Fun-Loving Friends

Happy Wednesday!! Last Friday I shared a beautiful picture of Odessa that Jodi,  a sweet blogger  friend painted. Well Dewey didn’t think that Odessa should get all the attention, after all Dewey believes that  he is a special cat.   He actually is awake in the picture!  He must be getting hungry. I believe his beautiful green eyes are saying, “See how sweet and innocent I am, Please feed me!”

Jaxon his laid backed pal,  enjoyed seeing the pictures of his friends. He is modest and didn’t feel that he needed his picture done, but he also realized that a lot of people may not know what a Jackalope looks like. He has a big heart, so he thought that perhaps he could help out by letting others see a picture of him. You will never find a sweeter Jackalope than Jaxon!

Thank you again Jodi for your lovely pictures of our friends who live on Moon Beam Farm. If you haven’t met the gang from Moon Beam Farm yet, don’t waste another minute! They are eager to meet you and entertain you with all their fun adventures. It has been an exciting adventure for Colin and I as we put our book together! Follow this link to a post on Colin’s blog that tells you more about the coming book. https://meandray.com/  This gang is something else, you never quite know what they are going to do!

Here is another  link that gives you a glimpse at an adventure that Dewey had. Dewey’s Flight! You just never know what all can happen at a wonderful place named  Moon Beam Farm!

Speaking of Moon Beam Farm, have any of you ever wondered how……. No, don’t think I am going to ask that right now! 🙂 I think I am feeling sleepy like Dewey, was awake too early.  Must be nice to be like Dewey and just sleep whenever he wants to. Sleeps until the Man-Servant fixes him his gourmet breakfast. Maybe my breakfast will magically appear this morning! Then again, I have 2 sleeping teenagers. No, don’t think it is going to happen. I don’t live at Moon Beam Farm!

 

 

 

 

Tuesday’s Thoughts!

Good Morning! I believe summer has arrived. It was 80 degrees yesterday and supposed to be 81 degrees today. Bring on the sunshine! They are actually calling for  more rain this week, but at least it will be warm. I went for a bike ride yesterday and a blue jay flew right in front of me. He could have perched on my handlebars. It was enjoying the sunshine as well!

Whether it is raining or sunny where you are at today, I hope you can find some things that make you smile today. Keep your eyes open! You never know what may be right in front of you. May these quotes bring some sunshine to your heart too. Have a wonderful day.

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8. I just had to laugh at this one! Can I relate sometimes, hmm… what about you? What would Dewey do?

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Change is Coming

When I wrote my Lean On Me post about my job ending in a couple months, it seemed far away. Now June 2nd, our last day, is only days away.  Mixed emotions go through me.

On one hand a lot of us are anxious to leave. Only because there has been tension with our Director and working around a tense boss is just draining. Plus it is hard to keep up enthusiasm for lesson plans when you know that all is ending soon.

On the other hand, none of us want to say goodbye. Yes, some of us will keep in touch with each other, but its still not the same as seeing each other 5 days a week. Of sharing the same experience and all the inside jokes.

Saying goodbye to the little ones, is a whole different story. These children are what have kept us smiling through all of this. Their affection and joy was contagious. They have no idea that things are going to change. We know that if they see tears in our eyes on Friday they are going to want to know why as they tenderly try to wipe it away. 2-3 year olds can have such tender ways about them.

These little ones are ones that would greet us enthusiastically every morning with  big hug as smiles lit up their faces. Ones that would pronounce your name in some of the cutest ways. It wouldn’t matter what state of mind I may be in when I would walk into work some days, their greetings always made me smile and warmed my heart.

No matter how crazy they may drive you that day when they were finally asleep they looked like angels. As you sat there and stroked their forehead or rubbed their back, you forgave them for making you want to pull out your hair earlier.

We got peed on and vomited on, but we still didn’t hesitate to hold their feverish bodies close to our chest when they were sick.

These are children that we hope we made an impact on for the years that we had them. Children that we had fun dreaming about what they would do when they grew up. We know who the politicians and lawyers will be. We know two girls who are destined to be actresses and one girl who who we are going to keep an eye out for. She will probably be the youngest child ever to attend some prestigious college! You could have the most interesting conversations with this child who only turned 2 in April!!

