Memories of A Christmas Past

I've been in Virginia since the day before Thanksgiving, spending time with my son and his family and with my daughter, Sarah.  I've spent some time looking at toys and ideas for Christmas presents for the Bella.  One day when I was in T*rget, I was looking at the bicycles, and my eyes were drawn to this one, and my mind went back to the Christmas of 1949...yes, 1949. 

I was eight.  Santa Claus was still very real to me.  My list for him was long.  On that list was a bicycle and a bride doll and...and...and.  I don't remember what all I had wanted, but Santa did his best to get me what I wanted.

Christmas morning came, and under the tree was a 26 inch Schwinn bike.  My first and only bicycle.  And it was a deluxe edition, a little more deluxe than the one in the photo above.  It had a horn that was battery operated, and it was enclosed on the bike below the handlebars and the seat.  All I had to do was push the button, and the horn sounded.  I don't know if there was a basket on it that morning, but there soon was, and in later years some streamers flowing from the grips on the handlebars.

What surprised me about the bike in the photo above is that there are no hand brakes.  It has coaster brakes, just like mine did 63 years ago. 

There were no training wheels back then.  I just got on and tried and tried until I could ride the bicycle.  The street in the front of our house was like a brick street, but the bricks were not smooth, and I had many scrapes and bruises from the falls that I took as I learned to ride...no knee pads or helmets back then either.

When I looked at the bike in the store, I noticed that it is a "Legacy" bike, made by Schwinn.  With so many brands that have come and gone in the last years, I'm glad there is still a Schwinn bike.

I cherish the memories of that bike.  Unlike so many children today, it was the only bike I ever had or needed.  These days, I find I need and want less and less. I know my parents were so relieved when I realized that they were the Santa, and they could breathe a little more easily. 

I wish to you all a merry Christmas.  May His presence in your life be your present.

Goodbye for Now

Any of you who have known me for any time or who have read this blog know that I spent some time in Haiti teaching missionary kids before I met and married Don and raised a family here in Florida.  Even though I was in Haiti for a relatively short time (three and a half years) I came to love Haiti, its people, and the missionaries that I worked with.

I especially loved the kids, and now we do not have a teacher/pupil relationship, but one of good friends.  After I left Haiti in 1973 and got married and lived here in Bradenton, Don and I entertained many of those families in our home when they happened to be traveling through Florida and had a personal connection with many of them over the years. 

Several of the missionary couples who have retired moved here to Bradenton to live in the Bradenton Missionary Village which was built by Anthony Rossi, the founder of Tropicana Products.  And so over the years I have enjoyed visiting these families and seeing their "kids" when they have come to visit.

This weekend we are meeting together to say goodbye to one of the missionaries, Don Adams.  He and his wife Evelyn lived and worked in Haiti and later Suriname for 38 years before retiring and coming to Bradenton.  While here, he ministered in the jail and in nursing homes.  He was faithful to his family, his friends, and to his Heavenly Father, ministering faithfully until he could no longer do it physically.

We will say goodbye, knowing that we will meet again when God takes us home, or when He returns to take us with him.  As so many have written, it is sad for those left on earth, but wonderful for the one being promoted to glory.

Now I Am Six

It seems that I haven't blogged forever...well, it's true, I haven't.  I am trying to do a post about Ella's sixth birthday, and for some reason I am having difficulty uploading photos.  Oh, well.  Perhaps later.

I drove to Virginia last week to be here for the grand celebration of turning six.  I brought along with me an old-time friend from Haiti so that she could visit with her son and his family who now live in Lynchburg, Virginia.  On the way we stopped in Athens, Georgia to renew acquaintance from fifty years ago.  Sarah and I worked at a camp together in Florida during our college days, and our paths have not crossed since then.

I saw her name one day on Facebook, and we reconnected.  It was lovely visiting with her.  Some physical limitations have made it necessary for her to be in a retirement home, and she is doing well there.  Then, on our way into Virginia, we passed by Gastonia, North Carolina where a retired missionary couple from Haiti live.  I asked my friend, Mary Jane, if she would like to stop and see them.  So we made an unplanned detour and visited for a few minutes with Dr. and Mrs. Dudley Nelson.

