Hooked

A mother-in-law is the mother of a person's spouse.^[3] Two women who are mothers-in-law to each other's children may be called co-mothers-in-law, or, if there are grandchildren, co-grandmothers.
In comedies, the mother-in-law is sometimes shown as the bane of the husband, who is married to the mother-in-law's daughter. Mothers-in-law are often stereotyped in mother-in-law jokes.
Some Australian Aboriginal languages use avoidance speech, so-called "mother-in-law languages", special sub-languages used when in hearing distance of taboo relatives, most commonly the mother-in-law.
A mother-in-law suite is also a type of dwelling, usually guest accommodations within a family home that may be used for members of the extended family.


Well gee, Wikipedia.
You sure make this mom-in-law gig sound er, uhhhh
morbid.

yikes

but, I get it.
There are a million types of relationships out there in this great big, wonderful world and some are not all that terrific.
I know I got lucky.

She won me over a few years ago, at a birthday party for me.
It was my 50th, if you must know the number, so we celebrated thoroughly.
weeeeee
& as we eventually, always do when the festivities are a'flowin around here,
we sang.

She tells me now that, although she is a spontaneous songster such as I, she was somewhat nervous to be partaking in her first karaoke with these people known as Us
& as much as she wanted to, she was a bit hesitant to begin.

Until.
'Hooked On A Feeling' by B.J. Thomas.
Little did she know that song is one of my all time, absolute faves.
She grabbed that mic and made that tune her very own 
& our bond began.

I adore when she sends a string of random texts to fill me in on what's going on since her last sting of random texts
& I've never met anyone so awesomely organized.
She is strong in ways I find impossible to be
& she continues to fascinate me with with her natural, take charge, I'll do it, leadership skills.
She loves my boy
& their boys
& knowing how much she does fills this ol heart of mine with content.

Happy Birthday, Daughter.
& just so you know ?
I tossed that silly, 'in-law' add-on away the night I was Hooked.

:)

I Am My Feelings

Keeping The Faith

Every so often one of THOSE days happens.
My head becomes filled with noise and questions.
Doubt
Clutter
& stuff.
Lots of stuff.

I am not a fan of THOSE days
& I've promised myself over and over not to fall into that negative trap.
I refuse to throw away a perfectly lovely twenty-four hours.
Affirmative only, please.

I found a poem years ago on one of THOSE days.
Written by Nell McLean, it jumped out of a magazine I happened to be reading and called out my name
& these simple lines have saved me a zillion times.
They are my guaranteed happy
& today, I'd like to share them with you.

- - - - - - - - - -

Oh for a faith that will not shrink
Though battered by many a foe
A faith that when standing near the brink
Of a valley dark below
Will buoy me up and carry me on
To tasks as yet unknown
A faith that will lead me through life's storms
Then gently carry me home


- - - - - - - - - -

Oh, Nell McLean ! ! !
You have no idea how very much I love Love LOVE your little poem.
It pushes away the pessimist, all the time, every time.
& these long ago, memorized words continue to help me on this road called Life.

Yes.
Goodbye Noise.
Move along, Questions.
Go away, Doubt and Clutter and Stuff.
Farewell, THOSE days.

I am keeping the faith
& I am enthusiastically locked into Positive.

! ! ! ! ! ! !
 
For always.
Forever.
For sure.

:)

I Am My Feelings

Dream Hugs

Repeated, with love.

--------------------

Have you ever received a dream hug from someone you love who has died ?
Of course you have.

I'll rephrase.

Do you remember receiving that dream hug from someone you love who has died ?

That's the thing.
I'm 100% positive we all receive dream visits and those wonderful dream hugs.
It's just, some people can remember them
& some can't.

I received my most memorable dream hug from my mama.
The first few months, maybe even a year after she died, she was a pretty regular visitor.
We'd have some good talks in those every night visits but after waking, I could never remember a word she said.
In fact, I would joke to my siblings that if Mom were trying to send an important message, she gave it to the wrong messenger.

