The mothering instinct....

Why do little girls love their baby dolls? I think the mothering instinct kicks in very early in life.

We have that inborn gene that causes us to be nurturers. A honing instinct that allows us to mother the people we have in our lives.

And it is not just our children or grandchildren that turns this gene on. It is a deep abiding love for people. It is a caring and giving attitude. When we see someone who is hurting, we feel the urge to wrap our arms around them and hold them tight. To provide words of comfort; to ease their pain.

We cannot save the world and we cannot change the situations others are in. But we can provide a shoulder to lean on, a helping hand, kind words of support and sometimes something as simple as a smile.

How many times in your life have you felt down and couldn't seem to "shake it off" but a kind word or smile of hello from a friend or stranger has lifted you up a little?

Don't stifle your natural instincts. Smile at the lady you pass on the street who looks sad or lonely. Hold the door open for a frazzled mother trying to get her kids and shopping out of a store. Let that car over that is stuck in traffic and apparently in the wrong lane.

Let your natural mothering instincts shine through and use today to bring comfort to just one weary soul. You will be so glad you did.

Sisters, cousins and friends

I grew up in a very close-knit family. There were four of us, 2 girls and 2 boys. My sister, Rachel and I were best friends. That's us above with Mom. I'm the one on the left. Oh, we had our moments, but for the most part we got along really good. Being just a little over 13 months apart in age (I'm the youngest) created a bond that has withstood the test of time. She is still my best friend and such a special part of my heart. We are separated by over 300 mile, but are bond is heart to heart.

We grew up with cousins that we have also remained close to throughout the years. This is all my grandmother's grandchildren with the exception of two that had not been born yet. We were and have remained so close. I still see them occasionally when I go in to visit. We were cousins and friends. I'm the fourth one from the left on the top row and Rachel is the first one on the left on the bottom row.

One thing about family love, when you grow up in a close loving family like ours was, you pass those beliefs on to your own children. Now I watch as my daughter and nieces have grown up together like me and my sister and cousins did. There is still love and laughter and it is being passed down from generation to generation. This next picture is at my brothers a couple of years ago. That is Diana, my daughter, on the far right side. This is all of my mother's granddaughters. These girls have grown up close and it is fun to watch them pass down the importance of family to their children.

My wish for you today is that your family is happy and healthy and that you too are enjoying the love that passes from generation to generation.

Wonderful memories

Today my oldest grandson turns 11. I remember how excited we were when we found out we were going to be grandparents.

We were there when he was born and were able to hold him just minutes after his birth. I will never forget the thrill and joy of holding him in my arms.

So Christian Garret, have a happy birthday and thank you for all the love and joy you bring into my life.

So, what will you accomplish today?

...With God ALL things are possible (Mark 10:27) So, what will you accomplish today? One of the teenagers from my church posted that question on Facebook this morning. It really made me stop and think. What a difference would it make in our lives if every morning we started our day with that attitude? How much more productive, successful, joyous, content, would we be if we started our day with the mindset that with God ALL things are possible. This should not be a huge revelation to Christians, but sometimes we get so bogged down in making everything in our lives "come together” that we forget that we have all the help we need in our Lord and Savior if we just take the time to focus on that and not so much on trying to do it by ourselves. It's not like this is something new. It's not like it's one of those "WOW, where did THAT come from" moments. God tells us time and time and time again that He is there for us. He will empower us. He will be our helpmate and guide. We just choose sometimes not to listen. So, what WILL you accomplish today? Put yourself in God’s hand and let him lead you and guide you. I’ve put together a few of my favorite verses (KJV). May they bless you and inspire you today. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. - Philippians 4:13 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. - Joshua 1:9 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. - Isaiah 43:1 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth. - Psalm 46:10 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. - Isaiah 49:16

I did not think this through....

Do you ever have a wonderful idea? You get excited and move forward with your plan. But down the road somewhere, you have one of those moments where you realize you did not think the master plan through very well.

That's what happened with my great idea to put a bird feeder outside my office window. I really enjoy watching the variety of birds that gather there. We have had all colors - red, blue, yellow, browns, blacks. It has been so much fun watching them flit back and forth.

We have had some scarlet finches who are adorable. They are small and have a red head and red breast. Beautiful creatures. But very sociable creatures. They must love to spread the word when they find a great place to eat. We started out with seeing one or two pairs (male and female) showing up at various times throughout the day. Then we got a couple more. Next thing you know, we had 19 of these little cute birds setting on the bird feeder, on the feeder roof, on the top of the pole holding the feeder, on the window sill beside the feeder. Little cute birds everywhere.

