Dear Reader:

Aging does require a sense of humor, doesn’t it? Most days I just pop all (and I mean all) my pills mindlessly and go on my merry way…grateful to be up and at’em …still in the vertical position in life.

But then come the “other days” when I wonder if all the different parts of me (depending on different medications) are just going to come crashing down around my head one day.

I have come to the conclusion that aging is like playing the old childhood game of “Pick Up Stix.”

Anyone out there, beside me, remember this game? It went like this: a certain number of sticks were randomly thrown on the floor and then each player (on their turn) had to try to remove a stick without disturbing or moving another stick in the process.

(If you did… you lost your turn…but if you removed the stick successfully from the pile without interrupting any others…you got to keep the stick. Whoever had the most sicks at the end of the pile…won.)

Aging, especially with certain medical challenges, requires learning the art of adding one more medication without upsetting all the others you are already taking. Every year the pile of “sticks” grows higher and separating one medication from the others gets harder and harder.

I wish I could blame all my on-going (and more on-going) medications on side effects from “little c” over an extended period…but to play fair…I imagine a little thing…called “age”… just might be contributing to the build-up of sticks surrounding me. Most likely it is a “combo plate” of both.

Some days it takes a “jolt” of memory to send me back to those days (not so long ago … when my thoughts were more “lateral” than “vertical”) to appreciate the option of still being in the   game of “Pick up Stix.”

Prolific writer/author James Michener wrote his autobiography “The World is my Home” at age eighty-five. In it he shared  a powerful childhood memory…an  incident when he was a little country boy of five years of age that he never forgot.

Source: Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul-“Rusty Nails” -James Michener/submitted by Marci E. Brown)

…” The farmer living at the end our lane had an aging apple tree that had once been abundantly productive but had now lost its energy and ability to bear any fruit at all. 

The farmer, one early spring day, hammered eight nails, long and rusty, into the trunk of the tree. Four were knocked in close to the ground on four different sides of the trunk, four higher up and well spaced about the circumference. 

That autumn a miracle happened. The tired old tree, having been goaded back to life, produced a bumper crop of juicy red apples, bigger and better than we had seen before. When I asked how this had happened, the farmer explained:

“Hammerin’ in the rusty nails gave it a shock to remind it that its job is to produce apples.”

“Was it important that the nails were rusty?”

“Maybe it made the minerals in the nails easier to digest.”

“Was eight important?”

“If you’re goin’ to send a message, be sure it’s heard.”

“Could you do the same next year?”

“A substantial jolt lasts about ten years.”

“Will you knock more nails in then?”

“By that time we both may be finished,” he said, but I was unable to verify this prediction, for by that time our family had moved away from the lane.”

” In the 1980’s , when I was nearly eighty years old, I had some fairly large rusty nails hammered into my trunk, too-a quintuple bypass heart surgery, a new left hip, a dental rebuilding, an attack of permanent vertigo…and like a sensible apple tree, I resolved to resume bearing fruit.”

…………………

So until tomorrow…Father remind me to complain no more…just hand me another pill and I will gulp it down happily, along with the other rusty nails, because we all need a jolt now and then to continue bearing Your gifts given to us to others …for as long as we can.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* In case you didn’t see the “add-on” to the blog (added on around 10:30 yesterday morning)   …you might have missed the sad news of our funny little cat… Lucy’s passing.

* Lucy’s “In Memoriam” eulogy is in yesterday’s blog if you want to go back a day and see it.

Libby sent me this wonderful little story that she was given when her dog died several years ago. I thought some of you might be interested in having a copy to send friends when they experience the loss of a pet.

To: Rebecca Barbour Dingle

In Memory of: Lucy

June 6, 2015

“The Rainbow Bridge”

There is a bridge connecting heaven and earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors. Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge is a land of meadows, hills and valleys, and all covered in lush green grass.

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this lovely land. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. There, the old and frail animals are young again.   Those who are sick are made whole once more. They play all day with each other, happy and comfortable.

There is only one thing missing. They are not with the special ones who loved them on earth. So each day they run and play until the day comes when one stops playing and looks up!   Then, the nose twitches and the ears perk up…you have been seen, and that one suddenly runs from the group!

You and your special friend meet again and you take them into your arms. You are able to look again into the eyes of your beloved pet.   Then, together you cross the Rainbow Bridge ….Never to be separated again.

         Author Unknown

The garden won’t be the same without our little princess reigning over it…in her favorite spot inside the moon gate.

She began hanging out around my house soon after mother’s death several years ago. I thought it was ironic since mother’s name was Lucille. It was as if she needed to come check on me each day to make sure I was okay. Perhaps Lucy was my ‘guardian angel’ mom sent to look over me.

Then about three years ago…(when she looked like she was on her last leg) I started giving her some extra snacks when she came to visit… from then on…Suzanne was mother…but I was her favorite Aunt Becky.

She watched the deck go up with interest because she decided that would be her favorite resting spot. Then when the garden came along she loved following me around each morning to check on all the plants.

She especially loved sitting in the wicker chair with the large fern in the warm afternoons and lying on the benches in the garden in the evening to listen to the fountain gurgle and the lights come on. The garden was her sanctuary too!

I will miss my ‘special guardian of the garden’….thank you God for sending this little friend into my life…she was very special …a God’s Wink when I needed one! Lucy was very tired and now it is her time to be looked after by her Creator.

* Late yesterday afternoon as I returned home from running some errands…a big white moon flower bloom was shining in the hot afternoon sun off the porch….so unusual…moon flowers like to bloom in the evening….Perhaps a sign to let me know Lucy is happy to be home again.

So in honor of Lucy…the first full moon flower bloom will named for her….Lucy, the Moon Flower Bloom of summer/2015