CHURCH WITH GRANDADDY

As a child, Sunday's entailed going to church and then to Magranny and Grandaddy's to eat Sunday lunch. I was a picky child. Magranny spoiled me. Guess what she made for me every Sunday? Boiled chicken and peas of some sort. I love both, even to this day. I would gladly give the chocolate pudding she made for each of us grand kids aside for another helping of her peas.

After lunch, the cousins would play in the yard, while the men would retire to the den and the ladies would wear aprons and clean the kitchen. My grandmother made the dresses Kelli and I wore to church. She would find a pattern, measure us, and we'd have new dresses in no time. As a teenager, she patiently tried to teach me to sew a button. I still can't.

In church, I remember proudly watching my grandparents sing in the choir. I thought that was something else. As a young adult, they continued that tradition and stayed diligently devoted to their church. Brother Bobby, who was the preacher at the time, said he thought of Grandaddy as his brother. Those words were spoken at Magranny's funeral.

Grandaddy is humble. He wont be thrilled to see that I've written a blog about him, but he is a hero of mine. He always has been and always will be. If I try to think of how I should live my life, his example always, always comes to mind.

I decided to surprise him at church this past Sunday. As I waited for him to get out of Sunday School, I started asking around about where he sat. I went to familiar faces and asked, "Where is Grandaddy? Where does he sit?" Everyone knew and EVERYONE had something magnificent to say about him. I met new people and heard more of the same. I can't be any prouder of a grand-daughter than I am. I love telling people that he's my grandfather and I love hearing how he has touched so many lives.

During church, I kept thinking about how he would like to have Magranny sitting to his left. I miss her too and I wish she was here. That's selfish, because I know she is running the streets of gold right now. Her service to those who needed it couldn't be fully explained. She was simply amazing.

After church, we had a meal at Wendy's. Wendy's was a favorite hangout for my grandparents. I'm just not sure I could have been any happier sitting across from him for that meal. I know that Magranny was smiling down on us.

SOUL SUCKERS

Hi! No excuses as to why I haven't posted since.....well....yeah. Let's just move along to 2012, shall we?

Today is the first day of the year. New beginnings. I saw this quote on someone's Facebook page. I like it. "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." Edith Lovejoy Pierce

A fresh start. A rebirth. A clean slate. Resolutions. While I'm not a fan of resolutions, I do enjoy the thought process that goes into them. One life on Earth. One chance. That's it. That is a huge deal. Huge.

As a nurse, I hear regrets of patient's as they lie near death. I also hear triumphs and successes. They are equally painful to me. However, some patient's choose to discuss funny memories. There is nothing more heart warming than walking into a room of a very sick patient and hearing them laugh. Their laughter is better than any medicine or treatment I could provide. Period.

I would like to continue to find the humor in life for 2012. I would like to focus on the positive and not be such an absolute pessimist. (I'm a bad one.) I would like to do away with "soul suckers" as I call them. People who choose to focus on bringing others down instead of looking at themselves in the mirror. Judgemental people. They are the worst. I had a couple of people severely judge me in 2011. Severely.

At a time, when my life could not have been any harder, I was judged by other imperfect humans. I've cried many tears over it. As I look back, I shouldn't have cried. They were wasted on something unimportant. I wanted to call them out for their many faults. But, then, wouldn't I have also been labeled judgemental? Yes, of course. I challenge all of us to view these type of people as those who need help, more than even we do. I also challenge all of us not to judge. It's hard. But, let's try.

I would like to find the good in people, no matter what. I would like to judge a book by its contents and not its cover. Most of all, I would like to keep laughing.

Humor. It keeps the spirit alive. Finding out the things that really mattter, and letting go of the petty things. Important. Surrounding yourself with people who bring out the best in you. Important. It is quite unimportant, to me, at the age of 37 to care, even a little bit, about what "soul suckers" feel is "right". It is a HUGE waste of my time.

On my deathbed, I do not want to discuss what he thought or she thought or what he said or what she said. I want to laugh about funny, meaningful memories. I have amazing friends that I have chosen to surround myself with. I have an amazing family. What more could a person need?

Happy New Year! Here's to many laughs in the year 2012!!!