Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘Angels’

SYNCHRONIZITY

SYNCHRONIZE — to move or occur at the same time.

“HELP! I know I need to write. I understand. But in order to write a thought ramble I NEED a subject, I NEED a title!”

Out at the camper, I wandered down to the Center for morning coffee. The parking lot was full, the tables were full also. They were making a new pot of coffee. I found an empty chair and thought about staying to talk. It was a lovely morning, it was warm enough to take my scooter for a ride. I decided not to stay for coffee. I decided to take the scooter for a ride instead. I have to admit that since the tornado, I haven’t wandered up for coffee very often. Too much to do and not enough time to do it in.

Before I left, I stopped to talk to a friend. I have known her for too many years to count. She is experiencing a new health challenge this year — her eyesight has diminished so much that she can no longer drive. She has always been independent, full of energy, willing to help. One of her children drove her out to the camper and friends are taking her for coffee, and shopping, and ?? She is staying busy. She had planned to stay one month, it has been three months and counting. She is considering going back home in October.

She told me that she has realized that she gets a lot of help from GOD. “There are so many synchronicities. I never noticed them before. I can’t help but notice them now.”

I replied that she has always received “help” from above, she was just too busy to notice. Now that she is challenged, she has more time to notice. Since my father passed over, I will admit that synchronicities are a normal part of my life, so much so, that many times they pass by unnoticed. Thinking back, I realized that I have been receiving “help” from above most of my life. My mother was VERY GOOD at “helping” quietly.

It is only when someone brings it to my attention like Lois did at coffee that I think about it. I will admit that most of the time when I notice I will say “thank you!” Here is my question for you — Do you notice the synchronicities in your life? Or are you too busy?

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BATTERED

I’ve often thought of myself as a ship, sailing the open seas, at the mercy of the wind and the tides, directed by a Supreme Being. I have to confess that this ship feels battered. Since the beginning of summer, my life has been anything but smooth water. Thankfully nothing extremely serious, my family is well, we have shelter and food on the table BUT many, many strong waves have tried to drown me.

I thought I was coping well when the tornado struck. Thankfully we were at home, not in the path of destruction. I don’t try to remember stuff that surfaces that unsettles me. I have NOT taken photos of the damage caused by the storm, except on our own property. It is too sad to see the sunny roads that were once sheltered by trees. I don’t need to remember the effects of the strong winds. If I were to try to list all of the challenges and problems I would have to think, and write them down. I don’t need to remember them, you don’t need to read about them. I will admit that I was happy when June ended. I mistakenly thought that waters would be calmer, smooth sailing. I WAS WRONG. More rough seas ahead. More challenges, more obstacles — even our trip to Florida for our granddaughter’s wedding had huge waves.

Then thankfully came August — but NOT smooth seas. A favorite restaurant announced it was closing, as did the garage that works on our car. Health concerns for members of my husband’s family surfaced. Now I’m sure that “my friend’s in high places” have been busy — “helping.” I’m also sure that I didn’t write down the many times I received their help and said “thank you!”

I looked at the thought rambles that I’ve written and realized that nothing was scheduled to publish. I’ve been so busy trying to keep my head above water that I haven’t taken the time to write, to share. When I had so many ideas for thought rambles, I wondered if that meant my life would be busy. That I wouldn’t have time to write. I guess that is true. Day by day, week by week, month by month — time passes. I’ll leave the passing of time in the hands of the Supreme Being and keep trying to do the best I can!

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TORNADO UPDATE

TORNADO UPDATE

Entering the gate at Woodhaven Lakes, the world looked normal. Taking the first road to the left, going down the hill, the land looked the same. Turning the curve brought the present. Trees down, trailer’s destroyed or damaged — the destruction that an F2 tornado caused. We found our motor home right away. A double trunk tree fell on top of it, making it the poster child of the tornado. It has been on the front page of two newspapers. Many people stop on their way to take a picture. We got spray paint and wrote bye bye on the door. As I write this, three weeks later, it is still on site. The insurance company has not had it removed even though we have made many phone calls.

We could not see the damage that was done to our park model and room addition until we circled the many fallen trees. We were fortunate, a tree fell on the trailer, landing on the roof over the bathroom but only did minimal damage which my husband was able to patch temporally. Part of our deck was destroyed. A tree hanging by our room addition stopped before doing damage. I’m still not sure how many trees we lost. Our lot used to be shady, that has changed. Thanks to our children and their spouses, most of the downed trees and branches have been cleaned up.

