The greatest gift daddy ever gave mother

‘Tis the season to be jolly and a beautiful season it is. It is the season of gift-giving. My thoughts go back through the years to the gift that Daddy gave mother unknowingly.

I was the youngest of three children. Being seven years younger than my youngest brother gave me time at home as if I were an only child. My daddy had a problem with drinking and wasn’t interested in spiritual things, or at least as far as I could tell. But mother kept the home fires burning and taught us the Bible way.

Mother didn’t drive. She promised me when I turned sixteen and got my driver’s license she would buy us a car and I could drive us to church, as she called it. We looked forward to that time. I passed the test the first time and got my license. Mother kept her promise and bought us a 1956 Chevrolet that was turquoise and white. Mother and I started going to worship. Mother was re-baptized to make sure of her baptism. At the age of eleven she had given in to a group of friends who begged her to come on and be baptized with them. Daddy wasn’t interested in going to church with us, but then Daddy got sick.

Daddy was hospitalized for several days and I had an idea. I made an appointment to talk with his doctor. After being seated in front of Dr. Cooper’s desk, I told him who I was and that my daddy was his patient in the hospital. He nodded his head. I said, “Dr. Cooper, I wouldn’t ask you to lie for anything in the world. My daddy has drunk all my life, and if you could tell him something that would scare him into quitting his drinking, you would make our house a home.” I don’t recall Dr. Cooper doing any more than listening, but I left there with a hopeful heart.

Later in the week daddy was dismissed from the hospital. Before I left for work one morning he commented that he had wanted to talk to “that little preacher” but never got to. Raymond Elliott, preacher at the local church, had visited daddy regularly in the hospital. Raymond called me at work that morning to see how daddy was doing. He came to visit him that afternoon. As the three of us sat in the living room visiting, I was afraid to mention what Daddy had said that morning, but I did it anyway. I asked daddy if he didn’t say he wanted to talk to the preacher. He said that he did. My heart was in my throat. I knew better than to make my daddy mad. Raymond ushered me out of the room immediately and closed the door so they could talk privately.

The next Sunday was a beautiful day. Douglas was visiting me from Alabama Christian College and daddy asked if he could go to church with us. He and mother sat toward the back in the middle section of the building. Doug and I sat nearer the front. My heart was overflowing with joy and I know mother’s was also. During the invitation song I noticed movement to my left. I can still see my daddy walking down the aisle toward Brother Elliott. He confessed having lived in sin for thirty years. I had lived 20 of those with him.

Daddy gave God his heart that Sunday morning, confessed his sins and laid his drinking, smoking and cursing down that day. He gave mother the best gift he could have ever given her. Daddy later became a deacon in the church and couldn’t understand why anyone would ever want to drink. Daddy and mother attended the services of the church every time the doors were open and they were physically able to go. He loved dressing in the suits mother bought him, and wore them all day on Sunday. Mother wanted him to change his clothes and not get them dirty. Daddy died a faithful Christian at the age of 78 years. Mother looks forward to seeing him again one day.

The gift daddy gave mother was priceless and is treasured still.

Weigh-In Time

Being a member of Weight Watchers, I constantly have "Weigh-in" time on my mind. For those who may not know, weigh-in is when we get to WW, find the card with all our information on it, take it to clerk and pay our weekly fee, take it to the instructor, step up on the scale and see how much weight we have lost, or gained, during the past week. It is the time we have to give account of how well, or badly, we have done with our eating habits during the past week. As the saying goes, we think about it morning, noon and night.

As Christians, I suggest we have a weigh-in time also: Each day we need to:

• Weigh-in our attitude - The Bible says, "This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). We need to start our day on track with a good attitude. We should be thankful things are as well with us as they are.

• Weigh-in our job performance - Whether a homemaker, a retired person, or a person who works at a public job, we need to determine that today, whatever we have to do, we will do it as if we are working for the Lord. We are, you know. We should give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. 2 Thess. 3:10; Col. 3:17.

• Weigh-in our friends - We need to look at the people with whom we associate. Are they people who will encourage us and make us a better person? We need to associate with those who will help us go to Heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:33.

