MOTHER

MOTHER

This is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece. Please

read this at a slow pace, digesting every word and in

leisure...do not hurry....this is a treasure...
The young mother set her foot on the path of life. 'Is

this the long way?' she asked. And the guide said: 'Yes, and the way is hard.

And you will be old before you reach the end of it.. But

the end will be better than the beginning'

But the young mother was happy, and she would not

believe that anything could be better than these years. So she

played with her children, and gathered flowers for

them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and

the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried,

'Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.'

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was

dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother

drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said,

'Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come.'

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and

the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary.

But at all times she said to the children,' A little patience and we are there.'

So the children climbed, and when they reached the top

they said, 'Mother, we would not have done it without you.'

And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up

at the stars and said, 'This is a better day than the last, for my

children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage.

Today, I 've given them strength.'

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened

the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped

and stumbled, and the mother said: 'Look up. Lift your eyes to the light.

' And the children looked and saw above the clouds

an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the

darkness. And that night the Mother said,

'This is the best day of all, for

I have shown my children God.'



And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and

the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent.

But her children were tall and strong, and walked with

courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her,

for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill,

and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And

mother said, 'I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end

is better than the beginning, for my children can

walk alone, and their children after them.'


And the children said, 'You will always walk with us,

Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.'

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates

closed after her. And they said: 'We cannot see her

but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She

is a living presence.......'


Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper

of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach

in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand

on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives

inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop

She's the place you came from, your first home; and

she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love

and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can

separate you.



Not time, not space... not even death!

ANOTHER LOOK BACK IN TIME

Remember when:





All the girls had ugly gym uniforms?





It took three minutes for the TV to warm up?







Nobody owned a purebred dog?





When a quarter was a decent allowance?





You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?





Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?





You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time? And you didn't pay for air? And, you got trading stamps to boot?





Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?





It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents?





They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed. . and they did it!





When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady?





No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?





Lying on your back in the grass with your friends?

and saying things like, 'That cloud looks like a... '?



Playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game?





Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?





And with all our progress, don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace, and share it with the children of today.





When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home?



Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.



. .as well as summers filled with bike rides, Hula Hoops, and visits to the pool, and eating Kool-Aid powder with



sugar.

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, 'Yeah, I remember that'?





I am sharing this with you today because it ended with a Double Dog Dare to pass it on. To remember what a Double Dog Dare is, read on. And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care.



Send this on to someone who can still rememberHowdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, the Lone Ranger, The Shadow knows, Nellie Bell , Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk.





How Many Of These Do You Remember?

Candy cigarettes



Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside.





Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles.



Coffee shops with Table Side Jukeboxes.



Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum.



Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers.





Newsreels before the movie.



Telephone numbers with a word prefix...( Yukon 2-601). Party lines.





Peashooters.







Hi-Fi's & 45 RPM records.





78 RPM records!





Green Stamps.





Mimeograph paper.



The Fort Apache Play Set.



Do You Remember a Time When…



Decisions were made by going

'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'?

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, 'Do Over!'?

'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest?





Catching The Fireflies Could Happily Occupy An Entire Evening?







It wasn't odd to have two or three 'Best Friends'?







Having a Weapon in School meant being caught with a Slingshot?



Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?





'Oly-oly-oxen-free' made perfect sense?



Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?







The Worst Embarrassment was being picked last for a team?



War was a card game?





Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle?



Taking drugs meant orange - flavored chewable aspirin?





Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN"T LOOKING

Thanks to my friend Michele for sending this to me.


WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING



A message every adult should read because children

are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my

first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately

wanted to paint another one.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a

stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind

to animals.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my

favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little

things can be the special things in life.



When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a

prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always

talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a

meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I

learned that we all have to help take care of each other.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care

of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have

to take care of what we are given.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you

handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't

feel good, and I learned that I would have to be

responsible when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come

from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things

hurt, but it's all right to cry.



When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you

cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.



When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of

life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and

productive person when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and

wanted to say, 'Thanks for all the things I saw when

you thought I wasn't looking'



I AM SENDING THIS TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE I KNOW

WHO DO SO MUCH FOR OTHERS,

BUT THINK THAT NO ONE EVER SEES.

LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT .



Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend) influences the life of a child.

SORRY,I WILL NOT BE POSTING FOR A WHILE

Sorry, but I will not be posting for a while.  Things are just too overwhelming in my life right now.  Thanks to my followers for being interested in what I had to say.  God Bless, generositiesoftheheart

THE HISTORY OF APRONS

 

I don't think our kids

know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.





It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.









From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished



in the warming oven.







When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids…







And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it



around her arms.
















Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.









Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.











From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.











In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.









When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.









When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folks knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.





It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.













REMEMBER:









Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.



