OH SO MANY MEMORIES ~ Here on this Wonderful monring ~

The Cherry Blossoms Were

Beautiful in DC

Good morning sweet morning ~ Coffee sure is splendid this mornin ~ I'm thinkin it sure is mighty tasty indeed~
Poured two cups... ready?

I'm thinkin ... just sittin here and thinkin...
Good Memories, Good Times
yes... there have been not so good times in life, but that is just not how I roll... would rather sit and think of the good times...
By the way... notice how Joan did NOT comment about how "she was IN the picture with Nana's girl yesterday" but always lets us know when she's not!!! Remember all those many and varied little "where's the mama" comments ~ heehe
And then there's Chris in NY... sure she had to rat me out... had to let you know that I called her out for not giving the angels on this page their due ~~~~ so Chris with that NY attitude ... our Warrior stompin in NY... heaven help us when she steps off that plane home again in Florida... ready to "celebrate" being home.... We are so very happy for Chris' great victory and rejoicing news... Did I mention...
                                  CANCER SUCKS...

Sweet Jill is climbing and resting this week, preparing for battle... Next week is her last week of chemo and we will be with her, warpaint on.... ready to be with her in her battle!

And morning here is coming, he/she is getting ready to do it again... The sun is gettin ready to "shine" and I'm getting a jump start on OUTSHINING THE SUN!
Sure did enjoy the comments of yesterday friends; they gave me a wonderful chuckle ~ new memories to add to my wonderful memories.

I'm sitting this morning with thought and my memories...






Special memories are like little treasures that we store in our hearts. We can call them up when we need a lift, or savor them like a sweet treat we have taken the time to unwrap over and over. Sometimes, I sit with a special memory and look around my mind for new details. Memories are always in living color. The shine and sparkle like a holiday.

Though they may prompt a tear, they are sweet tears. They are tears with a smile just a moment behind. Try in some meaningless boring moment to let a treasured memory take a walk though your mind. Remember every little detail. Recall the feeling you had then and be deeply grateful for the experience. Pops me out of the doldrums every time.


I might not remember why we laughed until we cried sitting around Granny’s kitchen table, not the specifics of what was funny, but I can in great detail recall the booming laughter of my Uncle Frank, my Granny chortling, Aunt Betty at the sink trying to put an end to the silly behavior of us all.
 My Mom, adding to the rousing laughter with her quick wit. Pappy wanting us to quiet down and then reaching for that deck of Rook cards and getting the grown ups to the table for a game of cards!
"Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person"
(Francois DeLaRochefoucauld) 

Ah... that excitement around the kitchen table at Granny's house...
What a great memory. The curtains at the window had checkered borders, the table Formica, you know, the old ones from the 50’s and 60’s. Everyone’s cup half full of coffee, Mom’s black, Granny’s with milk, Uncle Frank’s laced with a little something. Hum, maybe that is why he laughed so loud… he was a character my Uncle Frank was indeed ~ and oh how we would dance to the music in Granny's house... the bop, the mash potato, swing... you name it we danced to it.. And yes... we danced to the STOMP dance ... we sure did love to dance, laugh and have a grand time... But there were many a tear that fell in our family as well. Tragedy and heartaches were no stranger in Granny's home nor mine...



We rarely used the front door of Granny’s house. That door led to the covered porch and was clearly for porch sittin and for smokers. Sometimes on special occasions a few stragglers came in through he front, but almost everyone popped in the kitchen door where we hung out, visiting around the table.



Coconut cake, ready to be cut, crowded on the side-cart with buttermilk pie and homemade fudge. Everybody brought something to share.
These memories, and so many others are replayed in my mind often. Us kids would sneak down to the dirt floor basement... grab Pappy's nail and a hammer... get busy with a bottle of pop! Just nail a hole right through the top of the cap; and we'd be right "up town" with our bottle of pop! Sneaky little kids were we ~ Knowing that we just couldn't be figured out... daggone flaw in the bottle all right ~ well ok, that was way way back in the memory bank,.. think real real little was I back then ... LOLs
heehe
Into the garden with a salt shaker, (lifted from the stove)... eat us a tomato right off the vine... YUMMY ... back into the kitchen... and watch the card game... yep, slick we were ~

Wish you could join me there.
I’d gladly share them with you.

