Life Before Me.....

Hello again everyone! (waving)
I didn't plan on offering another blog entry this week but my marvelous mood
has made it so, along with encouragement from a few fine folks.
Not the first clue do I have on why my spirits have been soaring lately but
I'll not question it, instead I'm going to ride it like the wild wind that whips
through our cold climate.

When last I typed words here, it was mentioned that my Husband and I would
be going to archery and I was looking forward to out arrowing him.
A bit over confident I was apparently because he handed me my hide with
a hundred and thirty point difference in our scores.
Guess I'll need a pile more practice to beat him.
It was a fun time and we both enjoyed spending time together without the boys.
Yesterday was also a wonderful day, there were a few reasons for it.
One of my Mother's Sisters is home for a visit from "Out West" and though
I saw her last Sunday, I wanted to spend some more time with her.
As I sat enjoying my coffee and finished the morning clean up around here,
I called my Cousin up to see what her and my Aunt's plans for the day were.
Lucky for me, Auntie was planning on visiting with my Mother and I asked
if I could join her. After a little needling by yours truly, her Daughter decided
she would join us.
Her Daughter and Granddaughter moved here last year and I enjoy every
second I get to spend with either of them.
My Mother has a large family and I've never seen most of them as much as my
Fathers flock so it's always special when we do get together.

Walking into Mom's house is always the same, even though I may experience
different emotions when I step in.
Never has it been a place that doesn't have everything in precise, perfect position.
That's a good thing and yesterday it made me think more than it has before.
The aromatic coffee that just finished brewing smelled as heavenly as the air that
surrounded us.
My Mom, like my Sister and I, are what you might call "smell freaks", candles,
oils, wax cubes, incense, you name it and one of us burns it.
It's comforting for me to have small things like that in common with them.
We collected our coffees and sat down to hen it up for awhile.
Not sure if I've mentioned this before but the relationship with my Mom hasn't
always been a sweet one and lately we've struggled with stubbornness
both of us share.

Shortly after we all offered our thoughts, opinions and stories, hunger stabbed
me in the stomach, this happens every time I visit there.
The very same thing occurs whenever I visit Meme's house, as well.
Food always tastes better in certain places, maybe that's where the term
"comfort food", came from, who knows?
While heating some left over spaghetti Mom had in the fridge, I beamed listening
to the three of them speaking with smiles in their voices.
Man it makes me feel marvelous to see and hear people I love enjoying each
others company!
Something else I enjoy immensely is hearing others tell of times before I came to
be or when I was to young to remember.
One of my  favorite moments yesterday was hearing my Aunt speak a story
about her Daughter as a toddler.
She told us how at the tender age of two, her Daughter threw a fit and
"flew the coop."
It seems little Sammy didn't care to share her Mother's company any longer and
decided that Grandpa's house would be the perfect place to be.
With her little suitcase in hand, down the street she steamed to seek solace.

So I have one Cousin (mentioned in a previous blog) that tried to steal a suckie
at two and another that ran away from home at the same age, stories like these
make me smile and I cherish hearing them.
Listening to my Mother and her Sister speak of their lives while growing up was
also wonderful.
Although they didn't have the happiest of childhoods from what I've be told, they
did speak sweetly and seemed to enjoy sharing their stories with my Cousin and I.
Another fine moment was when I asked how my Mother liked the new towels she
was sporting in her bathroom, (a gift from my Sister at Christmas), she replied
saying she loves them and there is one specific towel in the set that she's
staked a claim on.
Quite proudly, in a peacock way, she told us how NO ONE! uses her towel,
not even her Husband.
It was then that my Cousin excused herself to the bathroom, boasting
how she would in fact use that talked about towel......hehehe.
Mom was okay with it and enjoyed her Niece's hard headed humor.

Visiting and enjoying time spent with them, served me swell in many ways.
Knowing how good my Sis and I had it when we were growing up and thinking
about how different it was for our Mom and Aunt, had me feeling even more
grateful than when I walked in.
Seeing the happiness all over my younger Cousins face when she beamed
about her Beau, was also a marvelous moment.
I hope that happiness settles there for the rest of her life!
Yup, I'm a hopeless sap but it's better than a sour sucking soul, I'd say.

Well stomach pains stab at me yet again so I'm going to go silence it.
I'll leave these lines with some pictures from our visit and a song that always
brings my Aunt to mind.
Thanks for reading what's in the mind grounds and may this day do right by, you,
me and our family tree's.
P.S Please take notice of my own grown nails, I am so proud of this small achievement.