Hello, beloved Young Lovers!
Just a quick note to tell you I will not be posting regularly through the month of December. I'm going on hiatus and will back in 2013.
I wish you all the very best and happiest, brightest, merriest and most blessed celebrations the season has to offer!
<3 With So Much Love, From Me2U, Love, Raley Blue <3
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
EVERYTHING CHANGES
First things first... mood music... click here ... should I have warned you it came from the those two years I went Country in the 90's, lol? ;)
ANYhoooo...
This post was inspired by the Blue Family Holiday Decorating Fest that took place up in the Blue hizzle this past weekend. Or maybe I should call the place Bloo-ville in honor of Who-ville since that tree is Ruh-EALLY crooked!... cue Welcome Christmas... or Dahooforay as I like to call it ...
Holiday decorating in our house is always interesting as we are a multi-religious cultural home. We have two Unitarian Christian Pagans, one devout United Methodist Christian who leans Pagan, two devout Christians at large, one who is Baptized in Christianity but would rather focus on the cookies he gets in the nursery, and six adopted Messianic Jews. This was also further complicated when The O.C. introduced us to the concept of Chrismukkuh.... click here to inform yourself all about the joys of Chrismukkah ... Now, if that doesn't make ecumenical holiday fun look appealing, I don't know what does... did you catch the "yarmulklaus" there at the end? ;) (Yes, I do have one. And you know you kinda want one too.) So I'm not going mire you down in the details except to say, holiday decorating is a B-I-G deal here.
But in the middle of the whole thing, Kat, who was putting away some of the baby things B3 has outgrown, brought me an ancient envelope of photos circa 1999 she stumbled across in the closet. I have to tell you, Young Lovers, I wept.
"Well of course you did, Raley," I hear you saying, "Sonny and Kat were such beautiful little babies..."
And indeed they were, but these pics weren't pics of the kids, they were actually of the house. (With the exception of one with Sonny crouching defiantly in the corner behind the Christmas tree wearing my giant straw sun bonnet, but he'd rather we not discuss that one...) We'd been living here for about a year and I'd finally gotten all the painting and decorating done and had taken Christmas pics of the house to send out in the holiday cards. There were hand sewn curtains with matching sofa covers that coordinated with silk flower arrangements in intriguing vases and bowls that doubled as
objet's d'art. Each wall was painted in a pastel candy tone that created an overarching theme throughout the entire house. Collections of knickknacks and tchotkes galore... I feel that Julie Andrews song from Sound of Music coming on...
But there was more. The house was sooooooooooooo clean. Neat. Orderly. Organized even. (gasp! ikr!) No pots and pans falling out of cupboards. No laundry overflowing baskets. I was transported back to a time when I was whole in body, indomitable in spirit, and bounced like Tigger. What I was most in awe of were all the pics of the rooms where Kat and Sonny lived and played. The toys were organized on shelves and in centers that would put even the most top notch Day Care to shame.
I was simply astonished.
How could this be MY house?????? What happened???????? Where did that mom go?????????? (my official story, alien invasion, and I'm stickin' to it. ;)....)
Finally, I realized why the MomTwins (my mother and mother-in-law) look so appalled every time they come over and survey the damage that is my lovely abode. Once upon a time, I really did seem to have it all together.
At first the tears were anguished and full of lament. I began reliving history moment by moment again...
*RaleyBlueNote: WARNING: the following paragraph is a lot of boohoo, that, unless you're really invested in knowing all the gory details, you can skip. I don't necessarily want you to skip, but it is a lot of stuff...
... as I suffered a freak spinal accident about 2 years later and couldn't bend over to pick up small items or reach up to dust. Peng was born and we got lost in the trenches of strange, seemingly unheard of special needs called Sensory Processing Disorders... and then someone uttered the big "A"... autism. Another year, and a fluke disease struck, rendering me so weak, that for six months, I couldn't do any more than lie in bed or on the couch playing with my babies in front of the T.V. and cooking consisted of frozen pizza and a can of mandarin oranges most nights. The kids learned how to pour their own cereal, mix simple stuff, and nuke. Three years after that, while mostly recovered, I still had large mobility deficits, and required surgery that all but grounded operations at Chez Bleu. Third grader, Sonny, learned to cook. And over the next three years would teach his sisters the art as I would recover just enough to recklessly shred my shoulder in a fit of new found joie de vivre, surfing in waves that even a non pro should had known to stay away from. This shoulder would have to be operated on twice over the span of the next two years, each time with a six month recovery, that began with two months of keeping it absolutely immobile. Ever try to mop or stir the soup with only one arm? Never mind hug a kid!
But I didn't let those pictures get me down for long. Because everything changes. The truth is, change is the only constant thing in life. My kids have grown into independent young people who have basic household skills. Sure, they do it their way and it's a heap most of the time around here, but they are an amazing help and know the value of hard work. Another amazing thing to come out of all those changes, I learned to stop sweating the small stuff. I grew a personality and realized life doesn't last forever. I started writing and really being present in the lives of my kids. This means I fall in bed exhausted most nights with a to-do list a mile long and unfinished. But so what? The important things got done. *cue the happy tears!!*
I have to laugh now as I look back on Sonny crouching in the Amish bonnet behind the perfect hand cut Christmas tree because he now not only knows how to cut one for himself, but also how to assemble our more eco-friendly, and awesomely purple artificial tree. And he ties it to the curtain rod so holiday cheer filled kitties don't knock it down! Holidays are much more fun with kids who are excited about traditions and add their own special flavor. This year, Kat and Peng were inspired by those old pictures to sort through B3's toys and set up little centers around the holiday decorations, allowing him to view them while being busy with developmentally appropriate activities that don't include eating Christmas ornaments or Hannukah candles. (Win.)
And speaking of our little prince, he just crawled up into my lap, saying, "Quit doing blog. Go back Youtube! Girswannafun!"
I'm cool with that. ;)
Happy Holidays, as you are so inclined, Young Lovers!
<3 From Me 2 U, Love, Raley Blue <3
ANYhoooo...
This post was inspired by the Blue Family Holiday Decorating Fest that took place up in the Blue hizzle this past weekend. Or maybe I should call the place Bloo-ville in honor of Who-ville since that tree is Ruh-EALLY crooked!... cue Welcome Christmas... or Dahooforay as I like to call it ...
