The Cross Room

An oldie, but a goodie!


The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door, and pick out any cross you wish."
The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered. And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

10....9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Happy New Year!

May 2009 bring you blessings you never imagined!

Awesome

I just watched a 2 hour special on C-span (who I believe only runs specials) on the White House. The building of, the burning of, the remodeling of by Truman, the first bath tub installed, the cross country garage- sale- seeking by the Kennedy's to find and bring back alot of the presidential memorabilia sold off over the years, the security after the Oklahoma bombings to cut off the vehicle traffic - and the tighter security after 9-11 - to Prez Bush and Obama walking the portico from 'home' to work. The private quarters were shown and I envisioned Malia and Natasha running the hallways and listening to The Jonas Brothers on their Ipods in the solarium (built by the Coolidges).

An awesome special - it's on again at 6:00 tonight and I may have to watch it again - so much to see! And feel.

So much of our hard earned history- and our future.

Home for the holidays..............

Spent Christmas with my son and his family and my 2 grand sons. My Colorado daughter and her hubby- who turned 40 on Christmas day (I've know him half his life now!) and my 2 grand daughters checking in. What a Wonderful Christmas. I am blessed.

3 more days................

I got these dog photos in an e-mail today and it made me laugh out loud - which MY mutt liked alot- so I had to share them!

Christmas Version of 1 Corinthians 13

I found this on Joann's Blog Adventure this morning - and had to pass it on:

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.
If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies,preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not share the true meaning of Christmas, I'm just another cook.
If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not demonstrate kindness to strangers, it profits me nothing.
If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir but do not focus on Christ,I have missed the point.
Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decoratingto kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails.
Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure. "And now these three remain:faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Author Unknown

Something's Gotta Give...............

I slept in the middle of the bed last night. I took this bold step from a line in the movie "Somethings Gotta Give." In the movie, Diane Keaton's response to missing being married was: "Sometimes, in the middle of the night. When I wake up alone. Sleep in the middle of the bed - it helps."

George Burns, after losing his wife of 40 years, Gracie, responded to Carol Channing: "When I miss her a great deal, I crawl in on her side of the bed, in the middle of the day even, I stay there until I feel warm and good, and then I go on about my business."

So, since I don't really miss the ex-hubby (anymore), just reacting to being alone for 6 years in January- I slept in the middle of the bed. Here's what I discovered:

1.) Not much of a difference. It is after all a very small bed and it's in the same room, with the same smells and sounds and feel of my room.

2.) You can't just 'roll outta bed' to hit the ladies room at 2:30 in the morning, on your fist roll, you are still in bed.

3.) I read at night before I fall asleep- and I can't reach the lamp to turn it off from the middle of the bed.

I could get a 'Clapper" I suppose (I'm sure about every other resident of this building has one) - but, I think randomly clapping in the middle of the night - might be a little harsh on the newly adjusting Bird Boyz.

Conclusion: I'll sleep where ever the hell I want - it's my apartment and I pay the rent. Which was pretty much my attitude before "The Big Sleep Experience." (And truth be told........long before I started paying the rent. Which may explain alot..........)

Say Good Night Gracie.

B & R Update

They are sitting, huddled together on the center branch. They are bonding. I forgot they didn't know each other either - Robert coming from the 'blue' cage and Bob from the 'green". I take this as a good step forward.

The Robert Report...................

Robert has moved about some, ate a little from the seed spray the day before yesterday.....but no sound as yet. Bob hasn't eaten and doesn't move unless I reach in and pet him. They both let me pet them and like it when I talk to them. Altho Robert is now sitting at the bottom of the cage- and I know that's no good.
I'm getting a little worried. I wonder if the incredibly ugly mutt in the house has them concerned. Altho Toby totally ignores them, he does walk by the cage, and he is at eye level for the birds when he sits on my bed.
If no improvement by tomorrow, I'll call the good folks from PetSmart and see if they have any suggestions.

Silence, very little movement, no chirping

Robert is eating and talking to Bob!

Bob however, is still in the same position on the lower perch, refusing to eat..................

Day two bird watch...........

