Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘FRIENDS’

DUET

Early Friday morning, the Tornado Alert woke me at 1:45 AM. Storm coming — 2:15 the alarm sounded again, Severe Storm. My rain gauge measured 1 1/2″. The temperature continued to climb. HOTEST DAY OF THE YEAR predicted. Heat warnings — remember to stay hydrated, stay out of the sun, and wear loose clothes. I planned to go to water exercise, but I was moving too slowly.

I turned the air conditioner on. I stayed inside once the temperature reached 80. I had a book to read, I still had black bean salad. I DID NOT NEED TO COOK. I don’t know how high the temperature went but STRONG STORMS were predicted.

My granddaughter was attending a Bible camp to the North. My son-in-law and grandson were driving up from the South. I was concerned and said a prayer for their safety.

Earlier in the morning, when I was sitting on the deck, I noticed two of the baby robins had fledged. One remained in the nest. Early in the afternoon I watched the last baby robin hopping on the deck. It hid from my dog behind a bin. My Robin was very interested. Early in the evening it had flown.

Our television reception was very dicey, but Friday night Channel 6 came in clearly. They preempted regular programing to report on the approaching storm. IT DID NOT LOOK GOOD. The possibility of a tornado was forming. Hail and winds of 100 MPH reported, coming from the North. I was concerned for my granddaughter. When I’m stressed, I PRAY. I DID!

The storm came through about 10:00 PM. Winds blowing, crashing of stuff. My son-in-law was just arriving. He was driving through the small town when the wind pushed his truck. I was happy they arrived, were safe and I was inside. The electric went off but before it did, my TV channel changed to 56.1 LAKEVIEW PBS. The channel I watch at HOME. Electric came back on, but tv coverage was affected. I turned the tv off and the air conditioner, but I left the fan on.

Robin woke me at 2:00 AM. It was quiet outside, the storm had passed. My green plastic chair had been blown across the deck. Plants were knocked down. Since the robin’s had fledged, I could turn on the porch light. And I did, straightening up. The solar lights in the Garden were on.

Saturday morning, I noticed more damage from the storm. TWO TREES WERE DOWN. The maple we had planted in 2015 after the tornado had taken out nine trees, And the ornamental pear we had planted for my husband. SAD!

One inch of rain was measured in the rain gauge. I called Above Ground for help removing the trees. They came that morning. They removed both trees and pulled out the stump from the pear leaving a deep hole. I called another person for help filling the hole. Not expecting him to come over on Saturday, I used curtain rods to mark the hole so no one would fall in.

Still early, still cool, Steve came by with four bags of dirt. He pulled a mess of weeds between the stairs and the trailer. He found a small oak tree growing there which he transplanted to the new dirt filled hole. Curtain rods provided support. The new baby helped the sadness. My grandson removed another robin’s nest.

News reported two tornados in the storm. Our campground had 14 locations with blocked roadways, 164 lots with downed trees. July ended with a bang. I’m tired of planting trees to have storms take them out. The baby oak is an exception. It has the leaf that has withstood oak wilt. I will enjoy watching it grow. I plan to plant tall grass and a couple of bushes.

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GARDEN

Monday morning, I waited for rush hour to end before leaving for the camper. I planned to stay for a month. Thankfully I remembered lessons learned when I stayed longer than I planned, I brought all my vitamins and prescriptions with me. I included 2 bottles of Terrys Naturally Healthy Feet and Nerve pills. I didn’t want to run out again. Aldis had a fabric picnic basket on sale. It held all my morning and evening pills plus extras.

I had six bags packed by 8:00 AM so my son could load the car before he started working. He managed to get all the bags plus 3 boxes of fencing and the 3 plants I brought home into the car. He buckled a box into the front seat to hold one of the plants.

The outbound traffic was lovely. When I arrived at the camper the gardeners were already busy. They had parked their truck with trailer across the street blocking the drive I used to back up my car for easy unloading. They not only unloaded my car, they brought everything into the camper for me. I’M EXTREMELY GRATEFUL.

Tuesday morning, an alarm woke me at 6:00. I DID NOT HAVE AN ALARM SET. I was dressed when I opened the door at 7:00 and saw their truck. They not only brought beautiful plants, they replanted my daffodils. We had pavers left over from an early stone patio. They made a safe path to walk on. I didn’t have enough fencing to surround the whole garden. I need five more boxes. I was surprised when I saw a heart made from river rocks. Robin jumped the fence into the garden.

