Chronicles of Nana

Last night marked another milestone in a life that has seen many days, many adventures, heartaches and joys.  My grandaughter waited the return of her Dad before she opened her mission call letter. Returning from his weekly business trip, her Dad gathered his family together so she could read the letter to all…

THE EXCITEMENT…

Even though I was not present my thoughts had been with them for days. We knew it would happen soon. When she called to let us know I was flushed with so many emotions that it was difficult to get beyond the momentary excitement.

A NANA PERSPECTIVE… 

Of course, I was caught up in the thrill and joy I found in her voice…but, like most Nana’s who are usually on the sidelines watching other’s life go by, I fell into sweet retrospect. So many flashes of  the past came back to me. One of my first reactions was that ” Does Nonny and Pop know..?” I don’t know, that might sound strange but as a grandparent I always think in terms of “we.” These grandparents played a special role in her life…

I knew they would be delighted but I wondered if they might have felt like I did as well. Having watched a little girl grow up, seeing the worry and dedication of her parents through the years, silently championing her sucesses and ready to kiss the boo-boos. And now as grandparents we cautiously watch her walk a new path and in the service of something far greater than all of us…

A PARENTS ROLE…

I hearken back to when we sent her Dad off on his mission many years ago…the feelings of humility and the need of letting go. Every parent, I believe, at moments like this feel a sense of panic…did I teach all that needed to be taught? Was I a good enough example? Did I bare my soul enough so that she knows I will there for her no matter what? Have I prepared myself enough to let her go?

THE FAMILY…

This particular missionary has 6 siblings…as the magic of the moment wanes and preparations are made this next month, I can’t help wonder the influence of this decision will be upon the remaining children. Each child is so very different but one thing I know completely is that there is a strong, lasting bond that has been built though out the years.  The connection to each other is deep…even spiritual at times. These children have literally played and prayed together.

THE MISSIONARY…

Being called to a mission can mean alot of things…but primarily, it affords the missionary the opportunity to share the gospel to people who desire to hear it. And it gives opportunities for the missionary to cement his/her belief in the service to others.

As an old Nana I realize that 18 months will pass quickly enough…but things will never again be the same. She will come home grown up in so many ways…

May her sweet spirit bless the lives of those she touches….

God bless..!

Since the last election the nation seems to be obcessed with polls. Polls are taken about everything under the sun and recently the results of a poll peeked my interest and I grew sad…

BELIEF SYSTEM GONE…

It was a poll measuring the decline of religion among Americans. More and more people do not afix themselves to a particular religious belief. Most people simply do not see the relevance to cling to an organized belief system…

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN..?

I was not raise with a particular religion…my Mom always stated that that was an individual choice. She and my step-dad did not see a need to spend time in a church or expouse a certain belief. However, they both were Christian people believing in common respect and the golden rule to treat others as you would want to be treated. On several occasions during difficult time such as flooding my Dad would be one of the first to come to the rescue. When there would be a death my Mom would send a beautiful cooked ham and side dishes to the bereaved family…

LEARNING TO SACRIFICE…

They were part of the “greatest generation” as penned by Tom Brokaw in his book. Deeply embedded into them was the great depression and the major sacrifices needed to be made to keep families together. Oft times that was only possible with Dad leaving to find work miles and miles away for his loved ones… where contact was only made when he sent most he earned home to support those left behind.

These were the people who answered President Roosevelt’s call to war.  Once again sacrificing their lives in order to fight for the freedoms of the country. Following the silent footsteps of their ancestors who wished to leave a better place for their children. Like my own father who died in Germany in 1945 and laid to rest in France. A man whom I have felt personally close to  all my life…and whom I never knew.

PRINCIPLES AND VALUES…

Ideals, principles and values are fading fast. A new generation is taking charge who have been valued programmed by the televison set rather than Sunday school. A generation who have become so desenitized to common sense and mutual respect. Whose children are being raised as latchkey kids going no where. Whose thumbs play media games of violence that blow up bodies and blow out the mind.

Couple all the above with the insidious use of drugs and alcohol and it no wonder we have a major population run amuck with no anchor of values or religion. My heart sinks that people would settle for so little for a momentary high, thrill or urge.

