ONE VERY OLD SOUL!

According to one of those digital tests on FB, I have a 1769 year old soul. WOW, THAT'S OLD! But after thinking about it for a bit, I think the results have some merit. I'm characterized as sincere, wise, and loyal, traits I've developed over the last 70 or so years, and only 2% clingy.


SINCERE: When I was younger, I was hesitant to tell people the truth about their faults. I'd either hedge by saying things that were only half accurate, or outright lie so as not to hurt anybody's feelings. Now I'll tell you the way I see it no matter how ugly or hurtful it might come across. I don't care who you are or how high up on the totem pole you sit. With age comes a certain frankness that allows a person to be sincere because, let's face it, one's years are numbered and there is less time for angry retaliation from those you've offended!


WISE:  Although I thought I knew everything when I was a teen, in reality I was a dumb ass! I was sure my elders didn't know squat, and pretty much defied any counsel they proffered. Of course by doing the opposite of what they suggested, I got myself in hot water thousands of times. Now that I AM THE ELDER, I'm certain all teens are the dumb asses don't know squat, and are destined to end up in Juvie if they don't smartin' up fast! By making those countless mistakes over the years as a kid, I've evolved into a wise woman whose wisdom is rarely sought out by you young dumb asses! 'LIVE AND SUFFER OR LISTEN AND LEARN,' a worthwhile new motto from a wise old lady!


LOYAL: Everybody wants to be in the 'in-group' when they're young. I started by hanging out with my cousins since we were all around the same age, lived in the same neighborhood, and attended the same school. They had my undying loyalty while growing up, but as I got older, I ditched them for the much cooler kids who didn't play by the rules, walked the walk, and talked the talk. However, when these cooler dudes got caught breaking protocol, I swore I'd never heard of them much like St. Peter did when asked if he was one of Jesus's apostles. Now I'm loyal to my family and to the not-so-many true friends I've made throughout my lifetime. I'm connected to these folks in mind, body, and spirit. I know who and what they are and still love them as they do me. I know what they're thinking without them saying anything, they look the same to me as they years ago, beautiful, and I feel their spirit no matter how many miles separate us. Our loyalty to each other is the gift that keeps on giving!


CLINGY: According to the digital test, I'm only 2% clingy now. The truth is I've never been very clingy since I came out of the womb. I was and still am a rebel. Some may say that's not a favorable trait, but I've found that doing my own thing has made me a strong, independent thinker who relies on myself to do what's best for me. From an early age, tragedy struck our family hard. However instead of making me weak and afraid, I learned to navigate life with courage and determination. There wasn't anything that was going to stop me from reaching my goals short of death! Guess what? I'm still here and plan on being around for a long, long time so get used to it. The only thing I cling to in life is life itself! I'm a fighter, but if you know me at all, that's no surprise!

ONE VERY OLD SOUL! ONE VERY YOUNG SPIRIT!

GONE FISHIN'

Headed for Myrtle Beach, not to fish, but it sounded like a great title. Talk to you guys next week. love ya'll

I'LL HAVE THE TIME OF MY LIFE!

My daughter, Joy, and her family will pull into our driveway around 8:30 p.m. today or so I'm told. When it comes to Joy, I'm never really sure I'll see her until I see the whites of her eyes! Her hubby, Tim, and my two awesome grandchildren, Brady, 13, and Brenna, 10, will be in tow as well. Yippeeee! Most likely we'll sit out on the patio and talk tonight. I love hearing about what the kids have been up to since last I'd seen them. The teenager will say little and look bored out of his skull. However he doesn't fool me because I know he's really crazy about being at our house,although he'd never admit it. The tween will chatter incessantly, giggly as she goes on and on about every facet of her life. She makes me giggle right along with her!

