Reflections From a Country Girl

Yesterday I went to visit my second grade pen pal group. I go every two weeks or so to visit with them, read from my book and listen to their stories. We love to tell stories to each other.

Last visit, among other things, we talked about war. It was obvious it was close to their hearts for various reasons. I decided right then that I would bring some things about WWII when I came next time.

As I was gathering things to do with the war, I thought of my mother. She mother lived in Wales as a teenager during WWII.

I convinced Mom to come with me and bring some of her WWII treasure along with her. I was excited and I knew the children would be as well.

Between the two of us we had quite a collection of things to share.

I had Mom wait outside the classroom door while the children got settled. I read from my book the story of my mother and father meeting, dating, marrying, and having me.

Then, I told them I had a treat for them but that it was so big I could not bring it in the door with all the other things the first time. I excused myself and went out to get Mom.

Rolling her in with her wheelchair, the students were quiet as they wondered who the guest was.

“Do any of you know who this is?”

“This is Ruth, in the story I just read. She is my mother.”

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.” The boys and girls said.

“Remember that card I showed you with the writing on it? It said 1943 didn’t it. That was 63 years ago. So you know Ruth is at least 63 years old.”

Ruth told the class she was 84 now. We shared pictures of her when she was younger.

She showed them some Christmas cards my father had sent her. She shared theatre and train tickets from their trip to London after they were married. There were many pictures with love notes on the back and some letters we shared from various people in their lives then. She talked about what it was like to live in an area where they had bomb shelters and had to keep things dark at night so the planes would not drop bombs on them.

The children were inquisitive and asked some great questions. Several asked if she were sacred when her husband went to fight in the war and what it was like to live in a place that could be bombed regularly.

It was a wonderful experience for my mother to share her memories with the boys and girls. Both of them will remember this for a very long time.

My wish for you today is that you share your time with children when you can and listen to their dreams, their fears, and their joys. Having them in your life, no matter whether it is for a brief moment or a lifetime, will enrich both of you.

~ Joellen

Over the weekend my sweetheart and I decided to go to Folly Beach for dinner. I remembered there was a great place to dine on the pier so we headed out there from Charleston.

As we drove up I realized it had been awhile since I’d been to Folly Beach. The main drag pretty much looked the same.

The Pier, however, was totally different.

Apparently the old one had washed away during one of the hurricanes. Hum, I should have remembered that but you know how time gets away from you.

There is now a big beautiful, sparkling pier with a double observation deck at the end.

We dined at the restaurant there and decided to stroll to the end after dinner. It was dark by then. As we approached the end of the Pier I could see something that was dear to my heart in my younger days.

There were fishing rods firmly planted in the holders while people looked into the water – content that there just might be a fish try to get the bait at the end of the line.

As we made conversation with the fishermen, we soon discovered many had been there since seven that morning trying to catch shark and king mackerel.

Before long, one of the rods bent nearly all the way over and it was obvious something in the water had taken hold of the bait and gotten hooked in the process.

After a brief fight it surfaced…a sand shark that WAS NOT happy…and it showed.

He reeled it in and we all had a good look as one of the braver ones grabbed hold of the shark with a glove and removed the large hook. Everyone took one last look before he tossed it over and it swam away.

Now I don’t know about you but I love to eat shark. The only think better is to get one on the end of your line and have a good fight with it as you reel it in.

It’s not legal to keep shark that you catch there, but earlier in the day one of the guys caught a five footer. Now THAT’S a shark!

Yes, little did I know that I was dining so close to the sharks that evening…and I enjoyed every minute of it.

My wish for you today is that you embrace life to the fullest on a daily basis and enjoy the small pleasures daily living can afford you. It’s the simple things that make life fun and fulfilling. Even dining near the sharks can be fun if you keep a healthy distance. Just make sure you don’t become the meal!

~ Joellen

There’s a new book out.  It’s called It’s all Too Much and it’s about accumulating “stuff.” 

Peter Walsh, the author, points out that we are controlled by our stuff. He suggests we buy way too much just for the sake of keeping up with the Jones. 

He goes on to say that this is the first generation that expects a separate bedroom for each child, televisions in every room of the house, a separate bathroom for every family member, a pair of shoes to go with each outfit, and even a closet full of clothes – though most of us only wear 20% of what is there now. 