After leaving Mary Jane in Lynchburg, I drove on here to Charlottesville to my daughter's home, and then on Saturday we went to Ella's for the party.  Always before her birthdays had been mainly family gatherings or a few neighbors.  This year Ella told her mother that she wanted a real birthday party with girls.

My daughter-in-law outdid herself in planning this party.  It had a gnome theme.  Since I'm having a problem posting photos, perhaps I can get a link in here to the photos that I've posted on Facebook.
Here is a link to the photos.  I hope it works.

I Will Never Leave You

YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME

Even though her toddler was throwing a furious tantrum, (or, as my southern American friends might say, pitching a fit) from the seat of a grocery cart, one mother was unfazed. "You may as well give up on the crying," she said as calmly as if she were soothing her to bed instead of leading her out of the store. "It won't work. You're stuck with me for 18 years."

That little child may not know how lucky she is to be stuck with her for 18 years. Even when she's cranky, out of sorts or otherwise going through a phase, her mother will be there. She's stuck with her. Most relationships that truly matter are built on that kind of sticking-power. And not everyone has someone they can always count on to stick around.

A university instructor posed a riddle to her graduate education class. "What has four legs and leaves?" she asked, hoping the students would realize that by considering alternative meanings to the words "legs" and "leaves" that they could arrive at the solution – a table. However, one woman unexpectedly answered, "My last two boyfriends." Maybe you can relate.

People will leave relationships for any number of reasons. And sometimes we should put certain relationships behind. Not every friendship or romance has a healthy future. Sometimes we bring along so many destructive problems and behaviors that a happy relationship has no chance of long-term survival. Sometimes addictions make staying in a relationship impossible. Sometimes leaving is necessary.

But there's also a time to stick around. Something all relationships of many years have in common is this: every one of them is made up of people who have had plenty of opportunities to bolt or quit, to move out or to move on, but they stuck around. Maybe because they knew that the people they love are not always "lovable" or easy to be with, and that's okay. They want a relationship that matters, one that is important and lasting, and that kind is nurtured by patience and understanding.

Author John Gray sometimes tells about a young mother who asked her visiting brother to get her some pain pills. He forgot and, when her husband returned home, she was upset and in pain – more than a bit crazy. He experienced her anger as a personal assault and exploded in defense. They exchanged harsh words and he headed for the door.

His wife said, "Stop, don't leave. This is when I need you the most! I'm in pain. I've had no sleep. Please listen. You are a fair-weather friend. If I'm sweet, you're okay; but if I'm not, out you go!" And then tearfully, and more subdued, she said, "I'm in pain. I have nothing to give. Please hold me. Don't speak...just hold me." He held her and neither spoke – until she thanked him for being there.

I suspect there will be plenty of other times their relationship will be tested. And I also suspect that every time it goes through a rough patch and survives some sort of adversity, every time they decide that being together is important enough to stick it out and fix what's wrong, then it will change. Maybe not much, but a little. And in time, little by little, that relationship, their "togetherness," will become a thing of beauty; a pearl of great value.

And definitely worth sticking around for.

-- Steve Goodier

As I read this post by Steve Goodier, I immediately was reminded of several Scriptures.

Isaiah 41:10 - International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

¹⁰ So do not fear,^(A) for I am with you;^(B)
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen^(C) you and help^(D) you;
I will uphold you^(E) with my righteous right hand.<sup>(F)


Matthew 28:20</sup>

And surely I am with you^(B) always, to the very end of the age.”<sup>(C)

Hebrews 13:5</sup>
 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”^{[a] 3:5}

__._,_.___

           

.

__,_._,___

A new old drug store

We have a new "old-fashioned" drug store in town.  A step inside will take you back a few years in your memory to the days when fountain drinks, sodas, and milk shakes were all made by hand by the "soda jerk."  This drug store opened a few months ago in east Bradenton.  It is housed in a grand old brick building that used to be a department store.  Western wear was available there.  When Don and I got married, I bought him a pair of cowboy boots from there.

On my way to meet a friend for a movie one day, I decided to visit and see just what was there.  I sat right down at the counter and enjoyed visiting with the "jerk," a likable gentleman from England who has settled here and is working there.  The menu has all sorts of ice cream pleasures and all kinds of fountain drinks.  On their menu, they have a few sandwiches, but the emphasis is on the fountain part.  I had a chicken salad sandwich, a bag of chips, and any drink in the drug store for 6.95...not bad.  I chose a chocolate shake.  Yum!

While sitting on the stool at the counter, I enjoyed admiring the antiques and remembrances from days gone by. The cabinets in the drug store are beautiful.  At the top of the one above is a Stetson hat box.  That reminded me of my daddy who loved to wear hats in the day, and he bought them in Tampa at the Stetson hatters.

This old cash register sits at the end of the counter, again reminiscent of former days.  In a newspaper article about the department store, you can see the photo of it with the gentlemen who owned the store. 

While not functional now, it adds to the atmosphere.

While I was sitting there, the "jerk" was busy making the syrups for the different drinks that they make.  Even the whipped cream is made the old fashioned way.  The cream goes into a canister, then a "bomb" is attached that aerates the cream. 

The counter is made of onyx.  It had originally been in a store here in Bradenton, and the owner obtained it and installed it here.

My mother worked in a drug store all the years that I was in school.  She wasn't a soda jerk, rather put out a hot plate special every day.  In the day, you could get a hot plate, a meat, two vegetables, and rolls for 55 cents.  As I grew up, I ended up working in the drug store too.  I must say that it was not my favorite job.  One thing that was hard was the fact that the ice cream scoops were made for right-handed people, and being left-handed, it was very awkward to scoop hard ice cream. 

I have many fond memories of the drug store where my mother worked.  It was on the ground floor of the professional building in Bradenton.  Lawyers and doctors had their offices in that building, and many of them ate there.  From the time I was in second grade or so, I had to go with my mother to work in the mornings, eat my breakfast there, and then walk to school.  I lived just inside the city limits and was not eligible to ride the bus.  So, in my elementary school years, my mornings were spent there until it was time to get to school.  I got to know some really neat people during those growing up years.  This drug store in east Bradenton is a lovely reminder.  I hope it stays around for a long time.

Trees

I haven't blogged much lately.  Facebook is so much easier, but the first one to comment on my last post about my husband was Carmi, from Written, Inc.  He does a photographic theme each week, and this week's theme is "trees."  How simple can this be?  When I traveled to Virginia in April to visit my children, I had the added plus of its being spring. 

When you live in Florida, you see flowers year-round, but there is something about seeing trees burst into bloom in the spring.  I live too far south in Florida to see dogwood, so my mouth dropped open often during those days I was in Virginia and on my way there, seeing dogwood everywhere.

As I was getting out of the car one day at my son's house, I looked and saw this beautiful sight.  First is the Japanese maple in his yard and then the dogwood, white and pink in the yard next door.  I took out my phone and snapped the photo, and I was quite pleased with it.  Enjoy.  Go over to Carmi's blog and take a look at other entries to this week's theme.

When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart

Another year has passed.  April 30, 2002, my husband Don got up as usual.  His routine was to shave and sit down for his morning devotions.  He faithfully read Scripture each morning and read the daily devotional, "Our Daily Bread."  This morning was like every other morning.  The Scripture that particular morning was Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them the love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  Later that day, Don was ushered into heaven through an accident.

Ten years have passed.  I used to put flowers in the church each anniversary, and I finally stopped realizing that the money spent on flowers could be used to feed some hungry people or given to some worth cause.  I decided, though, to have some in church this morning.  Several people spoke to me after church, remembering Don fondly.  One gentleman, in particular, shared with me how he and Don had had such a good working relationship.  This man was an electrician before he retired and offered his services to the church when a need arose.  He often spoke to Don asking him questions to be sure he was doing everything right, and he appreciated always the assurances that he received from Don.

A few months after Don died, I received a CD from some friends in Cincinnati.  Their son-in-law who was a music minster in a church had recorded a song that I listened to over and over again in those months that followed, and I'd like to share it with you.  The words are so true...when you can't trace His hand, trust His heart.