I was concerned about the soaker hose. I DID NOT NEED TO WORRY. They attached it to the hydrant that is close to the camper on level ground. They put the hose under the stairs so I wouldn’t drive over it. If you are getting the impression that I’m very happy with their work. You are CORRECT.

Thursday, I traveled south to look for garden ornaments. First stop I found a St, Francis of Assisi statue. I was born on his feast day and have searched for a garden statue for years. I also found a solar hummingbird and bee on closeout. I bought 8 solar disk lights for the path.

When I finally arrived back at the camper, I left the garden stuff in the car. Friday night I sat myself down and had a heart-to-heart talk with myself. I reminded myself that I should not wait for others to do everything. Saturday morning, I placed St. Francis by the heart and put in both solar decorations. I decided that the solar disks should be left for those that can bend without falling over. I noticed the mama robin had hatchlings born that morning. Hummingbirds were feeding on the petunia plant. A monarch butterfly found the butterfly bush. The garden is coming to life.

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PURPOSE

I hate to admit it but my zest for life is hiding. I can easily sit in a chair or lay on the couch and watch the world go by. Many people are using this “stay at home time” to clean their house. Get rid of clutter. Catch up on projects. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM! I used to enjoy cooking — always looking for new recipes to make. That is another task that is on the side. I know it would be in my best interest to paint. I have the supplies but not the desire. A friend has counseled me to have patience with myself. This month will make 6 months since my husband passed. AND I VERY COMFORTABLY SIT HERE AND WATCHED THE WORLD GO BY!

I know that I want to spend time at the camper. I’m not afraid to stay out there by myself. Cleaning up the back yard, walking on the uneven terrain was challenging. It reminded me of the uneven terrain at the camper. Will I be able to walk out there? The last time I cleaned up the back yard, I took a cane. IT HELPED.

Staying home, not shopping uses up the stock of food in the house. The day finally came when I had to go to Wal-Mart. I have been putting off that shopping trip because of the virus. I made my list — it was lengthy. I wanted to go early, before the store got too crowded. I looked at the temperature on my phone and it registered 27. I forgot to check a detail and looked at the temperature again –102. WHAT? HOW? WHERE? I must admit it stopped my thinking IMMEDIATELY. DEFINITELY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. Researched revealed it was the temperature in Rajasthan, India? That reading bubbled in my mind for a while. Then I remembered that I had thought of checking my temperature before I went to the store. It was normal. Was I being reminded to do that before I left?

I wore a mask and had plastic gloves on my hands. Thankfully there was NO LINE waiting to get into the store. There were long lines in the cashiers waiting to get out. I headed for pharmacy, shoes and dog food and the rest of the groceries. My cart was LOADED. My KNEES were YELLING. I WANTED TO SIT DOWN and luckily I found a chair. I took the opportunity to check the list on my phone and discovered one forgotten item. THANKFULLY there was no line waiting to check out. I told the cashier she was going to get a break because it would take me awhile. IT DID.

LESSON LEARNED: I have to regain my stamina if I wanted to SAFELY STAY BY MYSELF at the camper. Sitting and watching the world go by was NOT IN MY BEST INTEREST.

I have a collection of exercise DVD’S and picked a Classical Stretch to begin working on my body. The exercises were EASY but the next day my knees as well as my back hurt. DETERMINED — I was going to exercise anyway. The DVD player WOULD NOT WORK. My son managed to get it working but I decided to take the day off. On the other side — My MAN IS STILL LOOKING OUT FOR ME.

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CELEBRATING ANOTHER YEAR

I wish I remembered the year I started writing these thought rambles. I think it was in May that I was enticed to write. My youngest daughter told me about Word Press and that it was free. The name I picked for the blog was open. The name was accepted and ready or not I began. Now if you have read many of my thought rambles, you can understand that I really don’t think it was my decision. I was led to share the happenings of my life with others. My life becomes more interesting than I want it to when I haven’t written.

I realize that I’m extremely fortunate to have “help” from the other side. We all have a purpose in our life and evidently mine is to share that there is existence after death. I can’t comment on it further because I have no personal knowledge of the other side. I’m very happy to know of its existence and have the “help” of my team.

I don’t know the makeup of my team. Just guessing I would say that it is made up of my mother and brother who have probably been involved in my life since their passing. Joined 25 years ago by my father and recently by my husband. My mother and brother kept their involvement quiet. I didn’t really know that I was receiving “help” from the other side until my father got Alzheimer’s disease. Looking back at that time I was able to detect “help.” Thankfully my father let me know when he passed that he was fine. My father has helped me with many aspects of my life including writing. My husband has improved on this. He “helps” me with my phone and the television. Since my father didn’t mess with those things I know when my husband is around. And I am EXTREMEMLY happy with his involvement EXCEPT when I’m prevented from doing something I want to do.