Holiday decorating in our house is always interesting as we are a multi-religious cultural home. We have two Unitarian Christian Pagans, one devout United Methodist Christian who leans Pagan, two devout Christians at large, one who is Baptized in Christianity but would rather focus on the cookies he gets in the nursery, and six adopted Messianic Jews. This was also further complicated when The O.C. introduced us to the concept of Chrismukkuh.... click here to inform yourself all about the joys of Chrismukkah ... Now, if that doesn't make ecumenical holiday fun look appealing, I don't know what does... did you catch the "yarmulklaus" there at the end? ;) (Yes, I do have one. And you know you kinda want one too.) So I'm not going mire you down in the details except to say, holiday decorating is a B-I-G deal here.
But in the middle of the whole thing, Kat, who was putting away some of the baby things B3 has outgrown, brought me an ancient envelope of photos circa 1999 she stumbled across in the closet. I have to tell you, Young Lovers, I wept.
"Well of course you did, Raley," I hear you saying, "Sonny and Kat were such beautiful little babies..."
And indeed they were, but these pics weren't pics of the kids, they were actually of the house. (With the exception of one with Sonny crouching defiantly in the corner behind the Christmas tree wearing my giant straw sun bonnet, but he'd rather we not discuss that one...) We'd been living here for about a year and I'd finally gotten all the painting and decorating done and had taken Christmas pics of the house to send out in the holiday cards. There were hand sewn curtains with matching sofa covers that coordinated with silk flower arrangements in intriguing vases and bowls that doubled as
objet's d'art. Each wall was painted in a pastel candy tone that created an overarching theme throughout the entire house. Collections of knickknacks and tchotkes galore... I feel that Julie Andrews song from Sound of Music coming on...
But there was more. The house was sooooooooooooo clean. Neat. Orderly. Organized even. (gasp! ikr!) No pots and pans falling out of cupboards. No laundry overflowing baskets. I was transported back to a time when I was whole in body, indomitable in spirit, and bounced like Tigger. What I was most in awe of were all the pics of the rooms where Kat and Sonny lived and played. The toys were organized on shelves and in centers that would put even the most top notch Day Care to shame.
I was simply astonished.
How could this be MY house?????? What happened???????? Where did that mom go?????????? (my official story, alien invasion, and I'm stickin' to it. ;)....)
Finally, I realized why the MomTwins (my mother and mother-in-law) look so appalled every time they come over and survey the damage that is my lovely abode. Once upon a time, I really did seem to have it all together.
At first the tears were anguished and full of lament. I began reliving history moment by moment again...
*RaleyBlueNote: WARNING: the following paragraph is a lot of boohoo, that, unless you're really invested in knowing all the gory details, you can skip. I don't necessarily want you to skip, but it is a lot of stuff...
... as I suffered a freak spinal accident about 2 years later and couldn't bend over to pick up small items or reach up to dust. Peng was born and we got lost in the trenches of strange, seemingly unheard of special needs called Sensory Processing Disorders... and then someone uttered the big "A"... autism. Another year, and a fluke disease struck, rendering me so weak, that for six months, I couldn't do any more than lie in bed or on the couch playing with my babies in front of the T.V. and cooking consisted of frozen pizza and a can of mandarin oranges most nights. The kids learned how to pour their own cereal, mix simple stuff, and nuke. Three years after that, while mostly recovered, I still had large mobility deficits, and required surgery that all but grounded operations at Chez Bleu. Third grader, Sonny, learned to cook. And over the next three years would teach his sisters the art as I would recover just enough to recklessly shred my shoulder in a fit of new found joie de vivre, surfing in waves that even a non pro should had known to stay away from. This shoulder would have to be operated on twice over the span of the next two years, each time with a six month recovery, that began with two months of keeping it absolutely immobile. Ever try to mop or stir the soup with only one arm? Never mind hug a kid!
But I didn't let those pictures get me down for long. Because everything changes. The truth is, change is the only constant thing in life. My kids have grown into independent young people who have basic household skills. Sure, they do it their way and it's a heap most of the time around here, but they are an amazing help and know the value of hard work. Another amazing thing to come out of all those changes, I learned to stop sweating the small stuff. I grew a personality and realized life doesn't last forever. I started writing and really being present in the lives of my kids. This means I fall in bed exhausted most nights with a to-do list a mile long and unfinished. But so what? The important things got done. *cue the happy tears!!*
I have to laugh now as I look back on Sonny crouching in the Amish bonnet behind the perfect hand cut Christmas tree because he now not only knows how to cut one for himself, but also how to assemble our more eco-friendly, and awesomely purple artificial tree. And he ties it to the curtain rod so holiday cheer filled kitties don't knock it down! Holidays are much more fun with kids who are excited about traditions and add their own special flavor. This year, Kat and Peng were inspired by those old pictures to sort through B3's toys and set up little centers around the holiday decorations, allowing him to view them while being busy with developmentally appropriate activities that don't include eating Christmas ornaments or Hannukah candles. (Win.)
And speaking of our little prince, he just crawled up into my lap, saying, "Quit doing blog. Go back Youtube! Girswannafun!"
I'm cool with that. ;)
Happy Holidays, as you are so inclined, Young Lovers!
<3 From Me 2 U, Love, Raley Blue <3
Monday, November 19, 2012
It's Always A Good Time To Give Thanks
It's American Thanksgiving time. Genocidal histories and presidential proclamations aside, I think it's generally a good thing for a nation to take a day to focus on thankfulness. It's good for individuals too. I know that a good majority of my readers are not American so I wont get into a whole bunch of hooey about how wonderful my country is. Of course living here, I'm invested. I have to be. But my reflections of gratitude are much more personal...
Cue the soundtrack ...
Starting with:
You, Young Lovers, My Readers ~ I adore each and every one of you who has popped in to take a look and share life with me. And I want to give a special shout out to The UK Young Lovers, because more than once, I've been up late (or early, depending on how you look at it) Monday nights working on the next entry and I see in my blog stats that you've been checking in to see if I've posted yet. I want you to know that I love you, and any of you others who are doing that, so much! It makes my heart go pitty-pat and encourages me to no end. Thank you.
(RaleyBlueNote: Some good news! I took a blogging class last week and learned how to set this blog so you can subscribe by email and whatnot, as well as how to get rid of the Captcha Prove You're Not a Robot Thingy, so it should be much easier and more fun to follow and comment now. :) Yay for free continuing/adult education at the library!)
Those Of You Who Follow Me On Facebook and Twitter ~ and then check me out here too. You are a blessing and a joy to me every day when I come online. I always enjoy hearing about your lives and reading your posts. I love my real life too. I'm deeply blessed in it. But my life here with you has made me wiser and richer in awareness of my sisters and brothers in The Whole World. I've been able to meet wonderful friends that I would never have crossed paths with otherwise. Sometimes it helps me put the things that stress me about my own little life in a part of the country that I don't particularly enjoy socially and politically, into perspective. It also gives me camaraderie and hope that in many places, we are on the same page as a people and the world is getting better.
