Chronicles of Nana

Just as the leaves blow in the wind my soul lately has been flowing through myself…discontent, searching and discovering unspoken reality. I have mentioned I have come full circle this week, having spent 3 uncomfortable hours in the dentist chair…

WHEN THE BODY GOES….

It started a couple of years ago with a toothache. That was the beginning of a personal physical odessey that I have yet to master. Next, I went to get new glasses which required an exam where I was told that it would do no good to get new glasses until I came in for eye surgery. After being prodded by my daughter I relented to the procedure…which I needed in both eyes (But one at a time.)

Because of complications I sat for 3 months being blind. It was a lonely experience and gave me a lot of time to think and ponder. Needless to say I have not completed the procedure with the other eye. It was that tramatic…

FIRST BROKEN BONE…

A few months later I fell going up the stairs and broke my right leg in half. I don’t mess around I always do a good job of it. As I lay upon the front porch with what appeared to be a big crowd just watching me…I tried to tell myself this just is not happening. The next thought was how I was going to get myself out of this.

Of course, there was no getting out of it and eventually the firetruck and ambulance arrived. With the ensuing months came the trying test of patience and tolerance and tears. Suddenly my limitations had me at a stand still. Needy, immobile and dependant upon family I once again found the hard to take feelings of humility. I would momentarily have waves of pride but they would soon dissolve into reality…

After 4 months I finally moved back upstairs…a triumph for me and a blessing for my family. In this way I would be holed up into my own little place and they need not have to always walk around me and my stuff. I don’t believe I learned all I should have concerning patience and tolerance but I did realize that my life would not be complete without the service and dedication of those who attended me. To have to rely upon others is humbling….

I have accumulated a number of things to assist me… a cane, a walker, a wheelchair and the best red hot scooter in existence. Confinement can play on the mind…there is a sense of security in cocooning, conveniences also, like not having to wear shoes or a bra. A muu-muu and slouch socks became my wardrobe. I have learned to live on a lot less…

BECOMING A BUTTERFLY….

There came a day when life needed to be lived and venturing out was a necessity. I had to retrain my walk and how I got into the car. With me has come my constant companion..my cane and wheelchair. The months passed and I became more mobile but was constantly tired. Carrying myself about was draining and my family became concerned.

After another doctor visit I was once again pushed into a bevy of tests…and a couple days later was called to be told I was severely anemic and must go into the hospital for a blood tranfusion. From there it was a colonoscopy and upper GI that revealed a stomach of ulcers.  That created a number of complications with medications….

So, how have I come full circle…? Last week I went to the dentist with a broken tooth.., been there , done that!! Full circle….

Folks…I don’t know all that I must learn from all this but I have learned to take the GAS and go with the flow…

Such is life! Be still my soul….

PS: The other eye isn’t even on my calendar yet….

It has been weeks since I have written an entry to my journal…The leaves have suddenly changed on the trees outside my window and autumn’s stay is not lasting long enough for my liking. For some reason I have lost the last entry in this journal and that is too bad because a lot of heart was put into it’s writing…

Perhaps it is just as well. A heartfelt entry lost to the world…out there some place in cyber space. Maybe it will land into someones laps who will need to read the musing of an old lady who is forever reaching for the stars and hoping for the best.

However, life does not always bring out the best in people. No one can be more disillusioned than I as I watch the world speed by and it’s people confused and disoriented. Label it age but I like the calm of security, the warmth of good friends and the love of dear family members. I am saddened when I see the discontent that lives in others. I wish they can be touched by a divine knowledge that explains the workings of the universe…

SIMPLE IS BEST…

I still harken toward the simple things.. the sweet smell of a baby, the taste of homemade bread and the puffy white clouds that skim the sky. What ever happened to stopping and smelling the roses..?

The summer month ended with a birthday celebration at Disneyland and the birth of two great grandsons…what can be better than that..? Fall came quickly. The mountains have turned golden to red to snow capped peaks. It seems like over night my trees have turns green to yellow and now pushing brown then bare. Winter is anxiously awaiting its turn…

tRADITIONS…

We have picked up our pumpkins and decorated the front grass as a gastly graveyard. Tomorrow we travel to the mouse house for another birthday celebration. We anticipate alot of tricks and treats there. Our 7 year old will be decked out in a white fairy princess costume that lights and twinkles as she walks. She is prepared to have lots of fun…

I hope as the holidays fast approach we gain a greater appreciation for the simple things that delight the heart. Times have become confusing enough that reaching out to others in need of a warm hand of friendship is one of the best things we can do.

