That mother of mine…

Always made angel food cake for birthdays…just like her mother did…and most likely just like HER mother did…

There wasn’t a cake choice…no chocolate or marble…could pick the color for the powdered sugar frosting…but the cake…the type of birthday cake…was always non-negotiable…

And not gonna lie…little me didn’t like angel food cake…teenage me didn’t like angel food cake…me in my twenties…didn’t like angel food cake…

And then someone…a close friend…a woman dear to the heart…served up that angel food cake…with strawberries…

And the world stopped…angels sang and one of us who thought she didn’t like angel food cake suddenly knew her life had changed for the better…

And so it is today…Birthday Queen me tips her crown to one more year around the sun…to good health…to grand adventures…and celebrates all who have changed her life for good…

So so many of you…friends…family…teachers…neighbors…Pumpkin…Wrigley…Retirement Ramblings readers…

Those beautiful daughters of mine…that man who calls this Birthday Queen his wife…

You know who you are…or maybe you don’t…but never doubt that you are special…you’ve made a difference…and in one way or another you have changed an old gal somewhere along her life’s journey…for good…maybe even gooder than good…
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And for that…she says thank you…

A local Texas friend…

Born here…grew up here…lived here all her life…asked what it is we like about Buc-ee’s…

It’s not her thing…rarely goes…not sure what the hype is all about…and that makes sense…so often tourist attractions are only fun for tourists…

But there’s something different about Buc-ee’s…for us at least, and so she got a list…the coffee’s good…gooder than good…the pastries delicious…the sandwiches amazing…

Merchandise ever changing…fun themes…quirky vibe…great prices…clean bathrooms…

An enamored old gal could go on and on but one thing she found seemed to sum it up…a shirt…a Buc-ee’s shirt…a new Buc-ee’s shirt never seen before…a shirt that makes it make sense…

Enjoy the little things…

Because what is life if not a collection of little things…years and years of little things…along with the few bigs (holidays, weddings, the 5 gallon beaver bucket)…all wrapped up into one precious bundle…

And so, my friends, enjoy the little things…hot coffee…fresh pastry…things that make you smile…a sunrise…a sunset…a leisurely stroll with your bestie…

That might just lead to Buc-ee’s…or it might not…but where you end up doesn’t really matter as much as who you have with you along for the ride…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband and I…

Took a stroll through Bu-cee’s…seasonal items on display…new things…fun things…couldn’t help but think, “What can they come up with next?”…

And then what to our wondering eyes should we see?…a station…not a sandwich station…or a nut and fudge station…but a tortilla station…a homemade tortilla making station…

And there we stood…enamored…watching that big fancy machine surrounded by plexiglass like two kids watching those robotic Christmas Elves in the 1960s department store windows…

And it was cool…cooler than cool…

“Well I’ll be darn,” said that tortilla loving husband of mine…followed with, “I wonder how much one of these costs”…

And there it was…could see those wheels turning…could almost HEAR those wheels turning…could imagine him imagining…

Not sure what exactly…a backyard factory?…a little tortilla shop?…entrepreneurs us hauling that machine in a trailer becoming popular tortilla street vendors?..

And so it is…in life…reach for the stars…dream your dreams…nothing’s stopping you from saying what if…

Unless it’s your wife…who says gently but loud enough for you to hear… “Ahhhhh, If only we were younger…”
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And that husband of mine…reluctantly agreed…

This husband of mine…

Is a fan of old people phrases..."monkey around”…”I was so tickled”…”well I’ll be darn”…sometimes feels like living with those grandparents of mine-but in a good way…

And so it was…the two of us monkeying around Buc-ee’s like we often do…something caught his eye…

A bucket…a mini bucket…a mini five gallon Buc-ee’s bucket…less than a dollar…could tell he wanted it…kept picking it up and chuckling…he was tickled, tickled indeed…

Brought it home…amused…pleased with the treasure…a perfect partner to the mini Menards bucket at home in the garage…

Not long after stopped there again…browsed a bit…grabbed a coffee…checked out the ever changing merchandise…when all of a sudden one of us hears the other one say…

“Well I’ll be darn”…and what to my wondering eyes should I see?…a stack of buckets…big red five gallon Buc-ee’s buckets…the daddy to the mini…

