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what is your advice to those younger than you?
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
Be frisky!
Pounce on possibilities
Enjoy the night life
Always land on your feet
Stretch often
Delight in the simple joy of a long nap
Create your own purr-fect day!
what church callings have you had and which did you enjoy the most?
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
We moved around a lot growing up, we would visit local churches in the area, but before we could really settle in to one, we would move again.
Then my dad retired, and we started going to Epworth Methodist, a small friendly church where we had to share the preacher with several other churches in the county.
I enjoyed going to Sunday School and MYF, loved singing the old hymns, being a part of bigger family.
Dinner on the grounds, revivals, picnics, cookouts – it seems everything involved food - a good way to get folks to come, I suppose!
what is the most exciting place that you have ever been to and why?
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon
deafened by the sound of Niagara Falls
riding the cog railway to the top of Pikes Peak
straddling the continental divide in the Rockies
hearing the ca-ching of a slot machine in Reno
crossing the Golden Gate bridge
gazing up at the giant redwoods
climbing to the top of Mt. LeConte
Sometimes the most exciting place is right in your backyard -
the first hummingbird of spring
watching deer cross through the yard
the first bloom of spring
watch the first leaf fall
the first snow
Or even in your living room -
the miracle of babies – first words, first steps
family gatherings – Thanksgiving dinners
hugs from grandkids
were you responsible for household chores? what were they? which did you enjoy most/least?
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
the baby of the family – what chores?
I sort of remember loading the dishwasher occasionally.
I would attempt to straighten up the living room if I had a date…
Though this was a good situation at the time, unfortunately I never learned to wash clothes, cook, or clean house before leaving home.
did you and your father share any interest together – what and why?
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
my father was…
tall, dark, and handsome
the strong silent type
light-hearted
easy going
laid back
a great kidder
could add large numbers in his head
served in the military for 24 years
traveled the world
would haul me around to ballgames, dances, friend’s houses
was very patient
down to earth
soft spoken
was a big flirt (according to my mom)
I always thought I took after my dad, until I made this list. I think we had the same personality, easy going. I wish I had gotten to know him better.
Tell about the houses you lived in childhood – addresses, phone #s, etc.
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
Oh which house? Where to begin?
There was the house in the country near Ft. Bragg, North Carolina – big yard, garden. I was in first grade, and I remember this was our first house after living in Army housing, and my parents went back to their roots – growing vegetables, canning, freezing. I witnessed first hand what it means by ‘running around like a chicken with its head cut off’. My dad went to Korea while we lived there, my mom got a job, and my brother and I became latch-key kids. Once when we came home from school, the house had been broken into. My brother said he was going to call the sheriff. I thought he had lost his mind, they don’t have sheriffs any more – that is just on Gunsmoke – call the police! The TV dinner was popular at our house during this time, and my mom would save the aluminum comparted trays and refill them with home cooking for our own personal TV dinners.
Then the next house was a duplex in Army housing at Fort Rucker, Alabama. This was great fun, paved sidewalks for bike riding, lots of neighborhood kids to play with, warm weather, just 90 minutes from the beach at Panama City, Florida. We would walk from the school in a line down the sidewalk through the houses to the nearby playground or swimming pool. Once while walking single file a mom ran out to tell our 4th grade teacher about the assassination of President Kennedy. Also while living on the base, my mom became very good at bowling and even golf.
After leaving LA (lower Alabama) when my dad retired, we moved to the mountains of North Georgia. Our first house was just a little 4 room shack house without a bathroom. It was an adventure to say the least. My folks once again went back to nature and their roots, planting a garden, having chickens, and even a couple of calves. The little house served as a roof over our heads for a couple of years while my dad built us a new house. My brother was 5 years older than me, he listened to the Beatles and Roger Miller. While in the little house I joined many other young girls in watching the Monkees – ooohhh Davy Jones! By the time we got in the new house, my brother was out of high school and well on his way out of the house. The house had wonderful large windows – floor to ceiling – along with a beautiful front door and mantlepiece that had been salvaged from an old house torn down by my father.
As a military family, we moved around a lot and did not develop ties to any one place. The longest time I spent in any of our houses was about 5 years. There is no old homeplace to go back to visit, to pass down to the kids and grandkids. There are just places we stopped for a while before moving on to the next place. But it was always home where ever we were, a home with a family and a pet or two.
I feel fortunate to have married into the family I have now, everyone is so close. My husband and his sisters only ever lived in one house growing up, the one their dad built. The land we live on now has been in the family for over a half century, and plans are to pass it on for future generations.
one word on how to live successfully…
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
what is success?
Webster’s defines it as: favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.
what is your definition of success?
a mother may think success is getting through a rough day with a toddler, or worse yet – tweens
one’s idea of success may be attaining her goal of making that long anticipated trip to Fiji
another may have a long term goal of wealth and fame
so what is it, the key to success, secret of success?
first figure out what success is to you, then go for it
if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
okay, I think I have it, the one word to success is
WORK
Hard work spotlights the character of people; some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all
did you have a bicycle and what was it like?
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
of course I had a bike!
it was blue and fast
and I could ride with no hands
it provided escape from the house and chores and mom
it would race with my friends
or make clickety-clack sounds
from the playing cards on bike spokes
pure freedom flying down the street or sidewalk
the wind in my face, not a care in the world
write your testimony of life – marriage – the gospel.
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
if life gives you lemons, make lemonade, kind of like just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, laughter is the best medicine
slow down, take time to smell the flowers, take the path less traveled
do unto others, do the right thing, if you are going to do something - do it right, just do it
sit and watch a campfire under the stars, feel the coldness of a clear mountain stream, climb a mountain just because it’s there
take a walk in the woods, walk barefoot on the beach, walk it off
pay attention, pay your debts, pay respects
kiss the booboos, kiss and make up, don’t kiss and tell
be a good friend, be kind to animals, be on time, don’t worry be happy, just be
keep it simple, keep your promises, keep up
dream big, keep your dreams alive, follow your dreams
give a smile, give compliments, give time, give a hug
listen, learn, laugh, love, live
Have fun playing the game of life!
reach for the heavens and hope for the future, all that we can be and not what we are ~ John Denver
what lessons did you take as a child – did you carry any over into adulthood?
(on today’s slip of paper drawn from the jar)
No lessons for me!
No sports, no music, dance, singing, swimming lessons for me!
So now I can’t sing – but I do – along with the radio in the car, if no one is around…
And I can’t dance – but I do – along with the radio in the kitchen, if no one is around…
I don’t play a musical instrument – except for the radio
I don’t swim
Maybe that is why I encouraged my kids to take lessons in dance and music and gymnastics and swimming…
We had the other kind of lessons to learn when I was younger – school lessons, manners, household chores, respecting elders, staying out of mama’s way!
Let that be a lesson to you!
