~~ Happy Birthday Summer ~~

The minute I laid eyes upon her, she stole my heart.

She loves dolls, stuffed animals, pets, fidget spinners, karate, and sparkly things.  She is always careful about other's feelings and would never say a cross word to anyone.  Now that she's ten, I'm noticing an eye-roll now and again.  But hey, she's  entering her pre-teen years so I just give an eye-roll right back.  

I'll always miss her years of innocence.  

But I love the young lady she is becoming.  Happy 10th Birthday to my Christmas angel.  

Dear Diary,

Mom and Dad are getting old and it's becoming harder and harder to take care of them.  Take yesterday for instance.  They just had to go for a walk.  And it was cold outside!  But I bit the bullet (even tho I really felt more like biting them) and accompanied them to the tracks so they could get some much needed exercise.  I say much needed because.  Well. Dad gets out of breath pretty easily and Mom - well - she's packed on a few pounds if ya know what I mean.  Can't be too healthy.  So I humor them.  They say these outings are for me.  BOL!  Yea, right.  

Mom has become very needy and she's always dropping to the floor to massage my back end and whisper sweet stuff in my ear. She's lonely. It makes her feel better, so I pretend to be comforted by the madness.

Then there's the ramp.  The bed.  The insane way she now has our bedroom arranged!  There are bed side rails and suitcases and pillows and tall furniture up against our bed to keep me from inadvertently jumping off where it is not safe to jump off.  I know it's because they're afraid of falling out of bed in their old age. But hey.  I go along with their delusions.  I seriously think they don't even know they're old.  

But really, it's tiring.  Oh, there's more.  There's so much more.  But I'm exhausted now and need to rest.  If I know Mom, it'll be another all-nighter where she can't sleep and lays the blame on me.  Later.  Gracie.

Back In High School

 Today Daughter called and asked if I would go pick up 14 YO granddaughter from school.  There was a schedule change that Granddaughter was not comfortable with - so she needed rescuing.  I felt like a superhero.  I jumped into my sporty baby blue Elantra, and off I went!  

As I reached the mountains just before getting to the school, the skies darkened, and the wind picked up.  Into the school parking lot, I drove.  Why all the police?  At least a half-a-dozen police cars were scattered, and the place was crawling with uniformed police officers.  Okay.  So, I was just a little concerned.  But there were students with signs too.  Maybe a protest?  

As I exited the Grammy-Mobile, I was taken aback by the intense wind gusts and leaves stinging my face.  A more diminutive grandmother would never withstand such a beating.  The strong wind gusts pushed me to the front of the building, and a student going inside instructed me to press the button, and the higher-ups would unlock the door and let me in.  

The front desk ordered me to go to admissions to sign Granddaughter out.  There was a slight wait.  Only one person is allowed in the office at a time.  Something was amiss.  The secretary was on and off of the phone.  The only words that resonated with me was fire drill.  Fire drill?!  Oh no.  So, I gave her Granddaughter's name, and she made a call on her phone to have her come down.  

But.  

Beep~ Beep~ Beep~ Beep.    EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!  The loudspeaker spoke.  EXIT THE BUILDING NOW!  So, I was thrown in with many other kids, and we were exiting the building.  Now.

Outside, the wind had escalated, and the leaves were angry - filling the air.  Kids were filing out of the building and lining up.  I'm like...  What the...???  I hadn't signed up for this.  All I wanted to do was sign Granddaughter out and take her home.  A little anxious, my super-hero cape began to break loose and I started to feel just a bit light-headed.  Where was Granddaughter?  

 Daughter was texting me from her work.  Are you there yet?  Have you left your house?  Blah, blah, blah.  Granddaughter is texting me too.  Are you here?  Where are you?  Blah, blah, blah.     BEEP*BEEP*BEEP* EMERGENCY*EXIT THE BUILDING.  WIND HOWLING.  LEAVES TWIRLING.  POLICE CARS. LINES OF HIGH SCHOOL KIDS.     

And then.  

The band starts playing.  The emergency was beginning to be fun.  The band was inviting a more festive ambiance.  Without my knowledge, other participants had integrated me into a fire drill/pep rally thing.  Not one person had prepared me for this.  I was back in high school and wished I had worn my ripped jeans and done something with my hair.  If I didn't have to take Granddaughter home I could try and blend in with the rest and enjoy the pep-rally.  

