This husband and I…

Joined old people breakfast time at McDonald’s on the way out of town…in the group of oldies but goodies…one couple…stood out…the wife actually…her husband in flannel and jeans…hair mussed up around a trucker cap…she however…was stunning…

Just…so together…the hair…the clothes…the pearls…it was like Jacqueline Kennedy from the past…was plopped right here…in the future…something whispered in this old ear…tell her she’s beautiful…she needs to hear she’s beautiful…the opportunity tho…just wasn’t there…

But wouldn’t you know…as they rose to leave…this regal woman…stops at our table…and says…have a wonderful day…and there it was…cue stage left…I couldn’t help but notice…she hears…how lovely you are…you have such class and are so beautiful…

She gasped…smiled…brought her hand to her chest…said her day was made…in fact…her year…was made…as she made her exit…plain Jane me…coffee in one hand…hash brown in the other…paused to wonder about the serendipity of it all…and how happy she was…she listened…to that whisper…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband of mine…

Is fascinated…with the antlion…got called from the couch…with an…omg…you HAVE to come see this…and this I did…have to see it…his enthusiasm contagious…causing his usually not interested in insects bride…to suddenly be interested…in insects…

That antlion…not an ant at all…but a predatory creature…whose larvae build traps…to catch poor unsuspecting just-happen-to-be-walking-by…ants…the larvae…built just so…leave odd winding doodling like trails in the sand…gaining the name of doodlebug…

And while amused by the name me…marveled over the moniker doodlebug…she realized that she may not be interested in insects…but insects…are apparently…interested in her…teeny tiny seemingly invisible biting flies…aptly called the No-See-Um…seem to find…old gals tasty…

And so it is…in life…enthusiasm can be contagious…share your excitement…your interests…your joy…and when it comes to invisible pesky flies…we can always say what you can’t see…won’t hurt you…
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But these feasted on old gal ankles of mine…would not…agree…

This husband and I…

Had been packing all week…studying the gps…planning the itinerary…doing the one-last-times…and now…the time had come…to say good-bye…

To our cabin buddies…other winter travelers…the deer…the ducks…the resort staff who are…the best of the best…

To that furry friend…who brightens each day…with his antics…his charm…keeps watch each night…making sure we are safe…making sure we’re still there…making sure…no one takes his place…

Best Friend…could tell something was up…pulling away little by little…as totes were packed…clothes were stacked…hiding here and there…giving out…the cold shoulder…

There’s never enough time…when it comes to love…Monty just warming up…that last night stopping for the first time…with an official hello…

There’s never enough time…to prepare the heart for good-bye…for that hole…that feeling of weepy emptiness…

But in that void…there is time to be thankful… for friends of all kind…for the ability to enjoy such grand adventures…and time to be thankful…that good-bye is not really good-bye…

Because hello…will soon…once again…be just around the corner…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

Struck gold here in IOWA!! Goodwill supplying this old gal with the perfect dish for next year’s Texas potlucks! ​

​This husband and I…

Hit up the laundromat before heading home…was in a social mood…noticed an adorable couple…chatting as they folded clothes…magically weaseled into the conversation…within minutes…we were sharing stories…they…married 62 years…he laughing that he was 6 when they got hitched…

Been Texas snowbirds for 20…stay down the road from us…used to have 40 couple friends…have lost…all but six…during the joking and laughter…chatty me…noticed a gentleman…on each pass…he’d make eye contact…and smile…sat down later…this gentleman sitting near…again…the smile…the eye contact…somehow saying…Old Gal…like you…I feel…the need to talk…

And so we did…he did mostly…telling his tale…hadn’t been home in months…works construction…in his free time…he writes books…

And so it is…in life…that thing called paying it forward…sometimes it’s a coffee…or food at a drive through…and sometimes it’s as simple as offering a helping hand…or taking notice when someone needs a friendly ear…and you just happen to have one…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband and I…

Said good-bye to our favorite beaver…relished the smell of candied pecans…that hits you at the door…got one last coffee…making memories…with a modelicious pose…

