8/12/2025
"I will love You, O LORD, my strength."
Psalm 18:1
As the music softly plays, and there's silence in the house, sounds erupt not too far from my house. I can't tell whether it's fire crackers or gunfire. This is an older neighborhood, and I live in my parents' home, located in a rural area of the county, with forests all around. It's not uncommon to hear a shot fired in the distance, several rounds, and close to holidays there are people always in a festive mood. When I was growing up I don't recall disturbances of this kind, but the people who lived here are gone now, like my parents. Some of the old friends live in their parents' homes where they grew up, same as me. Most remained in the area and helped their parents when they got older, I imagine. Perhaps some, like me, lived elsewhere and migrated back to the familial homelands. It's been fun discovering just who remains in the neighborhood and whether their stories are similar to mine. Our generation is dying off, it seems, but then, only God knows the number of our days. I guess I am feeling a bit nostalgic tonight. I'll be heading off to North Carolina in a couple of weeks or so for our Rowland Reunion, and although I am anxious to see my cousins after all these years and meet their families, I am sad that my family cannot be part of the get together.
It's getting late, as it usually is when I begin to write my thoughts and reminisce about my childhood, my early days of school and friends, or about the crazy mishaps of the day, as there are generally those. Last night I forgot I had rice cooking on the stove until it had burned. When I picked up the cast iron frying pan, I sat it between the two stainless steel sinks, hoping to salvage the good rice. When I picked up the pan, my arm rested on the area where the pan at been, and immediately I burned a large area on my forearm. It hurt so badly that I grabbed some aloe vera gel my daddy had in the medicine cabinet. I didn't notice that an ingredient had been added for pain relief that I happen to be allergic to - lidocaine. Fortunately, because the gel was a century old, the lidocaine didn't cause too much swelling on my already tender skin. In fact, it felt better, so I was able to finish cleaning up my mess and start again. This morning when I got dressed, I tried to be careful, as the burn had blistered badly, but I hit it, tearing the skin and popped the blisters. I later bandaged it with a tefla pad for burns that I had in my first aid kit, so I could protect the wound from myself. So today I nursed my wound, and I tried not to do anything else to myself. It seems as if I am always carelessly harming myself. Is that age-related too?
The big day is almost here, and I still have not planned my celebration. To be honest, thinking about celebrating the years without my family doesn't seem as fun. But I should be used to it by now. I tell myself it doesn't matter, but it does. Still, I can smile and wish them well. I'll receive phone calls or perhaps text messages, and I might receive a card. I may pull out the ice cream freezer and whip up some homemade ice cream! I have no problems eating that alone. I have to run to the grocery tomorrow, so maybe I'll find a gluten free cake mix and make a chocolate sauce cake. Yummy! I think I'm gaining weight just thinking about the goodies! I love green chile chicken enchiladas, so perhaps, just perhaps, I may decide to try the rice again, put on a crock pot of pinto beans, and knock out a batch of enchiladas! Sounds too wonderful to believe! I'll be transported back in time to my little hovel in Northern New Mexico, visiting with my close friends and Kenya, my special puppy neighbor. How I miss her, but she's been gone for quite some time, on to greener pastures with my other doggie pals from earlier days. Chasing rabbits in heaven no doubt!
Ya know I'm not as melancholy now as I was at the beginning. The memories always make me smile, especially when I picture my two border collies chasing after the rabbit who outsmarted them every day. Rascal and Lady were a pair, and oh how I loved to go walking in the fields and up the hills with them each day, as I gathered my thoughts for the art work I was designing at the time. They were a breath of fresh air. Then Kenya, an Alaskan Malamute, was my neighbor, my friend, and my dancing partner. She tolerated my foolishness, and I loved her til her dying day. I thank God for the memories, and the way He always filled my heart with joy. There's a verse in the Bible that says God "sets the solitary in families," and He did that for me on so many occasions when I was alone. When I moved home my son had Mia, a cantankerous calico, and then God sent me another friend, a semi-feral male cat, Alex, a Maine Coon wannabe. I call him that, because he has all the markings, all the traits, especially those big paws, but he's a little smaller. Perhaps he's the runt of the neighborhood litter, because he can be pretty skid-dish at times. But he has forever endeared himself to this ole lady, and although he prefers the great outdoors where he is free, he lets me know when he wants company, wants to play, or needs some grub. Honestly, I never thought I'd become attached to a feline, but he is an endearing one.
So much for my nightly jaunt down memory lane. Sometimes it's nice to remember, so I can thank God all over again for the blessings He's given me. He's always watching over me, and He gives me peace. 'Night.
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