Sunday, June 20, 2010

Remembering Dad

Those of you who know me may be a bit confused by the title of this post, because my dad is still here.

Well, mostly.

Part of the reason for the huge funk I have been in recently is that dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a few months ago.  It is very hard news for a daddy's girl to take. 

I find that often, I grieve his loss already, even though he is still here.  I grieve the fact that I never know from day to day if I can have a decent conversation with him.  I grieve the things he's always done - the things that make Daddy who he is - that he can't do anymore.

But today, I choose to remember daddy like I've always known him, before the disease starting chipping away at him.

I remember the daddy who called me "Doodle" and "Pistol" when I was a little girl, and the way he introduced me to other people as "The Boss."

I remember the daddy who replaced one recliner after another because I squeezed in beside him in them so often that I worked the arms loose.

I remember the daddy who walked to Ingle's every night for a cup of coffee, and let me get a creme horn from the bakery.

I remember the daddy who took me to McDonald's for an ice cream cone, and waited while I played on the playground.

I remember the daddy who worked rotating shifts at the mill, and I never heard him complain.

I remember the daddy who always made fried potatoes and fireplace cornbread when he had to cook dinner.

I remember the daddy that couldn't stand to see anyone cry.

I remember the daddy that stopped smoking when I asked him to.

I remember the daddy that started fires with gasoline.

I remember the daddy who always had his shaving brush and a bottle of Old Spice on top of his medicine cabinet.












I remember the daddy that got me my first car from a junkyard :-)

I remember the way my daddy whistled when he was coming in from the garage for dinner.

I remember the daddy who constantly cut wood and gave it away (with delivery!) for free to anyone who needed it.

I remember the daddy who helped liberate my Barbie's from their plastic ties when ever I got a new one, which was often because I was spoiled rotten.  (just ask my sister)

I remember the daddy who doesn't like to pray out loud, but occasionally will and, when he does, it is the same every time.

I remember the daddy who scared my boyfriends.

I remember the daddy that many of my girlfriends wished was their dad.

I remember the daddy who told me that Randy Travis singing sounded like pig squealing.

I remember the daddy that adores his grandchildren.

I remember the daddy that means "Do you need money?" when he asks, "Do you need anything?"

I remember the daddy that made us listen to a Marty Robbins eight-track nonstop while we drove around the country for three weeks on vacation.

I have been blessed with an amazing earthly father, and I am thankful that my Heavenly Father put him in my life.  I could go on for days with the wonderful memories I have of him.  I've shared a few here, but the rest of my memories I'll tuck quietly in my heart to remember on the days that my daddy doesn't.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Oh, the drama!

I know God is about to to a good work in me, because ever since the Esther Bible study began, the devil has been after me like crazy! Everywhere I turn:

Drama at work
Drama at home
Drama with the neighbors
Drama with extended family

If I wanted this much drama, I'd start watching soap operas again!

I need this to hold on to this week, and probably in the days to come as well:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

tuesdays unwrapped

Pausing to remember

the ways we will never pass again...
(kindergarten supplies, brought home to stay)

the things that are only temporary...
(2010 All-Star Baseball season)



and new beginnings...
(Esther Bible study - the first in our new church)

Care to share???

tuesdays unwrapped at cats

Thursday, June 10, 2010

My eight year old got his throat slashed.

(image by sateda)

There's a title for ya, huh?

Well, it's for real.  Fortunately, it was only with a pencil and just a minor scratch but unfortunately, also enough for the offender to get suspended from school for it.

Did I mention that they're only eight?

Insane.  The kid just grabbed my boy from behind and did the slasher move, with a pencil in his hand.  Left a six-inch cut according to the incident report the teacher had to write.

Not belittling the injury to my son or anything, but I don't think The Slasher really meant any harm.  Just like kids point their fingers and pretend it's a gun, they know that a bullet is not going to shoot out of their finger.  I don't think the kid realized that his pencil actually WAS a weapon in his hand.

The sad thing is (insert old-timer voice here) "We didn't act that way when we were kids."  And we didn't.  We rode our bikes and threw old beer bottles against tree trunks. We climbed through culverts and flew on tire swings and ropes.  We blazed trails through the woods and played Pac-Man and Galaga.

We did NOT go around pretending to slash each other's throats, even in fun.

I'm not sure if I should be alarmed by the violence that has obviously escalated in the play of our children, or just accept that our world works that way now, whether you and I like it or not.  I know the Evil One just laughs and laughs whenever this kind of thing happens - watching our society lose it's moral compass and deteriorate bit by bit.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on it - do you think this is an isolated incident by a kid who has seen too many movies he shouldn't, or is this just they way it is now?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A special weekend, shared on a Tuesday

Well, the title of this post says it all. These moments aren't necessarily small things, but are to be celebrated nonetheless.

Special little boys turned six...


...special middle boys got baptized in our brand new church...




...and special eldest boys became high school seniors and landed their first paying job. (Wow - choked on this last one!)

Don't blink, guys. Life happens so fast!

tuesdays unwrapped at cats

Monday, June 7, 2010

Hey, Canton NC area ladies - listen up!

Yours truly will be leading a new summer Bible study at Pinnacle Church in Canton, starting this Sunday, June 13th at 6pm. Our study this time will be from Beth Moore, called "Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman."

Wow! I don't know a woman alive who would argue with that!

Please share this information with all your girlfriends, because I would LOVE to have a room full of women during this class!

If you plan on joining us, could you please leave me a blog comment, Facebook message or an email and let me know so I can make sure I have enough workbooks?

Thanks ladies - I can't wait to dig into this one and I hope you'll be joining me!


Beth Moore's Esther, Web Promo from Greg, LifeWay on Vimeo.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

A fun discovery

My family got together for Memorial Day yesterday, and since 2 Navy men were there, the service talk began. My mom said that she didn't know what kind of ship dad was on when he served in WWII. He looked at her and promptly blurted out "LSMR 408." I'm treasuring every detail that I can get from Dad now that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, so I wrote down the info and Googled it as soon as I got home.

I didn't quite expect what I found. It seems that I transposed two of the letters (LMSR instead of LSMR), but that was a type of ship as well. After not finding a ship number 408, I realized that the other "spelling" was right. A few minutes later I was on this page. I looked at each photo, and when I made it to the shots below deck, I FOUND MY DAD IN TWO OF THEM! See??


He's the dark haired fellow squatting down in this one...


...and to the far left in this one.


These photos were taken sometime probably in 1945, when dad was about 18. (He's 82 now.) He was on this ship on the Pacific Rim when the war ended.

Cool, huh??

If you've got any Navy ships you'd like to check out, go to NavSource and start looking - who knows what you'll find!!

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