Wanda

Finally Home

Published on November 5, 2016April 27, 2017 by WandaLeave a comment

Good morning all! It’s a beautiful, sunny, mild day outside. I am sitting here in front of my office window just marveling at the beauty of our planet drinking my coffee. I haven’t posted for quite a while. I got home from Miami on the 20th and was back on a plane to PA on the 28th. In between I was going through years of Gary’s collecting. The house was appraised and everything is on track for the closing this month. It will be nice to have that straightened out.

There are a few things I would like to take care of with the house. Just some minor changes. I would love to get rid of all of the carpeting. Since I now have asthma, dust really bothers me. So, I think it would be easier without the carpets. Also there are a few things that need to be repaired. Rome wasn’t build in a day, so I expect it will take me some time to get it all done.

I so look forward to getting back to my quilting. I miss the wonderful women I have gotten to know through it and just the joy of creating something out of the fabric.

I have been waking up at 5 in the morning. I’ve gotten a lot done, but I find I need a nap in the afternoon or I fall asleep early in the evening. Gracie is influencing my sleeping habits. She’s doing so well and is really great company for me. I was so afraid that when I got home from Miami she wouldn’t really know me. She had spent more time with my friend than with me. But she came running to me tail wagging and jumped right into my arms. It warmed my heart. I was watching TV last night and she was sleeping on the end of the sofa. I woke her up. She looks a little perturbed with me. LOL

I have to head out to do some food shopping before it’s time to go to Mass. I am manning the gift shop at church today. So have to get my errands done early. I have a few book reviews to post, but it will have to wait until I get back.

Enjoy this wonderful fall weather.

My World Changed In A Day

Published on November 4, 2016 by WandaLeave a comment

My last post was on August 23rd, the day our water pump died. Well, all by itself it started working that night. It was very strange. On Wednesday August 24th my husband got up and walked into the bathroom. He called that he needed help. He was not looking too good so I called the rescue squad. Before I knew what was going on, he was lying on the floor with several people working on him. Within 30 minutes my husband had died. I still cannot believe he left me. I am so blessed to have three wonderful children who have been unbelievably helpful and have given me strength. They were here with me going through my husband’s things and helped me pack his clothes for donation to area thrift stores and Goodwill. We laughed over some of the things Gary held on to. He was a bit of a pack rat. I think I will probably be going through stuff for a year!

As I was standing outside of the bathroom, I said, “God’s will be done.” I meant it then and I still mean it now. I learned along time ago that the Lord has a plan for us all and it doesn’t necessarily agree with our plans. Gary was only 63 years old. I expected us to live into our old age together and to make memories with our grandchildren. But, God called him home and I need to learn to live without him.

My girls handled Gary’s Celebration of Life for me. We had one here in September and one in PA in October. It was comforting to see all of the people who came to remember Gary and hear some of the stories about him we had never heard before.

It has been hard.

Because of my daughter in law’s illness I spent almost a month with them to take care of my 7 month old granddaughter. I am so sorry that the kids had to go through Karina’s illness, but I was so blessed to spend the time with the baby. That time was a time of healing for me. I was able to focus on the wonder of life given us by God. They live right on the beach so I also had the beauty of the ocean for comfort.

So, one day at a time. Learn a new routine. Enjoy the life I’ve been given.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4

God bless!

A Lot Has Happened

Published on October 15, 2016April 27, 2017 by WandaLeave a comment

Well to say I have been busy is an understatement. My daughter-in-law had a second surgery after she returned home she developed a post op infection. I got a call at 3 AM on Monday September 26th that they needed me to come to Miami Beach to help out. So on Wednesday the 28th I hopped on a plane and here I am. Karina was discharged that evening and is now recovering nicely;

As sorry as I am that she and my son have had to go through this, I am delighted to be spending so much time with my granddaughter Isabella. She is just a delight. Here she is sitting on the bed playing with mommy. She’s in the middle of mommy’s pregnancy pillow.

I can tell you that this little girl is wearing me out. I know now why we have our babies when we are young. I have been walking her every day and have fallen into a routine of daily exercise. I hope to continue with this walking when I get home. I won’t have Isabella to keep me going, but I will have Gracie who just loves to go for walks.