My Grandparents~ I am lucky enough to have been able to know 7 of you while you were still living. I find myself eternally grateful that 3 of you are still in my life to give me examples of living that increase my strength and courage to persevere. To my Great Grands, I miss you every day and especially at Thanksgiving, when I remember you coming to stay on our farm for two weeks and helping to prepare for the big celebration we had. Thanksgiving was my mom's holiday to host, and because my dad's parents lived next door, and the rest of my mom's family traveled to us, every single living relative that I was in regular contact with, sat around our table. My dear departed Grampy would take the ping pong table off it's legs and place it over my mom's dining room table that already had all its leaves in it. And my sister and I would press the table cloths and place mats and make place cards. Grampy would catch bluegill in our pond and Great Grandpa would cook them along with many tasty old German style meats on an outdoor fire. And thank you, Grampy for teaching Axl how to make your special turkey gravy. He guards the secret faithfully and we enjoy it each year and think of you. (Axl also wants me to include he is thankful to you for taking him under wing and making him your favorite grandson-in-law, it meant the world to him.) And my eternal gratitude to my beloved Grandmother Blue, who adopted me as the foolish 17 year-old fiance of her too-young-to-get-married-grandson, Axl, and taught me how to be a wife and keep a house for a Blue man. I think of you oh-so-often, you know that I do, but most especially every time I roll a pie crust on my pie cloth that you gave to me, "because every Blue wife must know how to bake a pie." (Kat has your cookbook now, and she would make you so proud.) I will never forget that you, at 90 years old, traveled 40 miles through a blizzard and over the ice to be at my graduation from Nursing School. To my Poppy, I want you to know you aren't forgotten as you lie in your chair by the sunshiny window. Dad told me on our last visit, that your father taught him, "if you do give out, don't give up." Thank you for showing us this each day as you live on, at 94, in the best way you're able. I wish I lived closer so I could come sit with you more. I thank you for a lifetime of being in my corner. For teaching me how to tell the weather with my bones and the things around me in nature, and how to find water with a stick shaped like Y. To my Grammy and MomMom, whom I talk with almost every other day by phone, thank you for never letting the miles get between us and always being there with an encouraging word in how to raise the children, bake something delicious from practically nothing at all, and how not to sabotage all that a wise woman builds up within her home. I truly do not know how societies without elders and people not blessed with grandparents get along. I'm so grateful I wont ever have to know. You will always live within me. If I should be blessed long enough to see grandchildren of my own, I will love them always as you have loved me.
My Parents~ Dad, thank you for being my biggest champion in motherhood and writing, and for working with me through our "stuff" so that you and I can be adult friends and share in my children's lives. Mom, thank you for teaching me social and environmental responsibility. Thank you both for teaching me to live independently, even, and maybe especially, through the hard way. I am strong, intelligent, and even good because you showed me how to be. I will be holding you very tight to my heart this Thanksgiving even though we will all be miles apart, as well as Mom and Dad Blue who have welcomed us to their table, because you are still with us in the land of the living, and as much as we fight, as hard as our course in loving one another has been, I cannot imagine a world without any of you. It is such a bigger and more interesting place with you in it. I love you.
My Sister~ My kindred fruit of the womb. Happy Hatesgiving ;) ... even though we promised Sonny we wouldn't call it that any more because he doesn't like inside jokes... I love you and my darling niece and am so proud of you.
The Extended Fam~ Wish you were here... or that I was there.
My Dearest Friends~ You have been with me through it all and still loved me. Enough said.
My Community, esp. The Church~ For extending me grace even when we haven't always seen eye to eye, and for giving my children a home to grow up in.
Axl Blue~ Thank you for our beautiful children. As well as for waking up each morning and consciously deciding with me to be married yet another day. Even through the roughest times, I'm pretty sure that had we lived a hundred fifty years ago, I would have still hopped up into that wagon and headed west with you... You, alone, know the depth of my love.
My Darling Children~ I did not know what it was to love until I beheld each of your faces in the very first moments of your first day... You are my biggest fans. My reason for waking up each day. My reason for falling into bed exhausted and contented each night. The absolute joy of my existence. Nothing else compares.
My Writing~ just this once, there are no words.
My Creator, For All My Blessings And Giving Me This Life.
<3 From me2u, Love, Raley Blue <3
Cue the soundtrack ...
Starting with:
You, Young Lovers, My Readers ~ I adore each and every one of you who has popped in to take a look and share life with me. And I want to give a special shout out to The UK Young Lovers, because more than once, I've been up late (or early, depending on how you look at it) Monday nights working on the next entry and I see in my blog stats that you've been checking in to see if I've posted yet. I want you to know that I love you, and any of you others who are doing that, so much! It makes my heart go pitty-pat and encourages me to no end. Thank you.
(RaleyBlueNote: Some good news! I took a blogging class last week and learned how to set this blog so you can subscribe by email and whatnot, as well as how to get rid of the Captcha Prove You're Not a Robot Thingy, so it should be much easier and more fun to follow and comment now. :) Yay for free continuing/adult education at the library!)
Those Of You Who Follow Me On Facebook and Twitter ~ and then check me out here too. You are a blessing and a joy to me every day when I come online. I always enjoy hearing about your lives and reading your posts. I love my real life too. I'm deeply blessed in it. But my life here with you has made me wiser and richer in awareness of my sisters and brothers in The Whole World. I've been able to meet wonderful friends that I would never have crossed paths with otherwise. Sometimes it helps me put the things that stress me about my own little life in a part of the country that I don't particularly enjoy socially and politically, into perspective. It also gives me camaraderie and hope that in many places, we are on the same page as a people and the world is getting better.
