About Me

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I LOVE to design and to paint whimsical items that will put a smile on your face. Each day I share my simple life with you as I try to encourage, to inspire and sometimes JUST to make you smile as I recount my life growing up on a dairy farm! I've never had many material items in my life, BUT I have been blessed beyond words with love and encouragement from WONDERFUL Parents who instilled in me WHAT was important. I have had EVERYTHING that I needed and WAY too much of what I wanted. I am slowly learning to be a better person each day through my interactions with my friends on Facebook. Some day I hope to be as good as people seem to THINK I am! I am BLESSED! Welcome to my little corner of the world...Please stop by and visit often!

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thanksgiving on the Back Porch, Thursday, November 26, 2015

Blogger must be off for the holidays, so no cute inspirational graphics...just me and my words..


I don’t think it is a great secret that I wish I could just scooch past holidays without having to comment to individuals…the questions of DID YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY…WHAT DID YOU DO…and so forth, you know, those words we offer out of kindness…Those words almost push me into a state of SHEER FEAR, for I have no satisfactory answer, other than fine…

USUALLY, the day was NOT fine, but who really wants to hear that! I have learned that is the simplest way to have people exit your life…who wants to have a “Debbie downer” around~~ my apologizes to all those named “Debbie”.

I feel great sadness as I see the postings of wishes for the day…of talk of family gatherings…or the food that is being prepared to share with a family…Tears flow quite easily…I numbly scroll through them TRYING to muster the joy that they were meant to illicit…I don’t begrudge their wishes, they are just painful for me to see.

I have spent most of the day on the back porch throwing a rawhide (yes, for those of you who are my FB friends, it IS the one with Parfum De Urine {said in my sexiest French voice, but remember, I am 53 and single, so it isn’t very sexy}) with Charcoal.  I have enjoyed the warm sunshine (don’t hate on me because it is around 70 and I am sitting outside barefooted with my pjs on) beaming down on my face.  As I sat here with my eyes closed and them glowing orange from the beautiful sunshine, I have, once again, been transported to the days of having a family…

I looked at the cabin~~old and falling down, like many of the memories~~ and flashed back to the numerous times I was on my belly trying to lure some new kittens out for me to play with…I was AMAZING at catching new kittens.  I could out-wait those little suckers like a Hawk eyeing its prey…funny, for a gal who has no patience!  Having my hands scratched and bitten until bleeding was never a deterrent for me.  I would hold the kitty, pat them and talk soft words of reassurance to them until I felt I had to let them go, only for the chase to begin a little later…poor kitties…

I remembered the days of playing catch with the middle child…I was and am still AWFUL at catching.

Most days were spent playing with Brian, my brother who is 2 years older. I recounted the games of HORSE…jumping off the roof of the small shed…swinging until the swing set shook…walking to the pond to watch the bullfrogs jump in and hoping to see a turtle…skimming stones into the water…running into the house crying because Brian was trying out his “ras-lin” moves on me or giving me an Indian burn…watching the spiders weave their webs or catch their prey…following Daddy around like a little puppy…being awakened as he carried me back from the field because I feel asleep to the hum of the tractor (BEST pacifier for a kid EVER)…running into the house to show Mother something I had found~~she was NEVER too busy to stop and look and to comment…countless walks down the road (barefooted) on the blazing hot blacktop to go to the milk house to see Daddy, Son and Bob and to put the feed into the trays for the cows…

I recalled the SOUNDS that once were in our home…the family gatherings that were filled with laughter…conversations…food…love…Now, the silence aches.

I have reflected on the posts about the “empty chairs” and have come to the conclusion that those empty chairs, through death, are often a part of the scheme of life, BUT what saddens me more, is how those “empty chairs” should have been filled with new life…new children…new in-laws…new friends and the fact that they remain empty, breaks my heart…

I don’t think I will ever understand the dynamics of a family.  To have had such a wonderful group of Godly people who taught us what is important and how we are to act, and yes, THREATENING to haunt us if EVER we fought over material things…HOW could it have gone so wrong?  But then, I realize, we all make choices and choices ALWAYS have consequences…There is no fighting…only deafening SILENCE…

Thankfully, tomorrow is another day (SCARLET…um, Sheila)…and with it will come the newness of the day…a clean slate…another chance to make a positive difference in the world…to try just a bit harder, to accept the consequences of the choices I have made or have had to accept because of the choices OTHERS have made…it is all just called LIFE…

We take the good, we take the bad, and there we have~~the Facts of LIFE!  ;)  
Lest I be accused of being the Thanksgiving Grumpy Green Guy, I DID fix me and Charcoal some crunchy cornbread and some cream of chicken to go over it...He liked it VERY much...we also had popcorn with butter and Coke (he eats the ice).

