You can see from the two giant ones on the retaining wall they are not a little nuisance.  They seem to be about three feet tall when they are not stretching.  Oh yes, they can stretch and look into our windows.  They appear to be a parascoping type creature about the size of ET when you catch one out of the corner of your eye.  They boldly come right up to my office window and peer in.  I've jumped sky high more than once.  They can stretch their necks and bodies to at least four feet tall when they want to be peeping toms.

So their new favorite trick is they like to jump/fly onto our roof and then jump or fly off.  It reminds me of the giraffe video below or a bunch of kids at a water slide park  They get in a line and do it over and over again!  Another way that they are like kids is they only do it when Dad is gone.  It is a good thing too because he does not want them bouncing on and off of the roof and they sound like a grown man when they are walking up there.

I am not sure how this population can be controlled.  We have babies, teens and older ones.  There is no gunfire allowed here so where are the archery experts?   If they don't get out of here soon you may hear a pellet gun doing a little target practice.  At the rate this is going they may be having us for Thanksgiving Dinner.  Alfred Hitchcock's movie, The Birds, is creeping me out.  Imagine a few feathers on these giraffes and you will get the picture.



http://youtu.be/nPrWo5pEvyk

Dessert to Die For....

 

 English Sticky Toffee Pudding

Recipe courtesy Marie Simmons
The Food Network
Show: Cooking LiveEpisode: Apres Ski Party


Bonnie here...I don't really bake often but this recipe is amazing.  Jim's cousin brought it for Christmas Eve and it vanished quickly and with raves.  I wanted to share it with you and save it in my files just in case I really get inspired to go in the kitchen.

Photo: English Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

Rated 5 stars out of 5

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Total Time:

1 hr 5 min

Prep

20 min

Cook

45 min

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Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup pitted dates
• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

TOFFEE SAUCE:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch round or square baking dish. Sift the flour and baking powder onto a sheet of waxed paper. Chop the dates fine. Place in a small bowl and add the boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a bowl of electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the date mixture to the batter and fold until blended with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake until pudding is set and firm on top, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack. Toffee Sauce: Combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small heavy saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil gently over medium low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes. Preheat broiler. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the pudding. Spread evenly on top. Place pudding under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute. Serve immediately spooned into dessert bowls. Drizzle with toffee sauce and top with a spoonful of whipped cream.

A Simple Woman's Daybook~October 25, 2013

Our lives pass swiftly by! I want to do something to remember

the everyday moments and my thoughts about them.  

That is what this Daybook is all about.

Focusing on the little things that become my life.

One entry at a time.

Just for today~Friday, October 25, 2013

 

Outside my window...it is beautiful and clear and still and 2:10 pm.  I can hear the nails pounding outside and Jim and Dave and Ron are putting up the 22 tresses that will support the roof of Jim's workshop.  It is a little bit overkill but you know what?  He can build any kind of a palace out there he wants.  He has dreamed of a wood working shop since he was 17.  So outside my other window I see them, it looks like they are building an arc.  When it gets painted forest green it will be practically camouflaged.  I cannot see the barn at all from the house and this will have the same roof and finish.  So outside my windows all is well.
 

I am thankful for....the peace and quiet that will return to our home one of these days.  The project has had three phases and we are getting near the end of the third phases and three years.  He does a little here and a little there and always beside him, his best buddy David.  Who could ask for anything more?  I love their friendship.  When they are not working here they are helping someone else.  Never a dull moment for or with them.

From the learning room....I am learning how to do Swedish genealogy right now.  I am barely beginning!  It is so much harder in another language as you might imagine.  But once you get familiar with the cadre of vocabulary words specific to genealogy it gets easier.  I could never pronounce these words but they are beginning to share their secrets with me.  I didn't ever think I could find our family in Sweden and we have plenty but with the help of some highly qualified people I have picked up bits and pieces of four new generations.  All the people are there I just have to decipher the records, transcribe them and put them in our tree.  I say "just" like it is no big deal but it is hard.  The last man I put in was born in 1766.  He is a several greats grandfather of mine.  I am also attempting some work on two of Jim's lines.

I am reading...Swedish Records!  And genealogy blogs.  I need to get to my sweet friends on regular blogs soon.  Nellie, Susan and Marie, God Bless You!  You are always in my heart if not on my finger tips.
 

 From the kitchen...Date night so it means some healthy snacks and then later tonight popcorn with our movie.  No idea what I'll come up with for a movie but I always find something.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...just how much I love being a Christian.  How much I love being a Latter-day Saint, how much our church culture has enhanced and filled our lives with wonderful friends, wholesome fun and good and worthy service activities.  But best of all the love of our Savior who helps us daily...no, hourly in all we do.

I am hearing...The sound track from Call the Midwife. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"  A moldy Oldie.  The other question would be...why do we not think "we" are fools when we fall in love?  It is only "them!"

One of my guilty pleasures...afternoon riposo, just like the Italians.  They have good living down pat.  Two work periods in every day separated by a decent length of free time and rest to recapture your energy, spend time with your whole family when you are not exhausted from a ten hour day.  And then you begin in earnest again to finish the work of your day.  It is brilliant.  It is like 14 more productive and more meaningful days in your week.