I was also given the gift of seeing a deceased dog run through our house the night she was put down. I don’t know if she is on my team but I know that there are a few paws that are. After one of our dogs passed, many dogs that I didn’t know that I was their best friend. I have to credit Cuyler for that.

I’m also sure that friends and relatives of mine “help” out from time to time. I might actually be asking for their “help” when I have a project that isn’t going well.

My sharing my experiences before was possibly helpful. I’m hoping that because of the deaths caused by Covid 19, my thought rambles might help more who were unable to be by their loved ones side when they passed.

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CORONA 19 BREAK

Our daughter had reservations to go to Mexico for Spring Break. The big question: Should they Go? They decided that the area where they were going was free from the virus. They had their plane reservations. I understood their concern, their questions. I do what I always do — I bombarded heaven with prayers for a safe trip and return.

I was extremely happy that I had stocked up on fresh food when I went to the store last week. I’m no longer young — I’m at an age when the virus is more dangerous. When I replaced my driver’s license, I stopped at the Senior Center to tell them I would be skipping art for the next two weeks because of the dogs. While I was there, I learned that the Center would be closed because of the virus. That night a friend phoned to tell me their assisted living dwelling was on lock down.

Crowds gathered to celebrate St. Patrick’s day at the bars. Our mayor announced all bars and restaurants would be closed. Food could be order for take out and delivered. Both zoos in our area closed. Our state held its primary election on Tuesday but thankfully I voted early. The Botanic Garden announced they would be closed until April 30. Woodhaven was open — but there was no way I was going out with three dogs and an open yard. Department stores were the next to announce closing. I listened to the news — concerned that my family would be able to leave Mexico and return home.

Wednesday I phoned to see if our neighborhood Chinese restaurant was open. I was VERY HAPPY to learn I could place an order. Since we live close by, my son went to pick it up.

Woodhaven announced that it was closing all comfort stations. Gas could be pumped using a credit card for payment. Access to the store was restricted. Main gate was open and security would continue to patrol the grounds.

The best thing that happened that week was the birth of my great grand son on Friday. The second best thing was I learned that my daughter’s family was in LA. They would be flying home on Saturday. They planned to stay overnight to celebrate my grandson’s birthday. They didn’t know that they would be sequestered in their rooms.

All churches are closed. Our Cardinal celebrated mass at the cathedral. “We are like the blind man. Can’t see what is coming. Have to trust in God.”

Luna and Tessa were MISSED. My daughter planned to drive to Chicago with her kids to get them. She didn’t want me to take a chance on the drive. They stayed by the garage and I stayed on the porch. Their dogs had been enjoying our bed. I didn’t have the heart to make them get off. As a parting gift, on Monday, I WOKE to be pinned by a black Lab washing my face. Laying straddled over my body.

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REBELLING AGAIN

REBELLING AGAIN

I don’t like not being able to go shopping. I DON’T like not being able to drive the car. I DON’T LIKE not being able to go outside. The first two months of this year has restricted my freedom. We have had snow storms that weren’t bad. BUT the snow melted, iced formed. I have had to stay in the house, the stairs were too slippery to go off the porch. I have been unable to drive — the alley was too icy to take the car out of the garage.

I look forward every year to the MIND, BODY, SPIRIT EXPO. I received the information announcing the March Expo. I found a couple of workshops I wanted to attend. Dressed, I assembled the stuff I wanted to take with me. I prepared to transfer my driver’s license into the wallet I was going to take. I COULDN’T FIND IT. I looked everywhere — every purse I might have used, every coat I might have warn. I looked in my car in case it fell out when I was taking out a credit card. My son helped me look with no success. I finally decided NOT to go to the Expo. I don’t know how I lost my drivers license. I don’t know how long I had driven without one. I just decided I wasn’t going to take a chance. My son offered to drive me but I knew he wouldn’t want to stay and turned down his offer.

Normally I return to the Expo for the second day on Sunday. I made an executive decision to stay home. I’m sure I would have found a few talks that would have interested me. Sunday was a bright, WARM, sunny day. I decided to spend time outside instead.

A friend told me it was easy to get a new license BUT NOT TO GO ON A MONDAY. She suggested that I take the documentation needed to get an ID. I had an official copy of my birth certificate. I had proof of my address. I needed proof of my social security card. I took a copy of the form I received for income tax from my husband’s company. It was a good thing I did. I NEEDED A SECOND PROOF OF ADDRESS. I also needed something with my signature on it.