It somehow lessens the nobility of the human spirit. It lessens the need for discipline and mindful direction. It can negate hope and dreams…

I choose to believe in a divine Heavenly Father who will keep me straight and who will help me direct my moral compass…

As are things in this life..it is my choice.

                            HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDAD!!!

MAY THIS DAY BE FILLED WITH HAPPINESS AND LOVE….

HUGS, NANA

A pissed off pessimist should never post a entry to her electronic journal when she is mad or has an empty stomach…That being said this is a warning that I am about to write a roaring RANT!

…RELAX…IT’S TAXES…

I have been thinking about a perpetual problem lately…taxes…hasn’t everyone..? As a hundred times before I know that there is nothing I can do about them. But, let us begin with a new administration who is out to tax all Americans to death…

SELLING THE BROOKYN BRIDGE…

Ahhh..you say, that cannot be so. We have the President’s promise not to do that. Right, ahhh and I have beach front property to sell you in Nevada.! Let’s examine the senarios. We have always had a class system in America. Regardless of our status we have all seemed to tolerate each other as we go about our daily business…

THE RICH…

The rich people among us are used to control, much of who they are is judged by their control of their wealth and portfolios. They live high off the hog usually far from the rest of us. They are used to having several homes through out the world and have become accustomed to privilege. Usually very generous in their charitable work they make tremendous contributions to several well meaning foundations and institutions. However, they like to make their own choices…in their own way without needless oversight from the federal government.

Therefore, having an administration who desires to spread the wealth around does not bode well with the rich. I see, in time, that they will pack up their businesses and households and head for the nearest tax shelter in another foreign luxurious country. To hell with American taxes anyway…so there goes revenue and jobs.

THE POOR….

Now let’s address the nation’s poor. The administration’s goal is to elevate the poor to middle class status. May I suggest that there is a large portion of the poor who have no desire to change their current address or status. Could I submit that they are doing quite well flying just under the poverty level as it exists today…

For instance, Like the farmer being paid not to plant crops, these people have learned every system available for them to bring in “free” monies. There are various welfare programs, food stamps and poverty earmarks that can be had by just the sound of a hardship case. There are people who get themselves on disability and then their children on disability, making more money than they could be by working 8 hours a day. Most churches have affiliated food and welfare programs that require very little effort…

Local food cubboards get filled to capacity with ‘free’ food. Help comes in rebates for utilities. Medications are subsidized with grants from pharmaecutical firms and doctors. Medicaid is bloated with questionable candidates. Let’s not even try to touch Social Security and those who collect more than their share and seem to fit in nice vacations on the side. I know of someone who owned their own home (somewhat run down) with acreage, collected all their life welfare from various programs, was insurance rich with life insurance and anuities carefully hidden away and who died leaving the family with over a million dollars in cash…

AND ALL IN BETWEEN…

Then there is the poor middle class..always bending over and grabbing their ankles. Making too much to qualify for anything, working too hard to retire and mounting up credit expenses to make ends meet and put food on the table. These are the people who have stoically paid and paid receiving very little in return. They pay the mortgage, drive their car for much more than a year and curtail vacations so as not to have to pay the high cost of gas…they put their kids through school and silently live a life with sacrifice.

We have an administration floating about the words like catastrophe, recession, possible depression and the middle class pulls in to save money for hard times. All the time being told to spend while America burns. The banks are failing, the car industries are in the crapper and our elected officials are cry babies all the while making deals and money  to line their own pockets…

The trust of the American people has been compromised..Is the sky really falling…?

But, then again life is not fair… prove me wrong,

Go ahead…just make my day…!

I have always figured the government has a Protocol Department so current officials can’t make huge gaffs with dealing with our foreign neighbors…that being said, is anyone listening out there ?

DISSING THE PRIME MINISTER…

I have been under the misguided impression that our current President knows everything because he tells us he does. But this last week he has shone his ignorance with public protocol by dissing the British Prime Minister during his visit to the White House…

A MATTER OF ATTITUDE…

When televised with their meeting with the press it appeared to me to be a bit too casual and the President seemed too aloft… more than usual. He constantly looked away from the Prime Minister which in my book was not the picture of gracious hosting. As is the custom, there was not the normal State dinner of welcome given to this foriegn head of state…

A ROYAL BOO-BOO…

It has been circulating among the press that the President was just too tired to perform his duty as the leader of the free world. Mr. President is the sum total of his life time experiences and I am willing to give him a pass now and then…

However, we are talking about a long time world partner who has backed the American agenda for decades. The British are accustomed to pomp and circumstance. Well steeped in royal traditions. It is reasonable to assume that they may have been a bit offended by the apparent snub from the President of the United States.