He also suggests that we keep things just because we may need them – one day.

Enough is enough.

What are we doing to our families?

What are we doing to ourselves?

Believe me; I am right there with the rest of you.  I have realized, over time, that many of these things I thought were necessary are really not so essential after all. 

Several years ago I began lightening my load a few things at a time.  I still have lots of stuff, mind you, but I do have a plan in place for “regifting” and other methods of sharing the things I am not using with others. 

Then there are all the “memories” things I have accumulated.  I started out with nine large boxes of pictures and eleven boxes of memorabilia and sifted them down to 33 binders.  Those binders hold things I want to make sure my son has after I’m gone.  

While not essential, the binders are most always pulled out during family gatherings or when my son comes over with friends. They are much more manageable and certainly a bit more orderly than sifting through 20 boxes.

I also used to have 29 boxes of Christmas decorations.  Now THAT is excessive. 

I am now down to three for that holiday…and one for each of the others.  Soon I expect I will be condensing those even more.

What I’m hoping here is that with age comes wisdom and that I will be doing with less and less stuff as time goes on and embrace positive changes in other areas as I go.  

My wish for you today is that you take a look at what you’ve accumulated and see if there is anything you can share with others.  Pulling in those reigns can help you take a closer look at what is really important. Doing that may just give you a new lease on life. ~ Joellen  

When they announced a new television show with the name of “Ugly Betty” I thought how horrible that was. To come right out and say someone was ugly and to make a show about it was just absurd.

I was curious though.

I must admit that, after watching a few episodes, I found myself liking the series.

Today I pull for Ugly Betty regularly.

You see, Ugly Betty is a cool lady. She is a little nerdy…but she has more inner beauty than all the rest of them put together. Occasionally I see glimmers of hope for Daniel but I suspect he will flip flop back and forth as the series continues. I keep wondering if the two of them will eventually get together.

She would be good for him.

Betty, on the other hand, will be consistent with her wit and charm…but has plenty of down to earth ability to deal with things positively as she tries to help her boss stay out of trouble in the dysfunctional world he lives and works in.

There is a great deal of truth about the kind of things that go on it that show. Sad but true. Life can be that way.

I don’t know how many of you have seen “Ugly Betty” when she is not acting. She is actually a lovely woman…they just make her up to look that way for the show.

Do you know someone that is not particularly attractive on the outside? Maybe he or she just is not quite sure how to show that outward beauty that most of us could show if we did a few things differently.

Do you treat people based on how they look?

My wish for you today is that you take a minute to answer that question. If you are one of the many who base your contact with someone on how attractive they are externally, you may be missing out on something. If you are in this boat, make the effort to talk with that person and see if there is really a beauty there. You might be surprised at what you’ve been missing. It could be a treasure waiting to be discovered!

~ Joellen

I have a friend who is buying his first place. He reminds me of the song – This Land is Your Land.

Yes, for those of us fortunate to own our own place, remember the feeling? We remembered calling it our own. We remember when things were new, the place was fresh and clean…ah, living the American dream in the land of plenty.

It didn’t take long for reality to set in for me. For the first time, when something broke, I had to fix it. No calling the landlord to come take care of it. I had to cut the grass, trim the hedges, rake the leaves (or talk my son into doing it), make the payments, paint the outside of the house and fix things up all the time…ah yes, the American dream.

I’m happy for my friend. He feels like he’s finally getting that place of his own that he can fix up just the way he wants it. He loves the idea he can call it his own. He’s worked hard all his life and the time has come to do what most all of his friends and relatives are doing…being homeowners.

Now comes the hard part of getting a mortgage loan – which he is so excited about.

There’s something just not quite right about being happy to get a loan.

I just don’t think he quite understands, yet, that most people do not think happy thoughts when they think “mortgage.”

I think I’ve been a homeowner too long.

My wish for you today is that you realize just how fortunate you are in life to be where you are and own what you do. None of us really need anything fancy. The basics are just fine, but the other is just a little bit of luxury. Just remember to be thankful for what you have and encourage those who have less than you whenever you can.

~ Joellen