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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KD

It is DIL birthday today,
Finally the age of BB. A mere 28.
How can I word what the mother of my grand babies
mean to me? Almost like being a grandma, 
no words are good enough to explain.
MY DEAR KD,
THE WORD DAUGHTER IN LAW
SOUNDS SO COLD EXPLAINING WHAT YOU
ARE TO ME, SO GENERIC.
BECAUSE WHEN MY SON INTRODUCED
YOU TO ME, I KNEW WE WOULD BE FRIENDS.
THEN YOU BECAME HIS WIFE AND WE
BECAME EVEN CLOSER. I TEASE BB
OFTEN TELLING HIM HE BETTER MAKE
Y'ALL MARRIAGE WORK BECAUSE
YOU WILL ALWAYS AND FOREVER BE
MY DAUGHTER IN LAW.
THEN, THEN YOU BECAME THE MOTHER
TO MY SWEET BEAN.
I WATCH YOU WITH HER AND I 
SILENTLY THINK HOW LUCKY BEAN IS
THAT YOU ARE HER MOTHER.
BEAN BECOMES GROUNDED WHEN SHE
IS AROUND YOU.  YOUR ENDLESS AND
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR HER MAKES
FOR ONE HAPPY AND LOVED LITTLE GIRL.
YOU KEEP MY DEAR SON GROUNDED ALSO.
NEVER AFRAID TO SPEAK YOUR PEACE,
BUT ALWAYS SO LOVING TO HIM.
OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, I SOMETIMES
WORRY IF I AM BURDENING YOU AS YOU
ARE 8 MONTHS PREGNANT BUT NEVER DO
YOU COMPLAIN. THEN THERE IS OUR SWEET 
JOLEE, WHO DOES NOT HAVE A BLOG NAME
AS OF YET. HOW YOU CARE FOR YOURSELF
IN ORDER TO ASSURE SHE IS ONE HEALTHY 
LITTLE BABY. I KNOW I PROBABLY SAY THIS
EVERY TIME I WRITE YOU A LOVE LETTER
OR BLOG ABOUT YOU, BUT IT IS WORTH SAYING
ONE MORE TIME,
I COULD NOT HAVE PICKED A BETTER WIFE 
FOR MY BB THAN HE DID.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY SWEET KD.
HOPE TO SHARE MANY MORE WITH YOU.
LOVE, MUMSIE


Monday, April 28, 2014

CONFIRMATION TIME

Tonight, my religion girls confirm at
St. John church here in Plaquemine.
I have been their religion teacher for two years
and we have shared so much with each other.
I am so very proud of each one of them
as it would have been easier for them to just drop 
and yet we promised each other I would stay with them
if they would stay with me. So, tonight,
I will proudly hold my head up and maybe
even shed a few tears as they make this big milestone in
their faith. 
On Saturday, I will also be the sponsor for my
dear godchild, Tedi-girl as she confirms in our 
family church of Our Lady Of Prompt Succor in 
Golden Meadow. It will remind me of the very day
we baptized her and I became her Nannie.
Things have been just a tad hard for her this last
year and yet, she remains firm in her faith
and I will stand proudly next to her as she
becomes an adult in the eyes of the Catholic church.
I love you Tedi, so honored that you have chosen
me to stand beside you on such an important day.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

ALICE, ALWAYS LOVED


 Oh my dear LuLu, Lucy.
You are growing so fast,
conquering every thing you touch,
full of self confidence but maturing in a way
that you now wear that confidence proudly without
saying a word. 
Lucy is the second born to my niece Rebecca and her hubby,
Mikie. As a little one, she was just a drama queen and diva.
Never held back on what she had to say, never cared
how she said it. Now, growing up to be the beautiful child
looking much like her mother at that age.
As she gets older, our relationship has changed drastically.
I love being around her. 
 I think those feelings are mutual as she frequently asks
when she can come spend time with me at my house.
Now, the story to go with the title.
Last week, as I waited at the Plaisance Thibodaux home
for Pappy to come pick me up, I was alone there.
Bored, I went into Lucy's room to see what her walls
were saying this week. She loves making posters
and decorating her walls, loves the band
ONE DIRECTION so you can bet there will
be posters of them up. Her bed is made and her room is tidy.
There is one blanket messed on top of the bed and there,
tucked in that blanket I see a familiar site but
one I had not seen in many many years.
Dear, sweet Alice. still in bed, still with one lazy eye
that stopped working years ago. 
Our Lucy, how she loved Alice growing up.
We all knew Alice, she was a member of the family.
We all called her by name.
Lucy went no where without Alice and as grown up
as she always acted, she was never embarrassed to the
fact that Alice was her girl.
It made my heart dance, made me smile big to 
see Sweet Alice, still in bed, knowing that our Lu
still sleeps with her each night, gaining comfort
from her just as always. 
Love you LU, and you, too Alice
thanks for all you have done to mold our Lucy
in the beautiful woman she is today.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

