lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Took the words right from my fingers..Ironically I have been doing just that the last couple of weeks, especially...

Those have been the nicest and dangittttttt longest calls tho~~ :lol: :wink:

Worth every minute of them tho~~ :thumbup: :thumbup:

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

Amazing how surprised we ALL are when that happens. :wink: Family story....6 years ago, an uncle died (my father's side of the family). An aunt prodded me to do some reconnecting. After a whole bunch of prodding, I started up a conversation online with a cousin. We hadn't seen one another for 50, yes, 50 years. Our elders had always said so many negative things about one another that the cousins chose to pretty much ignore one another. Well, I went all the way to Troy, AL to visit the cousin. From that visit, we made a plan to persuade as many cousins as we could to come to a reunion of cousins. A great many made the trek. We discovered, to our delight that there were no serial killers among us and no one had two heads. One cousin met for the first time her two half brothers she had no idea existed until, after my uncle's death, someone asked her why she had not included her brothers in the obituary. The sister of the cousin in Troy, was there. She died less than a year later, very suddenly. I often look back and think about what I would have missed.

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Amazing how a family squabble of some sort can impact so many in the end isn't it....What a nice story here though...I love happy endings and you will always have that "glad I didn't miss out"... A word to the wise in what you shared here....

I hope to learn from it as I have a brother I have literally cancelled out of my life after what he did during my mothers long term passing...A story not even worth discussing....Although to be honest, if I never saw him again it would be too soon...... :shock:

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

I love happy endings too!! Life lessons, maybe not so much, but sometimes they prevent regrets down the road.

Tale of two sides of a coin. Years ago, my father uncharacteristically showed up at my work to tell me a cousin I was very close to was dying of AIDS. He told me he had been to see Rick. Knowing how he felt about homosexuality, I was stunned that he had gone to see him and asked him "why". His answer..."He is dying. His life matters. He is at the end of his. Rick asked me to come and see him and I felt I had to honor that." Years go by, my father's mental illness consuming him, too unsafe for me to go home the last two years of his life. My inability to cut through the darkness still haunts me. Two days before his death, he calls me in a screaming rage. I will be forever grateful that my words were spoken softly and in love. Looking back, I suspect that even that day I realized it "might" be the last time I would ever speak to him. I'm not sure if wisdom always comes with age, but one thing I have learned is that all those shoulda/coulda/wouldas do have a tendency to leave us with regrets. :wink:

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Spoken with wisdom, right there, yes, ma'am.... :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

There's a reason I have learned to wear a hard hat!! :mrgreen: Think it comes from banging my head against the wall a t-a-d bit too often. :oops: :lol:

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Well now, must I admit I too, bang my head against the wall, and have YET to learn to put a hard hat on??????? Ohh hush, I heard that~~ :wink: :lol:

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

:lol: :lol: the way I see it? You're too busy having fun!! I have to take my hat OFF to that, I do. :thumbup: :wink:

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Thank You, Searching...It's two fold...When caring for my mother, (2 yrs, lost her July 28, NOT complaining) going to the store was a fear she would wake while gone...Since, I have been like a kid making up for it all,I guess...The second, I don't want to just wonder about doing or not having done, so its "just do it"..... :wink:

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

I totally understand. I moved from the big city to the country in 2001 to keep my mom safe from herself and others. When I came to the realization I couldn't watch her 24/7, I had no choice but to put her in a nursing home which was 5 minutes from the farm. She didn't know me for the last 6 or 7 years of her life. I lost her in October. There's plenty for me to do on the farm, but no longer do I have that same central focus of my mother. I feel at loose ends and I'm probably going to take a few people up on invitations to visit, that and run off maybe to Sanibel Island or the Keys for a week. It's been so long since I've done something just because it feels good. That said, you go girl, fly like a bird!! There's no dry run. You snooze, you lose. Just do us all a favor and wear a safety helmet when you take off. We're kinda fond of you, you know. :wink:

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I would have to agree with that :!: He was one of a kind. :wink:

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Thank You, Searching..I am sorry to hear of your Mother as well..I did not know until right now...Expected and all when it does happen it completely throws you..I Thank God for the support I had fearing I would be alone when it did happen...Anyway, its strange isn't it, that focus..Like having a child that leaves home you are suddenly lost....I still have moments while at the grocery store that I need to hurry to get back home...I wonder if that ever leaves given the conditioning we had in them being first above all things...I hope you are ok...
Sanibel Island is beautiful, the Keys full of wonder too..Standing 90 miles at the tip of the Keys, from Cuba, brings that reality to life too..Please do go, you need the relaxation, the sun and the water to energize and simply "be"...As you said, fly like a bird....Be safe, and yes, I will wear my helmet, you bring yours too..Ya just never know what you might run into~~~

Fly Like a Bird~~~

http://youtu.be/roPQ_M3yJTA?list=RDroPQ_M3yJTA

;) ;)

Rufus Loc: Deep South

Bless both of you. Life can be so hard, but God is so good and somehow he walks us through these difficult times. Please take time to talk with Him and walk with Him and ask that you be filled with His spirit. There is nothing as wonderful as God's peace, the peace that passes all understanding. He is the one who comforts us and loves on us. We grieve deeply because we love deeply. I pray he bless both of you and all family members who are experiencing these things. Remember, this life is short and temporary. We have the hope of spending eternity with Him and beoing reunited with our loved ones. This is real. We are blessed. God has a plan. His plan will come to fruition. Praise God. It is an honor and very inspiring to know y'all are here. Thank you both.

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Bless you right back, Rufus..Beautifully said in wise words of wisdom and faith....You are also right!!!

God does have a plan even when we do not know what it is..It is enough knowing he knows...

Life is what we make it and how we live it....The most important part, we only get to do it once, or maybe not~but its in the living of it that matters...

Live and love and all is real...Exist and never love and you have never really lived, right?? :thumbup: :wink: :wink:

Thank You, my friend...You are very sweet..

For you and your sweetheart~~~

Without Love there is nothing..

Rufus Loc: Deep South

Thank you Linda. I wish you could meet her. i am blessed to have her in my life. Mom and I went to Ash Wed. service with her last night. My mom loves her. I am pleased. Mom could always find something wrong with most of the girls I ever got involved with. She loved my last girlfriend like a daughter, but she passed away. She loves my Laura. Has nothing negative to say about her. that means a lot to me. She is a good girl, great heart, great personality, great spirit and I realized I was falling in love with her from the beginning. It continues to get better. I am truly blessed. Mom wants her here all the time. She wants her to move in. We have a huge house. I am happy to be with her no matter what we are doing. We went to the drive in recently in my pimp van and were so comfortable. we like going to the dog park with my four dogs, picnics, church, horseback riding. I want to take her on a cruise, would love to take her to Costa Rica. I hope to take her to the condo on the beach in Destin Florida soon. It is beautiful. She wants to go camping. We have one of the nicest Zoos in the country. Great museums and Beale street, etc.a new Bass Pro which may be the nicest in the country. Many other things to see and do. I love holding hands with her just going to Walmart. Yep, she is beautiful, cute and pretty and very special. I am crazy about her and it just gets better. I have much love and respect for her. she is a good girl with a good heart. She is honest and sensitive and never judges. OK, that was a brief description of Laura and why I love her. God has been good to me Linda. We met on a train in New Orleans. I would like to take a train trip every year to celebrate our anniversary. She likes that idea too. Alright, enough of this mushy stuff. It is pretty obvious how I feel about my sweet Laura. :D :D :D