51 Weeks And No Valentine Days To Go

There are many ways we measure time. Moments and hours, days, weeks, months and years. I usually find myself using what ever method sounds the shortest when I’m waiting for a happily anticipated event. I now have a calendar with big X’s marking off each day, beginning on Feb.7th of this year. This morning I realized one week has passed since the first X that marks the count down to the day Sunshine girl will be home. You can read her story in an earlier post titled ” A Detour In Her Life”.

There is now fifty-one weeks to go. It is a paradox, this passing of time. In some ways it has been so slow, as if measured by each tick of a clock whose main spring needs to be oiled and in other ways as fast as the image of flipping pages of a calendar often used in old movies to indicate the passing of time.

Sunshine recently pointed out that there is just one of each Holiday and special occasion left until she’ll be home to share them with us all. Tonight I’ll mark off the last Valentines Day before her return. I find this concept to be a very satisfying way to measure her remaining time. Looking ahead on my calendar, I see next Monday is the last Presidents Day, but I don’t want to get to far ahead and spoil the happiness that this way of marking the time brings to my heart.

There is and always will be the bitter sweetness in each of our days because of the deep sorrow of the loss Sunshine’s friend. Somethings can not be measured by any method devised by mankind. There are questions in our minds and hearts we will never find an answer to on this earth and the best we can hope for is the faith to endure, knowing we have God’s love and promises to rely on. The mother of the young man who died that tragic day is one of the most remarkable people I know and she and Sunshine’s mom, against all odds, have become very close friends. So while I await my grand-daughter’s return home with joy, I am ever mindful of his loss and marked the ninth of Feb. off the calendar with tears in my eyes. We all miss you R.J. and strive to honor your memory by being kind and loving to one another.

Sorry dear reader if this post is a bit disjointed. Mixed emotions of the strongest sort and the fullest spectrum play havoc on my limited skills as a writer but I must write what is in my heart at times.

Journey,Bucket List and Love

My decision to start a blog was in part inspired by the movie ” Bucket List” along with my view of life as a journey. You see my journey has been long in years but short in distance. I still live in the south-western state where my life began some 7 decades ago , so I will hopefully expand my world and enjoy new adventures via these pages.

I married at the age of 18,  wow what was I thinking, but love trumps all and perhaps against all odds we where together for 45 yrs.  If I was asked the secret to a forever marriage I guess I’d say marry your best friend. It was so much fun. Some other points of advice that come to mind are; you don’t need to use 5lbs. of potatoes for a dinner for 2, never tell a 6ft.4 guy to hang pictures at eye level and never forget how to laugh at yourself and each other. Though he has been with God for seven and a half years, he can still make me laugh. And I know he would get a good chuckle from the idea of me blogging, and then look over my shoulder and make suggestions on what I should say but scoff at the any thought that he could do one of his own. We were blessed with 3 kids and 2 grandkids who we both love dearly. I’m so grateful for them, and for the great ‘daddy and ‘papa’ he was to them. Do I miss him ? Of course. Have I found a way to be happy and enjoy life without him here? Yes, for to do otherwise would dishonor his memory, and besides that he would be really mad at me if I moped around being sad.

Anyway this is just a short introduction and the start of one of my bucket list items. I will jump ahead here and tell you the last thing on my list is to kneel at the Throne of my Lord when He says it’s time for me to come home, and I know that one is a sure thing. The rest between here and there are like my journey so far, ever-changing ,hopefully full of surprises, joy and love.