Memories

Isn't it funny how your senses can take you back in time to a certain memory? When you see, hear, taste, or smell a certain thing it can trigger a far away memory. My grandparents have not been with us for a few years. But there are so many things that come up in the day-to-day living that reminds me of them or makes me feel as if they are standing beside me. Certain foods or baked goods reminds me of one or both of my grandmas. It's a good feeling. But then there are some things that happen that just make me laugh when I experience their closeness.

My dad's mother was an excellent seamstress, quilter, crocheter, & knitter. She loved her crafts. She was very organized. She was what most people would call a "neat-freak" today . She would store everything away that was out of season. When it was time to take things out of storage for the current season, it was quite a chore. And it was just as much work to store away the past season's items. One time I was with her when she took things out of storage. There was a horrible smell. I thought grandma was experiencing some major problems. Being a kid, I could get away with asking embarrassing questions. After I questioned her about it, she laughed and showed me where the smell was coming from. She always packed a lot of mothballs inside of the item she was storing. I told her that it was no wonder that bugs wouldn't bother it because it stunk SO badly. But I couldn't figure out why she needed to put mothballs in anything. Her house was spotless. You could eat off of her floors, they were so clean. I would have been shocked to see ANY bugs DARE to set one foot (or wing) inside of her house!

My grandma passed away in 1999. When my grandpa passed away in 2001, my dad & his sisters had to pack up everything that was in the house. My dad gave me one of the quilts that my grandma had made that was in storage. After I got it home, I decided to wash it and put it on my daughter's bed. When I unfolded it and shook it out...a bunch of little wadded up white things went flying everywhere. My daughter said, "Whewie, Mom you stink!" All I could do was stand there and laugh with tears in my eyes and say, "Oh, Grandma!!!"

We have had that quilt since 2001. My daughter puts it on her bed every winter. It has had A LOT of washings since it was given to us. The smell was gone before we put it on the bed the first time (after it was washed and rinsed 2 or 3 times, I might add). Last week, it was time to wash it again. When I pulled it out of the washing machine, there was the strongest smell of mothballs. I stood there for a moment and a smile and a calm feeling came over me. That smell made me feel like my grandma was reminding me that the things that we shared did not die with her and her love is still with me. It was a nice feeling! The funny thing is the smell was gone when I took it out of the dryer. There was NO smell left. This morning, my daughter was spraying perfume in the air over her bed. I asked her why she was doing that. She said this morning her quilt had a funny smell to it. A few minutes later I asked her to smell it again to see if it still smelled bad. She smelled it and said, "NO!"------

"Oh, Grandma!"

Snow Shoes

 Rewind: two weeks ago.

We had about 13 inches of snow and ice on the ground. A few days later we had a small thaw. The roads and driveways were completely snow & ice free. I was running late for work that morning so I had to hurry. I had chosen a dark brown long sleeved turtleneck blouse with a beige sleeveless pull-over and a pair of tan Khaki dress pants to wear that morning. I accessorized with gold jewelry. When I was in the bathroom doing my hair, I was stressing out because I really needed to be leaving...but I still needed to make my bed. I also had to set up a place in the basement for the dogs to stay while I was at work. (We have 2 small dogs. I leave the dogs in the basement when there is no one here. We don't let them have full run of the basement. We block off an area for them. But don't feel too awfully sorry for them, we leave the TV on for them. LOL!) ANYWAY.... after I had completed all of those tasks....I was ready to leave for work. I just had to put on my shoes and coat ..and I was out the door...or so I thought. That day, it occurred to me that I don't own a brown pair of winter shoes. I have brown, tan, and beige...sandals, strapped shoes and/or opened-toe shoes---but I don't have a normal pair of brown shoes. So, I just grabbed a pair that provided the most foot coverage.



The place that I was working that day is about 25 minutes away from my home. As I pulled into the parking lot (much to my dismay) they had had no thaw and no one had completely bladed the parking lot, yet. I parked as close to the entrance of the building as I could. I sat there plotting the most intelligent entrance that I could make. The porch was all clear of snow, but I faced another dilemma. There were boats on display so they were blocking my path. There was only one thing to do----I took off my shoes and waded through the snow. This may sound insane to you, but it was a better alternative than falling and breaking my neck.



On most days, it is so busy, that no one notices when I arrive. Nooooo! Not this day! The UPS man was making a delivery. As he and I reached the entrance (at the same time, I might add), I had to redeem myself somehow. I acted like nothing unusual was happening. I shook my feet free of ice and bent down and put my shoes back on. When I stood up, my employer and 3 salesmen were standing in the doorway watching me. Of course, I heard all sorts of cute comments...like..."She's wearing her cleats", "Now, there's a warm pair of shoes", "She plans on digging in". yudda, yudda. I just looked at them and (being the bleached blonde that I am) I said, "I don't have a pair of brown winter shoes. Black shoes would clash. And white is out of season."