So, where is the little handbook that explains the protocol rules..? I am sure White House staff has been well indoctrinated into the proper handling of events and dignitaries. How can such an obvious boo-boo be allowed to happen…?

Since the President is so willing to offer a hand of reconciliation to our enemies he sure isn’t making nice with our foreign friends across the ocean.

By the way, a stack of American movie CD’s don’t make it either… 

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I have sitting on my desk a beautiful orchid plant. It has several blooms of a tiger spotted lavender… It takes me to Hawaii where they bloom wild along the roadside. Beyond the plant is my double window where my computer sits upon the desk. Looking out the window I see white fog blowing across the road. The valley view is out there somewhere…

TEASING US ALL…

Such is the ushering of springtime. With at least 3 inches of snow and with the promise of much more through out the evening. This is the normal way of life where I live. The trees freeze their buds off and the bulbs resend back down into the warm earth. Spring will bloom..just not until the end of the week…

CONFUSING TO NO END…

Weather in these parts is confusing, not only for the trees, grass and flowers but for me also. One moment we have a barbeque outside and then we are reaching for the snow shovels and ear muffs.

FLYING THE COUP…

Our neighbors are snowbirds…once the holidays are over they load up their Rv and off to sunny California they go. They don’t come back to town until well into April. The man of the house follows the sun and the golf courses…

My fuzzy socks are back on and I am wrapped up into a blanket until tomorrow…Such is life around here.

Always the unknown coming from the skies…and that how it is nowadays…go figure!

It has been 42 years since I lost my Mom…she was but 49 years old when she passed away. I am now way older than her and at this time of year, especially, I feel a great sense of loss and compelling need to see her once more…

THE VERY THOUGHT OF HER….

I can spend days, weeks, perhaps even months when the thought of her just doesn’t cross my mind. Then something triggers a memory or illicits a need to sit at her knee and just yearn to hear her voice.  I have gotten to the stage of not dwelling too much upon the past. I honestly look forward to the future or at least survive to it when it comes!

BEST FRIENDS…

It doesn’t help when Mom becomes your very best friend. Once I was married she would call me each morning to wish me a good day and I could tell just by the sound of her voice if the day was going well with her. I never had that “teenage friction” with Mom most young girl’s go through. We bonded strongly even though she had to fight some demons within her. I have long reconciled the anger and sorrow her demons and passing has hurt me…

THE MIRACLE OF FORGIVENESS…

Instead I opened my heart to forgive and in return a great burden of guilt has melted away. Once that transpired I have been able to look more clearly how it must have been walking in her shoes; I have come to understand, perhaps not always agree…but understand why she took the course in life she choose.

lIFE IS TOO SHORT …

The natural instinct for children is to alway think that Mom will always be there. I was 24 years old when she died and still had a lifetime of learning and living to do. I had all these children of my own that I surely wanted her advise and opinions to help raise them. But that was not to be. I wonder how differently my children’s lives would have been under her influence. She was a great cook and a good teacher!

DO AS I SAY…

One of my Mom’s vices was smoking. When I was 9 or 10 I took one of her cigarettes and went with a neighbor friend to an open field with the idea of lighting up and smoking it. In stead I promptly started the field on fire and in came the fire trucks and alot of panic on my part. My Mom marched me right home, stripped me down to my slip and took a deep drag on her cigarette. She blew her exhale into my white slip and there before my startled eyes was a dark black stain. She pointed at it and said, ” Each time you take a drag on a cigarette that yucky stuff fills your lungs and stays there!” …”I am telling you to do as I say, not as I do.”

For some reason that episode profoundly stayed with me. Never again did I desire to smoke.

RENEWAL…

This time of year always brings back memories of Mom. When winter ebbs and spring brings forth new life. Tulips and daffidils come and go so fast…just enough to bring forth great beauty and then they are gone…

Just like my Mom…..