I left home early in the morning on a Tuesday. I entered a door that I thought would lead me to the drivers area. I was wrong. I needed to exit and walk down a distance and climb more stairs. STAIRS ARE NOT MY FRIENDS. I asked if I could wander down the area and get were I needed to go. I had been in the building many times over the years. Maybe it was my age but I was told to go ahead. As I made my way to the driver’s license room a guide appeared to help me. When I told her the purpose of my errand she escorted me to the proper place. I DID NOT NEED TO WAIT IN LINE. The process was quick. I was out of the building before an hour had passed. I have a much better picture on this license than my last one. YEAH!

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INTERVENTION

February is a hard month for me. First — it is colder and cloudy. The excitement of the holidays is over. Usually the decorations for the season have been put away. This year is an exception for me. It still is extremely cloudy — the sun has taken a sabbatical. Our memory Christmas tree changed into an Angel–Valentine tree. It might morph into a Mardi Gras — Easter tree but I doubt it.

Add to that the sadness of my husbands passing. I spoke to a woman who has been a widow for 6 years. She shared that it still isn’t easier. On top of that it was my husbands 81’st birthday. Followed by the anniversary of my father’s passing and soon my father’s birthday. That explains why the Angel tree is still sharing its light in a darker room. I did Tai Chi next to it this morning.

I have noticed more presence or “help” from “my team” on holidays, anniversaries and birthdays. This week has been no exception. My note from my husband’s birthday said I had a contrary phone. My sharing of his photo was blocked. On the anniversary of my father’s passing I stopped at the grocery store for a needed item. A woman noticed my problems walking and told me she used to have the same problem. She has been taking raw turmeric twice a day, ground in her food processor and her knee problems have ended. The product was usually available at the store. On order, it was coming in the next day. Looking for something for lunch I also found lamb chops and petite steak at half price.

Our youngest daughter told me that a friend of hers was taking turmeric liquid twice a day available at Costco. Stopping at the store I found it on sale and put a box in my cart. One of the sample ladies I talk to on a regular basis mentioned that she tried the liquid turmeric but it gave her diarrhea. She also had experienced the same problems that I was having. She switched to a product designed to increase her collagen. She also is no longer having the knee problems. I put the liquid turmeric back and found the collagen powder.

I planned to go to the grocery store and buy fresh turmeric. When I arrived, the product had not come in. A woman heard me asking for it and told me of a store that carried it. It is now in my possession but I haven’t been taking it long enough to notice a difference. I’m going to give the turmeric a week or more to see if it helps before trying the collagen.

Today we have sunshine. The vitamin D pill that I normally take rolled off the floor and is lost somewhere. I guess I’ll have to go outside to get some fresh Vitamin D. I was interested in a cookbook that was advertised on the computer. Suddenly it was blocked, covered up by more advertisements and disappeared when I tried to get it back.

ENOUGH. My children say I need to walk more — I’m going outside to get some sunshine.

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MISTY EYES

I don’t cry easily. I wish I was able too. I would have LOVED to dissolve in tears when my husband passed. I’m sure there have been other times in my life when I had the same desire. Probably with the same results. I know people that cry at the sadness of a good book or a movie. Some cry for happiness — at a wedding. My eyes tear up, become a bit moist, might even relinquish a tear, but not a deluge or even a sprinkle.

So why the title of this thought ramble? We have just celebrated my husband’s 81st birthday without his physical presence. Facebook gave me a picture from 2017 in which we celebrated his birthday with our grandchildren in “horse country.” I recognized the photo right away. I have part of the image on my laptop. Both of the kids are there with their ice cream. The only thing I can see of my husband is his arm. I didn’t remember when the photo was taken, or what he was doing. The photo showed me we were celebrating his birthday, and included his humor — he was saluting the camera. I think he was the one to post the photo on my laptop, which why his body and face were not included.

I shared the photo with my family and friends. My middle daughter had an image of wings. My grand daughter was flying back to Florida. She posted an image from the plane in flight, mentioning this was the closest she could get to him right now. Our youngest picture posted a lovely picture of herself getting a hug from her father. MY EYES MISTED, to be honest — they are misting as I write this.

I’ve acknowledged that I am EXTREMELY LUCKY. Not only to have had him for a husband but to have our four children and grandchildren that I am proud of, who also miss him very much — who feel free to share their feelings. Since my father passed 25 years ago and confirmed that there is life after death, I know my husband is free from pain and able to enjoy being of “help” to me and others.

