Yesterday on the way home from the school, I mentioned to the grandgirls that today would have been my father’s 89th birthday.

Sweet Stuff: “He never got to know us.”
Sunshine: “No, he doesn’t know us.”
Me: “And that’s one of the saddest things I know of. Grandshaw would have loved you so much. He would have loved seeing you and knowing you.” My voice started cracking before I could even finish.

It’s indicative of the power of the parent-child relationship that over 21 years after my father’s death, I still tear up thinking about how much I miss him. I would so love for him to see what wonderful adults my children have become. They were just children - in second and sixth grades - when he died. Now they’re grown - and the grandgirls are here: Sweet Stuff is about to finish first grade, and next year Sunshine will be kindergarten. How I wish my father could see and shower my little grandgirls with his unconditional love. And it is truly one of the saddest facts of my life that he is not still here.

A couple years ago, a classmate of my niece died - a little first grader. Haley cried and was upset, but then she said, “Well Anna Marie is alright, GrandShaw will take care of her.”

My mother is a very gifted writer. Her blog is Ruthlace, and she has just posted “Happy Mother’s Day 2008.” It is so good that I’ve linked it and have it posted below. Click over and read all her wonderful posts.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY 2008
Some of the articles and sermons I have heard on Mother’s Day would give one the idea that to become a mother is to become a saint.

We all would agree there are saintly mothers and there are self centered, even criminal mothers. Most of us as mothers find our place somewhere in between.

In spite of the seemingly endless nausea and misery of pregnancy and pain of childbirth, the incredible love that we have for that helpless and amazingly beautiful baby when it is finally born is awesome. There is something about motherhood that tends to bring out the best in most of us.

Most of us as adults have an emotional attachment and love for our mother. In cases where the mother has such personal problems as to neglect, abuse or abandon the child there is always unbelievable sorrow.

Just the thought of “mother” brings about great emotion in many of us. I remember one Saturday before Mothers Day when I was sitting in the sanctuary with our church music director. We were discussing the music for the next day and got into conversation about some of the old Mother’s Day hymns. She mentioned two old gospel songs, “That Silver Haired Mother of Mine” and “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again.” We both choked up.
I think all of us come to Mother’s Day thinking about our own mother and not about some honor due us if we also happen to be a mother.

It seems to me that mother love is more nearly like God’s love…unselfish love…agape love, than any other human love. Mother seems to see possibilities in us that other people seem not to notice. Just as God sees possibilities in us that we do not see in ourselves and others fail to see.

Charles Swindoll’s book entitled, Living Beyond The Daily Grind has a chapter, The Grind of Motherhood. Is there any one of us who will not agree that in addition to the many joys of motherhood and the endless rewards, motherhood is a four letter word called “Work.” Swindoll puts it this way; “the daily mounds of laundry, ironing, folding, cleaning , cooking, car pooling, being a referee, a coach, and encourager, a counselor, a cop, staying pretty, remaining tactful, loveable, compassionate, cheerful, responsible, balanced and sane…”

My daughter, Deborah Lewis wrote a book in 1990, later put out in paperback which I think is one of the best on the subject of Motherhood Stress. On the cover is a woman stretched out across two mountain peaks, with children walking across her, and the sub title is “Finding Encouragement in the Ultimate Helping Profession.” Motherhood is the ultimate helping profession and parents are encouraged to realize the importance of the job.

I was in my early fifties when my mother died at age 88. Even though I had a husband and seven children, I will never forget the sense of loneliness and loss I felt to realize my mother was no longer in my world.

My mother had a philosophy of life as a Christian, not to worry about things that “could not be helped” and to take each day as a new beginning. In her honor, I want to include :
A BALLAD FOR MY MOTHER
1. My mother grew old. . . had lines etched in her face
Worked hard all her life. . . with uncommon grace
She lived by the Bible. . . Each day and each mile.
She taught me her secret. . . of life with a smile.

Refrain: She said. . . Today is the first day. Of the rest of your life.
Don’t borrow trouble, With yesterday’s strife.
Take time. . . Smell the flowers.
It makes life worth while
Then pick up each new day.
With love and a smile!

