Reflecting on Loss....with Thanksgiving.

Been way too long since I have posted some "mutterings and musings"!  Very busy Thanksgiving Week...To Southern California for a Mini-Family-Reunion-Thanksgiving, then, back to WA for two more feastings!!  Still enjoying the last of the leftovers....:-)

But, in the midst of all of that, one of my new dear friends had a miscarriage...so very sad.  Even tho' they are fairly common (I have had two myself), they are still a loss...even a real death.  Not only death of the baby...but, death of dreams and hopes and anticipation.  No future pregnancy, as welcome and joyous as it will be, can replace this particular baby.  I do think that these incidents cause us to make a choice in our walk of faith...to either be willing to go thru the pain, knowing that God is a loving, gracious, compassionate, personal God...or...to not.  As for me...I will praise the Lord.  (This particular couple is too....a blessing to me, for sure.)

Then, our "Three-Thanksgivings" caused me to think of loss as well.  I am old enough that I am very aware of those who are "gone" from us...my maternal grandparents.  My paternal Oma and Opa.  A beloved Aunt.  My Dad. The common heritage of our country, where the history of Thanksgiving was giving THANKS to GOD for HIS bountiful mercies to us...not, celebrating "Turkey Day". (Really?  Turkey Day?  Do you know how hard it is to find pilgrims????)   Whereas I am very blessed to be called by the Living God to have a perfect place at His Thanksgiving Table, I still deal with the human side here on this side of heaven.

So...before you talk about your Black Friday's and your Cyber Monday's, etc, etc, etc...stop and really reflect.  Our hearts should always be ready to give praise and Thanksgiving to our Gracious God...I'm working on it.  You?

With Thanksgiving,
Karla

11-11-11

Had a wonderful Veteran's Day...drove my 86 yo mom and my 16 yo daughter to the Kingston Ferry...we walked on...then, boarded Amtrak to go to Bellingham for the day.  Anneka picked us up...we had breakfast, then, went to her cutest-in-the-world apartment :-)  Gretchen met us there, and we headed out to a Veterans Day Ceremony at a Funeral Home (yep!) that has a Military Museum attached to it! Given that the day was rainy and windy and cold, it was a good choice.  Then, after dinner, we did the whole thing in reverse...left Sequim at 5:45am and got back to Sequim at 12 midnight. (Whew!).

So, we remembered DH's Dad, still doing well at 87 :-)  He was a Marine in WWII.  My maternal uncle, at 88, doing great...was in the Navy during WWII!  My Dad, who passed in Jan of 2007, just shy of 80, gained his US Citizenship by serving at a Marine in the Pacific Theater during WWII.  Then, there is my maternal Grandpa, also a Marine Corps Bayonet Instructor at Camp Lejune during WWI.  And, of course, we could go back to the Civil War, and the American Revolution...but, that might be more fitting for Memorial Day.

It's interesting to me that, "my" generation of the family, (all born between 1951 and 1960) does not have any military service to their name.  It appears that the gauntlet has been picked up again by my daughter, who is a Chinook Helicopter pilot for the US Army Reserve, currently on Active Duty. 

I hope that you could at least take a moment and remember and honor and respect our Veterans....they sacrificed for us.  Even if we don't understand it.

Love, Karla

"If I could put time in a bottle..." (with rememberences to Jim Croche)

So...I don't "rant" often...(perhaps I should do it more often??)...but, I really think that the concept of Daylight Savings Time vs Standard Time has run it's useful life.  As the posting on FB says, "only the government would suggest that you cut the top off the top of the blanket, sew it to the bottom of the blanket, and therefore, get a bigger blanket!". 

Yes, I have read the Wikipedia entry.  But...let's face it.  Even Kazakhstan supposedly doesn't "do" DST anymore!

So..why don't we just start with the Prime Meridian and go 24 hours around the world from there? 

Good grief!

Love, Karla

"The Reading Mother"...

I hope that it posts this time!

Love, Karla



THE READING MOTHER

Strickland Gillilan

I HAD A MOTHER who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath
I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.
I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Celert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such.
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a Mother who read to me.

All Hallow's Eve

So...you must know that, I love dress up and I love imagination!!  Therefore, I enjoy *most* parts of Halloween.  I know that for many Christians, this is a "meat offered to idol's issue".  I do NOT mean to offend anyone!

Our community celebrates Halloween w/a Downtown Trick-or-Treat event...it was actually on Sat, 10/29 this year.  It runs from 3p-5p, and many dressed up parents and children participate and enjoy this community activity.

This year, I decided to be "The Reading Mother"...(many of you know how much I LOVE to read out loud!).  So, in honor of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, I dressed in my Civil War Tea dress, and handed out books instead of candy.  Well...I had three cartons of books...they were all gone in the first 30 minutes!!  It was great to see the enthusiasm of both kids and parents for books!!  (Next year, I will need to get 10 cartons of books...anyone want to donate???)

So, for your personal reading enjoyment, I post for you, "The Reading Mother", by Strickland Gillian.  Enjoy!