Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘Angels’

IN TRAINING

I have to admit that I really don’t like writing things at the last minute. I’m really tempted to skip a week or two, maybe a month. Experience has taught me that not writing is not in my best interest. I like to have a couple of thought rambles scheduled so I don’t feel pressure to write. Hopefully that will happen soon. Right now I seem to be chasing my tail — not enough time in the day to get things done. Of course it doesn’t help that we spent most of the summer in the country. Lady of leisure — I cooked, I read, I watched sunrises and sunsets. Since I had a sore hamstring — I didn’t push myself to exercise and I’m still paying the price.

I shared with one of my daughters my frustration with the day. I should have gone back to bed and stayed there. NOTHING WORKED! I could NOT access the internet from the table in our dining room. I Could Not access my cell phone. I COULD NOT zipper my coat, actually looking at the coats in my closet, I wasn’t sure which was my new coat and ended up pulling out one which was a few years old. The first morning it zippered, the next day it did not. I went searching for a coat that had a zipper that would work! The coat fit, the zipper worked and I realized it was a coat that I bought a few years ago that fit when I tried it on but was too small the next day. It still is a bit tight, but it FIT and it was very warm! Of course, the zipper on the first coat worked. Now I have located the coat that was extremely comfortable last year. Its zipper works.

My daughter asked why I was having so many problems. I replied that the “blocks were on”. But I didn’t know why. This morning it dawned on me. “There are students in training.” Two of my cousins have recently arrived on the other side. I wouldn’t put it past my father and others to take them under their wing and give them suggestions on how to “help” their family here on earth.

I’m hopeful that having learned some of the ways to “help”, they will use their new found knowledge to “help” their other family members who are still on earth. I have no idea how many members are part of “my team”, but I’m sure it is more than three and some dogs and cats might be members too. I often end up at the right place, at the right time to help either a two footed human or a four footed.

Recently I attended a Chi Gong session at the hospital. I totally enjoyed it and made plans to attend on a more regular basis. UNTIL the next morning when my body parts objected STRONGLY. Hamstring — stretched again — hurt again. I thought I was giving it the exercise it needed . I was wrong!

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CELEBRATE

CELEBRATE

Every birthday is important, celebrated. Another year has passed with its challenges and blessings. Somehow entering a new decade carries more expectations. “Life begins at 40” was a quote I used often when I entered that decade. And for me, it did. I learned how to cross country ski and also discovered that I could paint. I’m way past that decade now.

When I turned 50, I graduated from junior college with an Associates degree. I learned that I didn’t learn things as easily as I did when I was younger. I actually had to study and reread parts of the chapters. When I was young, learning was easy. I read something and retained what I had read. Sadly, passing years didn’t give me the same advantage. I also stopped working during that decade. The job was hazardous to my health and my husband told me to quit before the job killed me. For a change I listened.

Writing became part of my life when I was 60. I self published To Pap, With Love, a children’s book Treasure Chest, and Journey with me. As that decade came to an end, I started writing Wandering With Spirit.

Now I’m in my 70″s. My family wants me to pick up my paint brush again. This time in acrylic, since my husband has Emphysema. I’m reminded constantly to lose weight and to exercise. Especially since a pulled hamstring in July stopped my exercising and stiff muscles are the outcome. “My friends in high places” are always encouraging me to write. The blog is over six years old. I seldom miss a week except this time since we were on vacation and only home one day before we were gone again. I have three new toys to cook with and I’m excited.

Recently when one of my daughters celebrated her 50th year, the universe joined in the celebration. Her horoscope for that day was amazing. We don’t believe everything that is written, but the details are always enjoyed. For fun, the temperature of the day was the same date as her birth year. Another blessing. Just to put the topping on the cake, her first initial appeared in the sky a cloud in the radar.

