Monthly Archives: May 2011

My Words Bounced Back and Hit Me In the Heart!

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Columbia
Image via Wikipedia

Once you throw something out, there’s a chance that it will come back to you. That very thing happened to me not to long ago.

I opened an envelope from my precious Aunt Mary (who really isn’t my aunt…but my second cousin). She had kept an email that I’d written in 2003 and wanted me to have it back. Her words, though simple, were priceless to me. She told me that she had been inspired by what I’d written as much now (upon re-reading it) as she had been when I’d sent it to her so many years ago.

Sometimes I’m a writer — but most often I’m not. But, after reading my own email which was returned to me on April 5, 2011, I can say that on February 3, 2003…I might actually have been a writer. That really isn’t for me to say so I’ll let you be the judge.

It’s subject was: My thoughts on Columbia

“When I’m depressed I tend to go to bed way earlier than my norm. Yesterday was one of those days.

I’d awakened the previous beautiful morning to bright blue cloudless sky and a couple of computer-related things to do so, as was my custom, I came in, sat down, then turned on my little TV…mostly for the noise I suppose. Sadly, it presented me with much more than ‘just noise.’ The shuttle Columbia was breaking up.

My heart sank into a hole and I called my kids in Arlington (just southwest of Dallas) to warn them not to touch anything unusual that might be a part of the fallen bird. As I suspected, they knew nothing…living in their own world of sleeping as much as possible. I cried as we spoke about the catastrophe.

Yesterday was but one day past and still it lingered in my mind. There was something about that flight patch which had been found in perfect condition… Perhaps it was a symbol, left quietly in a patch of grass, of the seven souls whose lives, now with God, are NOW in perfect condition?

They were blessed…for each was doing what he or she WANTED to do! How many of us can say that? The decisions that led them to that day were ones that they didn’t regret…for they were on a mission! They had a goal! And, in their taking off…they had accomplished that goal! How elated they must have been!

The devastating event which happened was only a bump in their road for, even today…they fly on! It is their families and friends who now have gaping holes in their hearts and lives. My prayers are with them.

Our country is a better place for having had them here with us for some 40+ years and, though their bodies have been ripped from the fabric of our country, we will mend. Some will become stronger, even more dedicated people as a result of what we, as a people, experienced the morning they fell. HE will work wonders…for through this grief, there will be miracles…and lives and hearts will change!

Praise God!”

Have You Ever Heard a Plastic Bag Scream?

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Today is one of both necessity and fun. I’ve decided, instead of going to my Weight Watcher’s meeting, to head to my friendly Subaru dealer to get the required 7,500 mile maintenance checked off my list. That’s the “necessity” part. After getting that taken care of, I’ll head out to do a little metal detecting. (Yup, that’s the fun part of the plan.)

Around our house we have certain responsibilities before we can leave. Be sure that the doggie door is closed so that the girls will be safely confined. Then there’s the act of locking the back door which leads to the back yard and deck. It was then that something screamed at me.

I’d noticed this a couple of days ago but took it with the proverbial grain of salt. After all, the next day was garbage day so there was a reasonable rationale for it. Today, though, things were different. Today, garbage day had come…and gone and yet the bags were still on the windowsill. Not only were they still there…but they have reproduced??

My hubby has a tendency to save things. It’s even to the point of collecting. And that wouldn’t be so bad. After all, they are usually HIS things. He calls them his “boy toys” and they’re squirreled away in his highboy chest. (He calls it “the holy of holies.”) I find that to be odd — but not shocking. He is, after all, quite a bit older than I so he often does things differently. This NEW collection, however, borders on being scary.

By now, you may be curious about the aforementioned bags. You may even wonder why they “screamed” at me. Well, it has something to do with the fact that the bags are filled with dog poop! Yeah, that’s pretty disgusting. And you haven’t lived until bags of feces start accumulating on your deck!

I was thrilled to hear him tell me tonight, however, that putting the bags into the outgoing trash would be tomorrow mornings first job. Whew! Needless to say I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It’s a great feeling knowing that my hubby hasn’t started collecting THAT stuff. It’s bad enough that we scoop it up, usually, before it has a chance to get cold. There’s nothin’ worse than stepping into a fresh pile (unless, of course, one of us had decided to let it accumulate on the deck,  that is).