surgery for Pappy

Long time in posting, just so much going on.
Update is HOBL who now we will call Pappy on 
the blog, needs surgery.
When he fell off ladder cleaning the homestead,
it was bad. In Feb. had to call an ambulance to take
him to the hospital. Our Lady of the Lake said
"good news, a broken rib"
so he took off a few days and headed to Alaska.
His pain was just too bad, numbness to fingers,
long story short, he came home, an MRI was done
and he was found to have a shattered Cervical 7 neck.
The same doctor who took care of him when he broke
his back two years ago, Dr. Leichty does not
know how he was not paralyzed. Our Pappy,
just can't bring him down.
So he will need surgery to remove that bone
and put a plate in to stop any further damage.
The two times we have seen Dr. Leichty, he
has shook his hand and said,
"Sir, this could have turned out very, very bad."
Surgery is set for May 6th and this big house is
FOR SALE BY OWNER
Not going to let a house kill him and it is too much 
for me to maintain. We should have thought longer
about the purchase. It has been nice sharing this beautiful home
with friends and family but time to move on.
I hope the next family who lives here, fills it up with
children, it is way too quiet here with two adults.
It seems even bigger since BB, KD and Bean 
have moved out.
Prayers will be appreciated as we move
on with surgery and major life changing decisions 
being made.

Monday, April 14, 2014

SLHS VARIETY SHOW

Saturday evening, after Kay's shower
(More on that later) 
I had the honor of going to the 
SLHS Variety show that my godchild, Tedi-girl
was the stage manager for.
OMG!!! It was fantastic, not just a variety show
but a story line written by their teacher, Tanzy.
It lasted three hours but no one realized that.
The talent at my old high school is phenomenal!
I want to share a most touching story as who am I
without a story to add to the wonderful night.
Sister, V. got us good tickets, third from the front.
In front of us was an older couple, my sister's age
and the wife bent over to ask V. why  she had not gone to
the monthly Collins gathering.
What??? a gathering of my extended family and I didn't know.
I inform this beautiful woman that I am a Collins and I
would have gone. IT is evident that she is a sickly, her
husband, a quite handsome man, interjects for her often.
She then explains,
" Excuse me if I jump around, I have cancer."
I question, "Oh so you are a survivor?"
"No, I am surviving. I have a rare cancer and 
no one lives past two years and I am on year 9 but
now on experimental medications"
I share that back in 1968 I had an incurable cancer too
but I was one to beat the odds and here I am 45 years later,
so she will be that one.
Enough of that, she is there for a reason.
Her granddaughter is singing "their song"
She and her husband love and call it their song,
Eric Clapton, YOU LOOK WONDERFUL TONIGHT
I tease the beautiful couple, 
"You guys should get up and start dancing."
Her husband adds,
"I would not want to block your view"
The play starts and I am drawn in to the story line,
the talent of these wonderful children,
Then the moment comes, it is her granddaughters turn.
she is beautiful, dressed in a fancy sequined dress and
she begins in the most beautiful spoken song,
"OH MY DARLING YOU LOOK WONDERFUL TONIGHT"
Her grandmother wipes at her eyes many times.
at one point, her husband reaches for her hand and
I want to cry too. What is going through her mind,
The pride of her granddaughter?
The fact that she chose her grandparents song?
That this may be the last time she sees this precious child perform?
All this I think of and I also tear up.
This beautiful woman, who is surviving is also dying.
We all are dying but she knows her time is limited.
 The child who calls me Nannie, comes
out at the end of the show to sing with the SLHS choir.
There she is, my Tedi-girl top first.
I am honored she calls me Nannie,
I am honored by all she has done to help this 
show to run smoothly. 
Today, I find my new friends, who are distant Collins cousins
on Facebook as I must meet up with these people again.
As for TEdi-girl, she is a keeper, and I love her!

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Bean stories

I have not blogged about the Bean in some time.
She is growing so fast and I am more lonesome for
her than ever as they have moved into their
new house and I miss hearing her voice here
in the morning. She is most excited for
the sister that is to come in a mere few weeks now.
Only three but so smart.
She is in to rhyming words, wants to play
the rhyming game with anyone who wants to 
challenge her. She listens to your word and thinks 
hard then gives you the answer.
The other night, as we ate crawfish at her MawMaw's
and Poppy's house, thanks to BB and Kd,
she wanted to play.
She is good at it.
"Pan" I say, "Fan" she says.
Which brings me to the story kd shared on Facebook.
Her Mommy was blow drying her hair,
"I wonder what Daddy is doing? Fucker"
her Mommy's shock, she calls her Daddy in the bathroom.
"Fucker" she repeats when asked.
"Who taught you that? " Her parents ask.
I cringe here as I though for sure she would say Pappy.
her answer,
" It's rhyming, Sucker, Fucker"
In all her innocence, didn't even know was a bad word.
Geeze I love this girl!