I hope autumn’s blush kisses you all on the cheek!!

It is not everyday when one is invited to someone’s 100th birthday. This last week we traveled to Washington state and just did that….Granddad’s aunt had a big birthday bash with all her friends and family….

AN AWESOME EXAMPLE…

It was awesome…the lady is awesome!! She stood all the while greeting her guests. Family placed themselves about the perimeter of the room as more and more people filed in to give the birthday girl best wishes. I was amazed by all her friendships during a lifetime of life passages. She was toasted with lifted glasses and sung to by genuine smiling faces.

The camera flashes dazzled the eyes. This lady was a true star of the moment with so many adoring admirers. And why not??? She spent a lifetime devoted to her family and child. She carried on after the death of her husband. And she rendered great service as a hostess to a local town government for many, many years.

THE LOVE OF PEOPLE…

I am certain this special lady’s longivity is sparked by her genuine like of people. Seldom are things centered about herself but for the well-being of others. If ever there is an example of selfless unconditional love it is this sweet person.

There has not been a year she has forgotten our anniversary….some times when we had! We have felt her strength and support all this time knowing her interest is genuine and inspiring.

We can all use such a devoted friend and aunt.

Like the energy bunny she just keeps ticking….she gladens the heart and lifts the spirit!

Happy Birthday Dear Sweet Lady!!

There will be many words spoken concerning the deaths of popular celebrities this week. Even though deaths do not necessarily come in threes, it sure seems so…no one is totally prepared for death especially those who must live on who carry the heartache of a lost loved one…

HERE’S JOHNNY…

Ed McMahan’s life flickered out after a long life lived among the rich and famous. A side-kick who road on the coat tails of Johnny Carson, he had known a taste of life that was elaborate, privileged and decadent. He appeared to have grounded himself and it was not until the end that he suffered financial restraints and ill health…

CHARLEY’S ANGELS….

Farrah Faucett was a golden haired Hollywood starlet who made her place in the sun with a TV series that catapulted her into the limelight. Her famous hairstyle and sparkling smile set many a young man’s heart a flutter and many a young girl to duplicate. She had a son and long relationship with another star/celebrity that perhaps lasted long after most Hollywood relationships fade. She, however, will be best remembered by her courageous battle with cancer, her willingness to publically live her struggles with illness and her devotions to her loved ones…

ICONIC ENTERTAINER…

Michael Jackson set the world on fire. He rose from near poverty to become a super human figure that influenced the world through entertainment. His music was original and compelling. His dance became iconic and one of a kind. I doubt there are few in this world who do not know his name…

Propelled into the limelight as a young child he never knew what normal could be. Banded together with his brothers he became the lead singer to the Jackson Five. As his fame and fortune grew he became known for bizaar behaviors and secluded tormented episodes that would color his short life. The old saying Money can’t buy happiness” is true enough. He traveled the world trying to purchase that inter peace and personal contentment. It just wasn’t in his DNA. Mired in ill health and drugs his light flickered out as his body no longer had the stamina to carry on. So, he died way before his time…

As the others may one day be forgotten…Michael Jackson will remain in the memory of most who grew up in his era. His talents and music will be talked about for decades to come. As wide spread that his persona has been displayed I would venture to say no one came to know the man. He had many who gathered about him who struggle with his mounting financial affairs, lawyers who controlled his legal rights and eccentric escapades and relationships, and perhaps he could count on one hand his real true friends. Perhaps his ego had no room for them…

Media will talk to death the many rumors that will swirl around for days. In death his life will be picked apart and analyized to the tenth degree. It is hoped that in death he will at last silence the demons that lived within.

They say power, fame and wealth corrupts like a cancer erroding the very breathe out of you…it would appear that Ed and Farrah may have found a lasting place to rest with some sort of satisfied finality..

One is left to wonder if Michael Jackson ever will….

RIP….

Who does not like Christmas?… even the biggest grinch has got to have a hidden inside smile when the holidays arrive, especially Christmas. It is magical just like Disneyland…

I have spoken fondly of my remembered Christmas’s of my youth. Grandad and I were raised to celebrate this season and when we married Christmas became of special significance to us. Our first Christmas together happened in our little 2 room rental motel unit with a roaster oven and lots of presents that cost less than one dollar each…

HOLIDAY MAGIC…

As the children came there came with them more meaning of a spiritual nature. More gratitude for traditions and values that brought peace, music and happiness into our home. Old fashioned Christmas was a yearly dream we worked hard to create. Even though we lived in California where rain was the closest snow we ever had…Christmas did arrive and bring great laughter and joy.

