The Three Minute Grandparent

A good friend celebrated her 50th birthday with cake from Coldstone Creamery.  Happy birthday dear friend and wishing you many more. We had a choice between 2 cakes and I was good and had one slice. We actually had cake in our church fellowship time prior to this.  Rosauers supplied 2 large sheet cakes - Chocolate and Vanilla with strawberry icing.  Soooooo, I am caked out for a short time.  Talk with me tomorrow should you wish to invite us out for cake. Fifty years, now that's a long time.  Born in 1965, this friend saw the first man on the moon, born on the same day as Charlie Sheen, Brooke Shields, and Kevin James.  This friend has also seen the rise of Cell Phones to the point of Everyone having one.  Imagine taking your home phone with you...away from home!  That's amazing!  No more waiting to check messages when you get home from work, the store or church.  Also your phone is much more, it is your personal assistant, holding y...

My Mother was a Lady.  She knew how to carry herself in public and in private.  She made us proud both out of our home and while at home.  She never wore dirty or torn clothes, even when doing house cleaning or working in the yard.  She always dressed up for a shopping trip and encouraged her three offspring to do the same. What did my Mother teach me? She taught me to say yes ma'am/no ma'm and yes sir/no sir.  These were polite ways to respond to those older than I was.  Yes, I even used these polite words on people just a few years older than me.  We taught our children to use these words by using them on our children.  Politeness is caught as well as taught. She taught me to lift the seat before using the toilet, perhaps a bit humorous but nevertheless, an important life lesson.  By the way, my wife, Rhonda, taught me to lower the seat and lid when the job was done...another important life lesson! She taught me to hold the door for...

Growing older causes me to think...about the past and about the future.  My Valdosta High School classmates held a 65th birthday/Medicare class reunion this past weekend in my hometown.  I was unable to attend, but have enjoyed the pictures posted on Youtube.  We are all aging gracefully....is that the correct verbiage? I was actually in my hometown over a month ago for my Mother's funeral and probably walked by many of these friends.  I wonder if we walked right by each other with no recognition?  It has been a trip down memory lane just seeing each of these dear friends from the past. Thoughts and old friends running through my mind cause me to wonder about the future.  I find myself listening to old Peter, Paul, and Mary recordings, remembering a simpler time in high school and college.  Finding old friends and talking with them is becoming increasingly important as is being a good parent and grandparent to the next generation. I find myself b...

Changing car tags in Montana involves a rear and front tag. I guess someone in front of you should be able to look in the rear view mirror and see your tag number, hence the front tag.  Anyway, the tags are on the car.  Big deal, you say.  Yes, it is a big deal. This car was my Mother's car.  She recently moved on to Glory and I inherited her black Chrysler....so yes, it is a big deal. Her tag had a wheelchair on it and allowed her to park in specially designated handicapped spots. My tags have no such handicapped access. Her tags verified that she was alive, well, and driving.  My tags express that she no longer has a need to drive. Her tag was proof that the car belonged to her.  My tags say, this car now belongs to Ken. How I miss my Mother and wish she still had a tag to drive. Mother moved on to Glory over a month ago and the car moved to me.  The drive from Florida to Montana was a long one not only in Interstate miles but in emotional mi...

Musically speaking, a Fermata is a Pause. A prolonging of the measure value of a note or rest, dependent upon the taste of the performer: indicated by a sign placed over or under the note, rest or chord. Merriam-Webster defines a pause as: a temporary stop : a period of time in which something is stopped before it is started again, or a control that you use when you want to stop a recorded song, movie, etc., for a short time. The pause in music is a very useful tool for musicians in that it offers variation in movement and intensity. It gives respite to a certain character or mood of music established by it rhythm, dynamic level or harmonic structure. It also provides opportunity for new and exciting entrances to subsequent passages. In our lives, both physical and spiritual, there are times when we must pause and evaluate our relationship with The Lord, our ministry and its effectiveness, our relationship with those surrounding us and basically the way ...

Traveling is long, exhausting work, especially when the days or miles are over 500.  Our drive to Abilene began around 9:00 AM and concluded 12 hours later.  Stops at rest areas, McDonald's, and Gas fill-up times stretched a normal ride into an abnormally long day. Sage brush, oil wells, wind power fields and few cars blended into an interesting day that became even more interesting as we searched for roads.  Google maps and the trusty paper map both took us through some narrow and seldom traveled by-ways. The arrival into Abilene was greeted with family hugs and sitting with grandsons..well worth the long day.  The rest of Day 2 and all of day 3 were spent in Abilene playing with grandsons. All in all, a great time. Oh, and we enjoyed our daughter and Son-in-Law, two of the finest people these grandparents know. More to come on Day 4 with a drive to Birmingham and visit with youngest sister and her husband.  Stay tuned.

Driving long distances and age generally do not go together well...combine this with a short night and we were rather stiff as we began the second day.  In all fairness, we had a wonderful evening meal with friends of our youngest daughter, then breakfast with another set of her friends. Meeting and eating with new friends was a great way to end and begin a day. Our drive began around 9:00 AM.  Grandpa drove through the morning hours while Grandma slept, a pattern which worked throughout the trip. Leaving Colorado Springs took us South down I-15 through high passes, around mountains and finally leveling out to North Easter New Mexico flat desert land. Hunger finally forced us to stop at.....a snake kingdom?  That's right.  The only spot to stop for a break greeted us with this sign. The New Mexico break area was a portion of the desert with a black top/pavement and nothing could persuade Grandma to eat in one of the picnic shelters.  Yes....we picnicked on the ...