Pet Peeves...I don't know why I have a hard time thinking of these when I do the Daybook.  I seem to run in them repeatedly through out the week.  Rude people is always a good standby.  We have run in a few this week.  Carol, you can relate!  The only thing that makes me madder than when people are rude to me is when they are rude to my family or friends.

I am quoting...Pinterest... 

Autumn just envelopes me with happiness.

If I could change one thing it would be...that special needs children could get a break from the so-called teachers and administrators that are supposed to be teaching them something good and worthwhile and administrating the programs for them.  There is no excuse for what Hazel is dealing with or her parents and grandparents for that matter.  Federals laws are being broken in a very cavalier way and it is not going unattended to by our great kids.  They will take this all the way and then hopefully help other parents of future kindergartners do the same.  Too many parents have rolled over and played dead for too long.  The buck stops here.  They be messin' with the wrong Mama Bear this time.
 

An enjoyable movie/ TV show we have watched lately...We watched Moonstruck last week.  Ya know, Cher is a good actress.  She is also magnificent in Tea With Mussolini, I think we'll watch it tonight.  Beautiful if you haven't seen it. Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright...need I say more?

I am curious about...the fact that in exactly two months it will be Christmas Day!  Really?

Plans for the rest of the week...I have some projects to do including rotating out summer clothes and bringing in more fall items.  I always sort through and purge out things.  Then I want to do the same thing in my office.  I will be working, getting my hair done, visiting teaching, meeting with friends and doing family history. Stake Conference over the weekend the first November week.  But first  Halloween and the next day my mother-in-law's birthday!  She and I will be lunching out while Jim is away that day.  We should all be so spry when turning 87.  Hey the fun never ends over here.

 

One of my favorite things...Pinterest, always Pinterest.   It is where I go to think, rejuvenate, feel loveliness and count my blessings.  I need it every day.  It reminds me of the worthy things in life that overshadow everyday hassles and struggles.  Pinterest is packed with hope and good cheer.  It is my favorite social media since you can enjoy solitude while engaging in it. 

One thing that made me so happy this past week...Having one whole day to do absolutely anything I wanted to do.  I loved that.

The most surprising thing this past week...that it went by so quickly.  Being preoccupied with work that I love seems to do that to me.  There is never enough time.  Another reason why I love riposo.  It slows down your day.  It is not just for eating and sleeping but to reconnect with yourself, others and things that interest you.  Life must be three dimensional and colorful.  We must strive to attain it in the way that works best for us.  I like to work hard, play moderately and rest easy.  That requires planning and saying no to something that wants to relentlessly eat up all of your time.

Balance requires a proactive life of making choices that work best for you your spouse and the people you care about.  Balance puts in the color of your life.  Spinning out of control all the time robs us of our joy.  Been there, done that.  Never again.  I saw my former  boss the other day.  Reminded me of all these things and the happiness I feel in being free from all of that.

A photo in two versions I am sharing this week...this morning while walking by a bank I saw this beautiful leaf covered in the morning dew on the ground.  I kept walking, then stopped and went back to photograph it.  I am glad I did. 

It was actually white and so pretty.

This is the sepia version

 Love them both!

 

UNTIL THE NEXT DAYBOOK,
 BE HAPPY AND CARRY ON!

❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon

I Wish You Enough!

I just saw this and thought it was so touching.

 I wish I knew who gets the attribution.

Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport as the daughter's departure had been announced. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said:

"I love you and I wish you enough."

The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom." They kissed and the daughter left.

The mother walked over to the window where I sat. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry.

I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?" "Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking but why is this a forever good-bye?"

"I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said.

When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, "I wish you enough." May I ask what that means?"

She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more.

"When we said 'I wish you enough' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". Then turning toward me, she shared the following, reciting it from memory,

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the
 smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through
 the final good-bye."

She then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute 
To find a special person.

 An hour to appreciate them. 

A day to love them. 

And an entire life to forget them.

Raise Your Hand If....

You cannot relate to this one!
 

Isn't it true sometimes that the cost of love is very high?  I am not just talking about romantic love but all kinds of love.  To love is to be vulnerable to loss, to grief, to sorrow and to great happiness and joy.  Love is risking those possibilities, and yet being open to the experience is always a great teacher. 

My friend of 23 years died somewhat unexpectedly last week.  The memories have been abundant, both joyful and happy and sorrowful as I watched her lose her memory and brilliant mind a little at a time until she did not remember me anymore.  That was a hard experience for both of us.  She felt her mind slipping away and would talk with me about it. I pray I will always have her memory with me as long as I live.  I believe that the deeper the love for another person the greater the loss and sorrow you will feel.  A part of you is changed because of the love you shared and when they are gone that deep emptiness that washes over you is difficult.  The memories become so bittersweet.  Loss is always a time of great introspection and solitude and for me often melancholy.  The grief we feel is for that loss, even when we know the other person is better off, we miss them terribly.

But I have learned that loving another person is about them not necessarily about you.  It is something you give.  If you are blessed to get it in return, all the better.  But the greater part of joy is in the giving of it and the way it feels to love someone.  And that is the part you get to keep even though they have gone.

When the longing returns you try to force yourself to remember that and keep going.  Hearts get broken because they do what hearts do best...they love and take a chance and something good always comes of that.  I'd rather have a broken heart any day over a heart that is incapable of choosing love at all.  To quote a line from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, "To love another person is to see the face of God."  We will all know His face well one day if we have loved at all.