The End of An Era, Really

I wish that I could share my extended family (both maternal and paternal) with everyone I know. Even though no one is perfect in my extended family, we have learned to love and accept and enjoy everyone just because they are family. (I never realized what a treasure that philosophy is until I moved away from home---I used to think that all families were this way.) My aunts, uncles, and cousins know how to laugh without belittling anyone---they find joy in living, enjoying hard work and the simple things of life.


My dad is one of four siblings, my mom is one of nine. For over four decades, I have enjoyed each and every one of my parents' siblings. All are different in their own way, with very unique personalities and areas of giftedness---but all are loved for exactly who they are.


This week marks the end of an era in my family. I can no longer say that all my parents' siblings are still living. My Uncle John Price has passed from this earth yesterday. While I would never wish him back (he doesn't need to struggle to breathe any more), his entire, huge family--both immediate and extended--will sorely miss his presence here on earth.


So tonight my thoughts and prayers go out especially to Aunt Patsy, Teresa, Kim, and Mark, their spouses and their children, and to my mom and all of Uncle John's siblings who will miss him (especially on "Brother's Day", at the Price sibling lunches which my cousins have begun to host, and at Mom's "Spring Fling"). Our tears express some of the depths of our often unspoken love.


"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." and "The Lord is close to the broken-hearted." These two simple verses are some of the few comforting thoughts (to me, at least) in these times of sorrow.

"With your final heartbeat, kiss the world goodbye. Then go in peace and laugh on glory's side." (Chris Rice, from his song, "Untitled Hymn" [Come to Jesus])

I Just Want to Talk to a REAL person!

Does anyone besides me greatly dislike the phone services which most companies have---where you have to press a chain of numbers and guess which category your question may fall under? Well, several weeks ago, we had a "situation" whereby my cell phone was lost (probably in the bushes or the creek at Hersheypark, is my guess, from what my son said, and with him trying to figure out the possible trajectory---he's really into physics). So I called AT&T. I have a go-phone, so this is a bit more complicated than the contract phones. None of their answering machine categories fit my problem or question, and "went around in circles" on their phone tree several times. I was getting exasperated, and finally said to the automated voice, "I JUST WANT TO TALK TO A REAL PERSON!!!!" To my surprise, the automated voice then said, "Okay! I'll connect you with a customer service representative." Wow! I think I'll have to try that more often!

Great Quote on Marriage . . . .

I've been thinking about marriage lately, mainly because our small group at church is studying a chapter in our study book about us being the "Bride of Christ" (and so we have to dig in to figure out what exactly that means) . . . partly because my kids are getting older and I want them to have a good and right perspective on marriage (and opposed to what I perceive as society's very casual and often negative attitude towards the institution) and in a very small part because of just a snippet of conversation on my brother-in-law's Facebook status and subsequent comments. And then, today, after following some links from a "Tweet" I received, I came across this quote from "Plugged In Online." (Abby will like that I read this.) Sometimes you read what people write and think, I TOTALLY agree with that. How TRUE that is. So here, from Reviewer Paul Asay (on his review of "When In Rome"--found at http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/wheninrome.aspx ):

I'll rebut Pops' perspective with this: Marriage is about so much more than passion, more than risk—more than a lottery ticket where the winners get fairy-tale endings and losers find divorce attorneys. Marriage is about commitment—commitment that holds firm through the fickle vagaries of human emotion. Yes, there's risk involved in it, but marriage should never be analogous to rolling the dice in a game of chance. Rather, it's like building a house: You check the foundation, you build the angles square, you make sure the place will last a lifetime.

:o)

A Variety of Thoughts . . .

It's been over a year since I've posted here! Our family has gone through many changes--mainly the graduation of our oldest child, Abby. The day after graduation, we left for a few days of vacation, visiting with some long-time friends. Then once we arrived home, Abby moved out! It was a week of whirlwind changes, but I think we all adjusted well. Abby moved out because her job at the local college included room and board. She loved staying there and working there for the summer, and now she loves being a college student. She has also entered a dating relationship with her long-time friend David, but if you want to read about that, you'll have to read their blogs. It's their story to tell (it's a good and interesting one!), and I'll stay out of it unless I'm asked my opinion!

Joel is in his junior year of high school, and he's very, very busy! Anna loves her first year of middle school. She's just about as tall as I am, and her feet are bigger than mine!

My latest thoughts (ones which I want to post, anyway---not all my thoughts are postable to the public in my opinion) are not necessarily deep ones:

1) I think I know why people don't use wallpaper as much as they used to. It's a PAIN to take off when you decide you want a different look for the room. I'm currently redoing my kitchen, and just taking off the wallpaper border and subsequently getting all of the glue off was tedious and time consuming. I also want to redo my living room this coming year, but I will need to take off all of the original (1939) wallpaper which has been painted over for seven decades. It seems like an overwhelming job. But if I get the kitchen finished (paint the ceiling, walls, AND cupboards), maybe my sense of accomplishment will help spur me on to the next project . . . but do I want to tackle the dining room walls, first? There is no wallpaper underneath those walls--just underneath the ceiling in that room.

2) Does it mean a person is getting "old" if when you go to your family doctor for a regular physical, he asks if you have a living will? Guess hubby and I are there, because he said he got the same question a few months ago. I told the doctor that I've already told the family I don't want to be a vegetable . . . "Pull the plug." My doctor smiled and said, "That's very good, but we need to have that documented in your file."

That's it for now . . . need to get off the computer and get some things done.