25 Things My Mother Taught Me

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
'Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13 My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14.My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION..
'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP.
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22.My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite:
My mother taught me about JUSTICE
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!'

*for the record....Grandma J has never said any of these things to her own children....no never. Are any of these familiar to your childhood?

The Letter Q

Today is A to Z Monday, and the first word that came to Grandma J's mind was Question....as in "Ask Grandma J". I know, don't say it....I'm so dang witty and clever.

But to be honest...that would be so easy, and then you know, there would be a whole plethora of questions to answer. And really, what is there about Grandma J that you would want to know that she hasn't already told you? Ummm, don't ask because the Q letter is for .......

Q-TIPS! And I picked Q-Tips because they are so interesting and versatile. For instance, are you the crafty type?

Well, then grab your glue gun and construction paper....oh yeah, and your Q-Tips.

The possibilities are endless.

Of course none of us can compete with Mother Nature...and her real live Q-Tips.

Can this selection be any more adorable? They just make me want to grab them and throw them while I yell, Go get um JJ!

And then there is always the health warning, isn't' there? Two inches? For real?

Brought to you by A to Z Mondays. Check it out and join in the fun!

Meet A-RON




Because that's what we call him, and that's what his teammates call him, because that's his name.






When your first name starts with not one, but two A's, and your last name starts with RON......there is no doubt what your first love will be. Even though you pitch, you are an awesome third baseman.

A-Ron is a power hitter scoring runs, the name and reputation stands. And even though he plays football and basketball.....he continues with baseball practically year round.

Of course his mom is his biggest fan who travels with the team when they go to weekend tournaments.



She helps with the scoreboard, even if it interferes with her texting.

IT'S A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

I’m often reminded of the different perspectives we have at different times of our lives. For instance, growing up, my grandparents were always old. When I was five, they were old. When I was forty, my grandmother was definitely old.

As an adult, realizing my mother was old was a gradual thing. My father died suddenly in his early fifties, to me he was never old. It was at that point that I knew my mother would be getting old. One of my younger sisters threw my mother into the old mode within a few years of my fathers death. She thought my mother should sell her home and move in with her and her family. She worried about my mother’s well being. She thought my mother was old. This was her perspective at the time. My mother went on to live a very long life with a lucrative career in Real Estate, all by herself, squelching the perception that she was old.

When my mother passed away, two days short of her eightieth birthday, my daughter and her two children were staying with me in CA for a year. They are a military family and had been in Germany for over three years. Before Germany, they had been in El Paso for three years. Now her husband’s tour overseas was up and he was going to Korea for a year. I invited her and the kids to come stay with me in CA until he came back to the States. This was appealing to my daughter because she grew up in CA, and had friends and family there, including her own two grandmothers, her children’s great-grandmothers. And for me, having some grandchildren in CA was finally going to be a reality. The other grandchildren I had at the time were in Florida and Colorado.

My daughter and her kids arrived in December. In January, my children’s paternal grandmother passed away. We all attended the wake and funeral. My grandchildren, ages four and six did too, along with several cousins. For them, this was probably more like a wedding than a funeral. Getting dressed up, lot’s of food, cousins to play with all day, and adults that were preoccupied with each other.

My mother passed away three months later in April. She had been ill, but none of us expected her to pass when she did. So we have the same scenario again, the wake followed by the funeral the next day. Of course, there are the church services, but from a young child’s perspective there are also restaurants and cousins. Basically, for two kids who haven’t really been around extended family, except for brief vacations, this was yet another holiday.

The day after my mother’s funeral, I was laying on my bed with my granddaughter. We chatted about nothing in particular, just small talk, and maybe silly talk. As we lay there, my sweet granddaughter was rubbing my cheek with her hand, and smiling. I remember thinking how adorable she was with her deep dimples and how much I loved being with her like that. Just lying there in our own little world.

Still patting my cheek and smiling, we had this conversation:

Granddaughter: Well, grandma, you’re next

Me: Huh?

Granddaughter (louder): You’re next

Me: Next what?

Granddaughter: You know, die

Me: What? I’m not old

Granddaughter: Yes, you are grandma

Me: Well, can I wait until you graduate to die?

Granddaughter: (in her "get a grip on reality please" voice), Grandmaaaaa, REALLLLY!

That was seven years ago. So, see? It’s a matter of perspective.