2. Widowed while young. . . Mama worked in the mill.
Washed on a scrub-board. . . Brought wood up a hill.
She sang as she labored… to stay out of debt ,
She taught me a lesson. . . I’ll never forget.

Refrain: She said. . . Today is the first day. Of the rest of your life.
Don’t borrow trouble, With yesterday’s strife.
Take time. . . smell the flowers.
It makes life worth while .
Pick up each new day With love and a smile!

3. One day I said, Mama,. . . Your life has been hard .
You’ve buried two babies. . . Out in the church yard.
You’ve known all the heartache of struggling for bread,
She smiled through her tears and these words she said:

Refrain: She said. . . Today is the first day, Of the rest of your life.
Don’t borrow trouble, With yesterday’s strife.
Take time. . . smell the flowers.
It makes life worth while.
Pick up each new day. With love and a smile!

Her old fashioned teacakes? We ate the last crumb!
Her old fashioned flowers? She had a green thumb!
She lived by the Bible. . . Each day and each mile.
She taught me her secret. . . of life with a smile.
~Ruth Baird Shaw~

Several weeks ago I shipped back all the NutriSystem food that I had left over - which was a substantial amount. It was two big boxes worth. I figured that NutriSystem would reimburse me for the food that I shipped back. That’s their policy, and I would have been satisfied with that. However, I checked my bank account this morning, and they reimbursed me for EVERY PENNY that I had spent on the food originally. Wow! I’m impressed finally with NutriSystem. At least, in the end, they did right by me. Of course I had to pay close to $30 to ship the food back, but that’s okay.

So, lesson learned. I will never try NutriSystem again. Horrible food. Not just horrible, but REALLY inedible food, for the most part.

We got a notice from Disney films last week that our street would be closed to all but resident traffic today, tomorrow and Wednesday because Disney will be filming here.

They’ve been working on the “set” for the past week. We live out in the country - and our road is particularly scenic with big fields, wooded areas, a creek and lots of wildlife. At one place, next to the creek, there is a field. One day last week there were flags posted at places in the field. Our first thought was that someone was going to build a house, and the flag were for the septic system. Nope, the flag were where hay bales would be placed. Then they put up a section of fencing - and then treated it to make the fence look old and weather worn. It’s kinda funny to see a fence that doesn’t go around anything - but it looks nice.

As soon as RT read the notice, he immediately called the contact number. He mentioned that we have a beautiful place with lots of wooded trails that would be good for a movie. He asked about the filming - and the guy did not say it was Miley Cyrus, but when Ron mentioned that his grandkids would be excited about a Hannah Montana movie being filmed on our street, the guy said something like “They wouldn’t be wrong.” The guy also said he’d like to look at our place.

So the rumor is that Miley Cyrus will be filming part of her new movie here - and that would make sense considering all the security that’s going on - and especially considering what the Disney contact guy said. I understand that she lives in this general area although I don’t know exactly where. I just hope it’s not a headache getting to our house this week. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle traffic.

I get no respect.

This morning on my way to school (I was running late), I got pulled over for speeding - 44 MPH in a 30 MPH zone. Within two minutes of being pulled over - as the police officer was busy in his car calling in my license number to make sure I wasn’t a convicted criminal - my cell phone rang. It was my daughter.

“Did you just get pulled over?” I had been pulled over on a sidestreet that intersects the road she drives to take the kids to school each morning.

“Yes - did you see me?”

“No, but Sunshine did.” Sunshine is my 5-year old grandgirl.

Sunshine had said, “Mommy, that’s Grandma Carol and a policeman.” My daughter had seen the police car with the lights flashing, but she only noticed that the car pulled over was like mine - but she thought it was a black car instead of a green one. So she told Sunshine said she didn’t think it was me - that the car had been black, not green. Sunshine was insistent. She KNEW it was Grandma Carol - and the car HAD been green. So my daughter said she’d call me to find out. And, as it turned out, Sunshine was right. She knows Grandma Carol when she sees her.

