This old gal…

Never thought she’d say this…but she kind of missed old hideous man chair…that over stuffed…dual seated power recliner…that frankly…when it comes to decor…is just plain hideous…

Started complaining that first week in Texas…upper back pain…neck pain…shoulder pain…

Whined and moaned and pondered like old gals do…wow my neck hurts…I wonder why my neck hurts…I can’t figure out why…my neck hurts…

Til finally that husband of mine…wise man that he is…suggests it’s from sitting on the couch…always on the phone…

And…hate to admit it…he was right…vacationing me…relaxing me…lazy me…on the phone…on the tablet…reading…writing…dominating Wordscapes…

Had developed…tech neck…those neck and back muscles saying Old Gal…we can’t hold that big old Bohemie head of yours up when you sit at this angle…

And so it is in life…sometimes you don’t appreciate something…until it’s not there…
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And those neck muscles of mine…agree…

This husband and I…

Stopped to eat about an hour from that rock hunting cabin…a little diner…in a little town…not far from Fife…

A man approached the table…addressing that husband of mine…excuse me…he said…I saw your name on your hat…may I ask you a question…

Do you know James and John…twins…they grew up near here…I went to school with them…53 years old…the reason I ask is that you look just like them…

James and John…didn’t know them…but yes that man of mine lived near here long ago…we’d have to do a family tree search…

And so we did…some nieces and nephews had a James and John…same last name…on social media…and funny thing…they DID look a lot like that husband of mine…

But funny thing again…they aren’t related…same last name…cousins to nieces and nephews…but related on their mother’s side…

Two sisters in the same small town in Texas…marrying two unrelated men…who just happen to have the same last name…and apparently…happen to look alike…

And so it is…life can be a puzzle…sometimes confusing…sometimes amusing…and sometimes…lots of fun…putting the pieces…together…
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And that husband of mine…agrees…

Three years ago…old gal me…

Was wary of leaving the town where she grew up…raised her girls…taught for 36 years…was afraid she would be lonely…sad…have no friends…

But she needn’t have worried…silent prayers find answers…sometimes in the most unexpected ways…

Old Man Wrigley…a friend of the best kind…cute…cuddly…loyal to the end…his mom…that neighbor of ours…another bff…

Fellow teacher…fellow lover of all things Mary Engebreit…funny…kind…trustworthy…a promised walking buddy…couldn’t have asked for anyone better…

And now…that friend from Old Town…gonna make plans to get together…

And so it is…as hard as it is to say good-bye…there’s something exciting about saying hello…

To that New Town new friend who after three years feels like an old friend and that Old Town old friend who after 30 years…is now…a new friend…

Will the wonders never cease…a blessed old gal…thinks not…
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And those friends of mine…agree…

Those daughters of mine…

Like to use the phrase…it gave me the feels…as in that movie…gave me the feels…that book…gave me the feels…that hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen…well you get the picture…

The feels…that heart tugging…warm tingly awww kind of thing…remember that clearly…1970s…those days on the bus…a song on the radio…and suddenly we all…got the feels…

Triggering a sing-a-long…everyone stop what they're doing…and raise the roof so to speak…

Three songs to be exact…always these three…Wildfire…One Tin Soldier…Seasons in the Sun…

Tragic…heartbreaking…sad…telling a story…that reeled us in…and fiction or not…made those teens of the 70s…care…

And so it is today…so many stories…yours…your neighbor’s…a stranger’s…many tragic…many heartbreaking…many sad…

Be a kid on the bus…listen to the story…open your heart…get the feels…and show you care…
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And those daughters of mine…agree…

This old gal…

Heard from a friend last fall…a friend from the past…a beautiful friend…a talented friend…a long lost friend not seen in over thirty years…

Hey…she said…I live here now…

Here as in New Town…here as in the place retired me moved three years ago with that husband of hers…here as in let’s get together and have lunch…

So we did…had lunch…caught up…she a retired educator…still beautiful…still talented…an old friend…now here…in New Town…

Vowed to get together come spring…when two old Winter Texans get back from their hiatus…

And so it is…in life…there are surprises…and then are are…surprises…happy surprises…exciting surprises…fun I-can’t-wait-to-see-where-this-leads surprises…
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And hopefully that new old friend of mine…agrees…

This old gal…

Riding along listening to the oldies…

Was suddenly in junior again…on the bus…going to some event…football game…basketball game…softball game…

