My Little Piece of Heaven

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Daily Prompt:  Forest

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Living in a forest is quite an experience.  We cleared just enough of it to have room for our house and garage.  I live in the middle of a long needle pine forest.  It’s quiet and full of life.

I have bear, coyote, red fox, alligator, deer and so many more animals that visit our little piece of heaven.  I love it here.  My property is all natural, no gardens, just a few pots with flowers in them on my front porch.  At night you can hear the tree frogs singing.  If you open my front door at night, there are always several tree frogs sitting around my outside patio light stuffing themselves on the insects the light attracts.

Where I live is unique in that the beach is only twenty minutes away.  I have the best of two worlds living here.

I can sit on my front porch and watch the hawks and occasional eagle fly over my property.  They are beautiful in flight.  I just have to watch out that Gracie isn’t out wandering when those birds of prey are around.  She could be picked up and taken for a good meal.  Then there are the butterflies flying by, the Cardinals and other birds which I love to watch and photograph.  And I am amazed at the different “weeds” that have pretty blooms.

I have fox squirrels here.  They are really cute.  They are mostly black with masks of white on their faces.  There are varying degrees of black, white, and grey on these comical characters.  I also have big bugs.  Yuk!  I could do without them.

The Green Swamp Preserve is a 15,907-acre swamp nearby and it is beautiful.  It has venus flytraps, orchids and other rare plants and animals.  The venus flytraps are in bloom in late May.  I am planning a photo excursion there at the end of the month.

I have lived in a city, the burbs and now in the woods which is my favorite especially since the beach is so accessible to me.

Wanda

Rebel With A Cause

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Daily Prompt:  Rebel

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This graphic reminds me of my oldest daughter, Kelly.  From the time she was twelve until she turned twenty-two, I did not like her.  I loved her very much but didn’t like her.  No matter what I said to her, I was wrong and didn’t know anything..  And if she didn’t say anything the look she gave me could put me in my grave.

Add to that my rebellious daughter always had to have the last word.  I was so frustrated with her that I always told her that I wished she would have one (a child) just like her.  Of course, she would give me one of those looks and walk away from me.

If I would say the sky is blue, she argued that it was green.  I couldn’t win.  I would lose my temper with her, then she would say to me “I would never say that to my kids.”

Fast forward to motherhood for Kelly.  She has three wonderful beautiful children that are my greatest joy.  One has entered the teen years.  She now apologizes to me for her rebellious attitude.  She gets frustrated with him and then tells him he has turned her into Grami.  That’s me.  🙂  I get the biggest kick out of the situation.

I realize our kids have to become those rebels who seem to just want to drive us out of our minds.  It’s how they test boundaries and learn limits.  I guess looking back I did my share of being a rebel too.   It’s in our nature.

Wanda

Laughter

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Daily Prompt:  Laughter

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Let’s face it, life is hard.  Relationships are work, raising children is work, and our careers place so much strain on us.  We are pulled in many directions daily.  Not to mention the losses we experience in our lives.

God gave us a way to deal with all of this stress which is simple and free.  Laughter.  He programmed us with it.  When we have the ability to laugh at ourselves, we lower our stress level, enjoy what we do, and feel better.

Laughter also helps in situations of high stress.  It can defuse confrontation and lead to a new friendship.  Laughter is the medicine that you don’t need a prescription for.

“Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals.”  From an article on HELPGUIDE.ORG.

It is important to learn the difference between laughing with someone as opposed to laughing at someone.  And it is important to not take yourself so seriously that you cannot laugh at yourself.

I am blessed to have kids with a great sense of humor.  When we are together the laughter doesn’t stop.  I am usually the object of the laughter.  The kids begin a dialogue about what I would do or say as they were growing up.  They kid me about the way I dance and the fact that I am not coordinated enough to golf.  It’s done with love and I feel blessed that we all can laugh about our lives.

It has been said, “A day without laughter is a day wasted”.  Such a true statement.  Laugher brings joy and happiness to your life no matter what sadness you are going through.

When my husband died, we were devastated.  His death was unexpected.  When the kids and I were together planning his memorial along with the tears was laughter as we reminisced about his life and quirks.   With laughter, you can get through anything.

So, have a good laugh today, and make it a habit.  You’ll feel better.

Wanda

 

Journeys

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Daily Prompt:  Rapid

I have always loved the water.  I think watching rivers flowing, ocean waves rolling onto the beach, and lakes with gentle ripples very relaxing.  I also love to photograph them.

What scares me to death is the thought of getting into a rubber raft and riding over the rapids of a river.  I just cannot imagine taking that kind of chance with my health.  However, I don’t mind watching other people being foolish by riding the rapids.

I don’t think I was such a scaredy cat when I was young, but now at the ripe old age of (well much older), I readily admit my fears.  And to be honest, once you become a parent, your priorities change.   You are no longer responsible for only yourself.  Someone depends on you for everything for many years.  That may have been the beginning of my fear of reckless behavior.

Our lives are journeys that take us through childhood into adolescence and the terrible teen years bring us to the brink of young adulthood.  Our perspectives change with each stage of our journey.  What excites us and inspires us in one phase, often bores us or frightens us in a later phase.

What remains are our memories of the good times we spent in our earlier years and as we reminisce about them with our old friends we sheepishly admit to each other that we were just a little bit crazy attempting some of the things we did.

Wanda

 

 

 

Share Your World

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Cee’s Share Your World for May 7, 2018.  If you would like to join in on the fun, click here.

Here are this week’s questions.

If you were given $22 million tax free dollars (any currency), what is the first thing you would do? (This is just a dream question, remember anything can happen in SYW.)

If I were given that much money first I would put money away for my grandchildren’s education, buy a really good camera for the trip around the world I booked.  🙂

In what do you find the simplest of joys?

I find joy just sitting on my porch listening to the birds, sitting on the beach watching the waves, reading a good book, spending time with my family, and having time to quilt.

What would be your ideal birthday present, and why?

My ideal birthday present would be a really good camera.   Photography is a hobby I took up after moving to North Carolina and  I have found that I love taking pictures and would like to get better at it.  

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

This past week I helped my grandson Aidan celebrate his 12th birthday.  I love being able to share in these special days.  They warm my heart. 

Wanda

 

Ahh Spring

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Daily Prompt:  Flaunt

Spring beckons us
To revel in her fragrance
As she flaunts her colorful beauty
Wantonly.

Shades of green abounding
As the earth awakens.
Cherry blossoms blooming
Almost overnight.
Pear trees displaying
Their dresses of white.

Shoots of daffodils and tulips
Are popping through the ground
While crocus and hyacinth
In royal colors found.

Bees busy pollinating
Blooms of every kind.
Birds are serenading
So a mate they may find.

Ahh! Spring!
So long awaited,
Brings confirmation
That Winter sleeps.

Wanda