What we leave behind...

When I went to Arizona to be with my sisters in our time of grieving, I was given a few of my brother's mementos..

His "Paddy hat" he wore on St. Patrick's day..

Photos of Gerri Kathy and I that he had for years and years..high school for Kathy, junior high for Gerri and elementary for me..nothing newer..just those old back & whites..from times long since gone.

A pot from our great-grandmother's fireplace in her kitchen in Ireland..

..complete with a hole and a pretty good repair job..it held until a new hole appeared close by it..

And Gerri gave me a badge worn by our grandfather when he was with the Electric Company in Chicago..

These are special because I never knew any of the grands..all gone before I arrived.

But to hold something of theirs in my hands..to feel the rough iron of the pot..to touch the badge and know my grandfather pinned it to his suit coat everyday..my fingers are where his were..

..these things bring my immense joy and a feeling of belonging. Through these everyday items I am in my grandparent's graces..and I feel they know me.

So I wonder, what will I leave behind? Will it bring comfort to my grandchildren..will they feel they know me by the possessions of mine they hold in their hands..

I hope so. Happy Sunday ...and remember, what we leave behind will speak volumes of who we were and what we loved..

...so about that music of your life..??

I was driving to work this morning when an old Dolly Parton song came on - "Here you come again"..and I was suddently fighting back tears..in the car...on the freeway..driving to work...

Not because I'm such a huge Dolly fan (actually, I sorta am..) but because it immediately transported me back about 30 years...

no, not really, silly.....I was still driving....but in my mind..


Mr. B and me and all 4 kiddos (and one borrowed neighbor child..)  were driving from Amarillo, Texas

...to Colorado for a camping vacation. 

One of many. One of the best.  One of the very best.  And they were all pretty good, so that's saying something..

It was always quite early in the morning when we'd head out..and it was always a dozen donuts on the way..it was always who spotted the mountains in the distance first..."I see 'em!"  "No I saw them first" "No you didn't" "Uh-huh"

And this particular trip I remember having a cassette player in the Jeep Wagoneer we just purchased..Boy Howdy we were livin' large!   When the radio stations were out of range, we'd have music for our listening enjoyment.

What a great idea:-)

Obstacle # 1 -  driving from Texas to the high mountains in Colorado - everything was "out of range" very quickly.

Obstacle # 2 -  2 adults + 5 kids  / 2 sets of seats  =  much whining

Obstacle # 3-  One cassette tape....Yep, you heard me right....ONE tape..of Dolly Parton..

again and again and again over and over and over again and again and again over and over and over and again over...

"Two Doors Down" "Hard Candy Christmas"  ...... "Here You Come Again"....over and over....

 That was the year I found a bakery with my nose...by sniffing out the directions .."turn right here..now go left.."

The year we saw snow in July...

The year of ...Dolly Parton.  And laughter..and hugs..and dirty little faces and grimy little hands..

The year I KNEW  I'd found the perfect Dad for all of them...

And hearing her today..I wanted those times back..all of them.  The repetitive music, the grimy hands, the fighting over who gets what seat and "he's hitting me" and "I need to go potty" and "I'm hungry" and "are we there yet?"

I wandted to hold them close to me as one would hug a teddy bear..close and tight..

And I ached for those times once again..

And I cried.


OR, it coulda  been that I didn't have my second cuppa coffee ..who knows.

-me

The music of my life....

OK - so you know how when you're watching a movie and the star is in a pensive, lovely moment and the music you hear reflects that perfectly..?

Or she's in a spunky-happy mood and the music reflects that equally as well?

...and you think "well, if I had a full orchestra following me around all day, my life would sound pretty spectacular too.."

Huh...well mine now does. 

Yeppers, I l.o.v.e my iPod-MP3-thing-a-ma-bob soooo much. 

As I am walking the dogs I hear classical tunes, or Secret Garden's hauntingly beautiful Celtic sounds..

And for whatever silly reason, it makes me feel prettier. And not unimportant..and I am the star of my own movie..

And I smile...

I am healthy..I am walking...I am starring in my life..I am taking a bite of my apple..

 

~ CRUNCH !!!~

What the heck ??

Have you ever eaten anything while wearing earphones???