• Weigh-in the places we go. We need to question ourselves by asking if we would take Jesus with us everywhere we go. Would we be comfortable with Him walking beside us? He does, you know. Matthew 28:20; Isa. 41:10.

• Weigh-in our tongue - As Christians we should be people of few words. We should listen more than we speak. Our son, who is an educator, has an owl puppet that often tells the children, "I never learned a thing when I was speaking." We need to weigh-in the words we speak, to always speak those things becoming to a Christian. Filthy talk, or suggestive jesting, should never exit the mouth of a follower of Christ. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 12:34). Proverbs 23:7; James 1:19.

• Weigh-in our faith - We need to evaluate our life, our faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). God has a purpose for each one of us. He placed us here for a reason. There is something He wants us to do. Are we giving our lives to the Lord? Are we fulfilling His purpose in our life? Have we given ourself to the Lord by becoming a Christian?

• Weigh-in for eternity - The great "weigh-in" is coming when each of us will stand before God and give an account of our life. 2 Corinthians 5:10. We need to weigh-in daily by evaluating our day to see if it has been what the great Teacher would expect, or want us to do.

Nothing is more rewarding to the Weight Watchers member than to step on the scale to weigh-in and hear the words, "You did great!" Nothing will be more rewarding to the Christian than to weigh-in before the Great Judge and hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant....enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:23).

Lessons I Have Learned From the Elderly

I have been caregiver for my precious mother almost seven years. Since August 21, 2007, I have been caring for her full time. During the years we've been together I have learned a lot about the elderly, or at least enough that I feel the need to share it.

On Friday, June 11, 2010, my mother will be 99 years old. We have planned a birthday party for her at Ryan's Restaurant in Enterprise, AL at noon. The balloons and cake are ordered. We hope she will be able to enjoy the day with all the family members, and extended family, who plan to celebrate with her. She has outlived all 17 of her brothers and sisters.

I have learned....

...elderly hearts are tender hearts that need to be guarded with tender care.

...just because a person is elderly does not mean they are senile.

...elderly people love attention and genuine conversation.

...elderly people enjoy talking and hearing about day to day things; small, insignificant things to us often are very important to them. Eyes seem to sparkle when hearing things of interest, especially about family members.

...elderly people enjoy company, any age, any time.

...elderly people like gifts. Gifts don't have to be expensive gifts. A bag of candy, honey buns, an apple, socks, a card with money in it are always welcomed gifts. Wrapped gifts are even more special.

...elderly people like to be touched and hugged gently. Many bruise easily and a gentle pat or hug with a tender greeting is sufficient. Squeezing the arms is a "no-no."

...elderly people like to be sincerely complimented.

...elderly people appreciate help getting dressed.

...elderly people appreciate any help given them.

...elderly people enjoy watching and petting pets, but not necessarily taking care of them. Never give a pet as a gift without first asking if they would like to have it and you know they are physically able to care for it.

...elderly people enjoy small children, but often are afraid the children might hurt them in some way. Many elderly people bruise easily and a fresh bruise causes lasting pain.

...elderly people like to do things they did when they were active, like going to worship, shopping, etc., even if they have to be pushed in a wheelchair.

...elderly people liked to be asked their advice on subjects, or brought into conversations on subjects about things they used to do.

...elderly people like to feel needed.

...elderly people like to get out of the house and go for rides on a car, sight seeing. Seeing new growth, animals in fields, groups of pretty trees, new businesses, new roads or things happening outside the confines of their world is always enjoyable to them. Going for a simple ice cream cone is very special to them.

...elderly people enjoy being quiet.

...elderly people enjoy rest.

...elderly people don't like to feel they are in the way.

...elderly people don't like to be pushed aside by someone younger rushing ahead of them. An example is waiting in line to speak to the preacher after services when someone breaks line ahead of them.

...elderly people have tender feelings that need to be protected.

...elderly people need reassurance they are wanted and needed.

...elderly people want to be loved and accepted just the way they are at any given time.