Tomorrow I'll take Brady and Brenna to Sand Castle, a waterslide park in our area. The other three adults will come up with some excuse not to join us. Neither Joy, Tim, nor Papap like the water, the crowds, the noise, etc. On the other hand, I love it all and only get the chance to go when the kids are in town. I can't do most of the slides anymore because of a cantankerous left knee that refuses to climb the gazillion steps to the top of most of the structures. The ones that I can maneuver, I'll certainly ride. At least I know the Lazy River won't give me a problem. We'll stay for hours, eat junk, lots of junk, and come home exhausted!

On Wednesday afternoon I've scheduled time for Laser Tag! I've never played so I'm excited about being nailed with red dots all over my bod! In the evening we're going to use the neighbor's fire pit to toast marshmallows, make s'mores, mountain pies, and cornbread muffins. Yummy, yum, yum!

Before they leave on Thursday, the kids and I will hop in the car and head for Dunkin Donuts, one of our favorite stomping grounds. I get the first round of donut and drink of choice for all of us. We find a table and before I get my coffee stirred, Brady and Brenna are finished and looking at me with doe-eyes. I'll hand my credit card to one of them and off they go for another delectable treat. They'll repeat this ritual until they are stuffed to the gills!

When leaving, we'll yell good-byes to each other until their out of sight. Love those kids! Oh, I love Joy and Tim, too, but they're not nearly as much fun.

On Monday night I'm flying to Myrtle Beach to spend five days with my daughter, Kristy, and her family. She and Todd have 3 boys, Liam, 9, Beckham, 6, and Gabe, 3. Again my hubby isn't a beach person, so he gladly stays home with the dog, his Sudoku, and the Pirates. This arrangement works for both of us.

The boys and I will be in the water, or in the sand building castles, roads, lakes, and anything else we can think of from 9:00 a.m. until dinner. Oh, we'll have taken along tons of treats and drinks to keep us going nonstop.We'll make friends with fellow beach bums, sharing shovels, buckets, and tales of how the big ones got away! Afterwards we'll shower and choose a lovely restaurant where Gabe will cause some sort of commotion to the discomfort of the more sedate diners! Oh well, when you're three, that's your God-given right, right? Upon returning to the condo, most likely will head for the pool, play miniature golf, or go shopping for treasurers. Days two thru five will simply be a repeat performance of the first. How glorious!

The day after I return from Myrtle, my son and his family will arrive for a five day visit. Barry, Kelly, Kaden,, 9, and Tyler, 5, will get in late Saturday. We'll do the patio thing again and try to get a good night's sleep. Then let the games begin! Sand Castle, Laser Tag, fire pit, and Dunkin Donuts all over again. The funny thing is that with Kaden and Tyler it will be a totally different experience because of who they are and my special relationship with each one. Tuesday, July 29, is the first time the public can attend Steeler Camp at St. Vincent's. Kaden plays nearly every sport and can't wait to get some autographs from his idols. Tyler doesn't really care about that, he just wants to run up and down the grassy hills, eat snow cones, and play with anyone willing to do what he does! On the way home we'll stop for dinner comprised of hamburgers and fries and a Frosty for the boys since that is the one meal they're sure to devour.

As they pack the car, give kisses and promise to drive home safely, I'll fall into my recliner and sleep for at least three hours. I'll dream of all the fun I had, all the smiles and hugs I received from my seven grandchildren during the past three weeks, and thank the good Lord for the countless blessings He showers upon me and my family especially during the summertime.

When I awake I'll be back to my old life in North Huntingdon once more,for which I'm eternally grateful, but those three weeks of fast and furious when I had the time of my life will linger in my memory for the entire rest of the year!

Freedom of Speech at its WORST!

On Saturday hubby and I decided to go out to our county's Arts and Heritage festival held annually around the Fourth of July. We could have driven to the park, but chose to take the community shuttle instead. As we waited in line, the old fella behind us remarked, " Trump is supposed to give a speech out there later on today." I turned around and, with my fingers stuck in my ears,  laughingly replied, "Blah, blah, blah."

We had no idea that the lady behind the old fella heard what had been said until she angrily commented, "You Democrats have no clue what you're talking about. Here we finally have a man who will change America for the better, and you bad-mouth him at every turn. You think Hillary is the answer. I better go to the end of the line before I lose my cool!" She then stepped to the back.

