The View From Here: Connections

The View for this final week of January is of a more spiritual nature,
and comes to you from Mary Hill who writes two blogs.

I would like to just let her words speak for themselves.

__________

Connections

I sit in my Southern home watching my cat clean himself, and then he stretches out.  He had just given me attention full of purrs and love. Now in the back room, my daughter practices on her keyboard and my hubby is getting ready for bed.

My life seems so mundane at times, but it is full of connections.  I decided last week to participate in this Word of the Year challenge.  As a Christian though, I took it seriously.  I prayed for three weeks and meandered around words until I felt like God had given me the word “connection.”

It has to be from Him because I stink at connections. I am a writer and introvert. I shun people especially now that I am sick and overweight from years of steroid treatments for my arthritis. My thought, “He wants me to do what? Work on connections?” Did I mention, I probably I have an attention problem too?

My first challenge, my husband wants me to do something. I am busy and writing. My daughter is playing her tune over and over again. Connecting.

Don’t get me wrong. I want to connect, and I love these important people so much.  How am I going to connect outside my home to others? The only thing I do is blog.  What does He want me to “connect” about? A voice inside me answers: Him.

I am on a journey to connect, and it is just beginning.  First, I start in my home. I want to improve my connections with my family; then it will spread out to my church. My husband wants me to go on a women’s retreat. Our women’s church group will travel to Gatlinburg in March.

First things, first, my husband is looking for a truck. His 87 Ford Ranger is almost dead, and we can’t get a rebuilt carburetor to work in it. My daughter plays the piano. 

“How much do they want for that Mazda truck?”  he says.

My daughter practices, Come Thou Fount. I sing in my head: Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.”

I look at the time. 9:30.  Oh, man, she has to go to school tomorrow. “KR, bedtime.”

But first my husband wants to try the first session in a book Beacon Hill Press just sent me to review.  A Faith of their Own: An Experience Guide for Parents and Preteens by Chris Folmsbee.

We don’t know what we are doing, so we just read a little from a couple of the activities. It is okay though because in the end, she prays. “Dear God, please help my teacher who has cancer. Be with her this week during her treatments. Thank you God for your blessings.”

Faith building, connection building. We will start with God tonight.

Mary Hill began blogging just one year ago. She brings more than 25 years experience as a journalist and educator to the blogging world.  Now retired because of disability, her goal is to use blogging as vehicle to inspire and bring joy, peace, and abundance to others by writing about how Jesus is at work in her and her family's lives. She writes on her two blogs; Mary-andering Creatively and Mary-andering Among the Pages.

__________

Sometimes it's best to get back to basics.

Leave Mary a comment and then check out her blogs!

**If you are interested in contributing YOUR View, please go HERE**

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mother was born on June 6, 1957. Today she is 55!

My mom was only 16 when I as born, turning 17 shortly after. She got pregnant, married my dad in Reno, and moved with him back to his home state of Washington. She was 16 and he was 19. Just babies themselves!

Things didn't work out between my parents and they split up when I was 5. My mom left her heart in Lake Tahoe when she married my dad, so she decided to move back there. I stayed with my dad, visiting my mom on every school break until it was time to live with her after I turned 12. This wasn't easy, but they both loved me and I knew it.

I like to say my mom and I grew up together. Lots of people thought I was her younger sister and I think she liked it. I remember once when I was about 16, we were in the grocery store. I was an aisle away and yelled, "Mom!" She came around the corner Ssshhing me. She didn't want me to call her mom so loudly. Because if she's the mom of a 16 year old, how old must that make her? Of course I was just like, whatever, mom.

I am very sad that I don't seem to have any pictures of my mom and I when I was a teenager. Actually, don't think I have any with either of my parents. What's up that?

Her name is Deanne, by the way. That's "Dee-anne". She is the middle child of three, a Gemini through and through and a free spirit. She's a vegetarian, but not a vegan, thank God, and gets totally bitchy when she's hungry. I find this so hilarious because she absolutely needs food at regular intervals, yet it's sometimes hard to find her food she will eat. She hates doing housework, leaving most of it to my step-dad, who is a veritable saint. She's a pretty good cook even if she didn't bother to teach me how. She and my step-dad are very active, outdoorsy people.

The most important thing to know about my mom, probably the biggest part of her, is that she is a horse lover. She currently has two horses, Gabe and Bandit. Gabe is an old man now; Bandit is her youngin.