We had to get professional help for the tree on the motor home. If the motor home was pulled out with the tree on it, it would have damaged the electric box. Thankfully the professionals knew what they were doing and although expensive, it was money well spent. I can’t praise Foremost and Farmers Insurance enough. They were on property and quickly appraised the damage. An important item is that they plan to continue to insure property at Woodhaven Lakes. I have heard that is not the same for all the insurance companies. I’m not happy with the company that insured our motor home. Although I’m tempted to name them, I’ll abstain at this time.

The southern half of the park — over 700 acres — was damaged. Three sections were completely closed except to property owners who were guided on site. Just recently I was able to tour those areas — all I can say is that it is heartbreaking. We were extremely lucky. We are able to stay, comfortably on site. My birdbath was undamaged, even though a tree fell on either side. My shepherd statue laid on its side but was undamaged. A little boy angel, holding a puppy, surrounded by green fallen evergreen, peaked his head up from the branches but was undamaged and our statue of Our Lady was in an undisturbed area. The antenna for the TV is still standing.

The employees of Woodhaven Lakes can not be thanked enough. The little park across the street, although damaged, has had the fallen trees removed. Although most of the equipment was damaged, kids can safely play on the remaining swings. As I write this, work is progressing to clear the nature trails of fallen trees. Many volunteers have come to help, as well as volunteers whose property was untouched. It will be a long time before most of the damage from the tornado will be removed. It will be a longer time before new trees are planted and grow.

Thankfully there were no fatalities the night of the tornado and just a few minor injuries.

Sadly, the aftermath of the tornado will cause many people to abandon their property. God and his angels were very busy that night. They still are very busy helping as people work to clear their property of damage. I have heard and experienced too many signs of angels at work to list them. THANK YOU!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER

I don’t remember very much about my brother. He was two years old and passed with my mother in a fire when I was four. In my youth, it wasn’t wise to let on that you had extra talents — psychic or ? Listening to many gifted people over the last few years I’ve learned that many hid their talents and that has made me realize that whatever talents I had, I probably hid them. It was safer.

Growing up, I never realized that I had “help” from the other side. Looking back on my life, I can remember places that a little bit of “help” was needed. My mother was very talented, she hid her interaction well. I’ve come to believe that my brother followed her example, and “helped out” occasionally.

Soon after my father passed to the other side, I wrote a thought ramble “VOICES” in which I imagined angels (Raggedy Ann and Andy characters) playing with my body, trying to wake me up. I wrote it for a Creative Writing class, my instructor WAS NOT impressed. Later it dawned on me that one of the characters might have been my brother. Who but a brother would tease his sister or hit her on the head?

I don’t have any living brothers or sisters. I have watched the interaction of my children with each other and have come to the conclusion that my idea might have merit. Delving into the history of my family after my father’s passing, I’ve learned the date of the fire and the birthdays of my mother and brother. My uncle was younger than my mother, therefore doesn’t remember much . It was too painful for my father to talk about it and I didn’t ask.

I note the birthdays of my mother and brother in my daily calendar as well as others in my family. Recently it was my brother’s birthday. It was a normal(?) day, if there is such a thing. Except one and one made two.

We were out at the camper under a tornado alert. I was waiting for the weather report on television, it would have been on after the commercials when I did something to the TV changer. I was hoping the radar would show where the storms were. We don’t have satellite, just a box that converts the digital signal to a program that can be seen on the TV. I don’t know what I hit, I was placing a control down when something happened. We had SNOW — NOISE — more snow — nothing resembling a TV program for more than a half hour. When we finally recovered the picture ( I don’t know how) we had no sound. It took more time to get sound back. By this time the news was over as well as weather reports. Thankfully our son got us a hot spot that we can connect to that gives us computer access. I learned that the tornado watch for our area had been cancelled. My son suggested that maybe the weather report on our TV was blocked so I wouldn’t worry?????

A few thought rambles ago — I wrote a blog titled ELEVATOR POSSESSED. I had a reason to tell the story when I was having coffee with a group on the morning of my brother’s birthday. I mentioned that the Retina Specialist still stored equipment in the basement. The woman I was speaking to asked if that wasn’t the reason the elevator kept taking us to the basement. Hmmm?

We came back home earlier than my husband and I wanted to. BUT the next day was the only day of the week friends of ours were able to get together. An older friend of mine was visiting on our block that evening and I was able to drop in to visit AND we beat an violent storm home!

Happy Birthday Brother!

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ALOHA

At Christmas, my son combined my Christmas and Mother’s day present by inviting me to accompany him to Oahu. We have made the trip before and had a marvelous time. The last time we were there we spent many hours hanging out at the International Market, sipping ice tea in the tree house and watching the world go by. We planned to do the same this time.

