Last night before Ladies' Group, I ventured to Wal*Mart to pick up a prescription and to restock my low-dose aspirins. No time to dilly-dally, time was short, as I scurried across the parking lot toward the doors. Before I had crossed the driveway, a young voice, or perhaps two, were offering to sell me candy bars. Wow, aggressive sales pitchmen! These two young boys had a table set-up off to the side of the main doors, and sitting on a stack of mulch was their daddy, all dressed in his suit and such from work. I nicely told them no thank you and went on into the store.
My transaction was swiftly handled and out I went. Again the pleas to buy their candy bars. The one little guy was having a ball, swinging on the handle of the shopping cart they were using as their display. He would swing and holler to passersby about his candy bars, while his brother was less enthusiastic. Not unenthusiastic, just lesser so. Seeing the little guy having so much fun with the cart, acting very much the way I imagine someone else I know would have behaved, I was lured over. The older of the two boys, probably 8 or so, explained the different types of bars, and the little guy told me about the coupons on the back. "Save your wrapper" was his suggestion to me. I chose the dark chocolate almond, although I am not that 'nuts' about almonds! I asked what I was supporting by buying their $2 candy bar, and the older boy stuck out his chest to show the name of their school, the area Berean Baptist school, just down the street. We used to buy our Christmas trees from them in the old days, sold by the teens to fund a trip to New York. It was hard to picture these rather demure looking young people gobbling up NYC but I may be way off on this....
I walked back to my car, a bit misty-eyed from my encounter with a little rascal-looking boy. In as few words as possible, I admonished the daddy of those boys to cherish his sons, that I used to have a little one like his, but that he was in heaven now....."Yes, ma'am, I sure will"...I hope he will!
The Ladies' Group meeting was poorly attended and even pastor was absent. Apparently his car broke down so he was going to miss the Sunday school teacher's meeting as well as ours. Since Twila was in the hospital, her sis-in-law, Jean, was running the meeting for which I had made up the agenda. We were not sure Carol would be there but she was, and gave her reports. We had four ladies and Cliff, our Elder. Those few people and a brief agenda still led to an hour and a half long meeting, especially when it came to discussing the renovations planned to the Fellowship Hall and the loss of storage areas!
The national LWMS rally is being held in Milwaukee this year and Judy C. is planning to attend. I would go also but I will already be up north at the end of May/beginning of June for graduations in the families. I am yet considering the national Worship Conference in July, plus Lori's 60th birthday, but much depends upon airfares and such. Plus, I am not sure what the living conditions and such are at the conference, if I must rent a car or what. No one I am 'friends' with lives near enough to the venue for me to stay with them, but Judy R. said she was going to attend the closing service of the conference. Guess I had better get some answers and make a decision sooner rather than later on this! Hate to be away from FL during the summer months---the pool, you know?
Carol is having knee surgery today, which is why we were not sure if she would come to the meeting or not. She is quite private and did not tell folks about this surgery. Joe, her dad, blabbed to me when Rosalie was here. Why she did not want folks to know I am not sure---she would never let me get away with that! She did tell some of the ladies on Altar Guild because she will be unable to do the paraments and such during her recovery period.
Yesterday, Cliff and she were at church when we arrived for Bible study, intending to put up the cross on the front of the property, where the black cloth will be draped on Ash Wednesday. Only, they could not find the cross! It was not where they put it, or where they were told it was placed, nor in the garage...nowhere to be found. They called Lonnie, our maintenance chairman, and by the time we left after Bible study, the new cross was planted in the front yard! He had gotten a 10' 4 x4 that morning, fashioned the cross (told his nosy neighbor he was building an ark!) and drove from Villages of Fireside to church to erect it. Just a bit more than two hours from phone call to being done! That's what I like!
Today Justin is supposedly coming to do some work for me, claiming I can have him all day. Good! I went to Home Depot on the way to church Monday a.m. to buy paint brushes as he is going to paint the trim in my kitchen, among other things. I am taking our taxes in today before it's too late for them to work on. He gave me his W-2 on Thursday and I forgot about taking the packet to the CPA's office. Even yesterday, I just forgot! This might be a mental block when it comes to paying taxes. Today it is---'render unto Caesar that which is Caersar's...."
This afternoon, much later, I am going to visit Twila at the hospital before I go to Trivia on the Southside. Hopefully it will still be daylight when I leave Shands since I will be in unfamiliar territory over there. Good thing I have the GPS on my phone to help me find the way. We were going to have a larger group tonight but Rita wrote me a note this a.m. saying they have Victory Kids tonight instead of on Wednesday, because of Lent. Her son attends that, and they are building rockets tonight. Good choice, Rita! Her older son is home from college so we'd have a fresh brain to help us take first place again. Now, we are on our own!
Yesterday I mentioned watching "The Way We Were" for the umpteenth time. In the story, the spouse, played by Redford, finds himself facing being blacklisted because a classmate friend of Katie's (Streisand) exposed her involvement with communist groups in college. (Again, that being careful who you stand with thing...). If he wants to continue working in Hollywood, where he is enjoying the dream, she was going to have to divorce him, or vice versa. She was already a fish out of water living in Hollywood, trying her darnedest not to get into the politics there. She wanted to be with him more than she wanted to stand her ground, or take a stand, I guess, would be the right words. But, eventually, that changed as he got a bit caught up in the life out there and she got involved in the politics of the time. As they sat eating dinner in their beach bungalow, she being 8 months pregnant, and still in love with each other, she dramatically leaned back against the sofa and said, sadly, "Funny how these decisions are forced on us willy-nilly..." She then asked Hubbell to stay with her until the baby is born. Decisions are forced on us sometimes willy-nilly, not always our doing. In my situation, it worked out great---I pray the same for all others who find themselves in this position.
