Angry Birds, Pylons and Pigs. . .

"The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball."
Doug Larson 

Grandsons, Madness and Mayhem
In their crocheted caps
by Crochet Rochelle

Last year, before Christmas, I was trying to come up with a significant gift for my father. Those of you with senior parents will understand how difficult it is to purchase a gift for someone who has accumulated things over a lifetime of 75-plus years. My father has an obsolete computer which does not have the capacity to keep up with current technology so I asked my mother if he might like a computer tablet. 

She thought Dad would enjoy a tablet. She explained that he could get his email and use the device for reading. My father worked at a computer before he retired and has a rudimentary understanding of how they operate. My mother, however, is computer illiterate. Even so, knowing that “Myth Busters” had debunked the idea that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,”and with minimum trepidation, I bought the tablet.

Ever the optimist, I set up an email account and downloaded Facebook and Words With Friends. My Dad seemed to be pleased with the gift and paid close attention while I gave him a brief tutorial on operating the tablet and accessing his applications. He quickly disabused me of the notion that he would play any games with a brusque “I don’t play games!” He also informed me that he wouldn’t remember any of the instructions I had painstakingly taken him through! It was at this point that I realized the challenge I had inadvertently embraced.

I monitored Dad’s tablet from my own and it wasn’t long before I realized someone was playing his Words with Friends application. Then, I noticed he was commenting occasionally on Facebook! I was excited, thinking that he was getting the hang of the new technology! This illusion was quickly cleared away when I received a call from my mom stating that Dad’s Facebook page had disappeared. 

She also wanted me to add her name to the Facebook page! It turns out that she was playing Words With Friends and she wanted to comment on Facebook but didn’t want folks to think it was only Dad commenting? I should have guessed. Although my dad loves to tell a story and visit with people, he hasn’t been one to offer random comments on others' thoughts or feelings.

The next time I went to see my parents, my mom had several questions for me and wanted me to download some different games for her. Mom is in her 80’s and likes to play the age card when she wants you to cut her some slack but she is as sharp as a tack when she wants to be so I downloaded  Angry Birds and Where’s My Water. With just a brief introduction she started playing the Angry Birds game.

The next time I visited, Mom needed help because she couldn’t get the Angry Birds game to work. She said, “I knocked down all the pylons but didn’t get any stars and I can’t move on to the next game!” I sat down and looked at the game with her. I immediately noticed the green piggies were still alive and mocking us. “Look” I said, “You don’t get stars until you kill all the pigs!” 

Disgusted, she said, “Well I didn’t know I was aiming to kill pigs, I thought I was just knocking stuff down!”  So, now she knows and I, alas, have unwittingly become the world’s most underpaid IT consultant! So if any of you out in Facebook-land get comments from my parents, I’ll leave you to guess which one left them.

I think I am slowly getting them to use the tablet without fear of starting some dreadful, world altering domino effect out in cyberspace and I do think they are having a little bit of fun with the tablet. I love that they are courageous enough to learn something new!

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."
Henry Ford

Image found at:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Angry-Birds-for-Windows-Phone-Now-Free-to-Download-for-a-Limited-Time-350257.shtml

 

 

 

Cranky Pants. . .

An excerpt from FATHER WILLIAM
By Lewis Carroll

"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head--
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
 
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again. . ."

Have you ever wondered why the older generation can at times appear to be a bit irritable and impatient? Recently, I had a close up and personal experience with this phenomenon. You see, younger folks would consider me to be part of that “older” generation! Now, I do not see myself in that light of course. My husband just passed his 60th birthday and that means I am following close behind but we have decided to go with the “60 is the new 50” ideal. This is much more comfortable for us!

I was shopping one evening after work at a local, discount, superstore, which shall remain nameless. I had thought that after the holidays, people would stay home! But no, apparently there were hundreds of others like myself that needed something from this particular store and apparently it was necessary for them to bring their extended families and all their children with them! With perseverance, I did my poor best to navigate the crowded isles without taking out any of the small rowdy shoppers.

I gathered my items and proceeded to the checkout. There were at least 10 check-stands but only 2 were open. I got into line prepared to patiently wait; however, my patience waned at about the 10 minute mark. I’m not sure what the issue was but I finally reached the check out and smiled expectantly at the clerk. I was anticipating some kind of acknowledgement of my extraordinary patience; however, the clerk seemed uninterested in my accomplishment. She didn’t offer a smile or a greeting; in fact, she seemed to view me as just one more aggravation in her day. I, of course, was instantly irritated! I thought my long suffering deserved at least a “Hello, how was your day?”

