How I met your Father

     My husband and I are celebrating our 48th anniversary today. So it seems appropriate to write about how we came to be married. How did a girl from congested sunny Southern California end up in the chilly wilds of Wyoming? Well it starts with me deciding to go to nursing school in San Diego, CA (I'm from the LA area). Then you add a boy from Wyoming who decides to join the Navy. Throw in a dance at the San Diego YMCA and you have the perfect storm, sort of.
     San Diego has always been known as a navy town, although not as much now as it was in the early 60's. Because there were always many sailors in town the Y would throw dances on a regular basis. As a student at an all girls nursing school run by the Sisters of Mercy, a dance seemed like a good way to meet boys.

The student nurse

     Ok, so you met your husband at a dance, end of story. Not quite, you see Al never even asked me to dance. He was interested in my friend Betty. He dated her for awhile, then dated friend Peggy, then friend Mary(by the way we all remained friends). I also was dating other people, nothing serious. Then one evening Al called our dorm, he asked for Mary, no she's out, Peggy, out, Betty, out. Well how about Jackie something, can't remember her last name. I happened to be there so he asked if I'd like to go have a coke with him and his friend and friend's girl. Sure why not, I had nothing better to do.

The sailor

     We started dating casually, but gradually it became more exclusive. After about seven months we were getting pretty serious. Then one day out of the wild blue, Al calls me to say he doesn't think we should see each other any more, but we could still be friends. WHAT! Now you might think I would be heart broken and reduced to tears. But he didn't know who he was dealing with, yet. Oh I was upset all right but I didn't cry, I got angry. Hadn't we talked about marriage and now he wanted to break up.

     About this time one of my dorm mates was looking for a blind date for her boy friend's buddy. I said, "I'll go" and thought, "I'll show him, breakup my aunt fanny".  So I went out on a date that same night. A week later Al gave me an engagement ring. Now if you ask him about this story he will point out that I wasn't very upset about the break up because I went out on a date the same day. I will counter with the fact that he went out with three of my friends before getting to me. He says he saved the best for last (he's always been a silver tongued devil). No matter how you want to look at it here we are celebrating 48 years of marriage.

The school prom. Do you like my hair? That's when

you could drive safely to Tijuana, Mexico and get

your hair done for $2 

      Like any other couple who's been together for any length of time we've had our ups and downs. One thing Al said during our short lived break up is still true, we can still be friends. I say that's what has helped us through those up & downs. Al says it's because he learned early on to say, "Yes dear". I did ask him why he broke up with me that day. He said, "I was afraid, I knew this was the real deal".

A thought to ponder: Making a big life change is pretty scary. But, know what's even scarier? Regret.

Garden Therapy

     Coming soon to this blog near you, Garden Therapy Thursday. On random Thursdays I will wax poetic about our garden. Well probably not poetic, I'm really not much of a poet. But I'll defiantly tell you lots of cool stuff and share lots of neat pictures. I will be sharing the rags to riches story of our garden. It's evolution from nothing but dirt, rocks and weeds to a certified backyard habitat.

Morning glories on our herb garden fence (2005)

      It would be groovy if you'd stop by to read about the growing of our gloriously gratifying garden. It is genuinely gorgeous, never garish. It's been a gargantuan task, but we are always gleeful at the arrival of spring and the chance to see our graceful and genial flowers, plants and trees. Lucky for you I'm about out of "g's".

     The next thought is germane to this post. Ok, I'm done.

A thought to ponder: Gardening is cheaper then therapy, and you get tomatoes.

Participating in Garden Party Tuesday.

Lions and Tigers and Monsters, OH MY!

     In my last post I discussed fear and I'm going to continue with that subject. To a child the world is a new and wondrous place, but also it can be scary. One day when our grandson Rex was three, he was at our house and it was starting to get dark. My husband and Rex were looking out the front window when Al said, "I'm going to go out and get the newspaper." Rex looked up at him and said, "Ok Poppy, but be careful, and be brave." 

Rex 3 years

     Part of growing up is learning to be brave. Whatever life throws at us, we hopefully develop the courage to deal with difficulties and come out a better person. All children have fears and anxieties, this is normal. These fears will change as the child grows and develops. Usually between the ages 4 to 6 children's fears are not based on reality i.e. monster, ghosts, etc. It is the job of parents and grandparents to help their child feel safe no matter the fear.

