Friday, September 4, 2009

So much going on

The granddaughters at junior cheer night.
His helmet

Joel after a huge win.






You have heard me brag about the grandson Joel that is the light of my life. . . . and Friday Night Lights with him playing football. Well I want to share a few picture after we had won the game 68-18. I knew Joel would be in a good mood over that win.






Now you can see the football player. . . . he is a cutie.






Sunday, July 12, 2009

Party with High School Friends

Judy and Molly
Linda

Janice, Molly, Judy


Jeanine and Caren


Marsha, JoAnn, Christie


Caren and Jan and Vickie





We may be golden girls now, but we have been refined to the finest there is.


My long remembered friends Forever


























Tuesday, June 23, 2009

We Pray For The Children





We pray for children
who sneak popsicle before supper
who erase holes in math, work books
Who can never find their shoes.


And we pray for those
who can't bound down the street in
new sneakers,
who never counted potatoes,
who are born in places we wouldn't
be caught dead in.
who never go to the circus
who live in an X-rated world.


We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and
fistfuls of dandelions.
who hug us in a hurry and forget
their lunch money.


We pray for those
who never get dessert
who have no safe blanket to brag
behind them,
who watch their parents watch
them die
who can't find any bread to steal
who don't have any rooms to
clean up
whose pictures aren't on anybody's
dresser
whose monsters are real.


We pray for children
who spend all their allowance the
same day they receive it
who throw tantrums at the grocery
store and pick at their food.
who like ghost stories
who shove dirty clothes under the
bed, and never rinse out the tub.
who get visits from the tooth
fairy.
who don't like to be kissed in front
of anyone.
who squirm in church
who scream in the phone
whose tears we sometimes laugh
at and whose smiles can
make us cry.


And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the
daytime.
who will eat anything
who will never see a dentist
who aren't spoiled by anybody.
who go to bed hungry
who cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have
no being.


We pray for children who want
to be carried
and for those who must.


For those we never give up on
and for those who don't get
a second chance.


For those we smother with love... and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.




Sunday, May 10, 2009

OH! It has been awhile

Oh, my it has been awhile since I blogged. Sorry if there is anyone out there that reads these silly ramblings of mine. But, I think I am back in the groove and will be more diligent at keeping the posting up to date.
I have a few pictures to share with you. Lots of things have been going on with the grandkids but not much with me. . . . I was laid off of my work in March and you would think I had lots of time. I don't! I have just done a few things here and there. It kind of threw me for a loop. I have worked for most of my life and so to be thrown into not having to get up in the mornings and go to work was quite an adjustment. But now it is wonderful. I hope to find a part-time job in the future, but as long as I can I am going to be retired.

It was prom time in April and the "big grandchild" Joel was the most handsome young man there and of course his date Mattie Snow was the prettiest. You will see their picture on the side bar.

Went to dinner with the friends in April also. Picture is also posted.

Went with Vickie on Friday. We always have a riot when we go together. Just bumming

Spent three days with my Aunt Colleen . It was a treat. Love to be with her. We too just go shopping and bumming.

My life is nothing spectacular, but again it is my life.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Just An Ordinary Person

I have been a little slow to change things and take care of my blog. I don't have a good reason other than that is how I am, s l o w! Well, the grandsons are done with their basketball and wrestling, I will not have to endure a stinky, sweaty, hot, crowed gymasium for another year. . . . (oh but I love being there). Joel didn't do as good as we had hoped at region wrestling. He placed 5th, and they only took the top 4 to state. So he didn't get to go. He was disappointed for about a day, and then moved on to something else. It is all in the past now. Isn't it amazing how at the time it is devastating and then poof.. . . . . it doesn't matter. When you are 17 years old things work like that. He is on to bigger and better things, Matty, she is the Tooele High girls softball pitcher. That will be another story I am sure. Andrew finished his basketball season and so did little Jared. I don't know if Jared will return. I think Jared was bored. . . Andrew will be back for sure. I am afraid my daughter's two sons have the Jackson athletic ability and drive, and the little Jackson boy Jared, just hasn't developed it yet. The little granddaughters will be starting girls softball, so my down time doesn't last too long. I will spend the spring and summer at the softball fields. I have one little dancer in the mix of it all, and she is a beauty!
I recently read something that is so true. . . . . .