...elderly people enjoy the security of home and being with those they love.

...elderly people always want to go home.

...elderly people always want to go see their mother and daddy. They never stop loving their parents, no matter how many years it has been since they departed this life.

...elderly people like for their rooms to be kept clean and the bed made.

...elderly people like to hear the words "I love you," "I am so proud of you," "I'm so glad you are with me," etc.

...elderly people like to be assured that we will know each other in heaven.

These are some of the things I have learned about the elderly in my years of caring for my precious mother. God has blessed me beyond measure in giving me the opportunity to care for her during the final years of her life. My prayer is that He will bless me with good health and life, that I may be able to continue caring for her as long as she lives.

Lala was a hit!

I did it. Well, I had a "little" help on the side. Lala stayed right with me and kept the audience in stitches when we performed recently at the ladies luncheon here in Geneva.

It seemed I only had to bring Lala out to start the room full of laughter. She nodded, laughed, and kept the room full of ladies laughing until we had to wait for the laughter to calm down so we could go on with our conversation.

We talked about Lala's pet, which is a dog named "Toto." I was concerned that she let her stay inside the house because of the smell. Lala assured me Toto would get used to it!

We talked about school and what Lala has learned in school. I asked if she could say her ABC's, and she did. Backward!!!!

We talked about things going on in school. Lala told me she just didn't think her going to school was going to work out. I asked why, and she said she and Mrs. Seay, the principal, couldn't agree on how to run the school.

Lala is quite a character, and filled with personality plus. Some are talking about me bringing her back again. I may do that, when I get over this time. She is a mess!!!!

Meet My Lala

She was bought several years ago by our son Art. For some reason she never became a favorite of his, and so she has stayed in her box in the closet. She even made the move with us from Elba to Geneva, AL. But lately I thought about her, went and took her out of the box, and finally gave her a real name. Her name is Lala. I've named her after my mother, Eulala Williams, or Mama Lala to the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and most recently to a great, great, grandchild. She's worn her name for nearly 99 years now, and somehow it just has to live on.

Lala needed some legs and she needed a pretty little outfit. With a trip to the local thrift store, I found the ideal dress for Lala. It was a 24-month size, and when Art made and shipped her legs to me, she was ready then for shoes. With a red dress, she needed red shoes to match. A trip to the nearest Walmart led me right to the little size 8 red cloth shoes that just fit Lala. I don't know what the people shopping in the shoe department must have thought when they saw me down on the floor with a pair of puppet legs trying to stuff the feet in different sizes of little red shoes. After getting the right fit, I went to find red ribbons needed to tie her pigtails tightly and then she would be ready to go.

Lala and I are going to start working together April 17, at the Geneva Women's center. Professional? No. Fun? Absolutely!!!! Watch out. We may come your way soon.

Before we had drinking straws

One of my most precious memories is going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bryant on Cool Springs Road near Opp, AL. We went basically every Sunday afternoon. I have so many good memories from that place.

Tonight I had a fresh little onion with my vegetable burger and soup for dinner. As I looked at the blade on the onion, the memory hit me. We used to cut those blades off and use them for drinking straws. That was long before we could even find drinking straws to purchase at Mr. Drayton Smith's store in new town in Elba, AL.

Ah, it was something to do. It doesn't take fancy stuff to entertain some children. You ought to try it sometime, just for the fun of it.

Summer Time Fun

When I was a little girl, one of the highlights of summertime was going barefoot and swimming. The only thing was I couldn't swim, but then I didn't have to swim.

Mother had two large galvanized washtubs, #2 and #3, that she used in washing clothes under the shelter behind our house. Early in the day she filled the tubs with water and the sun heated it so I could swim. My cousin, Brenda, came and she would sit Indian fashion in one tub of water, and I sat in the other tub. We had lots of fun sitting in the tubs of water, imagining we were somewhere else and chattering away.

After our afternoon of fun, mother washed the tubs out, took them to the shelter and hung them over nails on the wall. They stayed there until wash day. Mother didn't always have a shelter under which she could wash clothes.

