Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer? Meh

My mother, Pearl holding me while sister Karen smiles at the camera.
My Mom died July 17, 1988.
I love this photo, though,
because she was oh, so very beautiful.  

My childhood memories of summer are glorious days filled with honeysuckle blossom milking and clover bracelets.  We climbed trees, played softball or kickball in the back yard, my brothers and sisters and I.  We had a seesaw, a two-kid version, and if Mom and Dad knew how long we would keep the other one up in the air, they would have used it for a door stop in the attic.  At any rate, when I was a kid, we played all day, and when we weren't playing, we were picking beans, cherries, tomatoes and corn and helping Pearl can the fresh veggies and fruits that grew quite happily in our yard in Florence.  The area that is called Boone County is at the very tippy top of our state, and that curve in the Ohio River has afforded quite a lot of topsoil to leave deposits there over the millenia.  So the soil is rich, and the vegetables and fruits are gorgeous. 

My guy and I went to Broke Leg Falls
yesterday.  The area in Menifee County
was struck by the tornadoes of March 2012, and
the trail ended at the bottom of the Falls, but I
am so glad we went to see it.  Kentuck proud! 

Childhood was idyllic for me, and watermelon on the porch swing was about the best thing in the world for a little girl who just couldn't wait for Lawrence Welk to come on so we could watch our parents dance the Jitterbug.  Since I've waxed nostalgic, I'll add that our house was always filled with music, my parents' music, the music of the last century, not the rock and roll, but the good old songs that caused folks to gather around the piano and sing until their cheeks were flush with happy exuberance. Those times and memories are precious to me, because although I miss my parents and my family and don't experience that any more in real time, in person, I have the memories and they're very clear to me, they do not fade away.  

One thing I still love to do in the summertime is go to Summerfest.
We went to see Peter Pan at the Arboreturm last Sunday night.
There's nothing quite like watching the sun settle into
its fiery boots whilst watching theatre in the midst of God Creation! 

Why am I yammering on about all that?  I suppose it's because the muggy dankness of the day has sludged my perky love for the days of summer.  My summer is no longer lazy, but it's hazy and crazy, and to that I say, meh, humbug!  lol

This friendly lil garter snake -- or was it a garden
snake? -- was sunning himself by the banks
of the south fork of the Licking River.  We were
creek geeking.  

I guess that's why I -- and so many others like me -- love talking about childhood. 

Having said that, I'll say this:  I should write the story of my life, it is filed with oddities and funnities and things that go bump in the night.  Lots of sex, drugs and rock and foll.  I think it would be worth a read.  Recently my baby sister, Kelli came up with a great idea.  She recommended we write a book called The Humblings, about the past few months in our lives --  all three of us Thomas girls are looking for a new home, or were looking for a new home at the same time last month.  

I yam still looking, sweet potatoes, but Kelli has been able to stay put (praise the Lord and say blessings) and Karen I am certain will find something suitable, and soon.  

As for me, I am still plugging away at the online ads and writing down numbers I see in windows...so I am praying for a door to open for me and that I will find a place to stay for the next few months. I am on a wait list for an apartment, but the list is 4 to 6 months, and the joy in that is that I will have my own forever home  by Christmas! 

This was taken last winter, but Betty Cecil and I always
sing the Gloria Patri and Doxology in harmony, and then we
say to each other, "We just love us!"  and we do :) 

Kelli is right, we should put in writing our adventures as the three Thomas sisters who lived the life of luxury until we no longer lived the life of luxury and were literally fish out of water, treading water and learning how to do the back stroke all by ourselves as adulthood thrust itself upon us.  It would be like Valley of the Dolls visits A Separate Peace with  a touch of Absolutely Fabulous thrown in for good humor.   

Broke Leg:  You can see where the tornadoes
came through and uprooted
these century old trees!  God love em.  

At any rate, we all experienced that 'awakening' in different ways and we overcame various dysfunctional marriages before we realized we had to learn to love ourselves first.  That's all the funny stuff, though -- heh -- I'll save the dark clouds for another day in KimmyVille...that bad weather all involves a man who cheated my father out of his fortune.  I'm here all year, join me for "Do You Want Some Cheese to Go With That Whine?"  

 Meanwhile, I am sharing my joy and leaving you with a prayer from today's worship, which was very much full of heart and smiles and hugs of cheer.  As always, our choir was glorious, a special treat was that Michael Rintamaa played In The Garden for communion, and there was a great spray of roses in the foyer from a wedding last night.  

With one of my heroes, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Minister of Pastoral Care, preaching, we opened our worship with this Common Prayer.  I hope you find meaning in it, too:

Uniting God, it is in You that we are all able to come together as your people,

without heirarchies, boundaries or divisions.

Help us seek out ways to better unite our communities.

Urge us on our journey to be your disciples.

Persuade us to reach out to that unknown or unfamiliar person in our midst.

Cheer us onward when we stumble.

Guide us in times of uncertainty as we seek to stretch our comfort zones,

Have you SEEN the mimosa trees in Kentucky this year?
This is a banner season for the blooms that smell like peaches. :)

and bind us, God, bind us ever closer to You and to one another

as we seek to create Your Kingdom here in this place.

it is in our love for You that we pray.

Amen.

Pray for peace, everyone.  There are new causes to take up every day. Find someone who deserves mercy and justice and deliver it to them.  Don't wait for someone else to do it.  It is good to love kindness, after all.  

Kimmy