It was priceless. Until the feed ran low.

With that many birds coming to dinner, they were flipping seeds out of the feeder tray like crazy and the seeds landed on the window sill. This meant that the cute little birdies would sit right on the window sill to have lunch.

Then when there was no more seed, they would look at me inside at my desk (which is right in front of the window.) They start pecking on the glass and flapping their wings to get my attention. Which wouldn't be too bad except for two major things:

1. There are usually several doing it at one time

2. I saw Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds, when I was about 7 or 8 years old.

Now anybody that saw The Birds will understand that this pecking and flapping of wings can get a little scary.

Had I realized I was laying the ground work for The Birds - The Sequel, I would have had to think a little harder before I put the feeders up.

I have tried to get over my Hitchcock induced fear of birds and for the most part have succeeded. Several years back, I was on a boat in the Gulf heading out to Shell Island. The seagulls were all around us. The Captain said if you held out a Cheeto they would come and take it gently from your hands. Everybody was doing this so I thought, "Here is a good way to overcome my fear of birds." I purchased some Cheetos, opened the bag, held it out to the gulls. About 4 or 5 headed my way in a flurry of feathered wings. As they hastily approached my outstretched hand, I remembered the movie and threw my whole bag of Cheetos at them and withdrew to the interior of the boat. Guess I just thought I could get over the fear.

Probably should have remembered that adventure before putting a bird feeder so close to my window.

Spring forward

Now that we are on the "new" time, does your body adjust as easy as you would like it to. I took a nap yesterday afternoon, supposedly to catch up on the hour of sleep I lost. Then I fell asleep on the couch after I came home from church, because I still felt drained. I got up my normal time yesterday and today. Between the nap and the early night on the couch, I got almost 3 hours extra sleep, but yet I still feel like I'm "missing" an hour somewhere. My daily routine is not changed because of the new time. I still work the same amount of hours and I still have the same work to do. But you wake up on the Monday after time change with a feeling of lagging behind. You feel lethargic and bland. You hate this new time and will fuss about it for awhile. It will take your system time to adjust and you will feel like you are playing catch up all year. But come fall, when you fall back and get to gain that hour you lost, you will still feel like something is out of kilter. I never understood any of it when I was younger and I don't understand it now.

There were baseball games, races and right foot still. There were somersaults, cartwheels and leapfrog. There was badminton and croquet, jumping in leaves, snowball fights and rolling down the hill. Having grown up in the country and not owning a car, we spent most of our youth at the house. We had a great big yard and spent many hours making memories as we romped and played in the yard and on the hills of the old home place. Many things have happened in that old yard. Rachel and me used to drag our dolls and dishes out to play house. Mom would make tents out of old blankets hanging on the clothesline. I can close my eyes and hear Daddy worrying about Jack and Andy wearing out the grass when they played ball. I can still hear Mom holler out the kitchen window, “If that ball goes over the hill one more time, you’re going to have to quit playing.” One time Jack and I were playing kick ball and it kept going over the hill. We could tell Mom was getting tired of us asking to go in the road to get the ball. Needless to say, it went over that “one more time” we’d been warned about. Being kids, with our infinite wisdom, we decided to sneak down without asking. We figured she’d never know, so what was the harm. As we watched it’s journey over the hill. Our mouths fell open in dismay. Oh no! It had landed in the BIG DITCH. Now anyone growing up in that old house knew the big ditch was forbidden territory. There were rumors of snakes and poison ivy, worries of falling in the water and not getting out. It was a deep ditch. But in reality there never was that much water in it, maybe 6-8 inches. So Jack decided to brave its steep bank and go get the ball. I stood guard on the road, watching out in case Mom appeared at the door and caught us in the act. He climbed down, got the ball and was almost to the top. I looked up at the house. Good, no sign of Mom. We’d made it. As he was climbing up the bank, (I can still see it today as though in slow motion), he lost his hold and WHAM! He landed flat on his back in the creek water. Busted. No way to hide that from Mom. I don’t remember our punishment, but I can only guess that it was the usual — one of us on the couch and one of us on the chair. And no getting up until Mom thought we had suffered enough. When you're small, any punishment seems cruel and unusual to you. But now that I’m a mother, I view things differently. I imagine our punishment was a relief to Mom, just a few minutes to do what she needed to do without having to worry about what we were getting into. As we grew older we took our kids back to play in that old yard. On many occasions, I would catch myself threatening dire circumstances if the ball “went over the hill one more time”. Mothers never change.