OH, CHRISTMAS TREE…

We have yet to purchase an artificial tree. We traveled to the mountains and cut our trees down at a tree farm. It was an all day activity…rain or shine. I always packed a lunch and extra plastic garage bags to use as rain coats when needed. We tried tree farms in the Napa wine country and up into the foot hills of the Sierra Nevadas. For years this was our tradition. Then drought hit the tree farms so we settled for local tree lots for a few years. I remember tying our tree to the top of the van and losing it on the freeway on the way home. Never have I seen a family hustle so fast as to retrieve that tree!!

The tree is the centerpiece of our decorating. We all were very particular about it’s variety and shape. The smell of a real pine tree is heaven to the nose…Upon each of the many trees we have found has been placed some treasured ornaments. Some ornaments being over 75 years old now. In recent years we have shopped Ebay for the old reflectors for the larger light bulbs. So along with the old tattered reflectors, we now have the new old reflectors that bring demension and added brightness to it’s beauty. It is different from most trees decorated today but…we value the pure sweet memories it has brought to us…

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT…

We, of course, have purchased new decorations for the house but the tree remains our focal point. We have been known to go over board in purchases for Christmas. Bright packages wrapped with love under a sparkling tree brings delight to the smallest child…no matter how old! Even with the glitz we remember the reason for the season. The Lord always has a place set at our table…

A CAREER EXPANDS….

For a small period of time, Grandad worked from home. He was assigned to create training programs for his company and having a graphic artist (me) at his disposal he spent most of his time at home as we worked to establish a unique training system .

However, there came the day he was asked to move back to the east bay to establish a permanent department for training at the general office in Walnut Creek. So, we took upon us the task of building a new home. Normally we would not reccommend it but Grandad has a skilled uncle who is a fabulous builder so we went head into making plans…

I won’t elaborate the fun and mis-adventures of building the house. But, I have heard many times since that if your marriage can handle building a new house..it can handle just about everything else. I agree…!! We eventually moved in and on with our lives…

30 YEARS WITH ONE COMPANY…

We spent 25 years living…the crowded freeways, the troubles with assimulating the kids into new schools and the office politics we never thought we would have to face. So many ups and down…so much turmoil and pain. Life is truly filled with peeks and valleys. Times were changing. Grandad started with visions of making a difference in his chosen career only to be constantly challenged by controlling executives.

Grandad has always been a people person. He worked hard to establish a means to make the work of main line employees easier and more efficient. He walked his talk and for many of the 30 years he work for his company that was so. However, there came a day when the tide turned…

Family owned companies one day have decisions to make that can break or make a company. We were living in an era of big conglomerates taking over small to mid sized organizations. The top executives turned a blind eye to their employees for the greed of the all mighty dollar. Most of these people left with golden parachutes and millions in their pockets. Grandad was becoming disillusioned and I was afraid he would one day die of a heart attack.

MAJOR DECISIONS…

In the mean time our oldest daughter was back home with us after the birth of her son and a nasty divorce. She was in need of a change and she feared her young son would be unsafe in the current public schools. After a few years with him in a private Baptist school we decided for the sake of everyone we should move. We gave it two years to happened with careful planning. Unbeknowst to us Grandad would soon be forced retired and we left California with many fond memories and no regrets…

MOVING FORWARD….

We came to the cross roads of the west…and it took several years and some very bad experiences and sorrow for us to finally settle in a foreclosed home on south mountain. It is here where I sit upon my perch to the world and watch the storms gather in the skies and see it’s sweeping arm encompass the valley below. It is here where I have watched my grandson grow up into a college guy with a Mini Cooper and Ipod in his pocket. I have watched him thrive by being graduated from a private school where he has found lasting friendships in his peers and teachers…

Although I was born in New York and have always been known as a California girl, I can honestly say I feel I have come home. Most of my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren live close at hand. I can see them occasionally with little effort. I am a lucky Nana…

I will not close Nana’s Wish List because I am sure there will be more chapters as memory serves…

As the world shadow encompasses us I wish more than anything that there be happy, lasting memories for children everywhere. Memories and dreams have there place…

And the world could best remember a better time…!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PROUD PARENTS OF

CARSON WENDELL WESTOVER

BORN JUNE 19, 2009 12:10PM

9 LBS.   21″

WELCOME TO THE WORLD DEAR GRANDSON!!!

