Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving Day 2013.

 

I had worked myself up to the hope of going out to eat for Thanksgiving dinner. Day or night I didn't care. It didn't happen. In fact the phone rang only once all day and that was my daily call from my sister who lives in a nursing home. She called to tell me all about her outing to a friends.

 

I had also been invited but being in the shape I am, health wise, it is hard for me to go to other people's homes. So I declined the 3 offers I had gotten.

 

As my day wore on I guessed I could have called some people but then they were all busy cooking and serving family.

 

So I ate a Buddig meat sandwich for lunch. Later in the day I planned to actually fix a meal but after 45 minutes my oven decided not to come on so all I had was a room full of gas smell to which I had to open a window for a bit. So, no oven baked anything. Thankfully I have a crock pot and microwave.

 

I checked the phone to see if it was working. I checked Facebook a few times only to see how everyone was enjoying their families and food.....so I went back to my book on tape and a cup of tea.

 

My neighbors grand daughter came over to play with the kittens, that was the highlight of my day.

 

There are many many reasons why someone is alone on a holiday. Mine is not unique. However I have come to the conclusion that this is the last one I spend alone. From now on, I'm going to find other singles, widows, orphans who don't necessarily want to be alone but they don't have much of a choice. We are going to go out to eat somewhere, even if it has to be fast food. We are going to give thanks, eat and get to know one another. Perhaps we will go somewhere together and serve.

 

Perhaps we will go shopping. And that's another thing. Don't be telling me not to shop on Thanksgiving. I can shop whenever I want to. Maybe that store that is open has a bunch of employees that are beyond thankful they have a job and can use the extra money. A few years ago my sister and I started going to a movie on holidays. Don't hear anyone complaining about filling your mind and thoughts with all that garbage on Thanksgiving.

 

Ok so there you have my Thanksgiving blog. LOL Next year will be better.

 

 

 

 



A Review....of sorts

A few years ago I startd to hang out a local "mom and pop" cafe. I would be there every Saturday morning with my journal and laptop. I got to know the owners, the customers, the staff. It was always good fun. Later on I had a friend join me on Saturday mornings. Then my health took a turn and my Saturday morning trips got fewer and fewer until I couldn't go by myself any longer. I did manage to go here and there but always with someone. It saddened me quite a bit.

Back in June I was able to gather there with a bunch of friends for my birthday. Wonderful. But I wasn't able to go again until last week. The place has been sold and is under new ownership. I already knew this. I walked in with great expections.

We went in for a late breakfast. Ten in the morning. That's late for me.

I noticed the change right away. A different atmosphere. All new tables. All facing the same way. Kind of boring considering the previous owner made things a bit more 'cozy' with the seating arrangements.

We sat down. Our server was one I knew so I grilled her about all the changes. She told me quite a few things. One being the new owners are thinking about taking some things off the menu. Those things being some of the most popular dishes. I've never been sure why places do that. New people take over and they change the good stuff and loose business. I mean look what happened to Ernie's when it was sold. They changed all sorts of stuff on their menu and to this day their business is not like it used to be.

I

guess it takes time to build up a clientel but the server also told me they have lost quite a few regular customers. I hope the new owners can win some back and gain some new ones in the process.

All in all the experience was not bad. You can still take your laptop, visit with people, have good food and really great coffee. We had Cinnamon Sticky Bun flavored coffee and then we had some Pumpkin Spice. My friends French Toast Sticks were different. It is now French Toast cut in to strips with a generous helping of powdered sugar.

CJ's Cafe is still there, I'll still go.....unless they take away the bagels. :-)

Heavy Man

Do you ever wake up with something so heavy on your mind and heart you just know it's from God?

 

I have 3 people in my life that are going through really tough times. ( 4 including me ) :-). One has something serious, one has something very serious and the other has something very very serious. I can't explain it, but when they come to my mind I have an overwhelming sense of heaviness for them and I have to stop and pray. It is a priviledge and honor to do so. Though part of my heart breaks for them, the other part is filled with joy over what lies ahead for us all.

 

You know, quite possibly there is a good reason I'm alone so much...you just never know who is praying for you. :-)

Stress Vs Panic

There is a differance between stress and panic. I tend to panic. When something happens around the house I panic. I get all bent out of shape, cry and worry. Then someone comes along, fixes the problem and I'm like, "whew, glad that's over, whats for lunch?" It happened again yesterday. I went to flush the toilet and the handle wouldn't move. It had been acting kind of funny lately but I thought it was just because my hands don't work like they used to.

 

So I paniced. Thankfully my nephew was available and came right over. Problem...broken handle. He showed me how to flush it by taking the lid off and raising the bar.....well you know. Problem solved later today when I buy a new handle and he puts it on for me.

 

I don't like to panic. I don't like to have to take care of things around the house anymore. I want someone else to be responsible. If you know of anyone who wants to buy a big fixer upper, let me know. Wonder where I will go from here? Besides Walmart for a new toilet handle. :-)

What Can Happen

I'd like to share a bit of what can happen when you run to God for help. This is a true story.

 

About ten years ago my very best friend was diagnosed with Melanoma. She ran to me. We sat and cried together. I shared with her the fact that she needed to also run back to God. So she started coming to church with me. She began to build relationships. She got through her cancer treatment and some other ailments. She started to bring her mom and each Sunday we would all sit together and have fun at church.

 

The years passed. Then suddenly something happened that messed up our friendship and caused all sorts of pain and discomfort. But that's ok, it helped build up many things in my life. We took care of matters. Forgave and moved on.