My Grandparents~ I am lucky enough to have been able to know 7 of you while you were still living. I find myself eternally grateful that 3 of you are still in my life to give me examples of living that increase my strength and courage to persevere. To my Great Grands, I miss you every day and especially at Thanksgiving, when I remember you coming to stay on our farm for two weeks and helping to prepare for the big celebration we had. Thanksgiving was my mom's holiday to host, and because my dad's parents lived next door, and the rest of my mom's family traveled to us, every single living relative that I was in regular contact with, sat around our table. My dear departed Grampy would take the ping pong table off it's legs and place it over my mom's dining room table that already had all its leaves in it. And my sister and I would press the table cloths and place mats and make place cards. Grampy would catch bluegill in our pond and Great Grandpa would cook them along with many tasty old German style meats on an outdoor fire. And thank you, Grampy for teaching Axl how to make your special turkey gravy. He guards the secret faithfully and we enjoy it each year and think of you. (Axl also wants me to include he is thankful to you for taking him under wing and making him your favorite grandson-in-law, it meant the world to him.) And my eternal gratitude to my beloved Grandmother Blue, who adopted me as the foolish 17 year-old fiance of her too-young-to-get-married-grandson, Axl, and taught me how to be a wife and keep a house for a Blue man. I think of you oh-so-often, you know that I do, but most especially every time I roll a pie crust on my pie cloth that you gave to me, "because every Blue wife must know how to bake a pie." (Kat has your cookbook now, and she would make you so proud.) I will never forget that you, at 90 years old, traveled 40 miles through a blizzard and over the ice to be at my graduation from Nursing School. To my Poppy, I want you to know you aren't forgotten as you lie in your chair by the sunshiny window. Dad told me on our last visit, that your father taught him, "if you do give out, don't give up." Thank you for showing us this each day as you live on, at 94, in the best way you're able. I wish I lived closer so I could come sit with you more. I thank you for a lifetime of being in my corner. For teaching me how to tell the weather with my bones and the things around me in nature, and how to find water with a stick shaped like Y. To my Grammy and MomMom, whom I talk with almost every other day by phone, thank you for never letting the miles get between us and always being there with an encouraging word in how to raise the children, bake something delicious from practically nothing at all, and how not to sabotage all that a wise woman builds up within her home. I truly do not know how societies without elders and people not blessed with grandparents get along. I'm so grateful I wont ever have to know. You will always live within me. If I should be blessed long enough to see grandchildren of my own, I will love them always as you have loved me.
My Parents~ Dad, thank you for being my biggest champion in motherhood and writing, and for working with me through our "stuff" so that you and I can be adult friends and share in my children's lives. Mom, thank you for teaching me social and environmental responsibility. Thank you both for teaching me to live independently, even, and maybe especially, through the hard way. I am strong, intelligent, and even good because you showed me how to be. I will be holding you very tight to my heart this Thanksgiving even though we will all be miles apart, as well as Mom and Dad Blue who have welcomed us to their table, because you are still with us in the land of the living, and as much as we fight, as hard as our course in loving one another has been, I cannot imagine a world without any of you. It is such a bigger and more interesting place with you in it. I love you.
My Sister~ My kindred fruit of the womb. Happy Hatesgiving ;) ... even though we promised Sonny we wouldn't call it that any more because he doesn't like inside jokes... I love you and my darling niece and am so proud of you.
The Extended Fam~ Wish you were here... or that I was there.
My Dearest Friends~ You have been with me through it all and still loved me. Enough said.
My Community, esp. The Church~ For extending me grace even when we haven't always seen eye to eye, and for giving my children a home to grow up in.
Axl Blue~ Thank you for our beautiful children. As well as for waking up each morning and consciously deciding with me to be married yet another day. Even through the roughest times, I'm pretty sure that had we lived a hundred fifty years ago, I would have still hopped up into that wagon and headed west with you... You, alone, know the depth of my love.
My Darling Children~ I did not know what it was to love until I beheld each of your faces in the very first moments of your first day... You are my biggest fans. My reason for waking up each day. My reason for falling into bed exhausted and contented each night. The absolute joy of my existence. Nothing else compares.
My Writing~ just this once, there are no words.
My Creator, For All My Blessings And Giving Me This Life.
<3 From me2u, Love, Raley Blue <3
Monday, November 12, 2012
Askin' Raley 'Bouts Books and Dishin' On Authors, Linda Grimes and Tawna Fenske
Ok, so my friend, Toko, didn’t exactly follow the ASK RALEY protocol, but his cry for books both on his blog… http://paultkost.blogspot.com/ (which is quite a good read, I wish he’d post more)... and this request on Facebook, “I request more blog posts, AbFab, (isn’t that a cool nickname? Love when they call me that. J
)...” as well as desperate requests for reading material by private message, have left me to believe I should indeed heed this cry… Aunty Raley does try to brighten the corner, see a need, fill a need, ect. ;) She would also like to thank Toko for his current readership of her publication home seeking novel…he totally rocks that way. You can begin checking him and his writing on Facebook as well.)
So without further ado, here is the current AureliaBluesDayTuesday Required Reading List:
1.) The Thorn Birds by Colleen Mc Cullough…. It’s often out of print, Young Lovers, so borrow it from somewhere, like a library, or do what I did, and steal, I mean permanently borrow it from your MomMom.
2.) Tara Road by Maeve Binchy… Forget everything you ever read before, this one will shock the crap out of you. You just never see it coming. You get a creepy feeling, but it goes right away… and then BAM!! (I’m just sayin.’) You WILL love this book if you like stories of real life crap-ish-ness and triumphing over it.
3.) A Painted House by John Grisham… Oh how I loved, loved, LOVED this one, Young Lovers. Talk about an author switching up genre’s and doing it sooooooo well.
*RaleyBlueNote: There are lovely movies of all three of these books, but please do not watch them in lieu of reading these fine books. They are NOT THE SAME. Major disappointments. Esp. the The Thorn Birds, The Missing Years… talk about digressing, try total departure, but I digress. Although I will freely admit to obsessively, repeatedly viewing the original mini-series of The Thorn Birds on DVD (and sometimes even VHS, as I’ve been having a long term love affair with this story, lol) because I like watching Father Ralph and Meggie gettin’ down in the sand…
Also, Bonus All About Aurelia Fun Fact: My mom read this book when she was preggers with me and was going to name me Meggie until my dad talked her out of it. I think that’s a cool idea though. LOL. It’s probably why Axl and I named Sonny after a character in Lonesome Dove. Well that, and he wanted to name the kid, John and I wanted to name him Ezekiel… but I, again, digress…
A word of caution though, each of these books has sexy hot stuff in them, they aren’t YA books, like Aunty Raley writes. If you are not mature enough for them yet, and there is no shame in that, or if you know your grown-ups wouldn’t want you checking them out without their permission, then please use your “Making Good Choices Discretion” and discuss them with your trusted grown-up. I’d let my kids read them, I don’t think they are worse than say, One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries, or Gossip Girl, but you should read at your level and always have an open dialogue with someone you trust when dealing with “growing up matters.” {{{ConcernedAuntyWhoLovesYouHugs}}}
AHEM… OK… So if you know anything about me at all from my forays on Facebook and Twitter, you know that the Harry Potter's, Twilights and Hunger Games Series are my muses. But the three above listed books are my favorites that stand the test of time for me. Until now…
INTRODUCING FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME # 4!! IN A FIX, BY LINDA GRIMES.
Young Lovers, this book debuted around Labor Day and it IS SO GOOD. I loves it, loves it, loves it! OMG, I LOVE IT!!