I think I may be here another week. On the 28th I am flying to PA for Gary’s Memorial Service. We had one in NC, but he has so many friends and family up there that we decided to do one there as well.

I’m refinancing the house to cut my mortgage payments and the appraiser called me to come out to the house. I told him that I will be out of town for a while yet. Thank goodness he said there was no hurry.

There is so much to take care of when you lose your spouse. I still find myself thinking he will be there when I get home. I am blessed that my son needed me to help out with the baby. It has helped me through this adjustment.

Have a good weekend.

Slow Saturday

Published on September 17, 2016 by WandaLeave a comment

Well, my new air conditioning system will be installed on Tuesday. They have lent me a portable unit until then. It has helped me so much. At least I can stop from what I am doing and go into the cool room.

I am still working on the kitchen. So many pots and pans. I think Gary must have wanted to cook for the whole county. He loved his kitchen things. So I am sorting and putting my island back together.

Gracie has really settled in. She is still a little shy, but becoming more animated as time goes on. She is such good company for me.

Tried to get back to my book last night. Just can’t seem to really concentrate right now. I am sure that will change as time goes on.

When Sue was here we ran to Wilmington and did a little shopping. I picked up a couple of cute patterns to make Isabella some clothes. I can’t wait to get sewing.

Enjoy your day.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming

Published on September 14, 2016April 27, 2017 by WandaLeave a comment

A few days after Gary passed away, my son in law Joe’s grandmother passed away. He had to head to Pennsylvania. His father had no one else to lean on. He felt so bad about missing Gary’s Life Celebration on the 6th, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Two days before Gary passed away, a good friend of ours passed away.

We had his celebration at the Railroad Museum in Wilmington. He loved trains and collected model trains. It was the perfect place. I was floored to see his brothers and wives and his mom and sister walk into the museum. We are having a memorial in PA in October, so I thought they would not come down. It was a wonderful surprise. Samantha just took over and planned the whole thing.

I got a message from my cousin in California that her husband passed away on the 10th.

Monday I turned 65. It was the first birthday in 43 years that I celebrated my birthday without Gary.
For my birthday I adopted the sweetest little dog. I named her Gracie. She is the first female dog I have had. She was spayed yesterday and I picked her up late in the afternoon. Gracie is a Cairn Terrier Mix and weighs 8.5 pounds. Gracie is setteling in nicely.

Gracie September 13, 2016

My good friend Sue was here and took me out to dinner. We had some Calabash Seafood. We ate way too much, but there are no calories on your birthday. 🙂

We got home about 7:30 on Monday night and I noticed that my air conditioner unit was running and running with no air coming out of the vents. You guessed it. The unit is shot. The guy was here today and he just shook his head and said I hate to give you bad news but……So a new unit is about 7 grand. You can believe I have had a few conversations with Gary over this.

I haven’t done much reading the past couple of weeks. I hope to get back into that soon. I am also looking forward to getting back to quilting. My grand kids want new quilts.

Have a good one.

Gary

Published on August 28, 2016 by Wanda3 Comments

On Wednesday, August 24th my husband suddenly passed away. He was only 63 years old. Much too young to die. He was such a wonderful husband, father, uncle, grandfather and friend. We would have been married 41 years next month. I am still at the point where I know that he is gone in my head, but it hasn’t hit my heart yet. I know that might be a rough ride, but God will get me through it.

Right now I have my three kids with me and their spouses. They have been here every day helping me get things done around the house. As wonderful as my husband was, he did procrastinate. So I appreciate Stephen, Joe and Bud taking care of the overgrown yard. He was also a pack rat. But these two things I knew about when I said yes, so unless it got out of control we did fine.

My daughter in law Karina couldn’t come to help as she had only had her surgery for the cervical cancer a week before. She feels terrible as she and Gary really had a good relationship and used to tease her about her Yankees. And she would come right back at him about the Phillies.

Each of my kids were special to Gary and they had their own unique relationship with him as they do with me. Gary and Bud’s were best friends. They spoke on the phone daily and sometimes more. They had their love of baseball and card collecting. That love was started when Bud was about 8 years old. Gary coached him in soccer, baseball, basketball, and roller hockey. Even though Bud has lived far from us, they only continued to get closer.

