Monday, September 30, 2019

She Was the Best Mom

Last week my mother died. I'm not certain I really feel like writing much about it yet. September has been a blur of hospital, hospice, and loss.

And birthdays. September is always birthdays for us.


Birthday craziness

In the midst of death, life keeps marching on. I am trying to find my footing without this lovely lady.




I am thankful for many things during this time. My faith. Her faith. Family by birth. Family by baptism. Sleep. Kind words and cards. Silly children. Steadfast husband. Distracting birthdays. Pictures on the computer so I don't have to dig through shoeboxes.

I am thankful that I have no doubt whatsoever about what my mother felt about me. We were on good terms, and I have no "mommy issues."

My sweet little mommy loved me!

It is an understatement to say that I loved her and that my heart is breaking for missing her. 

If you can, give your own mother a hug or card or chocolate; you won't regret it ever.




Sunday, September 22, 2019

Neglected Summer-- Reading

This was a summer of reading for me. I read more this summer than I have read (I'm guessing) for the past 10 summers combined. I guess that's what happens when your baby no longer wears diapers? I have had no time to take tons of pictures of my reading, but I do have a couple of pictures to share.

First, you should know that this was "The Summer of Jane Austen" for me. I read all the complete novels and thoroughly enjoyed each one for its own reasons. My favorite? I really don't know. I will have to read them all again, I guess.

Second, I read something completely out of my comfort zone. It was a book my husband was reading, and it was a mystery/detective novel. I also read another one by the same author. As I felt I was steeping myself in British literature this summer, this fit right in.



I think my favorite picture book of the summer involved the flower which is one of my favorites and, unarguably, my husband's very least favorite-- the dandelion. If you have a dandelion hater in your family, this is the picture book for you.



And I read other stuff (see the word "neglected" in the title of this post).

But let's get back to Jane Austen. First I gobbled up the books I had in my house. In one of them I found this delightful bookmark. 


Have you ever seen a more delightful bookmark? I thought not. By the way, if you know anything about the history of the booksellers this advertises, I'd love to know, too. When did The Book Store in Hagerstown close?

I would like to add that I actually was not the last in my family to finish the library's summer reading club program. There have been many summers which I have not even completed it. 

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Things Kids Say

This morning my 3-year-old (who has not enjoyed bug bites this summer) said, "Mommy, when winter comes the bugs turn into snowflakes."