Tag Archive | Vietnam

Surreal

Feb12

I would have to say my most “surreal“ moment was when I went to church one Sunday…

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I was sitting in the pew k3691160 … listening to the sermon… What it was about… I have no idea…

We… being my husband and two little boys had been going to this church for a few months… u14290574

My cousin, her husband and little boy had been going too…

I had never actually belonged to a church before…

I had went off and on with friends and such…

As I was sitting there… a feeling of such calmness… came over me…k12547323

I will never forget that!…

It was like I was in a dream-like state k11220885 …

I heard a voice… Not a voice of someone around me…

I say to this day… “It was the Lord talking”…

Surreal???… Oh, yes it was!

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I found myself listening to this voice as it said, “Give her time”…

I knew the voice was speaking of me…

I sat there and then… what seemed like someone literally lifting me up… almost trance-like… I was getting up and walking… I felt like I was floating…

Down the middle of the church aisle that led to the front of the church… k4532912

All I knew… was that I wanted to profess my belief in Jesus…

He had entered my heart… I must have finally let the barriers down… letting Him see me and me…  Him…

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It was such a transformation!…

Yes, “surreal” is such a good word for this experience…

I felt like I was in a dream-like state as I mentioned… and this feeling of pure joy abounded for weeks…

I was in a place of such peacefulness… I knew it was real!…

I had so many ups/downs in the years to come…

A son who was diagnosed with Bi-polar Disorder…

A husband home from Viet-Nam with past memories flaring up…

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My job in the public school system with Special Needs children…

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Parents growing older… A dad dying…

A Mother (90) years old)… moving in with us…

A Mother passing away…

A Brother passing away…

A Sister passing away…

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My husband’s family leaving us… one by one…

But, ever since that “surreal” happening… I have not been alone…

My Lord has been there …

and now I picture my hand in His

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... if ever I need comfort… if ever I need strength… if ever I need love…

and it’s so “surreal” …

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What Is Marriage All About?

Jul11

Memory…

My best friend… the companion … lover … protector… favorite comedian… hard-working… man who I married … had a Birthday  … Sometimes he called it the birthday “on hold”… 69 years… doesn’t want to even talk about the next one  … shhhh…

I’ve known him over 43 years… and he can still surprise me …

We’ve never been wealthy … far from it… but, we’ve worked together to make ends meet…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

We had two sons together … and love them with all our hearts… They joke about their Dad and “his sayings”…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

We were separated when he went to Vietnam… but, wrote every day … and even sent tapes… to keep in touch… and vowed  that we would never be apart again… and we haven’t except for a few days at a time…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

We’ve had a few ailments… His was pretty major with a triple by-pass… Mine only gall bladder surgery and babies… Standing beside each other through all…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

Our son’s have had some struggles… like all people do… and we tried to be there for them… and we are being blessed now… with wonderful “thank you’s”     all of the time…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

We have also been blessed!… and I don’t use the word “blessed”   lightly… to have 3 wonderful grandchildren… They make us laugh… cry… and have given us a feeling in our hearts that nothing can describe…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

We have a house… More than I could ever imagined when I was young… Not huge… not in a high-class neighborhood… but, it has become our “home”… and when a house becomes a “home” … that’s a good thing!…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

We have tried to give each other freedom to be ourselves… Me with my computer and art work… and many excursions with my women friends… Him… working in his yard  … tinkering with his mechanics … swinging in his favorite swing he built… (relaxation time)…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

My Bobby… and I do call him, “My Bobby”… because he is!… has given me a good life… He always wishes there was more he could have given me… and I tell him…”I have it all!… there’s nothing I need”… and the “world” is just not mine to have… because he would try to give it to me if he could… and I know that!…

Isn’t that what marriage is all about!…

This has gone completely in another direction  … as always… when I start to write… but, maybe this is my way of telling “my Bobby”… Happy Birthday Babe!… and may we celebrate many more together! …

Love, M.

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Things Have Changed… But… We still Have Our Freedom!

Jul5

Memory…

We always celebrated the 4th of July  by a picnic … later it became cookouts… We would pack a real wicker picnic basket with tasty homemade food… like fried chicken… macaroni salad… sliced tomatoes… baked beans… maybe some potato chips… and soft drinks put on ice in a big metal tub… cookies or a cake that was baked in the pan where it could be easily transported …later the menu became grilled hot dogs… hamburgers… potato salad… baked beans… some kind of pasta salad… chips/dip… slaw… and whatever new dessert someone wants to try…