Karina and Bud gave us our second granddaughter. I am so blessed that we got to spend so much time with the baby when we were in Florida. She won’t remember, but we have pictures to show her. And they are so good about face timing us so we got to see Bella in real time.

Kelly and Joe gave us three beautiful grandchildren. Three years ago they moved down here to NC. That made us so very happy to have them close to us. Kelly is our first. She had her dad wrapped around her little finger from the get go. She wanted to be a Brownie but there was no leader. Gary became a girl scout so that she could be a brownie. Then she wanted to play basketball but there wasn’t another coach to take a second team. Gary became her basketball coach. They would go to the Phillies games together and he patiently walked around the top of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia every time they went. Gary continued to coach Kelly the whole time she played CYO basketball, soccer, and softball. Kelly and her dad were close.

Andrew who is 12, has red hair and is just as sweet as can be. He and his Pop Pop would spend hours here writing dialogue for Andrew’s imaginary productions. Andrew has Asperger’s and he is so very smart. They also designed shopping centers and malls. He’s also a wiz with the computer.

Aidan who is 10 years old is a real charmer and has the greatest sense of humor. He is sweet and very loving. But he can be a terror too. 🙂 Now Pop Pop and Aidan did different things together. They would go metal detecting, build 3-D puzzles or just sit and Aidan would explain about his interests.

Alannah who is 8 years old is our dancer. She competes too. She so pretty, another red head. Gary would sit there and drink make believe tea for hours, or play memory games with her. Of course they read many a book together too.

At Christmas time he would make gingerbread houses with the kids. He loved those kids so much. They brought him so much joy.

Samantha is our baby. Now as much as Kelly had her dad wrapped around her finger, Sam made Kelly look like an amateur. I was working evenings or nights as this point. I couldn’t believe what she got away with. Kelly would say teasingly that Sam was the princess. And I would answer but you are the queen. She is also our brain child. She is so smart. All of the kids are smart just in different ways. Samantha and her dad were close.

We have been blessed with good children who have grown into wonderful adults. Gary was so very proud of each and every one of them. He also had a good relationship with their spouses. I have mentioned my quilt guild. Well he was loved by all of the women there. He took care of a lot of their sewing machines. He always had notions with him. And he was our official cutter for out outreach workshops. I always teased him that he had a cult of quilters that followed him. LOL Gary was just that type of guy. Nothing was too much for him. He would do anything for you if it was possible for him to do it. He could drive me right up the wall sometimes, but he was my friend, my husband, and my life.

Everything Happens For A Reason

Published on August 23, 2016 by WandaLeave a comment

I was supposed to be at my quilt guild’s outreach workshop today working on quilts for our local fire department. However, last night our well pump stopped working. Because there are no lights where the well is, we were unable to do anything about it last night. So, my plans had to change. My mom always said that “Everything happens for a reason.” Mom really believed this and through the years I grew to believe it too. I saw the blessings that came from these unexpected things.

This made me think about some of the things in my life that I tried to plan. I can remember wanting to go to a specific event and a family commitment prevented me from going with my friends. Later I learned that my friends found themselves in some sort of trouble. I was sorry for them, but so relieved I was not with them.

I had my first child at the age of 20. My plan was to have four children before the age of 30. There are 10 years between my fist and second child. Well, apparently my plan was not what God had planned for me. I had my four children, but on His timetable.

Learning to live happily with God’s plan for us is difficult sometimes. We are always in a hurry for what we want and often unhappy when things don’t turn out our way. It’s important for us to trust in God and His plan. Learning to follow God’s will is important for us to have a good relationship with Him.

“. . . it is presumptuous in me to wish to choose my path, because I cannot tell which path is best for me. I must leave it to the Lord, Who knows me, to lead me by the path which is best for me, so that in all things His will may be done.”

― Teresa of Ávila, Interior Castle

God bless!