Yes she can have the typical 2 year old temper tantrums, but she is gifted. We would sing the 5 Little Ducks song a lot. It has motions and just a simple song of where Mama and 5 little ducks go swimming, but one by one the ducks don’t follow her back. A counting song. This dear child would make such a very sad face when we got down to just 1 little duck going swimming with Mama. When asked why she was sad. ” Mama is very sad, where did all her babies go?” When we added the part about how the  5 little ducks came swimming back her face just glowed. 🙂

So many experiences and memories and I will treasure them. Am grateful for this time in my life and the friendships that were made. I do look forward to the summer and the change. No alarm clock to set, spending time with my teens and spending more time writing! I have the children’s book with Colin that we have been working on, and another writing project that was put on the back burner, that I would like to finish. I have special days that I am going to spend with my sister and I  can’t forget the beach trip with my dear friend Sherry! Plus there are more fun adventures that  this summer may hold.

So it is anticipation mixed with some sadness, that I feel as June 2nd approaches, but I have a peace that all will be well. I don’t know yet what the Fall will hold as far as a job. I do have some ideas of what I want to happen, will see. Who knows what is around the next bend.

As for now I will just cherish the moments and take a lesson from my little ones. Keep smiling, keep laughing and keep spinning around with joy!

Would you like a chauffeur?

My children would say that I need a chauffeur, but this post is not about my driving ability. This is about “Driving Miss. Daisy”! After she demolished her 2 car garage and shed, her son decided she needed a chauffeur. Her response? “It was the car’s fault!” I really like Miss.Daisy. 🙂

Last night my husband and I went with a friend to see  the play, “Driving Miss.Daisy”. It was a spur of the moment decision and we are so glad we went. We have always enjoyed the movie and the play was superb!

If you never saw the movie, I highly recommend it! Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy and Dan Akroyd star in it. It is more than just a comedy about a older lady who doesn’t want to give up her right to drive. It is a tender tale about the bond of friendship. Warms the heart, as you watch how a friendship grows. A friendship that grows strong,  back in the time where friendship between the  white and black races were not common.

  Miss.Daisy may have a tad of a strong will! Oh, and don’t drive over 19mph! Hoke, the chauffeur has a mind of his own to and he is quick to tell her that they may as well be walking if they are going to drive that slow!

We may live in a small town, but we are fortunate to have 2 theaters close by. We don’t usually go 2 week-ends in a row like this past week, but we couldn’t pass up Anne of Green Gables from last week and then Driving Miss.Daisy. What made seeing this play even more special was the actress who played “Miss.Daisy”.

Our one playhouse is in the lovely woods and it is known for having times of bringing famous actors and actresses in to star in their plays. It may not be the ones that are big stars right now, but that is Okay! A couple years ago we saw Steel Magnolias and Melissa Gilbert starred in it. I loved Little House on the Prairie as I was growing up, so it was a real treat to see her! This year, Michael Learned starred as Miss.Daisy. The lady who played Olivia Walton in The Waltons, another childhood show that I grew up on.

Who would think that a little Playhouse nestled in the woods of a small community would attract famous stars. But it has, and for those of us who live here we smile. Who needs Hollywood. 🙂 John Ritter got his start at the Totem Pole Playhouse!

You just never know what hidden gems may be in your very backyard and at your own Cracker Barrel Restaurant. My friend who waitresses, said how one of the actor’s from the Tv series  Scrubs was there one night. He had been performing at the Totem Pole Playhouse for a couple weeks.

I kind of diverted from the real purpose of this post. Watch “Driving Miss.Daisy”, it really will warm your heart and make you smile.  It will prove how sometimes the friendships that we develop can surprise us and show once again what a priceless, wonderful gift Friendship is!

 

 

Reflections

via Photo Challenge: Reflecting

 

There are times when getting up early to see the sunrise is rewarding! The beach makes me more of a morning person. 🙂

 

My dear husband took this picture when he was away from me due to work. Spent 3 months in Oklahoma. This picture was from Medicine Park, which was a lovely spot to go to down there. Someday we may make the trip down there, so that I can see it for real.

 

Friday’s Super Short Stories

Smiling through sleep blurred eyes at a sweet surprise! 

https://lifeinbetween.me/2017/05/26/odessa-the-owl-in-watercolor/

Month of May soon meets its end, as the Joy of June approaches!

 

 

 

 

The Hurting Hearts

My heart goes out to the loved ones of the victims  in the Manchester terrorist attack. Last night I was reading some of the stories about the victims  and tears came to my eyes as my heart broke for the lives snuffed out way too soon, in such a senseless tragedy!

There really are no words to describe the pain that these families have had thrust upon them suddenly. In a moment their lives totally changed. Parents lost children and children lost parents. 2 Moms were waiting in the lobby to pick up their 2 daughters who were friends and at the concert. The bomb went off and the Moms were killed. The daughters lived. I am very glad that they survived, but my heart just clenched as I read that story last night. It clenched at the pain of two 15 year olds being left without a Mom. It clenched at how they are going to carry this memory with them for the rest of their lives and how that haunting “If Only” question is going to affect them! “If only” we wouldn’t have gone to the concert, our Moms would still be alive! They are not the only ones that will have those haunting “If Only” questions, the questions that you know the answer to. You know its not your fault, but still…. in the pit of grief those thoughts bombard you. I pray that these hurting families have much love and support to surround them and walk with them through this dark tunnel.

