Westwoods

                                                                                             What does spring-cleaning and Easter have in common? Probably nothing but I was trying to sew Easter dresses and spilled coffee all over the floor, wall, sewing machine, and my project. I decided that instead of sewing maybe I could attempt writing. My connection with the two is probably mind boggling to normal people so it’s seems worthless to go into at all but since it won’t leave me alone I’ll try to explain. I like the ide...

I finally found them.  I know that I got A's and B's in school but haven't been able to prove it to my husband or children for lack of evidence.  I know I was baptized, have been immunized, and took a floral design course by mail.  I know that I got my GED after going halfway through high school with no teacher in the CLE curriculum.  I know these things but haven't seen the papers to prove it, until the other day I opened my cedar chest and went through the disorganized mess. I even found my marriage certificate.  That was something I would think about and wonder if I was actually married because I barely remember signing anything. I found old journals of my young life and of dating.  I found photo albums of dating and a wedding planner.  I revisited all the old spots of my life and thought about the past.  Why are these papers important?  If I never found them to prove to my family that I am who I think I am. Would it ...

Shaunti & Snoopy have their morning talk... In which she says,"Snoopy Dog, I love you so much."  And then she grabs him and kisses him smack on his furry mouth and I feel faint wondering about the germs. A rare moment this winter... Everyone fits but me... I'm the maid... you can't see me cuz I'm out in  the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from the delicious supper I made.  See how happy and contented they all appear?  It's cuz I'm in there slaving away washing up the crummy plates for the fifteenth time this week.  I'm also smiling and singing to myself cuz I'm happy and contented to be cleaning up those crummy plates. I really am.  What if they didn't have me to keep them all thriving??? And sometimes I just blabber to toot my own horn cuz see, they forgot.   They're still hanging out on the couch wondering what's for dessert.

My mom is going in for her second hip surgery next week.  Something about having my own solid mom needing to go through surgeries make me sentimental toward her and a little mixed up about myself all at the same time.  I find myself repeating her and hearing her expressions in everything I do. This morning on the way to school, one of the kids suggested I go ahead and pull out on to the highway.  They figured I had plenty of time to beat the semi that was barrelling down the road.  I said without thinking, "No way, that would be the end of Solomon Grundy" Who was Solomon Grundy? I don't know. Mom used to say that under the same kind of circumstance. She would have us throw the laundry down the stairs "seventy times seven".  Often a number attached to cats and the like was "forty a leven".  When something inconvenient happened it was; "drat your hide" or "I'll give you back to the Indians only the Indians wouldn't want you,...

                                                               If you had asked me to describe my Aunt Eva when I was fifteen, the answer would’ve been much different than the one I would give now. When I was fifteen, knowing that Uncle Dan’s family was coming for dinner was enough to give me a bad case of nerves. Something about Aunt Eva made me want to shoot for the highest star and appear smart and intelligent; only, there was no fooling her, so filled with defeat, I would accept that I was me no matter who was coming and would help clean, polish, and shine everything in the house along with everyone else. When Aunt Eva would enter a room, usually the first thing I...

     I’ve been thinking about love lately because, not only is it Valentines Day, it is also our 16 th wedding anniversary. We aren’t doing anything this year because we spent eight days on a cruise to Alaska in August and because Bruce is deep in the studies of EMT classes. By not doing anything, I mean we aren’t going out for the weekend or out for supper. I told him I’d rather wait to go till I have all his attention instead of his mind being taken up with his studies right now. Which is a wonderful way to feel. Not celebrating a few years ago would have devastated me. That’s what got me thinking about our journey of love… Remember the warm fuzzies of dating and feeling so special because someone loved you. Out of all the people in the whole world you found each other and yours was the first special relationship. No one else had a clue how wonderful you were to each other. Yours was the only relationship that mattered. Everyone else could not ...

      　 What kind of an old lady you will be? I do. I am haunted by the thought that I could get Alzheimer’s and say and do all the horrid things I have thought about doing when I was alone or no one was looking. That should scare me straight while I still have the facilities of my mind. Right? The other day, Toria was home from school with a fever and I got a telemarketer call on my cell phone. She witnessed me snapping at what was probably a computer voice now that I’ve had time to think about it. This voice told me I had filled out a survey and because of that; I was eligible for blah blah blah. Now nothing gets my ire up more than some sales pitch that tells lies to begin with. I didn’t fill out any survey in my recollection so that was really a poor gimmick for the poor innocent party to start with. Toria was shocked at my retort that told the computer voice that I did not fill out any survey and to not call m...