I have an entire encyclopedia of memories like these.

Filled with tears, and laughter, food, always an abundance of food, family, friends and music too.





I remember many ice cold nights huddled under Aunt Hazel’s handmade country quilts in the cabin on New River (only river that flows NORTH, perhaps older than the NILE too) ~ Many a time spent in a little boat with a little trolling motor on that river ~
 There the night is so dark you couldn’t see a single shadow, can't even see your hand in front of your face most nights either!
The outhouse, (yep you read it right.. OUThouse)perched up on the hill behind the cabin {works too}. Cold too. Even in the summer, the nights were cold and dark, but oh how we slept.
Bundled up on those old iron beds.
Many a cookout around the fire pit. Swimming on the sandbar, fishing with our dear friends Lavie and Jerry, Ocie and Kenneth. Guitars playing until the fire burnt out, Willie Nelson, Waylon,  Jessi, Dolly and the rest could be heard along with us of course sounding ever so good... our echos bouncing off the mountain side! .
 And in the early morning, as the sun came gently up, a heavy fog rose up over the water, obscuring the trees on the banks.

Good times, great people, fond memories.

And, so I am sure, as I share these memories with you, each of you can recall your own special moments. The memories that you hold dear. That speak of loved ones, of the treasured connections we have had, and still have. Enjoy the memories. Spend time recalling the details. Tell and retell the stories. They are in your heart because they are a balm for our souls when we need or want them. Ask friends and family to recall there special memories with you. It makes for great fun.

Perhaps you will have details they have forgotten that will enhance the memory as you call it up later. Everyone has there own spin on the same experience.

I can remember our dear friend Bighi regaling us with stories, memories from his days traveling the world in service with the Red Cross. Every story shared a precious gift. And what a story teller he was. Bighi could wander around a memory, paint a word picture in such a clear and poetic way that we were mesmerized. Sometimes when I think about his tales of adventure, I can almost convince myself that I was there, in Hawaii, Bangladesh, Northern Italy, China… Well, well, that took me to another set of fantastic memories. Of Bighi, and of all the places I went through him years ago.

So, this memory thing is good.
                                                           It is necessary.

It weaves into our life’s tapestry a richness, a vibrancy that is with us always. We can choose how and what we want to remember... and in what ways.
 I strive to make new memories that will in the future be these treasured pearls for my family and friends. Honor traditions, or make new ones.
Just click here and take a listen to one of Granny's favorite songs: it says alot about her old friends that used to gather at her table back in the day:
great guitar pickin too ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCM8sI1RRDI&feature=related

Celebrate in big and small ways, often, with your whole heart.

The fire is burning, its embers are hot... and the thoughts are being sent on the smoke through the winds this morning...
To those who know who you are ... those that have asked and those who haven't... (that biopsy my friend is goin to be ok, I just feel it will be OK)
The names are often seen here...
You know who you are... Chris, Jill, Liz, Lee, Molly, Dorothy, Shelby, Matthew, Joanie, Jude, Judi, Tonya, Mary, Laura, Tom, Joey, Andi and Mom, VIcki, Irene, Phylis, "southwest Virginia", "TN", Monica, Luci, Joyce, Charlie and family, Lavie, Sue, Linda, Joanie, Cindy, Rhonda, Denise, Jim . . .
We are with you we have our warpaint on...
we join with the angels who have their arms around you always... you are never alone... Keep the Faith!

May you find comfort in knowing that we are here, with you always...

 STOMP   when all our work is done... bless my life and count me one ... old friend... at least one...
old friend....
                                            S T O M P

Walk In Beauty,
DRSES
author of
Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss and Life
http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/