Missing my Left Arm

Recently, at a meeting, a friend approached me and commented on how dear my Rose is to her. When she asked me how I was doing without my Rose, suddenly, tears filled my eyes (oh dear).  I replied that it was like my left arm was gone.

In fact, there are times that I forget that she is gone and look around for her or wonder where she is at. Dinners seem lopsided because she's not there at the table. Every time I get silverware out, I am reminded that I must get out 4 sets, not 5.  When we all get in the car, I expect to hear her voice floating up to me from the back seat, but it's not there. Her "spot" on the couch is always empty.  I sit there sometimes when I think about her. My son will walk around calling himself "Rose" or "Dr. Rose" in the 3rd person.  I start to tell him to stop 'using her name in vain', because this always annoyed her, but stop myself when I realize that this is his way of saying that he misses her.  Her kitty, Snuggles, is restless.  Her bedroom door never moves.

Yet, at the same time, I have tremendous peace in my heart because I believe she is in the right place. In the pictures she posts on Facebook her face is so full of joy and smiles that suddenly, I feel full of joy for her.  Her spiritual growth is evident by the emails she sends me, the things she says when we Skype, and by those pictures on Facebook. She is surrounded by amazing, godly young people who have positive attitudes. My 'Rose in the Wilderness' song does not describe her now, because she is with thousands of other young people all pretty much like her.  Her sweet, glowing face, that seemed so singular here at home, is now in the midst of a plurality of sweet, glowing faces.  


This email was posted on my 'Dog Project' folder recently:

Hey Monica, I am losing my memory I think.  Didn't Marissa say she wouldn't do dog bowl Sunday?  I thought we talked her into judging but not dog bowl.  I don't know why I have such a hard time keeping track this year!  -Kim

My friend Kim was pretty busy getting all the Dog 4H kids ready for the state fair.


After reading this comment, I was thinking about how Kim had a daughter leaving for college as well.  I decided to let her know that she was not alone in her 'condition.'  So, I butted in to her conversation with another leader and replied;


Kim, Kim, Kim,   It's called "senioritis,"  a common virus amongst American high school seniors....you obviously were exposed by your senior and are infected.  I was exposed by my resident senior as well and have sadly contracted this "senioritis."  I hear the cure is as follows: 1)  drop off the offending senior to their college  2)  spontaneous bouts of tears will commence  3) copious amounts of chocolate will need to be consumed (Dr.'s orders!!) and an outrageous appetite for ice cream will follow--but don't panic...because you're getting closer....4) after you mail out your 3rd ginormous check...your "Senioritis" WILL be replaced with a tremendous urge to PUSH your child to STUDY!  You, dear "Mama," will be restored to normalcy: your brains, your home, and your car will become as they once were: yours.  Sadly, your wallet will never be the same-but consider this the 'rebirth' of your child.   It's a rather large sum, but surely you wil rejoice when you realize are now the proud mother of a college freshman!  Ta Da! 


It made her laugh! It cheered her up and some other moms as well because she shared it with them.  In turn, it cheered me up as well. When I took my eyes off of myself, saw my daughter's happy college life, and encouraged another Mom, well...I was happy.  And yet, I still miss my left arm.  Of course!  She's my child.  But, I praise God for technology that permits me to peek into her daily life to reassure me that she is in the right place and that all is well.  She is happy and loves the Lord.  She is healthy and well adjusted.  What more could a parent desire for their child?    

State Fair

Sideboard in dining room

Emmaline and I had a delicious breakfast yesterday morning.  Normajean's peach french toast was amazing.  Imagine Hawaiian bread soaked overnight in peaches, cream cheese and lots of half and half.  On the side were Chicken with apple sausage bites.  I had some peach tea with it as well. Again, we enjoyed a happy time with our fellow travelers.  Normajean has a beautiful phonograph in the dining area.  This morning she wound it up and played "Church in the Wildwood."  Several of us sang along and that ended breakfast on a joyful note. I was filled with sweet memories of my Dad singing this, his favorite song. 

We packed up and headed out into the rain. 

Emmaline's Dog Bowl Team (like Knowledge Bowl) had some fast and furious contests.  Some of those teams have lightening quick reflexives!  Here is Emmaline carefully giving her answer. Although our team was eliminated, they did better than last year.   That alone was worth the trip!  It was a great experience and the girls left with big smiles. ;)

Ribbons are a comparison between contestants.  Contestants will look at the posted scores and know who is leading the pack.  Then they compare themselves against those in the lead. God does not want us to compare ourselves to others, but to compare ourselves to Him. 