They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.





I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...

DIFFERENT STAGES FOR DIFFERENT AGES

Switching from a baby to a toddler....Once baby Orlando started walking we all thought it was so cute.  Then came the screaming which is not so cute. He is beginning to learn more and more words, but still relys on screaming to let us know he is not happy.  He is becoming more assertive against his 3 year old big brother and, his brother in return, is learning that his baby brother can't be pushed around so easily.

What happened to my munchkins?  The baby that used to be so cute and loveable has turned into a pushy, uncooperative toddler.  The 3 1/2 year old once uncooperative toddler is now so sweet and loveable. He has turned into a little man with manners and actually follows directions.  He has a longer attention span now and talks like a grown up.  He still has tantrums once in a while, but also wants to please adults now. He is starting to understand once confusing statements, like, "grandma will be back tomorrow" or, "that happened yesterday."  He can play by himself for longer periods of time and has a wonderful imagination.  He gets frustrated when he can't fix a toy or if the refrigerator does not have his favorite food.  He is proud of his accomplishments.  He is used to having his younger brother around and actually misses him when he can't see him or his brother is napping.  He actually tells me what his brother wants.  For example, "grandma baby needs a nap now" or "grandma baby is hungry" 

Orlando(the 20 month old)has a temper.  That is probably because his mind is more advanced than his skills.
He knows whats wrong but can't express it.  He still puts a lot of things in his mouth and throw things.  His little mind is slowing catching up though.  When we say no enough times, he understands we are not pleased.
He is a little stinker.  He will take off and run in the opposite direction and at 60 years of age I am not the quickest to catch up with him.  His brother is a big help with pinning him down. 


He is very determined and stubborn when he can't get something done the way he wants to do it.  He will try to figure out for himself how things work.  This is cute...he will sit and look at something backwards and forwards and inside and outside until he is satisfied it is to his liking.  He loves picture story books.  When watching a movie, he laughs at the funny parts and gets excited when there is action. He does not have  fear of danger.  I don't think he yet understands the concept of dangerous places and things.  At the park, he is not happy playing on the toddler equipment, he wants to go up on the bigger equipment.  He is not happy, but he has to learn that not everything is safe for him.

This is certainly a challenging time for me. I have to constantly be about my wits for sure.  In no time, these munchkins will be able to outwit me. They already out-run me!!!

WHEN YOUR LAST BABY IS GETTING MARRIED--THOUGHTS OF AN EMPTY NESTER

                                An empty nester is someone whose children have left home.  I guess I never really felt too sad about them leaving, and I am certainly happy that they have not bomeranged back home.  I have always felt that once they are adults they needed to start being more independent and taking care of themselves. Having their own responsibilities and making their own mistakes and learning from them is a good thing.

My oldest child lived at home until he got married.  He knew he had it good at home, where most of his needs were being meet by his parents.  I was excited about the wedding. He married a wonderful woman whom he had known since childhood.  I was pretty sure that marriage would last and it has for 12 years now.

With my daughter it was different.  Her and I did most of the planning and made all the arrangements for the wedding.  I was too busy to be sad about her leaving.  She found a wonderful man and was at long-last settling down.  In a way I was relieved.  She is the mother of my only 2 grandchildren which has made our mother/daughter bond even greater.  I didn't have time to miss her because she made sure I was involved in her life, sometimes more than I wanted to be.  However, if I could go back, I would not change one minute! It was precious time that we spent together that can never be replaced.

My youngest son just got engaged over the weekend to a wonderful young woman.  This is my baby.  I love the woman he is marrying as my daughter.  It's not that.  I guess it's being sad that I am getting old so quickly now.  Why is it that the older we get, the faster time goes by?  All 3 of my children have given me more happiness than words can explain. Mothers tend to overlook the hard times, and focus on the good times.
Kevin was the child of my old age.  He was planned by me, but not whole-heartedly by my husband.  Everyone said, "you have a boy and a girl, what more do you want?" 

You know sometimes God puts this feeling in your heart that just makes you ache for one more time.  Well I had that ache and it would not go away.  It turned out it was one of the best decisions we ever made.  He turned out to be such a joy and never gave us a bit of trouble.  He is sweet, loving, compassionate, and caring.  He knows how to make me laugh and reminds me that life is to be lived and enjoyed. 

Kevin, know that your mom is so happy that you found your soul mate. I am so proud of all you have accomplished in your life.  Thank you for all the great memories.  Go forward and make a new life for yourself and Teryn.  Dad and I look forward with excitement to your wedding day. We look forward to the prospect of more grandchildren and many good times with you and your new family. 

Congratulations on your engagement to the love of your life, Teryn.  God BLess you both with continued happiness and love!  May every dream you have hoped for come true.  We love you both.  mom and dad