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ANGEL TREE

It is the middle of February and our Christmas tree is still taking center stage. Well — not exactly our Christmas tree. Most of the lights and ornaments were retired at the end of January. I planned to take the whole tree down. But just as it often happens to my plans, things changed.

First I went shopping and met a woman who has kept her Christmas tree up, decorated for 10 years since her husband passed. First — she LOVES her tree. Second — she LOVES the ornaments that are on the tree. Third — her tree is twelve feet tall, and old and she is afraid that if they take it down they will NEVER be able to get it back up again.

I shared the idea with my children. THEY WERE NOT IMPRESSED! But one of my daughters suggested I make it into a Valentine tree. Of course, she was only joking. BUT the longer I thought about the idea, the more I thought about turning the tree into an angel tree. My husband’s birthday is in February. The anniversary of my father’s passing is an February AND my father’s birthday is also in February.

Over the years I have been given many angels. Soon after I wrote TO PAP WITH LOVE, I had a dream in which I was a pilot on a Blue Angel plane. I didn’t tell any of my children about the dream but that Christmas I received three sets of angels. One set of three are about 4″ angels playing a long flute. The second set of three look like icicles playing instruments. The third set is angel wings.

When I was young I bought a small set of six angels playing instruments. The year after I received the three sets of angels there is what I refer to as an angel skirmish. When I placed an angel on the tree they fell off. Over and over again. I’ve was NOT HONORING my older angels. Placing the new ones on first. I’ve learned my lesson, THAT NO LONGER HAPPENS.

Over the years I have added to my angel collection — four dogs and one cat. I have not gone back in time to add angels for all of our pets that have passed. At times I have added an angel to remember a friend that passed. I bought a motorcycle for my husband this year.

I won’t bore you with a list of all the angels that are on our tree. I don’t know if I found them all but I just counted 16 more. We added red and white miniature lights. Seven red roses are spaced in various places.

A friend suggested I do a tree with masks for the celebration in New Orleans. Leprechauns for St Patrick’s day. Eggs for Easter. Firecrackers and flags for Independence day. All great ideas but I think the tree will come down after my father’s birthday.

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SCAMMED AGAIN

I admit that I have many “friends in high places.” Although I’m sure that they protect me from many things, they CAN NOT PROTECT me from everything. Nor do I expect them to. And I’m also sure that there are many times when they are involved in other things. Exactly what occurred on Monday I’m not sure. I had taken advantage of a snow free day to get some shopping accomplished. I left before noon, went to Wal-Mart, then Aldi’s and arrived at Costco in time to pick up my prescription. I’ll admit that I was tired. I don’t know if that was to blame.

Loading my car, I noticed white on the rear bumper of my red car. I wasn’t happy to see it and wondered where it had come from. Leaving Costco, driving down the road, a man in a car next to me honked his horn, over and over. “Hi don’t you remember me?” he said. “What are you doing here? I know you from the dealer where you bought your car. I was transferred up here to take care of my ill mother.” I did not remember him, was not interested in talking to him, but we were stopped for a red light.

“Did you see the white on your back bumper? Did you notice the dent on your front panel? How did it happen? Has anybody else been driving your car? ” I knew about the white on the bumper but HAD NOT NOTICED A DENT. “Follow me, I can fix it.” And stupidly I did. I wanted to see the dent on the front panel.

“I can fix that for you. It would cost more than a $1000 plus dollars for your bumper. I can pull out your dent.” Stupidly I DID NOT pull away from their car. After his associate did what (?), he thought I should reimburse them for the material he used. He COULD NOT take a check, he didn’t want to jeopardize his job. “Where was my bank? Did I have a credit card?” Stupidly I should have just started driving and let him jump out. Stupidly I gave him cash — $60.

When I reached home, we noticed that the front panel was coated with some sort of substance. It looked like turtle wax. There was more on the back tire. This morning, I noticed there was a film on the back panel of the car. More turtle wax?

I have to admit that I was ANGRY at myself for having fallen for the scam. I COULD NOT fall asleep that night. To make matters worse, when I looked at my watch at 5:00AM, it was black. Even though it had been charged before I went to bed, the charge was gone.

I’m wondering if they messed with my car when it was in the Costco parking lot. I’m wondering if they put white on my car. What about that dent? I’ll never know. I haven’t decided if I should mention it at Costco. I have decided that I’m going to be a bit more careful of where I park.

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