A LADY NEVER TELLS 255 - 09-12-09

On such rainy and gloomy day, what is a little fellow to do?  Why, make some cupcakes with his Grannie.  Let’s see, we need the mixer, some olive oil spray, throw in a box of Betty Crocker yellow super moist cake mix and a couple of eggs and some milk and there you have it.  Oh, I almost left out the two most important ingredients, a pound of enthusiasm and a ton of loving supervision.  Pop those babies into an oven preheated to three-hundred fifty degrees for about twenty minutes, bring them out to cool a bit, then add some rich and creamy butter-crème frosting and we will soon be residents in Cupcake Heaven.  And what is the special occasion for which we are baking these culinary mouthwatering delights?  Why it is Grandma Aunt Jane’s birthday!!  Which one, you ask.  THIS one, little man, THIS one, you see, a lady never tells, Isaac, a lady never tells.

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254 NEVER FORGET - 09-11-09

I was standing in the office of the Home Depot in Palm Harbor, Florida observing what was, at that moment in time, thought to be among the worst accidents in aviation history.  As it was settled once and for all in mere moments, it was no accident at all – it was the most monumental turn of events in our history.  The tragic loss of souls was not the worst casualties of invasion by the forces of an enemy – that has occurred in the years that followed since 2001 on this date.  Far more disastrous has been the perpetual undermining of the core values upon which this great nation was formed.  A purposeful degradation of the vigilance of a republic and its people, enlaced in the woven tapestry of deception and deceit by a hierarchy of evil that would kill, steal and destroy every vestige of our freedoms, the liberty which has ever made America the true land of opportunity.  All that has to happen for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.  Never Forget!  That is the slogan adopted on September 12, 2001, and has remained to this day.  But forget what?  Not the attacks, nor the sad loss of nearly three thousand souls, but forget that the basis for all our strength and all our freedoms come, not from memories of loved ones lost, but from our precious Constitution which framed the tenants of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  All of our nation’s leaders are required to pledge to serve and defend this, perhaps the greatest, single piece of parchment ever recording the fate of a nation.  That is what I would appreciate and like to see them do.  That is what we must never forget!

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ONE EXPERIENCE #253 9-20-09

I have enjoyed more one-on-one with my grandson in the past four days while the kids move into a new residence than at any point in our time together on this earth – there is nothing like it.  The elation he expresses when he splashes his Poppie, or squirts him with the water tube – all giggles and grins and my heart melts within me.  When he squeals at the thrill of successfully tossing the four blue plastic rings over a red ball-peg floating on the wavelets and echoes, ‘dude’ at each ringer, as he has heard his Poppie declare when victory is achieved is an overwhelming release.  To experience his exuberance as he leaps fearlessly from the top step out into the open water - a feat extraordinaire for a mere twenty-month old and it is fantastic.  But the true joy of my observation comes at the end of our play time, when his energies are spent and his eyelids are at their heaviest - just as he reclines in his swing as it glides back and forth and breathes deep and heavy sighs and slips peacefully away from consciousness.  Knowing how vibrant all his waking hours are, filled with inquiry and exploration to the point one can almost see the little wheels spinning in his mind, and I wonder if the peace and joy that I experience in our encounters are also somehow within his dreamland.  His Poppie loves this little guy so much it is hard to contain the powerful emotional tug at my heartstrings, so I don’t – I just let the tears slip from my eyes and cascade down my cheeks as I write this uninhibited blog so you will share one experience of this grandfather who is just blessed to be a grandfather.

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THE BEST PART OF MOVING #252

Multiple days of the kids moving into their new apartment has allowed Grannie and Poppie to engross themselves in their ‘little man’.   He is a delight.  If my heart is so full with a single grandchild, I wonder how friends who have two or three or nine can contain themselves – does the euphoria diminish with each additional grandchild, the pleasure just get diluted as a result of being spread across a broader base?  Does the throttle of our capacity to adore a little life have a governor installed on it so as not to allow ‘overdoing it’ where the children’s children are concerned?  I have another question that has been inspired by our kids moving into a new apartment – how in the world did we ever move a half-dozen times without local grandparents to help manage the offspring in the process?  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I have had the most marvelous time with Isaac – just wondering.  I suppose that we would have relied on the grandparents as well if they had just been this handy, so I guess I just answered my own question – and my overall conclusion is Grandchildren are the best part of moving!!!

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