Indulge

The Weekly Photo Challenge theme was Indulge.  I thought this was an interesting word because indulging is a very sensory experience.

I chose two very different family pictures that represent simple but pleasurable indulgences.

Here is my father when he was stationed in Germany in the 1950’s. As you can see he is taking a break from his regular duties.  He’s sitting on a desk where there is an empty inbox.

He’s wearing a coat, so the weather may not be freezing, but it is cold. Perhaps the flowers took his mind away from that, if only for a moment.  I love to smell flowers so I can really relate to this picture.  I close my eyes just like he did and take in the scent of something soft and lovely.

I also found a photo that gave me a good chuckle.  How many times have we looked at a mountain of ice cream or some other decadent dessert and thought, “I wish I could just dive into that!  I don’t want to wait - I’m going for it!”

C’mon…admit it…you know you’ve done that!  I’m an admitted chocolate addict, so I know I have!

My niece went for it from the comfort of her high chair and someone was there to catch the moment she indulged!  I can just taste it – how about you?  YUM!!!

“Down” Memory Lane

The WordPress theme was “Down.”   I mulled over this theme for a while.  I didn’t really have any photos that had to do with heights, or, with the emotions that occur when one is down.  I finally settled on taking a walk down memory lane.   I hope you enjoy my little stroll.

My parents met at a church youth group in Southern California in 1949. They were married in 1953 when my dad was on leave from Fort Ord, California.  He had just finished basic training. He was later stationed in Germany during the Korean conflict.

 

My mom’s parents lived with us about half of the year.  During the other half of the year they would visit family in Mexico. The trips to Mexico occurred regularly until my grandfather had a change in health and could no longer travel.

I was accustomed to having three generations in the household.  We used to say the family consisted of my parents, grandparents, six kids and a dog (or two).

    

I happen to be the fourth of the six of us. As you might imaging we had a very active family. Like any home we had our ups and downs. That being said it was generally noisy, hectic and happy.

When I was in high school someone gave me a very large postcard in honor of my family. It said: “Welcome to the House of Perpetual Commotion.”

It was perfect.   We displayed the postcard proudly for years.  Everyone who saw it agreed that it fit!

The photos below were taken on the last Thanksgiving that was spent in the house.  The family had grown to include daughters and sons-in-law plus grandkids.

The children in the last photo are grown.  Some of them now have children of their own.

I know this is just a small glimpse of my family and its history.   My walk down memory lane brought back a lot of fond memories.  I had a good laugh thinking about ideas for future stories.

I hope it also causes you to take  your own stroll and to recount times that you can remember fondly.

Regret – Maybe Not

The WordPress Topic of the week is Regret.  Admittedly, it wasn’t a topic I really wanted to pursue.  The way I see it, why look back?  No need to dwell on shoulda’, woulda’, coulda’.  I decided a while ago that it was more important to move forward than dwell on the past.  Always easier said than done, isn’t it?

A few years ago I made the decision to stop playing music.  When I say that I stopped playing, I don’t just mean that I stopped playing publicly; I stopped playing.  The music inside me went quiet.

Life was pretty hectic at the time. I needed to balance out a few things.  It was hard at first, but I knew it was the right decision.  No regrets.

I think there may be times when Al would want to hear me play music and sing a bit more.  I did pluck out a few songs recently as you can see in my Peaceful 2 post.  Perhaps the fact that I’ve mentioned this a couple of times in posts means it’s time to start exploring this again.  Hmmm…ya think?

I know I’ll enjoy reconnecting with old friends…a 12 string and a few six string acoustic guitars.  They’ve come along way with me.  We’ll make some rich sounds.  I suspect it won’t be too much longer.  I don’t have the tug to sing into a mike at the moment, at least not right now.  No regrets there, either!

Top photo – My sis’ wedding…was it really that long ago?

Bottom photo – A bit more recent.  Taking a break from rehearsing.

Ready

Coach I’m ready!  I can do it!  They don’t scare me!

I have five siblings.  Here is my brother wearing big brother’s little league uniform.  He has a very determined look on his face – he’s ready to play with the big guys!

‘nuff said!

Timeframe: mid – 1960’s.

Waiting

Cobbie69 suggested the theme Waiting as the weekly photo challenge.   What a great idea!

I went to the family archive and found this photo of my grandmother celebrating her 86th birthday.  The little cutie who is waiting in anticipation of a birthday song and a piece of cake is my niece.  She is now a lovely young lady, so this picture is recent but not that recent.

I suspect my grandmother asked her to help blow out the candles.  I’m sure my niece could hardly wait for the song to finish.

In looking through the photo archive I found some additional photos for future posts.  I guess you can say my discovery also fits the theme because I can hardly wait to use them!

p. s. To Gerry aka  Cobbie69 – Thanks for a great theme suggestion!

Peaceful – Follow-up

Last month I wrote a post called Peaceful.  I was appreciative and humbled by the replies; one from “Anonymous” stayed with me.  I mentioned I would follow up on a reply.  Due to a business trip and slight illness I hadn’t been able to complete that reply until now.

I hope Anonymous reads this.  Since the comments weren’t private, I’ll re-post portions here.

“… I ‘get’ the peace in this room. Oh man I get it. It’s inspiring and uplifting. And gentle movement. Your daughter’s inner world, is precious.”

Thank-you.  Many people don’t see her personality, or recognize how important a sense of order is to her.  I’m speaking of her internal order.  The order she brings to the space she creates.  We all want this to some degree.  She’s no different.

“Would you take in an online daughter of 30ish, an orphan from a terrible childhood? I wish somebody would…”

You, too, are precious.  I say that sincerely.  We all have uphill climbs in our lives; some have more challenges than others.

Years ago (probably when I was around your age!) a mentor said there are times when we feel like we don’t have any skin  Think about that. When we have a tiny cut we feel stung. Can you imagine what it would be like to have no skin at all? Somehow I suspect you can.

“Thank you very much for your post. You have no idea how much it reached me. Your daughter has inspired me to go on another day.”

This touched me deeply.  …very telling about you.  My daughter can be a real teacher once people get to know her.  She had taught me so much.

There are times when we all have to dig deep.  I mean really deep.

Someone told me I live everyday in a place where most people only glance. I imagine you understand this. One reason for this is to face your challenges, not deny them, then move through them and past them.  From there you can journey to a place of peace.  Truly. You have to be willing to take that walk.

Your reply to my post was lovely, honest and appreciated.  As I replied previously:

There’s a saying that during tough times you should take one day at a time. I think it’s often shorter. Take one moment at a time…one breath at a time.

We all have to find a safe place within our own world, within ourselves. Part of the journey with my daughter is to know this and to continually learn this.

It takes courage to reach out to someone when you’re in pain.  I hope you’ll reach out to people nearby who can support you. The journey starts with a first step.

Please stay strong and take one breath at a time.

I hope you’ll return to this post and drop me a line.

*If anyone else has words of encouragement for Anonymous, please feel free to leave those here.