                                             

Did I hear that once again a US Senator has bit the dust with having an affair..? Yes, the “honorable” John Ensign from Nevada had a clandestine relationship with someone other than his wife……old, old story same old lack of self discipline…. Lately these so called relationships are being confessed to like putting notches on a gun. Forgive the graphic discription…

FOLLOWING THE URGE…

Sexual play times have been in the limelight a lot lately. What puzzles me is the stupidity these men and women exhibit when they themselves are already in the spotlight as government officials. What with the advancement of informational technology remaining a loyal, monogamous spouse would be wise and prudent. Truth and scandals, strange bedfellows indeed, always seem to come out eventually…

Some people are lucky and are long forgotten when an indiscretion is made public. The friendly romps of our forefathers have become legend for some. It seems intertwining sex and government makes no never mind. Moral fiber has become old fashioned. People cater to their urges and desires. Does not this spill over into the work a day world..? Can the mind rationalize and easily bend to demean morality and better judgment…?

I mean if a man or woman cannot be true to their spouse, what’s to keep them from making askewed judgments concerning governing our country..? Once keeping a playmate in the back pocket, what else can be compromised..? I can think of a long list that might qualify…Washington is hypocrisy in action…

WRONG IS WRONG…

Ego, power and libido seem to drive most poor slobs into oblivion, if not dIvorce. I understand government official public confessions are a way to lessen media scrutity and exposure. In other words, get it out there before being publically exposed with the pants down. So admitting to a romp in the hay has become the in thing to do nowadays…

Benignly the public blindly let these episodes pass, along with those lining their pockets with taxpayer monies. We have cheats in Washington…that list is becoming longer!

If one cheats on their spouse, then how willing are they to honestly handle the workings of our nation…?

It’s a sad day to confess of such liasons…and it is sad day that our government is in the hands of cheats of all kinds….

Power corrupts….

Geez..why can’r they just tie a knot in it!!

Shocking but not surprising news out of Washington…ABC television network is giving up expensive and valuable air time to allow President Obama to espound upon his Health care proposal for the people of America. Recently, he met with the doctors and leaders of AMA ( American Medical Association) to preface this coming nation wide purge. He seemed to be received with opened arms…but….

A MAJOR EXPENSE TO START ALL OVER…

The health care program is an ambitious plan to insure that all the nation’s citizen are covered by some sort of health care. As with what has already happened with most of the current administration’s programs…I simply ask where is the plan and the specifics..?

The money aspects are mind boggling…who holds the keys to Fort Knox anyway? The US treasury is printing more money than there is gold to back it up. “Charge it” has come to Washington DC. And these credit cards are mounting up trillions in debt that have been sold as bonds to China…our friend..? America has sold its soul to foreign interests…

FREE AIR TIME..$$$PROGRAMS..

But, this is old news…what is newsworthy is the mainstream media sources and television networks who are bending over backwards to accomodate the Obama agenda. Having a television network donate free prime time to allow the President to “informerialize” his health plan is new and puzzlingly awkward. ..

Even more alarming is the decision NOT to let opposing views to this plan to be aired. Now this is news…Not to allow opposing views seems somewhat unamerican to me. I find it shocking and offensive. I have seem with this administration programs initiated without the full support of the voting public. I have seen bias, manipulation and blatant disregard for the individual freedoms we have all been given. There has been a “hurry up before they fully know” attitude in Washington. The White House and Congress seem to have caught this nasty bug!

TELLING LIKE IT IS…

I know that there are those who say this is such a little thing compared to the major problems we now face…

But revolutions are started with the mounting little things. After decades of evolving “the American way” why can’t we work within the system that has been already created…?

Why can’t we sweep out the waste, streamline the efficiency and mold a winning formula that would enhance what already exists. It is not impossible…There are knowledgeble professionals available who can weed out the government garden. When Obama ran saying the government was broken I was not aware he meant disbanding the whole system…

It reminds me of California…instead to renovating old communities California just plows them under and starts anew.

Look where California is today….it’s not working folks!!!

I feel a counter rant coming on and I supose it best be said on my blog than in person where I can get yelled down and possibly hurt….

LETTERMAN IS OBSENE…

I am incensed by the display of bloated ego and male chauvinistic rants from David Letterman concerning Sarah Palin and her family. The election is over and frankly I am tired of the same old news being revisited now that the dems control everything. It’s not only beating a dead horse but casts long shadows of what it will be like in four years at election time again.

