This husband of mine…
Shares stories about his life in Texas…lived in a tiny town…across from a cotton mill…and a small store…one time a kid came to the door…his old car had broken down…it needed a part…but the stores were closed…until the next day… That father of his…offered the young man a meal…and made up a cot on the porch…for him to spend the night…how did you sleep…Papo asked the guest the next morning…ok..came the reply…but in the night…something started climbing on me…up and down my body…and then started clawing at my feet…had to cover my face with the blanket…until it went away… Oh…chuckled his father…that would be Coon…he was probably just curious… Then off they went…Papo driving the young man 30 miles to town…paying for the part…because his new friend…had no money…then fixing the car…so he could be on his way… Kindness…generosity…compassion… Color those numbers in… And this husband of mine…agrees…
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Today…this old gal…
Celebrates that son-in-law of hers…she struck gold…when he joined our family…can’t say it’s easy breaking into that inner circle…of those ladies of mine and their mama…it’s a tight group…lots of girl dynamic…a little bit of scrutiny…tons of blabbing…laughing…drama…emotions…a world within itself…and for a long time…no boys allowed… But this guy…seemed to find little challenge in tunneling into our hearts…taking his place as the second male member…of what those ladies sometimes refer to…as The Fab 4… This Golden Birthday Boy…celebrating 30 on the 30th…shines… Responsible…reliable…loyal… Kind…compassionate…can cook circles around any one of us…except maybe Little Ginger…she’s the baking queen… Great dad to that four legged little sweetheart of theirs…wonderful husband…to that stunning little nugget…who is blessed…to be his wife… Pure heart…brilliant sense of humor… So happiest of birthdays to you…dear son-in-law of mine…may you be spoiled beyond measure…and know…that as a member of our clan…your value…is worth…this old gal’s weight…in gold… And that’s a lot…a really really lot… And those daughters of mine…agree… This husband of mine…
Filled in another number…in the paint-by-number masterpiece…that makes him…who he is… We used to walk to the river…he says…when we were kids…up the road…about a half mile…to swim… Coon…would waddle along beside us…and swim too…this one day…we were all in the river…and Coon was in the water…washing his hands…you know…like coons do… We could see…a big blob of seaweed…floating right at him…we watched and watched…as it got closer and closer…and then bam…the seaweed smacked right into him…Coon jumped…scared…and scrambled out of the water…we all laughed and laughed…but Coon…didn’t think it was funny…and was hurt…that we laughed at him… So he turned around…and walked off…away from the river…back down the road…to home… What was he doing…when you got there…I ask… Sleeping…I think…he says…Coon had had enough…for one day… So color in the color for family…walking down that dusty Texas road…cooling off in the river…laughing and having fun…enjoying life together… And this husband of mine…agrees… This husband of mine…
Has a life story…this story…is like one of those paint-by-number kits…years of experiences….each one a color…and as snippets are shared…the masterpiece begins to emerge… A snippet today began with…we had a raccoon as a pet when I was a kid... his sister found it…thought it was blind…but his dad gave it a bath….it’s eyes just matted shut with mud...they fed it with a bottle…it lived in a hole in a tree…but hung out in the house…played with the dogs…loved having its tummy rubbed…and swam with them in the river… A year…he was family…and then suddenly…heartbreakingly…gone..just went off to do what raccoons do…consoled his dad…wise words to heal a six year old heart…what was his name…asked engrossed me…thinking Fluffy…or Cuddles…or Snickers...Coon…we called him Coon… So…paint in the color for compassion…modeled by that dad of his…bathing Coon…feeding Coon…accepting Coon…and giving Coon a happy ending…just off doing what Racoons do…living happily ever after… And this husband of mine…agrees. *shared again from November 2022… This old gal…
Ran an errand…if you can call picking up hot wings an errand…this husband of hers stayed behind…resting…seems like nothing…a jaunt down the road…but with retirement…comes lots of togetherness…this old gal…rarely going anywhere…without that Mr. of hers…so driving around town…alone…felt kind of exhilarating…something about it tickling this old gal’s funny bone…awakening rebel driver me…to certain possibilities… Turn on the tunes…crank the air…drive exactly 30 in the 30 speed zone…not 25…not 28…30 on the dot…hit the break a little later than normal…turn that signal on 20 feet before the turn rather than 50…take that curve at 25 rather than the…suggested…15…you know the windows rolled down…radio up kind of thing…old gal hair…blowing in the breeze… Mr. Spider-Man Hug Buddy…assuming the role of co-pilot…giving the old stink eye…at the tom foolery of rebel me…but all is well…wings safely retrieved…no laws broken…no damage done…and you know what they say… What happens on a hot wing run…stays on the hot wing run… And Spider-Man Hug Buddy…agrees… This old gal…
Had one last question to ask…about that father of hers…needed this final piece…to put in her life puzzle…did that father of mine…it was asked…have a bad temper…a secret side…ever blow up…out of the blue… Little me…saw people with that side… never this father of hers…but time together was limited…experiences few…throughout the years…life stuff happened…young me…middle aged me…almost old me…hit hard…knocked down…full of pain… That’s when the fear would come…is this it…the time…the crack…the fissure…the explosion…the day…the me I know…becomes…that mother of mine… That life long journey…to get as far from that as possible…to be different than that…anything but that…more than that…the worry always there…that maybe one event…could change that path… Great guy…comes the response from that cousin of mine…good friends…never took advantage of anyone or anything…introverted…flew below the radar…never one…to be angry…or lose his temper…and there it was…the lost piece…the final piece…that makes this picture whole…beautiful… That daughter of his…sees those qualities in herself…likes people…but