FAMILY – NEW EXCURSIONS, NEW PLEASURES

A new home in the country provided new horizons, new venues and new places to explore. Of course living in the country provides wide-open spaces where children can run and play without the slightest need for supervision or structured entertainment. A favorite place at this home was the surrounding pasture where we spent many happy hours exploring and dragging up rocks and old discards of other families who had come and gone, using anything we could find to build our houses. Building houses was a favorite pastime for us. We would line them out with rocks and would build tables and chairs and other items of "furniture". Then, of course, the visitations would begin as we would visit back and forth to share the news and the gossip of the day. In the front yard of this home (the Benjamin house we called it) was a tree that provided many wonderful, beautifully colored leaves in the fall to roll and jump and tussle. I have no recollection of what kind of tree it was but the leaves were big and made a wonderfully soft pile when swept up with the straw broom. I can still see within my mind my sisters and me playing in the leaves we had piled high as we completed our chore of sweeping the front yard. Chores were so much more fun when they ended with playtime! FAMILY – TOGETHER IN WORK AND IN PLAY

CUTAWAY - INDEPENDENCE DAY AND FAMILY INTERDEPENDENCE

We've experienced over the past week a very special time of family togetherness. My own family consists of my husband and me, our three sons and one daughter. Our four children have blessed us with nine granddaughters, three grandsons and one great granddaughter. Quite a brood and oh so wonderful and fun. All but our daughter were home for the Fourth and the commemorative day turned into a week of celebration culminating in our 58th wedding anniversary. What a special time it was! Our number one son has three daughters; our second five daughters and one granddaughter; our daughter has two sons and our youngest son a son and daughter. Each is unique and special in his or her own way and contributes much to the joy we share as a family. The time we get to spend together is infrequent – our second son with his family live in Ohio; our daughter and her two sons in Miami; all the rest of the family live in Jacksonville, Florida. When we all get together it's quite loud and boisterous to say the least! Such was the time we shared over the past week. The Fourth of July fireworks provided beauty and excitement but paled at the excitement we shared as family. Life is short, is full of twists and turns that sometimes challenge our emotions, our energies and even our faith but God gives us family to love and receive love; to caress and to cover; to pray for and to pray with; to guide and protect with all that we have. FAMILY – INTERDEPENDENT AND PRECIOUS!

CUTAWAY – FAMILY, IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH

I hope you've missed me! Of late I've had to take a health break to focus attention on some issues that, quite frankly, I could no longer ignore. While not life threatening they certainly have meant life adjusting and my doctor quite aptly calls them the ravages of aging! So I've been engrossed in some extensive physical and aqua therapy seeking relief from a bummed out knee – the result of a foot broken several years ago and a resulting altered gait. But as has been my way over the years, when life's lemons come I look around to find a way to make a sweet mix of lemonade. Taking time out to heal a torn meniscus gave me opportunity to participate in a most joyous occasion in the life of our family – the marriage of my oldest sister whom by now you must surely know is very special and dear to me. On a visit at New Year's this year we were introduced to the man who would soon attempt to fill the shoes of a dearly loved brother-in-law. Could this happen – ever? It could, and it did. He fits in the family like a well-worn old shoe, very comfortable and soothing to the touch. A May date was soon set and the activities began. It surely was to be the wedding of the century! There was no way I would miss this event. Over the next couple of months it became more than apparent that I could not travel from Florida to South Carolina – not by ground or air. Brokenhearted though we were, she and I had a blessed time of sharing – she making the plans, allowing me to give input, doing what I love to do. She gave me a program outline and I gave back the finished copy for the printer; she gave me the tune and I gave back the words for her song. Shortly after the honeymoon the happy couple returned to visit. What a time we had – sharing the pictures, the video, shopping for her new home, cooking with my family – just being family! Life is so short; God is so generous! FAMILY –IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH!