A love for better or worse

Today, on Valentines Eve, I witnessed a couple on a shopping outing. The Mrs. was suffering from dementia or Alzhiemer's and Mr. was doing his best to complete their trip while taking care of her.

Mrs. was in a motorized shopping cart and had trouble with turns but could drive a straight path. 

Mr. was so patient and kind. He used terms of endearment while he encouraged his wife through the aisles. 

I was brought to tears just watching their interactions as so many would have been inpatient and spoke with anger. This was such a beautiful demonstration of the wedding vow "For better or worse." 

It's not about the cards, candy, and flowers for Valentines Day. It is about the love for each other that endures in the best and worst of times. 

As I am writing this, I am so moved that tears are sliding down my face. 

May you find the perfect person who sticks by you and doesn't give up on you.

The questions people ask

 I am often confused by the questions people ask me. For example, today I was at the laundromat washing my clothes. A man approached me while I was hanging a uniform shirt on a hanger. He read the agency patch on my shirt. I know this because he mouthed the agency name and the motto while reading. He then asked me if I knew what the last symbol meant on the washing machine. He provided me with his wash, rinse, and spin symbol knowledge and then looked at me while pointing to the last symbol and asked "What does that symbol mean?" I checked my shirt to make sure it didn't say "Maytag" on it then answered with I don't know. My silent guess is the spin and drain symbol before the door unlocks but again, I don't work for Maytag. 

While speaking with someone about the latest hurricane approaching Florida, I was asked if I thought the city the person's parents lived in would be affected by the storm. After checking to make sure I wasn't secretly working for The Weather Channel I gave my best non-meteorologist answer of "All of Florida will have some impact." Of course, the sarcastic thoughts running through my head were; the storm is 500 miles wide and in some places the peninsula of Florida is just over 100 miles wide so maybe and have you heard of The Weather Channel or any other news channel that is predicting mayhem and pandemonium raining down on Florida?  I was proud that my internal musings did not make it to the outside. 

And of course, almost any time I am in a store, people are always asking me where to find merchandise. Seriously, can you do anything on your own? I don't want to make you believe I am anti-social but how would I know where to find the cranberries without looking around? If you saw someone wearing a lab coat in the store, would you ask them? When I am on duty, I will field every one of your burning questions that wake you up in the middle of the night. When I am off duty but still wearing the cloak of my job, can we at least have questions that are relative to my line of work? 

The Boys of Summer

My husband and I have found an enjoyable way to spend our summer evenings by watching the Leesburg Lightning play ball. The Leesburg Lightning are one of six teams in Central Florida and are currently number one in the league. The young men who play in this league are all in college but these are not their college teams.

One of the reasons we enjoy watching them play is that the players are all nice young men. When they stop to talk to you, they are polite and bright young men. They are respectful and look you in the eye while answering questions with "Yes, Ma'am" and No, Ma'am". Not that I am ready to be called Ma'am, but it is nice to realize that there are young men out there who have been taught manners. 

At one of the recent games, two of the pitchers were taking a break and sitting in the far end of the stands, near the bull pen where they should have been. We later learned sitting in the stands was a big problem when one of the coaches chastised them but for a few moments we were witnesses to a precious moment in life that won't be quickly forgotten. As these two young men sat there watching their team win, two young boys about 8 or 9 approached them. One of the boys asked the ball players if they could sit with them. The ball player answered yes. The second boy said he didn't want to sit but he would stand by the fence. Before you know it, there were a few more boys there and then questions started to fly.

"Have you hit a home run?", one boy asked. "How many runs have you batted in?"asked another. The baseball players answered and then asked some of their own. "Do you play ball?" "Who is your coach?" The crack of the bat interrupted them as the player at bat broke the bat. The boys giggled with excitement.

When the player at bat got a new bat and play started again, I asked if they would mind if I took a picture. The young men and the boys all agreed so I was able to capture just a moment in time of The Boys of Summer.

The Whole World Celebrates

As I listen to the breaking news that Osama Bin Laden is dead the tears are running down my face. I am not sure why I am crying since so many others are celebrating the news of his death.

