Grandchildren Are Wonderful

Well, it's been a while since I've been here. I forgot my password and my user id. Guess when you get up there in years it's wise to write things down. Of course then you have to remember where you wrote them down. I now carry around little notebooks for anything I need to remember......problem is I can't find the notebooks! So I've resorted to voice memos on my phone. Works great......if I remember to pay the phone bill! Of course I have a standby.....my 9 year old grandson....he's like an elephant, never forgets as long as it's something that benefits him. LOL. He asked me one day if I was senile. My answer to that was for him to wait till his next birthday. If I didn't remember it he'd know the answer to that one. And he comes up with other little gems such as did I have TV and radio when I was growing up. DIdn't know what a record player was either. His favorite phrase is "back in the day" when he's telling you of things in his "younger" years. Then there's his 6 year old brother who will tell you that what you are saying to him is "not in his story." Usually that comes when you are trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. Next comes their little 3 year old sister who has the diva attitude. Complete with the crossed arms, the foot stomping and the hands on the hip thing with the lower lip stuck out. And I forget all that when she climbs up into my lap and says "I love you gandma." Grandchildren are so much fun and now I have a great grandchild. Her mommy is my oldest grandaughter. I asked her if she couldn't have waited till I was a little older, like in my 80s! I was just getting used to be a grandma and now I am a great grandma. Where does the time go? Seems like just yesterday that I was raising my own babies. Time seems to pass so quickly as I get older. Every time one of them has a birthday I feel every year of my age. But all in all they are a joy (their mothers don't quite agree with that sometimes.) But since none of them live with me so I consider tham all angels....LOL

WHEN DO I GET A LIFE FOR ME???????

As I look back and review my life I am asking myself when do I get a life for me instead of having the responsibility for everyone else's problems? When is it my turn to do what I want when I want without considering how it will impact the lives I seem to have become responsible for? The answer is NEVER! Because I have come to the conclusion that my life is as it is supposed to be. I was born to be the caretaker of everyone else's lives even though I do not recall volunteering for those duties 24/7 every day of my life. You may be wondering what I am going on about and that it sounds like I am feeling sorry for myself. Well, you are right and wrong. I have figured out that my life is supposed to be exactly what it is whether I want it to be or not. Evidently when I was born there was to be a purpose for me to accomplish in my life and that is to be the caregiver and caretaker of everyone I love. And upon reflecting on that I have come to the idea that all of that is what gives me my self worth. Not the fact that I served in the Marines, have a college degree or any medical certifications. Most people spend their lives wondering what they have accomplished and how they are perceived by others. I was recently told that I am an excellent daughter, a great mother and a wonderful grandmother. That may seem to be not so much to others who have accomplished great things like inventions or wealth. I am rich. I don't have a lot of money, but I have many things that other people may never have had or ever will have. My wealth is my family and friends and those strangers whose lives I've touched by a smile or a kind word. I may not ever become famous or well known for some amazing miracle discovery, but I am far richer that anyone else may be if they haven't discovered the secret of their self worth. What I am does not matter.......that won't be remembered after I am gone. What I have done will be the legacy I leave behind for others to remember me by. What more can I ask for? Ask yourself how much your self worth is. I think you will be surprised by the answer. I know I was.

THANKSGIVING

Another holiday approaching and I'm wondering where the year has gone again. I guess it's true when they say life happens when you are making other plans. I haven't accomplished as much as I wanted to this year and probably won't before 2012 comes.
But all in all it hasn't been a bad year. Some bumps in the road and some illness for various members of my family, but all have recovered.
I went to the library the other day and every time I go I never get less than 10 or 15 books. It makes me feel so rich and I have stated to build my own library of paperbacks of my favorite books. The local bookseller is going out of business in November so I want to get as many as possible.
While I was doing that another thought came to mind along with some others.
This year my Thanksgiving list is longer.
I am thankful for:
1. My friends and family
2. That I live in a country where I have free access to any reading material I wish and it is not censored.
3. That my grandchildren live in a country that offers free education to all without prejudice.
4. That they are not in the middle of a war zone.
5. I am grateful that they have enough to eat and warm beds to sleep in.
6. More importantly that I have the Constitution of the United States that grants me and the children of this country a lot of rights that many other countries do not have for their people.
I could go on and on with more to be grateful about, but my main purpose was to get you all to thinking about something more than turkey and all the good food we stuff ourselves with on this holiday.
So use this day to enjoy all of that which you have living in a country that is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

TODAY JUNIOR IS 5.!!!!!!!