"The love I gave my children I thought I could give no other, but God gave me a wonderful surprise one day when I became a grandmother. "

For those of you who are grandmothers you can understand that. Isn't it true, you love your children so much and low and behold here comes the grandchildren, and your love is even deeper. . . . There is nothing like it.
At one of Andrew's ball games I fell going up the steps of the bleachers, when my grandson Joel saw that I went down, he flew over everyone in his way and came to rescue me. Having that big 6'3'' grandson tenderly lift me up and help me was worth the embarrassment of falling in front of hundreds of people. He watches over me so lovingly and is so concerned and attentive. And so are the others. To see their eyes light up when I come to their house or see them anywhere makes my heart swell with rapture and pride. It is true when you have children you are very blessed in this life and in the eternities.
I am so glad spring is around the corner. At least I hope it is. This winter has been hard for me. I am looking forward to longer daylight, and warmer days. I am glad I live where the seasons change. I like them all. And when I am tired of one season, the next is on the horizon. I would never want it to always be sunny and warm. Just as I don't want it to be cold, and dreary all the time. It is good to have a variety. When you live in Utah you get a variety in the weather. In the spring you never know what you are going to get. I suppose you could equate that to life, it is good to have a variety in your life. The good days and the bad days along with so-so days. Some of us have our share of bad days. . . . Well, check back and hopefully I will have something of worth to read about. KJ



Thursday, February 5, 2009

Off to Region Tournament

Ok, I have neglected my post for a while. It seems things get hectic, but I don't know what the hecticness is. . . I don't accomplish anymore than I normally do and that is nothing. It seems I go to work go home and nothing changes. These kids of mine and now their off-spring keep me busy to where I don't have a weekend to call my own. Really I don't. . . . I am always at a stinkey, hot, noisey, gymnasium. I want to sleep in on Saturdays, but there is always a ball game. . . and if I don't go I feel like the worst grandmother on earth. And the guilt hits and I feel like I am missing something that can never be replaced. The youngest grandson, Jared is now starting the sports circut. At his age it is a riot watching the games. He doesn't have a clue as to what is going on at his basketball games. He runs with the basketball in hand, he skips to the other end of the court. When he is on the bench he would rather be under, behind or playing with the others. . . .
He is the cutest little bugger! I get such a kick out of him!
But, this is the weekend we have been waiting for since November. It is Region Wrestling. . . and my big boy is there (Joel). He should take first BUT, he is a typical 17 year old boy! And anything could happen. The past week he has caught the attitude bug. It all started when he got a date with a cute little 17 year old girl. . ! NOT GOOD. Wrestling championship is the farthest thing from his mind. He just wants to be crowned champion with no effort and move on. . . Needless to say I will be at the stinky, hot, noisy gym cheering for my champion grandson Joel. And in my eyes he will always be THE CHAMPION. . . I will have another weekend taken from me so I can be at wrestling matches on Friday and basketball on Saturday and loving every minute of it. Win or lose I will have good things to tell you.