So I got my ticket - and a second one for not being able to find my insurance papers (which I know are in the glove compartment - I was just so angry at getting stopped that I only half-assed looked for them. Don’t get me started on how little respect I have for our particular police department. They’re a bunch of pompous idiots. But that’s for another rant another time.)

Then I got to school - barely making it in time. There was a parent in my classroom along with another teacher when Sweet Stuff (my 7-year old grandgirl who had been in the car with Sunshine and my daughter) came to my classroom to get some stuff she’d left in my room yesterday afternoon.

“Why did the policeman stop you?” she asked - loudly - as she walked into the room. Sigh.

What are the odds that the only traffic ticket I’ve had in ten years would occur not only on a street where my daughter travels every day - but that it would also happen in the less than minute time frame that my daughter would be driving past there on her way to take the girls to school.

Need I even mention how much fun RT has had with this all day?

One day on the way home from school, I had an oldies CD playing. Sweet Stuff was riding with me, and Elvis Presley was belting out “The Wonder of You.” I told Sweet Stuff about Elvis - about how he had a little girl and about how famous he was - and that when Sweet Stuff’s mommy was just a very little girl, he had died. I told her that I wish I had gone to one of his concerts when he was alive. Then we listened to the song and talked about how beautiful the words were and how much we liked Elvis Presley’s voice.

A couple days later, Sweet Stuff said, “Grandma Carol, play that song again. You know, that dead man’s song.”

THE WONDER OF YOU (Elvis Presley)

When no-one else can understand me
When everything I do is wrong
You give me hope and consolation
You give me strength to carry on

And you’re always there to lend a hand
In everything I do
That’s the wonder
The wonder of you

And when you smile the world is brighter
You touch my hand and I’m a king
Your kiss to me is worth a fortune
Your love for me is everything

I’ll guess I’ll never know the reason why
You love me like you do
That’s the wonder
The wonder of you

The world’s oldest known person turns 115 on Sunday, April 20, 2008, and she lives right here in the U.S.A. Her name is Edna Parker, and she has been a widow since her husband died in 1938. That’s EIGHTY years of being a widow. She has also outlived her two sons.

My sister, Janice, sent an email to our family with an article about how older people are generally happier. As people get older they learn to take things in stride and to enjoy what they have. That seems to be the case for Edna Parker.

Here’s the story:

Indiana Woman, Oldest Known Person, Turns 115 on Sunday
Associated Press
SHELBYVILLE, Ind. Maybe it was a lifetime of chores on the family farm that accounts for Edna Parker’s long life. Or maybe just good genes explain why the world’s oldest known person will turn 115 on Sunday, defying staggering odds.

Scientists who study longevity hope Parker and others who live to 110 or beyond - they’re called supercentenarians - can help solve the mystery of extreme longevity.

“We don’t know why she’s lived so long,” said Don Parker, her 59-year-old grandson. “But she’s never been a worrier and she’s always been a thin person, so maybe that has something to do with it.”

On Friday, Edna Parker laughed and smiled as relatives and guests released 115 balloons into sunny skies outside her nursing home. Dressed in pearls, a blue and white polka dot dress and new white shoes, she clutched a red rose during the festivities.

Two years ago, researchers from the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University took a blood sample from Parker for the group’s DNA database of supercentenarians.

Her DNA is now preserved with samples of about 100 other people who made the 110-year milestone and whose genes are being analyzed, said Dr. Tom Perls, an aging specialist who directs the project.

“They’re really our best bet for finding the elusive Holy Grail of our field - which are these longevity-enabling genes,” he said.

Only 75 living people - 64 women and 11 men - are 110 or older, according to the Gerontology Research Group of Inglewood, Calif., which verifies reports of extreme ages.

Parker, who was born April 20, 1893, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest of that group last August after the death of a Japanese woman four months her senior.

A widow since her husband, Earl, died in 1938 of a heart attack, Parker lived alone in their farmhouse until age 100, when she moved into her son Clifford’s home. She cheated death a few months later.

One winter night, Clifford and his wife returned home from a high school basketball game to find her missing. Don, their son, says he discovered his grandmother in the snowy darkness near the farm’s apple orchard. He scooped up her rigid body and rushed back to the house.

“She was stiff as a 2-by-4. We really thought that was the end of her,” he said.