I cannot say enough wonderful things about it. I really, really can’t. It’s about a young woman named, Ciel, who is an aura adaptor, which means she can assume your looks and personality and do stuff as you. Even better, she can FIX stuff for you! Isn’t that soooo freaking cool?
She’s also fun, and a little dorky in all the best and most lovable ways. In this story, she’s on a mission to get a marriage proposal for a client, but ends up getting kidnapped by modern day Vikings who have stolen the would be fiancé. Because Ciel’s a dedicated to her job kinda girl (read: needs to pay her bills) she does what she can to help save the man of the hour… and gets some help from two other hunky men of the hour, her family friend, Billy, and her longtime crush, Mark. Both these dudes are aura adaptor’s too. And they are HOTTTTTTTT. Omigosh, I was like in literary lust with both of them. I wanted to be Ciel sooooooooo bad…. Nekkid Ciel… on a bed,… kitchen counter…whatever…with either one of them… but I digress… ;)… I have to, sorry! This is a PG 13 blog, folks! …This book however, might be more of a NC17 (Google it, people… and while you’re at it, Google Napoleon’s mistress and Champagne glasses… it will come in handy when you get to my very favorite part of this book. ;) )
I truly do adore this book. It’s a little campy like Austin Powers or D.E.B.S., and just as full of action and fun. In one scene, Ciel, dons the aura of a dude and tries peeing standing up... Lots of light hearted fun, and just a little bit naughty. ;) (And can I just say, being the granddaughter of a proud Norwegian man, I loved all the Scandinavian travel, festivals and characters in this story? I did. I did!) I’m simply kvelling that that the second book, QUICK FIX, is due out next summer!
I like Linda Grimes on Twitter too. You can read more about her on her website, Visiting Reality… http://www.lindagrimes.com/ Her blog is hilarious. I learned how turds actually are polished, for realz, from reading it. It’s full of good advice for writers too. ;)
And as it turns out, Linda is writing critique partners with another author, THE LOVELY AND TALENTED, TAWNA FENSKE, who’s book, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, must also be a part of this discussion!
You can click here to see a pic of both of them together… http://tawnafenske.blogspot.com/2012/09/pimpin-my-agency-sistah-yo-and-giving.html ...this is also Tawna’s blog, Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing, which is loads of NC17/ borderline Rated R fun. (again, remember, Aunty Raley despises censorship in any form, but loves young people and wants you to make good decisions…)
I actually won my copy of Believe It Or Not in a contest Tawna held on her blog. It was THE MOST WICKED COOL PRIZE one could win from an author, like… EVER. It actually had cat pee from one of her own kitties on it! (IKR, stalk much, Raley! But seriously, isn’t that a cool conversation piece to have in your library, or at Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws…I’m digressing again…) She also sent a nice clean autographed copy for my reading pleasure. (Another cool fact: She put her special book mark in it at pg.99. She does this in all her autographed books because her gentleman friend inspired the final version of that scene. Isn’t that the bees little awesome knobby knees, Young Lovers?… wishing I’d known that before I moved it…Now I have a little post-it note: Don’t touch it!! Leave it there!! Or else..)
This book, Young Lovers, is the cutest little romance you could ever read. It’s about Violet, who is a very pretty and nice gal, in spite of liking math, who loves her mother. She’s an accountant from Portland, ME who comes back home to visit her psychic mom, Moonbeam, who’s laid up in the hospital with a broken hip in their hometown of Portland, OR. Moonbeam needs rehab, but is reluctant to get it because she thinks her clients need her more. So Violet, who has no psychic ability what-so-ever, takes over for Moonbeam for a few weeks. The not-being-a-psychic thing is a little tricky, but the hunky bar owner, Drew who keeps shop in the adjacent building space to Moonbeam’s office, has an uncanny, albeit unwitting, habit of playing just the right butt metal (Google. Or check out hair bands of the 80’s) songs to help her out along the way. Drew is an awesome dude. He works hard. He loves his brother-in-law that he inherited from his first marriage, and supports him in his dream to be a male dancer. The dancing thing brings in extra cash for the bar too. What’s not to love, right? In fact the only thing not to love about Drew is his habit of dating bimbos. But maybe Violet is about to change that? ;) Read and see, Young Lovers, read and see!
This book is full of quirky fun. I love that it’s set in Portland, OR, which is where my wonderfully quirky and fun, FavoriteLateAunty lived for many years. I remember visiting it well. And Tawna, who enjoys writing about the area she lives in, has captured it and it’s citizenry well. I felt like I was at home among Believe It Or Not’s pages. It’s also tastefully lusty. I love the plot twists as Violet and Drew try to come together. I adore that when there finally is a lovemaking scene, there is “…a swirl of stars and cherry-hued light.” If you’re gonna write about it, Young Lovers, DO IT RIGHT. And Tawna does it right! (She’s also awesome on Twitter and Facebook, check her out!)
SO… I hope this post has given you lots of good stuff to read as we embark on the holiday season. I promise each of these reads will entertain and be totally worth picking up again when you have to set them down, whether for turkey, egg nog, or eight crazy nights!
Also, Toko, has reminded me to add The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown (yes, the Digital Fortress guy) and My Name Is Memory, by Ann Brashares (this is a more grown up novel from the author of those awesome traveling pants girls) to the list. I would also add ANYTHING by Ray Bradbury if you wanna see how old school gets it done. And with that, HAPPY READING YOUNG LOVERS!! And as always:
<3 From Me 2 U, Love, Raley Blue <3
So without further ado, here is the current AureliaBluesDayTuesday Required Reading List:
1.) The Thorn Birds by Colleen Mc Cullough…. It’s often out of print, Young Lovers, so borrow it from somewhere, like a library, or do what I did, and steal, I mean permanently borrow it from your MomMom.
2.) Tara Road by Maeve Binchy… Forget everything you ever read before, this one will shock the crap out of you. You just never see it coming. You get a creepy feeling, but it goes right away… and then BAM!! (I’m just sayin.’) You WILL love this book if you like stories of real life crap-ish-ness and triumphing over it.
3.) A Painted House by John Grisham… Oh how I loved, loved, LOVED this one, Young Lovers. Talk about an author switching up genre’s and doing it sooooooo well.
