F.A.M.I.L.Y.

I read a real simple poem today that really hit home with me. Thought I'd pass it along with my thanks to it's anonymous writer for making me meditate on my actions.

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,

"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too;

I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.

We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,

How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,

My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.

"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.

I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,

God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,

but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,

You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.

He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,

you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,

And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;

"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"

He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.

I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;

I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."

He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.

I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,

and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

It's been said:

The word FAMILY means:

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

And that's all I have to say about that.

A Phenomenon

Imagine this. You're a man. You were born in a relatively poor country where you were raised along with four brothers. You married early and had several children and at the ripe old age of 25 you left your country to go work in a more prosperous country to be able to support, not only your new family but extended family as well. Weekly, you western union to home a large portion of your earnings. You must be satisfied with only an occasional phone call to a nearby neighbor of your family, (sometimes a family member would be there) because your family had no phone. Once or twice a year you take a long bus trip back to your country to make sure your affairs are in order and the family is ok.
Now imagine that you were 25 a full 20 years ago and the same state of affairs still exists!
During the last 20 years-your spouse has died, your parents who took over the job of raising your children have reached their 80's and are now in very poor health, your children are in their early 20's with the exception of the one boy (18 yrs) who was conceived on one of the trips home and born nine months later, your daughter has contracted a serious stomach, heart or lung (???) disorder which the doctors in your country cannot diagnose, and just last week your youngest son was in a serious car wreck and is hospitalized.
To top all this off, these past 20 years you have been working in the same place, almost exclusively. The boss is generous at heart yet a very thrifty man because of his depression time upbringing. The job has taught you many skills making you a "jack of all trades," so to speak. This also means that the job requires both
the detailed skills of an electrician and the hard labor of a trench digger. You are THE maintenance person for an entire community of approximately 20 families and an RV Park on 200 acres, owned by your boss. Your only friends are different ones over the years who have lived here and gotten to know you.
You still don't have a command of the language of this country where you live but you have managed to get a little spoiled by the comparative decadence of it. At first you lived in a small modest shack that you built on your employers property along with at least one, if not all of your 4 brothers who also worked, off and on, for the same man. A few years ago there was a big flood which destroyed that home and most of what little you owned and you moved into a 20 ft, yes, I said 20 ft, motor home that was manufactured in the 70's. Usually only one brother stays with you now. Need I go on?
This man and I have worked for the same company owner for the past 20 years. Now that the owner has retired and I've been taking care of the business for him I have gotten to really know this man of whom I write. Tomas just turned 46 this month. Still having so many ties to his homeland, Mexico, he's retained much of it's cultural customs and attitudes while at the same time getting accustomed to some of America's "luxuries." Sometimes we frustrate each other but over all we understand each other pretty well. He's gone right now, visiting his son who had the accident. My prayers are with them. Whenever he leaves to visit home I am reminded of how difficult it must be for him to be so far from family and his roots. It would be impossible for me. This Phenomenon, somewhat common in the South, especially in borden towns, was difficult for me to fathom when I first moved here 20 years ago. I am very much missing his expertise in his absence. I take this opportunity to applaud his courage, endurance and sense of duty to his family which I very much admire.

A Texan Feast

For dinner tonight we are serving a spinach salad with homemade ranch dressing and tenderloin from a "corn fed" year old doe, basted with real butter and our secret dry rub "kissed" on an open flame for 2 minutes 15 seconds each side, to perfection I might add. Bon Appetite!
Yep, Isn't your mouth watering. This culinary feast would be compliments of TT and LC.
By the way LC, "little cowboy" will here to for be referred to as MC, "Midnight Cowboy" to account for his new custom of coming home during that ungodly hour. Seventeen, as you might remember is that magical age when you suddenly incur all possible knowledge, (at least more than your parents could ever have,) and furthermore the age when the midnight hour is the BEGINNING of the evening. Needless to say some more explicit rules have been set, to the great disappointment of MC. Fortunately, to date, his record has continued to give us every reason to trust in his judgement. Unfortunately, we can't sleep if he's not safe in bed. Guess we'll keep him, especially since he's bringin' home some of the bacon/venison/fish.

Spring List Friday

"So this week's List Friday will be two-fold:Please list the words you love that bring Spring to mind. Then list the words that you are happy to leave behind as the season changes. Ten of each if you can, or however many you can muster."
The Pomegranate Challenge of the week.
So, here goes...
The winter words
Some of these I'm happy to leave behind each year but some evoke a myriad of good feeling and memories, and yes, roll off the tongue like a Spanish "r."
First, the ones I'm happy to see take a hiatus:

• Hibernate, the practice of the gopher, bear, frog, snake and bat. Although I don't miss the snakes or bats, the word sounds like something immoral
• Blizzard, another harsh word with even a cold, windy sound to it.
• Bleak, a cold, gray sky, offering no hope, chasing away all warmth by it's chill air.

Here are some winter words I like the sound and feel of:

• Persephone, the greek mythical goddess partially responsible, so the myth goes, for the creation of Winter. Her name just flows with delicious smoothness.
• Fireplace, a common compound word, but reminicent of so much warmth. Always a treat, the fire it holds is a center of many a memory of mine.
• Wassail, An Old English ceremonial cider, warm and sweet/tart. It's etymology stems from an old saying rendered "Good Health," and imbibers of the sweet juice would hail "Wais Heal" (think I spelled it close to right) as a toast to their companions. An odd word but strangely soothing like it's sensation while desending your throat. Good with a little dark rum.

Now that those are done with, forthwith the spring words, pregnant with a feel of fresh, light heartedness. First there's a borrowed word from our forest friend Bambi...

• Twiterpated, such a fun word to say. Bambi's friend, the wise owl says that it's the state of creatures of the opposite sex when the spring rolls around. A sensual playfulness which causes all else to pale in significance but the pursuing of an attractive, flirtatious mate.
• Narcissus. Daffodill type flower, full of myth and unrequited love. Based on the grek mythological youth who pined away for love of his own image reflected in a pool and was transformed into a flower. They don't last long but a such a harbinger of spring they're impossible not to love.
• Cicada, with an acsent over the first a. a pretty ugly bug with a soft name and a shrill, droning sound that sometimes gets so loud when the weather is humid, that you can hear nothing else.
• Vernal (Spring)Equinox and Summer Solstice both sound unusual. I can't figure out why I like their sound, but I do.
• Printemps, a french word meaning spring or spring time. I love french sounds, gutteral yet appealing. One of my favorite dishes is Fetuccini Printemps, filled with spring veggies and color. And finally,
• Azure, as in skies. The word is so peaceful and halcyon, (another favorite sounding word) and conjures up a picturesque sky, with no end or cloud in sight.

Those are the words I like or dislike the SOUND of now here's some words that bring winter and spring to my little mind: (remember I live in TX)

Winter: (Jan and Feb)

• rodeo
• brown grass
• bare trees
• bonfires
• toasted marshmellows (smores)
• amaryllis
• blooming christmas cactus

Spring: March-April

• fragrance of blooming fruit trees
• scent of Lady Banksia (sp) roses
• millions of shades of green
• birds building nests
• Memorial of Christ's death (this yr. April 12) and the future hopes we have because of his sacrifice
• mountain laurel blooms (perfumey)
• the satisfaction of a garden renewed by bare hands
• the smell of dew on soil

The ONLY thing I don't like @ spring is pecan tree tassels. They stick onto everything and it takes the whole year to clean them up, then here it is tassel time again.

Looking forward to seeing all the other lists so I can savor them too.