rambling rosemarie

Parents used to raise their children with the idea of getting them to adulthood having the tools they would need to survive. Good health, good education, (one that actually teaches you to think critically so you can determine right from wrong), and their best chance for a vocation that would see them through their lives. One day that began to change. I don't know where it started and why so many parents have succumbed but suddenly befriending your child and making them happy has become the aim of many parents. Little John and little Jane need great self-esteem and happiness more than the ability to think or have manners. They need to have their wants satisfied more than they need the discipline of waiting to grow up for their rights of passage. Today I was watching Good Morning America and they had a segment of the show that absolutely astounded me. Should Little Girls Wear High Heels? There was a debate and folks on both sides of the issue sounded off. One mom let her 5 ye...

When you were young was there ever a song that played on the radio that had a catchy tune and whose lyrics you thought you knew but you weren't quite hearing them correctly? One of those infamous tunes was Bad Moon Rising by CCR in which my friend Mark clearly heard, "There's a bathroom on the right!" Mark was also certain Dobie Gray was singing, "Give me the Beach Boys to free my soul." Beach Boys? Are you serious? With so many wonderful songs out there why on earth would he be referring to the Beach Boys? I had a lot of laughs at Mark's expense. Mark wasn't the only person I knew who had trouble with the lyrics. Here are some of the classics I remember. "Hold me closer, Tony Danza." "On a dark desert highway, cool whip in my hair." There were songs with lyrics that weren't really meant to be understood. Good Morning Starshine comes to mind and of course, Louie Louie. I dare not speculate what the Kingsman wer...

My friend Vicki has what I would call a unique sense of humor. She sent me this pillow saying: "Just wanted to give you a heads up that I have sent you something. It needs no introduction....I think you will get the drift when you open it. You have earned it...very few people earn these, but you definitely did." When I wrote her to say thank you and that I laughed my steri-strips off, she responded with: "You do remember that the ONLY other person to earn THE PILLOW is my mom????? Display it with pride, my dear!!" Vicki's mom, Mona is almost a bionic wonder. She has endured more surgeries and maladies than anyone I know and keeps right on with life as usual. You can find Mona in the kitchen fixing dinner after shoulder surgery. She's that kind of woman. I am pleased to accept the award so long as I don't have to keep up with your mom, Vicki. She may have 30 or so years on me, but I am no match for her!

So, I have to make a decision and I am all in knots about it. My kids are in California. My sister has to go to California to take care of some business. She is tempting me to go with her. I could see my grandson and my kidlets. I could see my friend before she has a big milestone birthday. I could have coffee with my buddy Vicki and her birthday is coming up too. I could taste real Chinese food and real Mexican food. I could eat real San Francisco sourdough bread. Sounds good.... but of course there is a catch. Not only is airfare an expense, but renting a car and parking at the airport and stuff.... and then... here's the big one... I would have to be my dear ol' buddy Chet the Wonder Dog in the kennel for a week. That's almost two whole months in dog time. He's approaching 12 years old, he's slowing down and my guilt glands are swelling just at the thought of it. Now, ain't it funny that a woman who made life and death decisions for years is having...

Since moving to Kentucky I have a favorite game I like to play- Let's Stump the Grocery Store Clerk. It's always fun and fascinating. I have been here three years now and haven't tired of it yet. The game started accidentally. You see, being from California, I am used to having an abundance of produce to choose from. Conversely, the selections are somewhat limited in Kentucky. Although the produce here in Kentucky is getting better, when I first arrived what was sold in the stores looked like what would be thrown away in any California market. My sister and her family arrived 5 years before me and she says it was quite shocking for her and I am fortunate that it has gotten better. To be honest, I didn't realize how battered and forlorn a zucchini could look by the time it made it to the store. Thank the Lord for Farmers Markets and vegetable gardens. Slowly, as the quality of the produce has improved, the variety has increased. You can recognize a big city trans...

Unhappiness is when your back finally heals enough that you can walk, drive and sit without screaming in pain... Sunday morning comes and your driveway is covered with 2 inches of ice. I really don't want to complain though because the ice was part of an amazing demonstration put on by Almighty God. We had thunder and lightning while it snowed. Prior to the snow fall was a bit of freezing rain. When the lightning flashed it lit the night sky so the freezing rain looked like glitter flying in the wind. The resulting slab of ice was worth the price of the light show. However, when your driveway looks like an ice-skating rink, there are choices that have to be made and none of them are good. Do you risk sliding down your driveway in your automobile and hope that your car doesn't slide into the telephone pole? It only helps to have a four wheel drive when some of the wheels can get traction. Speaking of traction, the other option was to risk putting my back out again by grabbing th...

It's been a few days since I have posted anything, not that I have been missed. It's more that I have missed the chance to put some thoughts down and think them through. There is a nagging feeling I have that that I am missing something important. That somewhere in the list of strange things I think about, there is one worth pursuing. Do you think about things you never hear anyone else mention? I do. I had a lovely conversation with my friend, Carla. You know you are building a great friendship with someone when you feel comfortable in sharing those strange things you think about and they don't run away in terror. So what do I think about? What does God think is funny? Can you know everything, be sovereign in all matters and have a sense of humor? Our humor is tainted by sin, God's is not. Does he laugh at pratfalls? Or does he have more of a sense of enjoyment? I laugh when I watch little piglets play. Does he? What does God think is beautiful? Are some things...

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this one.

Every day I follow pretty much the same routines and in doing so, experience the same disappointments. One of my habitual thoughts is "Today, I am going to do things differently." I have good intentions, but you know what they say about those and the road to hell. You know that other old saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results." Of course, that's also the definition of "practice." So.... am I crazy? Or just practicing?

The other day I was telling my friend that my dog, Chet, believes his step-sister, Mali is the spawn of Satan. After witnessing her behavior tonight, I think Chet may be right. We were all cuddled up on the couch together. Sometimes the two of them want to be in the same spot. Chet has seniority though and he was sitting closest to me. Mali had made several attempts to usurp his position but she had been foiled by me, mostly because her idea of being closer is sitting on my head. Suddenly Mali's eyes began to glow red. She pounced on Chet who yelped, it was not so much a yelp of pain as it was of fear. Mali only knew she had elicited a reaction and she was thrilled. She pounced again in a move the WWF would be proud of- and they both tumbled to the floor. Chet scrambled and rolled himself upright. Mali met his moves and sat on her haunches, one paw on either side of his head, batting him with a succession of right and left punches. Suddenly, she had gone from WWF theatrics ...