Not the typical merch…out of place but yet not…stick that beaver logo on and anything can be a Buc-ee prize…

And what better prize for a sweet old man who collects rocks…feeds backyard birds…and thinks Buc-ee’s is the bees knees…

And so it is…in life…when you’re out monkeying around…you just never know what you may find…and if it tickles your fancy…you may just have to bring it home…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

Teacher me…

All those years with kids…the classroom…recess…hall duty…often used the phrase…Be a friend…to diffuse a tense situation…

Not the negative don’t do this or don’t do thats…but reinforce good behavior…kind behavior…patience…acceptance…empathy…

Be a friend…and not gonna lie…it usually worked…

Saw a shirt the other day…drawn to it…blanched a bit…hit a little too close to home for social media scroller me…

Never Read The Comments…because she does…especially on local news articles…reads those comments…and feels sick…

Knows what’s coming…but does it anyway…drawn to them like a bad accident…a moth to a flame…a fly on sh**…

So many comments…about anything…doesn’t matter…the world…the nation…the local restaurant…the nearby roundabout…

So cruel…so mean…so hurtful…coming from fellow Iowans…neighbors…familiar faces…familiar names…

But keep scrolling…reading…heart pounding…stomach clenching…keep scrolling until she finds it…and it’s always there…at least one…

The friend comment…kind…supportive…compassionate…the-well I’ve eaten there and I always have wonderful food-kind of comment…

Proof that there’s still good in the world…

Be a friend…here…there…everywhere…just be a friend…
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And those daughters of mine…would agree…

This old gal…

Loved snow days…school canceled…cozy at home with those daughters of mine…out in the country on a gravel road…not going anywhere for a day or two…

The landscape beautiful…untouched…rolling white drifts…glistening…sparkling…such peaceful serenity…until mama me heard…

I want to do a craft…

Failed that first year…not prepared…didn’t realize those little ladies would tire of Barney and Mary Kate and Ashley…had crayons, paints, toys and books…but for some reason…some unexplained reason…snow days…became craft days…

But one of us learned from experience…and from then on, up in the storeroom in a hidden secret box was a collection of snow day crafts…bracelet making…perler beads…paint a rock…sew a quilt…

It didn’t matter…they didn’t care…as long as it was something we could all sit down and do together…and so we did…mother hen me and her three little chicks…

And so it is…twenty years later…the Texas trees filled with ice…school closings already listed for tomorrow…those daughters of mine watching the DC snow fall…there’s a thrill in the air…

Or more like a thrill in the Besties chat…Snow day!..It’s a snow day!..We all love a snow day!!…

And this old gal so far away from those babies of hers has her projects ready…her tip-her-hat-to-the-past projects ready…

Because it’s a snow day…and we ALL…well almost all (and he shall remain nameless)…love a snow day…
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And those daughters of mine…agree…

This husband and I…

Walked to the Faust Bridge…a historic metal truss structure crossing the Guadelupe River…

The scenery stunning…lush greenery…glistening water…abandoned buildings formerly used as a movie set…

Always take the unique steps down to the shore…watch the turtles sunning on rocks…walk the banks looking for shells…but this year access was fenced off…no trespassing signs posted…

Can’t say it was a surprise…have heard rumors of vandalism…youth parties…people living in the woods…but it was sad…we were sad…

Sad to see the change…sad to see the fence affect the esthetic…sad to see carelessness and irresponsibility damage something so special…

Stood there shaking our heads…tsk tsking like old people do…when a shout rang out…

“She’s a hugger!” we heard…and what to my wondering eyes should I see…a little one…not more than three years of age…blond bouncy curls...a sparkly rainbow on her ruffled pink shirt…running as fast as her little Croc covered feet could carry her…

Not stopping until she reached unaware me…wrapping little arms around old lady legs…hugging those legs as hard as she could…then looked up and declared something quite profound only one who talks gibberish could understand…

But that hug…spoke volumes…that hug…made a difference…

And so it is…in life…sometimes you need a hug…you just need a hug…sad days…stressful days…the world is going crazy days…

