Bobbird3131

Something you have to forgive yourself for: when I was 18 my fiance cheated on me and I broke up with him.  I got involved with another man on the rebound and ended up engaged to him.  Not long after that my first fiance contacted me and asked me to forgive him and take him back.  I refused but I had very mixed feelings about it.  I should have called off the wedding while I sorted those feelings out but I didn’t.  My current fiance had a convertible and a jeep, a good job, the sex was great, he wanted kids, we said we loved each other, I liked his mother and my mother liked him so I married him when I was 20.  I ended it nine years later but I knew six months into it that I was going to have to make big compromises to try and make it work.  Writing this makes me realize I wasn’t any different than thousands of other young women in the sixties but it’s my story and I own it.

Something you love about yourself: I am a click off center.  It helps me look at our deeply flawed world with rose colored glasses.

I am hopping on the 30 Days of Truth train because I think it will be an interesting ride.  Here is day one’s question and answer.

Something you hate about yourself: There is nothing I hate about myself.  I have had times in my life when I have been deeply disappointed in myself and some of the choices I made.  Age and better choices have given me a life today where my hatred is reserved for bullies targeting the young, old and disenfranchised, not me.

This Wednesday was the first day of fall but I’m not finished with summer yet.  Here is my chauffeur Marvin piloting me around the lake on yet another perfect Tennessee day.  Since I am now retired, I can have him do that for me on any day I want!

Tania B. and Lee Ann

Here is my 87 year old mother (Hi Mom) at the Shelburne Methodist Church Fourth of July (held on the 3rd) Chicken Bar-b-cue and Auction.  Looking good Mom!!  She asked while I was taking pictures if I was taking any of her eating and I said was sure I wasn’t.  But I lie.  Don’t worry.  She will never see this as she is technically challenged.  Plus almost no one on the planet looks at my blog, so no one will show it to her.  And it’s not like I posted the pictures I took of her with her mouth open and chicken hanging off her fork.  Happy July all!!

It is with great regret that I report our Sammy is missing.  It happened when we stopped to see Debbie.  For the first part of the stay he went out at night and showed up in the morning – normal Sammy routine.  About four days before we were scheduled to leave, he didn’t show up that morning – another Sammy routine if the area has proved too exciting to bother coming home.  When he didn’t show up the second morning I was angry – ungrateful cat making me worry like that.  The third morning I was alarmed and by the fourth I was afraid for him.  We even stayed an extra night, just in case, but no Sammy. 

Two nights after we left the entire household was awakened in the middle of the night by a cat’s meowing outside.  They rushed out and were rewarded by the gift of a dead mouse in the garage.  Sammy was gone and since then – nothing.   I have held out hope but in the last couple days every time someone mentions Sammy I start crying so I feel I must start to think he might never come home.  Of course, as his mother I feel this is somehow my fault.  That there is something I could have done or not done to prevent him from going on this latest adventure.  The truth is that he is a 13 year old cat.  He knows his own mind and while we please him, so do junk yards, cows and chasing poodles.   For now, I think I’ll leave it at that.

Deb and her Dad spent the week building a chicken coop so she could have fresh eggs.

This is how it came out!!  There are some who say it’s too nice for chickens.

Our grandaughter Cassie graduates from high school!!

   Our grandson Corey Sodergren (center) plays the jock scheming to French kiss the cheerleader in a production of “13″.  We had a ball watching him!!