BESTIES THROUGH THE YEARS

IF YOU HAVE BESTIES,

YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A GIFT.

MY BESTIES: LAURIE, ANN AND I HAVE

BEEN THAT SINCE SECOND GRADE.

HERE WE ARE IN 4TH GRADE BEING TAUGHT BY 

MY SWEET AUNT.

ANN, 4TH BOTTOM ROW, LAURIE AND I BY EACH OTHER

RIGHT NEAR AUNT TIM.

OUR FRIENDSHIP HAS GONE THROUGH 

WAXES AND WANES YET NEVER OUT 

EACH OTHERS LIVES.

FROM OUR SENIOR TRIP TO DISNEY AND OUR

MANY GATHERINGS SINCE, THEY HAVE REMAINED

TWO OF THE CONSTANTS IN MY LIFE.

AS THE PHOTOS SHOW, WE ARE ALL GETTING OLDER

BUT OUR FRIENDSHIP IS STRONGER BECAUSE OF IT.

WE THREE HAVE A RELATIONSHIP

THAT WE CAN BE HONEST WITH EACH OTHER

AND EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T ALWAYS AGREE

WE KNOW ALL OUR WORDS ARE COMING FROM A PLACE OF LOVE.

FOR THAT REASON WE CAN DO THE 

WHOLE TOUGH LOVE THING WHEN ITS NEEDED

AND STILL BE BESTIES IN THE END.

AS WE AGE, WE ARE FACED WITH DIFFERENT CHALLENGES.

MEDICAL FOR OURSELVES, DECLINING HEALTH WITH 

SPOUSES, CARING FOR OUR ADULT CHILDREN,

RELATIONSHIP ISSUES WITH OUR GRANDS AND GREATS...

GOOD TIMES AND BAD WE ARE

AND ALWAYS WILL BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE BEST OF NEW YEARS

TO YOU TWO.

MAY 2025 HAVE US SPENDING MUCH MORE TIME TOGETHER.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALLI!

 TODAY IS MY DEAR FRIEND, ALLI'S BIRTHDAY.

Sixty years ago, the gem of a friend was born 

and what an honor it has been to call her my friend.

We have known each other for most of our lives,

but really became friends over 35 years ago as young 

adults learning what "grown up" meant.

If you can call Alli friend,

it means that forever she will be there for you.

Not a Christmas or my Birthday passes that Alli does not 

only remember but celebrates.

Yet, it is not this that makes her so special to many,

it is her undying faith that if she calls you friend,

she will be there for you..... ALWAYS.

What Alli does for her aging friends is by far

one of her very best traits.

Every week, she not only visits an elderly couple 

in their home but helps one of them shower,

something he had not done in over a year before

Alli began helping them. He was just so afraid to fall

that he had succumbed to being washed up.

I could go into detail as to how she got him to trust her

but it was not just putting him in the shower but a series

of visits to show him how he could do it before the water

was ever turned on.

Her finest gift she has given to the world was her son, Rick.

As a single parent who sometimes worked three jobs

to give him the things he needed he now gives back

to our Country in the form of being a Navy man.

His dedication to his group is just as solid as his Mom's.

I was privileged to travel to Virginia with her and Bryan

to watch my godson, her Rick come home from 11 months of deployment

and to hear those who deployed with him honor him

lets me know he is so much like his Mom, a giver.

Alli had many rough years but I can't remember her ever complaining.

Then she met Bryan and her life changed as he has given

her a life she has always deserved. He has given her security 

financially and in ways that she has deserved for many years.

She just never stops giving.

Whether it be from traveling with her sister-in-laws as they battle 

health issues to cooking for her sweet Bryan she is always thinking of others.

She recently lost her brother who was only 11 months older than her.

Not only did she cook to make sure he always had food

but she managed to get him a safe place to live. Ever since he had

brain surgery many years ago, she had been his caregiver always with him

in his hospital stays and was there when he took his last breath.

It has been a loss for her that has shook her world.

However, even in his death she found ways to give to others 

in honor of his life.

To call Alli a friend is an honor to me.

I know that no matter what the circumstance, if I need her, she will be there.

Happy Birthday my dear friend!

 You deserve the very best in this World.

WORD OF THE YEAR

 It's that time once again

where I choose a word to be my word for the year.

I have been thinking a lot about the best word for 2025

and have decided on:

NOSTALGIA/NOSTALGIC

Webster's gives the definition:

thinking fondly of a past time or condition.

I came to this word a week ago when 

watching a short video of my Momma singing to Jilly

when she was a baby.

