Friday, October 26, 2007

The Weight of it All Has Not Been Forgotten, the Weight Has Just Been Heavy

I have not forgotten my blog, I just have so much weight on my shoulders right now that I don’t have time to sit down and express my thoughts.

After many months of struggles with memory issues, scammer attacks, and safety worries, my 85-year-old mother has decided to move in with me. We were going to try to have her moved in by the first of December, but due to some very vicious phone scammers, I decided to move up the date to Monday, Oct. 22.

The hurried move was arranged in about 4 days, and would not have been possible without the help of my rock, and other friends. I am so blessed.

The move has not been easy, in more than one way. The move is not over. There are still a lot of things to take care of, but at least my mother is safe and we will adjust after a while.

I am also on several committees right now that take some time, and I have added to my volunteer responsibilities. All good things, just time consuming in my evenings, when I would usually be blogging.

I have reached a long time goal. I am taking quilting classes. I have always wanted to learn to quilt, and I finally took that giant step. I have completed my first square and I am looking forward to finishing my first block soon.

I miss writing my thoughts. I started a post the other night and fell asleep with the computer in my lap. In fact, it has taken me 20 minutes to type this post due to a couple of little naps.

I am hoping that I can get my mom moved in by the end of November. I hope I can keep my sanity in the process. She actually wanted to keep a very small Styrofoam ball that had a face painted on it, despite the fact that the back of the head was all mashed in and there was no body. I told her “no” and she was not happy about it. I think it will be a long month. I hope she will “forget” about a lot of things, and that I will have time to blog it out when she doesn’t.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Angels We Have Seen Up High

Sunday night, October 7, 2007, the boys and I were heading to Denton, TX around 6:45 p.m. and in the western sky there was an amazing sight - a very dark blue cloud in the shape of a mountain, with a pinkish/purple cloud on top shaped like an angel on a pedestal. What a beautiful angel she was. I say she because the head appeared to have long hair. Her wings were very wide and regal looking. The boys and I watched her and discussed her as we continued to drive west. As she seemed to grow larger and more real I started thinking about angels, how unapproachable this one seemed, and how that is not the way I think of angels.

I then started thinking about angel statues I have seen on tombstones and how some of them actually seem scornful and condescending, and that surely is a mistake on the part of the crafter of the tombstone. Maybe I have seen too many movies, and have read too many novels about angels coming to help people, but I like to think of angels looking like normal everyday people that are willing to help people through a tough situation.

Looking at this very haughty, yet beautiful, vision in the sky, I couldn’t help but be a little disturbed by the fact that angels might actually look that way, and therefore would seem unapproachable. Then something happened. The very regal cloud angel passed gas. I started laughing. I had proof that she was a normal angel putting on a façade. My sons asked why I was laughing and I told them to look at the little puff of cloud that had broken off the angel in a strategic spot. I said that the angel had tooted (only I used the word that teenage boys usually use). They laughed too, and then I said what my boys are always reminding me of when I say something irreverent – “I’m going to Hell.”

As the week has gone by, I have thought of that angel many times. There she was looking over the world in a form that was totally recognizable to anyone whether or not they believe in angels. If she had appeared in the sky in the form of a grandmotherly type would anyone have recognized her as an angel?

I am very sure it was important for that angel to be recognizable at that moment, whether for my family or another family. I know that I have not forgotten her.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Great Reading of Raymond's Favorite Poem

Raymond really enjoyed poetry. One of his favorites was "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service.

There is a great reading of this poem on YouTube. ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lBkuz1TlVc

Friday, October 5, 2007

Goodbye Lisa - October 4, 2007

Lisa Moore died of cancer on October 4, 2007 in the Funky Winkerbean comic.

In they October 5, 2007 Funky Winkerbean, Les Moore is shown wondering if he had done everything he could have done.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/funky.asp

Welcome to the world of a surviving spouse/caretaker Les. That is a question I ask myself on a daily basis. It is a question I will never be able to answer.