I found Granddaughter and announced to her peers surrounding her that I had permission to take this beautiful girl home.  She stormed to the car then, reporting to me that I had embarrassed her in front of the other kids by making the statement I made.  I smiled.  "It's what we do," I said.  "It’s a grandparent’s job."  

Granddaughter inconvenienced me.  I embarrassed her.  Now we are even. Haha!  We are good 😊 

"Uh-Oh, Bye-Bye"

Reminiscing to October when we 'fell backwards' into short, dreary days and looked ahead to gray skies, cold temps, and a long hard winter.  

Now here we are entering into the month of March and I ask myself, 

What do you think?  Looks like one of those Wizard of Oz - Come
alive with eyes, nose and mouth trees that can talk, right?

"WHAT WINTER?"

 Typical of all days, months and years in my mid 60's...  time is racing ahead of where I wish to stay a while and savor.  Yea.  Kind, treasured days are just miniscule when speeding down the road of life and all its happenings.  Here today, gone tomorrow.

In the words of a very wise, sweet 2-yr old of days gone by, 

(yea, Summer)

"Uh Oh - Bye Bye"

Today I invited one of my customers to bring his sweet Shih Tzu in from the car so I could see him.  A sweet doggie.  But when he suggested I take the pup from his arms and hold it, sweet little guy attacked me.  I was heartbroken.  The only dog ever who did not love me.  We concluded that his recent vet visit/experience likely made him apprehensive with strangers such as myself.

"That's what ya get.  Pay more attention to your own dog and stop with trying to win over every other dog in the world and maybe things like this won't happen."  ~ Gracie

Eleven

To celebrate the oldest grand-angel's 11th birthday it was a trip to Baltimore - The National Aquarium and Port Discovery for Kids.

  Where did these past eleven years go?

Wasn't it just days ago that she was born????

FLASHBACK ~ ELEVEN YEARS AGO

Okay.  Back to reality and now.  Yes, our Marissa is growing up.

We had a blast during our trip to Baltimore.

The aquarium was interesting...

Lot's to learn....  and see...

But Port Discovery!!!!  Wow!

So much for kids to explore and do.  And us grownup kids did not grow weary or tired or bored...  it was that interesting and fun!

My top two favorites were the miniature sized diner where the kids served us up some pretty cool sandwiches...

And the scary gothic house of horrors...

I'd be careful if I were you....

BOO!

There are about three floors of fun play stations and they are all BEYOND AWESOME!!

My left foot hurt to the point I could hardly walk on it but I would have crawled if need be.  Yes, it was that much fun!

Gracie spent the day at doggie day care and after our long drive home we picked her up.

Hey, wait!  You're not Gracie!!

Spring has finally sprung here in Western Maryland.  Today.  Today it sprung.  And we are hoping it stays this time.

Two Things

The audiobook is now available through Audible!!  So excited!  Sheree Wichard did a wonderful job at bringing this book to life.  Try Audible for one month FREE and listen to Gracie's Diary a Memoir
HERE!!

ALSO > You can read my new book "LET'S BE FRIENDS" to your children or grandchildren (ages 4-10) Kindle version FREE with kindle unlimited membership HERE!!

What a great time to be an author!!!!

Even if you are not famous or well-known -   It's just plain fun!

Thanks for stopping by...

Gracie says, Good morning and Good night ....

Go Here!! Please?

Please, please, please go visit Ellie HERE today.  She has finally put up a blog post ... it's short but sweet.  You will love her!  Marissa (my 10-yr old grand-angel) helps her with her blog.

Well, the Christmas village remains up because...

good news...

Jasper will be here Friday with his brother Jake and the girls will be here as well.  The train will be going round the tracks with all kinds of play!  Ho-Ho-Ho!!

I love having the grandkids here and I really have been missing Jasper.

Stay warm and Stay tuned...

Didn't Happen

I was waiting on our little guy Jasper to make it back down from his now home in WV to play with the train and the Christmas village, but here we are going into February next week...  and it didn't happen. 

*insert a sad face here*  

Oh well.  Still, the village needs to come down now.  

Say goodbye to Christmas, Gracie.

Not a problem.  Goodbye Christmas.  Farewell.  See ya later alligator.  Glad to see ya go ... umm.. I mean sorry to see ya go.  

Grand-Angels

All the Grand-Angels present and accounted for...

With some sweet long distance love sent our way....

Now that's what I call a perfectly wonderful Christmas day!

"Birth" Day

Tonight Marissa and Summer gave me the best Christmas gift ever.  