Friday, April 11, 2014

THE THING WITH DEATH





Next week it will be a year since our Mommy has left us.
We are planning a gathering for us to be together at
one of Mommy's favorite places, the Casino.
Each of us just a tad afraid to be alone on that day.
Something happened when Mommy died.
I for the first time in a long time, 
I wondered what exactly happens when your time here 
on EArth is done. Last night I began to read a new book,
THE STORYTELLER by Jodi Picoult
I love this author, her way of adding into her story line
something that is present in today's world. She 
puts a spin on her writings that catches you in the end
to be surprised. Last night, however, I read this paragraph
by Ms. Picoult:
"…I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT DEATH 
THAT MAKES IT SO HARD. I SUPPOSE
IT'S THE ONE-SIDED COMMUNICATION;
THE FACT THAT WE NEVER GET TO ASK OUR
LOVED ONE IF SHE SUFFERED, IS SHE IS HAPPY
WHEREVER SHE IS NOW… IF SHE IS 
SOMEWHERE. IT'S THE QUESTION MARK
THAT COMES WITH DEATH THAT WE CAN'T FACE,
NOT THE PERIOD…"
"…DO WE GRIEVE BECAUSE THE PERSON WE LOST WAS
SUCH A LIGHT IN THE WORLD? OR DO WE GRIEVE
BECAUSE OF WHO HE WAS TO US?"
Lots to think of right there in one Fiction novel, huh?
So we, next week, will gather at our Mommy's favorite place,
a casino and enjoy each other as we always do when together.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

PAYING IT FORWARD

I love hospital food and since I had an appt.
in Thibodaux, I decide to eat lunch at Thibodaux Regional.
While there  I run into a dear friend, Claire.
My family will never forget her help and her suggestion
on Mom's last hospital stay to get St. Joseph Hospice 
for her care. We knew she was dying and going with this 
hospice was exactly what she and our family needed.
I will always be thankful to Claire for her time and
her suggestion. She would say this was a small thing,
My family would beg to differ.
We are in line to check out and we greet each other 
with a kiss on the cheek and the question of how the families were.
We are bayou gals, it's the way we say hi.
We did not speak of the loss of my Mom or who
thankful I was to her. I had sent her a card to explain
this last year but I know we were both thinking of it.
We separate, he to eat with friends, I to eat and journal.
It is almost a year to the day when Claire helped my
family. I am filled with thoughts of "paying if forward"
We never know how good deeds to others will
affect us later in life.
Claire's dad was my English teacher in 7th grade.
He was quiet but challenged us to do our best.
I would get so frustrated because I just could
not make the grade I wanted in that class.
He was so respected as a teacher and I have to owe
my love of reading and writing partly to him.
Grammer is very important to me and he helped in
instilling that. 
When I became a nurse, there were many times
he was ill and I was his nurse. He was still a man of few words
so you never really knew how he felt having a student
now caring for him. I found out in the little things he did.
Like one Sunday, Baby Boy was a baby and we and Mom
were eating at Randolph's. So was he and his wife, Claire's mom.
He came to me and handed a ten dollar bill to BB saying
he knew I could not take "tips" but this was for my baby.
I was so touched. Many times since then His wife,
whenever she sees me, will share how much he loved
when I was his nurse, would even ask if I was coming to work.
Things I did not know.
He died many years ago but his wife still reminds me
of my caring attitude to her husband and how much he loved me.
This was always honorable and yet, so long later it is his 
own daughter, Claire who pays my family back in the way
of helping our own Mommy.
Pay it forward, each time you can,
you never know when it will be reciprocated.


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Kris is hit with an ah hah moment

Kris visited with his Auntie's that spent the night
at his Mom's after his Uncle Myron's funeral.
He wanted to share a story with us.
His brother Arthur had put skittles and candy
in the pocket of his shirt to teasingly give him something
to eat during his Uncle's funeral. Througout the day he
placed his hand in that breast pocket to eat his candy.
He said many times, the hand went into the pocket.
Then came the time to carry his Uncle's casket,
the worst part of saying good bye to a man he loved.
As he proceeded down the aisle, he heard a crinkling
in that very same pocket. Wondering what could have
been making that noise, he placed his hand back into 
that same pocket and pulled out a piece of paper,
folded a few times. As he opened it he realized it was
the very same reading he had read when his Grandfather had 
died a year before.
"I know that paper was not in there while I grabbed skittles
all day"
He shares that it freaked him out a bit as his hand had
been in there many times  and he just knew it was not 
there earlier in the day.
I ask if can add to the blog,
Yes, he said, you sure can.
So many miracles abound us.