Amethyst.......

Amethyst.....

This piece came from my grandmother's house, along with several other reminders of her personality. In a couple of weeks, my mother and I are driving north to her sister's house to pick up a few other things that came out of grandma's house. A chair she saved for me, some boxes of photos, a recliner that may be ugly, old and smelly, but it reminds my mom of her mom, so it is worth the trip....

It is hard for me to see my mother emotional and sad...

This is the time of life where we start to take over the responsibility roles for our parents and allow them to simply live the best they can...

Did I say I hate to see my mom cry?

I have a good bit of emotion surrounding my grandmother's death also, but she lived a very long time, and had a marvelous life. And....she wasn't my mother. So, while it is sad...it isn't too much of a lonely feeling.

I love this piece of her life. The amethyst....

I know that it was meant for me,

don't ask my why, it isn't important,

but it was my grandmother's hand reaching out across the

space that separates us now to touch me....

It is beautiful, like she...

Am I missing something?....

OK, here's the deal.....

I am patriotic.

Painfully so at times.

I well-up when they play the National anthem at ballgames,

I get choked up when I hear "I'm proud to be an American..."

and I don't even care that much for country songs

(although I have loved me a David Allan Coe song or two, but that's another story).

I can get emotional when the

commercial is flying a flag,

and don't even get me started when there are military personnel around....

I simply LOVE this country.

I would die for this country,

and I would never ask anyone else to do the same.

It is just how I am......

Now on to the meat of the matter...

I am over, completely over, these people who refuse to "give up the dog".

They are "beating a dead horse" over what they see as the loss of the nation to the other party.

I am sorry, I don't get it.

I didn't vote for him, but he is clearly My President, PERIOD.

This is how democracy works, people.

Let's all be good sports and support the fairly elected candidate,

and get over our bad attitudes, shall we?

If I am going to be an American,

I must play by the rules, and accept the majority rule....

How hard is that?

The fact is, no one man to us into this,

and no one man can get us out of this.....

We must all work together.

There is my soap box for today.

Thank you.

Love......

I love roses....

I can't imagine finding one, unattractive.

This one is on my kitchen table,

BIG and fragrant, Glorious!

I almost prefer to receive just one,

because it seems to be just that much more special.

Did I tell you I am blessed?

Well, I am.

I have proof, everyday when I wake up,

and this wonderful man is waiting for me at the

bottom of the steps with a hot mug of coffee,

just for me.

Who needs Roses?

Well,

me.

A Change of outlook......

An entirely new outlook.....

That's what is called for in these frightening economic times.....

Lost jobs, disillusioned employees, pressured employers, slow sales....

We are all feeling it, regardless of our financial situations...

The one thing that I am quite sure of....

Americans are a resilient bunch.

It takes a crisis, sometimes,..... for us to rise to the challenge.

I am confident, just for today, that we will all be better for this.

Re-evaluating our lives goes right along with the change.

So.....

Let's all pull ourselves up out of our doldrums,

BAKE something for Pete's sake!

That's what my grandmother would do.

Everyone take a break to step back from the fear,

and then let's tackle the unthinkable.