There are so many that worry about Global Warming, and how our world is being slowly destroyed. I am not saying that we should not be concerned about the environment. We do need to take care of this earth, BUT…. I believe that at the rate that this world is having shootings, terrorist attacks, and not to mention the wars that are going on, well I don’t think climate change is going to be  responsible for destroying our world.

 

Falling in love with Anne!

This past Sunday my family and my parents all went to see the Anne of Green Gables play. I grew up loving the book series about Anne and watching the movies. She is such a easy character to fall in love with!

For those of you who may not know what I am talking about I will attempt to sum Anne up in a few words. She is a young orphan girl with a vivid imagination! It is how she got herself through tough years. She at lasts gets placed in the home of Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. They are a brother and sister that were never married. They wanted a boy but there was a mix up and they got Anne. they had no idea how much their lives would be changed by her. She LOVES to talk and her outlook on life is one that you just can’t help but smile at. She has a big heart,  but she also has a knack for getting herself into some pretty deep holes. Whatever you do, don’t poke fun at her red hair!

She can be a little dramatic perhaps. But yes this is just one example of a fix she got herself into.

If you never have seen the movie Anne of Green Gables, hopefully this post entices you to check the series out. The series follows her growing up into a young woman and it really can be enjoyed by all ages.

Feeling like you need to take some time to relax and to laugh, then Anne with an E is the perfect answer. Why did I specify  “with an E” ?  You will find the answer in the movie. 🙂

Tuesday’s Thoughts

Good Morning! Trying to wake up. Had been dreaming that I was floating in a lake. Don’t think the weather today is going to be very good for that, so I guess I will have to go to work. Would you rather be floating in a lake today? You may not be able to go float in a lake, but it is Tuesday, so you can read some quotes! I know, it doesn’t quite compare! Hopefully you can still get some smiles out the quotes today and have a great day!

 

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7. Yes, I am making all of you think perhaps a little harder today. Feel free to share your answers. 🙂

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The Final Time

via Daily Prompt: Final

This is the week for finals at school. The final stage of my oldest being in school is soon upon us. Next Fall will begin her last time of walking the halls of her school.She will be a Senior, where did the time go?

There are so many “lasts” in Parenting. Parenting never ends, no matter how old your children get, but there are the “lasts”.

The last time that you swing your child up into your arms, their last piggyback ride on your back. Then again, my 15 year old just tried to ride piggyback on my back recently. Suffice to say that it did not last long.

The last time you buckle your child into their car seat and the last time you hold their hand to cross the street. The last time that you are hunting frantically for  your child’s  pacifier or their favorite blankie.  The last time they crawl in your lap for a snuggle.

Some stages you think your children will never grow out of, but when you look back you realize how fast it went. When my daughter crosses the  stage to get her diploma I know there will be tears in my eyes! I will be so proud of her, for school wasn’t easy, but she stuck it out!

With that said, I really am starting to feel that all the parents of Senior’s should be handed a diploma as well on graduation day!

I want a diploma, for the long nights of staying up helping with homework. For the last minute run to the store to get things for that big  project. The project that your child knew about for a month, but told you about it the night before it was due! For running to the school with your child’s gym bag that they forgot. All those Parent and Teacher conferences you went to. The class parties you helped with. How could you not help when you saw how happy your  little child was that you were in their class. For the time when your child suddenly decided that  they couldn’t give you a kiss in front of their classmates! The mornings you dealt with tired, grumpy kids that were certain that they were coming down with some serious disease. They couldn’t possibly go to school! The times that you had to remind your child that they already had their appendix out.

Yes, the final year of school will be upon my child soon,  and there will be some “last” things that I will celebrate. Along with that, there are “lasts” that will  make me a little sad. I need to remember though that where there are “lasts” there can also be new beginnings!

Are you a parent of a Senior crossing the stage this May? As memories come flooding back and slide down your cheeks, think of something. Think of all the new beginnings they are going to be making. Yes, memories make us wistful, but we can smile about what is to come. We say goodbye to one stage of Parenthood and Hello to another! Who knows what awaits your child. Adventures for sure. Things to explore!

And if you are the parent of a graduate I will see what I can do about getting you a diploma 🙂 For now Pat yourself on the back, you survived! Amusement parks give out t-shirts that say how you survived  a scary roller coaster! Skip the diploma! I want a t-shirt that says, ” I survived having a teenager!”