If I could tell my younger self something it would be

to listen to the stories of your elders, document them.

I was 20 when my Daddy died and there is so much

I don't remember. Mom lived to be 92 and 

although I have great memories, I still wish I had 

taken more photos, more videos.

Therefore my goal of this year is not only to document

 things of my past but to also put into words parts of

myself so that my children and grand girls will have 

a place to go for memories once I am gone.

It is a big reason why I have restarted my blog.

Although I journal a lot and always have,

in the world of technology my grandgirls will likely

come to the internet after I am gone to read my words.

OTHER THINGS I AM FOCUSING ON THIS YEAR:

MORE SLEEP

MORE MUSIC

MORE VISITS

MORE BOOKS

MORE CREATING

MORE WALKS

MORE ORGANIZATION

MORE LAUGHTER

MORE HUGS

MORE DREAMING

MORE FUN

MORE LOVE...

Thanks for joining me on this year adventure

where I rediscover the past and document for the future.

Many years ago, 2005 to be exact

I found myself in a school meeting to discuss

allowing a 3 year old physically challenged child into PreK.

The teachers were hesitant, she needed so much

 medical intervention that would be required daily.

We had not met this child yet and only knew 

of her through her Mother and Grandmother.

When it became my turn to speak I shared that had

someone not let me into school because of my childhood diagnosis

I would not be in the nursing position I am today.

It was agreed that she would begin school.

Oh what an impact Bailey Breaux and I had on each other.

this beautiful child entered our school and my heart on the very same day.

Twenty years later we are still close and important to each other.

Bailey was the recipient of a small bowel/liver transplant before the age of one.

Her life expectancy was unknown at that time and we 

bonded over the fact that my life was not promised either when I was a child.

Every day as I helped her with her medical needs I also shared

tidbits of my childhood with her. At Christmas I taught her songs

that she still sings to this day.

Now my Bailey is an adult and our relationship has changed to one of friendship.

At the age of 23, she is a para in a school helping other children.

She never forgets the young child whose parents gave her the gift of life.

Bailey has become an adult I admire for all she is and does.

I could go on and on forever about our relationship as it is that special.

However, It is the relationship she is sharing with her boyfriend that I want

to end this blog with.

Love has come into my B's life...

in the form of a young red headed man who is just as sweet as Bailey.

Although it is not her first relationship, it is the one that 

I believe, will last forever.

Kyle has shown Bailey what trust and love in a relationship looks like.

To see them together warms my heart to believing true love does exist.

Kyle not only tells Bailey how much he loves her in words,

but in his actions. Soon they are going to take the next step

in their relationship, having found an apartment for them to share.

Just like growing up was not a guarantee for her,

love was not either. Yet no one deserves this type of love more than Bailey.

As I watch their future plan out I am in awe of them both.

Makes me so very proud to be part of their lives, 

to see them together is to believe in true love again.

To my Bailey:

Go out into this big world and continue to move mountains

with Kyle by your side. Continue to shine bright as you always have

knowing I am here for you forever.

Kyle, thank you for loving Bailey in a way she deserves,

showering her with all the attention.

I have no doubt you two are going far! 

Love you both!

 

STAY HOME AND MAKE SOMETHING

I remember my Momma saying,

"In my day" and "when I was young"

I am sure I did what most children of today would do hearing

those words..... roll their eyes.

I never thought I would become "one of those"

and yet here I am comparing my childhood with those 

of my children and Grandgirls

Each year I host a party for the grand girls and their friends at the Cottage.

Some things do not change.

I read the Cajun Night Before Christmas

in my best Cajun voice, bingo, and a game to exchange gifts.

What does change every year is the craft we work on.

One year it was painting, another scrapbooking

and last year, being in our 'TSWIFT' era,

we made friendship bracelets.

This year I wanted to bring back something from my childhood.

Something that they have never seen before and with curiosity,

much like when they see a rotary phone, 

will have no clue what it is.

My heart went all the way back to the 70's when 

potholders were made at recreation to be gifted to our homes.

Yes, an old fashioned, loom potholder.

This year, 12 little girls will put away their electronic devices,

sit in the library and learn to make a potholder.

Each will go home with their own kit and share

with their families the stories us "elders" 

will tell them as we teach the skill of making potholders...

and yet again a piece of my generation will be taught to another

in hopes that one day, with their own little children,

they will 

STAY HOME AND MAKE SOMETHING.