*RaleyBlueNote: There are lovely movies of all three of these books, but please do not watch them in lieu of reading these fine books. They are NOT THE SAME. Major disappointments. Esp. the The Thorn Birds, The Missing Years… talk about digressing, try total departure, but I digress. Although I will freely admit to obsessively, repeatedly viewing the original mini-series of The Thorn Birds on DVD (and sometimes even VHS, as I’ve been having a long term love affair with this story, lol) because I like watching Father Ralph and Meggie gettin’ down in the sand…
Also, Bonus All About Aurelia Fun Fact: My mom read this book when she was preggers with me and was going to name me Meggie until my dad talked her out of it. I think that’s a cool idea though. LOL. It’s probably why Axl and I named Sonny after a character in Lonesome Dove. Well that, and he wanted to name the kid, John and I wanted to name him Ezekiel… but I, again, digress…
A word of caution though, each of these books has sexy hot stuff in them, they aren’t YA books, like Aunty Raley writes. If you are not mature enough for them yet, and there is no shame in that, or if you know your grown-ups wouldn’t want you checking them out without their permission, then please use your “Making Good Choices Discretion” and discuss them with your trusted grown-up. I’d let my kids read them, I don’t think they are worse than say, One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries, or Gossip Girl, but you should read at your level and always have an open dialogue with someone you trust when dealing with “growing up matters.” {{{ConcernedAuntyWhoLovesYouHugs}}}
AHEM… OK… So if you know anything about me at all from my forays on Facebook and Twitter, you know that the Harry Potter's, Twilights and Hunger Games Series are my muses. But the three above listed books are my favorites that stand the test of time for me. Until now…
INTRODUCING FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME # 4!! IN A FIX, BY LINDA GRIMES.
Young Lovers, this book debuted around Labor Day and it IS SO GOOD. I loves it, loves it, loves it! OMG, I LOVE IT!!
I cannot say enough wonderful things about it. I really, really can’t. It’s about a young woman named, Ciel, who is an aura adaptor, which means she can assume your looks and personality and do stuff as you. Even better, she can FIX stuff for you! Isn’t that soooo freaking cool?
She’s also fun, and a little dorky in all the best and most lovable ways. In this story, she’s on a mission to get a marriage proposal for a client, but ends up getting kidnapped by modern day Vikings who have stolen the would be fiancé. Because Ciel’s a dedicated to her job kinda girl (read: needs to pay her bills) she does what she can to help save the man of the hour… and gets some help from two other hunky men of the hour, her family friend, Billy, and her longtime crush, Mark. Both these dudes are aura adaptor’s too. And they are HOTTTTTTTT. Omigosh, I was like in literary lust with both of them. I wanted to be Ciel sooooooooo bad…. Nekkid Ciel… on a bed,… kitchen counter…whatever…with either one of them… but I digress… ;)… I have to, sorry! This is a PG 13 blog, folks! …This book however, might be more of a NC17 (Google it, people… and while you’re at it, Google Napoleon’s mistress and Champagne glasses… it will come in handy when you get to my very favorite part of this book. ;) )
I truly do adore this book. It’s a little campy like Austin Powers or D.E.B.S., and just as full of action and fun. In one scene, Ciel, dons the aura of a dude and tries peeing standing up... Lots of light hearted fun, and just a little bit naughty. ;) (And can I just say, being the granddaughter of a proud Norwegian man, I loved all the Scandinavian travel, festivals and characters in this story? I did. I did!) I’m simply kvelling that that the second book, QUICK FIX, is due out next summer!
I like Linda Grimes on Twitter too. You can read more about her on her website, Visiting Reality… http://www.lindagrimes.com/ Her blog is hilarious. I learned how turds actually are polished, for realz, from reading it. It’s full of good advice for writers too. ;)
And as it turns out, Linda is writing critique partners with another author, THE LOVELY AND TALENTED, TAWNA FENSKE, who’s book, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, must also be a part of this discussion!
You can click here to see a pic of both of them together… http://tawnafenske.blogspot.com/2012/09/pimpin-my-agency-sistah-yo-and-giving.html ...this is also Tawna’s blog, Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing, which is loads of NC17/ borderline Rated R fun. (again, remember, Aunty Raley despises censorship in any form, but loves young people and wants you to make good decisions…)
I actually won my copy of Believe It Or Not in a contest Tawna held on her blog. It was THE MOST WICKED COOL PRIZE one could win from an author, like… EVER. It actually had cat pee from one of her own kitties on it! (IKR, stalk much, Raley! But seriously, isn’t that a cool conversation piece to have in your library, or at Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws…I’m digressing again…) She also sent a nice clean autographed copy for my reading pleasure. (Another cool fact: She put her special book mark in it at pg.99. She does this in all her autographed books because her gentleman friend inspired the final version of that scene. Isn’t that the bees little awesome knobby knees, Young Lovers?… wishing I’d known that before I moved it…Now I have a little post-it note: Don’t touch it!! Leave it there!! Or else..)
This book, Young Lovers, is the cutest little romance you could ever read. It’s about Violet, who is a very pretty and nice gal, in spite of liking math, who loves her mother. She’s an accountant from Portland, ME who comes back home to visit her psychic mom, Moonbeam, who’s laid up in the hospital with a broken hip in their hometown of Portland, OR. Moonbeam needs rehab, but is reluctant to get it because she thinks her clients need her more. So Violet, who has no psychic ability what-so-ever, takes over for Moonbeam for a few weeks. The not-being-a-psychic thing is a little tricky, but the hunky bar owner, Drew who keeps shop in the adjacent building space to Moonbeam’s office, has an uncanny, albeit unwitting, habit of playing just the right butt metal (Google. Or check out hair bands of the 80’s) songs to help her out along the way. Drew is an awesome dude. He works hard. He loves his brother-in-law that he inherited from his first marriage, and supports him in his dream to be a male dancer. The dancing thing brings in extra cash for the bar too. What’s not to love, right? In fact the only thing not to love about Drew is his habit of dating bimbos. But maybe Violet is about to change that? ;) Read and see, Young Lovers, read and see!
This book is full of quirky fun. I love that it’s set in Portland, OR, which is where my wonderfully quirky and fun, FavoriteLateAunty lived for many years. I remember visiting it well. And Tawna, who enjoys writing about the area she lives in, has captured it and it’s citizenry well. I felt like I was at home among Believe It Or Not’s pages. It’s also tastefully lusty. I love the plot twists as Violet and Drew try to come together. I adore that when there finally is a lovemaking scene, there is “…a swirl of stars and cherry-hued light.” If you’re gonna write about it, Young Lovers, DO IT RIGHT. And Tawna does it right! (She’s also awesome on Twitter and Facebook, check her out!)
SO… I hope this post has given you lots of good stuff to read as we embark on the holiday season. I promise each of these reads will entertain and be totally worth picking up again when you have to set them down, whether for turkey, egg nog, or eight crazy nights!