Looking over my shoulder I stated, "No, I don't think Hillary is the answer, but I do think she's the lesser of the two evils. Oh, and by the way, for your information, I'm a registered Republican!"

"You certainly don't sound like one," was her rebuttal.

"What's a registered Republican sound like?" I countered.

"You'd have been overjoyed to get the chance to hear Donald Trump speak, and would have told the man behind you exactly that," the now highly-aggravated left wing supporter shouted.

"To listen to more of his lies, bombastic ravings, and uninformed rhetoric, no thanks," I yelled.

"You'll be sorry if Hillary gets in. No, actually it will be your children and grandchildren who will suffer from her devastating decisions that take innocent lives without giving it a second thought. She's too busy hobnobbing with the rich and famous to care about average people trying to make a decent living, pay their taxes, and contribute to our country's well-being anyway they can."

"Really?" I questioned facetiously.

"Yes, really," was her curt response.

By this time my husband was getting a little anxious and asked me to stop. I was having so much fun though, my mouth was on auto-pilot, I couldn't control it if I'd wanted to, and I didn't want to.

"Last I heard we are still living in the United States of America, and we are blessed with freedom of speech, my dear. I don't recall inviting you into our playful conversation in the first place, so kindly butt out." was my not-so-clever finale.

Then a tiny voice piped up with, "Geez, all I was trying to do was inject a little humor while we waited for the bus to arrive," said the old fella behind me. "I had no intention of starting World War III,"

His remark touched a nerve with me. We all have the right to speak our mind, and shouldn't be chastised for our beliefs and opinions. And by all, that includes the old fella, me, the out-spoken lady,
Hillary, and yes, even The Donald. Instead of taking jabs at one another, we need to respectfully listen to what each person has to say, mull their words over carefully in our minds, and then speak with conviction and respect. There is no room for humiliation and put-downs. I realized I'd acted very badly and looked for my opponent to apologize but my opportunity vanished along with the lady in the back of the line.

Perhaps the seriousness of our little tirade really hit home with me when the old fella's last words loudly resounded in my head. Such bickering is exactly how wars get started and leave behind horrible destruction and death. From  now on, I intend to lovingly embrace my freedom of speech and use it wisely.

To the lady in the back of the line: "Please forgive my rude arrogance. I had no right to speak to you in such manner, and I am truly sorry, At my age, I certainly should know better and do better."

Temper Tantrums

Temper tantrums are synonymous with two and three year olds. If they perceive a slight or a denial, they start by screaming at the top of their lungs. Next, if they don't achieve a desired outcome, they will swing at anyone close to them, fall on the floor and wildly kick their feet. This behavior can go on indefinitely until they get what they want, are relegated to their bedrooms, or fall asleep from total exhaustion. I'm sure all of you who have had kids are shaking your heads about now, trying to erase the horrible images I've so cruelly conjured up. Sorry, but there is a method to my madness, I assure you.

I'm well passed the terrible twos stage of my life, I'm 71. Yet over the weekend I had a huge temper tantrum that would surpass those of any toddler by a good long mile! Without going into details about the 'who' and 'why' of it, I'll describe my irrational behavior. I'm doing this in part to educate you on the fact that losing one's temper can happen at any age, and in part to embarrass myself in order to perhaps refrain from behaving this shamefully again.

When my hubby, who turned 80 last month, asked a much younger and more fit person to help him repair a backyard wall and was denied, he was disappointed to say the least. However, he took it in stride (he always takes the high road), making plausible excuses for the sloucher.

When he told ME about it, I was furious. It wasn't necessarily the refusal that got me, but the words that were chosen to decline.

"I don't do that kind of stuff anymore," came out of this guy's mouth as if to say he was much better than that and if he needed to repair an outside wall, he'd hire somebody.