My apologizes for those feeling sad for me right now…please don’t because I REALLY am FINE…I just have a little problem with 3D people, these days.  I do much better with the flat-screen type!

I have counted my blessings and have prayed several prayers of Thanksgiving…I am glad that I have chosen to live my life THANKFULLY each day, not relying on only ONE appointed day to Give Thanks.  

Challenges are not unique to only me…we all have them~~some by our own choice, and some just because LIFE happens and we sometimes, really do reap what we sow!  BUT most of the time, I think we are granted GRACE and MERCY and given SO MUCH BETTER than we deserve…

I am one who has gotten SO MUCH BETTER than I deserve!  The foundations laid for me in my past have helped make my journey so blessed.  I am counting my blessings today…YOU have crossed my path and have made a difference in my life, so I offer THANKS for that…I’m not so sad…just waxing sentimental…

IF you are reading this, MAKE TIME for those you love…if you are in a relationship that makes you CHOOSE to leave your family or friends, PLEASE get counseling, because that is NOT how God wants us to be…STOP nit-picking your family apart…support them…accept them…love them, because I PROMISE the things you don’t like in someone else, can be FOUND in YOU (my momma taught me that!)…the next time you get ticked because your husband left his dirty socks on the floor, just throw yours down there with them and laugh your butt off instead of being angry over something that does NOT matter in the grand scheme of life.  Quit telling your friends what is WRONG with your spouse, or making sexist jokes, because they destroy a relationship…Tell your friends about the AMAZING things that you love about your spouse, your in-laws, your children and extended family! It is a HABIT…make it a good habit.

Oh my little peeps, life is so short…so fragile…so important!  SEEK ye FIRST, the kingdom of God and ALL these things will be added unto YOU…I send Blessings to You that are too many to count!...~charlotte

5 comments:

  1. Well, my friend. . . many of the points you bring up are something that many of us can relate to in our own lives. Even though outward appearances may be different, I find that those that brag the most sometimes are the ones with the most hurting hearts.

    You DO make a difference in many, many lives - every day. Mine especially. Your wonderful talent and kindness towards others and observations of our world bring a unique perspective on so many things. I can't help but feel that if we lived closer we would be the greatest friends.

    I won't tell you to be happy, because I realize that mere words won't help or change things. But I will tell you that you are very much loved and appreciated by all whose path crosses your own every day. I mean that.

    We had a very small dinner here. Keith, his mom and I. In many ways it was no different than the weekly dinners we have here anyway. There are not children or loads of food or people. But between the three of us, we have a day enjoying each other and being grateful for what we do have.

    My own family is no longer in the picture. I am, for all practical purposes - an orphan. It is a long story that I may or may not tell you one day. I also look back to the memories with longing and sadness at times. But I know that the path I am on is where I am supposed to be. I need to trust in that in order to remain positive and optimistic.

    Take care and know you are very much loved. (((HUGS))))

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  2. sending you and charcoal hugs! my granddogter looks like him!holidays can be hard, even with a house full of people sometimes.

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  3. So much of what you say I can relate to Charlotte. I will never understand how families can be torn apart by "stuff'........sometimes years can go by and we can't even remember what that "stuff " is anymore .......but our hearts remain heavy, hurting and wishing things were different. That emptiness we feel hurts deeply. I think the holidays magnify those feelings ten fold. I often find the holidays so difficult to get thru also. I'm grateful for the difference that you have made in my life and also the MANY whose lives you have touched by your kindness and inspirational words. YOU my friend are loved. HUGS

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  4. Before i met my hubby, i spent MANY holidays with my cat Naphtali. =) I do remember all that you spoke of that goes through one;s mind. And you know, there are the same type of emotions even now. The sense of family is what i miss the most. We used to be anywhere from 30-50 people at my grandparents during holidays. So many memories. But yes, life happens, choices are made. People we love pass on.

    I will join in the chorus of how you have touched my life with so much love & inspiration. Especially how you've taught me that IT'S ONLY PAINT! LOL

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Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world. In case you haven't been told, you are loved!~~charlotte♡