A Neck Bones' Thanksgiving

I am so thankful this Thanksgiving that I know how to be thankful. One of my best friends in the entire world just lost her 51 year old daughter whom I have known since she was just a little girl. It was a reminder of how precious life is. Another friend is eating neck bones and collard greens for Thanksgiving because she has had plenty of turkey in her life. This was a reminder of how we should live life in exactly the way that we want to live it. We have to be grateful for every moment; cherish every relationship; know the difference between turkey and dressing and neck bones and turkey. Although I don't mind the turkey and dressing on Thanksgiving, I know that the neck bones keep it all real!

Batting and Back-Ups

I have always loved baseball metaphors and now I am falling in love with quilting metaphors. As I was reading this morning, the backing of a quilt is one of the most important pieces. Without the backing, the batting would be exposed and it would be impossible for the quilt to be held together. Many quilters are more concerned with what the top of the quilt looks like and put more thought into that material. It is just like looking as someone and noticing only the external qualities. The material for the backing is just as important and can give beauty to a quilt.

Just as quilts need backing, we also need "back ups" in our lives. We need someone to be there when what doesn't "come out in the wash, comes out in the rinse." We need backing to hold together our "falling apart quilts."

It was interesting that I was thinking about this this morning and in church, the Pastor talked about how we look at people and may tell them that they have beautiful eyes. We never say "You have beautiful eye ducts," when in fact, those eye ducts are the backing that helps to make those eyes work. We need to know what makes things in our lives work. First, we need to know ourselves, be ourselves, and know who are true "back-ups" are. When we let our batting slip away, it won't be pretty.

"Don't Let Him Take All Your Stuff"

It is very rare that I write a blog two days in a row, but I just saw the very powerful film "For Colored Girls..." I didn't see the play in the seventies, but I did read the choreopoem before seeing the movie on this its first day.

It was an amazing story about "colored" women and I think it touches upon a lot of issues which women often deal with.

The most powerful statement in the movie (which I wrote on a receipt I had just gotten at Nordies--lack of paper in my purse) was "Don't let him take all your stuff." In almost every case, in one way or another, most of the women gave themselves over to the men in their lives. To some degree, they lost themselves to men. They became what they wanted them to be. They lost a sense of who they are and what they really stand for and believe. Some of those men, they "loved on purpose."

In the end, what they had was the sisterhood. When the men were gone--they had each other. We, as women, must never forget that. Friends remain even when we have lost
ourselves, even when we have let them "walk away with all of our stuff."

Never Too Old (or too young)

As I celebrated by double six birthday yesterday, my reflections centered on what it all means. I had a record number of greetings on FB. Some even thought that the number of birthday greetings may have broken the FB record :-). I appreciated all of them and was very humbled by the love.

I spoke with one of my "elderly" friends last week and she was telling me a story about helping an "elderly" friend of hers. They are both taking a computer class (and get a free computer when they finish) and the 87 year-old was helping a 96 year-old. How fantastic is that? I hope that I when I am 87 that I can still help, and I hope that when I am 96, someone will be there to help me.

My birthday gift was an IPad. We bought it yesterday and, of course, I have been spending every waking moment since then, figuring it all out. It seems interesting and fun. I have already synced my music (after talking to Apple at 6 this morning) and learned lots of other things from the "Apple Girl" who was in Iowa (and not overseas.)

I am thankful for life, for a wonderful husband and family, for a sound mind (more or less), for good friends, for a "Mother Person," for those who came before me, for those who influenced me and especially for those who accept me for who I am. Wow, I love love!