Prayers for a Friend
I may be imagining it, but it seems the older I (we) get, the more common it is for people I’ve known my whole life to die. I know that comes with age because we’re ALL getting older but I’m not ready. I guess that’s not a choice I get to make
I’ve talked to my friend, Barbara, a lot lately. She says she has good days and bad. She spends more time in the hospital these days than at home … she can’t stand up and walk much without almost passing out. She stays dehydrated all the time unless she’s getting intravenous fluids every day. See … they did a colostomy but didn’t have very much healthy intestine to work with. Anything she eats and drinks never has a chance to be absorbed into her body. The cancer is wrapped around the rest of her intestines and lower bowels as well as other parts of her body. Because of this, she’s losing weight very quickly.
I won’t belabor details of her illness. She wouldn’t want that. But if faith and optimism determined whether someone would live or die, she’d live forever.
She’s been heavy on my mind and heart … Prayers are sent up daily.
Livin’ Large in Charleston
Another Chamber retreat has come and gone. A LARGE time was had by all this past weekend!
Cleve and I ventured out Friday around noon, headed to Charleston for our 7th Chamber of Commerce retreat since we’ve lived here. Getting out of town went fairly smoothly in comparison to other attempts at leaving at a scheduled departure time.
We arrived in Charleston early afternoon and did what we could to help Lamar (this year’s Chamber president and also a good friend) and Dawn (Chamber Manager and also a good friend) get set up. Things rolled along until after registration. Afterwards everyone attended a reception of heavy hors d’oeuvres and mixing and mingling.
Around 7:30 a group of us headed toward the Footlight Players Theatre for an evening of culture. The performance was Inherit the Wind, a true drama about the infamous “Monkey Trial”. A great telling of a school teacher arrested for teaching evolution in school. It was very controversial, even in today’s world, and we lost some people about half way through, but the ones who stayed really enjoyed it.
Saturday morning brought meetings which were really good, focusing on the future of our county. I, however, opted to ditch the meetings after the first break in favor of scoping out a close place to sip Bloody Mary’s with my good friend Wanda (also attending the retreat). We had a great time and lots of laughs. When we returned, the meetings were just about over and it was lunchtime. We lunched at the Pavilion, right across the street from the market. It was mauuuuvelous!
Saturday night brought the banquet complete with a fantastic dinner and a most wonderful band (of Build Me Up Buttercup Baby fame). They were GREAT! Had a big time … blah, blah, blah.
Afterwards I was ready to go crash until one of our “group” suggested we head over to the Purple Tree club just up the street. And so we went. WHAT an experience for us grey haired, older types 
. With wall to wall young people, the music was so loud it vibrated through our bodies. Most everyone was standing and dancing where they stood. WE HAD A BLAST!!! I’m sure the kids there were wondering what we thought we were doing but most of them, I am sure, took one look and said, “Now there’s some old folks who still know how to have a good time.” ….. ya reckon?
Ha! The above photo is a friend of ours dancing on the table outside in the courtyard of our hotel right before we headed to the club. We were REALLY feeling no pain!
Anyway … we left there around 1 a.m. or so, ventured up to the hospitatlity room at the hotel and wandered back to our room around 2 a.m. or so. Cleve was up and at the Sunday morning meeting at 8 a.m. … What a man! I, on the otherhand, did not make it.
Ever since we’ve lived here, we’ve always heard of the infamous “Savanah” Chamber retreat. Someone said this weekend that THIS retreat ran a close second to that one.
I know Lamar was pleased and I know I speak for most everyone that attended … IT WAS GREAT!!
Bless the Broken Road
God Bless the Broken Road …
Boy … the words to that song are so true and depicts a journey that many of us have taken.
Oftentimes I ponder where I am, how I got here and where I’m going. Not so much because I’m so concerned with the thought but, rather, I’m in awe of it.
If someone had told me three years ago that there would be this incredible underlying peace that resides in my soul, I’d have said they were crazy. Those of us who can pinpoint with clear accuracy a time in our lives when everything changed are truly blessed by God. Not because of the experience itself … everyone who’s soul and spirit has been lead to Jesus is blessed … but because we that remember that defining moment in time have a profound awareness of our innermost relationship with God and how He has changed our hearts and we also remember that finite line that divides then and now.
I know, I know. I am human and I have no delusions about what that entails. But now I am absolutely certain that God walks with me. I never even thought about that before. I knew that I believed in Him but I never really knew Him. Thoughts that I once harbored are gone and actions that once consumed my every day life have disappeared.
My unsolicited advice to anyone who is struggling with their heart is to turn it to God and let Him take control. I have learned that He will let you stumble. He’ll allow you to make some of the worst mistakes of your life and face some of the most deep dark places in your soul. But I also know that He will be there to pick you up and turn you around. All you have to do is ask and believe.
I thank God every day for my past mistakes because without them I might have never come to the understanding I have today. I regret those I hurt along the way and I pray often that they have been healed.
Remember that life is a journey. Embark upon it and embrace it with a gentle soul and a sense of adventure. And most importantly, when you stumble and fall (and you will), remember God and keep Him close.
A Weekend Away
I’ve neglected to write anything for a few days. Mainly due to sheer exhaustion and not having the energy at night to focus much on anything but my task at hand which is usually web design.
Last night I took the night off from most of my work to play around in this WordPress blog thing. I’m still trying figure out some stuff but mostly just don’t have the “umph” it takes to do it right now.
Cleve and I (and Cathy, Joanne and Nancy) are taking off work today to head to Charleston for our annual Chamber of Commerce Retreat this weekend. Cleve and I have been every year since we’ve lived here and it’s always great fun. Cleve also plays a major role every year in making the retreat a major success.