Monday, January 26, 2009

REMEMBERING

This past week I lost a very dear cousin of mine, Tony Pickering. He fought a long hard battle with cancer for nine years. Always keeping positive and believing he could win. . . and I guess he did win. Tony was a great artist in four mediums, charcoal, bronze, stone, clay. I don't believe his hands have really been stilled. He will go on creating. I know where he is and it gives me great comfort but he is going to be missed. Most of all he will be missed by his sweet wife Andrea. I know how much she will miss him, because I have buried a husband. It is hard. And it never goes away. The past few weeks I have done a lot of "remembering". Remembering my childhood and the way life was. Tony lived next door to my Grandma Dot. I called it the Pickering compound. Grandma and Grandpa Pickering lived on the other side of Grandma Dot. Uncle Mack and Aunt Lucy (Tony's parents) lived on the other side of Grandma. The Pickering family is very close even now. Cousins are cousins. Tony is my mother's first cousin, so it makes me a first cousin once removed from Tony. Tony's dad, Mack was my Grandma's little brother. The times were wonderful through my childhood eyes. Grandma and Grandpa Pickering, Grandma Dot. And Grandma Dot's brothers and sister, Uncle Wayne, Uncle Mack, Uncle Ferron, and Aunt Colleen and their children. They are actually my great uncles and aunts, but they are more to me and closer to me. I love them so much.
My son, Mathew sent me a message today and it says exactly how I feel today.
I want to share it with you. A Keeper
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and hat and Mom in a housedress, lawnmover in one hand, and ish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtan rod, the ditchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing,. I just wanted once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there would always be more.
But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away.... never to return. So.. . While we have it. . . it is best we love it. . . And care for it. . . And fix it when it is broken . . . And heal it when it is sick.
This is true. . . for marriages. . . and old cars. . . and children with bad report cards. . . dogs and cats with bad hips. . . and aging parents. . and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special. . . and so we keep them close!
Stay close to those you love and care for. Life passes all too fast. We take the good and the bad, and cherish each moment we have.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

IT IS MY BIRTHDAY!

It is my party and I will cry if I want to! Yikes! Time is moving way too fast and I want it to slow down. I just turned another year older, and this one makes me older than dirt. But the alternative to another birthday is no birthday at all, and that is not good. . . I am happy to be alive and healthy, slow but still moving. I wish I had some great life philosophy to share with everyone but I don't. Just the same old saying that seem to be true. Enjoy each day as if it is your last. It could very easily be. Love more and more each day the ones that are the closest to you, because that can end in the blink of an eye. I know it has ended for me several times. And I did love more! Life is hard, it is meant to be that way. Nothing that is of value come easily. I have shed a river of tears, I have traveled many miles and I would do it all over again even knowing what was ahead of me. There are some regrets though. I will share them with you. And my wishes that have never come true. First, I wish I had never allowed Lloyd to transplant me to Tooele. Don't get me wrong, I love living in Tooele, I have wonderful friends that I otherwise would not have, I have had a great journey while living here, BUT, I wish I had never left Payson! I love Utah county, that is where my ancestors settled and that says alot. That is where extended family is and I miss them so much. I am getting older and so are they, things change, and I wish I had never left Payson, and I wish my Dad had not left and my brother. My only sibling lives 350 miles away from me. He might just as well live 3000 miles away. The distance is too great. I have missed out on so much by not living close to him and his family. Now time is running out and we will never live close again.
I regret not spending more time with my kids when they were little. Now isn't that the typical regret of most mothers. I wish I had not wanted them to grow up so fast. When Lloyd died all four of my children lived at home and my baby grandson Joel. I wish I had enjoyed that time more. But I was thrown into the path of grieving and I didn't enjoy that special time being so close to my kids and my grandchild. We all did our best. I regret that I am a worrier. It robs me of my peace of mind. I think I am a natural born worrier, I keep trying to not worry so much and just let things work out. But every once in a while I am caught in the web of worry. Some may think that I should have never married my second husband Jim. But you are wrong if you think that. I loved him and I still have a special place in my heart for him. I was taught so much in the years that I was with him. I wouldn't trade that journey for anything.
I am sorry I don't have 61 more years, so I could change some of the things I couldn't change in my first 61 years. Some things I wouldn't be able to change, it was part of the plan that God set. I guess it is just part of live, the older you get the more relationships mean to you and all the other things mean less.
I have decided in the next few posts I am going to share some of my most cherished memories. For my 61st birthday I am going have lunch with my life long best friend Vickie. My cousin Louise is going to join us. I am going to pamper myself. Have my hair cut, and have my nails done. I am going to spend the day doing what I want to do eat what I want, and just enjoy being 61. I won't cry for my party, I will celebrate a great life. I posted my regrets and my wishes, and now I will move on, smell the roses, breath the air, listen to good music, compliment myself, be kind to myself, and look for the humor. I am 61 and I am alive. . . . . . KL

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