It's Wednesday

I guess it's time for a new post. I don't have a lot to say. I'm in the process of trying to clean up my house since I've been gone for a month. I know that Dale has been "sick" and working and taking care of Sweet Pea, but would it really hurt for him to use a trash can every once in awhile?

I'm tired. I guess it's all the stress of the past month. I would get up early with Lil Bit, I wouldn't get any sort of nap, and then I would be up late helping Daddy get Momma to bed. Don't get me wrong. I was glad to be able to help as much as I could. But my body is still trying to catch up.

Well, I'm going to try to find something for breakfast, then maybe I'll catch 40 winks while Lil Bit is taking her nap. LOL Have a good day everyone out there in blogland.

It's my birthday

Well, it will be my birthday in roughly an hour and a half. I will be 30 years old. At 12:00, I'm going to Dixie Cafe to have ice cream with friends. At 2:00, I'm going to the funeral home to see my mom for the first time since Sunday. At 6:00 is the visitation where everyone and their dog comes to say they are "so sorry for your loss."

I wish I could skip the next 2 weeks.

It's over

My mother passed away around 1:30 Sunday afternoon. It was such a peaceful passing. I keep expecting her to come out of her sewing room, or I think I hear her voice on the phone. She fought for so long and so hard. But she is in heaven now. She doesn't hurt anymore.

This is a long week. The funeral is Friday. A lot of people came over Sunday night, but it's Tuesday now. I have so much time to think, when I really don't want to. The good news is that Dale and Sweet Pea should be here later today. I've missed them both so much.

I miss you Momma. ILYB <3

Gospel Songs

We're looking for a particular song. My internet search led me to this article. It's sort of tounge in cheek, but it also kind of rings true.

***********************************************
Now available! REVISED GOSPEL HYMNS for today's generation of modern
churchgoers. The old favorites can now be sung without guilt, conviction, or
discomfort. Hundreds of your old favorites made comfortable. Some of the
titles include:
~ "Amazing Grace, How Interesting the Sound"
~ "Lord, Keep Us Loosely Connected to Your Word"
~ "Praise God from whom All Affirmations Flow"
~ "Pillow of Ages, Fluffed for Me"
~ "When Peace, Like a Trickle"
~ "We Give Thee but Still Think We Own"
~ "What an Acquaintance We Have in Jesus"
~ "We Are Milling Around in the Light of God"
~ "Blest Be the Tie that Doesn't Cramp My Style"
~ "I Surrender Some"
~ "Standing on the Premises"
~ "Sweet Minute of Prayer"
~ "Blessed Insurance"
~ "Come We That Like the Lord"
~ "Onward, Social Workers"
~ "Avoid the Good Fight"
~ "The Gold-Plated Cross"
~ "Some for Jesus"
~ "I Have My Own Way"
~ and the all-time children's favorite: "I Love Me"
© John Mark Ministries. Articles may be reproduced in any medium, without applying for permission(provided they are unedited, and retain the original author/copyright information - and perhaps a reference to this website :-)!

Heh heh heh....

So I'm going to make an admission here, but I don't want comments on the problem. I want comments on a step I made towards a solution.

I have a spending problem. I spend money (as well as eat) when I am stressed out. This wouldn't be a problem if I kept track of the bank account. But you can guess.... I have that problem too. The result is that over the past few months, our account has been seriously overdrawn this month.

So, I'm checking my e-mail tonight, when I found that my bank sent me an e-mail. Apparently they have an alert feature. So I hop on over to the site, and I have now set up an alert to where the bank will send me an e-mail alert if our bank account goes under $100! I'm so proud of myself for discovering this, because I REALLY don't like being in financial problems.

Well, anyway.... Dale and I are going to have a serious heart to heart about our finances when I get home. Hopefully, we'll get back on track fairly quickly.

Happy Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day, I am posting a poem (story) that I first heard my dad read. It means alot to me. I hope one day, that I can be......

The Meanest Mother In The World

Copyright© 1967 by Bobbie Pingaro

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also.

But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute. I am nearly ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy's pants. Can you imagine someone actually hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was.

We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends?

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did.

By the time we were teen-agers, she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.

Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.

As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that our friends did. She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.

Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.

Written by Bobbie Pingaro ©1967

Finally...

Well, I finally remembered to get my password from Dale, so I can post again. :D

I've been in Arkansas since the last week of April. I miss my family in Georgia, but my parents needed me more right now. We're looking at the last days of my mom's life.

I'm adding pictures of Lil Bit's birthday "party" as well as a picture of my littlest cousin, who is 6 months old and about 5 pounds heavier than Lil Bit. LOL I'm also putting up a picture of Lil Bit on Grandma's lap before Grandma stopped communicating.

Welp, that's all for now. I'm glad I've got my password again.