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ROBIN UPDATED

I first wrote about Robin when she joined our life. The thought rambles said we had her for three months. We have had her now for a few years. She has grown, in size and weight. I can no longer easily pick her up. When she sits on my lap, I feel her weight. She went to obedience training and we are the ones trained. She is extremely smart and listens when she wants too.

We thought she was a border collie. We now believe that she is a rat terrier with a mix of blue healer for good measure. She originally came from Oklahoma were that breed is popular. Robin is very good at chasing squirrels and digging out moles. She would love to run with the deer in the country if we would only let her.

At first I thought she had a food allergy and had her on a restricted diet. Because I had a hard time getting her to eat, I started putting cheese on her food. Now spoiled, she won’t eat her dinner without cheese. She has definite preferences in the food we eat — ice cream, chicken., pizza, to name a few. She is very vocal when we don’t share. My husband has always shared his food with whatever dog is in the house at the time, Robin is no exception.

She must have had a hard childhood. She DOES NOT like to be left alone. She doesn’t like loud noises either. And HATES FIREWORKS AND THUNDER. When she was young and smaller, she slept with us.
Now she prefers to sleep by herself — in her own bed or if it is noisy, under our bed.

When she was younger, we took her to the dog park. She LOVED to run and play with the other dogs. Then she was taken down twice, by other dogs and her life changed. Now she has a few dog friends — but not many. She prefers smaller dogs. She is very vocal when she sees other dogs. Protecting us or herself?

We spent most of the last summer in the country. Robin loves to go for a ride in the car and most nights pestered until she went for a short one. She doesn’t go for rides as often in the city.

Robin still runs like the wind. She hasn’t lost any of her speed which is a good and a bad thing. I would have a hard time catching her when she is running. Recently she added a good ten years to my age. I recently learned that two of my cousins passed over. The next day I was thinking of how death comes in threes. Robin was on a rope across the street in the park. It was extremely windy and Robin didn’t want to be there. She did her best to escape the rope, and was successful. Collar still on her neck, she ran across the street in the path of an approaching small black car. I heard the thump and was afraid we had lost our dog. Thankfully she was just grazed by the front bumper and knocked into the ditch. She quickly recovered and ran across the street to the porch for safety.

Examining her body, I only saw two small areas — one on her muzzle and one on her foreleg where she had tangled with the car.

THANK YOU LORD, THANK YOU ANGELS!

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BROTHERS

I have two cousins. They are brothers. They share the same mother but have different father’s. We are four years apart. Roy, the older brother, was born on August 18. Bob, the younger brother, was born October 18.

Roy had extreme allergies when he was young which affected his mental capabilities. Because of his asthma he never learned to drive but he knew maps and the streets. When he was young, he endured many tests for allergies and was able to change his diet to manage his attacks. His mother took him under her wing so that when she passed, he was able to live an independent life. He loved to go to Great America and ride the Eagle or other roller coasters. He learned how to get there on the train. He also liked to take tour buses and visit various places. He had a few friends who traveled with him to the covered bridges and other tours.

Bob, was eight years younger and had his own challenges. He married, and had both a son and a daughter. Both of the children married and moved out of state. Bob had problems with his health as he aged and had a knee replacement which had problems. Bob helped his brother with tasks that were too hard for him.

I was in the middle, difference of four years. I would love to say that we were very close but sadly that was not the case. As the years passed, we drifted apart. It was hard to get a hold of Roy, he had trouble hearing and often didn’t answer the phone. I had trouble getting a hold of Bob also. Life was busy.

We were in the country when I received the phone call that Bob had passed from a massive heart attack when he was at Wal-Mart. I knew he would have had immediate medical help. I learned that Roy had fallen and been taken to the hospital. The day after Bob died, Roy passed away.

I thought that Bob must have discovered how beautiful heaven was and called his brother to join him. The double passing made it harder for Bob’s wife. The rest of the details of the passing are private and will remain that way.

I wasn’t able to attend the services. We were in the country, a hundred miles away and our car’s check engine light had come on. We had an appointment for service on the day of the wake.

