Louis Dean and I had fun today! We have fun everyday, actually!
This morning we started out with coffee in the gazebo - with light rain falling. LOVE that!
Louis Dean sat with a piece of cardboard over his lap as the gazebo roof is leaking from a hole the squirrels ate through! We have a brand new cover to put up next year! We always start our reading with Streams in the Desert - a devotional book - followed by the Bible - we are currently reading through the New Testament. Our 'out loud' book WAS Lake Wobegone! Louis Dean has a short attention span and I lost him somewhere last week. So we started on The Egg and I by Betty McDonald. I have read this so many times but it never fails to leave me laughing and smiling!! The copy I am reading is 67 years old! Printed in 1946 - it is 2 years older than I am! I remember buying it at a Goodwill in Arlington, Texas with my oldest son, Jesse.
As we were getting in the car I noticed the Texas Sage was blooming!
It wasn't last night when we went to bed!
Next in our day was driving over to Fort Worth to pick Mother up at the Beauty Shop.
Since Louis Dean was with me we ate at Cotton Patch Cafe - he loves it so!
Although he balked at getting the LUNCH order of chicken fried steak and then resorted to ordering a hamburger. When he and Mother go by themselves apparently he really pigs out!
We noticed the large Texas Sage plant by the cafe was in total bloom!
And look at the size of these oleanders!
While we were eating lunch Mother recognized a lady and her daughter as they were passing by our booth on their way out. Mother got so excited! I held my hand out to the lady and asked her if she knew my mother. They had been dear friends! Mother having a stroke which affected her speech has put a big limitation on her friendships. Most of her elderly friends have a hard time hearing. Period. They hugged and you could hear Mother say plain as day, "I have wondered about you! I love you!" It was a beautiful encounter. I asked Mother the name of her friend after they left. She said, "I KNOW but I can't SAY!"
When we got back to her house she got out her last directory from her old Sunday School class.
Her friend is Beth! Mother was so proud to point to her name!
Mother also pointed to HER name and said, "Pauline!"
We forget that Mother very seldom HEARS her very own name SPOKEN! She is Mother and Granny to all of us and her friends and family who called her by her given name are no longer here. Or at least not very often. So today was a real blessing for her.
It seems like just a few short years ago Mother and Beth were both active in the class dinners. I remember Mother hosted many! I married in June of 2005 and she had the stroke in September of that year - so it's been at least 8 years since she last had a real social life.
This has reminded me to be mindful of my own days! Time passes swiftly!
We have much to be thankful for!
Speaking of THANKS!!! Hobby Lobby has their fall decorations out in full force!!
Seeing all this made my heart squeeze a bit!!!
I am SO ready for FALL! I always am! I anticipate its arrival and am never quite ready for it to leave.
It is my favorite season and I could live with the decorations year round!
In years past the fall palette were the only colors in my home!
While I have lightened up - in more ways than one! - over the years, this palette remains my favorite.
The pumpkins!!! Oh, the PUMPKINS!!
Just 27 days and a wake up and I will be hauling all MY decorations down from the attic!
This will be the earliest ever for me.
I USUALLY wait for September 1st - which will be properly celebrated in high fashion!
I do give thanks as I end my day. God has been so gracious to me.
I have been happier in my 'old age' than I have ever been in my life.
I am more content, more relaxed. I guess there's something to this 'Fall' season of my life.
It IS my favorite!!
I loved seeing your Mom and reading of her meeting with an old friend. God bless her. She looks beautiful wearing her red shirt!! . . .I too think about the passing of time. We must enjoy every minute, huh?! I too feel so very blessed and happy!
ReplyDeleteWhen I read about your mom never hearing her name, it made me think of my great-grandmother. There was one lady in church that still knew her as "Gertie" and when she died, there was no one to call her by her first name. I used to think that was so sad.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for fall either. I love fall (not quite as much as you do -- no one could!) and love the colors, food, scents, you name it. I'm looking forward to getting my decorations out too. But I'm not rushing things because I love the summer too!
this is just about the sweetest story I have read in a long time, about Mother seeing an old friend and the excitement of finding her name. so touching to the heart strings....
ReplyDeleteLinda, I loved all those pumpkins. I love fall also. My mom loved it too. When I read about your mother and her friend, I cried.Then you said your mother rarely hears her own name....just the other day I wished I could hear my mother call my name once more. To hear her voice. LD works like a man and needs to eat like a man. LOL I think people know you both enjoy each other's company, just by reading your posts. You know most of us love seeing love. xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeleteOkay dear Linda...you have no email to contact you so will have to just ask you here. Would you consider joining Pinterest? You have such great ideas and pictures you could share and I would love to in turn pin them to my boards. Like for example I would love to pin the picture of your pearls in the glass on my creative board. Hope you will think about it....I have found it to be great fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about hearing our name spoken? I love this post. Beautiful blessings and pics. I too am thankful each day - each one is precious and to be content in life is truly a gift. Blessings to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteThat was such a sweet post, and the story of your mum not hearing her name spoken much anymore really touched me.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had a Hobby Lobby up here! I visit the one in Bellevue whenever I go south of the border, which isn't more than a few times a year.
What a great story. We all know that your 'chance' meeting with Beth was not chance...but planned by One who knows and cares about all the details of life.
ReplyDeleteI've visited Hobby Lobby in South Texas...and would love to have one nearby. I'm not ready to think about fall just yet though.
So happy you found my blog! Fall is also my favorite time of year-I need to start unearthing my autumn decorations soon. They have been stuck back in the "bonus room" along with everything else we didn't want or need to unpack when we moved here last December.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet story about your mother. I'm glad she was able to re-connect with her friend!
Such a lovely post, Linda! The story about your mother reconnecting with a friend touched my heart.
ReplyDeleteOh what a sweet and touching story about your mom reconnecting with her friend..amazing too! I'm an Oct. girl, so I love fall and those gorgeous pumpkins you're showing, they're simply adorable! Thanks for coming by my friend. Give a kiss to the adorable quads for me, please! Big hugs,
ReplyDeleteFABBY
Always glad to hear of anyone who is having fun. And those Texas sage are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteBut I must tell you that we have oleanders around here in Nor. Calif. that are nearly twice that size! No, really ... :)
Those store bought pumpkins have nothing on you. The ones you made last year were adorable. I'm betting you've already got the stuff to make the fabric ones.
ReplyDelete;o)