Needless to say, that set the tone for the rest of my shopping trip. I made my way to a take-out pizza store. The red-shirted, pizza making marionettes were lined up behind the pizza bar. When I walked in, they immediately smiled brightly and in unison, cried out, “Hello! Welcome! How can we help you?” I was instantly irritated! I gave them my order without a smile or an acknowledgment of their good spirits. When my order was finished, they handed it over with a “Thank you for coming in! Have a nice evening!” I left the store without returning their good humor.

On my way home, I checked my rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of my own face. To my consternation, my reflection was cranky! I realized that I had put on cranky pants without missing a beat! What had triggered this paradoxical response to my situation? I have some theories. As we age, we deal with physical aches and pains that weren’t present in our youth. Add to that an increasing awareness of our own mortality. Those two things alone could cause crankiness! I find I have less tolerance for the indiscretions of youth and less patience for stupidity, noise, bad manners and the list could go on (I’m laughing at myself now!).

I am not normally (my family may dispute this) a cranky person. A friend once told me, “The older we get, the more like ourselves we become,” so there in my car, I had a proverbial “Comin’ to Jesus” meeting. I know that I have the ability to control my crankiness. I’m not at the mercy of my fluctuating emotions. I am not entitled to a bad attitude because the rest of the world does not comply with my exacting standards! I don’t even comply with those!

In short, I had a good chuckle at my own expense and as I headed home to my husband, my son and three of my five grandchildren, I remembered that I have a great deal to be thankful for! First and foremost, I am getting older, which absolutely beats the alternative and second, I get to clean up on all those great senior discounts!

 ". . . You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose--
What made you so awfully clever?"
 
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"
Said his father; "don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you down-stairs!"

Artist--John Tenniel

Auld Lang Syne. . .

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin

My blog has been quiet for a few weeks. I have been working through some health issues, however, now, with Christmas past, and a new year approaching, I decided to write a last post before closing out 2013.

It’s not uncommon to look back on the past and to consider our mistakes and our losses. I do not plan to do that! I plan to move on with vigor and purpose toward the goals I have set for myself. I cannot change the mistakes; I can only learn life lessons from them and continue on. It would be easy to think “I could a; should a; would a . . . but I’ve made a decision not to “should” on myself! Having said that, I am looking forward to a fantastic year in 2014!

In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 3:13-14”  So. . . I press on.

I press on to new things and new adventures!  Our lives are not dress rehearsals for the big show, this IS the BIG SHOW! We get one shot and the older I get, the more I understand our moment in the human dialog is fleeting at best.  I am passionate about making my moment count. I intend to be ready for the cue to my big scene!

I want the new year to find me a better woman. I want 2014 to be a year of reconciliation, peace and forgiveness.  Life is too short to allow fear and anger to intrude on my peace.  I plan to be available when opportunity comes knocking to do a good thing, to bless a neighbor, a co-worker or family member.

I can’t wait to see what wonderful experiences the new year brings! Maybe, just maybe, someone will produce the flying car I’ve been waiting for since I first saw the JETSONS flying theirs!

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot

Autumn Reflections. . .

“No spring nor summer's beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face....”
~John Donne, "Elegy IX: The Autumnal"

Fredrick Edwin Church--Autumn

As I left my driveway this morning, I couldn’t help noticing the poplar trees that line our driveway are nearly bare, their leaves scattered across the yard mixing with the vibrant hues of those from the big maple tree in the side yard.  It’s a lovely season full of harvest celebration and thanksgiving.  Autumn marks the end of summer with the last blushes of sunny warmth and the onset of crisp mornings. It is the last rites of Summer ushering in the sharp bite of Winter’s cold.

For me, autumn brings with it a certain melancholy.  It was in October, six years ago, that I said goodbye to my brother Don.  Since his death, each year, I face this transitional season with some trepidation; some renewal of painful recollection.  I am one of four siblings and we have always been four parts of a whole. Now, we are three.  I can’t begin to describe the hole his passing left in our lives.  Suffice it to say, that a part of myself was lost when we lost him.  He never had a chance to live his autumn years, but the years he lived, he lived well. He laughed, loved and lived without condition and was an inspiration to those he mentored and served.  He wasn’t perfect but he was good and he absolutely lived his convictions.