In those early days without Mom and after each one of those dreams, I would feel a sense of urgency.
An "Oh ! Mom told me ..."
or
"Oh Yeah ! Ma said to tell Dad  ..."
But, that's where the message would end.
I could never recall what she expressed
& I always felt like I was missing something.
Something important.

remember remember remember
What was I suppose to remember ?

Then one night, I had my dream hug dream.
I could see my mother clear as day.
We were at some sort of event.
She was dressed up all happy and bright
& we talked and talked but, of course, I don't remember what she said.
But, as she went to leave, Mom reached over and gave me a hug that I could actually FEEL.
It was so warm.
So loving
& I asked, 'why are you hanging on so tight Mom ? It's not like we won't see each other again'

That best hug ever lasted a few comforting seconds longer
then I woke up,
realized
and whispered ...
'Dang .... I just got a hug from Mom'.

Since that awesome dream, Mom's visits aren't as often.
She pops in occasionally to see what's up but, the dreams I have now feel calm, peaceful, serene.

I think that dream hug dream was my mama's 'until we meet again'
Mom knew she was moving on and she wouldn't be visiting as often.
But, I can't tell you how much that hug means to me.
It stopped the urgency.
It stopped that need to remember.
Remember WHAT ?

When I ask people if they have ever had a dream hug some say yes, and describe it in great detail.
And to those who sadly reply 'no' I say, "oh yes you have ...!..."
Oh. Yes. You. Have.
You just don't remember it.

Love does not disappear when someone dies.
It continues.
It sooooo continues.
& the ones who have left this world do not pick and choose who gets a dream, who gets a hug.
If they loved you before, they most definitely love you still
& they DO visit.
Quite often.
It's just, some people remember.
Some don't.
It's as simple as that.

As you go to sleep tonight be comforted in the fact that you are being dream visited.
You are being hugged
& you are and always will be very, VERY loved.

Hey.
I think I finally delivered my little lady's message.

--------------------

Hugs, my friends.
BIG, BIG HUGS.

:)

I Am My Feelings

They're Back

& truth be told ?
I did not miss them.
AT. ALL.

But there they sit, propped up in their high and mightiness.
Quietly staring.
Daring.
Prodding.
Intimidating my every move.

ugh

oh &
just in case you'd like to know the absolute, very worse thing about them ?? I'll tell you.

It's me.

ME.

I allow this.
I give the go ahead.
I am ok with the second guessing and their doubtful infiltration into my brain
& the more I think about them and what they do to me, the more I am convinced.

Geese.
I'm talking Geese.

The gander have returned to my walking trail and have ever so boldly reclaimed their territory
& eek.
They really do shake the ba-gee-gees right outta me.

But.
I am also talking People
& there, right there ! lies my lesson.

I am in charge of this person called ME.
Not you
or they
or he
or she
or them.

Me

& if I want to be scared, I shall remain scared
& if I want to be under a dismal cloud, I shall remain under that dismal cloud.
Subdued ?
Daunted ?
Sure, I can forever do that too.

Or I can choose a better, higher, I am in control road
& I prefer a positive approach with Oh Yes, I Can results
& guess what ?
What I permit, is what I become.

GUARANTEED.

Whew.
All that from this ... ??!?

 





Hey fellas !!
Watch out.
I'ma coming through.

:)

I Am My Feelings

I Am My Feelings

I have been informed by Smashwords and other sources that this week,
March 4 - March 10, 2018
is Read an eBook Week ! ! !

YaY

& hey !!
maybe I might want to take advantage of that fact and get the word out !! so people can read my eBook ... !!

But, but, but,
er, um,
you see, that would involve a force called Self Promotion
& self promotion is something I don't do all that well.

nope.

Promoting me ?

uh.
no.
Just the thought makes me want to hide.

But, people who know these things, advise that I should.
Today.
Often.
Again and again.
So, yeah.
Pardon me, as I ever so humbly place myself into your thought waves.

It's called, 'I Am My Feelings'
& it's my very favorite eBook.

