Mothers and Daughters

One of the gifts I received for Mother's Day was a darling plaque that reads,

"Mirror mirror on the wall, I have become my mother after all."

I suppose in some ways that is true, but in other ways, I am not my mother. My mother died at the young age of 50, and I missed a lot of time seeing and understanding what her life was really like.
For example:
What would it be like to raise teenagers (not that I was ever a problem teen)?
What were her hopes and dreams?
What was her favorite pet?
What was her favorite vacation?
What were her favorite memories of me as a child?
Who took her to the prom? What did she wear?
How did she manage work and home and me and dad and extended family and friends and stay on top of it all?
When marriage stresses came up, how did she deal with it?
How did she develop an adult relationship with her mother?
The hard part about wondering about the answers to these questions, is also knowing that I'll never really know the answers. My mother dying young eliminated any chance of an adult relationship between mother and daughter. What young adult of 23 and newly married, really understands death? I was too wrapped up in graduating from college, starting a new job, and getting married to even consider the fact that she was going to die. Oh, I knew it was a possibility because lung cancer is serious business, but I refused to even consider the possibility.
The above picture was taken on my parent's honeymoon to the Grand Canyon in 1953. I am thankful to have recently found a group of pictures with the captions written on the back, that have given me some insight to my mom as a young woman. I miss you Mom.
My prayer is that my daughters and I will have the opportunity to know and love each other as adults, to build on our mother/daughter relationship. I love you both very much!

You just never know what you'll find....

...on your front doorstep in Tucson!
This beautiful Gila Monster found his (or her) way to our front door this evening. We presume he's out looking for a mate.
This guy appears to be an adult, due to the size and banding. Although the bite is not usually fatal to humans, Gila Monsters do have venom. They bite down, then inject more venom into their victim as they start to chew.
If he's still visiting in the morning, we may have to find him (or her) a new home. He definitely needs a manicure!

5 Minute Brain Scan

Here are a few things rattling around in my brain today:
I can't wait to go to Maui with my best friend.
God is so awesome!
Shorty is 12!
I never thought I'd take my dog to a vet chiropractor for an alignment and accupunture.
I love women who aren't afraid to talk, share, and be real with one another.
It's hot in Tucson today - but it's a dry heat.
Vanity is meaningless.
The one with the most toys still dies - does that mean they win or lose?
Solomon was the wisest, richest man that ever lived and he still drifted away from God. How can we learn from him?
Why can't an appliance work longer than 5 years without being repaired? I take that back, my Maytag washer is 15 years old and has only been repaired once.
Bob Barker is a hoot.
I love my job.
I don't want to go to work today.
I'm thankful.
I'm blessed.
I'm stressed.
I'm happy.
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

heterogeneous v. kin

het·ero·ge·neous
het·ero·ge·neous -he-te-ro-'jE-nE-us, Function: adjective Etymology: Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Greek heterogenEs, from heter- + genos kind -- consisting of dissimilar or diverse ingredients or constituents : mixed. More at Kin.

kin
kin, Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English cynn; Latin genus birth, race, kind, Greek genos, Latin gignere to beget: a group of persons of common ancestry: clan.

Thought for the day: Within a body of supposedly like-minded people, why do some people feel like kin, and some people feel like they are not part of the clan?

Perhaps is because we are

eclec·tic
e-'klek-tik, Function: adjectiveEtymology: Greek eklektikos, from eklegein to select, from ex- out + legein to gather. 1 : selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles 2 : composed of elements drawn from various sources; also : heterogeneous.

Return to first definition.

Canine Alarm Clock, Part 2

The barking alarm started this morning at 5:30 AM. Wanting to allow my spouse to grab some more shut-eye, I crawled out of bed and let the alarm out the door for a quick morning visit, then returned to the recliner, hoping to let hubby sleep. Canine roused again at 6:00 AM. Repeat performance of prior visit. Again, the recliner. Amazing the noise at that time of the morning! A symphony (or was it a cacophony?) of sounds from all kinds of birds (not to mention canine). As I lay there in the recliner I could hear the screech-screech-screech-screech-screech of the Gila Woodpecker, who also joined the percussion section on the vent pipe of the roof, while claiming his territory; the chug-chug-chug-chug-chug-chug of the Cactus Wren; the gentle melodic song of the Rosy House Finch; the schoo-schoo-schoo of the young married Cardinal pair calling back and forth to one another from the trees; the occasional argument of several sparrows fighting over something unnecessary to be fighting over so early in the morning; the perpetual calling of the Gambel Quail, followed by his clucking to save his covey from an unseen imagined danger; and then the song of the White-Winged Dove. I fell back asleep to dream of a menagerie of animals in the back yard - kit fox, raccoons, red fox, javelina, bobcat, and even all the birds. Poor hubby, he never got back to sleep. : - (