Invited to our niece and nephew’s house tonight for jambalaya and soak up some love…over in KANSAS.  After living my years in the center of Iowa and having the state line an hour plus away no matter which way you go, I now live in a state where I can have dinner in the neighboring state and be back home in 40 minutes.  There is an undercurrent of dislike and competition between the two Kansas City’s.  Of course there is.  Well, unless the Royals or Chiefs are winners then we are united.  I, personally, do not have any of the ingrained dislike of our neighbors over there….but I do have a “thing” about spending money on the Kansas side but mine just comes from the politics and the disgust for the Governor Brownback administration and agenda…send him a pack in’ and I think I would have a different feel about it.

Well, that was a little tangent totally off topic.  Christina (have a hard time not calling her the childhood name, Christy) and Aaron lived in Iowa through much of their childhood so we spent the most time with them during those years…more so than the other nieces and nephews.  Therefore, I have a lot more child stories about them than I do the others.  But, I’ll just leave it at that for this blog…there is a huge sigh of relief coming from the Kansas side of the line.  

Until next time…..

Depends a lot on where we are in our journey.  I just finished a Jody Picoult book (harvesting the heart) which touched my soul.  I love those kind of books.  I know we all have a different genre that appeals to us…I’m not a science fiction, fantasy or horror reader.  I do like contemporary, historical fiction, how to books and an occasional women’s book with a little romance although I don’t read romance novels.  I always read Goodread reviews and am surprised about the spectrum of like and dislike from 1 to 5 stars.  I noticed an acquaintance of mine gave this particular book 2 stars and I gave it 5.  Probably should have been 4 but I Was still emotionally attached to it.

Harvesting the Heart is the story of a cardiac surgeon and his wife, Paige.  Paige has come from a totally different world than the God like surgeon, Nicholas.  Picoult’s ability to take you back and forth with the demons of each character in a very believable way, to me, is the heart of her writing.  Things said and things thought by her characters are the things thought and things said by us in real life. Thoughts and behaviors that we cover up and seldom show in our public life…our demons our differences.

I know this book is not for everyone but it is a good book to read in a day for an escape!  Isn’t that what reading fiction is all about? The escape!

Until next time….

My dad died 15 years ago yesterday.  Years past I have dedicated my thoughts to grieving for him all day….during the years that I worked the day shift, I would be up early enough to really get into it and cry during that hour that he died.  I remember one year I relieved Amanda from the midnight shift and she sat with me and gave me hugs knowing how difficult it was.  When I woke up yesterday morning, I chose not to go there.  My thought process led me to the fact that I didn’t need to remember the grief and sink in to that lonely depression that January 2nd usually brings me.  I didn’t mention to him that my dad died 15 years ago today.  I didn’t send messages to the kids reminding them.  I decided that I celebrate my dad every day throughout the year….I remember this, I remember that…he is never far from my memory.

You know what?  It was just fine. Every now and then I remembered but I thought about it and moved on.  Today I feel healthier for not sending my body into the anxiety of once again agaonizing the day of his death.  I made the choice to celebrate him the way I want to remember him…..in love.

Until next time…..

  
  
 Not enough time!  Planning on spring get-together talking and antiquing!  

Wednesday was Lennie’s birthday.  She’s 3 months older than me (had to throw that in)!  We grew up together in the neighborhood.  Our family moved in next door to her family…it was meant to be.  She had older siblings so we thought of her as an only child too.

  
  
As we got busy with our own families as adults we seldom kept in touch and I regret that…but we always had a connection.  We were so shocked two years in a row that we met, quite by accident, in almost the same place at the Iowa State Fair.  So…back to her birthday.

I wished her a happy Facebook birthday and looked through some of her albums feeling sad and wondering if we would ever get together again.

Then the HMMMMMMM

i got a text from her yesterday saying she and her husband and brother in law were going to be in Pleasant Hill tomorrow looking at an old truck…maybe we could see each other.  OMG OMG OMG

Some would call this just a coincidence.  I call it a connection….whatever we label it, I’m giddy.  She just texted that they are in Missouri headed south.  You know there will be pictures.

until next time…..

Speaking in general terms (which means this does not apply to all) I’ve noticed that my children’s generation or my girls were not stunted with fear of the unknown.  I think in our family it may have been enhanced with growing up with he and me and the road trips and adventures we took….if you have a map and a car, you can go anywhere and do anything…if you don’t pack enough underwear, buy it….figure it out.  But he and I Also lived in a comfortable shell…we were always around family and long time friends…if you needed a sitter for an emergency, there was someone…if you had a flat tire or your car broke down, there was someone to call…if you couldn’t figure out the electricity hookup for the ceiling fan, you could call someone to talk you through it…or call Georgie!  Comfort and a back up plan.  Both of my daughters found their own way by moving away from mom and dad and everything they had known to enhance their lives.  While each of their moves broke me for awhile, I was so proud that they had done what I wanted them to do….spread their wings and fly until they soared!

In essence, we did the same thing when we moved from “home” and started over in Kansas City.  While I’m very close in proximity to my oldest daughter and her husband and only 3 1/2 hours from my youngest and her husband, we moved into the unknown.  In a true emergency, they have always been there.  But, for the other stuff, we had to figure it out and depend on ourselves.  Along with our new found freedom and anonymity, we are learning to depend on ourselves.  I don’t know how he really feels about it because he can find a solution for everything…but, for me there have been some minor anxious moments.  For example, I’ve been meeting Justin in the mornings to pick up Jaxon…earlier in the week, I left Pleasant Hill and the tire sensor lit up on the truck….what to do.  I stopped on a side road to check the tires and they all looked good so I’m going to assume it was activated because of temp change.  I knew that he would not be available to change a tire….Justin would be on his way to work so I would not ask him so I went with….if there is really a flat tire, I’ll figure it out….because that is my only option.  That is what I’m talking about.  Depending on yourself and figuring it out yourself.  It was a growth moment!

Happy New Year….