Movie Quote Monday

“’What’ and ‘if’ 

are two words as non-threatening as words can be, 

but put them together side by side 

and they have the power to 

haunt you for the rest if your life.  

What if; what if; what if...”

---Claire, "Letters to Juliet" 2010,  

directed by Gary Winik and written by Jose' Rivera and Tim Sullivan.

Sisters

"Sisterhood is one of the most valuable relationships in a woman's life and when the sisterhood is strained it wounds the soul."

Iyania Vanzant,  Fix My Life, 24 May 2014

I Am Not a Dog Person--My Buddies

I am not a dog person; never have, never will be. 

However, soon after Joe’s death I found myself not wanting to go home.  After a trip I would run errands, or dilly dally around.  After analyzing why I didn’t want to go home I realized it was because the loneliness was awful.  So, I got a hypo allergic dog.  He needed a companion so, I got another dog.  

I have noticed that when the dogs are not here, I am really lonely.  It’s not like I always play with them, or have them sitting on my lap—remember I don’t like dogs—but there is a real difference when they are not here.  There is something to be said for having another living presence in your living space.  

I also appreciate the alerts they give me if someone is at the door or if there is something going on in the neighborhood.  They are a security factor that allows me to sleep better and feel safer during the day.

I am not a dog person; however these two have given me great companionship!

Movie Quote Monday

"People change; life has changed.  

Today you shake hands with somebody 

you gotta count your fingers to make sure 

you got five fingers back."

---Man in the Cafe

“Everybody's Fine”, 2009, written and directed by Kirk Jones

Fiddlesticks

It hit on Sunday, and it has not been this bad for years.

Yes, years.

Grief is back, the big G-R-I-E-F.
I mean the kind of grief that sneaks upon you, slugs you in the stomach, collapses you and squeezes your heart until it explodes.  The kind of grief that creates primal animal noises from your gut.  The kind of grief that leaves your eyes raw and red.  The kind of grief that smothers you so you cannot breathe.  That kind of grief.

The big one is coming.
It is bringing me much reflection and for the first time,  survivors guilt*! 



*(that is one of the grief stages I haven't dealt with yet!)

July Was Full Circle

What a crazy month July was.  It began with a new baby and ended with a funeral, with travel, a birthday and serious illness in between!

I was able to help out my daughter who ended up being very ill after Missy was born, by taking her children for a few days.  Oh my goodness.  They were good, but mommys are soooo busy!  Of course, the blessings, little kid hugs and funniness of them all was such a joy to my life!

Thankfully, prayers were answered and daughter is well.

I had my birthday--yep, another year older and a time for reflection.

Then, my great aunt passed away and I attended the beautiful funeral services; a tribute and an accounting of her life and her legacy.  It was also a time to visit with close relatives and long lost cousins. 

Now, July is gone and August is here and I realized July was a "life-time".    It began with a birth ended with a death and had serious life issues in between!

July was a month of serious reflection for me, and an opportunity to once again see why family history and genealogy work is so important.  Every person that lives has their story written on the hearts of their family members.  Every person that lives makes an impression in this world; great or small, an impression none-the-less.  And, doesn't everyone's story deserve to be told in their honor and for their life?  Yes, they do, and that is why I do this work--to tell the stories and to learn about the lives of my ancestors.  Each one of them mattered, just like my family matters to me.  They all had mothers and fathers and siblings who loved them.  They all had good days and bad days and they all had their own struggles.  Just because they have passed on, doesn't mean their lives can't help and matter to me and my life.