A TIME FOR REFLECTION

YESTERDAY I BEGAN PREPARING FOR MY LAST

COFFEE GATHERING OF THE YEAR,

WHICH HAS BEEN LOVING LINKED TO THE CAJUN PHRASE:

"LET'S MAKE THE 'VEY-YAY"

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW THE SLANG,

IT PRETTY MUCH MEANS SIT AROUND 

AND BULLSHIT.

I BEGAN HAVING GATHERINGS AROUND MY DINING TABLE

ABOUT 9 YEARS AGO, RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME

I MOVED INTO THE COTTAGE.

SINCE THEN I HAVE HAD MANY OLD AND NEW FRIENDS.

SOMETHING HAPPENS IN YOUR SOUL 

WHEN PREPARING TO GATHER IN YOUR HOME.

AS I STRAIGHTENED UP, I BEGAN 

TO SEE THE COTTAGE THROUGH VISITORS EYES.

THE OLD PHOTOS ON THE WALL 

THAT HAVE ONLY BECAME FAMILY TO ME

SINCE I PICKED THEM UP ANTIQUE STORES

AND CALLED THEM MINE.

I AM REMINDED OF EVERYTHING IN HERE

THAT HAS BEEN LOVINGLY PLACED IN AN AREA

TO GIVE COMFORT AND PEACE.

CHALK BOARDS THAT ARE WRITTEN ON,

CHINA THAT IS NOT ONLY FOR SHOW BUT TO BE USED.

IT REMINDED ME OF JUST HOW FORTUNATE I AM

TO HAVE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL COTTAGE

THAT I HOPE BRINGS WARMTH AND HAPPINESS TO OTHERS

AS IT DOES TO ME AND MY FAMILY.

AS YOU PREPARE ON THE LAST DAYS OF

THIS YEAR OF 2024 LOOK AROUND YOU.

SEE NOT ONLY THE TANGIBLE THINGS THAT SURROUND 

YOU DAILY  BUT THE TALKS, TEXTS, VISITS YOU

HAVE FROM THOSE YOU LOVE.

TELL THEM TODAY....

TELL THEM WHAT THEY MEAN TO YOU.

AS THE BIG BOOK OF AA STATES:

"MAKE AMENDS WHENEVER POSSIBLE UNLESS TO

DO SO WOULD INJURE THEM OR OTHERS"

OH, AND EAT THE CAKE.....

ALWAYS EAT THE CAKE!

ITS THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR...

Yet for so many, it just isn't.

This became so prominent to me a few days ago

at the post office...

yes, the post office.

Its one of those things that I have to do a lot

due to my business, yet I complain about having to go.

I love my post masters, they are kind and helpful 

but its just one of those things that takes minutes

yet I kind of dread it.

Well, I did until last week.

I am waiting to mail a few packages to friends

and clients and in front of me is an elderly lady.

She is needing some help from the cute postmaster so I patiently wait.

She is dressed in mens jeans, a western type shirt,

sporting a cane. Her hair is long and grey 

put up in a bun style. 

I watch her as she moves about after being served

and I can see she is struggling.

It is now my turn to be helped.

I am quick at my task at hand and this 

little lady is still just at the door of the post office,

holding on to a railing slowly making her way.

I ask "Can I help you?"

She looks up at me with the most beautiful blue eyes.

"Oh, would you please?"

I take her arm and we slowly make our way 

to her car, an old Lincoln Continental in disarray.

On our slow trek, I learn its her knees.

They cause her a lot of pain and if it were not

that she had to get these bills in the mail 

she would still be at home.

I learn that she has children who live out of state:

"They want me to move there but I don't want to"

She assures me that once she get into her car

she will be fine.

"Are you sure, do you need me to bring you anywhere?"

She gives me the run down on what she will do.

"No, I am going to the drive thru at McDonald's 

to get lunch and then home, I will be fine."

I help her into her disheveled vehicle and she is 

so thankful for my help.

I watch her drive off slowly in the direction of McD"s

and I feel like I may cry.

I am almost tempted to follow her, see where she lives,

make sure she makes it home safely but I don't.

 She has a way of making me understand

the independence she still has is important to her.

I have thought of her just about every day since that trip.

It is this encounter that has me restarting my blog again.

One day I may be that little woman at the post office.

I pray that someone helps me if I need it but also

sees the independence I still need in my life.

It has made me hypersensitive to all those out there

this holiday season who has lost their spouse, a child,

The holidays are a wonderful time for many.

However there are still those out there that are struggling

and it is up to us to see and help when we can.

Merry Christmas to you all!