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FIRE

I have to admit that I was puzzled. It was cool enough outside to make a meatloaf in the oven. After an hour, I didn’t smell meatloaf and opened the cold oven door. The flame had stopped sometime during the cooking process. I estimated about a half hour. My husband was able to light the pilot light, the oven regained 350 degrees and I finished cooking the meatloaf. The stove is old as our trailer, more than thirty years. What bothered me was gas escaping, the pilot light had gone out. My husband tried to figure out the cause — but our stove did not have automatic ignition. Too old. I phoned the person who repairs our trailer. As long as I didn’t use the oven, the pilot light stayed on.

My husband grilled a steak on our outside grill. We joined friends around their campfire. When we returned, I noticed heat coming from the grill. The gas had not been turned off.

Outside the temperature had risen, back into the seventies at night. Our furnace turned on TWICE during the night. Temperature on the thermostat was set at 70. Temperature in the camper was 80. ??
It was the weekend — our repairman was on a well deserved vacation. I vowed to call him on Monday.

Sunday night the light over our kitchen sink burned out. The number of fire — light appliances with problems was climbing. I’ll admit I was concerned. I’ll admit that I thought a message was trying to get through but I had NO IDEA what it was. We hadn’t been home much during the summer. I wondered if I needed to schedule a cleaning for our furnace at home.

After I called our repairman with the latest problem, we packed up to go home. My husband discovered a green frog on our bathroom wall. At first I thought it was one of our granddaughters toys until it moved. I was reminded — FROG — Full rely on God!

We stopped at an ice cream parlor on the way home. Since my husband was driving, I ordered a cherry ice cream soda and an order of French fries. I hadn’t had a cherry soda in years. I also ordered a chili dog and a chocolate shake for my husband. Carrying the tray out to their patio, the tray tilted — chili dog all over patio, ice cream soda all over the tray and me. Ops — WHAT A MESS! We cleaned up as best we could and I asked the people inside to run water on the patio to discourage the bees. Tiny bit of ice cream soda left — too sweet! My tastes have changed.

One of the first things I did when we reached home was call the furnace people and arrange for a cleaning.

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COMPANIONS

I have to admit that I don’t see them but I KNOW that I am seldom alone. Some times their activity is more noticeable. Early on a Sunday morning out in the country, I headed for the 8:00 Mass at St. Patrick’s. As I drove up a small hill, I saw figures on the road ahead. Slowing my speed, as I reached that spot, I saw 4 deer — two adults, two spotted fawns on the side of the road by the cornfield.

I enjoy the guitar music at St. Patrick’s, the songs are printed on loose leaf paper, assembled into a small booklet. The last time I was at Mass, I couldn’t find the song book. I looked over the shoulder of the woman in the front pew to sing the song. That morning I FOUND the booklet in the pew, hiding behind the official songbook. The pages were included for the beginning and ending songs — two songs, 14 and 16, offertory and communion, were missing. No one had a song book in the pew ahead of me, I didn’t know the songs. I couldn’t sing along, so I hummed the tune.

Acorns were already falling at the camper. The deck of our porch was already loaded, even though I had swept them off once before. Thankfully the roof of our deck protected us as they fell. As I pulled into the drive and turned off the car, two acorns banged onto the hood of our car with force. I decided that I needed to back up the car, out of the range of the acorns.

The events of the morning had already caught my attention. But I was surprised when I made a phone call to a friend. After our conversation, my cell phone rang, telling me I had a voice mail message. Calling voice mail, I listened to most of our recent conversation. I have NEVER had that happen before.

I decided that someone was “helping”, but who? I asked my husband to phone his brother — he has 4th stage lung cancer. His brother was fine, staying out of the heat in air conditioning but my husband learned something that I find very interesting. It might of answered my question. That Sunday was his father’s birthday. Where the two father’s having fun on my behalf?

