You Can Do It All

...just not all at once. I was reminded of this again last night while reading about a man who recently passed away in Ogden. He lived a full life and filled each quarter with several new projects and adventures. He proved you are never to old to begin again. He not only had to change things up in his life he choose to change things up and begin again over and over.
This was just what I needed to propel me forward.  I am taking a look  at more lives I would like to lead.........I have lots to do and a life time to still do it.
MCC

Time Marches On

It's time to figure out Act II or the second half of my life....and it is hard. I know what I don't want to do, but having a vision and direction of what I want to do is a bit harder. Mom has said that our lives are divided into 4 quarters... She says she is figuring out her last quarter and I am figuring out my third..... I think that the first quarter is the easiest since others are deciding things for you. The Second quarter may be hard to transition into but gets routine with work and kids.....it's the freedom of the 3 quarter that has me questioning and asking now what? Several of my friends are going back to school and finishing the degrees they gave up on to enter into their second quarter.....my problem with doing the school things is that I wasn't completely sold on what I was going to school for the first time around. So I have nothing to focus on and complete. I also am doing a job that I didn't pick, but was picked for me. While I like some parts of my job there is not enough there to build on and I don't want to be stuck doing this for the rest of this quarter....I have said I will do it for another two years and then I am done. So what to do?
Mom has been reading a book that suggests that you have five lives to live and decide what would you do for each of those lives?  The husband, family and church thing are all apart of my lives, it is the career or activities that need deciding on....SO off the top of my head here is what I am thinking.......1. Artist...painting, creating, and selling my art to make a living. There is the buckling down and doing as well as taking of classes to make this happen. 2. Fashion designer...this definitely would require more schooling and opportunity. 3. Wedding cake maker....classes, kitchen, tools, opportunity, etc.... 3. Architect....education....starting form scratch, and it seems like a lot of work...now.  4. Interior Designer...education, opportunity.  5. Travel industry...don't know as what or what it would take, but I like to travel and explore.
I guess that this is a jumping off point and I should begin...doing something.  2 years will happen and if I don't want to be doing what I have been doing I need to get my butt in gear and create a great third quarter or Opening of Act II.

MCC

Getting Old Sucks....

and I'm not complaining because I am old, I am complaining for our parents.
Welcome to my Pity Party! ( I remember Mom telling me that pick the time I as going to wallow and be in my pity mood, do it and then move on).......so here it goes........

Gary's dad Bill, returned home at the first of June from an extended vacation in major pain and could hardly walk. A month later he had his hip replaced only to discover some cancerous tissue in the hip. They fit the hip back together with the replacement parts but told him that there would probably be more cancer and that his hip would never heal properly until the cancer was removed...... fast forward, the hip wants to heal and he is at a rehabilitation center, but the cancer is slowing the process. Now after a more extensive look they have found even more cancer, in his hip, shoulder and ribs.  He is in a lot of pain and is now undergoing radiation treatments to stop the growth of the cancer. 

My mom Sheri is having problems too.....her lungs keep filling with water.  When she first had the water removed in May they checked her heart, kidney's etc... and only found that there were cancer cells in the liquid. She had all the usual cancer things checked out and they couldn't find any cancer, she seemed to be fine; that is until 2 weeks ago when she said she knew she needed to have her lungs checked again. Once again they removed the water, she then came to Bear Lake with us (She  loves begin at the lake with the family more than Christmas).  Of course not even 4 days later she had to leave the lake and get more water removed form her lungs.....They are saying that there are still cancer cells present in the liquid. They have also told her that there is a leak that needs to be patched and today they found a blood clot in her lungs, so they are putting her on meds to break up the clot and they are installing a tap, (for lack of a better word) that they can access to continue to remove the liquid that keeps accumulating in her lungs. They have given her oxygen to use at home to give her some breathing help and She now has to wait for 4 weeks before she can get the patch and they still don't know what to tell her about the cancer........Getting old sucks.
Mary and Lyle the spouses are troupers, each with their own ailments and aches and pains. They both have had knee replacements and  with in the past 18 months. They tirelessly support their spouses through all of this, driving them too and from their Doctor appointments.

