I am rambling today giving due respect to the day’s responsibilities as they are the usual and customary but realizing that while a phone ringing makes a for a short burp in my day it may change everything forever for those that needed to make the call bringing sad news. My Aunt Esther at the age of ninety seven was called home to be with God. I had gone to see her several weeks earlier in the Gaylord Health Care Facility and I had a great time doing the “remember when.” Within days she contracted phenomena and was gone. It was sudden but also not surprising that her aging system had lost the ability to fight. Yesterday when the phone rang I was not expecting a call of a second loss in the family. (More …)
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Noreen
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Noreen
It is what it is and that is a mess of late spring weather. I believe it is our Lord just letting us know who really is in charge. We hurry around worse than rats leaving a sinking ship. Truth be told those that are always in a hurry don’t get any farther ahead than the rest of us that take a bit more time to enjoy each day’s event. I am truly one that has been on the roller coaster and now I am on a trolley just putzing along and many times even humming a song. I will never ever have this day to replay. There are no “do overs.” I want to hear all and see all that lays before me each day adding it to my databank as I know there will be a day, a time that some instance will rely upon just such a recollection. As the ground is again white with some icy snow I am here to tell you I am just fine with it all and if it were not so I would be sure to tell you.
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Noreen

Nicholas and Megan cleaning out the big maple tree, getting ready for another season of playing when they visit.
It seems as if Easter Sunday was a long long time ago rather than five days ago. Easter Monday we attend the funeral of my 97-year-old aunt Esther Anna Wendlandt Opitz. Of the possible 29 cousins there were 15 of us there to celebrate Esther’s life and become reacquainted with family that get together too seldom and then usually due to a funeral. Within a half hour of getting home daughter Carrie arrived with Megan and Nicholas for them to spend time with Dennis and me. They had not been at our home for an extended time since prior to school starting in the fall of 2012. It was a whirlwind of activity as the possibility of any dust bunny escaping was slime to none. There were birdhouses painted as well as sleeves that seemed to get in the way of the creative styles. (More …)
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Noreen
It’s the close of a great day and the close of Holy Week. The comforting feeling that my Lord is in charge of my life and even more so now that today was my 69th birthday and I rely on the hand of my Lord on my shoulder to guide me everyday. So many things are changing in this world that I have no control over. It makes one feel very small and that’s o.k. I have just enough on my plate to allow me to feel very blessed, happy and content.
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Noreen
The day has been gray sprinkled with a few bursts of sun. Amazingly even the ice on the sheltered portion of the patio has given it up for the season. As a spring gift to self I have redecorated my living room. Martha Stewart: eat your heart out. No visit to Pier One Import or Walmart — just using what has been around for a bit in a unique way. Prep for Easter is under control and I am looking forward to enjoying a relaxing visit from family and grand pups. It’s time to take a bit of time outside as Easter Sunday and Monday are promised to be in the 30s for temps. Dang. Hurry up and wait.
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Noreen
This is the holiest of weeks and I feel a quiet within me that I would not mind staying within me every day. But the real world harkens and I am no different than anyone else allowing the most meager items that will spike my heart rate. I have found that when something does trigger my pulse to quicken I actually do talk to myself and assure the inner me that this is just a little glitch and in the scheme of things it’s going to be okay. There are so many instances in our lives when we need to realize that if it is not something we can control or change we need to let it go before we invest any more of our precious energy into a complete waste. My quest is to work very hard at quieting my heart during the meaningless challenges and save it for long lasting enjoyment of my family — now there is a great reason for the heart to swell as it fills with love. Out with the angst — in with the true joy of each day.
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Noreen
I continue to be amazed what the world has to offer in the most simplistic moments. Watching Blue Jays and alley cats taking turns to belly up to the cat food dish.
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Noreen
What am I up to? I am having a great day with the sun shining. As I sip more coffee than I need I am tackling a few house cleaning items. I love the no drip Windex that Kevin clued me into. It’s amazing what shows up as in need of a wipe with the sun shining through the sky light. I know we have a few cool nights left so putting a quilt into the clothes drier with a clean tennis shoe to fluff it will indeed give it more fluff and loft. The more air trapped in the batting the more snuggle power it will have. I just reloaded the “do not call” into my cell phone and the land line phone. I feel so intruded upon when the phone rings and I realize it is a telemarketer. I just heard on the news that Walmart is short of employees. Maybe the telemarketer employees should seek a better choice for employment. At least once in a while they would be greeted with a smile from a customer rather than me hanging up the phone with a bang. Yes indeed it’s a been a great day.
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Noreen
This is Palm Sunday and as I watch out the window the snow flakes are beautiful. A huge part of the appeal is knowing that it can’t last long. Holy Week always is an emotional week for me. The week represents what has been put in place by my Lord and Savior for the continuous forgiveness of my sins and weakness upon my own acknowledgement of them and then asking for that forgiveness. My Dad died on a Maundy Thursday during the Holy Week and that day is clearly etched in my heart. As this week brings so much peace to me a large part of that includes that my children are all working each and every day to enhance their lives and live as the Lord’s teaching has been instilled within them — each to their own abilities. So with that being said I am going to continue my day with a very light heart.
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Noreen
I know that I am a child of parents that always took each day as it came with not much anticipation but with much fortitude. One that I love just stretches my disbelief on what to expect next. Each of us each day has discomfort, pain, even something that may need a band-aid. Many we know have a short time to live as they battle diseases. We suck it up and know that we live in a world that was destined by Adam’s actions in the Garden of Eden to live in a less than perfect world. Why the drama over each and every quirk that our body may deliver to us? Ride it out. Stretch it out. Get so busy you forget about yourself without feeling the need to make it public, seeking affirmation that someone is going to pay attention to you come hell or high water. It does allow for feeling of disappointment within me. I am now going to do a Forest Gump “that’s all I have to say about that.”