The white horse she's on? She rode an Andalusian horse in Andalusia, Spain last spring. Pretty awesome, hu?

This horse thing? Totally skipped a generation. I think horses are beautiful creatures. But I'm a little afraid of them. Because not only are they beautiful, they're also large and powerful. Gabe was the first horse I ever felt comfortable around. He's such a sweetheart (and only 14 1/2 hands). But my daughter? The love of horses went from my mom straight to her. A fact which I know my mother is quite proud of.

Speaking of my kids, to them she is GrandMama. This came about when Cami turned one and my mom was trying to teach her to say grandma. It came out like, "Grandmamamama". It was so cute, and my mom decided it sounded great. With several grandmothers to choose names for, it wasn't already taken either. Also unique is what Cami and AJ call my step-dad: GranDoug. Don't tell anyone, but that's my favorite!

Camping at Lake Tahoe last summer

My mom and I have turned out to be quite the opposites. Sure, there are traits and mannerisms I inherited from her, but that's about it. She and I have very different interests and have had very unsimilar life experiences.

Sometimes I think my mother is completely nuts. I'm sure sometimes she thinks the same about herself me. I know we've each hurt the other.

But here's the thing: We have unconditional love and respect for each other. I'm very proud of that. Here's another thing: We have mutual admiration for one another. I admire my mom's utter determination to live life to the fullest, and to do it authentically. She doesn't apologize for who she is or what matters to her.

Mom, I love you and I wish you the happiest of birthdays! I wish I could give you a big hug today, and have a a glass of wine. How 'bout this? Close your eyes, imagine hugging me, and later on, sip some wine with me in mind, remembering that we are connected, always. XOXO

Oh, and I think this is the BEST birthday card I could ever give you, so maybe print it out? Just sayin'.

Question Me: About Blogging

After recently publishing Confessions of a Blogger, I thought the next set of blogoversary questions I answer might as well be the blogging ones!

::

1. What is your favorite piece you've written and why?

I think I've determined that my most favorite post is How Do I Love Thee?, because I was able to articulate to my satisfaction the complexities of my feelings for my husband. And I still think it sums things up well, despite having written it back in 2010 and lots happening since then. I do have a page up there under my header where you can find a list of my best posts.

2. How do you feel the connections/friendships you have made in the blogging world, have impacted you in comparison to your "real life" relationships?

The connections that can be made online are totally real. The great thing about them is that these people most likely aren't judging you AT ALL. And you get a whole other perspective from online friends. In comparison to IRL friends? I would say that online friend compliment, or round out, IRL ones.

There's even the possibility of making someone you met online a "real life" friend. I got to finally meet Danielle of motherhood: TRUTH this past weekend! My bestie Jessica (who also has a blog) and I met Dee in Seattle.

We had dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory where we were seated next to a screaming child. All three of us shook our heads, wondering WHY when we moms get out for the night do we still have to listen to screaming children?

We had a little time left before Dee's ferry back to her side of the Sound so we stopped into the Red Robin bar where I drank one of these:

And then we asked the bartender to take a photo of us!

Left to right: Danielle, Jessica, Me
(We would have had bigger smiles, but the bartender took a little
too long to take the picture.)

It was quite literally wonderful to meet Danielle! She let me give her a big hug and squeeze her tight, something I've been wanting to do for months now because we both need all the hugs we can get.

I simply must add that being able to blog through the tough stuff in my life, and receiving so many sweet, caring and thoughtful comments back, is a HUGE gift.

3. Do you have any subjects that are off-limits to your blogging?

Well, no, not really. I can't say anything is completely off limits because I can't seem to help how transparent I am. That said, I do have things I'd rather not blog about. Not all that hip on discussing sex, money or dieting. Funny, but I can handle religion and politics, perhaps because I enjoy a good, healthy debate. Just haven't had lots of reasons to talk about those things. But I suppose I may since this is an election year. (Can we just skip it, leave Obama in office and call it good?)

But let me add, that I do try to be tactful and appropriate with my honesty and transparency.

Oh and, I don't want to completely embarrass my kids. I know, I'm too nice. I'm sorry, I just can't blog about something mortifying that happened to one of my kids. But there is a "sliding scale", shall we say? ;-)

4. Does all your family know about your blog, and are they supportive?

Yes, I do believe everyone in my family is now aware of my blog. They weren't at the beginning of the year, which is why I proclaimed, "I am a Blogger". And yes, I think they are all supportive. I know my parents are (they even comment). I think Mark's are too, but I have no idea how much they check it out.

