"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Authenticity, hope, laughter, life, love, positive, self discovery and all that stuff!

Last week was spring break here in Georgia - at least in the county we live in. My dear daughter and I wanted to go to Destin, it was during my grandson's birthday and we decided to ask my niece and her three children - 17, 15, 8 and my grandson is 9. My niece is 39 daughter 32. I could be all their mother's! Let me say it was a lesson in all the above!

First of all we are all great people. I absolutely love everyone, however living with someone when you are not used to their habits is a learning experience. Now I am a tough old bird and can handle anything (almost). So the trip went great for me. Love is what I want to always be remembered for and what it's what I want to shine through at the end of every experience. I hope that is what everyone learned on the trip - at least about me. Love is grace and grace is love.



The players:

Now the grandson being an only child with three adults catering to his every whim - is spoiled. I hate to admit it, but it is true. He has a lot of good qualities, but sharing is hard for him.

The little 8 year old girl - blonde and blue eyed - just about the opposite of my grandson - is mild mannered - docile - big eyes - tries to please - the type girl teachers love to have in their class! She does tend to cry a little bit to get her way when the going gets rough though - a typical girl ?

Put those two together and you can see the definition of polar opposites.

My niece and her teenage daughter don't talk very much - very, very quiet people - and I always think something is wrong when people don't talk. They were not unhappy, they just were quiet. Even my name talks! Chatty!

The 15 year old boy - my nephew - a real jester. And let me just say - my grandson got quite an education this week. Learned a lot of new words and meanings of the words. Innocence lost. Hope he keeps his mouth shut at school! teehee



So that is the basic line up. We really had a great time, we also had a lot of learning to do - a lot of growing up to do. I think all in all we had a great week -we learned about love, frustration, and the joy of growing and the strength of giving!

Okay the day we left old Chatty came down with a terrible cold. It was nasty. The next day it was gone and I thought it was a miracle. The third day I started coughing and coughing and coughing and I'm still coughing. So I hate to say I don't look that that cute Chatty above - I think I look like this - or I feel like this!



More about the adventure tomorrow with pictures.



Happy Birthdady Don Adams - Wikipedia
Adams was born Donald James Yarmy in Manhattan,son of William Yarmy and his wife Consuelo Deiter. His father, a restaurant manager, was of Hungarian Jewish ancestry. However, his mother raised him in her Roman Catholic faith. Comedian Larry Storch was a childhood friend, he met Bill Dana through manager.

Dropping out of New York City's DeWitt Clinton High School, Adams worked as a theater usher. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1941 together with his cousins Robert Karvelas and his twin brother William. The three were in the Third Marines on Samoa until Adams was sent as a replacement to the Guadalcanal Campaign and contracted blackwater fever; surviving despite its near 90% fatality rate but spending over a year in a Navy hospital in Wellington, New Zealand. After his recovery, he served as a Marine drill instructor in the United States.

Following his discharge, Adams held a series of jobs. During a Canadian television interview, he said that he had faked college credentials and an engineering background to be hired as an engineer designing underground sewers. His lack of training was not discovered for six months.

He later worked as a comic, taking the stage name of Adams after marrying singer Adelaide (Dell) Efantis, who performed as Adelaide Adams. They had four daughters, and Adams also worked as a commercial artist and restaurant cashier to help support his family. When they divorced, he kept Adams as his stage name because acting auditions were often held in alphabetical order.



Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. Frank Outlaw

18 comments:

Old Time Cindy said...

Poor thing...get better soon!
Blessings,
Cindy

Linda @ A La Carte said...

So Glad you are back. Missed your posts! Living with others is hard! I look forward to more of the story!
Hope you are feeling better!!

Changes in the wind said...

Hi Chatty, glad you are back and enjoyed your trip, hope you feel better soon.

ClassyChassy said...

Oh, I'm waiting to hear the REST of the story! You wrote a fine 'intro' today!!! You've got me hooked on for more of your adventure!

Mollye said...

Oh Sandie, This was one of the best posts you've written. Just loved it I did! I'm in love with the picture of the bulldog with curlers as this was my Mom's favorite dog. I just have to say.....you got more of what it takes than I cause on a trip like that I would probably be having to take drugs! And I love the quote at the end of your post. This is one of the truest things I've ever written. I may have to snag it to put on my fridge! XXHugs, Mollye

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Welcome home!

Susan said...

Yeaaaaaahhhhhhhh! You're bacccccckkkkk!!! Can't wait for the rest of the trip stories! Sincerely, Susan

Unknown said...

well i hope your cough leaves you sooner than mine is leaving me. 4 weeks and 3 days mine has hung on. it must really like me! sounds like a fun adventure you and your family took!

Melanie said...

Glad you're back and that you had a good time!

I hope you feel better soon! :)

betty said...

hope you feel better soon, Sandie. I think it is neat you attempted this trip with all the different casts and characters; it is good for family, extended and nuclear, to get to spend time together like this in different settings and to see how people do things differently or the same, etc. Good learning experience for all (except we hope your dear grandson forgets some of the words he learned, LOL :)

glad to have you back!

betty

Tanna said...

"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." Frank Outlaw

I love that quote, Sandie! And, thanks for the heads up about group adventures! LOL! I've had a wild hair to plan one myself for late summer... and, part of me is wondering what the heck I've gotten myself into! LOL!

Angela said...

Wow Sandie! I didn't realize there were that many of you on vacation together! I can't wait to see pictures tomorrow!

Hope you are feeling better today!
Angela

Sue said...

Oh I can't wait to here all the gory stories from the trip....and can't wait to see you tomorrow....just don't breath on me...I haven't been sick in almost 12 years!!! LOL.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Welcome back
you always give us lots of stuff to think about.
love
tweedles

Jojo said...

Can't wait to hear the stories! Welcome back!

Annesphamily said...

Get some Mucinex! It works wonders and comes in lots of different varieties for stuffy noses, different coughs. I love it!

The trip sounded fun! I am sorry you got sick but you sure got a life experience huh?

Bromides in pineapple (juice,fresh etc) is good for raspy throats. Lemon and honey in hot tea for crummy coughs! If you don't take any medications you can drink hot cider with whiskey, preferably good Irish whiskey! Cocoa with blackberry brandy! Always cures what ails you! Glad you are back!

Anonymous said...

Hope you are feeling better. Hope you'll share some photos of the trip!

ocmist said...

Learning experiences can be a problem at the time, but it's always good to be stretched! I'm so sorry that you got sick. These coughs this year last FOREVER!!!

That was very interesting about Don Adams. I always pictured him as being quite small and you don't think of Marine Instructors as being small! I also find it interesting that so many actors back then were in the service, while so many now just cut it down and wouldn't go if they had to!