I am very tired today…I spent five hours serving up cookies at the Temple Open House last night. It was a continuing episode of hard work. At least I was sitting down and it was my job to tear down the cookie boxes for recycling…and my plastic gloves got ripped to pieces….

HARD WORK…

We were behind the scenes on the cultural hall stage. We had a crew of about 8 ladies who assembled the cookies upon the trays and then dispursed them throughout the hall for the tour guests to enjoy.

I have seen the buses creep up our mountain for weeks now. Because of parking issues, several churches close to the Temple have become the starting point for the tours. We have been told that over half a million people have taken the tour so far. Judging from last night cookie consumption….that’s alot of cookies!!

DOING FOR OTHERS…

This activity was one of my first since my leg tragedy so it was especially meaningful for me to get out and see folks I haven’t seen for a long time. It was also wonderful to be of service to others than have others having to serve me… I am so grateful for the kindness of others, particularly my daughters who so stoically took me under their wings and nursed me body and soul. Believe me…they saw the worse of me at times…

A GOOD TIRED…

So, to offer a bit of service to others felt good, regardless of how tired I feel today…it is a good tired, you know…? I was very impressed how organized and coordinated eVerything was…the busing of people, the scheduling of volunteer helpers, the flow of seamless activity and the quiet, resilent spirit that existed among all those involved.

The Church is frugal but does not skimp as far as the Lord’s House is concerned. It was good to see so many people come together and work for such a common cause of sharing the spirit of the Temple to all those who wish to see it.

I am grateful to have shared the experience and hope the opportunity comes again soon…

The words catasrophe, disaster, depression and serious repercussions have been bantied about alot lately. They have been said from the isles of Congress and throughout the hallways of the Senate but more importantly from the mouth of the President of the United States…makes me want to head to the chocolate jar and devour the whole thing!…

LEADING THE NATION TO WHAT…?

As leader of the free world I would expect more from our President since he is the perveyor of all that is going on in the world. Likewise, he should be well aware of what is right and wrong with our own country. But…here we are left with these uplifting words that just make us all want to go out and buy a new car from the failing dudes in Detroit…

EARTHQUAKE OF THE MIND…

To my limited knowledge I have never heard a President vocalize the nation’s situation in such a dire manner and it leaves me in an unsteady state of jitters. The stock market is tanking, the banks have failed and being resuscitated by tax payer’s money and the government has decided to spend more in order to save more….even I am finding this reasoning a bit off track…

It does not help knowing the country is now being run by people much younger than myself but as an old fart I do wonder how they are going to get out of this big pile of s**t. It stinketh from the head down and I am lost in the new way of thinking and the solid lack of planning…

SHOW ME THE PLAN…

It seems the lack of a plan is the nation’s middle name…United States and  Lack of Plan America! A new motto to emblazen upon the coins of this challenged country. It appears new agencies, committees and concensus is needed to provide a new direction…why is that?

Could be some things are broken, could be others just can use a mild tweek here and there. Perhaps, heaven forbid, certain areas of burauracy can be eliminated all together. We have Congress and Senate people who are well versed in pork stock piling. Why can’t they turn around and start cutting the fat from the pig..?

WHAT ARE WE LEAVING OUR KIDS..?

I am thinking how our ancestors spend their days toiling on the farm and sacrificed so much for the benefit of those who exist today. Here we are chopping on the bit to buy the latest amusing gadget even though it is the same gadget we bought last year as a 2008 model…we carry our cells in our pockets and with a swipe of a finger can push in any mode of entertainment, information or pronographic material we deem mind boggling…

I am questioning those that lead and how they lead..hell, do they even know what leadership is..? There is no doubt there is a new game in town, I surely don’t know all the moves on the playing board but I am thinking middle America is not going to come out the winner. All the cards seemed to be stacked against us. We may not know all the new ins and outs of Washington DC but we are not stupid…

The continuing up front “in our face’ telecasts of government working together to show unity while all along in the wings of the back rooms scream and holler over partiscan retoric bring the reality of what really is…enough focus groups, public opinion polls and scare tactics!

I have always hated board games..they suck!