You are not alone…reach out…get your hug and hold it to your heart…then find a way to pay it forward…cuz what the world needs now…is love sweet love…
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And that three year old little sweetie…would agree…

This husband and I…

Decided to get ready for the big storm…the big nationwide storm heading this way…been on the news for weeks…

Reporters talking about preparation…what supplies to get…how to drive on ice…the Governor holding a press conference talking about the power grid and how to keep warm…locals rushing to HEB…aisles packed…shelves bare…

Did what every responsible couple would do when a storm’s brewing…went to Buc-ee’s…bought needed supplies just in case…

Stopped at the grocery as well…grabbed this and that…making sure to have enough of the one thing this old gal needs to survive…cheese, cheese and more cheese…

Because it’s supposed to be bad…really really bad…like super-de-duper Texas panic bad…like below freezing bad…like a low of 21 degrees bad…

But it’s nothing…absolutely nothing compared to what’s happening at home…Iowa home…51 below zero windchills home…not good for kitties…not good for anyone else either…

But have to marvel at the difference in reactions from one area to the other…Texas…warning, worry, panic…Iowa…been there, done that…just kind of, no pun intended…chill…

And so it is…in life…how we react to adversity, potential danger, imminent threat depends on so many things…where we live…how we look…what we’ve seen…

Just because it’s not scary for one…doesn’t mean it’s not scary for another…and as this storm of the century takes shape be sure to make good choices…and be safe…
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And that daughter of mine…agrees…

This husband and I…

Enjoy the occasional estate sale…do a little treasure hunting…walk through houses us simple people could never afford…try to figure out someone’s story…

For almost always, as you browse, tidbits are shared about the owners…their family…where they worked…why their stuff is up for sale…

And from that stuff you get a feel for who they are…or who they were…their personality…sense of style…sense of humor…

Was intrigued with the most recent sale…the owner not there, having to leave her home due to illness…but her home…her belongings…spoke volumes…

No doubt she was sassy, clever, funny…a lover of shoes, notecards, doodads…a fan of affirmations on placards, pillows, wall hangings…in another life the two of us could have been best friends…

Saw a thing online about estate sales…how you spend your life building a home, filling it with memories and then one day people ransack through it not caring about the story…

“You call it life,” the meme said…”Then it’s an estate sale and strangers decide what you’re worth”…

But maybe it’s not that way…an invasion of a life…maybe it’s more like the passing of the torch…the carrying on of a legacy…

The taking home of that kitty cat mug…that orange cat with the winter hat kitty cat mug…and loving it with all your heart…

Because it’s perfect…because it’s special…because it’s time for it to celebrate the past by embracing the future…and with every sip of coffee…create a beautiful new story…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband and I…

Don’t have any set day for laundry…go when the mood hits…twice a month when underwear runs out…

Headed to the Ezy Kleen…had been a few weeks…the place busier than usual…sat together watching the washing spin when in walks…

The chosen one…

Five years of Texas laundry…five years at the Ezy Kleen…five years and we’ve never seen someone there that we had seen before…yet there she was…

Not doing laundry this time but washing her car in the adjacent car wash…had come into the laundromat to grab some paper towels…

Beautiful as ever…dressed to the nines…too gorgeous for car washing to be frank…she caught our eye and waved…

And so we chatted…the three of us…about the weather…family…our age…the conversation often in Spanish…that husband of mine translating…

She was tiny…spunky…the Hispanic version of yours truly…except most likely she’d fix meals that he likes…not kraut and soups with no meat…and…get this…she was wearing three layers of clothing because…drum roll please…she’s always cold…

And so…sometimes in life…you have to wonder what the universe is telling you…and in this case…wife choosing me wonders if it’s a sign…

A sign from Someone Somewhere saying, “Don’t worry, Old Gal, I got this.”..

Because she does worry…a lot…about her people…her girls…her husband…if something should happen…they need her…what would they do without her…

But here is this Sign…reassuring…comforting…saying, “It’s ok. They’ll be ok. I’ll take care of them…”

Or maybe, just maybe…it’s not that at all…maybe, just maybe…Someone Somewhere decided to send an Old Gal a new friend…a new Ezy Kleen friend…

Cuz we all need new friends…so it could be that…maybe, just maybe…it could just be that…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…