Seeing these angels be a part of celebrating and honoring Jesus is what Christmas is all about and their participation in this Christmas Eve service meant more to me than any store bought gift ever could.

I'll be tucking this into my memory bank and label it as one of the best Christmas's ever....

When two of the most precious gifts God ever gave me honored Him by participating in the true Christmas story.  I only hope that during this Christmas program and the beautiful candlelight service that followed, that Jesus 'birth' day touched their hearts in the same way that they touched mine.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND LOTS OF LOVE TO ALL MY FRIENDS IN BLOG-LAND!  BE SAFE AND BLESSED!

You're Welcome, Gracie

Grandparents day came once again, and we managed to 'adopt' two more grand-boy's whose grandparents couldn't make it.

Our boy Jake is always so considerate of others.  He wants to make sure everyone feels wanted.  Did I mention he's a great soccer player too??

So while the girls are all about dance and gymnastics,  Jake tears up the field with his gift for sports.

And in the chill of the evening we cheer him on...

Business has been a bit slow over the summer...  but picking up nicely after my latest newspaper ad.

Who loves camp??  Gracie does!!!  She loves the smells the walks the getting tangled around the picnic table, the face outside the car being beat by the wind on the way there.

I feel like I'm running out of things to blog about!!  So I'm going to try to go deep into my creative mind and see if I can come up with something of interest.  Y'all must be bored to tears by now.

So, for your entertainment, I share this work of art by yours truly created on my mini iPad.  

Your welcome, Gracie 

Life and Death

Dear Mom,

I don't think of you much anymore.  They say time heals and I suppose it does.  The hurt is no longer there.  Just photo's, some videos, and memories mostly.  Memories come and go.  That's okay though.  I believe it's a healthy thing to let go of hurt and move on.

Yesterday was a date I remember...  oh gosh...  I don't even know how many years have passed since your departing from this world.  I just know it was on July 5, hours after distant fireworks subsided.  

Death scares me.  I think it's because I've watched so many of my loved ones go through such suffering upon leaving this world.  And then there's the unknown.  We can pretend that we know exactly what happens after we take our last earthly breath, but truth is...  only God really knows how it all comes down.  

I watched Lindy die.  She did it so graciously.  I doubt that I will be anywhere near that calm about my own death.  I've always been the weak one, the one who lacked faith but prayed hard for it.   Do you know about Lindy's death, Mom?  Is she with you now?  And what about Jimmy?  Are the four of you (Dad, too) guardian angels to those of us who are left and still living in this world?  Or are you sleeping until Resurrection day?  I've studied with way too many religions and listened to way too many beliefs to be clear on how it all unfolds.  

But what I do believe is that God's ways are not our ways and that He knows and that one day it will be revealed to us.  It's okay that I do not know for sure.  I do know God.  I know Jesus.  I know that His Spirit is with me.  

Since you've been gone, our family has grown greatly.  I can't keep track of them all!  Remember Jackie?  Your favorite?  Well, he has two boys of his own now.  You would totally adore them!  Jake is the spitting image of his dad.  And Lindsey, oh how you loved Lindsey!  She has two of the most precious little girls!  You would be in Great Grandma Heaven if you were still around.

Every once in a while I will think I want to call you just to say hey.  But then I remember you're gone.  And Lindy.  and Jimmy.  and Dad.  I'm void of half of my family.  

But thoughts of you all have become thoughts of death and dying.  So If you don't mind, I will stop thinking about the anniversary of your passing.  Instead, I will focus on my life.  My family.  Those who are living.

And as I watch them grow, I will see your kindness and your sense of humor and your honesty and integrity.  I will see your legacy .... through them.  and I will smile.  

I thank God for my beautiful family and for a wonderful Mom like you.  God says we will meet again.  I believe that.  

I love you, Mom.

Your daughter,  
Bobbie Jo

PS  The dog.  She didn't mention the dog.  Oh Gram...  what an inconsiderate, self-centered daughter you have raised.  Let me tell you about the dog then, since she is very conveniently forgetting...  you would LOVE the dog.  White.  Fluffy.  Kind.  Sharing.  Loving. She never begs for food.  Always stays still for ear cleaning.  Takes her meds nicely. Never barks at stupid stuff.   Perfect in every way. If you were here you would be one more sucker who constantly felt sorry for her and fed her food you would benefit greatly from her continual obedience and love.  Gracie.