A hearty hello to you my faithful readers and an extra howdy to all the new ones!! I’m happy to gird up my loins and write again. Praise God I’m feeling better than I did a couple months ago and heaps better than a year ago! My mental capacity is more stable, though still prone to sink below sea level if my ship is over loaded. But I’m blessed for the healing God has given!

I’ve had a stack of new subscribers in the last months since I took a break from writing. How they happened to come while I was on strike I’d like to know, so if you want to tell me who you are I’d be pleased to hear from you. And thank you for being here!

In light of that, I thought I would reintroduce myself… No, my name and height hasn’t changed and I’m not in the habit of sharing my weight. (Sorry if you were getting your hopes up.) If you want to know where in the world we live read my home page.

Quirks to describe me:

I love healthy food but not the effort it takes for those meals to appear on my table.

I love naps but not the time it takes out of my day. Most days it’s a ‘have to’ thing.  Some days I’m able to plow through without one which always feels like a great time saver. But then I drop in bed rather early so I don’t know which saves more time.

I love to declutter, organize, or decorate my house. Frequently I find myself caught in any of those without previous intentions.

I find it hard to make conversations with new  people or those you bout half know, but not enough to dive into heart stirring conversations. In my head I’m trying to think of what to say but as soon as anything comes out it sounds awkward. Sometimes the conversation goes better thanks to the other person’s contributions. Then I relax and enjoy visiting. I come away pleased with myself for being involved in good discussion with a perfect stranger.

I’m a task oriented person who loves to cross things off the list and it takes discipline to stop working. But no matter how fast or hard I work, the house never stays free of crumbs, dust, and detached hair. Nor do meals drop onto the table through the ceiling. Or clean laundry glide into the drawers. And so I keep working, hoping to- no, make that wishing to, someday reach the end of my mental ‘to do’ list. Maybe when I’m 89. 🤞

Now some words about my family. I don’t like bragging but neither do I want to bring up their faults. I’ll try to provide average information.

My good man Jerald is covered up being salesman and secretary for the local Mid-America Structures. (He switched from being a BigIron Sales Rep last winter.) He manages their dealer network plus has a couple lots where he sells sheds himself. He’s often meeting customers who want to look at or buy sheds. Him and I endeavor to make a weekly appointment with each other to nurture our relationship. Tuesday night is date night. It generally consists of early bedtime for the children so we can visit uninterrupted. I applaud him for being good at protecting our evening. These nights will get trampled quite easy in the roar of life, if not protected.

Reece is 3 and plays all boy- Its tractors, combines, boards, and tools. He doesn’t give slack for quietness aside from sleeping, for he is in the question stage of life. My most used answer is “I don’t know”. You would think a Mom in her 30s would know a few things but the amount of times I say “I dont know” in a day’s time is alarming. His questions are simple such as “who’s vehicle is that?” (Parked beside the road) “What’s that man doing?” (A random walking stranger) But how am I to know these answers? He digs out the bathroom scale to “check my feet” he says. (I wish feet were the only thing for me to check when I stand on it.) We rejoice he’s F I N A L L Y potty trained! I despaired the child would ever learn. We persevered, prayed about it, and had him pray about it and eventually he learned. Indeed, we praise God!

Josie is in a growth spurt. She requires extra food and lots of sleep.  At 7 years old she’s a social bug like her Daddy and school is her world! Saturdays are dreaded because it means a day at home. Often her first questions as soon as she’s home from school are: “Can I have a snack” and “what are we having for supper?” In this case an “I don’t know” is hardly acceptable even if it’s occasionally true. She’s matured to sleeping in her own basement bedroom and wakes with her alarm clock.  She enjoys reading in bed at night or when she wakes before her alarm. I’m grateful for the good collection of story books from back when I taught school or that her Dad had growing up. She polished off the Laura Ingalls series in surprisingly rapid succession.

Tell me, what makes you unique?

You can reach out to me at jeraldsflower@gmail.com, I would love to hear from you!