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake I baked for cookout…

A Celebration cake to add to our festivities…

ice in a cooler and 2 liter soft drinks and “red solo cups” … A blanket or two thrown in for sitting on the grass … this was extra seating besides the wooden picnic tables found at every park and even along the roads at pullover points… Now we have a couple of those umbrella type chairs that we keep in the trunk in case we need them… that unfold and even have cup holders built-in… We had concrete porches  and yards to sit in… and now everyone has a deck… made of treated lumber… with umbrella tables and chairs  in bright colors… Pools were at High Schools or parks and now are in most backyards…

Things have changed… but, really not that much… and it seems even our younger generation knows why we celebrate Independence Day…or the 4th of July…

My grandson made a poster to decorate for the “cookout” and swim party his parents were having…

His idea… and my collaboration… Fireworks were bought with the knowledge that if it was too dry… they would be put on hold for another time… “That’s OK”, he said… with a wishful hope in his voice that they could be lit to brighten the sky when dark came… Goodies were fixed to take… the pool was ready… friends and family had been invited and many were coming…

Wickett…the grandkids puppy …sitting in my lap…

even the pets  were getting in on the action…Of course my poor baby… my cat, Jill… just runs and hides as soon as the fireworks … start popping… Too much for her!…

Don’t you love the Parrot made out of a tire…

We talk…we swim… we “oo and aah “over the little ones in the pool… we eat and drink… commenting on how everything tastes so good… We fight a few flys that are hungry and thirsty too it seems… we bask in the sun… and then later head for the air conditioning of the house where we used to just find a shady spot under a tree…

Son basking in sun even after grilling our hotdogs and hamburgers…

I hear a young man thanking my husband for his service in the military when he finds out he was in Vietnam… I thought that was such a nice gesture… and was a fitting way to end our 4th of July celebration…

My oldest Granddaughter squinting because sun is so bright and she always smiles so big…

Young and old mingled together and thankful for the freedom  of having a get together with friends and family… Hope you had a good one too!

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We Did Alright!

Jul4

Memory…

It’s nice to be missed … and thought about…

I ran into an old friend from our “first house” neighborhood… Seems so long ago…

Bobby had come home from Vietnam … We rented a little apartment … and I do mean little… We loved it!… It was just us… getting together a few hand me downs to furnish it with… finding a job for Bobby… wasn’t easy after coming home from the service… but, he did… I was working at the telephone company … We did alright…

We then decided we needed a bigger place… another apartment… much bigger … It was fine… decorated a little… had people come over to eat…We did alright…

We then decided we wanted to buy a house… Isn’t that what you do… Get married …buy a house … have kids … work… throw a little fun time in there…

So we did… and… We did alright…

We looked with a realtor… at quite a few homes… We decided on one in an older neighborhood with woods behind it… Friendly people… big enough for the baby we were expecting… Fixing it up was so fun… and to be the owners of a home was a big step… having a mortgage  was a really big step… and… we did alright…

We had our first-born son and then another son … and we lived in this “first house” for 16 years… We did alright…

We made many friends in this family oriented neighborhood … a mixture of young adults like us … sprinkled with a few older neighbors  and lots of children running the streets … We lived where there was just one entrance in and out… that ran over a creek… and as I said before… our street was on the last row and backed up to woods…

We made friends next door… across the street… up the street… around the corner… and on the main road… You could say… we knew most of the people in this neighborhood  …

We spent a lot of time outside… watching after our kids as they grew and played together…We went swimming together… strawberry picking  together… walked to the little store about a 1/2 mile down the road… played in the snow and rode on sleds together … rode bikes  together… sat and talked at each others kitchen tables … looked out for each other’s kids… shared a cup of sugar or flour… Gave each other homemade gifts for Christmas… watched each other’s pets  when we went on vacation…

We were not only “friends” but, pretty much close as family… We did alright…

We moved finally… We weren’t the first or the last… there are a few still there… and I ran into one of these friends as I said today… Immediately we hugged and kissed… No time lost in getting into a conversation  of kids… grandkids…relationships… things of the heart … Because that is the way we were… “close!”like family… and as we stood in the aisle of the store… blocking people with grocery carts… and not really caring… because we were back at our kitchen tables talking and pouring out our problems and joys…

I came home feeling quite blessed… after being told I was so missed  even after all of these years… and how my friend wished I had not moved from across the street…

And what’s really neat… is that I feel the same way about her… Makes my heart feel so full … Happy… Content… Grateful… Thankful … for that little “first house” that we had made a “home”… We did alright!

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Weekly Photo Challenge: THROUGH

Mar23

Memory… 

 I chose to use the word THROUGH as the meaning of completion…conclusion…accomplishment…

This is my husband, Bobby as he got through with his tour of duty in Viet Nam… It had been a long time since he had been home!… I could feel and see the emotions in him as he gazed out of his barracks… He was finally through!… or so he thought!

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