is fine laying low…may be a bit gregarious at times…but in a good way…and never…gets angry…annoyed…yes…upset…sure…fight for her beliefs…you bet…but blow up freak out scream til you’re red in the face blaming others while you’re at it angry…never…not once… And now she knows…it’s not something she’s holding back…keeping under control…because it’s not there…just like it wasn’t there…with that peaceful…father of hers…thank you…father of mine…for this gift embedded into the soul…the clarity and understanding of the fact…that emotions are ok…but using them as a weapon…is not… And that husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Was chatting away with friends…when they mentioned their fondness…for Antonio Banderas…ooh la la…one says…he is just so…mmmmm… Have to admit…this old gal…does not disagree…back in the day…tired mama me…would pick a favorite heart throb…put the littles to bed…and just chill…while watching whatever movies of his could be found at the library or Redbox… High action…daredevil swooniness…was what it was all about…Indiana Jones…Spy Kids…Star Wars…loved the action…loved the humor…loved the…uh…cast of characters...Indiana Jones…the all time favorite…still think of him even today…on these old lady grand adventures…the snake pit…at the Snake Farm Zoo…the non rolling boulder…at Pedernales Falls… This daughter of mine…knows her mama so well…bringing back memories of those movie night summers…with her Christmas gift…so cleverly chosen…the old Crush and Color…a book full of those famous heartthrobs from days gone by…that favorite of favorites Indiana…beckoning to this old gal…from the front cover… So forget about those movie rental stores…the library…Redbox…hand over those markers…and colored pencils…pour a glass of w…ater…and let’s get down…to business… And that daughter of mine…agrees… This husband and I…
Got our steps in…at Pedernales State Park…checked the map…took note of the arrow…doing our best to avoid our often unavoidable…ambling…somehow we got…lostedness… ‘Twas a beautiful sight…a tunnel of trees…emerging upon a cliff…overlooking a wide expanse…of stunning rock formations…wound our way to the grey limestone…flitted from slab to slab…leaping over cracks and crevices…like agile deer… Ok…there was no leaping…or agility…the terrain held some danger…old people balance not the best…ankles threatening to twist…knees…to pop…but this old gal emerged…unscathed…but curious…she expected falls…waterfalls…beautiful cascading walls of liquid pouring over the rocks…had seen pictures of falls…the name…Pedernales Falls…implies falls… So where…were the falls…she asked that husband of hers…to which comes a look…a little smile…and a little shake of the head…it’s a drought…my dear…he says…the rivers are drying up…the creek beds all rock…if there were to be a flash flood…there would be falls…but today…it’s dry… Or perhaps…checking the info flyer after the fact…the falls may have been somewhere else…on some other hiking trail…map reading misfits R us…somehow missing that… And so it is…life…can be like that…not what we planned…what we wanted…expected…but it’s ok…to take a different path…find something else…cuz you never know…that something else…may be as much or even more amazing… Than what you’d hoped for… And this husband of mine…agrees… This husband and I…
Went to Puss in Boots…no big surprise there…considering our sudden obsession with cats…a delightful movie…highlighting the importance of friendship…full of adventure…humor…and fairy tale characters… This old gal…loves fairy tales…used them in the classroom…read them to those little girls of mine…collected all variations of the fractured fairy tale…when they were in vogue…so it wasn’t surprising…when during the days of Covid…students eating lunch in the classroom…teacher me suddenly became lunchroom lady me…for a delightful class…of kindergarteners… Distributed trays…opened milks…clipped those yogurt packets…squirted ketchup…sanitized desks…kept chaos at bay…while trying to make lunchtime…fun…introduced…the fairy tale…many little ones…not familiar with the stories…were delighted to eat away…while watching an adorable collection of cartoon tales…on the smart board… Lunch Lady Me…equally entertained…watching those beloved characters of her youth…come alive…but one character stood out…Lunch Lady Me thinking she’d seen him somewhere before…that wolf…Big and Bad…pestering those three little piggies… His outfit…muscle shirt…slim pants…the walk a walk…but yet…a swagger…she’s seen this somewhere…somewhere recently…but not in a story…or maybe it was…in a story…this old gal’s story…this story they call life…and just like those three little piggies…with faith and perseverance…you can turn the big and bad… Into your own personal…fairy tale… And this husband of mine…agrees… That little buddy of mine…
Does this thing…when taking pictures…likes to strike what he calls…the suspicious pose…hand on the chin…eyes cast upward to the side…this pose…used time and again…made this old gal…curiouser and curiouser…always one wanting to connect dots…the wonder there as to where…you tube…TV…video game…this emerged… Takes mama me back to a time…when those preschool daughters of mine were playacting in the next room…throwing out the word shut up…like there was no tomorrow…that S word…was and still is…a family bad word…ranks right up there with all the other **bombs**…set mama me off on a quest…to find out what perpetuated the use…of such a no no… Tracked down the culprit…one of those innocent child videos…watched a gazillion times…two famous twin sisters on some grand adventure…using that S word…like it was please and thank you… And so it was…the last visitor day grand adventure…visited historic Gruene…ate at a gristmill…found the perfect gift…for that squirrel loving grandpa of his…and…hand on the chin…eyes cast upward to the side…thoughts prevailing…about times like these…the beauty of being together…the laughter…fun…adventure… One can easily deduce…that family memories…of daughters…sons…in-laws…grandkids…grandpets…will always be…the grandest memories…of all…and that…my dear Watson…is elementary…so very…elementary…indeed… And this husband of mine…agrees… |
This Old Gal
Devoted Wife Magical Mom Retired Teacher Embracing life's grand adventures with humor and grace. Archives
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