Thankful Sunday--July 10, 2016

Fireworks from Mayfield Days

I am thankful for community events.

While I live in a town, I really live very much in suburbia. You know how it works--spreading population around cities makes individual towns part of their sprawl. That's how it is here. However, there was a time when this area was out in the country and many remember the trips they took to here to eat at a famous ice cream stand. Luckily, the community tries hard to maintain its identity and small town feel. Some of those efforts include the local FFA farmers market, an old fashioned fair in the fall, and  Mayfield Days in the summer . We celebrated Mayfield Days this past weekend.

They started with a parade and fireworks on Friday evening. Followed by all kinds of events sponsored by various businesses and organizations on Saturday.  Even though it was very hot, a good time was had by all. For these events and the people who organize them I am thankful.
(Because you can take the girl out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the girl.)  :)

A few pictures from Mayfield* Days.

The library staff marches in the parade every year. Here we were at our line up spot with some of the signs we later carried in the parade. Even though the parade was in the evening, the temperatures were still above 90.
I got pretty hot.

The next day, among other things, there was a car show. While I'm not much into cars, I did find this exhibit interesting. This is part of a tree that grew up through a truck. After 36 years the tree had totally grown into the truck and they had to cut both the truck and tree to clear the area. This shows some the parts the tree grew around and into. Ward wants you to notice the truck's transmission and truck frame in this picture.

In conjunction with an exhibit at the local museum, the library sponsored a version of the Antique's Road Show. I took these two Civil War cannon balls for appraisal. While the appraiser didn't have any ideas about these, I had a good time seeing the others things people were bringing in. The best was hearing the stories about where they got their items.  

*Not the real name of the town, but keeping in line with Leave it to Beaver aliases.

Simple Kindness

You hear it all the time. Be kind to others. You never know the impact you might have. You might make the day of someone who is having a hard time. I think most of us do try to be kind with a thank you here and smile there. Recently, I've gotten feedback to know that some very simple gestures really did make a difference.

The first was when Ward was in the hospital and I was walking around outside. A crossing guard stopped the traffic and to let me cross a street. I smiled and said thank you as I crossed, and he replied, "Thank you for that and your smile. You have just made my day." I don't know if he usually doesn't get any response or he was having a bad day, but he was genuinely appreciative of that very simple gesture. (BTW, Ward's doing great. He's recovering well.)

Aldi's carts waiting for their quarter.

Next was when I was loading my car after a shopping trip in Aldi. A woman carrying a squirming toddler came up and asked if I had a quarter. (You have to "rent" the carts for a quarter.) I told her that she could have my cart after I emptied it. And then I asked her if she needed some bags. (No bagging in Aldi.) And she said yes. I gave her a couple of bags from my car. She was extremely appreciative and so was the toddler because he now got to ride in a cart. People share their carts at Aldi all the time, but today it especially made this mother's day.

The next example was when I last visited my mother. We were in the dining room waiting for lunch. My sister and I were taking a couple of pictures of my mother when we noticed another resident watching us intently. We asked her and her son, who was with her, if they would like their picture taken. He said it was alright. His mother, who was pretty much nonverbal, just smiled. So we took a few pictures of them because she seemed to be enjoying it. When I got the pictures developed, I mailed them to my mother and included one of the mother and son to be passed on. When the son got the picture, he immediately took it to his truck so he wouldn't lose it. It turns out that it was the only picture he had ever had with him and his mother. He was very touched. You see, this son is there every day to feed his mother all of her meals. He shows such dedication and he's never had a picture with her. He was truly appreciative.

These are all examples of such simple things. I didn't go out of my way to do anything special, just normal things that all of us would do. But being kind really made a difference. So I'm gonna try to be kind all of the time even when I'm in a bad mood. All I have to do is remember the look on the mother and son's face and I think I will have motivation enough.

(Wish I could show you pictures of the other people, but I have to respect their privacy.)

A Second Look--July 6, 2016

Here are somethings I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Day Lilies

Female House Finch

Balloon Flowers, Notice the bud that looks like a balloon.

Mushrooms

Cone Flowers

Day Lilies

Hummingbird

Day Lily

Chipmunk (This one's for you, Anne. :) )

New Beginnings

Today is Independence Day, the day we celebrate the 240th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. An important event in our early history.

I have been fortunate to see many things tied to important events from the start of the US.  Among others, I've seen a real copy of the Declaration of Independence and tallies of the votes done before its acceptance. I've visited Philadelphia and seen Constitution Hall where the Declaration was adopted. I've been to Boston and seen the harbor where they had the Boston Tea party. In Baltimore, I saw the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner. And I've visited the homes of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, all key players in our early days.

source   Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home.

But among all of these amazing visits, there is one that stood out more than the others. Ward and I were visiting Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington. We went with Ward's parents, Leo and Syl, who lived nearby but hadn't visited in years. The weather was nice and we were enjoying the various buildings and gardens when we decided to tour the house. We went through the first part of the tour and were waiting on the wide front porch that faces the Potomac to get into the next part.

We were chatting about this and that when Syl said, "This is where I got my citizenship." (His mother was from Guatemala and came to college here where she met Ward's dad.) What? Right here? I had never heard this story and neither had Ward. She had actually stood on the porch right where we were and got sworn in as a US citizen. Leo said that Ward was little and he had him out on the lawn trying to keep him quiet and out of trouble while his mother said her oath. So as we were learning about an early part of our country's history, we also learned about early part of Ward's history. Soon after that, Ward's mother became sick and died several months later. We felt lucky that we got to share the memories of this important event with her.

So today, as I remember our forefathers and the start of our country, I think about Syl and others like her who also got a new beginning here. I am fortunate to live in a country where this is possible.

Thankful Sunday--July 3, 2016

I am thankful for family and food.

Theo has been staying with us for the last couple of weeks. Since he is self employed, he brought his work here and has been helping out as Ward is recovering from surgery. He was available for care giving in the early days while I was at work, and for heavy lifting these days when my skinny arms can't quite manage a big chore. We are very happy that he is here.

And an added bonus to all of this is that Theo has been cooking. We do a bit of planning together, but he initiates and does most of the meal prep. I act as his sous chef. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate someone else taking the lead in the kitchen. As most of you know, cooking is not an area that I'm much interested in. One day I came home from work and there was a hot lunch waiting. I was almost giddy. And the Irish hash we had last night was one of the best things I've had in a while. 

So for this time with my son and the meals he is preparing for us, I am very thankful.