Well, 'lah-dee-dah-dah'! We could hire somebody, too, but we're old school, and if a job needs done, we're on it! Hell, together we built our first house, insulated the walls and painted them, tiled the basement, dug the trenches for irrigation, and landscaped the grounds. Yes, we were younger then, but so what! The fact is that our family instilled in us a pride in doing hard labor that we still carry with us today.

We did much of the same when we moved into our current residence which we've called home for over 40 years continuing to maintain our property along the way.

Last Saturday hubby and I pruned 10 huge shrubs in 90 degree heat and didn't stop until everything was cleaned up and put away. While doing this work, we noticed the back wall was crumbing in spots. Each block weighs about 75lbs.and is a bit much to take down and replace. I suggested hubby ask a certain person to help since he was planning to visit in a few weeks. Later that evening when talking on the phone, the pending project was brought up. Since you already know the outcome of their conversation, I won't repeat myself.

After the steam came out of my ears, and I stopped hollering about the inconsiderateness of this certain someone, I announced that I thought his visit should be canceled. I wasn't about to open my home to anyone who showed such disrespect to my husband. I tossed and turned all night, and decided I was going to tear this ingrate up one side and down the other.

In the morning I sent the most outrageous email I could come up with. I screamed, punched out obscenities, kicked my feet,and spewed spittle all over my laptop! If that wasn't a first-class temper tantrum, I don't know what you'd call it! After hitting the send icon, I felt strangely relieved. I could care less what the person on the receiving end was feeling!

I didn't hear from him on Sunday, but when opening my mail this morning, lo and behold, his reply was staring me in the face. When I opened it, this is what I saw:

'I WAS JUST KIDDING! OF COURSE I'LL HELP REPAIR THE WALL.DO YOU THINK THAT I DIDN'T LEARN ANYTHING MY PARENTS TAUGHT ME ABOUT PRIDE IN DOING HARD LABOR!"

Boy was I embarrassed! I certainly learned a good lesson: NEVER JUDGE A STATEMENT AT FACE VALUE! IT COULD LEAVE YOU RED-FACED WITH YOUR FOOT STUCK SQUARELY IN YOUR BIG MOUTH!

Sorry, son, I vow never to have a temper tantrum again, or at least until I get all the facts first!

Yes Way to No Way!

You'd think after a person retires, he or she would be content to live out their golden years enjoying peaceful days and restful nights! But not this chick, no way, Jose! Instead of joining the local ladies' club or puttering in a garden, I decided to follow my dream and become a writer. Four years ago on June 20, 2012, I became a full-fledged author at the ripe young age of 68! 'No Way To Haircut Day!, the first book in my 'Grammy's Gang' series was published in paperback. I'd dedicated it to my grandson, Kaden, who raised holy hell every time my son or daughter-in-law took him for a haircut. This book was such a hit, I decided to write a special book for each of my other six grandchildren and dedicate one to each of them. "Grammy's Gang" series is seven books strong, and since I've been informed that there will be no more future grandchildren, sad to say that that run is over.

                                                       http://tinyurl.com/juaw9yu

I'd wanted to be a writer since I won a national poetry contest when I was a sophomore in high school. My English teacher, Sister Rose Marie saw something in me, and constantly encouraged me to hone my skills. She was a talented teacher and gifted writer herself, and believed I had what it took to pursue a writing career.

Unfortunately life happened, and being a writer was pushed further and further down on my list of priorities. However, upon retiring, something kept nagging me mostly in my dreams. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, the damn idea wouldn't go away. Then a strange thing happened. My son
-in-law emailed me and asked if I'd review a book he'd written. I was flabbergasted! I had no idea he had any ambitions along those lines, and I certainly didn't know he'd actually gone ahead and wrote a novel. He delves into dark fantasy, and although I had absolutely no interest in that particular genre, I read and reviewed it.

