The sixth day of August 2014…

Another day in August…another milestone. Joy and sadness. Laughter and tears. This was originally posted in Sweet Journey Home on August 6, 2013. What can I say? I don’t think I can say it any better. I look forward to seeing my family in the South the first two weeks of October. My niece Cindy makes everyone’s heart sing and laugh! Here she is in the pic below with her two wonderful children. Happy Birthday, Cindy! I love you!

The Sixth Day of August…

There are some days in life that are just bittersweet…today is one of those days.

On a sweet note, today is Cindy’s birthday. She is my sister Gerry’s firstborn. Cindy is beautiful with a heart of gold…just like her late Mom. She has an ever ready smile and a wonderful sense of humor. We are always laughing when we’re all together. An amazing pianist and wonderful teacher, she must bless the hearts of the students at the college where she teaches. No doubt, she blesses the hearts of our entire family…just as she blesses mine. Happy Birthday, Cindy! I love you. Wish I could be there to celebrate with all of you! But I will see you in October!

Love this photo from about 1957. Cindy was almost 5 and I was 12. (Guessing at the year and ages here.)

Apparently, I’d propped her up in the car window! I was a really good baby sitter!

Sadly, today also marks the tenth anniversary of my beautiful sister Dot’s death. She fought a courageous battle against AML (Acute Myloid Leukemia) but Heaven needed her. She had such strength and optimism. She believed in FAMILY more than anyone I have ever known. Dot remembered special days with a card, a note or a call. She organized family reunions and made sure that we all got together. She had a gift for staying in touch. Dot had the burden/privilege of being the oldest…maybe that comes with the territory. As I shared in the previous post, searching for our family roots was Dot’s inspiration and I will honor her by finishing it. She would like that.

How I would love to answer the phone and hear her quip one more time, “Hello! What’s going on besides the rent?” with that smile in her voice. I miss her every single day…but I will see her in Heaven.

I love this picture of my sister when she was about 21 years old.

One week from today, I will be in a mini-van with my daughter and her family (seven of us) traveling (11 hours!) home to Memphis for Thanksgiving. Memphis is where I grew up, fell in love and got married (39 years) and had three wonderful children. My three sisters (two now in Heaven) and I spent so much time together in Memphis and Mississippi. My nieces and nephews are so much a part of my life there. The closer I get to Memphis, the more the memories come flooding in…whether I’m flying into the airport there or on a rare drive.

The last time all of my children and grandchildren were in ONE location (always my dream), was in June 2010 in Chicago. What a wonderful time we had! My precious little Peruvian granddaughter – never shy – walked in first to the hotel room where we all were and proceeded to introduce her big sisters and then herself. A perfect introduction. Of course, she didn’t realize that she was the one everyone was meeting for the first time! (Except for me of course – I had been to Peru in 2008 where my son was a missionary doctor.) Special memories.

I’m looking forward to making more special memories as we are all together in Memphis with my late husband’s sister Penny and her family. This time, my younger son’s fourteen month old baby girl will be there too! I can’t wait to hold her! Although now she is so “busy” I probably won’t be able to hold her for long, but we can definitely play. She will be so excited to be with all of her cousins! My precious niece Sharon and her husband will come over for a fun barbecue dinner. I can’t wait to see them! I miss everyone and wish that we ALL lived closer to one another! My youngest says “but, Mom, you gave us roots and wings”! Let that be a lesson to me – about the “wings” that is! 😉

Chicago 2010

Featured photo at top: Sweet baby girl! She will have so much fun with her cousins in Memphis!

I would be tempted to stay in Memphis and visit a while longer then fly back home to Iowa; however, I do not want to miss the first birthday that my baby girl and I have been able to spend together in a very long time. My birthday (and her late Dad’s birthday also) is December 1. Her birthday is December 4th! She was almost born on OUR birthday. She took the photo below at arm’s length under flourescent lights the night of the Great Pumpkin Party at our church! Please remember: flourescent lights are not kind to anyone! 😉