Spring!

 It has been a long time since I last posted.  In fact, it was after I had traveled to Virginia at Christmas time, so maybe my blogposts will depend on trips that I take.  I must confess that I spend more time reading what everyone is doing via FaceBook, but I know that there are many who do not go there, so I hate to give up blogging completely.  The purpose for my trip to Virginia was to visit Ella at her school for Grandparents' Day.  Last Friday, I got to visit her classroom and then enjoy a program that was presented by the music teacher at her school.  School was a half-day, so we left, went to Chick Fil-A for lunch, and then went to her house, where her mommy was working from home for the day, and her daddy was recovering from pneumonia.

 One of the perks of coming at this time of the year has been getting to see all of the beautiful spring flowers.  This dogwood is in David's yard.  Dogwood has always been a favorite of mine, and I have just been in awe of all the flowering trees in the neighborhood, and in the parks and along the highway.

 David lives not far from a park where all kinds of activities take place.  Right now the baseball season is opening for the kids.  A river runs along the edge of the park, and a little way away is a serenity garden which has been dedicated to cancer survivors and their caregivers.  This particular photo and the one below were taken from that garden.

 This lovely building is the P. Buckley Moss Museum.  She has lived in this area for many years and can be seen at different times of the year here and also in St. Petersburg, Florida.  When I went to a signing one year, she told me she prefers now to paint in St. Pete, because the light is so much better there.  I understand completely what she means!

Ella is playing T-Ball once again.  What a difference a year makes!  There are some really tiny kids playing ball.  When they swing the bat, they usually go around with it.  Ella has pretty good form and pays more attention this year.  If you've ever watched four and five year olds play, you know what I'm talking about.

It is so much fun to listen to her read and watch her write.  I told her mother the other night I'm interested to know where her imagination is going to take her.  Dr. Seuss's book, Oh the Places You'll Go, is a great fit for her.

Until the next trip...or maybe before...

What I Did on my Christmas Vacation

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about my fall vacation.  I feel like the student who goes back to school and writes a report about his activities.  Most of you know my daughter moved to Virginia last year so that she could be closer to her brother and Ella.  She had only been seeing Ella a couple of times a year, and it just wasn't enough.

Several people had talked about taking the auto train to Virginia, so I decided I would try that out one time.  The train leaves in the afternoon at 4 from Sanford, Florida and travels all night, arriving in Lorton, Virginia at 9 the next morning.  My good friend, Peg, lives about a half hour away from the station in Sanford so I went to her house on Sunday afternoon, visited with her the next morning, and then was on my way.  All in all, it was a pleasant trip.  I didn't spring for a Pullman, but I think I will if I do it again.

The whole process went quite smoothly, from dropping off my car in Sanford to be put on the train and getting in and driving it away when we got to Virginia.  It took me two hours to get from the train station to Sarah's apartment in Charlottesville...not bad.

Sarah and I enjoyed Christmas together, going to church and then to see the movie "War Horse."  David, Sabrina, and Ella were with her family in Ohio.  After they returned, we had our family Christmas together at Sarah's on Thursday. 

Ella was enthralled with the Wii game that her daddy got.  It's a Lego Indiana Jones game.  He also got a golf game to play on the Wii.

Sarah gave Ella and Sabrina matching monogrammed aprons.  Sabrina is a great cook and baker, and Ella is a great helper.

With a wonderful imagination, Ella transformed one of aunt Sarah's chairs into a sleigh.  Note that Rudolph is guiding the sleigh with his red nose, along with Clarice, his friend.  Ella was also careful to put some taillights at the end of the sleigh.  Two little ornaments that lit up were the taillights.

I left today to come back to Florida.  It was 21 with snow flurries when I left.  When I got out of the car in Dillon, South Carolina to get gas, I thought I was going to turn into an icicle right there.  The wind was so sharp, whipping around the gas pumps.  I am sitting, nice and warm, in a hotel room now enjoying the Virginia Tech/Michigan football game.  I hope that the freezing temperatures will have left Florida by the time I get there.