Rex and Poppy

     Our son Vince, Rex's father, made a good attempt at helping with the fear of monsters. The following is Vince's version of what happened as posted on his Facebook page:

     Welcome back to #daddyfail blog. In tonight's post I fail at warding off           monsters and aliens.

     Background: Rex reports this fear and I had the genius idea of using my        special mixture of "monster repellent". I make an elaborate display of            spraying the "repellent" around his room.

   Rex: "Daddy that's just Febreeze"

   Me: (nervous) "No, no, this is my best mixture of monster repellent ever."

   Rex: "Daddy it even smells like Febreeze. It's Febreeze, I can read it."

   Me: (crushed & defeated) "I had to use the Febreeze bottle to mix it in                         because it's so powerful."

   Rex: "Well at least it smells nice."

   Me: "Ok.....well I guess we are done here."

   Rex: "It's ok Daddy, you tried."

Daddy & Rex

     This isn't really a fail because Vince took his son's fears seriously. Rex can feel secure in knowing his father cares enough to try and make him feel safe. But, just in case those monsters come back, the grandparents come to the rescue with their patented formula.

A thought to ponder: Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the will to face                                            it.

The Hair of the Dog

     The above phrase is traditionally used in reference to alcohol.  I hope you will use your imagination as I use it in a little different context, in relation to fear. I believe most people are afraid of something. It could be spiders, the dark, heights, flying, any number of things.  One person's fear is another person's "what's the big deal". We shouldn't make light of anyone's fears because to each their fear is real.
    Being afraid isn't necessarily a bad thing. A good healthy bit of fear under certain circumstances can keep a person from becoming a statistic. It's only when our fear becomes so extreme and we are unable to function, it is then time to take action and try to over come that fear. 
    For those who know me, you might be surprised to learn that when I was little I was very afraid of dogs.  My mother told me I would start crying even if I heard a dog bark somewhere. My parents decided I needed a little "hair of the dog". So when I was around two years old they got a dog.  A female boxer puppy, they named her Fromme (a family surname). They placed me in one corner of the kitchen and the puppy in the opposite corner. I screamed and the dog shook.  Poor Fromme didn't know what to make of the wailing banshee opposite her.

     It was probably more cruel to put the dog in that situation then it was for me. But in time I did over come my fear and Fromme forgave me my unwelcoming behavior. We became fast friends as you can see from the following photo. I have a death grip on her, so she can protect me from the scary photographer.

Jackie & Fromme  1950

     Fromme had a couple litters of puppies, which added more dogs to the household.  As the picture below shows I was now very comfortable with dogs.

1952

     My parents kept a male puppy from Fromme's last litter. They named him Flubadub. Now if you're old enough to remember the Howdy Doody show you'll know the origin of the name. If not this will help: Howdy Doody Club. Flubadub defiantly lived up to his namesake, he was a crazy dog, but handsome.  My father showed both dogs in local dog shows and they both won several ribbons and trophies. But as far as my brother, sister and I were concerned they were just our beloved four legged friends.

     Both dogs died when I was in high school, a very sad time for all of us. But they gave much love and enjoyment to the whole family. Over the years I've been a dog Mom to 5, mostly rescues. Fromme will always have a special place in my heart, because of her I overcame one of my fears.

Jackie & Flubadub  1953

     As a side note, the AVMA in 2008 denounced the practice of ear cropping and tail docking as painful and unnecessary. 

A thought to ponder: Always strive to be the person your dog thinks                                                        you are.

Revenge can be sweet

     "So what did you do Friday night?"  
     "Oh just sat around watching a baby wiggle."
Yes when you become a grandparent that's the type of activity you find entertaining. Our daughter Casie had the first grandchild, Miranda. She was also the first for our son-in-law Art's parents. Needless to say we were all very excited. We were finally able to see her in California when she was six weeks of age. 
     Casie and her husband had not had an evening out together since the baby was born.  So the four grandparents volunteered to babysit while they went out to dinner. Now at six weeks babies don't do a whole lot. If they're not eating or sleeping then they're laying in one spot looking around and randomly moving their arms and legs, basically wiggling. For several hours four adults sat and watched a six week old baby wiggle. You would have thought she was putting on an Oscar winning performance the way we oohed and ahhed.