This goes back to what I said about transparency. Don't think I'd have been able to go for long without talking about blogging with everyone, at some point. Also, Mark brags blabs about it a lot!

5. Where do you think you'll be with blogging in 2 more years?

I intend to still be doing it. Beyond that, I don't really know. I am open without expectation!

What I do know is that blogging gives you a voice. Whether it's to find yourself, help others, share recipes or fashion tips, or all of the above...it's your voice and a platform. I didn't realize this when I started; I just didn't know about the scope of the blogosphere. Now that I do, I see it as this amazing opportunity to connect and share, to find a new path, to influence....for free therapy. I hope I will always blog well.

Do you know how you'd answer any of these questions?

TGIF: Life Lessons Edition

Welcome to....



<a href="http://jah-justjennifer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt=""src="http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb331/JenAnnHall/TGIFnew2-1.jpg" /></a>
Go HERE to read all about how this came to be.  Basically, it's about ending your week on a positive note!
To participate
1. Write a post about something good that happened this week (or if you don't blog, tell me by leaving a comment). It can be anything. Just keep it positive!
2. Grab the #TGIF button and include it somewhere in your post.
3. Come back here and link up.  Linky is open all weekend (even when I publish a new post).
4. Visit other linkers, leave comments and consider giving them a follow (it would be nice if you followed me, but no pressure).
5. Share posts on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, etc, if you are so inclined!
6. TGIF is open to guest posting!  In fact, I'd like to have someone else here every other week.  If you want, instead of just linking your post to mine, you can write the post instead of me.  Just let me know by Thursday of the week that you want to do it, and I will happily step aside and let you take the floor!  Be warned, if no one volunteers, I might put you on the spot and you will feel obligated to do it because you love me!

* * * * *

This week I'm getting a little tricky.  My good bloggy friend, Rach at Life Ever Since also hosts a Friday meme and I thought it would be fun to combine our posts one week.  And since I like having guests here, I invited Rach to share her Life Lessons for this week as a guest post, instead of on her own blog.  She will still have her linky open, so no worries!

Rach is a new mom to a cute 10 month old girl we all call Donut.  She lives in Texas with her "Do it Himself" hubby.  She enjoys being crafty and she even knits and crochets like me!

Yay, I’m so honored to be over at Jen’s today to host both TGIF and Life’s Lessons (I feel like I’m double hosting SNL by being both the featured actor and the musical guest).  Anyhoo, thanks, Jen for having me here today!


1.  I admit I was having a hard time being positive this week.  We’d had several bad nights of little sleep and I was exhausted before the day even began.


2.  And when I’m tired, my mind wanders and my mood sinks.  So Monday didn’t start off on a happy note.


3.  As the week progressed, the sleep got better, but my mood didn’t.  I was feeling a bit lonely and off this week.  I blame the rainy and cold weather at the start of the week, which meant that Donut and I were pretty much home bound for a few days.


4.  And then I started thinking about how it’s been a year since I’ve been a SAHM and I’m still struggling to find friends to really connect with.


5.  When I start thinking those thoughts, I get pretty down.  I try to be a good friend and make time for others.  To check up on them, text or email (because I stink at actually talking on the phone and can’t hear half the time over the babbling of a baby and the barking of a dog).


6.  So what do I do?  I open my computer.  And a bunch of you pop out on my screen.


7.  You DM me or email me.  You tweet with me and you leave me sweet comments on my blog.


8.  You let me know I matter.


9.  I know people who don’t blog who think this is weird.  They wonder how we can even have connections online.  And I admit I thought it was weird too.  Until I started blogging and tweeting.  And it’s been many months and some of you have been there through thick and thin.


10.  So even though things may not be exactly how I envisioned my life as a SAHM, things are still pretty good.  Thanks to you.


Thanks again, Jen, for having me here today and for forgiving me about last week’s mix-up!!  You’re a good pal.

* * * * *

Aww, Rach!  I will have you know I didn't make good mom friends til Cami was 3.  I don't want that to discourage you.  Rather, to let you know that I don't think it's easy for anyone, but that it should happen in time.

And as far as online connections go....man do I seriously wanna meet IRL some of the people I've been getting to know online!

Hmmm....what sort of funny shall I share this week.....?  This is appropriate!

So tell us, me and the voices Rach, what made you happy this week?

And then be sure to check out Life Ever Since 
and follow Rach on Twitter!