Isn't It Grandparents' Day Every Day?

I received a message yesterday from my precious niece, Beth, saying, "Hope you guys are having a good grandparents day!" Ha! I didn't even know it WAS Grandparents' Day! Every single day I get to spend with any or all of our three grandblessings is indeed GRAND! (And no, I didn't spend yesterday with any of them.)

When I saw this quote on Facebook the other day, however, I just had to share it because it embodies so much of what being a grandparent is like:

Being a GrandMary to our three (soon to be four) is definitely among the greatest blessings God has ever bestowed upon me, and I truly can't imagine not having any of them in my life. I absolutely love having sleepovers, making cookies, doing art projects, planting flowers, going to baseball, soccer, and football games (maybe one day, dance recitals or gymnastics meets) you name it--I love it any time it involves any of them! I'm one of those who truly believes that having them around keeps me young (okay, don't look too closely at the lines around my eyes).

Just take a look at these pics and you'll see why I consider these children of my children some of the best gifts that this life has to offer. 

"Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.”

– Lois Wyse

I owe a HUGE "Thank You" to the mamas of these treasures! We wouldn't have these precious ones without you; never forget how very loved and appreciated you are.

Am I an obnoxious grandmother? I hope not, but when it comes to these precious ones, I certainly don't mind sharing my joy. If that's obnoxious, then I guess I am, but I don't see myself changing any time in the future!

“Grandchildren give us a second chance to do things better because they bring out the best in us.”

– Unknown

Calling All GrandMarys

After watching our oldest grandchild's baseball game last Saturday, I heard a sweet little voice calling, "GrandMary! GrandMary!" Not recognizing the voice, I turned to see one of the players running toward me and thought, "I have no idea who this child is! Why is he calling me GrandMary?" And even more puzzling, "How could I possibly have a grandchild I don't know???" Welp (as my daughter would say), he ran right past me into the arms of HIS GrandMary! Can you believe that? There we were, TWO GrandMarys with grandsons on the same baseball team! What are the odds?

I must say that during my daughter-in-love's pregnancy when I announced that I wanted to be called "GrandMary", I was met with a few "Ahh, that's cool", knowing that what was really being said was, "Seriously? You expect a child to be able to say that mouthful?" A few, including some of my own children (who shall remain nameless) weren't so subtle in their comments, "Mom, they'll never be able to say that! There's no telling what you'll end up being called!" Well, I stood my ground, and GrandMary I am! Admittedly, the first attempts of each of my three little blessings sounded more like "Gwan Maaa", but they kept trying (and I kept encouraging), and here we are! I thought that hearing my own children say "Ma-ma" was positively the sweetest thing I'd ever heard, and I'm sure at the time it was, but hearing the children of my children call me "GrandMary" is the cherry on top of the Mama cake!

To those who are grandmothers: whether your grandblessings call you Memaw, Mamaw (I called one of my grandmothers that), Buvver or Bubba (the first sounds a lot like the second but with a "v", especially when your grandmother is from south Georgia as mine was and yes, that's what we called her), Nana, Grandma, Mimi, Grandmother, Gigi, Deedee, Doogee (yes, I know one of those), Birdie (know one of those, too), Emme or EE (know one of each), Nanoo (my aunt's grandchildren called her that), GDawg (don't know one of those, but you never know), or Hey You, the name doesn't really matter, does it? The fact that the Lord blessed us not only with our own children, but that He blessed us again with grandchildren, is a miracle beyond comprehension. I feel so fortunate to be able to enjoy being a grandmother, even though I'm sure all of us would agree that we aren't NEARLY old enough to be one!

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy; we never know what tomorrow will bring, so take the time to send a card, call, Skype, FaceTime, and whenever possible, see your precious blessings. I do, and I cherish each and every opportunity I have to do so. They are indeed "good and perfect gifts from above."


       
^"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." ~James 1:17

Dreams

I had the honor and pleasure of sharing our faith journey last night at our Ladies Night Out event at church, and while I did have several women thank me for my willingness to share, I was the one most blessed by the opportunity! God was faithful to us from day one when we embarked on this experience with Jonathon and has remained faithful throughout the journey.

From the moment I opened our story with "Welcome to Holland", a beautiful piece written by Emily Perl Kingsley when asked what it's like to raise a child with a disability, I felt at ease. As I looked out at the crowd of women who had purchased tickets to attend, I saw nothing but support and encouragement, and yes, a lot of love. I expounded upon the Holland piece with my own story of how we had to create new dreams for our son, but hopefully, left the message that just because dreams change doesn't mean they are not still beautiful dreams.

At the conclusion, I was incredibly surprised to learn that Jonathon was in the back of the room with David, and as he made his way to the front of the room, I lost it. I had tried really hard to not give in to some of the emotions that are always just below the surface with me, but as I watched this beautiful masterpiece of God walking toward the stage, I couldn't help but cry tears of pure joy and gratitude. Jonathon, too, had to create new dreams for himself over the years, but he is forever grateful for the life he is still able to enjoy and lives it each day with a joy-filled heart. I do love that young man so much!

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Simple Truths

One of my precious daughters-in-love shared this with me yesterday; I've heard it before, but it brings so much encouragement, I wanted to share it, too. Have a beautiful and blessed day!

My name is Jonathon. How Can I Help You?