Now I ask you, what did they find so funny?




P.S. Does anyone know where to buy a good stylish pair of brown winter shoes? LOL!

Angels Walking

Let me tell you a very moving story about a family that I know. At the time, the dad was almost 26 and the mom had just turned 23. They had 2 small children ages 4 and 3. They had a third child on the way.



One day in late Spring, they decided to go to the drag strip with friends. It was a beautiful day. The weather was more like mid-summer. It was just the kind of day that every young person wants to spend the entire day outside. The adults had a great time visiting and the children ran and played around the bleachers. Everyone had a wonderful day. Towards evening, as it will in Missouri, the weather changed. It became chilly. The friends provided blankets for the children. Everyone kept warm until the race was over.



A few days later, the 3 year old little girl developed a cough. As the days progressed, the cough deepened. The mom was starting to get concerned because she couldn't get the cough to break. She decided that the next day she would take the girl to see the doctor. Later that evening, they had friends over for dinner. The little girl told her mom that she was tired and wanted to go to bed. The mom excused herself from the table and put the little girl in bed. An hour later, the mom went back to check on the little girl. She came running out of the bedroom and told her husband that something wasn't right. They rushed the girl to the hospital. The hospital that they took her to was located next to the Missouri River.



As the girl was put into the hospital bed, she remembers looking across the room. There was a little boy in the bed across from her that looked like Alfalfa from "The Little Rascals". She couldn't figure out why he was there or why he looked so sick.



Meanwhile, out in the hall the parents were told that the little girl had double pneumonia. She had slipped into a coma shortly after arriving to the hospital. They were told her condition was critical. The parents went in to sit by the little girl's bed. The mom refused to leave the little girl's side. She sat there until finally one of the nurses made her go home. The nurse told the mother that she needed to get rest. She needed to think about her unborn baby's health, too. The mom did not want to leave. But they told her that they weren't giving her a choice. They promised her that they would let her back in after she went home and took a short nap.



The parents had not been gone long before the little girl's condition took a turn for the worse. They moved her out of the room she was in and put her in a room that the nurses referred to as "The Death Room" among themselves. Usually when patients went into this room, they did not come back out alive. They called the little girl's parents and told them that if they wanted to see their little girl one last time, they had better get to the hospital as fast as they could. The mom had a neighbor call the grandparents about the little girl's condition. The grandma called her preacher and asked him to go to the hospital to anoint and pray for the little girl. The preacher got to the hospital about the same time as the parents and the grandparents. When they went to find the little girl, they were told that they couldn't go in to see her because the medical staff was trying to do everything that they could to save the little girl.



Inside the room, the little girl heard a pleasant sound. She couldn't figure out why all of the doctors and nurses were around her bed. And why on earth was there a plastic thing over her bed. She had seen tents before, but she had never seen a clear one. And she had never had one over her bed before. And why was there gushing air? And what on earth was that funny smell? She couldn't figure any of this nonsense out. It was kind of scaring her, so she decided to go see where that pretty singing was coming from. She thought it would be hard to get out of bed because there were steel railings on each side of the bed, but surprisingly enough, she just slid right out. She looked back to see if anyone was watching her. But no one had noticed that she had gotten up. They were all still working frantically around that bed with the funny looking clear plastic tent over it. They hadn't noticed that she was gone because there was another little girl in the bed. She walked to the window. As she looked out of the window she saw the most glorious, breath-taking thing she had ever seen in her short life. Walking across the Missouri River were hundreds of angels. They were beautiful! Their voices were like nothing she had ever heard before. They floated across the water. They were headed toward the hospital. The little girl knew they were coming for her.



Meanwhile, out in the hall, the parents were wanting to get in to see the little girl. The mother wanted the preacher to pray over the little girl. The preacher said, "We don't need to go inside....we can kneel and pray here. The Lord will hear us just as good here as he will inside that room." So the mom and the preacher knelt by the door. Everyone else in the family that was there gathered around. They placed their hands upon the door and started praying.



Inside the room, the little girl was captivated by the angels. She wondered how all of those angels were going to fit in the hospital room. But Wait!!! Why were they turning around? They were leaving! The angel that had been leading the group, turned around and smiled at the little girl. Then they all disappeared. The little girl suddenly felt tired. She hoped that other little girl would scoot over so she could get back in bed and take a nap.



As the preacher and the mom stood up from their prayer, the door opened. The head nurse stood there with tears in her eyes and she was smiling! She shook her head and told them, "We just witnessed a miracle! There's a little girl in here who just woke up and she wants her mommy!"



If you've ever wondered if angels really exist, I can tell you for absolute truth that they do. You see, I was that little girl.