Also, Toko, has reminded me to add The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown (yes, the Digital Fortress guy) and My Name Is Memory, by Ann Brashares (this is a more grown up novel from the author of those awesome traveling pants girls) to the list. I would also add ANYTHING by Ray Bradbury if you wanna see how old school gets it done. And with that, HAPPY READING YOUNG LOVERS!! And as always:
<3 From Me 2 U, Love, Raley Blue <3
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Life Happened.
Well, Young Lovers, we were going to have an ASK RALEY book review today. But life happened.
Over the weekend, my family and community lost a truly great man. He died very suddenly and unexpectedly, and from what we can tell, without suffering. (Best thing a farmer can ask for.)
Our community here is very small. We are all related in some way. Our friend was a distant cousin by marriage to my boyLovey, Axl's, mother. He was also Axl's boss, having given him the chance to work and feed his own family when all else seemed lost a few years back. That's just the kinda guy THE BOSS was. He was also a leader in the community, serving in many ways. He was on so many of the county boards. And he was the chairman of our local church board. I taught Sunday school with him. And we loved and fought like cats and dogs and family will. At the end of the day, I'm very blessed to have been able to call him my friend.
I am comforted that THE BOSS is in a better place now beyond the suffering of this life. I am glad he is reunited with his son, who died suddenly when he, my sister and Axl and I were teenagers together. I'm not concerned about any religious theology here (You, and the community, might be surprised where some of mine comes from. Life is strange and full of so much more than we think.), I do know this to be true, and it's a joy.
However, for the rest of us who remain, the community is rocked by not having THE BOSS to lead us. So we are flailing a bit. We are also very old and traditional here. Many of our families have Amish roots. Many of our families have practicing Amish members. And even though we live a modern lifestyle for the most part, the care of laying a loved one to rest is done in the old ways. Right down to a neighbor is digging the grave, and the ladies are cooking for the coalation. There are alter cloths and table cloths to iron. Flowers to be gathered. There will be corn and wheat too, I'm sure. This is a farming community.
That said, I am unable today to put the planned zeal and fervor into my planned book review as I'd hoped. So please check back for that next week? In the meantime, here is an essay I wrote about a year ago in my Facebook notes. It was a favorite of my Facebook friend, LondonLady, who also died rather suddenly after a short illness this past weekend. I'd like to post it in his honor.
SHORT LIFE WITH A LOT OF DAYS
An original essay by Aurelia Blue September 30, 2011
One of my Facebook friends died. This is the first time this has happened to me. I don’t know how to feel. He lived in the UK and I didn’t know him personally/in real life, but he was one of those great “friends” who is on all the time and makes a point to interact with, check up on his friends and keep abreast of their lives. So much so, that on the day he passed, several friends had tried multiple times to raise him online because they recognized how odd it was not to hear from or see a post by him.
According to his son, who generously has taken time to post on his dad’s page all the info he can, including keeping us in the loop as to the services held in his father’s honor and their trip to Scotland to spread his ashes, our dear friend died peacefully sleeping in his favorite chair. An undetected heart condition the culprit, and could not have been foreseen. Our friend simply sat down to rest from a busy day and slipped away to eternal rest.
Being a Christian/Messianic Jewish Believer by faith and Pagan/Universalist by tradition, I can do nothing else but believe he has gone on to a place of forever summer and goodness. I grieve for the loss of his company in this life, but know with certainty that the energy that flows through us all, flows richer now with his presence and someday, all shall be one.
But this has caused me to stop and reflect. Perhaps it’s because there is a new baby in the house. Or because my father turned 63 yesterday and it was bittersweet because my grandfather (his father) lies dying and unable to remember any of us in a strange sterile place 300 miles away. This grandfather also turned 92 in this place two weeks ago. Without any of us.
Additionally, several of my dear friends, both online and in day to day life, have been experiencing the anniversaries of the departing of loved ones these past few weeks, and I grieve with them also. It seems life is indeed too short. Our days fleeting.
I think of this as I try repeatedly to dial my beloved grandmother, who if the truth be known, is my mother figure. She is the one I will grieve the most if she passes on before me. She is the “mom” I will lose and spend the rest of my days wishing for just one more talk with. I grew up next door to her for 14 years, even living with her some of that time. Everything I know how to do for my young children, everything I know how to cook, everything domestic thing like sewing, laundry, food preservation and bill paying, I learned from her. And when I’m hurting or the world is closing in on me and I don’t know what to do, I call her. She and I love each other as much as two people can love. And fight as hard as two people have ever fought! It can be messy, but that’s life.
My aunt died when she was 19, of brain tumor that would have been operable today, but was a death sentence in 1969. My grandmother always says they planned like they had forever, but lived each day like it was the last. When my aunt was diagnosed and died within weeks, this was their comfort. Knowing that they hadn’t wasted their time even though they never had any idea it would be so short.
I myself, have had several brushes with the Grim. I was blessed and prayed back to life. I am grateful. Believe me, I live each day like it could be my last too. Well as often as I can anyway. Some days are just wasted and lost. It’s on those days I pray most fervently for just one more. And one more after that. I’m a dreamer, a wisher and a hoper. Of course I plan for forever. But I’m also a realist. I know my days are numbered.
And yet, when my children come to me with the problems of the young, I just can’t bring myself to burden them with such a sadness of knowing it will too soon all be gone. Sometimes I even find that over the course of counseling them, that this would be the absolute wrong advice to give.
My autistic son hates school. I remind him that it will advance his life to the places he wants to go. He has Asperger’s Syndrome. It means he’s brilliant. He needs that education almost as much as he needs water and air. I try to shore him up, give him resolve. I remind him that a young man born in his era is expected to easily live one hundred years. What’s twelve or sixteen or even twenty out of a hundred? Put it in perspective, my love!
My twelve-year-old daughter is advised she needs an inoculation that could prevent a deadly STD. She is horrified. She never intends to marry, let alone “HAVE SEX, GOD FORBID!!”
I tell her I know this. I understand that she feels this way. Any good girl of deep faith would, maybe even should, feel this way. I assure her that I trust her judgment, that I know she will make good choices for herself in her life. The thing is, it’s a long life. If one is blessed and well, and lives a hundred years, who’s to say that one day, one wont decide they do indeed want to know such intimate love with another human being? Be prepared my daughter! Then you need not fear anything but being consumed by the deepness and light that is the closest way we know to experience God while still in this world.
So as the phone rings and rings in the new apartment for senior living and my grandmother’s voice does not come on the line, I sob and cry. It’s been three days for God’s sake! I am lost and alone in the world without her. I know this temporary, she’ll call me soon. But one day, she wont. She too will be gone. Because life is too short. And yet is so long for those just starting it.