Trying to keep this one shorter than the last, but just wanted to do a little "mom bragging" on our son, Jonathon. As you may know, he was hired in November of 2014 as a cashier at a then newly opened Walmart Neighborhood Market, truly an answer to a prayer!  Following his release from therapy, he became involved with the state Department of Labor's Vocational Rehabilitation program who provided him with funds to return to school as well as job-placement assistance through Goodwill. As a result of that assistance, he ultimately got the job at Walmart. Prior to being hired, though, he attended many job fairs and always came home disappointed. I remember having to have difficult conversations with him about the unfairness of the hiring process, and the reality that people judge us based on what they see, not necessarily on what we have to offer. Fortunately for each of us, Walmart doesn't fall into that judgmental group. After a couple of interviews with the management at Walmart (and doing his own follow-up "Thank You" letter), he was offered a job! What a blessing! Not only is he happier and more confident now, the location is ideal for us. It is literally less than a ten minute drive from our home which makes transporting him a breeze. We have a wonderful friend, Rosemarie, whom I mentioned in my last post who has stepped in and takes him to work most days for us--what an angel she is! I also have a friend, Mark, who has filled in for us on several occasions so I want to thank him as well. His brother, Jeff, has also been a tremendous help--can't forget him! It is such a beautiful thing to see our Jonathon so happy; after all, he is truly a "people person" and getting to talk to people all day is definitely in his wheelhouse!

To get to my real point: He is being featured as one of Goodwill's "Success Stories" in an upcoming newsletter! On Tuesday, he had his photo shoot at the store. I snapped this picture during the shoot, although I didn't ask permission to post the cute photographer's pic, so I hope he'll forgive me if he should ever see this! :)

I'll post more from the article and the actual pics when I get them--just had to do a little boasting for this hard-working young man. If you're ever in the area, stop in and say "Hi"; he'll love it!

God truly does provide!

Monday Morning Jumpstart

I have been struggling for the past year (notice that my last entry was January 19) to justify continuing my blog; I mean, we have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any number of other social media outlets to let friends, family, and Lord knows who else what is happening in our lives. Why write a blog?

So over the past couple of weeks, I have slowly realized that blogging is one of the greatest ways for me to share my story of faith during trials, sometimes even allowing myself to admit the times of weakness and questioning. It is also cheap therapy! (I've been guilty lately of a few too many online purchases, so maybe I should be spending my time at the computer writing rather than letting retail therapy get out of hand! I'm sure my husband would like that.)

As most of you know, I began blogging over ten years ago following my son's ruptured brain aneurysm. It was an ideal way to keep concerned friends and family "in the loop" as to his daily progress and sometimes the lack of it. Over time, it grew into a means of sharing our family's journey through his recovery, chronicling not only Jon's experiences but also those of his brothers, sister, and David and me. After all, no matter how much a person regains after such a life-altering experience, they are never quite the same, and neither is the family. Fortunately, we have learned as a family to appreciate our time together and to respect the gift we have in life itself.

As those of you who have followed my blog (or now stay in touch through Facebook) also know, I, too, had a brain aneurysm last year. In fact, my last entry was made on the night before I entered the hospital for surgery. I didn't post again during my recovery because, quite honestly, it was a much more difficult recovery than first anticipated. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that the first procedure didn't work as hoped and after two days at home, I was readmitted to the hospital and subsequently had another procedure to coil the aneurysm. I am now the proud owner of 32 coils in the carotid artery leading to what the doctors called an "egg-sized" aneurysm. Lucky me! Actually, a VERY lucky me. Had I not had visual issues prompting me to seek advice from my doctor, it is most likely that I would not have known anything was wrong until it was too late. Lesson here: when ANYTHING seems out of the ordinary, don't assume it's nothing; find out! It was heartbreaking to realize that I was the genetic link to my son's aneurysm, but not once did he ever blame me. Instead, he was such an encourager and prayer warrior for me as I traveled my own road to recovery. I can never thank my family and friends enough for their tireless and selfless efforts to bring me back to full health--my husband, my sister-in-law, Mary Ann (who stayed with me for weeks at a time so that David could return to work), my daughter, Blair (who I thought was going to punch one of the doctors one day), my sons, Taylor, Jon, and Jeff for their unwavering love and support, my brothers for the phone calls and loving concern for me, my daughter from another mother, Cathleen (who became my personal nurse), my friends, my church, my friend Rosemarie (who "sat" with me when Mary Ann couldn't and who still helps me immensely by driving Jon to work most days), and many more I'm sure I should name. There are indeed angels among us!

During my hospitalization, we received the devastating news that my brother's wife, Denise, had pancreatic cancer. Actually, "they" as in everyone else in the family received the news; I was shielded from it until I came home from the hospital. As you can imagine, it was a crushing blow for each of us. As you are also aware, I'm sure, pancreatic cancer takes no prisoners. Although our precious Denise fought the good fight, the horrific disease claimed her in August, after an eight month long battle. I was both honored and blessed to stand by my brother's side along with their son and his wife and her sister and her sister's husband when she took her last breath. She had said that she didn't want to be alone when she crossed the river Jordan, and she wasn't. We listened to "Celebrate Me Home" by The Perrys as she left us, and then praised God for the time He had shared her with us. Heaven now has another piece of each our hearts, although we rejoice in knowing that we will meet our sassy girl again. But boy, do we miss her now!

So happy together - Bill and Denise

Well, for someone who has been struggling with keeping up a blog, I guess I've proved my own need for it. Sharing these moments has been most therapeutic for me and for those who read this, I hope not too self-indulgent. Until the need hits again...