So what I am taking from all of this is that getting old sucks. You try and take care of yourself and eat healthy and be active, but it may not matter, the aches and pains and ailment will still get you in the end. Our Physical bodies just wear out eventually. I know it is all part of the plan, but this is the part I don't like.
Party over, I am done complaining, time is up. It is time to be positive and move forward.  Life is good, it is an adventure and we all know that there will be challenges of all kinds while here on earth in our physical bodies. We need to do our best, love one another, learn and lean on the Lord and T endure to the end gracefully.

MCC

Bear Lake Images 2011

 Ry Guy

 Jordan

 Laurie

 Marcie

 Nelson

 Ry

 Gary and his Fun hat

 Megan in the Fun hat

 Hayden and Ry

 My Sibs - Melinda, Adam, Me, Liz and Angela

 Rachel and Megan

 Lyle & Sheri

 Call Family

 Call Family

Hayden in the Fun hat and Nelson

Bear Lake 2011

Bear Lake week was a lot of sitting around and doing nothing...as Nelson said "I signed up to sit on the beach and do nothing....and that is what I am doing." We had a nice time together. I was luck to eventually have my whole family with us...from Gary down to Ry guy...and then there was the extended Cole Family, we were only missing 5......pretty good turn out. It was fun doing the family trivia. I was glad to know all the answers and that my kids now know the answers and can pass the info along.
The only odd thing was being in three condos and not on top of each other......odd but nice.

I think we all look smashing!

MCC

The Little Imp....

Captain A or Ry Guy, is such a tease! He likes rocks...what a boy, anyway he would pick one up and hold it tight in his little hand. Then every so often he would bring his hand up to his mouth like he was going to put the rock in.......I would tell him "No, No, No!" He would laugh at me then run around the table several times and we would do a repeat performance.
He also likes the uncles to chase him....he gets their attention then starts to run away form them...if they are slow he slows down and looks over his shoulder until they are following him....crazy kid.
One of his jaunts when he is over is to check on grandpa in his office.....Grandpa was gone and the office door was closed.  He would knock on the door and we would tell him "Grandpa is not here." This happened several times, then he decided maybe he is in another room...and the sliding door onto the bathroom was much easier to try to open......

and as any grandma will report; He is a genius....think Mozart.

Oh, he is so much fun!

MCC

Thoughtful Day

I just returned from the funeral of Eugenia Chapman. This sweet lady has been apart of my life forever. She cleaned Grandma Butters house and also our house until I graduated from high school. She was more than someone who came in weekly to dust and vacuum, Eugenia was family. In the last few weeks of Grandmas life she told me that Eugenia was one of her best friends.....at the funeral I realized that Grandma and Eugenia were kindred spirits. Eugenia helped us get organized.  I recall dreading when she came because she would not only work her guts out she would put us to work as well.  She was a hard worker and taught me that it is important to do the job right the first time. As a bratty preteen she would suffer with me through my bedroom....she didn't clean it but helped me keep at it until it was presentable. I know that she was a big help to my mom, especially when things were hard and when mom went back to school. She would not only clean up she would also make dinner, do the laundry and help us get the canning done.
After her years of cleaning, Eugenia went on to write a book with her daughter about her cleaning potions and ideas, called Cleaning Your House and Everything In It. She was then seen on TV nationally and had a radio program and a column in the news paper. It was always fun to say that I know her. There are things that I currently do while cleaning my own home that I know I learned from Eugenia. 

 

I say that this is a thoughtful day because thinking of Eugenia brings back so many great memories of my youth, my Mom and Dad and my Grandparents. (and not just cleaning memories). I think that summer also has a lot to do with it........swimming at Grandma Butters, the car trip with her and grandpa, flower planting, painting the cabana, the paint mess, goof balls, the sweet alohas and strawberry daiquiris.....I ate a bowl of strawberries for lunch today, that is how strong the memories are hitting me.  With Dad and Mom it's been the picking of morning glory.........I was trying to eradicate the morning glory from my flower garden this week and thought of the many holiday mornings we had to clean it up out of the bushes.......I  still hate it.  Working hard inside and out so that we could play hard. I still get everyone up to work hard on summer mornings so that we can then spend the afternoon playing.  Planting the garden, singing, boating, the motor home trips......so many memories all have to do with summer.

Thanks to my memory makers, you have made my life special.

MCC