Monday Musings

Out in my yard today...  a balmy 44 degrees.  We received about 6 inches of snow late last week and it is melting away today. 

happily hibernating rose bushes

I'm grateful for... good health!  After a few weeks of battling a rotten cold coupled with the stomach crud last week, I'm starting to feel like a regular person again.

One of my favorite things... is watching my kids excel in whatever they choose to do.   After competing in a district tourney last Saturday, my oldest daughter qualified to compete at the state Debate tournament to be held in a couple of weeks.  The very next day she participated in a local Girls State competition and was selected to represent her high school at the state convention this summer.  Tonight we will be attending a basketball banquet where we will celebrate the achievements of my youngest daughter's team.  While I am proud of their accomplishments, I am especially proud of who they are and the women they are becoming! 

This week I'm reading...  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. In this book, the author tells about the year her family vowed to eat only foods they grew themselves or purchased from other locally grown sources.  In addition to being a fascinating story, the book is full of information about the food industry in our country and the global marketplace. 

I'm looking forward to... getting caught up on some projects at home this week.  It's amazing how quickly things can get out of control when I'm not available to stay on top of it all.

Simple life tip for the week... "Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what you could.  Tomorrow is a new day, begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be encumbered." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I used to think I was a cat person...

I have always loved cats. The fur, the whiskers, the interesting personalities. My favorite cat characteristic, though, would have to be their independent spirit. Cats do life on their terms. Amazing! I dated a guy in high school who told me that if I were an animal I would be a cat. Presumably because of the personality similarities I shared with felines and not the whiskers, although I never really clarified that with him.

Over the course of my lifetime I have had numerous pet cats. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of my giant yellow cat named Fluffy. I spent many hours with that old tom cat, dressing him up in baby clothes and pushing him around in my baby buggy. Or at least attempting to push him around. As I recall he wasn’t a big fan of the baby buggy.

There was Whiskers, a beautiful female with shiny black and white fur and the longest whiskers I’d ever seen. She had two kittens, Donny and Marie (it was the 70’s, okay?) who provided me with hours of fun and entertainment. Whiskers met an untimely demise after being poisoned by our next door neighbor who did not like cats. When I was about 8 years old I witnessed this neighbor drowning kittens in a water barrel in his back yard. So traumatic. I was never at ease around that man ever again. Kitten killers are never to be trusted.

When my oldest brother and his family were moving to the Midwest their cat came to live with me and my parents. She was a gorgeous Siamese mix with crystal blue eyes. My nephews had named her “Nick Wildcat.” There had been quite an argument over what to name her when they first got her. One boy wanted “Nick” and one wanted “Wildcat” so they compromised by calling her both names. I thought she was much too stunning for such a name, so I renamed her “Simone.” She had such style and attitude.

Shortly after my husband and I were married, we got a precious little yellow kitten and named her Olivia. She was our first “baby.” A few months later we discovered that she was really an “Oliver,” but he never really responded to our attempts to change his name, so we had a certificate of neuter from the vet with the name “Olivia” on it. We had many adventures with that cat during the next 13 years.

I have had a few pet dogs that I dearly loved, but I just never connected with them the way I did with my cats.

And then there was Baxter.

What a sweetie!

Baxter is my darling Miniature Schnauzer. He was not quite 6 weeks old when he came to live with us 4 ½ years ago. He was born on my youngest daughter’s birthday and she chose his name. Prior to Baxter we had experienced some major canine-related heartache. We had two beloved senior citizen dogs that had to be euthanized within 3 months of each other. Then there was our Jack Russell Terrorist who tried to bite off my husband’s thumb and had to be put down. Not feeling very lucky in the doggy department at this point. We decided to try our luck again when an acquaintance who breeds miniature schnauzers mentioned that a new litter of pups was on the way. So we picked out Baxter and surprised our girls with the new addition to our family.

He was a perfect fit right from the start. So playful and cuddly. He was easily housebroken and we taught him to ring a bell to let us know when he needs to go outside. What a smart boy! But most of all, Baxter brought healing in the wake of all the heartache we had experienced. This self-proclaimed cat person was quickly being transformed into a major dog lover!



Looking handsome in his jacket



Miniature schnauzers usually choose someone in the family as their favorite. Early on it was quite apparent that I was Baxter’s choice. He is loyal to everyone in our household, but he definitely prefers being with me. When I am gone, he will stand by the front door and watch for me out the window. When I return home he does his celebration dance and wants to immediately sit in my lap. He follows me around and prefers to sleep next to me whenever possible. In the beginning I assumed that he liked me best because I was his primary care giver. Now that I’ve been his “Mama” for a few years I think that he chooses me because I really need everything that he gives to me.




Me and Baxter

 

Cat person? Not so much any more.  I'd rather snuggle with my darling doggie!

loyal, protective,
intuitive, comforting,
furry cuddly love!





Word-filled Wednesday

Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it

through anything in the One who makes me

who I am.  ~Philippians 4:13 (MSG)

I Choose You

 Like most little girls, I adored fairy tale romances. I dreamed of the day that I would meet my handsome prince who would carry me away to his castle and we would live happily ever after.  I whole-heartedly embraced the notion that I would "fall in love" with the man of my dreams and everything would simply fall into place for the rest of our lives.  I was also sure that in the midst of this there would be a well-placed musical number complete with a montage of our most romantic moments thus far.  And so I waited for him to arrive... 

My "once upon a time" began on my first date with David.  We met while in college.  He had been nominated for Homecoming King and several of the girls in my dorm, including me, were hoping to be his date for the dance.  I was so excited when he asked me!  I literally ran from room to room telling all the girls on my floor that he picked me.  Although he did not win the crown, we had a wonderful evening together.  I could feel myself "falling" for him.

Nine days later he proposed to me.  Crazy?  Crazy that he asked or crazy that I accepted?  We barely knew each other, came from very different backgrounds, and we were incredibly young.  We didn't have anything but each other.  We realized very quickly that we were better together than we were alone, and so we set a wedding date for seven months later.



Young love



The happy couple














A kiss for luck & we're on our way...



The wedding was beautiful and after stealing away for a week-long honeymoon, we set out to pursue our "happily ever after."  My prince didn't exactly have a castle.  Instead we lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in an on-campus married student housing complex.  No servants or woodland creatures that could sing ever showed up.  We spent our days going to class and working to make ends meet.  There wasn't much arguing because we were never together long enough to start one!  Being in love was wonderful, but kinda hard work. 

It was in the first few months of wedded bliss that I learned something very important.  Love is a choice.  Doesn't sound nearly as romantic as the fairy tales promised, but it is the truth.  Every day when I wake up I am met with this very decision- Will I love him today?  I can honestly say that I have said "yes" to that question every day for the past 22 years that we have been together; however, some days are easier than others.  And I'm sure he would say the same for me.  I'm not always that loveable. 

Over the years I have received many wonderful gifts on Valentine's Day.  Flowers, candy, romantic dinners, weekend get-aways.  I've even been serenaded by a barbershop quartet.  But the greatest gift I could ever receive is being able to do life every day with my sweetheart.  Each day is full of choices, some easy and some not-so-easy. Today, as we continue on in this journey of "happily ever after," I say again to this amazing husband, father, and man of God who holds my heart,  I choose you!