Everything Happens For A Reason

Published on August 23, 2016April 27, 2017 by WandaLeave a comment

After spending yesterday preparing for my guild’s outreach workshop today, I discovered that our well pump stopped working last night. Our well is located on the side of our property. Since there is no light out there, we could do nothing. So I had to call my co-chair to let her know she would be on her own today. I hate to miss these workshops. The plan was to work on the firehouse quilts. We are almost finished with them.

So, it looks like today I will be hanging around the house waiting for the well man. I hope that it’s nothing serious and can be taken care of today. Living without water is quite difficult. You don’t realize how much we take for granted. It ‘s an eye opener. Maybe I’ll be able to get some sewing done.

On Sunday we visited with my daughter for her birthday. We had such a nice time with Sam and Stephen. When we got to her house, her old roommate from college was there. It was such a nice surprise to see him.

I’ve also been working on our family tree. It’s amazing to find our ancestors and see pictures and documents from them. I can spend all day searching through documents and records.

Have a good day.

Are You An Olympian?

Published on August 20, 2016 by WandaLeave a comment

I would like to share something I read today.

I find Summer Olympics fascinating. The raw strength, precision, and determination on display is awe inspiring. When I see the swimmers stretch their bodies to the breaking point, when I see the gymnasts’ power and precision (watching the floor exercises of the two Americans last night…the sheer strength and precision, the boom of their well planted landings were awesome), when I see all of this on display, knowing the half of the things they do would land me in an emergency room and/or traction, I see years of dedication that finally pays off as they take the podium.

It gets me to thinking (yeah..I know…shocker) how every person has it within them to rise to some similar greatness. Very few can rise physically to the standards we see in these Olympians. However, we can rise to greatness in other fields and disciplines of life if we are focused and perseverant. Many do not rise to such heights because they lack the discipline to do so. If you have had chance to watch the Paralympics or Special Olympics, we again see persons who do not let the disabilities they have by birth or accident inhibit them from being as great as they can be. They also show the discipline and grit necessary to move beyond the mediocrity of low expectations.

Greatness takes discipline. In Catholicism, we refer to these disciplines as the virtues. The practice of the disciplines of the virtues helps us to grow to greatness that transforms us in every aspect of our lives. God gives us His help through grace. He is like those great coaches who teach, provoke greatness, and give everything necessary for success. Like great coaches, he doesn’t do the exercise for us, we have to choose to do so. He sent His Son, to show us the ‘routine’…the exercise of virtue in perfection. Through this, we have access to what we could not get on our own.

Olympians endure pain, sacrifice, and suffering to hone their abilities. Do we? In order to grow in Christ, do we endure the pain of rejection of this world, do we make the sacrifices necessary to grow in faith, are we willing to suffer and give up everything so as to gain a crown not fashioned by human hands? Will we take unpopular stances in this world? Will we stick out? Those unwilling to do so, who move with the herd of this society hellbent on its own destruction, accept the comfort of mediocrity as the participation trophy instead of doing the hard work to get the gold.

The Olympics do not hand out medals for mediocrity or participation awards for simply showing up. Can we expect heaven by phoning it in…by accepting spiritual mediocrity? Spiritual mediocrity causes spiritual atrophy, which leads to spiritual death and eternal condemnation. While we cannot work ourselves in heaven, we do show God through our dedication, discipline, and obedience, our desire for the spiritual gold medal of eternal relationship with Him.

So, how are you going to do the thing necessary for the gold today? How will you use the discipline of the virtues to hone your skill at being the best Christian you can be by the grace of God? With what will you feed your body, soul, and mind? It matters. It matters for now and for eternity.

Fr. Bill Peckman

Happy Birthday Samantha

Published on August 20, 2016April 27, 2017 by WandaLeave a comment

Today is my youngest daughter’s birthday. She turned 33 today. I can’t believe it. She is a Winnie the Pooh fan. Where does the time go? I’m not getting any older. Sam is a wonderful daughter and friend. She’s beautiful, smart, and fun. I am so blessed to have her in my world.

She and her husband are spending this evening with friends. They are going to an escape room. One of those places where you have to solve a mystery to get out of the room. It sounds like fun.

I’m excited about the Bristol race tonight. It’s a short track and usually a lot of fun to watch. And I am hoping that Kasey has a good race tonight. He really needs a win.

Heading out, I have errands to run. Keep cool.