Someone…

Turns 18 today!

Her grandpa and I attending an art showcase this fall…showcasing her creations…showcasing her talent…showcasing her growth…

And what a beautiful progression it’s been…Art Girl shooting for the stars…finding her niche…honing her skill…growing artistically and personally with each swipe of the hand…

Chalk her medium of choice…started way back with Grumpy Cat on a broken road…and look at her now…creating magnificent works in less than two days…

Loves cats, puzzles, and black licorice taffy…

Keeps in touch with her biggest fan in Texas, bonding over felines, laughing about life…

Chalk artist…pet portraitist…window painter…birthday girl…

Shoot for the stars…the sky’s the limit…

The future is your canvas…create a masterpiece…

18 is a big deal…and so, our sweet Art Girl, are you…

Happy Birthday…
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And that grandpa of yours…agrees…

This old gal…

Marveled at how different it was approaching the Alamo from a new direction…fifth time visiting and suddenly seeing things never seen before…

Or maybe noticing things never noticed before…like the Emily Morgan Hotel…wasn’t sure what it was at first…walking the sidewalk beside it…it’s height…the intricate detail at the top…took the breath away…

It was beautiful…simply beautiful…

Sauntered to the front of the site and there it was again…or should we say there SHE was again…this time from the side…the Emily Morgan profile…a perfect backdrop for the mission…

She was beautiful…simply beautiful…

Did a circle around the grounds admiring exhibits…reading placards…taking in the splendor of the area but couldn’t help but notice the change in Emily Morgan…

Looking straight on…how strong she looked…how powerful…how independent…no longer a backdrop but a force of her own…

And she was beautiful…simply beautiful…

And so it is…in life…so many roles we play…so many sides…wife, mother, husband, father…friend, neighbor, teacher, child…

Each version unique…each version special…and hopefully to those who hold us dear…each version beautiful…simply beautiful…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband and I…

Got a gift…a generous and thoughtful gift from that daughter of his…five nights in a hotel right by the Alamo…

And as we all know, this old gal loves the Alamo…absolutely loves, loves, loves it…it’s beauty…it’s history…it’s story…

Usually walk up from the Riverwalk…can see it from a distance…the limestone exterior…the arched doorway…the green of the courtyard…it never fails to take the breath away…

Except this year the hotel was to the back of the mission…walked up from behind…and what to my wondering eyes should I see?…nothing…well not nothing, but also not the Alamo we’ve come to love…

Because here, there and everywhere were tents and cranes, fences and workers, digging, drilling, pounding, hammering…a bonafide archeological dig happening right there surrounding that gorgeous building…

And so it is…in life…this old gal and her best friend, The Alamo…no matter how long you’ve been around…no matter how much you think you’ve done…307 years or 64…you’re still a work in progress…

So be like the Alamo…keep growing…keep changing…dig deep…work hard…discover those treasures…still waiting to be found…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This old gal…

Likes dogs…loves them even…for long before there was a cat in her life…there was a dog who was her buddy…her best, best buddy…

And then she married a man who doesn’t like dogs…is scared of dogs…avoids dogs but likes cats…so she adapted…morphed…turned on the charm for a different form of furry friend…

But that doesn’t mean her heart isn’t full of love for that which is not a cat…especially one who has won an old gal’s heart…

Queen Miso…granddog, comforter, super star cuddler…DC’s top model when it comes to modeling that knitwear made by that mother of hers…

Loves her piggy, walks in the park, and sitting in on zoom calls with her parents…

Full of life…full of spunk…full of charm…and most likely full of herself…

Because today is her birthday!

And so Happy Birthday to you, sweet girl, may you be more spoiled today than yesterday but not as much as you will be tomorrow…

Because when it comes to life….don’t we all deserve to be spoiled?…just a little bit?…or maybe more than a little bit?…

Of course we do…
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And that birthday girl of mine…agrees…

That husband of mine…

Wanted to go Retromania…his lovely wife not so much…pooh poohed it to be honest…the entrance fee a little pricy…not sure it was worth it…

But went anyway…browsed the vendors…Hot Wheels…Care Bears…comic books…Cabbage Patch…Gremlins…G.I. Joes…

And then there were the action figures…never seen so many action figures…action figures here…action figures there…action figures everywhere…seemed ridiculous almost…

Until what to our wondering eyes do we see?…tubs, tubs, and more tubs…tubs full of action figures…WWE action figures…and one of us was suddenly…in action figure Heaven…

Pulled them out…called them by name…made their little plastics bodies body slam…clothesline…leap off the edge in a tackle…

And it was fun…gloriously fun…spent the rest of the day reliving wrestling memories…simpler days…days when a 15 year old boy could hang out after a match with his favorite heroes from the ring…

Where they laughed…and talked…and made a young man feel like he could be anything in the world he wanted to be…

And so it is…in life…sometimes you get your money’s worth…and sometimes in the case of Retromania and tubs full of plastic memories…you get much more…
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And El Gato Negro…agrees…

This old gal…

Was feeling a little down…decided to go for a walk…pump up the endorphins a bit…

Just happened to walk in the direction of a vintage shop…just happened to walk down its street…just happened to decide to stop by and browse…

Started in the outbuildings, rustic sheds full of unique treasures, and within minutes, that proverbial dark cloud began to lift…

Those colors…the creativity…the staging of the displays…the artistry…the craftsmanship…the lion mural on the concrete floor…

It worked…drew you in…was magical…

Went inside the shop and what to my wondering eyes should I see sitting behind the checkout counter?…a beauty…young…vibrant…quirky…