The bus jerking and jolting…kids bumping and bouncing…no cell phones or devices…just songs from the 70s coming through the speakers…

Drowned out by talking…laughing…until what to our wondering ears could we hear…

Wildfire…that overly dramatic song…girl has horse…girl dies…horse goes crazy…and suddenly…like a magic spell…everyone freezes…and everyone…absolutely everyone on that bus…

Starts to sing…eyes closed…swaying…emotional…

And for that brief moment…it didn’t matter who you were…jock…benchwarmer…cheerleader…band geek…all us junior highers…were one…one beautiful voice…

Navigating that bus ride of life…together…

And so it is…in life…you are not alone…find your people…find your voice…join the song…
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And those daughters of mine…agree…

This husband and I…

Headed out bright and early…a peaceful morning…a beautiful sunrise…he behind the wheel…

A song came on the radio…an oldie but a goodie…Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey…a song that got an old gal pondering…

About the past…about the future…about life…

Her show choir song…that high school daughter of mine…girls in red sparkly dresses…doing the disco finger pointing move…

Their director had taught awhile…one year longer than teacher me in fact…cuz funny thing…he got the job teacher me applied for…he got the job…teacher me interviewed for…he got the high school choir director job…teacher me wanted…

But as fate would have it…one year later…dual degree me…was offered a job…as an elementary reading intervention specialist…

And that’s the road this pondering traveled…what if…that music job had come through…how different life would have been…

Would teacher me have loved it as much as she loved teaching reading…it’s hard to imagine to be honest…

And so it is…God has a plan…God always…has a plan…just don’t ever…stop believin…
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And those daughters of mine…agree…

These daughters of mine…

Are quite talented when it comes to taking pictures…especially if it involves using a mirror as a prop...

That mother of theirs…not so much…eyes never look the right way…phone blocks the face…the angles always bad…

Avoid mirrors as much as possible…avoid taking photos in mirrors even more…but can’t avoid them when staying in that cabin on Camanche Creek…

One…because there is a mirror on almost every wall…and two…because these mirrors…disguised to look like the cheapo mirrors you bought at K-mart for your dorm room back in the day…are magic…

Can’t pass by one and not think…dang I look good…thinner…younger…fitter…maybe it’s distortion…the lighting…whatever it is…that reflection…turns an old gal into a bad** mother who don’t take crap off of nobody…

And isn’t that what we all need…that proverbial magic mirror…something that builds us up…gives us confidence…a hey you look great today…cute haircut…sweet kicks…love your jacket…

Be a magic mirror…share what you see…warm someone’s heart…make someone feel bada**…
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And those daughters of mine…agree…

This husband of mine…

Often tells the story…of the teacher and the red pen…

Little him…he says…worked in the field before taking the bus to first grade…except on this particular day…as he got to school…he realized he’d forgotten his book…

And began to panic…for not long before…a little girl named Deloris had forgotten HER book…

Poor Deloris…an example that day…or maybe even a target…red pen poking…jabbing really…over and over on the top of her head…

A silent class watching while Mrs R cruelly mocked…why did you forget your book Deloris…how many times do I have to tell you…not…to…forget…your…book…

It was horrible…he explains…blood ran down her forehead and mixed with her tears…

And so that scared little six year old boy snuck away…walking five miles home in the hot Texas sun…and hid in his bedroom…until his papo came home…

And so it is…in life…some things are not ok…some things will never be ok…show compassion…show understanding…show love…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband of mine…

Grew up in Fife some 65 years ago…consisted of ranches…fields…a cotton gin that’s no longer a cotton gin…

Lived in a house…big…creaky…some would say haunted…a house that’s no longer a house…

Across the street was a store…a long ago stagecoach stop…a place to socialize…grab a drink…and for a five year old…be treated to an occasional candy on a stick…

A store that’s no longer a store…torn down a few years back…too many trespassers…too much vandalism…

Walked the grounds…listening to the stories…he still seeing those buildings…his lovely wife…seeing empty space…

But if one looks closely…the signs are still there…on the ground where that store once was…rusted bottle caps…keys to open cans of meat…

An homage to days gone by…where little boys picked cotton before school…swam in the river…had friends named Old Man Utsey…handyman Boots and Cowboy Mutt…

An homage to that long ago town with a population of fifty…a town that meant more to a little boy than it will ever know…a town…that is no longer a town…but comes alive once a year…when someone stops by…to say hello…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…