As I contemplate my own autumn, I wonder whether I am loving and living so well.  Am I consistently living my convictions?  I realize that, in the words of Joe L. Wheeler:

 “Time remorselessly rumbles down the corridors and streets of our lives. But it is not until autumn that most of us become aware that our tickets are stamped with a terminal destination... that whatever can be done with our thoughts, words, and actions must be done soon. As we hypnotically watch the steadily diminishing reserve of sand in Life's hourglass, the instincts of a miser surface. Life is now savored, sipped as with a fine nineteenth-century French wine.... It is during the autumn of our lives that this inner vintage begins to sculpt and paint the face as it seeps through the skin from within.” (Remote Controlled: How TV Affects You and Your Family)

Fall is a time to clean up gardens and flower beds.  It is time to plant bulbs and new perennials and to prune roses and trees.  I have realized that my autumn season can be a productive, beautiful season.  Though the flowers of summer are spent, the fruit of autumn is most excellent!  Autumn is the perfect time to take account of what we've done, what we didn't do, and what we'd like to do next year.  Autumn is a mellow season that calls to mind warm socks and sweaters, homemade soup and apple cider.  It’s a time to gather with our families for celebration and a time to be thankful for our own seasons.

Time marches on and each of us have a limited amount.  I plan to spend mine wisely in this season, my autumn. . .

“There is a harmony
In autumn, and a luster in its sky...”
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Love And Other Contemplations. . .

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death. 

(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

My husband and I recently celebrated forty years of wedded bliss! Wait, really? Wedded bliss? I have to be honest here, it has not been blissful every day of those forty years (I’m smiling as I contemplate). So, if it’s not always blissfully wonderful, what makes a couple continue in a marriage relationship for forty, fifty or sixty years? Simply said, we took a vow in front of friends and family and we love one another. That’s why. 

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines vow as “a serious promise to do something or to behave in a certain way.” The transitive verb is; 1-- to promise solemnly, or to swear and 2-- to bind or consecrate by a vow. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem describes in dramatic terms, a love that transcends time and while I’m not a particularly romantic soul, I did solemnly swear to love and respect my spouse “til death do us part.” 

When I consider my years of marriage in parts and pieces, there have been times when we have faced hard issues and tough circumstances. We have struggled with communication and have sometimes not understood each other. We have had relationship issues, financial issues, child rearing issues and countless other difficulties but through it all, we have loved and respected one another. When I look at the sum of our forty years together, the good far out-weighs the bad! 

Let me clarify, we have not always liked each other (smiling again) but love is always in the mix! The Bible tells us that “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)” That is especially true in marriage. Each day is an exercise in extending grace to each other. I can’t give you a date and time when the “me” became “we,” but I know for any marriage or relationship to survive, it has to be about “us.”  

My husband’s name means, “harmonious/handsome” and my name means “warlike/brave hearted.” Most folks, who know us well, would say those names are very descriptive of our characters. My husband is a lover and an encourager and I (though it’s hard to own sometimes) am a warrior. I am restless and ambitious but my husband is contented, loving, and a rock for me in difficult times. You might wonder how that works out for us. Actually, it works out pretty well most of the time. However, there are times when even after all the years together, we have to work hard at forgiveness and grace. 

My husband is very patient with my warlike tendencies and he seems to know how to soothe my ruffled feathers. I know he needs to feel appreciated and valued. He wants our home to be peaceful and he does his best to contribute to that. What makes our efforts worthwhile? For starters, we have three wonderful children who still like to come home to visit! We have five terrific grandchildren that enjoy visiting Nana and Papa! We have a lovely life together that we have worked hard to build, and last, but certainly not least, we have each other. 

If I could somehow share with young marriages how good it feels to be where we are now, I’m convinced they would try hard to hold it together through the hard times. We started out friends and we are still best friends. We enjoy spending time together and whether we are doing something fun and exciting or watching our favorite TV program, there is a kind of contentment we don’t find with anyone else. We can sit quiet together for hours without uncomfortable silence but we also have interesting conversations about any and everything. 

We were teenagers when we took our vows, and looking back over the last forty years, I would do it over again, in a heartbeat. So, in spite of my less than romantic inclinations, I think Ms. Browning captured the essence of soul deep love.  “. . . I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!. . .”