Bright orange kaftan…round hippie glasses…greeting shopping me as she came through the door…

Beauty was delightful and chatty so we chatted delightfully…she’s a free bird…lives off the grid…an artist who painted the mural on that floor in the shed…

Talked about Iowa, home towns, being thankful for what we have, family, life choices, and the coincidence that her last name is the same as those ancestors of mine…

Beauty had the knack, complimented an old gal’s bandana…told her she looked younger than her age…enthusiastically agreed that Natural Life products were indeed the bombdiggity…

And so it is…in life…some people just have it…the spark…the flair…the magic…they can make anything beautiful and anyone FEEL beautiful…

It’s a gift, a spectacular gift, that shopper me, who left that place with a smile on her face, was so blessed…to receive…
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And If you’ve ever met a Beauty, you’d agree…

A friend of mine…

Made a comment…said the clock was ticking, so she’s going to take a trip…a fun trip…a fun exciting trip with those beautiful daughters of hers..

Prickly phrase that, the clock is ticking…because it is…faster today than yesterday…than last week…last month…last year…

The time ahead much less than that behind…an old gal finds herself looking back…basking in the memories…marveling at the journey…

And pondering…wondering…if she could go back and do it again, would she?…and if she did, what would she change?…

Would she attend grad school in Texas to study opera as encouraged by her vocal instructor?…date the actuary?…say yes to the proposals?…marry her dear friend?…take a teaching job in a different town?…

So many different paths…so many unknown endings…but the choices young me made…not always the best…not always without pain…took her down a path that gave her the one thing she would never give up…

Those daughters of hers…

THEY are her happy ending…because of them she knows the choices were right…because of them she knows she’s where she’s supposed to be…because of them…she wouldn’t change a thing…
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And those daughters of mine…agree…

This husband of mine said…

“Someone’s out there trying to wake you up”…and someone was…out there on the porch…could hear Top Dog knocking…but it was early…too early for a kitty cat breakfast…

1:30 am…had only been asleep a few hours…rolled over and shut the eyes when one of us sighed…sighed loudly…

He couldn’t sleep…had been lying there two hours listening to that knocking cat knock…and so the chatting began…side by side…staring at the ceiling in the dark…

Talked about this…talked about that…allergies, ailments, aging health…the Seven Dwarfs, WWE wrestlers, YouTube videos he’s watched about the chupacabra…

And then came the question…the middle of the night I’m too tired to think about this question…

“Do you wish you were younger?” he asked…

Had to pause…had to think…but not long because the answer was clear…HER answer was clear…

She wishes she could walk farther…see better…get up off the floor easier…but be younger?…doing younger things again?…no, not at all…

Because what would she change?…she loves her past…the job she chose…the kids she taught…the adventures she’s had along the way…

She loves her people…friends…family…those daughters of hers who have always been her besties…

She loves this life…the life she has now…

She loves knowing what she knows and doing what she does…

She loves aging gracefully, or humorously, or humorously gracefully…

And she loves her sidekick who took her forever to find…who taught her to love cats…who laughs with her…cries with her…who wakes her in the middle of the night for nothing more than in-depth conversations about absolutely nothing…

This is the good life…an old gal’s good life…can’t imagine having it any other way…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

This husband and I…

Often hear a thump coming from the porch…a loud thump…sometimes two thumps in a row…like something heavy jumping and landing hard…

Open the door and what to our wondering eyes do we see?…Top Dog…Top Dog sitting quietly directly in front of the door…

Always quite baffling…like where is he jumping from to make such loud thuds?…the railing?…not high enough…the roof?…nahhh, too far up…and why two thuds in a row at times?…is he jumping off and then on and then off again?…

Pondered the mystery for weeks…for what better thing for two old folks to ponder than why a small agile cat makes loud thuds upon leaping on a porch…

Because we now know…there is no leap…nary a leap…nary a landing…

Opened the door not realizing we had company…just when a loud thud resonated in the air…and made eye contact with none other than Top Dog…

Squatting…paws together…stretched out in front…whapping, smacking, bapping, you name it…the floor by the door…

And mystery solved…the thud not a thud at all but a knock…a cat knock…saying, “Hello! Anyone home? I’ve come to visit.”…or more like, “Hey, I’m hungry, get out here and feed me.”

And, of course, cat lovers us do…

And so it is…in life…sometimes you have to be creative…think outside the box…be more clever than a fox or in this case more clever than two old folks…to make **it happen…
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And Top Dog…who had a twinkle in his eye and a little smirk on his face when his secret was exposed…would agree…

This husband and I…

Had a best friend here in Texas…tuxedo cat extraordinaire…sat on our porch…sat on our laps…fed him…cuddled him…loved him…

Twas the boss of the camp…cat boss…brave…bold…made sure the other cats knew that he was the club…and they weren’t in it…

Nights would find the boss doing boss things…with the lowlings watching from afar…and now the boss is gone…found a home far away…and that lowling…the one lowling left…is now Top Dog…

Top Dog is timid, sweet, and scared of everything…absolutely everything…come too close, move too fast, breathe too loudly…and there’s panic…hissing…bapping…fear…

Too many summers…too many tourists…

But he’s coming around…baby steps…cat lover me taking it slow…keeping her distance…letting Top Dog call the shots…

Because sometimes in life…to gain a friend you have to be a friend…to gain trust you have to be trustworthy…and to get into the Top Dog Club…you have to have patience, lots of patience…and maybe even a daily serving of Fancy Feast…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…