I am proud of my country. It has taken almost ten years to finally capture and kill the person responsible for the largest tragedy in my lifetime. September 11, 2001 saw the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon, and the attempted attack on the White House that was prevented by American hero's on board Flight 93 that was supposed to be the source of destruction. Praise God for the safe return of the service members that participated in this historic event. Listening to the news, there are many countries that are supporting the actions of President Barak Obama. This one time, I am supporting him as well. 

These events make me think of my grandmother, Verla Walter Dietsch because she was so opposed to me going to Japan in 1985. She was very outspoken against Japan because she lived through the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the war that followed. She sacrificed and worried about her family and friends that were fighting. She never got over the feelings that event in her life created. She wrote me a letter while I was in Japan and told me her feelings and was so afraid that I would come to harm while I was there. I am glad that I was able to spend time with her in 1987 and talk to her about what a lovely country Japan was and how kind the Japanese people were to me. I don't know that she believed me but I tried. When I returned home in 1989, she was very happy that I was finally away from Japan.

I am wondering what is going to happen now. Will there be retaliation? Will we loose more service members lives? Will there be another attack on our shores?

There have been some heartwarming moments displayed on the news tonight. The crowd that gathered at the White House and sang. The people of New York who gathered at Ground Zero, the site of the Twin Towers to mourn again the ones who were lost and to celebrate that justice was finally served. I am struck by how patriotic everyone seems to be, right now, at this moment in time.

Compared to my grandmother, I have not had to sacrifice anything. Those of us who were not service members have not had to give up any comforts in order for Osama Bin Laden to be found. There are many families who have been harmed by the death or injury of a loved one on September 11, 2001 through the present date. While the loss of over 3000 civilians caused great media attention, the continued loss of service members have not garnered much media attention. As the mother of a service member, I am constantly aware of those losses because "there but for the grace of God, go I."

I cried because I was happy. I cried because I was relieved. I cried because I am worried that there will be more tragedy. I cried because I do not want to mourn the loss of any more service members during this war. Most of all, I cried because I could not hug my son who has been serving in the U. S. Army since this conflict began and he is not here, with me, safe at home. Even though America's biggest enemy has been killed, my son will continue to serve our country. I am very proud of him.

For my grandmother who died in 1999, I understand how you felt because now I have experienced an attack on our country. I wondered if you cried when you heard the news of Japan's surrender and then the end of the war. I hope to know that feeling, when this is really over.

Drive at your own Risk!!

I live in a small town, very close to a smallish town that is growing into a "big" city. The problem with all the growth is it makes people decide they need to be in a hurry. Everywhere people go, they have to get there fast or first! From my observations, the need to be there, wherever that is, means that manners are thrown out the window like yesterday's trash.

I don't know about you but I am tired of other people's garbage. And by garbage, I mean their ill manners. Here are some things I witnessed the other morning while out doing errands.

• Inpatient act #1- I was sitting at a major intersection at a red light in the left turn lane. What you need to know is that this is a dangerous intersection and the site of many accidents. With that in mind, when the green turn arrow displayed, I hesitated long enough to make sure traffic stopped in the lanes I was crossing. The man in the car behind me, beeped his horn. How rude! I started forward as soon as the cars in the six lanes of traffic came to a complete stop and I knew that no one was going to run the red lights. Now to continue the inpatient act, the man tailgated me in the lane I was in. There were two other lanes, going in the same direction we were going that he could have traveled in. So I did the only thing I could, I slowed down to just under the speed limit. HA HA!
• Inpatient act #2 - This is really scary because an elderly couple were sitting in their tuna boat aka Cadillac at a light to turn left. Instead of waiting for the light, the old man driver turned right in front of me and I had to slow down to keep from hitting him. The good thing is I was going below the speed limit as I had just turned on the road so I was able to keep from hitting him. Anyone else would have hit him. 
• Inpatient act #3 - When I was pulling into a parking lot, an old man sped up and turned in front of me to grab what he thought was the only vacant parking space. He won - NOT! I drove around to the door side of the business I was going to and found a prime piece of parking lot realty right next to the door and in the shade. Score! The old man had to walk, his vehicle was sticking out in a place where it was likely to get hit and I beat him inside and scored a better seat. 

The rest of the trip home was scary because people were bouncing from lane to lane, pushing and shoving to get to the head of the pack. Where were they all going in such a rush? If it was work I feel sorry for them because they were starting their day off on the bad side. If it was somewhere to relax, I think they were missing the point of their outing. And worse, if they had no where to go and where just driving like that because that is all they know. 

