I'm only mortal

I think 62 is a good age.  It

has become so real to me that this is a mortal existence

I am living in.  I am not here to stay. I'm not ready to

"go" but I can no longer say I have all of my life

in front of me.  The number of years I have lived

now outweigh the number I will live.  

To consider this and its reality isn't all bad.

It is good to think about holding more tightly

to those I love.  Following the pattern for life

that Christ showed us is more important

to me. Taking care of David, who has walked beside

me for 40 years, is more important to me.

It has been a gift to let go of things that 

don't matter.....material things.  

Being 62 is a wake up call to the important

things.  It is a blessing.

I cannot say how grateful I am to know that

life is eternal.  I am so grateful for the

saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If I have a fear it is the separation

I will have from my family.  If I am not

bound by time maybe it will only be a moment

and then we will be together again.

 Perhaps I will only enter the

spirit world and turn around and they will

be right behind me.  For years I have said

that the older I get the more I believe that

families are eternal.  I feel that more now

than ever.  

There are so many things that I

would do differently as I look back.

But the things I feel at 62 I didn't feel

when I was younger.  I have to believe

that the compensations of grace make

up the difference.  This especially if we

have tried hard to do what is right.

I have been so grateful to be a mother
and now a grandmother.  I admit that I
have been influenced by the world and
have spent plenty of time feeling less than
women of the world.  It has always been
conflicting.  I don't want their lives but
I have had my head turned more than once.

Being 62 and looking back I have no
regrets about my path.  It was always my desire to
be a wife, mother and homemaker.
And that is what I have been.  I grow
older but I don't grow older alone.
And I don't grow older with no one
to love or be loved by.  My eighteenth
grandchild is two weeks old.  Eighteen
grandchildren!  I love them all.  And
they love me.  Nothing about this world
and its accolades can measure up to
family.

This past January I had a bone density

test.  I was SHOCKED to learn that 

I have oestoporosis.  Sneaky little bone

trouble!  Initially I did think it was

the end of me.  That was partly due to

the information providers.  I have since

seen a rheumatologist and am learning

that there are great things available to me

to strengthen my bones.  

I also had a physical from that same

good rheumatologist.  The PA thought

she saw a "hole" in my eye and that

I should see an opthomologist ASAP.

I was once again SHOCKED! 

I have been able to see the eye doctor

and he gave me a thorough exam and

he found nothing.  (I do have old lady cataracts

but nothing else.)  I believe it was

a miracle.  I was so lifted and grateful 

to walk out of his office on Friday.

Two final things:  I wanted to post more

 pictures of my mortal "aging" experience but,

dang, it was hard work searching for those.

So this is it.

Secondly,  discovering that I have some

age related problems not only confirmed
my mortal state but also have made me more

humble. But its good.  

It's all good.

Encroachment

This is just another sign of our changing times.  Our neighbors,

who are really nice people, have decided to move into

their summer home. . .permanently.  They are adding

on. . .really adding on.  If you look hard you can see

the BIG picture window staring down

at our backside.  

After 35 years of semi privacy in the backyard we are

now as our city dweller children.   A little close for

comfort if you ask me.  But, then, nobody asked.

Flora and Fauna....just Flora

My sister sent me flower seeds.

and this is what I got.  These are

Morning Glorys.  They opened

every morning and closed up by noon.

Hence the name!  I just loved them.

My granddaughter, Abbey, got up

early one morning so she would be

sure and see them open.  The

bottom picture has Morning Glorys

and Mexican Sunflowers.

Loved them all.

Who knew I could grow flowers!

How close is Heaven really?

Can you see the yellow jacket?  It is on

my laundry room window.  In the fall

we are always having them fly in the

house.  Looking for what....I don't know.

On a fall day  much like this day

right after we had moved into our

house I set up a playpen for Jill

on the back porch.  She was 10

months old at the time and Peter,

her older brother, was 3 1/2 years

old.  He was out on the porch with

her and I went out to check on

them and saw several yellow jackets

flying close to Jill.  I went to

get a fly swatter when Peter

said to me, "Mom, let's just

say a prayer and Heavenly Father

will pick them up."  He made

little pinching finger motions as

though someone from above was

picking small things up. 

I thought of this today.

Sweet little memory.