Bob and Robert seem to be a little freaked out still. I left the T. V. on for them today, but they were still very high up in the cage and the seed and fruit offerings did not look disturbed.
I petted their bellies and backs and spoke to them for a while when I got home and Bob finally left his corner for a new perch lower in the cage - but, Robert is still hanging tough.
Maybe he's annoyed that I'm pronouncing his name 'Row-Bear'.
Maybe he's a Jon Stewart fan.

I am unreasonably Happy!

Last night was the first night I did not cover the empty bird cage vacated by Bob on Saturday,Nov 29, after her untimely death. The cage is still in my bedroom, and if I woke up in the middle of the night all sleepy and groggy I would think "I forgot to cover the cage!" So, I just covered it before I went to bed to save myself the night time hassle. I had cleaned it and was going to move it out on the back porch.....but, never really got around to it.
Today I had to venture into PetSmart to get the Science Diet my mutt eats - and the first thing I heard was the chirping and screeching and flapping of the parakeets. Music to my ears. My Mom always had 2 parakeets while I was growing up. A green one and a blue one. For many years she only had one- named "Love". For some reason one day, Love flew the coop and got outside in the tree by my Mom's apartment in Lemon Grove. My son happened to stop by for a visit while this drama was unfolding. When Gramma told him what was happening......my son, somehow, caught the little critter and returned Love to her cage. When I remarried in 1994 - I discovered, too late, that my soon to be ex-husband hated birds. After the Dear Boy left, the first thing my Mom and I did- was get a couple of birds. These 2 birds died an excruciatingly sad death during one of my various moves over the last 6 years. I buried them in the orange tree plant my daughter and her family gave me as a welcome to the neighborhood present. A few months later, I was given Bob and Not Bob. (Who were originally called Thunder and Lightning, then Salt and Pepper, Frick and Frack - but nothing stuck until I went back to the family tradition of naming our birds Bob. Except that I had 2. So, Not Bob was born.). The birds were already about 7 years old, and Bob out lived Not Bob by about 3 years. And so, today.........I picked up the mutt's dog food and oh my, it's right past the bird cages and another "OH MY - the little budgies WERE ON SALE- IT WAS MEANT TO BE !!!!!!!
And so, may I introduce:
Bob Greene and Robert (pronounced "Row-bear") Blu.
Yeah! Birds in da house !!!!!!!!

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve. My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep. In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow. My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight. A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
'What are you doing?' I asked without fear, 'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here! Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve, You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!' For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.' 'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line, That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me. My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,' Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.' My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ', And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while, But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile. Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, The red, white, and blue... an American flag. I can live through the cold and the being alone, Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat. I can carry the weight of killing another, Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.. Who stand at the front against any and all, To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'
' So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright, Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.' 'But isn't there something I can do, at the least, 'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast? It seems all too little for all that you've done, For being away from your wife and your son.'
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, 'Just tell us you love us, and never forget. To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone, To stand your own watch, no matter how long. For when we come home, either standing or dead, To know you remember we fought and we bled. Is payment enough, and with that we will trust, That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN 30th Naval Construction Regiment OIC, Logistics Cell One Al Taqqadum, Iraq

I wish you enough........

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate what you possess.
I wish you enough hellos - to get you through the final good bye.

That's trouble with a capital'T' that rhymes with:

I hate car trouble. That's why I bought a new one in July - so I wouldn't have to deal with it.

I came home early from my son's house yesterday - so excited! It was still light when I got home. Had a great visit with the grand boys - #4 had his very first birthday! I stopped on the way home and started my Christmas shopping for my Colorado grand daughters - and was all set to walk the dog and wrap the presents! But, when I pulled into my parking lot- there was a lady there about 4 spaces down with the hood of her SUV up. Now, I looked under my hood occasionally on my old car, so no alarms went off- might be a 'fluid top off' - but, when I got out of my car, the lady says to me: "Do you know anything about cars?" I replied "I can drive them to the mechanic's and the gas station, but, that's my limit."

Car lady: "O.K. Will you listen to this and tell me what is wrong please?"

Me: (??????????????)

Car Lady "Hear that? that noise wasn't there before."

Me: "O.K."

Car Lady: "And it smokes."

Me: - Sticking my foot firmly in to it. "Well, that's not good. I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen."

Car Lady: "Well, I washed it down. Maybe I wasn't supposed to do that?"