Grabbed a stash of nuggets for family and friends…resisted the beaver squishaboo…looking instead…for the Buc-ee quilt…but…oh darn…it was sold out…replaced by the yard blanket…to which picnic-goers-R-NOT-us…easily passed up…this old gal instead…impulsively buying…the Buc-ee spring throw…

Cuz why not…who doesn’t need one more throw to throw on that pile of throws…especially one so soft…so colorful…so wise…embodying…the importance…of life…

Enjoy every moment…yes Buc-ee…we have…we do…we will…cuz that’s all we got…is moments…so why not…fill them…with joy…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This Tidbit King of mine…

Is sometimes…one with nature…perhaps it’s his Native American heritage…or maybe…he just knows lots about animals..but it would seem…he can always sense…when one is in peril…

Saw a speck in the yard next door…far away…far far away…looked like a dirt clod…but he knew…just knew…it was something more…headed over…sure enough…poor little guy…failing…this man of mine talking with him…quietly…soothingly…eventually maintenance comes and takes over…

Went to the park…one of us points out a vulture he sees isn’t right…again speaking lowly…calmly…the injured bird flutter flopping to higher ground…

And then the snake…traveling near a lake…driver me told to pull over…way before she even sees the bump in the road…and there he was…whispering…consoling…trying to find a way to move the poor injured thing…to safety…

And so it is…in life…each of us blessed…with our own special gifts…gifts to be shared…gifts to bring joy…gifts to bring peace…when peace…is needed…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This old gal…

Has to say…when it comes to pride…Texas tops the charts…in regards to doo-dads…made in the shape…of the state…

Cookie cutters…lunchables…muffin pans…jewelry…the laughable Texaroni…pillows…color books…ABC children’s books…no way you’d forget…where you are…

And then it happened…the big draw…that husband of mine standing in front of it…each time we visit HEB…the birdbath…Texas shaped birdbath…hideous Texas shaped birdbath…

This old gal uttering…oh he** no…the same time he utters…I love it…and so…we compromised…bought the Texas scrub sponge…cheaper…easier to pack…

And the best scrub sponge in the state…both states…scrub sponge lover me…loves it so much…she’s already doing a little Christmas shopping in the head…for next year…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband and I…

Took a walk by the river…in a park off the beaten path…couldn’t help but be drawn in by the trees…ancient…stately…bent…leaning low…the secret door…the trunk split in two…

Roots reaching like Kraken tendrils…breaking through the darkened earth…vines…thick and twisted…making a woodland visitor…think he’s Tarzan…

These trees…haggard…craggy…old…so very old…yet with this age…comes beauty in their strength…beauty…in their ability to endure…

And so it is…sometimes with the aged…it can be easy…to not see the trees…for the forest…overlook individuality…disregard…what makes each unique…

So look around at your family and friends…lend an ear…listen to their story…learn from their words…celebrate their being…rejoice in all things great and small…all things…that make them…beautiful…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband of mine…

Is very aware…of those seemingly invisible floaters…you know that stuff that fills a sunbeam if you shake a blanket near a window…his wife thinks nothing of them…he avoids them…at all cost…

Not sure where it comes from…most possibly from days working in the cotton gin…noting the importance of not breathing in all the gunk in the air…have learned kindly…to not fluff blankets…punch pillows…or shake towels within one’s breathing distance…or near food…

And then it happened…was eating an Alamo Turkey sandwich…found it was hiding some potent jalepeno peppers…disassembled it…at the same time…flipped open the carrier to get a bandana…and there it was…a sudden oh no…what if some floaters from the case lid…flew onto the Alamo sandwich…had to pause…laugh…shocked almost…that this thought…had even occurred…

And so it is…in the garden of life…how quickly a little seed can grow once planted…through gossip…social media…repetition…

And how important it is…for the gardener…to weed out the unhealthy…the dangerous…ensuring the fruitful…gets the time and nutrients it needs…to grow…and flourish…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…