Excuse Me

When we moved back to Kansas, we discovered that there was no longer a newspaper published in our city. The Kansas City Star now supposedly covers Olathe news, but that rarely happens.

Since we have always subscribed to a paper, we decided to subscribe to the Wednesday and Sunday papers so we have access to specials and ads and maybe, with a little luck, find a few articles that interest us.

When we go away for the weekend and know we are coming back on Sunday, we do not have anyone care for our paper. We want to have it available to us when we arrive home. For the second time now we arrived home on a Sunday evening and discovered our paper was missing. Apparently someone believes that if we are gone the newspaper is up for grabs. The last time this happened, the paper never reappeared.

Excuse me! May I ask why you are stealing my newspaper?

Our son suggested a new sign for our yard. I found this one. It seems fitting. 

~ from addacover.com

Perfection

This is my dream bed. 

Love, love, love to read!

~ Picture from Storage Solutions

So Proud!

This week our grandson, Ben, was deployed. How did he go so quickly from high school honor student/student body president/soccer player/pole-vaulter/homecoming king to being in a far away country? Sad time for us, but we are very proud of his bravery and service to our country.

Graduation From Marine Recruit Training, October 2014

Mountain Survival Training June-July 2015

The following was written by a Marine and posted on Facebook by a young friend of mine who is also a Marine. 

-       I left home at 18.

-       I learned to kill a human being before I learned to do my taxes.

-       I learned how to care about someone else’s life, more than my own.

-       I have friends in college and I have friends in Afghanistan.

-       My friends in college go home for the summer, my friends in Afghanistan haven’t come back.

-       I wrote my will at 19.

-       I don’t get enough sleep most nights.

-       I don’t get paid much.

-       I don’t know the next time I will see my family.

-       I don’t know when I may go home.

-       I don’t know much, really, but I know one thing . . .

-       I have 160,000 brothers out there and they make it all worth it.

My young friend added: “I wrote goodbye letters to my family in the Saudi Desert too . . . very eye opening.”

This brought tears to my eyes. The feelings I had when I learned our grandson, at age 18, had just written his will can't even be described. From a kid to a tough Marine in only a few months.

Facebook is Wonderful

When I joined Facebook, I thought it would provide a way for me to stay connected with family and friends and receive updates on activities in their lives. However, I was not expecting a picture of a child upchucking into a kidney-shaped container, videos and posters copied from the internet, recipes, sales pitches, political rants, ideas for decorating homes and landscaping yards, health advice, weight loss challenges, tips on dating, and concern for a lion I only recently discovered existed.

Having seen hundreds of things posted by people who obviously don’t give much thought to their actions, I assumed that anything goes in the world of Facebook. Then a young friend posted a picture of her diaper-clad one-year-old sitting in a high chair eating chocolate pudding. That apparently offended the person who reported it to Facebook as “nudity.” Subsequently, Facebook notified this sweet young mom that the picture would either be removed or flagged with a warning for potential viewers. What? (I loved the precious picture of that little girl covered in pudding.) 

 Dear Facebook Friend,

What I really want is to know how you are doing and what you are up to at this time. And please post some pictures you took yourself.

Best wishes for the day.

Vee

Answered Prayer

My Parent Prayer

Dear Lord, please give me parenting skills that will help me in guiding my children to become knowledgeable, socially adept, positive, kind, compassionate, patient, thoughtful, respectful, gracious, responsible, successful, and independent. Plus, grant my wish that they will present me with grandchildren and then support these incredible little people and teach them all of the things I taught to them.

My Prayer Today

Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayer, but this means my children now know more than I know, have new social circles that include work and neighborhood friends, reach out in kindness and compassion to the new world around them, accept responsibility for the life they have created, and make good decisions without my input.

So, Lord, this means that I no longer have that job. So I guess I may have to get another one – job, that is, not child!

Not this. . .

but maybe this.