A month before we planned to travel, I met a woman in the grocery store whose children went to school with ours. They had just returned from Hawaii — they could not find the International Market. Computers are wonderful things. Returning home from the store, I looked up the International Market and learned it had closed. I have to admit that the knowledge made me sad but it was early enough that we could change the things we planned.

I wasn’t worried. Since I travel with Spirit, I knew that I would find many things that would intrigue me. I WASN’T mistaken. After experiencing Oahu traffic on our last visit, and learning the buses, we decided not to rent a car this time. We did take the bus — to the zoo, aquarium and China Town, but most of the time we used our feet.

The first day, I searched for a store that sold Apple Cider Vinegar. I have found that having a tablespoon in water before meals helps my digestion. We had wandered down the beach after breakfast, heading for the old location of the International Market. I stopped in a store that I thought might carry the product. They didn’t, but the manager told me how to find the Food Pantry. Make a right at Dukes Lane, (the alley) walk down a block, turn left and it was only two blocks away.

Imagine our surprise, we turned down Dukes Lane and discovered an off shoot of the International Market (Hawaiian flea market.) I found a purse that held my camera, cell phone, glasses and wallet that didn’t hurt my back — that I could afford. It didn’t have the tree house for iced tea but you can’t have everything. We learned a new International Market is being built, anchored by Sax’s Fifth Avenue opening in 2016. The new market sounds too pricey for me but it appears that Dukes Lane will remain unless they are forced out.

We found the Food Pantry — they had my vinegar. I would have had a lovely time buying food items but our plan was to eat out — a cooking vacation for me. The Food Pantry was near Wakiki beach., which became our new hangout for watching the world go by.

We wandered to Ala Moana Mall the next day to look for shoes. When I asked about the food store that had been at the mall, I learned it had closed. I was very happy to have found the Food Pantry. The mall now has a lovely food court — food from around the world in one space. Sadly, I wasn’t hungry.

That same week, we found another food court — not as big but with a lovely variety of places. I tried Tai Milk Tea and Vietnamese seafood noodle soup. We discovered that the shrimp truck was close to the time share and ABC store had a variety of fresh salads and sandwiches. I can truthfully say that my diet didn’t resemble the food I ate at home.

I can also truthfully say time spent at Wakiki Beach was worthwhile. Besides watching the surfers and the waves, we found many things to delight us.

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TORNADO

TORNADO

Normally I publish my thought rambles a few weeks after they are written. The events of the past week have caused me to reschedule and publish this one in a timely fashion.

I was forewarned that something was going to happen. The homily at church concerned the storm, Jesus in a boat, the disciples afraid they were going to drown. I had taken a photo of my painting, GHOST SHIP or THE STORM and had it printed on canvas. I planned to embellish it and give it to one of my daughters for Christmas.

Monday, walking Robin I fell, kissing the sidewalk, injuring my body but thankfully not breaking anything. We had planned to go to the camper but my husband needed a refill on his insulin. Since our doctor is in the office on Monday, I was hoping to get his prescription refilled and we would leave on Tuesday.

Monday night, storms in the area were severe — in fact nine tornado’s touched down. Woodhaven Lakes, our campground, was struck by an F2 tornado, damaging the southern half, about 700 acres of the campground. Thankfully there were no fatalities. It was a Monday, only about 300 people were on the property not the crowds of a weekend. Monday evening, The Goodtimers, a club for people over 55 was holding a ice cream social. They were gathered in a solid construction building. At 8:10, security came by and asked them to remain in the building until further notice. At 11:30, they were finally allowed to leave. Trees were all over the roads, blocking safe passage. Tuesday, a search for victims trapped in their trailers was conducted. I have heard that two handicapped victims were rescued. THANK YOU doesn’t fully convey the gratefulness for the staff on property.

Woodhaven is closed, anyone on property can stay but if they leave, they can not return. Thankfully I have heard from some of our friends and learned that a tree fell on our motor home. The photo of it has been published in a newspaper. Thankfully, as of Tuesday, our park model is still in one piece. Many people spend their summers at Woodhaven and winter down south. Many people have lost their home away from home. From the photos, there is total devastation. Electricity was finally turned on Thursday. We still don’t know when access will be allowed.

By now, my husband’s 1954 Lincoln would be on property. But this year, it is still at the mechanics, safe from harm. Because of the downed trees, it would have been smooched too.

It is hard to prepare for the trip. We don’t know what we will find. I have repacked my clothes — jeans instead of shorts, high shoes instead of sandals. I have been told that I won’t be allowed to help. We have purchased a bigger, gas chain saw and work gloves. I’m going to leave the canvas and paints at home. I still have my bathing suit. Hopefully the pool will be open. My body would like that.