And then there’s me. Here in the middle. Knowing the secret. That it is indeed a short life, but with a lot of days in between. Blessed be. Remember me. I will remember you. The world will go on. The footprints of our love to guide the way for those to come.
<3 As always, From Me2u, Love, Raley Blue <3
Over the weekend, my family and community lost a truly great man. He died very suddenly and unexpectedly, and from what we can tell, without suffering. (Best thing a farmer can ask for.)
Our community here is very small. We are all related in some way. Our friend was a distant cousin by marriage to my boyLovey, Axl's, mother. He was also Axl's boss, having given him the chance to work and feed his own family when all else seemed lost a few years back. That's just the kinda guy THE BOSS was. He was also a leader in the community, serving in many ways. He was on so many of the county boards. And he was the chairman of our local church board. I taught Sunday school with him. And we loved and fought like cats and dogs and family will. At the end of the day, I'm very blessed to have been able to call him my friend.
I am comforted that THE BOSS is in a better place now beyond the suffering of this life. I am glad he is reunited with his son, who died suddenly when he, my sister and Axl and I were teenagers together. I'm not concerned about any religious theology here (You, and the community, might be surprised where some of mine comes from. Life is strange and full of so much more than we think.), I do know this to be true, and it's a joy.
However, for the rest of us who remain, the community is rocked by not having THE BOSS to lead us. So we are flailing a bit. We are also very old and traditional here. Many of our families have Amish roots. Many of our families have practicing Amish members. And even though we live a modern lifestyle for the most part, the care of laying a loved one to rest is done in the old ways. Right down to a neighbor is digging the grave, and the ladies are cooking for the coalation. There are alter cloths and table cloths to iron. Flowers to be gathered. There will be corn and wheat too, I'm sure. This is a farming community.
That said, I am unable today to put the planned zeal and fervor into my planned book review as I'd hoped. So please check back for that next week? In the meantime, here is an essay I wrote about a year ago in my Facebook notes. It was a favorite of my Facebook friend, LondonLady, who also died rather suddenly after a short illness this past weekend. I'd like to post it in his honor.
SHORT LIFE WITH A LOT OF DAYS
An original essay by Aurelia Blue September 30, 2011
One of my Facebook friends died. This is the first time this has happened to me. I don’t know how to feel. He lived in the UK and I didn’t know him personally/in real life, but he was one of those great “friends” who is on all the time and makes a point to interact with, check up on his friends and keep abreast of their lives. So much so, that on the day he passed, several friends had tried multiple times to raise him online because they recognized how odd it was not to hear from or see a post by him.
According to his son, who generously has taken time to post on his dad’s page all the info he can, including keeping us in the loop as to the services held in his father’s honor and their trip to Scotland to spread his ashes, our dear friend died peacefully sleeping in his favorite chair. An undetected heart condition the culprit, and could not have been foreseen. Our friend simply sat down to rest from a busy day and slipped away to eternal rest.
Being a Christian/Messianic Jewish Believer by faith and Pagan/Universalist by tradition, I can do nothing else but believe he has gone on to a place of forever summer and goodness. I grieve for the loss of his company in this life, but know with certainty that the energy that flows through us all, flows richer now with his presence and someday, all shall be one.
But this has caused me to stop and reflect. Perhaps it’s because there is a new baby in the house. Or because my father turned 63 yesterday and it was bittersweet because my grandfather (his father) lies dying and unable to remember any of us in a strange sterile place 300 miles away. This grandfather also turned 92 in this place two weeks ago. Without any of us.
Additionally, several of my dear friends, both online and in day to day life, have been experiencing the anniversaries of the departing of loved ones these past few weeks, and I grieve with them also. It seems life is indeed too short. Our days fleeting.
I think of this as I try repeatedly to dial my beloved grandmother, who if the truth be known, is my mother figure. She is the one I will grieve the most if she passes on before me. She is the “mom” I will lose and spend the rest of my days wishing for just one more talk with. I grew up next door to her for 14 years, even living with her some of that time. Everything I know how to do for my young children, everything I know how to cook, everything domestic thing like sewing, laundry, food preservation and bill paying, I learned from her. And when I’m hurting or the world is closing in on me and I don’t know what to do, I call her. She and I love each other as much as two people can love. And fight as hard as two people have ever fought! It can be messy, but that’s life.
My aunt died when she was 19, of brain tumor that would have been operable today, but was a death sentence in 1969. My grandmother always says they planned like they had forever, but lived each day like it was the last. When my aunt was diagnosed and died within weeks, this was their comfort. Knowing that they hadn’t wasted their time even though they never had any idea it would be so short.
I myself, have had several brushes with the Grim. I was blessed and prayed back to life. I am grateful. Believe me, I live each day like it could be my last too. Well as often as I can anyway. Some days are just wasted and lost. It’s on those days I pray most fervently for just one more. And one more after that. I’m a dreamer, a wisher and a hoper. Of course I plan for forever. But I’m also a realist. I know my days are numbered.
And yet, when my children come to me with the problems of the young, I just can’t bring myself to burden them with such a sadness of knowing it will too soon all be gone. Sometimes I even find that over the course of counseling them, that this would be the absolute wrong advice to give.
My autistic son hates school. I remind him that it will advance his life to the places he wants to go. He has Asperger’s Syndrome. It means he’s brilliant. He needs that education almost as much as he needs water and air. I try to shore him up, give him resolve. I remind him that a young man born in his era is expected to easily live one hundred years. What’s twelve or sixteen or even twenty out of a hundred? Put it in perspective, my love!
My twelve-year-old daughter is advised she needs an inoculation that could prevent a deadly STD. She is horrified. She never intends to marry, let alone “HAVE SEX, GOD FORBID!!”
I tell her I know this. I understand that she feels this way. Any good girl of deep faith would, maybe even should, feel this way. I assure her that I trust her judgment, that I know she will make good choices for herself in her life. The thing is, it’s a long life. If one is blessed and well, and lives a hundred years, who’s to say that one day, one wont decide they do indeed want to know such intimate love with another human being? Be prepared my daughter! Then you need not fear anything but being consumed by the deepness and light that is the closest way we know to experience God while still in this world.
So as the phone rings and rings in the new apartment for senior living and my grandmother’s voice does not come on the line, I sob and cry. It’s been three days for God’s sake! I am lost and alone in the world without her. I know this temporary, she’ll call me soon. But one day, she wont. She too will be gone. Because life is too short. And yet is so long for those just starting it.
And then there’s me. Here in the middle. Knowing the secret. That it is indeed a short life, but with a lot of days in between. Blessed be. Remember me. I will remember you. The world will go on. The footprints of our love to guide the way for those to come.
<3 As always, From Me2u, Love, Raley Blue <3
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