Sunday Morning Truths

Good morning, friends, followers, and family! Glad you are here this morning. After receiving a phone call from our church last week, we decided to attend in person. There were maybe thirty people, counting the new minister, and everyone masked up. I don’t know how the two ladies who sang could do so with masks on, but they did.

It was good to be in a House of God again, after attending via Facebook Live as we’d been doing since March. The pastor we knew retired in July, and now we have a younger guy, who probably will relate well to young people. I could see him having a large following among young parents, as he is one himself. He is from Arizona, so I’ll be he’ll be fun to talk with about the Nebraska winters. That is if we have one this year.

His message was pretty succinct. Our truths come from our own experiences with them. That includes religious, spiritual, political, moral, and any others you can name. Where did we learn them? Our parents, politicians, tradition, laws, preachers, peers, and whoever we have had help shape us. So what makes yours right and mine wrong? Unless you’re a criminal who regularly violates the law, yours isn’t wrong for you.

Your opinion reflects what you have absorbed, studied, and lived. You may have been exposed to different realities than I have. I have been exposed to different realities than you have. We are both free to express ourselves. Where I draw the line is, I do not want to argue points with you about those things. I agree to be different than you are, I will not call you names if your opinions are different than mine.

Yes, the survivor of me is the woman I value the most. Without her, none of the rest of this would have happened!

Aside from my 50th Class Reunion this year, I have passed another of what would have been 50 year anniversary of an event. If I were still married to the father of my children, it would have been our 50th wedding anniversary yesterday. We were married 11 1/2 years. I learned so much and changed so much during those years to begin a major shift in my belief system, one that was really mine to own, that I hardly recognize the woman I used to be. That woman had a totally different set of beliefs and values than I have grown to have.

At that time, I did not buy into gender equality. I believed all I ever wanted to do was be a wife and Mom. I was late to the equality party, but I finished raising my two sons and daughter to know they were all capable, deserving people. They saw a good work ethic. They knew they had to earn their own way. They saw how different their Dad and I are, and I thought understood why I could no longer be his wife.

It was life altering when I met the Babe. At first I thought he was serious about telling me women belong in the kitchen. I knew it wouldn’t work out. Little did I know, he was joking. We had many discussions about equality, and only after I married, did I realize I didn’t have to give up a darned thing as far as my independence went. Seriously, I didn’t. And what I gained! A supporter, cheering me on to whatever I wanted to try.

Goldie Loves Him to Bits, Too!

To learn your real, true truths, you must have an open mind. You must be willing to learn. You must be all about finding out why you are unhappy, what is bothering you. It takes a lot of courage to change your entire belief system from the familiar to what is right for you. It is so worth the journey, though. I found true happiness for my life by questioning what I was taught, by tradition, by parents, by peers, by society, and I’m happy I listened when God whispered in my ear about things. That’s where it all started. I was shown a way that was different, yet comfortable for me.

Perhaps, another root beer, please!

And now, it’s a little later on Sunday afternoon, and I’m still thinking about my truths and how they came to be. The road has been long and interesting. The discomfort I felt is gone. I belong where I am, right now. The story I’m telling in The Freeing of Katie Fitzgibbons is based on some people I have known, but all their assets and liabilities are in one small family, not among a town. I hope to be more than halfway through the story by around Thanksgiving. I have a lot of it plotted out and down, now it’s just filling in the details.

As we look forward to the first Sunday in Fall, think about your truths. Which ones will you tell? Which ones do you want to be yours? Learn, learn, learn. Question. Get information. It’s the only way you will know. Have fun exploring. I did.

A Beautiful Thought!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate it, and hope to see you again tomorrow. Be Safe. Be Courteous. Be Kind. And Be Truthful! Bless You.

Saturday, Happy Saturday

Today is my little brother’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Steve! Hope you have a nice day and get to do something fun. As you’re in your 60s now, hoping you’re able to start looking at retiring. Yes, health coverage is expensive. And you’re not getting any younger, either. Just hope you have good years ahead of you.

When Steve was born, I received my first store-bought birthday cake. Our dad’s cousin Joann bought it. It was a bundt cake and had a doll in the center to look like a girl in a dress. I don’t remember what the flavor was or what the color was, but I remember thinking she was beautiful. Mom was very practical, cutting the first servings out of the back of the “dress” and keep the front looking perfect. I felt so special! I was six years old at the time. Just finishing kindergarten. The world was my oyster!

Another cloudy day today. It is supposed to be rainy today. Still no visit to the nursery, but we are going to visit the grandkids later today. The Babe saw them yesterday, and he said Gavin has really gotten tall. He’s going to be eight in June, and it amazes me how fast they grow up. He’s got some neighborhood friends now, and is riding bikes with them much of the day, when he’s not doing school work. His dad is working from home, so he’s got the best supervisor there is. I love how these Dad’s express and show their love for their kids. When we were kids, men were pretty reserved about emotions, especially about kids. I’m glad they are able to express themselves now.

How will you make today beautiful?

You never know for sure if someone really did write the quotes you see for Facebook memes. For instance, did Mark Twain really say the one above? If not, he should have. I started to research who may have said it, but got hijacked into mindlessly searching other things, and I ended up distracted. So it’s back to work. The most beautiful day of our life? I’m going to work some more on my grandson Cody’s little wall hanging of a hedgehog family. It’s so cute and it’s tough on the eyes for sure. Very tiny holes to do counted cross stitch. This is definitely a work of love. I’m imagining Cody while I work on it. I’m hoping he sleeps beneath it many, many times during his little life. I did buy a pattern for a hedgehog quilt too. That will be fun, too.

The Babe rolled out some sod yesterday, around the area he poured a new landing at the bottom of the stairs off the deck. She was a pretty naughty puppy this morning and tugged at the corner of the sod. She picked up the whole piece and pranced around the yard with it. It looked hilarious. I was not amused because even though we got it for free, it’s a bad habit for the pup to cultivate. We gave her a stern look, a talking to, and I hope she leaves the stuff alone now. We’ll see.

Thank you for reading today, I appreciate your support. I’ll see you again tomorrow, you know I’ll be here! Stay safe. Keep your distance. Make today a beautiful day!