Sometimes cruising in the right hand lane while traveling at the speed limit you get to see amazing sights. In this area, deer, bear, and wild hogs are often on the side of the road. I have been able to see them at a closer view than I would at a zoo. I have seen some of the most amazing sunsets, sunrises, and rainbows just because I have taken the time to enjoy the sights around me. 

The best part is that I am often holding hands with the one I love and listening to some great music. A relaxing ride, amazing sights, and great company.

Slow down, save a life, and enjoy God's wonders around you.  

Technology

I was waiting impatiently behind an older gentleman attempting to purchase gas the other day when it occurred to me that he was stymied by the technology at the pump. My impatience turned to sympathy as I realized that he had probably lived through technology changes at the pump in his life. I am not sure what year gas pumps were invented, but maybe he saw the first ones. Now here he was, inserting plastic money, reading a digital reader, and trying to select the right type of gas.

A few minutes later, I was behind him again as he was attempting to program the car wash. After many attempts, he got it right and then pulled too fast into the automatic car wash. Rick made a comment about the man not wanting to get the underside washed because he zipped right past it. A few seconds later, I heard a car horn. Then another few seconds, the horn sounded again and again. Then the horn just kept sounding. A person that was right behind the old man got out of her car and went for help. The old man had somehow managed to get his vehicle stuck inside the car wash. After several failed attempts to get him to back up, the clerk had the old man pull through and start the car wash all over. The electronic parts of the car wash had defeated the old man. I am just glad that he didn't get hurt or hurt anyone else.

Technology can be great and then it can be frustrating. I used to laugh at my mother because she could never figure out how to program a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder). Now we have DVR (Digital Video Recorder) but I can still program it. The one piece of technology that sometimes frustrates me is the cellular phone. When I got my Blackberry a year ago, it took me a long time to figure out how to work the speakerphone. Then the ringer profiles had me pulling my hair out until I read the "Dummy Guide".  I don't even bother learning anything with my work cell phone, it rings, I answer it. Simple!

I can't be blamed though because when I was growing up, we had phones that were attached to the wall or sat on a counter in your house. If you were not at home and had to use the phone, you looked for a pay phone. There wasn't a whole lot of programming to do, in fact there wasn't any with the old dial phones. Dialing a 9 was the best because to dial a 9, you had to swing the dial all the way around and then you would hear the little tones while the dial rotated back around, 9 tones for the number 9! How cool was that?

Phones are not the only changes, music came on records! An album was played on a record player at 33 rpm and a single song was played on a 45, a smaller record played at 45 rpm. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, music moved to tape technology, first in the 8 track version, and then a cassette. Neither one of these mediums would last very long and often the tapes would break. Thankfully, music moved to CD which is a great improvement. Records were scratchy and tapes were frail, but CD technology really allows you to hear the music and words clearly. However, CD technology may be on the decline as many people just download individual songs to their phones, computers, or ipods.

I don't think my grandchildren will ever know what a record is. By the time they are old enough to listen to music of their choice, digital technology will probably be something a lot different than what it is today. Either way, I look forward to them laughing at me for not understanding their technology.

Halloween Memory

I was inspired to look for pictures of Halloween tonight by a blog post from my daughter Rebecca. She is a new mom and took her daughter Maxine to the local Pumpkin Patch for her first Halloween. By sharing her thoughts, it made me remember the trips to get pumpkins with Rebecca and her brother and sister.

The picture above is a result of a trip with my dad and his grandchildren in the fall of 1991 according to the date on the photo. In the photos taken that day, there are many different expressions on their faces while they cleaned the pumpkins out, drew on the faces, and then "helped" Grandpa carve them. The one expression that is displayed in every photo is joy.

You can see the joy of self-expression in their own unique pumpkin face. The joy of spending time with each other and the extra special attention of a loving grandfather. The joy of finding the icky, stringy inside of the pumpkin, and knowing that homemade pumpkin seeds are in the future.

What you can't see is the mother of the children, who is also the daughter of the grandfather. You can't see the love she has for the four of them but rest assured it was and still is there. A happy memory of a time when my children were small and Halloween memories were made by sticking your hand inside the pumpkin.

One day in my life where joy and love spills out of my heart and was captured in a simple photo.