Happy Birthday Booger!

Happy Birthday Brody Lee!

You're ONE year old!

and I am smiling ....

love me later ...tj

 

Entry for February 16, 2007

Another year passed ... another birthday how do you do? Hairs a few inches longer, waist is a few millimeters smaller (sigh). Laugh lines are beginning to look more like wrinkles and time just flies by. How do I remember this year in my life? I like this song. I'll remember it like this ... with friends.

Seasons Of Love

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylight, sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.

In inches, in miles in laughter, in strife.

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure a year in the life?

How about Love?

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan.
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?

In truth that she learned or in times that he cried?
In the bridges she burned or the way that he died?

Its time now to sing out though the story never ends ...
Lets celebrate and remember a year in the life of friends.

and I am smiling ...

love me later~tj

Apologies

So trite. I have heard my fill of hackneyed, threadbare, tired ‘I’m sorrys’. I swear to say that if I have to listen to another one from another man in my life I will throw in the towel. I’m sorry... without merit, good-for-nothing, no account, light, worthless... all forms of sorry. Sorry for what? For stepping on my heart, my emotions, lying to me, doing me wrong, being envious, greedy, uncompassionate? For being stupid, hurtful, forgetful, unkind? For being embarrassing, disrespectful, selfish? For creating a situation that has but one outcome? I’m sorry. Superficial, careless, effortless words. Those two words offend my moral senses. I’m nauseated with the flippant way those two words are tossed around.

later...tj

Entry for February 03, 2007

I heard from my Booger today. He's walking around chairs now. Lordy he has 6 teeth and says 8 intelligible words. He will be a year old in March and I tell you he is the reason God made me a mother. Patty-cake is his favorite game at the moment, his favorite song too. He makes me feel good just hearing that belly-laugh over the phone.

around him my life is good....and I smile

love me later~tj

Entry for January 26, 2007

LETTING GO TAKES LOVE

To let go does not mean to stop caring,
it means I can't do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off,
it's the realization I can't control another.
To let go is not to enable,
but allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means
the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another,
it's to make the most of myself.
To let go is not to care for,
but to care about.
To let go is not to fix,
but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge,
but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to affect their destinies.
To let go is not to be protective,
it's to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny,
but to accept.
To let go is not to nag, scold or argue,
but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,
but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To let go is not to criticize or regulate anybody,
but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past,
but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less and love more

In letting go I find a future for you ... for me

-- author unknown

later~tj

Entry for January 15, 2007 Ice Storm

Ice-storm ...

It's as dangerous as it is beautiful, and we snuggle against the storm, huddled together under blankets reading by candlelight, staving of the cold as crews string together the conveniences of our lives.

mm~mm and I smile ...

love me later ~ tj

Entry for January 07, 2007

My next door neighbors house burnt down this morning. I was awoken up with my fiance' yelling up the stairs, "WAKE UP THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR IS ON FIRE!" I scrambled out of bed and grabbed my slippers and flew out of the house. I was half way down the stairs when I heard my neighbor Phyllis screaming. She's a large woman with numerous health issues and I thought she was trapped in the house. I ran out the door ready to go into the house and get her. I saw the moment I opened the door that everyone was out of the house. The flames were rolling, glass was exploding out of every frame. I ran to Phyllis and helped her into our house. The heat was enormous out there. All four of them were in their nightclothes, no shoes, no shirts on the men. They needed to get inside out of the weather and out of the smoke that was totally engulfing the area. The firefighters arrived withing moments of the call, the EMT's shortly after. They took Phyllis to the E.R. She was overwrought with smoke inhalation and emotions. Her daughter and son-in-law were visiting for the weekend and they were okay, as was Clifford, her husband. The dog and the cat left us this morning in the fire. The firefighters found them and they will be buried behind the house. I went through our house finding shoes and clothing for everyone. I called the American Red Cross. They came out within an hour and a half. They were dynamic in their work. The gentlemen got a place for the family to stay for the next few days and arranged for them to have money for clothing and personal things. They were absolutely wonderful in taking control of the situation.

I live in a very small community. The outpouring of generosity I witnessed was overwhelming. The fire broke out at 8:45, by 10:00 sitting on my table were checks and cash, clothing and toiletries. By the time Phyllis got back at 1:00 calls had come in for homes they could move into, security deposits waived, furniture to outfit the homes (whichever one they wanted). There was a call for them to come to dinner when they were ready to eat. The VA Chapter in town came down and wrote a check to help get them by. There were tens of dozens of people in and out of my house until about 3:30 this afternoon, bringing food, clothing, money, prayers and condolences.

I looked at the side of our house and realized how hot that fire burned when I saw that the vinyl siding melted and buckled on our house. The roof flashing warped, the roof has spots of melted shingles and soot and ash cover everything. My insurance adjuster will take care of our house.

Everyone is gone now. I sit and look out our kitchen window and see the devastation and loss. I realize how fortunate we are to live in a community like this, where the compassionateness of our neighbors, our friends, our town is priceless.

humbly I smile...

love me later ... tj