Dear Reader:
On mother’s side of the family, the Wilsons, everyone had the same favorite advice cliche that could be used for many different situations… You knew it was coming when a grandparent, uncle, aunt, or mother started out with “Becky…There’s more to life...”
As a child it was hard to suppress a sigh when hearing this start-up phrase because it was used primarily to boost me up when daily life when wrong. The situations differed as I grew older but the advice stayed the same with a few alternative endings.
Some examples:
If I didn’t get chosen for the school talent show…mother would hug me and say…”Don’t worry…there’s more to life than one little school talent show…you’ll see that one day.” (“One day’s” in a child’s life borders on eternity and is not very imminently comforting.)
Or as I grew older and had my first broken heart….mother might say “It’s okay sweetheart…there’s more to life than just one toad on a lily pad…lots of fish in the sea.” (What is it with mothers and fish in the sea (along with frogs on lily pads?)…I am talking about a guy here that I had totally crushed on???)
The one Wilson line that really threw me was when one of my uncles was talking to me about my aspirations following college…He finally said…”Remember…There’s more to life than living Becky.” (Now what in the world was that supposed to mean…if you weren’t living… weren’t you dead?)
Today, of course, when this line is spoken…there’s always a blank at the end of it to fill in…like “There’s more to life than one’s car, house, phone (though if you lose it…it sure doesn’t feel that way) job, career, etc.
*With all the delayed coronavirus economic lifelines (Congress Relief Bill) continuing to be argued over instead of put into action…perhaps a banner should be put up on the walls in the House and Senate chambers from the American people saying “There’s more to life than eating…but we won’t ever find out what it is if we starve waiting on this bill to pass.” 🙂
Yet, this troubled old world did “lay down its burdens” waiting for spring to arrive ten minutes before midnight last night. I didn’t realize that this was the earliest arrival of spring (March 19) in 124 years! Impressive…Mother Nature knows when it is a good time to do something extra nice for earth (arriving early)…and does it in a timely fashion.
In fact as I type this post…(it is late afternoon on March 19) …it is still officially “winter”(with almost 8 hours left till spring)- the real joke, however, is summer decided to jump in before spring as temperatures reached the mid-80’s yesterday on the first day of spring in the lowcountry! It was HOT and will continue to stay in the 80’s for the next few days. It was a heater to air-conditioning day!
So until tomorrow…”There really is more to life” than even this coronavirus pandemic with all its massive destructive possibilities. We must concentrate on what we, as individuals, can do to help another individual get through this…one on one helping encircles our planet with love and caring.
“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh
I had to get out and water the plants and flowers yesterday on the first day of spring…they were thirsty….if this keeps up I will have to get Michael to set a new timer on the sprinkler…my empty milk jugs get heavy lugging around the front, side, and back yards and garden.
- Photo- First Gazania spring bloom….love these flowers…they bloom and bloom and bloom!
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
What a beautiful flower. It seems like the Twilight Zone invaded real life. Stay safe.
Gazanias multiply and bloom in all kaleidoscope colors…they are amazing!
Mother always would say “you can’t stop.in the middle of the road” and I would think what in the world…of course you can’t…you would get hit by a car…but later when I was older I got it and it is a quick reminder to keep putting one foot in fron of the other …and keep going gorward…hope you are doing ok. Surely wish we coukd talk…silly phones of ours…
Keeping on keeping on is the mantra now for staying the course-don’t look back…just forward to a more loving universal understanding of protecting our earthly home with the best stewardship we can individually and collectively give it.
Dear Becky,
I’m so glad that you continue to “keep on keeping on” with your daily blogs. I’m an early riser out here in British Columbia, Canada so almost always there is one of your Eastern blog messages waiting for me in the morning. It’s a wonderful way to start my day…with some words of inspiration, up-lift and encouragement. Often there are those lovely photos fresh taken from your garden (and again today you blessed us with the beauty of this early-blooming gazania)…Gorgeous, and another of those blessings that arrive new every morning from the hand of my Father and Creator God.
I also love the humour you often add into your daily devotions and observations of life. This one re TP has to be one of the best for this season when it seems we have an almost universal shortage of this everyday “necesssity”! (or is it really a necessity when much of the world lives without it and are happy?) And those long food lines or whatever that we might be experiencing now as we wait for government handouts and demand that they happen more quickly….do we not realize that everyday many hundreds of people are starving and this without much hope of any handouts from anywhere unless they have ones like the Red Cross, Compassion or Samaritan’s Purse there to help alleviate the hunger pangs and thirst that are a part of their life everyday. Perhaps we are forgetting the needs of others while wondering why our “needs” are not being met more quickly? If so, this is sad. Maybe something to ponder as a new day begins…
With love and gratitude….Lynn Gamache, Aldergrove, B.C. Canada
B
We are lucky to live in a country that is able and willing to help its citizens …especially living in the poorest areas or the worst conditions…my concerns are for them as many lost their jobs as school janitorial staff when they closed and other companies that had to lay off the bottom line of workers…who need imminent help while too many argumentative ‘debates’ over amounts and processing go on without simply sending the initial help to the poorest while talks continue…
It will work itself out…but I am finding myself paying more attention to the people waiting in line in the grocery stores behind me counting change to buy a “special” of three small tuna fish cans for two dollars. Worried the elderly gentleman behind me was asking the clerk if the “two item” restriction applied to a ‘three for one’ special on tuna cans…we both looked at each other and she quickly said that it was okay. I silently nodded at her to add his three cans of tuna fish to my groceries and handed her my card…he was unaware of what was happening. Just glad when citizens can help other citizens on one to one basis while talks continue in our capital.
Stay healthy friend…you and your family and we can still enjoy the beauty of spring…no charge for that ! :).