People used to think that a person could not run a 5 minute mile.   Now they do-and faster.


People used to think that driving along at 15 or 20 miles per hour would rip your face off.
Now we know better.


Ever see old footage of the Olympics?  Wow.  It looks funny to us, because today's standards are much higher.  Our standards got higher bit by bit over the years.


If we look to other people for our standards....then we have pretty low standards.  Look to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for your standards.  We will never be perfect, and God does not expect a person to completely change overnight, but God does show us where we do need to change...bit by bit.




I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  


My reasonable service is to give myself over to God so that He may do His Will--to use me.   To sacrifice myself, my wants, my desires so that He may use me.  Holy, pure and without blemish, acceptable unto God--notice NOT what is acceptable to your neighbor, your school, or your friends.


And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  

With every decision,

every word,

every part of your life

ask yourself...

is THIS acceptable unto God?

You don't know if it is??

Read your Bible.

Ask wise counsel.

Pray, ask the Lord to reveal it to you.

All He asks is that you

Come as you are...

but expect to be changed.

State Fair

Last evening, we ventured out to the fairgrounds for an expensive dinner. We were excited to see the dog barn, and besides, our dear Normajean had given us some complimentary tickets!


The oddest people kept going past us.....








Well....it seems like many people have interesting modes of transportation here!

No way!


Mai boy kin run his lil' legs fer a mile in 'bout 6 minutes 'n 50 seconds.  


Run boy run!!

I believe this is the world's largest cow.  


We also visited the alpaca area and hassled the poor 4H'ers there....but I don't know what happened to the pictures...maybe we need to go back...tee hee!

And we visited the goat barn......


B E C A U S E


we 


love


sheep!


ha ha ha!




These two were busy deciding who was king of the pen....

We luv goaties!




This lil' one liked us! :)

Yum! Yum!  So tempting...

but we had to have our expensive hamburgers

and share a pop.

We went back to our Hedman House...

Emmaline studied

and made me help her.

What's that all about?

I thought this was MY vacation.

Huh.

*****

Today we had a busy schedule with Dog Judging.

We were running a bit late because we had a wonderful breakfast and were enjoying the other guest's company....

but when I tried to tell that to the other leaders....

they didn't want to hear it. :)

We went to lunch downtown. 

Ummmmm

I want to be positive here

but...

let's talk about the weather. ;(

Let it suffice to say that a certain bakery in town....

needs a cleaning crew desperately.

And a good baker.

We spent some time in the FFA barn

FFA project.

Waaay cool.

We returned to the Dog Barn
AND
Emmaline got 3rd in the state 
for Dog Judging.
Wow.
My helping her study really paid off.
I'm a good mom. :0

This place is sooo miserable.....we HAVE to walk by these weeds the entire way there and then THE ENTIRE WAY BACK.  Every time.  Needless to say....we LUV Puyallup!!


So, to end the day, our dear Normajean found some DVD's for us and brought them to our room.  We watched "Sense and Sensibility" and enjoyed resting our feet.  


Dog Bowl tomorrow!!!

The State Fair

Emmaline and I had a beautiful and uneventful trip over the pass to Puyallup.  Although we were engrossed in a book on CD (The Corner of the Universe), we did admire the sparkling evergreen wall of forest surrounding us on our journey.  The sky was a gentle blue with pure, white cloud puffs that were swirled up like enormous ice cream curls.  


We stopped briefly at a blueberry farm to pick up some state fair ribbons the family had generously sponsored for our county's state dog team.  We were absolutely floored by the size of their bushes.  They were easily 10 feet tall and 6 or more feet wide.  We could barely see the workers up on their ladders! 

*** The Hedman House ***

Right before the state fair last year, I was looking around on the internet for a nice, inexpensive place to stay.  Happily, I stumbled upon the Hedman House.  This home, built in 1907, is a traditional farm house.  We had such a wonderful time here last year!  I was thrilled to find out that Normajean had room for us again this year.  

Such comfort!

We are looking forward to cozy night,

sleeping in this beautiful, comfortable bed.

Well, we are off for some dinner,

and then

a bit of reading until bedtime.

But we do have a bit of a dilemma:

Should we read on the porch swing?

or in the front room?

Happiness!