 

In her willingness to run to God all those years ago, He opened doors for her she never thought about. Well maybe deep down inside she thought about them.

 

She walked through that big door, met a man, dated for about 5 years and today they are married.

 

Things can change when you pursue a relationship with God. The Bible tells us to put away all the foolish things of this world and seek Him. I kind of did that when I gave up watching television. It has given me more time to pursue God. I read more, study my Bible more, pray more, go out more, hang with friends more.

 

We can't go at this thing alone. We have to pursue a relationship with God and His people. It makes a difference in our life, in our health. It's time to get over whatever bitteress one might have with church life. As my former pastor was fond of saying, "build a bridge and get over it." People are always going to let us down, no matter what. It's up to us to try and not be that type of person. :-)

 

Backing up a bit....I have had nothing but fantastic treatment and care at the place I had my eye surgery done. The whole place runs like a fine tuned assembly line but everyone has been kind and friendly. Except for one. She was a "by the book" nurse who looked down at us over her glasses and talked very "matter of factly". No personality. So we had a question for her and she told us what was what and then just sort of lingered. What did we do? Oh how I wanted to be sarcastic. God forgive me I was when she left the room. But while she was there we just smiled at her and said "ok". Being sarcastic would have made me feel better but then it isn't about me.

 

I say "we" because over the last year or so I have had a friend who is a retired nurse go with me to almost every doctor appt. I have had. She has been my second pair of eyes and ears and yes there have been times when I might have wanted to be alone, but glad I wasn't. That's just another example of the provision of God. Running to Him gives me peace, joy, love, church family and much more.

 

Who knows, maybe someday it will lead to a date! Even though I'm at a point where I am content with God being the only man in my life. He is all I need. :-)

Sunday Morning Thoughts

Thoughts....yes I have plenty! Should I share them all? Don't think so. I am up early this morning. I slept about four hours, woke up and came to the conclusion I was supposed to get up an accomplish a few things early. So I've had my coffee, had some prayer time, talked to Momma as she ate her breakfast and nosed around the house. Soon I will wash my hair, do my eyedrops AGAIN and start the process of getting ready for church.

 

Yesterday was one of those days where I did nothing, heard from no one and pretty much wasted away. Today I look forward to being in the company of my church family. We are having our annual pork chop meal after the service. I love church meals, all that food....but afterwords I always feel like I need a hamburger and a soda! Though I have almost totally given up soda.

 

I am trying very hard to eat better. Then I get on Facebook and see all those food pictures and recipes people post and I wonder....do they really ever try to fix that stuff and does it actually look like the picture and why are they even looking at it when they are diabetic like myself???

 

I miss my "going out for coffee" gang. Anyone want to start doing that? I'll go out for coffee at night too! That's why they created decaf!

 

So I got my eyes fixed. One has healed up nicely and quickly, the other is taking its sweet time and playing around with a sinus infection.

 

Have a family member diagnosed with cancer this past week. Time to get angry at the enemy again for thinking he can win when he knows he is a looser.

 

Very thankful for those who watch over me, think about me, take care of me, even though I'm an adult it is still nice to be taken care of. :-)

 

Ok, those are some Sunday Morning thoughts. Can I go back to bed now?

Oh What a Night

I did something last night that I haven't done in YEARS. I laid awake until 3 a.m. listening to old cd's. I found myself in the possession of a new compact cd player with awesome sound. So after I finished my book on cd that I was "reading" I popped in some music. One cd led to another and the next thing I knew it was near dawn. When you are listening to music with headphones on, it's different than when you have it playing through the house.

Let me back up a bit. My new cd player also has FM radio and I was picking up stations I didn't know existed. I suddenly found myself transported back to what I grew up on....80'a rock. When music had a beat and you could understand the words and dance to it and...I digress.

What I was hearing led me to some of my own stuff. Foreigner, Journey, Aerosmith, and yes you guessed it, Cheap Trick.

I put in two lesser known Cheap Trick "albums" and immediately had a flood of emotions. Mostly laughter, but I did shed a few tears over memories...after all they do light the corners of my mind.

No other voice stirs me up like Robin Zander. I don't say that to be sappy, Have you ever really listened to his range?

So there I am listening to old and new Cheap Trick and suddenly I was taken back to days with Lisa, Laurie, Gail and some that shall remain nameless for various reasons.

There I was with Lisa at the old Madison Theatre standing at the stage not five feet from the band as they performed. That was the sweaty towel night!

And there I was meeting Laurie for the first time at Trickfest. What an awesome weekend. We could have pitched in and gotten Robin a new hat, but the suit made up for it! Gail, Lisa and I took forever deciding what to wear and how to fix our hair only to realize later on we were really the only ones who cared.

And there was our third guest and the handcuffs. I wont go there. ;-)

There was the trip to Rockford...there was the concert at the Steamboat Festival where the band was spotted on the gambling boat. There was the concert in Duquoin where Lisa, Gail and I went backstage and met them personally.

As I listened to their music in the middle of the night the memories were so thick I could see colors. Colors of Tom Petersson's outfit, of Robin's son hanging out, of Gail trying to look like Stevie Nicks, of meeting Laurie in the bathroom, of seeing Tom in a downtown Peoria bar as Lisa and I sat eating dinner before the show.

Those were fun times. I guess we all grew up and stopped having fun times because we no longer keep in contact. It would be fun to all gt together again an go down memory lane to share a laugh or two.

Staying up till three a.m. was fun, but it has definitely been a more than one cup of coffee day.