I mean, before I realized it was ME making all that racket, I nearly jumped out of my skin..and up in the air..on the sidewalk..with the dogs..on their leashes..

{insert very rapid breathing whilst holding my heart and looking very crabby}

HolyCrap!...wai..t..pupie..s I..can..t...brea..hold..on..jus...t...a...min..ute...plea...se...

The whole time, sweet soft music was playing in between extremely irritating chewing noises that sounded something like a 1962 Volvo being crushed by a Monster Truck at the Friday night "Screech Off" ..

All kidding aside..no wait..what? don't put all kidding aside 'cos then this would be one strange post..

..they need to put a warning on those iPod-MP3-thingys about the loudness that's INside your head when eating while listening to the music of you life..and thinking you're all pretty and all not-unimportant..

..or maybe just on the apple.

Warning: The sound in your head may be closer than it appears...

Ah, such is life.

-me

Owie..Owie..

Short blog tonight..seems I have a terrible...

..and I'm feeling a little...



..and I think I need a nice hot..



..so I'll just say my .....

..and say "good... ..

"

..and  sweet..

I am Mary's granddautghter, the spitin' image of my father...

{My Mother's Mother..MY Grandma ...}

OK, so I mentioned previously that I work for a DNA testing company (for genealogy - not paternity) called GeneTree.

And, previously, I had only a glimmer of an interest in genealogy ... after all, what would it mean to me? Am I really interested in who married who and had a child that had a child that got married and had 16 children and then married again having 10 more ? (yes, I do...embellish..a little)

But as I am learning more about it, I realize that I don't have to look for or at those collateral lines - I can focus on just who I want to learn more about.

{My great-grandmother}

And who that would be are my immediate grandparents and great-grandparents. They had all passed before I was born, so I didn't hear the stories or know the names or the places..

{My great grand-dad}

And I feel as if I have missed out. A lot. A really really lot. A-lot. Lotta lotta lotta...

But I have been playing at doing genealogy and guess what? With the help of some amazing co-workers, I have tapped into documents, and marriage licenses, and draft cards (WW1 and WW2), census records and a whole world of information I didn't know I had available.

{my Mother's birth certificate - we never knew her father delivered her! At home!? Wowzer...}

And, get this, some have their signatures on them!

{this is my Mother's father - the one that delivered her?! He "left" the family and we had no information - then I found this WW1 draft registration with his signature..and went on to find a death certificate..again, no one ever knew what happened to him..but now we know what was the final chapter..}

So, now I am still not really into the whole who-married-who and who-was-a sister-in-law-to-whom..

..but I am very interested in searching for those who I should have known..and to learn about the times they lived, the locales, the fashions, the books, music and how they may have spent their days.

And, at work, I am now a contributing writer for the blog..so go take a look and leave a comment there if I have touched a cord..

And let me know here what you think..I'd love to know..


http://blog.genetree.com/

-me

aka

How do YOU stay warm?

OK, yeah, I know Utah has not been as frigid as other states, but when I walk the dogs in the morning it is uber c.o.l.d.

So, I do layers-thingy..the undershirts..

..the long-johns..

..the jacket..

..the socks (tucked into the long-johns..)

..the ear muffs.....the scarf..

..and the gloves..

..and the gloves..

{those handcuffs would never hold a real person..just FYI}

nope, not a typo. I've been wearing 2 pairs of gloves.

I'm the kind of girl who, if my hands or feet are cold, I am miserable.

MISerable. miSErable. miserABLE.

And not very happyable.

HAPPyable. happYAble. happyABLE.

Anyway, today when I was walking, my double-gloved fingers were still cold. Very cold.

Then I remembered if I get the blood flowing to my extremities (my fingers), they (my fingers) would get warmer.

I shook my hands and wiggles my fingers as we walked and, whaddya know, they warmed up.

That's when I noticed my nose was cold. so...I wiggled it around..looking like a chubby Bewithced Samantha..

Mouth cheeks..really, when you think about it, if you wiggle one around, they both move, so that was an easy fix.

Now picture 2 small dogs walking a chubby-Bewitched-Samantha -finger-wiggling fingers-nose lips and cheeks-twitching me, slip-sliding with little baby steps walking down the street.

Yeah. Not my best moment.

Punxsutawney Phil, be warned.

-me