Today Junior turned 5 years old. Another milestone in his life that the medical profession said he'd never reach. And Junior decided to celebrate it his own way.
He wanted to go over to the school playground today and his mommy said okay as soon as your sister Izzabella wakes up from her nap.
Now you have to know Junior to appreciate what comes next. When he gets an idea in his head there's no way of changing his mind. Also remember that he doesn't walk yet, but uses a froggy hop to get around. My daughter went upstairs to get a shower, leaving Junior doing his original thing in front of the downstairs TV for about 10 minutes. Or so she thought.
When she came back down he was nowhere to be found. I get a frantic phone call, jump into clothes and drive like a maniac to her house 2 streets over. By the time I get there Junior has been delivered back to the house in the back seat of the local police department.
Turns out the little monkey went out the front door, out the porch gate which he opened by himself and then down the stairs to the sidewalk. Then he proceeded to cross the very busy street in front of his house where the cars speed up and down all day. He made it over to the school grounds by the dumpster and was seen by someone in the school. Hence the ride in the police car sitting in the backseat like it was an everyday thing for him to be doing. And he had no fear o being in the car with an officer in a uniform. At one time anyone in a uniform would set him off into hysterics.
And yet he seemed to have no conception of how dangerous his little unaccompanied jaunt was.
Lucky for his mommy that the neighbors could honestly vouch for her excellent child monitoring or it could have meant a trip to jail with child endangerment charges.
So now the gate is securely fastened with a bicycle chair and a combination padlock.
And this was the child that we thought would be the GOOD ONE..........LOL
He's finally caught up for his age, but we wish it had been something a bit less dangerous.

JUNIOR'S HEAD START GRADUATION

Here it is four years later and here is Junior doing all of the things that the medical profession said he'd never be able to do. But here he is on his way to all day kindergarten come September 2011. He'll be 5 years old in August. Another milestone the medical profession said he'd never make.
And along the way he has been a teacher to all of us who have been in his life for the last 4 years. Patience, tolerance, love and tenacity we have learned from this little miracle that the medical profession said would never make it this far in life.
What he has in store for us from here on out will be an exciting adventure for him and all of us who are touched by his smile and his love.
Junior has taught us that we can do the impossible with a lot of effort and a lot of support from the people who love us.
He makes my day everytime I see him. He can turn a rainy day into a rainbow day.

APPALACHIAN SCRIPTURE CAKE

I recently read a story by Sharyn McComb called the Rosewood Casket set in the mountains of Appalachia. I found it to be very interesting in terms of folklore and superstition.
The man who owned a farm was dying and had made out pages full of his last wishes. Among them were that his 4 sons were to come together and build him a casket from the rose wood he had saved in the barn for many years. There was also a mystery about something in the past.
At the wake a cake was served that was made according to ingredients found in the scriptures from the Bible.
I thought that someone might find it as intriguing as I did.

1st Kings 4:22 4 1/2 cups
Judges 5:25 1 cup
Jeremiah 6:20 2 cups
1st Samuel 30:12 2 cups
Nahum 3:12 2 cups
Numbers 17:18 2 cups
1st Samuel 14:25 2 tablespoons
Leviticus 2:13 1/4 teaspoon
Judges 4:19 1/2 cup
Amos 4:5 2 tablespoons
Jeremiah 17:11 6 medium

From the description in the book the ingredients make something resembling a fruitcake.

ARTHUR'S STORY BY WENDY WHITE

(This story was written by my daughter about her special needs son Arthur who is now 4 years old.)
To reach one's goals in life you have to want them and know how to go about getting them. I had on major goal these past 4 years, to get my son Arthur where he is today: alive, well, and in a classroom with other children. Arthur is a 4 year old with special needs. His life started out on the brink of dying. He was born at 29 weeks, but he wanted to survive. He fought to get better in spite of everything against him. If an infant child can reach those goals then I knew there weren't limitations on the goals I could set for myself. For four years his goals were my goals: getting him to eat, sit up, learning to move around and using a crayon. The simple things that we as "normal" do so easily were 20 times harder for him! He's reached those goals and is moving forward, as I am myself. Arthur has reached his goals and he is able to be in a "regular" classroom, with "regular" children, something I was told would not be possible for him. Now that we have reached those goals and many others, I can move forward with my life and goals. I can finish getting my degree and I can back to work. I can now return to a part of my life that has been on hold for four years.
I've learned from my son Arthur that if I don't strive to get or achieve my goals in life it is because I don't want them. If he can do it,so can I! So, when you see Arthur in the hallway in his wheelchair, don't feel bad for him, feel happiness. His wheelchair is a form of transportation for him until we reach his goal of walking!
(A note from Arthur's grandmother "Me."
I have been through all of this with my daughter and her son every step of the way for 4 long, difficult, and sometimes heartbreaking years. What I learned is this: Doctors only know the medical side of illness and disabilities. They have no idea of how much a parent's willingness, hard work, patient understanding and ability to fight for everything that can improve a special needs child outlook on life. Yes, we held our breath as he tried to do things that made our hearts leap up into our throats, but through it all we also learned. The only limitations for yourself are the ones you put upon yourself. Teach your children that the sky's the limit whether they are "regular" or "special needs" children.