We have camped at Woodhaven for over 40 years — our home away from home. I sure don’t want to stop now. But one thing is certain — I will pay more attention to storm warnings and head for permanent structures if there is a need.

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GRAMS BIRTHDAY

I lived with my father’s mother for quite a few years when I was young. She probably has had the most influence on my cooking habits — health and long life probably came from her also.

My grandmother was of Swedish decent, mother of eleven children and excellent cook. Since she had such a large family, she knew how to stretch her money and had a dry humor. I have since learned that she earned money sewing beads and sequins on fabric. (That must be where another of my interests comes from.) She passed over at the young age of 91.

Recently I published the thought ramble GRANDMOTHER to honor her on her birthday. That particular day I was shopping with a friend — girls day out. We met for breakfast at Gramma Sally’s, then proceeded to Wal-Mart for a bit of shopping. I had my list, for a change I was prepared. (Don’t laugh!) I really didn’t have a lot of stuff to purchase so I wandered the food aisles. I was surprised when I found a box of no-sodium beef bouillon. Since I eat a sodium restricted diet it was A LOVELY find. It wasn’t with the soups, it was with the sugar. There is NO WAY I would have found it. I must admit I bought three boxes.

It was a day when I left my mind at home. I left home without checking my wallet for cash. I wandered the store, checking my list — everything listed was in my cart, or if not, purposely not purchased. I felt something was missing, but I couldn’t remember what it was.

Walking through the parking lot, with my loaded cart, I remembered — I forgot to check the clearance aisle for miniature planes. My granddaughter mentioned she liked them too when I gave a set to her brother.

My friend suggested I go back to the store and look. She was happy to wait in the car. So I did. I wandered the clearance aisle, searching from top to bottom, all the items that were on the three shelves. I searched from North to South. On the other side, a clerk was stacking more items on the shelf. I asked if she has seen the planes. I asked if she had any planes in her cart. Both answers were negative. I proceeded to search the opposite side of the aisle, South to North, three shelves with more stuff hanging from posts. I was about to give up when I saw THREE packages of planes, marked down to five dollars each on the last post in the aisle. All THREE were MINE! I decided that $15 wasn’t too much to spend for something that I knew my grandkids would enjoy. Imagine my surprise when the grand total for the purchase of all three packages was $4.92. THANK YOU GRAMMA!

My plans for the grocery store was very limited since my freezer is stocked. I wanted some catfish until I saw they were on sale and one bag became two. Then I notice if I spent $25, I would get a ham butt for .69 a pound. That was too good a deal to pass up. All I had to do was find another $6 of food to buy, but it couldn’t be frozen or need freezing. There was no room. I had a challenge — I MET IT!

Did I mention that I said THANK YOU again.

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EDITED

Was I angry? Good question — No, I laughed. So now I’m sure you are wondering what I’m writing about. When I visited the post office, the clerk’s and my conversation revolved around how “my friends in high places” communicated with me. We spoke of flickering lights, trouble with the phone and computer problems. When I arrived home, I wrote POST OFFICE, followed by SMOOTHIE. I try to keep the ramble to around 500 words and I was already over my self imposed limit. Writing SMOOTHIE, I had another thought that I decided to share. I save all of my rambles on a external hard drive — except SMOOTHIE got stuck in a loop — refused to be saved and impossible to get the original screen back. I’m not sure how I solved the problem, it was probably a time when I kept trying various methods until something worked. When SMOOTHIE appeared on the screen, it was missing the last paragraph. AND I UNDERSTOOD that the thought shouldn’t be shared and laughed.

I first experienced my “editor” when I was writing TO PAP,WITH LOVE. I had TROUBLE — sentences disappeared, I watched words disappear like the computer game Pac Man that ate stuff. Whole paragraphs disappeared when the computer locked. I had trouble printing a chapter — I thought I hadn’t written it well and tried to improve the writing. The trouble finally stopped when I realized it wasn’t in the writing — we had been given the present of a beautiful day. Lesson learned and REMEMBERED.

AND MY “EDITORS” ARE STILL WITH ME!

I thought SACRED SPACE was a limited time but I’m wondering if it is continuing. My grandson’s birthday is approaching as is the anniversary of my maternal grandmother’s birthday. Shopping with a friend yesterday, I found a dime laying by the trunk closure, not inside the trunk on the floor bed, but in the ridge of the weather striping.