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HELP

I receive “help” in my life on a daily basis. Most of it occurs without my noticing it. Sometimes it repeats itself on such a regular basis that I become aware. I often receive “help” when I’m writing. It began when I was writing To Pap, With Love. I DID NOT HAVE WRITING EXPERIENCE. I’m not a great typist — as a matter of fact, I almost FLUNKED typing in high school. “what do you mean I can’t look at the keys?”
Thankfully we now have computers, that help with spelling errors. Computers were not in regular use when my father was alive. It didn’t take him long on the other side to learn how to manipulate the system. I don’t know how else to describe it. The day of my father’s wake, at work, my sons computers made such a mess he gave up and came home. Our future son-in-law, hoping to work on a school project, also gave up when the computers locked.

When I wrote my first book, sentences disappeared as they were eaten by the yellow figure on a packman game. The printer jammed. One chapter stopped printing whenever it reached our granddaughters communion party. That “help” occurred often when I was writing that book. It continued when I wrote the various stories in Journey With Me.

Today I still receive “help” on a regular basis. For some reason it is IMPORTANT that I share thought rambles on a regular basis. Today I have brain fog. NO ideas were coming to mind. Thankfully I’m receiving “help”. Files are saved and the computer leaves the place where I’m working. I’m being reminded of long ago. My father passed over in 1995.

Evidently I NEED a lot of “help” because I’m ALWAYS on the receiving end. Some of the help is not exactly what I want. I don’t like to get hit on the head. Nor do I like the frozen cascade of food from the freezer. Thankfully the food has not been landing on my feet lately. Last year I always had compression stocking on my legs. This year I have enjoyed the freedom of going barefoot so most of the time my toes are not protected.

If my thought ramble is not of the quality that is accepted, it won’t save. Or as in time gone by, the sentences unravel. I’m mentioning this because so many persons think the because time has passed, their friends on the other side don’t think of them — I wish to share that years gone by on the other side don’t seem to make a difference.

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CHANCE MEETING

Looking back — my life has changed so much that it is hard to remember the time before my father passed over. I wrote that I have crossed a bridge, and I didn’t want to go back. Things that used to amaze me now seem normal. I hope that I never accept the happenings as common place. I hope that I always remember to say “thank you”!

I am often at the right place, at the right time to either help someone or be helped in return. Often I am delayed in order to accomplish the meeting. Recently, Robin’s leash was in my hand — we were going for a walk. EXCEPT — I saw a queen of heaven sprout in the yard. One sprout led to two which led to —–. Robin’s walk must have been delayed at least five minutes — maybe more.

Since we spend much of our summer in the country, I don’t see my neighbors in the city. I was in time to meet a neighbor, getting ready to fly to help her sister, who has cancer. Recently, in the country, I passed a couple looking for a parking place to attend an event. I shared information, parking available on the street down the road — parking places in the lots were filled.

At the event, the woman from the car asked me if I was a friend of Connie? Thankfully she recognized me. She had information of our friend’s husband who had had a stroke. I had been phoning, without success.
Leaving the Camper on Thursday, I passed the same couple who has just arrived at the camper, stopping to check on their friend’s lot. She had current information for me, although recovering, our friend was having a rough time.

The chance meeting doesn’t always involve a person, sometimes it is a song or a story, a book or a program. Most of the time it is information that I either need or something that needs to be shared. Last year, my chance meeting was with two dogs. In the country, I saw a German shepherd and another dog out for a stroll without a person for company. An hour later, I met a man looking for the two dogs. I provided the little bit of information that I could. Later that day, my husband and I were heading into town. On the back road I spied the two dogs heading into town. We offered them a ride and took them back to the campground to reunite with their owner.

If you have read many of by thought rambles, you know that many unexplained occurrences happen in my life. I often don’t remember them but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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RANDOM THOUGHTS

DELAYED! Again — by choice or by circumstances. Does it matter? I usually have a rough plan for my day — nothing written, or impressive — just a rough plan. I used to be a night person, getting my energy in the late afternoon, accomplishing something in the evenings. That was long ago. Now I’m a morning person. If I don’t get something done before noon, it is a good bet that nothing of importance will be accomplished that day. If nothing else, I usually have an idea of what I’ll be making for supper.