"I Am My Feelings' is a compilation of the children's stories I have written through the years
& as the title suggests, it deals with emotions.
Seven short stories, seven characters, each explaining their special feeling.

First, there's 'Smile', who is on an adventure, hoping to fill the world with big grins
& tearful 'Teardrop', who gently offers ways to handle this overwhelming sensation.
'Nicey' talks about being kind to others
& 'Shy' lets the reader know it is ok to be quiet and unassuming.
'Bubbles' deals with being nervous and scared
& 'Love' mistakenly thinks no one will notice if she runs away.
Last but not least, 'Collin and the Big Bald Tree' is about being uniquely different.

Although my book is geared towards children, adults will find the stories fun and helpful too.
It's true, Adults.
You will.

I hope you enjoy

& believe me when I self promoting-ly say, it really is Pretty. Darn. Awesome.

:)

I Am My Feelings

and Talk

She is Dad's aunt and as a child, I never gave her much thought.
She was just there.

At Thanksgiving,
at Christmas,
at picnics and parties.
There.

As a teen, I really didn't talk to her.
All I knew or cared to know about the woman was that she was my granny's sister,
her husband had died, she had two children and some grandchildren.

Somewhere through the years though, we started a conversation
& after the first few, I would seek and plop myself right smack next to her at all family events.

One day, this Great Aunt of mine asked if I wouldn't mind coming to her house every other week to do some light housekeeping.
She'd give me $20.00 for my troubles.
'Ok, sure" I agreed, not really all that enthused about light housekeeping but, what the heck ...
why not

& so began our friendship.

The easy chores that should have taken very little time to complete, stretched into hours with each visit because we would talk
& talk.
& talk.
& talk.
Always with a cup of coffee and definitely with a cookie or three.

The woman was amazing.
She told me life story after life story
& she would giggle when I'd say I should write her words down.

"Next time I'm taking notes" I would every time promise.
"You better hurry up !" my almost 90 year old auntie would giggle.

An adventure that sticks in my head is when she decided to quit smoking.
Heavy duty, couple packs, "Is just what we did back then" she'd say
but one day, this stubbornly strong woman decided to kick the habit.
No reason really, other than will.
Cold turkey is how she decided she'd do it and cold turkey she did
& even though she kept an unopened pack of cigarettes by her night stand, 'just in case', there was never a need to open them.
She just stopped.

I think about that little lady when I see ads for nicotine gum or patches.
"Just quit".
"It's easy if you want it bad enough" she would say.

I remember the last time I saw my Great Aunt.
She had been having occasional health issues and was feeling very tired.
Mom, Dad and I stopped in to check on her but, she was asleep on her couch.
I fought an urge that day because I didn't want to wake her but, how I wish I would have kissed that forehead.

Great Auntie has been on my mind a lot lately and truth be told, I sure do miss that light housekeeping gig.
This uniquely wonderful person went from being "just there" to becoming one of my best friends
& it happened so very easily.
We talked.

We simply talked.

:)

Memo to Self :
Next time, take notes.


I Am My Feelings

A Shared Day

They share the same birthday
& I always thought that was Pretty. Darn. Cool.
How many people can say their Mom and Dad were born on the same day ?

A guy from Indiana,
A girl from New York,
who met and fell in love in California.

What are the chances ?
Especially the back in the day chances when the world wasn't as connected as it is today.

A changed mind.
An 'I don't feel like going'
A 'this long distance relationship will never work'
& boom.
Everything is different
& I'm not sitting here, writing these words.

But, they made it work.
Through some hard days and long nights, through laughter and tears, through the good most definitely outweighed the bad.
These two people made each and every single day work.

Sixty- plus years later and he will describe in precise detail the very first time they met.
He loved her then, he loves her still
& misses her more than he will say.

Happy Birthday Mom.
Happy Birthday Dad.

Cheers to You.
Cheers to Love.
Cheers to the incredibly beautiful life you built
& many, MANY thanks for taking that chance.

Yes.
My parents have the same birthday.
How very cool is that ?!?

:)

I Am My Feelings