I remember as a little girl, perhaps age seven, after we moved to the old Holland place that we took our clothes into the woods to a stream of water and washed them. The stream was across the road in front of the house and down a steep embankment. Mother never complained. She set her tubs up beside the creek bank, and filled them with water. She had an old black washpot that she filled with water and built a fire under it so she could boil our clothes to clean them. Mother used lye soap that she made. She had a battling stick with which she stirred the clothes in the boiling pot of soapy water. That stick looked a lot like a worn down axe handle. She also had a rubbing board. She used the tubs of water to rinse the clothes.

When the washing was finished, we lugged those wet clothes back home to hang on the clothes line. Mother taught me early how to hang out clothes on a line. We hung all the bath cloths together, all the towels together, all the sheets, the pillowcases, the shirts, hankerchiefs, dresses, underwear, etc. Everything had to be hung with its own kind, and overlapped so as to save clothespins. That way, it made them easier to fold after they dried.

Daddy's pants, what we would call kakis now, had to be pulled over the pants stretchers. I still have one that we used. It was adjustable and each wire frame would slip down the leg of the pants. We stretched it out as tightly as possible so we wouldn't have so much to iron. We then hung them on the line. I think I never met anyone who liked to starch and iron pants.

Mother starched clothes with liquid starch that she made from a powder in a box that she mixed with water. After the clothes dried, they were stiff and hard to handle, so we had a sprinkling bottle that we used to dampen the clothes, so they would iron easier. Ours was a cork stopper with a silver top with holes in it. It fit right down into a glass Coca Cola bottle. Mother would sprinkle thegarment and then roll it up tightly until she could iron it. I suppose the dampness evened out all over the garment while it was rolled.

I can't remember the days when mother had two cast irons that she heated in front of the fireplace. My brother, Hoyt, can recall those days. She heated the irons and ironed as long as she could before having to reheat them. She kept one heating in front of the fire all the time she was ironing. I still have one of her irons and use it as a door stop.

We had an electric iron by the time I knew anything about ironing, but it wasn't a steam iron. They hadn't been invented yet. I remember when the control stopped working and we had to unplug it to let it cool down, so it wouldn't scorch the clothes. Mother was always upset when the iron was too hot and she burned her clothes. I can almost smell the scorch now.

Mother taught me how to iron shirts and I've done my share of that, at least all I ever wanted to iron. Today I don't buy things that have to be ironed.

Douglas and I lived in Memphis, TN in 1966-67, while he attended Harding Graduate School of Religion. He preached and attended school. I put him through by working as secretary to brother Jessie Fox, head of the Department of Chemistry at Memphis State University.

On the weekends I washed 5-7 white shirts at a time for Douglas. We didn't have much money, so we learned early in our marriage to pinch a penny. If one of his shirt collars started wearing out, I took it off, turned it over, and sewed it back on. But ironing those shirts was a job that took a long time. I believe by this time we had spray starch and that is what I used, which was a great improvement over what I had grown up using.

The back of the collar was the first thing to be ironed, and then the front side. While in that area, the back yoke of the shirt was next, inside and outside. The goal was to have no wrinkles ironed on the shirt. Taking the shirt off the ironing board and repositioning, I flattened out the sleeve and ironed the cuff first, inside and out, and then the actual sleeve on each side. After all this was ironed, I then positioned the shirt to iron one side of the front and kept working myself around the shirt until I finished on the other side. Having a clothes hanger near was important so I could hang the freshly ironed shirt and get it to the closet. That was quite a feeling of accomplishment to see all those shirts ironed and ready to wear. Douglas always let me know how much he appreciated what I was doing.

The simple things in life make the most lasting memories it seems. A playhouse under a sheet draped over a table on the porch on a rainy day; a stick and spoon used to carve a roadway on an area of hard dirt underneath the porch, so the little metal cars could be pushed on the roads; fruit pies made with dirt, water, and China berries; a swing on a high limb in the old oak tree. Memories are made of things like this. Maybe next time I will re-visit the high swing that was my favorite place.