Monthly Archives: March 2016

Mar19

365 Days of Happiness (127/365)

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365 Days of Happiness (127/365)

On the drive back home to New Jersey from Florida…..I saw a gorgeous A-frame house peeking out of the woods in Virginia.  It was set back from a pretty little lake.  In an instant my memories went back to my Dad.

aframe

As I drove along, lost in my own thoughts….I remembered bits and pieces of what I know of Daddy.  I lost my dad when I was 13 years old.  Lost.  Another one of life’s peculiar phrases.  My dad isn’t lost.  I know where he is.  He’s in heaven.  He died of esophageal cancer when I was 13.  I miss him everyday.

My Dad didn’t finish high school.  Something interrupted him.  Something called the Great Depression.  But Dad was an educated man.  He believed in education.  He loved National Geographic.  Our home was filled with the magazines, maps, and books he would order from NG about far away places and people so foreign to my 10-year-old world.  I think (in his heart) my Dad was an anthropologist  He loved people and places.   And he brought them home to us — through BOOKS.

One year, Dad ordered plans from National Geographic for building an A-frame house.  I can remember those papers spread out across the kitchen table and us kids asking him “what is that?”  And he told us all about an A-frame and where it would be in the woods.  My Dad didn’t have the training for it — but he was an engineer.  He could build a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.   I think — had he lived to retire with my mom….he might have built that house.  I think so.

As I drove today — alone in my head — while Peter and Erin slept, it dawned on me that my Dad — in his entire life — never owned a house.  Not an A-frame, or any other kind.   Dad was a working man.  He was a Navy man, and when he got out, went to work for an aeronautic engineering company in Little Falls New Jersey called Singer Kearfott.  He worked on government contracts and built things that went into space.  But my Dad — he never owned a home..  My Mom bought her first home…..with Dad’s life insurance check after he died.  Sometimes…..that is how it happens.  Pain creates progress.

It hurt a little bit to see that A-frame today.  Daddy, I wish you could have lived your dream.  You left us way too young.  But then — as I left that house in Virginia, and got closer  and closer to home — i realized that my Dad (and Mom’s) dreams come true still — in the lives of us, all of us kids.  My sisters and brothers and I — we all own homes.  We’ve built on the shoulders of my Dad and my Moms hard work.

I will NEVER forget where I came from….nor how I got here.  And….I’ll never be able to see an A-frame without thinking of my Dad.  I love you so much.   Oh and Daddy……I feel you every time I see a sea-horse.  Thank you for teaching me about the world….from the warmth of our home.  It did not matter to me at all….that it was rented.  When a child is loved……they don’t know  (or care) of such things.    #ChooseHappiness365 (127/365)

Ciao for now….Diane

Mar17

365 Days of Happiness (125/365)

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365 Days of Happiness (125/365)

Today began with Peter and I working in my mom’s yard.  We laid 20 bags of mulch in her garden!  Whew!  Thank goodness we were done before it got Florida HOT!  A good deed always feels …good!  And I’m so happy to have a wonderful husband who did all the heavy lifting.  #ChooseHappiness365 (125/365)

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IMG_1925-1           IMG_1928-1

Ciao for now….Diane

Mar14

365 Days of Happiness (122/365)

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365 Days of Happiness (122/365)

Mom is off to play Mahjong at the Senior Center.  Seeing her this week has lifted my spirits.  It taught me that depression is a serious issue for seniors.  For a while there, Mom was a bit of a recluse.  She stayed home too much, wasn’t getting enough social interaction.  Now she’s back out there — learning new things — laughing and enjoying the company of friends.  She has a rosy glow in her cheeks.   #SelfLoveAtEveryAge #CallYourMom  #ChooseHappiness365 (122/365) #Monday

mahjong

Ciao for now…..Diane

Mar12

365 Days of Happiness — 2 days in one! (119 & 120/365)

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365 Days of Happiness — 2 days in one! (119 & 120/365)

The past two days have felt like ONE enormously long day –so that’s how we will account for it.  2 days in one 🙂

The drive to Florida was 16+ hours — smooth sailing, not aggressive like some trips in the past.  The traffic wasn’t bad either — UNTIL we got to Florida.  Jacksonville (or Jville as we call it 🙂 ) is undergoing long-term road construction and we hit it right at 545pm Friday night.  N.I.C.E. is all that needs saying.

Then we hit the I-4 construction.  Ah-hem, I’m corrected — the ULTIMATE I-4 construction project.  Two lanes of traffic moving 5 miles per hour.  Hey — that was my marathon pace.  I could’ve kept up :0   That’s the bright side.   When we made it past the 2+ hour delay, the flashing lights told the story of an 8-car crash.  Horrible.  I suppose our delay was really just an opportunity for us to open the windows and breathe in some fresh night air.  In the grand scheme of life on Friday night…. we were lucky and blessed.  Perspective is a teachable moment every single day.

 

jumppool

Saturday was G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S!  Tonight — we jumped in my mom’s pool with our clothes on.  Hey — some things are just TOO GOOD to wait for!  #ChooseHappiness365 (119 & 120/365)  #FirstTimeForEverything

Ciao for now….Diane