Today — how can I describe today. GOD LAUGHED! I’m in the city, my husband is in the country. Original plan was that I was driving our granddaughter in to catch a plane to return to Florida. I was staying in the city to attend the Mind Body Spirit Expo over the weekend and return to the camper Monday or Tuesday. I didn’t feel good on Monday, accomplished NOTHING! Usually I have a couple of thought rambles lined up to publish. NOT NOW!

I tried to write yesterday. I had ONE sentence looking back at me from the screen. Mind BLANK. I was not impressed. Earlier in the day, I was reminded that I needed to write. I bumped into one of the pipes in the basement, hitting my head. The day before, I hit my head on the roof of the car. These are usually indications that I’m being reminded to write, share experiences.

Today, I stumbled across a few of the stories I had written for Journey With Me, I was IMPRESSED.

Back to my day. It is cooler, I planned to make cat fish in the oven. I planned to go shopping for food. My husband was going to travel with our middle daughter to our youngest daughter’s house. Our family had gathered at our camper for a weeks vacation and our daughter was taking advantage of time with her father. Since I was staying in the city for a few more days, I needed more food.

My husband phoned. He decided he needed a day to rest. Since Friday, he had been busy, traveling around the area — looking for the Bison in Natchusa, visiting Castle Rock and some of the other parks. Hiking opportunities. Because of my knees, we hadn’t visited them this year. If I was feeling better, he thought I should come out to the camper tomorrow.

Plans changed. No sense to go shopping if I wasn’t staying in town. I had made chicken and dumpling yesterday. There was enough left for today. Sitting at the table, talking to my husband, my watch came off my arm. The band broke! “Is someone trying to tell me something?”

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NORMAL DAY

It started early, too early. Sadly I have not been able to sleep more than five, six hours each night. I used to be able to sleep for eight hours, wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. But that seems to be a long time ago. Why it changed, I don’t know. Some of it was because I listened for my father when he had Alzheimer’s disease but that was 25 years ago. Has it really been that long since I was able to sleep deeply? And time passes.

I usually open the Bible and Queen of Angels in the morning. The Bible opened to the introduction of Sirach,, Queen of Angels opened to the empty page after Angels as Playmates and Confidants. Interesting!

After spending many days in the country we were back in town. Besides laundry, our plans included shopping — the temperature was predicted to be in the 90’s for too many days. I needed supplies in the house so I could cook, AVOID the heat, the crowds, the stores.

First stop — Half Price Books. Our son had books to donate — we were happy to help. My husband found three books from an author he enjoys. I found FROM JUNK FOOD TO JOY FOOD by Joy Bauer. Hopefully the recipes will help my never ending battle to lose a few pounds. Paging through the book, I found many recipes that might help. I have a couple of her other books and have found the recipes flavorful.

On ward and up ward, store after store after store. We ended at Wal-Mart. I have found the super store carries many of the food supplies that I use. While I picked up food supplies, my husband wandered through electronics and automotive. Heading for the bathroom at the back of the store, I saw my husband talking to an employee. He was glad I came by so he could leave.

The woman he was talking to shared her recent experiences. Her house had been on fire and it took more than three months before they were able to get back inside. Water damage had caused mold, requiring massive repairs. My husband shared the information that I had been in a fire when I was young. And the conversation jumped from topic to topic. She was amazed at the number of similarities we shared. Not only the experience with fire, but also a parent with Alzheimer’s and my writing of three books and a blog. She planned to write but many of her notebooks had been destroyed by the fire.

When we returned home, I shared our day with our daughter. It was from her that I got the title of this thought ramble. She told me, “Mom, you had a “normal day”. Most of your days are like that. Thinking about it — she’s right.

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