Me: "Wash the car?" (Now, I have owned my car since July 11 - and I have NEVER washed it, but, I'm fairly sure this is unusual)

Car Lady: "I washed the engine down. Do you think that was bad?"

Me: (Finally getting my wits about me - and knowing that yes, that can be a very bad thing - to various engine pieces parts - unless she had it steamed cleaned professionally) - said "I don't know."

There were extremely long pauses between each exchange, where the Car Lady just stood there very pleasantly staring at me. And the light was fading fast. So.................

Me: "Do you have anyone to call? Do you have AAA?"

Car Lady: "Yes, I have a sister - but she lives in Torrance and hates when I call her about my car. And I have AAA."

Me: "D you have a cell phone? Would you like to use mine?"

Car Lady: "I have a cell, I can call. I wonder if I should drive it."

Me: "Call AAA - that is what I would do- that is ALL I COULD do."

After another forever long pause, I started emptying the trunk of my car - and walked into the building. Feeling like a total jerk leaving her there. (I HATE putting strangers in my car.) So, I hook up the dog, get my cell and my AAA card and a jacket (OK, 2) - because the sun is going down and who knows how long we'll be out there. And I go outside with the mutt.

Wrong move. the Car Lady thinks I have gone inside, taken an on-line mechanic course and have come back to diagnose the problem.

Car Lady "Listen, the noise went away - oh, wait - there it is is again, and again."

Me: "Did you call your sister or AAA?"

C.L. "No"

Me: "OK, how far away do you live?"

C.L. : "Here.'

Me: "Here? You live here?"

C.L.: "Yes."

Me: "So, you have your keys to get in and you are not stranded? You are safe?"

C.L. "Yes. But, I need a ride to the doctors tomorrow if it's still making this sound."

Me: "Tell your sister you'll take her to lunch."

Every once in a while I have to stop-take a breath-

Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

I saw a man in spats today..............

I saw a man in spats today.....(sounds the the opening line of a naughty limerick eh?- but, hey, this is a family blog). And, I did. I was stopped at a red light and a man in a dark, 3 piece suit - vest buttoned up and spats went riding by. The pièce de résistance? (An exotic enough term for a man in spats on a bike in Laguna at 7:30 in the morning.) The baseball cap- worn backwards of course.

Blessed be the Care Givers

My apartment shares a parking lot with a Senior Day Care. Every morning the buses pull up and drop the wheel chair lift or the walker ramp and deliver elderly men and women to the center for their day. Some of the folks are dropped off by women - about my age, dressed for work. I watch this every morning as I am out walking my mutt before work - and sometimes I get 'caught' in my parking space as the buses line up behind me. At times like these I get a chance to watch some incredible care givers in action. There are always one or 2 of the care givers waiting outside- in any weather. When the bus or car pulls up- they are off and running - smiling and calling the elderly person's name. Some of the men and women can navigate on their own and are standing upright when the greeters get to them. The other morning I watched as one women got out of her daughter's (?) car. Smiling, the caregivers immediately started touching her and calling her name. They touched her hair, they 'straightened' an already straight sweater at the woman's shoulder. One of the care givers bent all the way down and fussed with the cuff of the woman's pant leg. A button was closed, or opened - a piece of lint discarded. Hair was fluffed - contact was made. There was nothing wrong with the way this woman was dressed or groomed and I don't believe that was the point. By the time this woman made it to the front door with her care givers - her shoulders were straighter (that invisible piece of lint must have been a very heavy load), her head held higher (now that the hair was out of her eyes) and the foot that she had been favoring getting out of the car was weight bearing, now that she wasn't dragging her pant cuff. And she was smiling - now that these care givers had said her name several times and told her about her day to come. An amazing, visual transformation by the power of love and caring and giving of ourselves to others. The power of touch - from one human to another. I was in awe. It made my day- and I've thought about it ever since.

Over the weekend I baked a bunch of cakes for the ordination of a friend of mine. I made 3 extra loves (spice, vanilla and red velvet - which I don't get) and a few more chocolate covered strawberries and pineapples and cherries and Monday morning on the way to work I took the whole mess over to the Senior Care Center. Not for the folks who make it their home during the day (they seem to be well cared for!) but for the caregivers who make the home. They were a little taken aback (probably thought I was next on their resident list) - and nobody touched me - but, hey, maybe next time.

We love, because He first loved us. I John 4:19