21 June 2017

Wednesday Hodgepodge



1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week. What are ten things you'd put on your list of  quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?

This question would have been much easier to answer 25 years ago when we had little kids about the house and we were in reasonably decent health. The kids are all grown and, for the most part, gone on living their lives elsewhere. And, we are no longer young and reasonably healthy.

I cannot come up with ten things. The only ones that I can come up with are watching to see which birds are brave enough to come out of hiding on the really hot days and then escaping back inside to the cool of our air conditioned room. And, yes, I will most definitely manage to get these two things done.

Oh, and, although I am not a sports fan generally, I will be waiting to see who wins the College World Series.

2. Do you collect seashells when you're at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home? What's your favorite place to comb for seashells? How many of these 'best beaches for hunting seashells' have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit?


Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey's Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas

When we go to the beach, I do collect seashells. I love them and have been searching for a really big one like my parents had when I was a little girl. It was the kind that you could hold up to your ear and hear the ocean...at least, that is what they told us we were hearing. :)

So far, I haven't really done anything with them. They are in boxes and baskets around the house. I don't really know what to do with them other than photograph them, which I have done. 

Our backyard is full of seashells. I have no clue how they got back there and it is a bit scary to consider the possibilities.



I have never been to any of the beaches listed. I would like to some day go to Galveston Island, but not so much the actual beach part of it.

I have been to Virginia Beach and it was there that one of my favorite memories with my daddy was made.  I have also been to Matagorda Beach, TX, and the beach in Sargent, TX. I have also been to Clemson Y Beach, which is just outside of the lovely college town of Clemson, South Carolina. Go, Tigers!

3. At a snail's pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up...which 'shell' phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.

Go back into your shell” works for me most of the time right now. I find myself becoming more and more reclusive. When things are troubling me, I tend to withdraw. I am “happy as a clam” to stay here at home and watch all of the life going on in our backyard.

4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?

I do not like to go swimming. I cannot swim properly, for one thing. I can swim under water, but not on it, like regular swimming.  For another, I almost drowned in my aunt’s swimming pool as a young teenager. While I am not so afraid of the water that I can’t take a bath or shower, I do not like being out in uncontrolled water or water over my head.

5. What's something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?

Me! And, yes, it bothers me very much.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

If you still have your daddy, let him know how much you love him. Give him a hug and, while you’re at it, give him one for me. I can’t hug my daddy anymore. I lost him 9 December 2012.  

If you are estranged from your daddy or otherwise have problems with him, go to him and work it out, however you can. Don’t put it off. Neither of you are guaranteed tomorrow. Whatever his faults, he is still your father. Put on your big girl/boy panties and work it out!

If you can't safely be around him, then forgive him anyway. Forgiving is something you need to do for YOU. Forgiving him doesn't mean that you condone whatever has made it unsafe to be around him, nor does it mean that you have to put yourself in danger. It just means that you have let it go so that you can be the YOU you were meant to be and live in peace.

I sure do miss you, Daddy. 

Jimmy Ray Gunter, Madeline, and little Suz at the fair, 1966.




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16 comments:

  1. It really is quite unnerving to see so many seashells in our backyard knowing we are only 60 miles from the Gulf Coast. Especially with us in the red zone for this coming tropical storm. I love you. Zing! Zing!

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    1. Thankfully, that storm blew on by with no problems here. The shells concern me because of what they say about nature reclaiming what's hers. If they got there naturally, we might be in a heap of trouble some day.

      I love you, too, my Zing. :)

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  2. What a frightening experience to have almost drown in a pool! No wonder you don't enjoy being near water and swimming. I find that I, too, enjoy being at home more than out in public. Everything I need is at home, and I enjoy listening to the birds and watching the wildlife. My dad died on January 5, 2012...the same year as your dad died. Your sentiments about your dad echo what I believe too.

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    1. It was very scary. Thankfully my younger cousin was there to help me out of the pool. My mama was there, but couldn't swim either. All she could do was watch and be worried.

      Do you think this "home-iness" is because of our stage of life? There's just too much commotion going on "out there" out away from home.

      I am so sorry that you've lost your daddy, too. I think, no matter how old we are, we always need our daddies. It is very hard to let go.

      Have a blessed weekend. :)

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  3. I love to swim, so spend a lot of time in the water in the summer. I miss my Dad too. He passed away almost 25 years ago, but I still think of him every day. Stay cool in that Texas heat!

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    1. You're in the perfect place to enjoy the water, Joyce. :)

      I'm sorry about your dad. Wow, he must have been fairly young when he passed away. How old was he? I think we'll always think of our daddies. They hold a mighty big part of our hearts.

      We're trying to stay cool but to also enjoy the yard a bit. It sure has been hot and muggy out there. Thankfully, our room is really cool. :)

      Have a blessed weekend.

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  4. My dad passed away in 2006 and your advice is very sound. Cherish them while you can!

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    1. I'm so sorry about the loss of your daddy, too. This is one area where I wish we could get a do-over.

      Have a blessed weekend. :)

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  5. Great advice about healing rifts with dads and the forgiveness, too.
    I have days when I feel like I'm becoming obsolete (and I'm only 52!). It usually follows some discussion with my adult children who don't agree with me about how very much in life should be done or handled. I'm told I just don't get it...the world has changed and that's not how things are any more. Sigh.

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    1. Thank you. It comes from experience, unfortunately. Due to an evil person's lies, my daddy and I were estranged for about 10 years. By the time we were able to reconcile, we were already living here in Texas, a thousand miles away. I never saw my daddy again. The last 15 years of his life were taken from me and my family. I am just very glad that we forgave each other and had those last few years when we could at least talk to each other again.

      I'll be 52 in August. This feeling of being obsolete is absolutely no fun, is it? Some day they will see the wisdom in what you're telling them. Hopefully that day will happen without them having to endure something really difficult. Unfortunately, that is often the only way they ever learn that parents are not total doofusses.

      Have a blessed weekend. :)

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  6. I can be reclusive as well. It's safer, to me, to be by myself where I can't get hurt.

    I lost my dad in 2001, five months before 9/11. I didn't grow up knowing him thanks to a nasty divorce between he and my mom. I got to know him a little when I became an adult. That was just enough to make me miss his quirky personality, which I totally inherited.

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    1. I understand how you feel. Being reclusive does feel safer. Maybe sometimes a little lonely, too, but not always.

      I'm sorry about the loss of your daddy, too, and very sorry that your parents got divorced. It is so sad that there loss of a marriage took all those years from you. I am glad that you were able to finally get to know him again.

      Have a blessed weekend. :)

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  7. Replies
    1. Thank you, Ellen. That is sweet of you to say. :) I just often don't feel very needed anymore. I am sure this stage will pass and I hope it does so very quickly.

      Have a blessed weekend. :)

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  8. That is very interesting about your back yard being full of seashells. I am in Florida visiting my dad right now. He will turn 94 on Sunday!!

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    1. Thank you. I think it is rather interesting, too. I don't know if nature put them there, or if maybe the lady that lived here before did. There are some pretty ones out there, but none of the really big "listen to the ocean" kind.

      Happy birthday to your daddy! Wow, 94...that's awesome! Please give him a birthday hug for me. :)

      Have a blessed weekend!

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