When visiting my daughter and her family, my son-in-law and I started discussing his ventures. When I revealed that I'd always wanted to write children's books, he was flabbergasted! When I told him I had already written four but had no idea how to move forward, he schooled me in how to go about securing an illustrator, an editor, a marketing strategy, and much much more. When it came time to format the manuscript to Amazon specs, my son-in-law did it all. I owe him big time and he knows it!

Once published, my daughter became instrumental in the marketing process. At the time, she was working with a notable author who had joined forces with Amazon to shine a light on  excellent self-published authors, helping to get their works on the map so to speak. In a few months I went from selling 10 copies of 'No Way To Haircut Day! monthly to 400 copies monthly!

Now four years later, thanks to my son-in-law and my daughter, I can handle all of the steps to publishing myself. I must confess though, whenever I get stuck I know I can always count on them to have the answers to my current dilemma.

If you have a dream, no matter how removed you've been from making it a reality, pursue it with passion. By saying 'Yes way to No Way!' my dream came true, albeit 50+ years later. There is no time limit on succeeding in breathing life into your dreams. Trust me, I know!

Strange Series of Occurrences?

You may consider the story I'm about to tell you a strange series of occurrences, at first, I did, too.

Last week while on FB, I received a friend request. Since I recognized the name, I immediately clicked on the person's page to accept. Much to my surprise, the profile photo looking back at me wasn't my friend's face. However, I did accept because this lady looked like someone I'd certainly have befriended had we ever met. If you know me at all, I'm sure you aren't a bit shocked.

Since I hadn't seen or talked to my friend in about three years, pangs of guilt began to peck at my terrible negligence. I wondered if she had a FB page so I typed in her full name and about thirty people bearing the same moniker appeared. Unfortunately she wasn't among them. About to give up at this point, I noticed a profile without a photo but with a high school's name I recognized. I clicked on it and, voila, I'd arrived! From the looks of it, her page wasn't used much, but I sent her a friend request anyhow.

When I didn't get a response after a two day's wait, I decided it was time to give her a call. I dialed but again my efforts were thwarted since that number was no longer in service. Things were getting weird. Immediately I googled my friend's name in the white pages of our phone directory. What I found was confusing to say the least. There were two addresses listed, the newest in a small town in North Carolina I'd never heard of before, and the one I knew.

I've always been a person intrigued by mystery, so I had no intention of quitting this search now. I googled the small town in NC and, lo and behold, when perusing the white pages, my friend's husband's name popped up. I quickly jotted down their number and address and dialed. After four rings a familiar voice informed me that I could leave a message and someone would get back to me soon. I didn't need to explain who I was so I simply asked to receive a call back at her earliest convenience. Two days went by and when I didn't hear from her, I tried again and promised my friend I'd keep calling until she forgave me for me negligence and called back to give me hell!

Finally in the evening of the third day, the phone rang. When I answered, we both started talking at the same time and by the sound of it, we both were very glad we'd connected. What she told me next blew my mind! She'd been in Pittsburgh for the past week attending her brother's funeral. After expressing my heartfelt sympathies, she explained how he died suddenly, and wasn't quite ready to come to terms yet with his death. I totally understood since six years ago I, too, lost my brother under similar circumstances.

We talked for over 90 minutes, and even though we knew we had to end our conversation, I'm sure we could have gone on for at least another ninety.

After hanging up, I thought about everything that had occurred over the last five days. Why did somebody with the same name as that of my friend's FB me now? And why did I decide to check to see if my friend had a FB profile now? And why did I call her after not connecting in over three years now? And why did I continue to search her out when I kept hitting roadblocks now?

Strange series of occurrences? I think not. I believe that when people have a strong connection to one another, when their bond is so tight it will never be severed no matter how much time passes without a word or an encounter, they always remain unconsciously in touch. There is never a moment that their souls aren't aware of each other's existence. Then when something extraordinary happens, their spirits communicate as only spirits can, alerting one or the other that their friend is in need. Their spirits persist until a connection is made.

Strange series of occurrences? Certainly not. I know 'why now' and I'm glad our spirits continued to speak so we, too could talk, and I had the chance to be of some comfort and support.