Family...There is no end...



Time for Dottie's gardens to come alive!

 Hi Everyone!  Spring has sprung, the grass has ris, I wonder where my honey is??  I don't know where I got that but I think about that little ditty every Spring.  As for my honey, he'd best be at work!!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  I am at home in North Texas and in awe of all the new growth in my gardens.  I have tried to plant more perennials each year so I don't have to plant so many annuals.  It's so fun to see what plants managed to survive the Winter.


My days have started to run together.  I was in Florida for 2 weeks and 2 days then got off the plane to find Mom S very ill.  My suitcases didn't even get unpacked before I headed out again.  Caring for Mom has been an honor but also quite stressful.  She is doing much better and I felt it was time to take a break and regroup.  I think it's important for caregivers to keep some balance in their lives.  A physically and emotionally spent caregiver can't be as loving and giving without nourishment to the self.  I realized that I was running on sheer will power...  Then, I remembered where my strength comes from and I am resting on His words, "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."~~Isaiah 40:31

The kitchen cabinets are in the little casa and they look marvelous!  I love the light honey yellow color and the bead board fronts.  The granite fellow did a final remeasure and the counters should be in before long.  I will soon have a sink and a dishwasher!  It has been interesting at best roughing it there for so long.  I washed dishes in the bathroom sink!  It's amazing how one can improvise if we have to!  It won't be long and the inside of the little casa will be completed.  Then, we can start on the outside ... oh goodness ... that will be a job!

3 Generations

Family ... there is no end.  There is always that next generation to take the place of the one that leaves. Sadly, the ones that pass are soon forgotten ... unless you are like me and love to dig into family history.  I come from a long line of farmers, teachers, adventurous sorts and yes, story tellers and writers.  Every puzzle piece that I discover gets put into it's proper place in my history book.  I love knowing where I came from and through my blogs my family will know where they came from and what I was about.   Some say I am a fanatic about my passions ... I would rather say that I am passionate about my passions of which I have many!  I cannot be someone who God did not create me to be.

In reading the book, MY FRIEND ERN, I was delighted to read about the house that my maternal great grandfather built.  Why?  Because I can remember the house quite well.  My cousins and I used to play hide and seek in the many closets and cubby holes.  We dressed up in my grandmother's fancy dresses and pulled on high buttoned shoes.  The house started out as a one room house with a stairway to the up to two rooms.  As the family grew, the house was added on to.  I remember when they added a bathroom ... indoor plumbing was a luxury!  As a child the structure which was quite primitive did not matter ... the people who resided within the house were important parts of my life and my relationships with them did matter.  You see, our genes do move from generation to generation having no end.  My children will never remember my great grandparents rustic home but it is my hope that through my writing they will know something about their heritage through my eyes.

My paternal great grandparents came from Norway as farmers.  They had a deep faith that has been passed on from generation to generation.  My grandmother was pretty outspoken about her standards and beliefs ... she taught right from wrong and her comings and goings spoke louder than words could ever say...  She was no Sunday Morning Christian.  Her life was one of serenity and giving.  I see so much of myself in her ... I also have this adventurous side that I know came from my mother's family.  My parents' families were totally different!  When, I came across this old western song, I listened to it and thought, this has a message...  What we do speaks louder than anything we can possibly say!  As the Norweigans would say, "Ya, you betcha!"
     

Chuck Palahnuik says, "The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will."  I see that in my family past and present.  You cannot erase the words written and published.  You cannot destroy the genes that make you who you are.

Until tomorrow, I pray that you will think about the legacy and that you will pass it on to your children and those around you.  It is my hope that I will have created a life worth living and stories worth passing on.

Don't forget ... Family - there is no end!