But Parker recovered fully, suffering only frostbitten fingertips.

Fifteen years later, her room at the Heritage House Convalescent Center in Shelbyville, Ind., about 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis, is adorned with teddy bears and photos of her five grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great grandchildren. She’s outlived her two sons, Clifford and Earl Jr.

During a visit this week, Parker was captivated by a new album of photos and documents from her life that Don’s wife, Charlene, had assembled.

“That’s the boys,” she said hoarsely, tapping a photo of her two late sons in their youth. “Clifford and Junior.”

Her two sisters also are deceased. Georgia lived to be 99, while her sister Opal was 88 when she died.

Parker’s long-lived sisters are typical of other centenarians, according to Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Institute for Aging Research in New York. Nearly all of them have a sister, mother or other relative who lived a long life, he said.

“Longevity is in the family history,” Barzilai said.

He and other scientists have found several genetic mutations in centenarians that may play a role in either slowing the aging process or boosting resistance to age-related diseases.

Perls said the secret to a long life is now believed to be a mix of genetics and environmental factors such as health habits. He said his research on about 1,500 centenarians hints at another factor that may protect people from illnesses such as heart attacks and stroke - they appear not to dwell on stressful events.

“They seem to manage their stress better than the rest of us,” he said.

I attended my cousin Don’s memorial service today. Don worked for WSB radio and television many years ago. Then he went on to work for CNN for about fifteen years after that. During his early years at WSB he made some great friends, and several of his WSB friends spoke at his funeral today. One of those friends was Don Kennedy. I didn’t realize that my cousin Don was good friends with Don Kennedy. If I had known that when I was a kid, I probably would have begged cousin Don to introduce me to his friend. Don Kennedy was one of my childhood heros. I didn’t know him as Don Kennedy, though. To me - and to thousands of other children in Georgia - he was Officer Don, the energetic and kind and funny host of the Popeye Club.

Once Officer Don brought his traveling Popeye Club to our little town of Ellijay, Georgia. Out of all the children in the audience, I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen to play one of the games on stage. My game was musical chairs, and I WON! My prize was a white cowboy hat with Officer Don’s autograph. I remember getting the cowboy hat, but I have no idea what happened to it afterwards. It was truly a high point of my childhood. Thanks for the memory, Officer Don!

Today was my cousin Don’s memorial service in Georgia.  At the service, my mother and all my siblings and I were together for awhile.  It has been a couple years since we’d been altogether, and it was nice - even if it was for a sad occasion and even if it was for only a couple hours.  After the memorial service at the church and then visiting with family and friends and sharing a lunch in the church fellowship hall, we each went our separate ways again.  RT and I headed back to my mother’s to get our suitcases and fly back to Tennessee.  My oldest sister, Janice, and her husband started the long drive back to D.C.  My youngest brother, David, headed back to Alabama.  The others headed back to their homes in Georgia.  For a little while today, though, all our paths converged.  We went outside and had photographs taken of all of us together. 

Yes, it’s an old joke, but as soon as I told RT that I had hurt my knee earlier today, he said I must have an ACLU injury.  Ha! Ha!  I laughed.  RT’s corny, but I enjoy his humor.

It DOES hurt like crazy when I put any kind of strain on my knee - as in bending it or stretching it out - basically any movement at all.  I remember when it happened.  I was bending down and I felt it pull on my knee - but I wanted to finish whatever I was doing, and so I didn’t stop.  I don’t even remember what I was doing - tying my shoelaces, maybe.  But when I stood up, I realized that perhaps I should not have so quickly dismissed that initial warning pain.

RT and I flew down to my mother’s this evening in order to attend a family funeral tomorrow.  The plane trip was not very comfortable since it is RT’s plane and it is very small and there was no room to stretch out my leg.  And the pain has gotten progressively worse this evening. 

So I’ve been researching ACL injuries.  The diagram above is one thing I’ve found.  I have no idea if I have an ACL injury.  I just know my left knee hurts.

Perhaps tomorrow I will wake up and it will be much better, and within a few days it will be completely back to normal.  Yes, that is definitely what will happen.