WOMAN IN A ‘MAN’S WORLD’…

I get it, the democrats are in control of Washington D.C. and they aren’t about to lose the traction they have gained by the miracle guy Obama. But, Sarah Palin has been the blunt of every joke and smearing comments since the past election. It was hard enough to take during the campaign…so give it up already!

GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS…

As a female governor it would behoove talk show hosts to show alittle more respect. She has proven to be a woman of considerable clout destined to continue to draw crowds and supporters. But the constant bashing is indicative of a competition afraid to meet on an equal footing.

That being said…what disgusts me more is the intrusion into the sanctity of her family life, particularly with her children. Children of politicans should be off limits…after all it was not they who chose to be in the public spotlight.

Letterman and his program writers knew very well how tasteless his remarks and joke would be and all decided her to be worthy of a laugh. I have trouble with a man who, himself, ;knocked up” his girl friend and did not marry her until five years later. I have trouble with any man who is so sexually oriented to feel he has the right to freely express his sexual fantasies, or whatever, at the expense of another human being…particularly female. 

SAME OLD TUNE…

Women have carried this burden for centuries…and some men seem to think it is a right of gender to show their ignorance and blatant vugarity towards women. This is testosterone run amuck! And I, for one, resent it…

David Letterman not only should apologize to the Palin family and females everywhere but also donate a substancial amount of money to a worthy female cause.

He is the poster child of what women should run away from..

May Viagra not work for him!!!

I have remained silent concerning the political waves and changes transpiring within our country. I have done so to give some needed time to the current regeme in Washington D.C. to settle in and form a strategy. I am concerned about a few things…

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS…

Bopping into the White House is a new democratic guard who seems to be gun hoe to initiate change now…like I mean yesterday! Why is it the American nature is to “ready, fire, aim…?”

With every new “reform” comes the urgent need to get it done. The stimulus dumped us all into a financial abyss that will indebt our children and grandchildren for decades. Coming from this has been the “sudden” demise of nearly all the car industries, housing mortgage firms, banks and state governments until we are left wondering how we got to this mess….could be the new bills passed should have been thoroughly read first…duh!

MOVE FAST AND BAILOUT….

So the power chiefs in Washington feel the only way out is to “bail the way out” for all these mega companies and state leaders who have their hands out for more taxpayers cash. Washington has become the sugar daddy to the nation’s incompetents. What ever happened to individual responsiblity and accountability..? Congress has become bloated with self importance and has long forgotten the voting public…

So now we have the stimulus slowly in playwith no immediate miraculous results, mortgage companies are lending to just a select regulated few and the states are cutting measures within their states that could be opening pandora’s box to an ever ending slide into oppression and distruction.

CONSEQUENCES….

The President, since taking office, has been on national television more than any other president that I can remember…almost daily. This is perhaps, his only transparency and visibility. He uses support group audiences at his town meetings where he is surrounded by thunderous and accepting applause. Does this obviously staged event affect the attitudes of the general public..? You bet it does…it becomes a free televised “attitude adjustment session.” It is as if he has become the attractive front man to a new government  organized to brashly push through an unknown agenda.

THE WASHINGTON ZOO IS OPEN….

I am not concerned his support group (Pelosi, Dodd, Frank. Geitner and Holder and many others)know how they come across to the average joe. I am thinking the average joe could and would do a better job. We elected these people and it would do us well to stay in touch with the current workings in our nation’s capitol. I know that politics seem to be the sum total of resurrected stuff from our past… but the new order is not making strides in convincing me that they are much different either.

Regardless…we are stuck with the situation as it is now. The American public is reeling in disbelief with the startling changes being made. I personally find it distasteful that men and women who have served so long as public officals can continue to plunder for their best interests. Yet they still function without any sanction or accountability.

I have heard that there are many in public office in Washington who have the attitude that the general citizen is not concerned with the daily workings of their government. That the average citizen is mindless and must be lead and told what to do and how to do it…perhaps we have been too trusting. Perhaps we have assumed honesty and integrity still mean something that holds honor and committment. Perhaps those times are gone…and public scrutiny is needed in the confusing shell games being played.

Judging by what I read with our tax return forms, forms and forms the confusion has imminated from Washington D.C. inself…

Let’s face it Barney Frank and his cronies are cartoons with way too much power!!