I discovered a brand new mystery book by a favorite author at half price. I was unaware that she had a new book coming out. I found slippers that I thought were on sale for $7, for which I was charged $3 on my sales slip. I found a couple of presents for my grandchildren in the clearance section. Summer is approaching and their toys at the camper haven’t kept up with their age. Sitting waiting for a friend, an elderly woman sat down to rest next to me. She mentioned that she was just released from the hospital and being curious, I inquired to the reason. Learning that sugar was a factor, I shared our success with Dream Fields spaghetti helping to control my husband’s diabetes.

I KNOW that “my editors” are paying attention. So now I have a new question. Recently I have received many ideas to write about. Is my life getting busier and I’ll have less time to write? Or should I publish more often? Many questions — no immediate answers.

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SMOOTHIE

SMOOTHIE

I NEED to lose weight. Summer is coming — I’m planning a trip or two and I NEED to fit into the airplane seats. Now I’ll admit that I looked up my weight in my calendar books the last time I flew and THANKFULLY I’m not heavier. BUT when I’m on my feet for too long, standing at a counter or table, my back hurts. It doesn’t seem to bother me when I’ve gone for a long walk, although other body parts protest. I’ve been trying to loser weight since January without much success.

Smoothies have surfaced recently — books, magazines and lets not talk about the many commercials on TV. I decided to make a green kale, spinach, apple smoothie. I had trouble deciding what equipment to use and finally settled on my blender — its bigger. I purchased the supplies only to discover that the kale was starting to wilt. It had five days before the use by day. I was definitely disappointed but salvaged what I could.

I decided to add protein powder and spent time looking in the pantry for its hiding place. (I haven’t used it since last summer.) I found a container of mysterious powdered stuff that had been enjoyed by bugs. Thankfully they didn’t get through the lid. I don’t know how long that container had been hidden. (Some times my life is too busy and things get lost.)

Proceeding on — I cored the apple, sliced and put it into the blender. I added a scoop of protein powder. I measured the kale and spinach , added the water and turned on the blender. I WATCHED this green goo escape from the bottom of the blender and spread all over the counter and drip onto the floor. You would think that I would have turned the blender off but it took a few minutes to register what was happening.

I can truthfully tell you that I’m stubborn and didn’t let this mess stop me. I cleaned up the goo and made another batch — my family says I’m stubborn. I guess they are right.

I don’t know if I was supposed to make a smoothie — or not. Was I just supposed to find the mysterious container of powder? I made another smoothie today without the problems. Learning from my mistakes, I put the blender on a paper towel to make sure it wasn’t leaking.

Still learning, although I can sit quietly with a blank mind for a few minutes, I’m not able to imagine a guided meditation. I sit in a black space. My imagination needs a lot of work.

SHARING — I had another paragraph that I guess is private — not supposed to be shared. When I went to save the ramble — the computer locked. Retrieving the thought ramble — the paragraph is missing! Better now — saved no problem!

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POST OFFICE

POST OFFICE

How do they communicate with you? The question took me by surprise. I answered with the first thought that popped into my head: “If I’m not paying attention, I get hit on the head.”

I was at the post office preparing to mail our monthly bills. Only two people were at the windows and I decided to wait and purchase a book of stamps. I was the first person in line. While waiting, I overheard a conversation about visiting the cemetery. The clerk went twice a year, weather permitting. The customer visited every other month, unless the weather interfered. I couldn’t help myself, I had to open my mouth. I told them that I was Catholic. We believed in life after death and their loved ones were with them if they needed to be. Hence the question and my off the cuff answer. Of course we talked about flickering lights and computer problems and other means of communication. And I ended with the statement: “I’m was here to overhear your conversation and share the good news with you!”

Some things can’t be explained. That statement summarizes my life right now. My father passed over more than 20 years ago. My mother has been on the other side a lot longer. My mother remained behind the scene so I wasn’t aware of her influence until my father’s memory began to slip. Even then I didn’t know where the help I was receiving came from but I can truthfully admit that I was extremely glad for any help given. Since my father let the cat out of the bag (so to speak) I have been learning. All lessons don’t come easily and many have to be repeated over and over and over again until they begin to sink in.

I’m still not sure that I have a complete understanding which is why I get confused OFTEN. Frequent question: WHY? HOW? WHERE? Recently a bracelet disappeared. I knew where it should have been, it slipped off my polar bear, sitting on my dresser. I watched it fall. I looked for where it should have been — it wasn’t here. Today I looked again, a week or more later and it was just where I thought it should have fallen. I just said “thank you for giving it back!” The bracelet was special to me — I found it at church on the anniversary of my maternal grandmother’s birthday. It is just a bunch of different colored beads — representing earth, water and sky on an elastic band. It gave me the idea to make Christmas presents for my girls one year.

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