All in all, it’ll be a nice break and time away … which is always good.
So alas … I must go pack.
Ta ta …
Sales Desks & Spitting Toilets
We came back to work yesterday to find almost all of the kitchen finished and all six of the advertising sales desks put together and in their place. Yay! I spent some time yesterday afternoon unloading some boxes and cleaning off the counter in what will be our conference room.
Other than a few water spitting toilets and a small leak under the kitchen sink among a few more little things, blah, blah … Cleve thinks the toilet thing has something to do with the city system. When I flush a toilet I want the kind of flush that makes you glad you stood up beforehand. Know what I mean?
Ok. We still have a long ways to go before we rest but we’re getting there. With my compulsion and lack of patience to want everything completed NOW it seems neverending.
Refreshment of the Mind, Body & Soul
Cleve and I took a much needed break, get out of town kinda thing, and traveled to Atlanta this weekend.
The weather was bad when we got there but was gorgeous yesterday (which was the most important day and it’s the only day we planned to do anything) and now, again while driving back to South Carolina, the weather is worse than it was on Friday. God must’ve known we needed a good day to relax and enjoy … no doubt He did.
Friday evening when we arrived we went to the grocery story and stocked up on the essentials … you know, wine and stuff. We always buy way too much food to tote up to our suite but we managed. Like Cleve said, “Heaven forbid we have to make two trips to carry up everything.” Be that as it may, we managed it in one. We stayed at the Hilton Suites and it was as fine a hotel as I think we’ve ever stayed in. Very comfortable.
After settling in that evening, instead of room service we snacked on crackers and spreads of all sorts and drank wine. Going to grocery stores in big cities is like a trip to Disney World for us. We chose spreads and cheeses that we don’t normally see in our little grocery stores at home. We munched and drank as we watched the “series d’ jour” that Cleve had thought to pack. (Boston Legal … it’s quite good!)
Saturday morning we got up and ordered room service for breakfast and eventually ventured out into the wild blue Atlanta around noon or so. Cleve had decided we’d do the MARTA (Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) instead of trying to drive (our hotel was a ways off … kinda on the outskirts of Atlanta). Before yesterday, I had not been on the MARTA since the boys were little and we took them on the big AmTrak adventure to Atlanta from Alabama.
As we walked through the MARTA station and wandered out onto the platform to wait for our train it reminded me of being in Japan a couple of years ago where the ONLY way you got anywhere was through their transit and subway system. The only difference in this was that all the signs were in English and I could understand the language of those around me. Plus it was much less crowded.
We headed down to the famous FOX Theater where Twelve Angry Men was playing the 2 p.m. matinee. The big stars in it were John Boy from the Waltons and Norm from Cheers. The theater itself was something to behold. If you’ve never been, I encourage you to make the effort. The rooms were enormous and standing in the middle of them you could almost hear the conversations of years past. As I stood there I swear I heard the rustle of a lady’s skirt and looked down just as I thought I felt the brush of it’s hem gently sweep across my ankle.
The play was great but the experience as a whole was wonderful!
After the play we had about three hours to kill before our reservations at Azios. We opted to go to the top of the Westin Peachtree and have drinks while we literally watched the world go on around us. The bar rotates in a complete circle every 30 or so minutes.
After an incredible meal at Azios we headed back to our hotel. Cleve started a movie and it wasn’t long before I was out like a light.
We slept in this morning and are now headed home. It’s amazing how such a few short hours can give the spirit a whole new outlook on things. Although I’m still a bit tired from all the goings-on back home, I’m ready … both body and soul … to face tomorrow.
Thank you to my wonderful husband for such a great and relaxing weekend and to God for keeping us safe through it all.
Coming Together Ever So Slowly
I tell ya, I’d rather eat dirt than move or unpack another box at work. However, there will be no dirt eating for me seeing as how there is still so much to do (including unloading boxes … blah, blah, blah). It seems the more we do, the more there is to do. I’m not complaining. Our place is wonderful but I’m just so tired. For Cleve and I it’s been non-stop since before Christmas. Poor Cleve is feeling it even more so than me.
Coming home and cooking a meal has been obsolete for the past couple of weeks at least. Some nights I’d rather just come home, take a long hot bath and go to bed. Lately, my idea of cleaning house is throwing some Clorox in the toilet and that’s it! Not like me at all. I haven’t even began to take Christmas stuff down.
The guys are supposed to be coming this weekend to finish up the kitchen and I’ve pledged that next week, no matter what it takes, I’m going to have everything out of boxes and put up. Then … and only then … will my life, or anyone elses life in our little newspaper family, return to some semblance of normalcy.
Happy New Year!
We have survived another year to face 2007 with a great deal of optimism for the future.
Our office move went well (and is still going on … piece by piece). On Friday we had great help from staffers as well as hired help. That dwindled drastically come Saturday & Sunday and I doubt we’ll (meaning me and Cleve) have any help today. We are about dead and some muscles we never knew existed are screaming at the top of their lungs. But it’s New Years. I don’t expect anyone else to help but there’s so much more that needs to be done before doing business in our new place tomorrow.
We spent New Year’s Eve with William and Wanda. What a welcome break from all the labor intensive stuff we’ve had going on the past few days.
There was great conversation and I laughed at times when I thought my sides would split. We had appetisers, a fabulous steak dinner and went out on the pontoon boat for awhile. William built a kettle fire and we sat around after the boat ride and talked and laughed. We all managed to make it until midnight but shortly afterwards were ready to go lay down.
They are truly wonderful friends and so much fun. I love spending time with them whenever we can.
So … I lift my glass this new year to a wonderful partner, great friends, new beginnings and great year in a new place.