Miranda at 6 weeks

     That was almost 8 years ago. Over that time we've had many great visits either in California or here in Wyoming and we Skype often.  I've enjoyed watching Casie and Art go from nervous newbies to confident parents. When Miranda was about a year or so old, Casie said to me, "Mom, now I get it." The 'it' being how hard parenting can be. I was glad to hear she was developing an appreciation of her fathers and my efforts as parents.

Miranda at 14 months

      But I have to say one of my favorite moments happened during a Skype session. Miranda was around two and she decided to have a toddler melt down. Casie and Art tried to reason with her. You can not reason with a two year old even under the best of circumstances. My husband and I started to laugh as we sat and watched from a safe distance. As they tried to deal with an out of control toddler, Casie said, "You don't have to laugh." With tears running down our cheeks, we replied, "Oh yes, yes we do."   Awe, yes, sometimes revenge can be sweet.

A cheerful 2 year old Miranda

A thought to ponder: Grandchildren are your reward for not strangling                                           your teenagers.


Participating in: Share the Joy

Asleep at the wheel

     I'm not wasting any time bringing out the pictures of grand kids. When people ask how I like being a grandparent I say, " I love it, I should have had them first". Only another grandparent can fully understand this sentiment. Having grandchildren is a very different experience than raising their parents. The thing to remember is, you can only get the best appreciation from another grandparent when talking about your own. You can talk to your non grandparent friends but very often behind that smile is gritted teeth and the thought "when will they stop with the pictures and stories". 

     The nice thing about this blog is I can tell all the stories and show all the pictures I want. And if you're one of those with the gritted teeth you can click on by.  Which brings us to the title of this post.

     A few years ago our grandson Rex received a drive able toy John Deere tractor. He loved to drive it around our yard, especially when his Poppy was mowing the lawn with his riding lawn mower.

        One day during a mowing session Poppy noticed Rex had started to drive erratically. He would stop then lurch forward, stop, lurch forward. My husband realized Rex had fallen asleep and his foot would jerk and push the go pedal. He called me to come and look. We both marveled at the fact that he could fall asleep while driving, John Deere can be proud of their smooth riding tractor. I of course had to snap several pictures before waking him.

      As you can see owning a good camera is essential equipment for any card carrying grandparent.


A thought to ponder: The speed of the car in front of you slows in direct proportion to how late you are for your appointment.


Participating in: Grand Social

A New Adventure

Welcome to my blog. Writing a blog has been on my bucket list for awhile but I never really knew how to get started.  Thanks to my friend Laurie, who inspired me with her blog (Mehitable Days) and gave me some hands on blog instructions, I'm giving it a whirl.  I'm not totally sure where this will go, it will be me just writing about things that strike my fancy in one way or another. I'm sure not everyone will agree with everything I have to say, but that's ok, just be nice.  Because manners are important (an idea for a future post). What follows below is something I wrote a couple years ago, it should get the ball rolling.

Bee checking out a pussy willow.

     Getting older has never really bothered me, it always seemed better then the alternative.  I was always mildly surprised when I passed another decade.  But turning 65 has turned the surprise to astonishment. How the hell did that happen. Maybe it was the arrival in the mail of my medicare card. There's plenty of over the hill jokes out there, but when the jokes on you it does make you sit up and take notice.

     I believe it was Anne Morrow Lindberg who said, "Sixty is the youth of old age." Well I get to be young again, even if it is a young oldster. From the moment we're born we're all headed in the same direction, toward death. Some reach it sooner then others. Most of us have probably heard, "live each day as if it were your last." How many of us really practice this sentiment. We're all too caught up in the business of life.  We believe we have all the time in the world.

     Well reaching 65 has brought home the fact that I don't have all the time in the world.  It's got me thinking about my life; what I've learned, what I haven't learned, what I've done and what I still want to do.

A thought to ponder: Sometimes you just have to buy the purple boots, even if the black ones would be more practical.