It's Been a MONTH? Oh, My!

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I have posted...boy ...I've been busy! Spring is here and the flowers are blooming. It will be Easter Sunday this weekend. When the kids were little, we would not have a "traditional" Easter dinner, but a fried chicken picnic. After church, I packed up the potato salad, fried chicken,drinks, and kites and off we went to the park. Usually, we went to Murray Park down by the river. The kids always had a ball and it was great family time.
Enough reminiscing. Now to the present. Spring Break was spent (for the most part) in San Antonio helping to pack my mother to make the move to my sister's house. It is very difficult at her age (91) to make a move. Things are chaotic,and she is having to get rid of things that she has seen for more than 50 years. The stress is definately taking its toll on her and the rest of us... all of us except my brother, Stuart, who refuses to acknowledge our existence. He has excused himself from the thought of lifting a finger to help or encourage Mom. You can't fool her. She knows he is ignoring her and is very hurt by it. Nonetheless, "it is what it is" as Stuart would say.
I found myself mired in negativity while in San Antonio. Everyone (my mother and olderst sister) are such negative people that it is hard for me to be with them for any length of time. My life in Little Rock is nothing like that. I have surrounded myself with friends that are FUNNY, yet serious when we need to be. Lu, Shirley, and Cheryl are all funny, positive, Christians that I rely on to help me see the humor in our lives. I really didn't know HOW much I laugh, until I was locked into negative comments which bombarded me from all angles. It was constant while I was there! What unhappy people they must be. I did get Mom to laugh at herself one time while I was there...I think she actually liked it, but it was such an odd feeling, she didn't know what to do with it!
Contentment is learned and I hope and pray that as I get older, I keep a sense of humor and learn to be content WHEREVER God puts me. All throughout the Bible there were many people, like Paul, who had difficult lives, but were content because they had the "joy of the Lord." What a life lesson! It's so easy to complain about what you DON'T have instead of being grateful and appreciative for what you DO have. Although when my house burned I was very upset about the little memorabilia that I had lost, I realized that they were all just things and they meant nothing to anyone but me. They were memories ties to a thing...I still had the memories....Someone once sent me a card after I had lost a pet. I still have it because it had such a beautiful saying on it...."God gave us memories so we could have roses in winter." Kinda says it all....Well, all for now.......