THE HOUSE I LIVE IN

[I'm sharing the lyrics to this WW II song with you because it's about America, and because in a few days we'll celebrate the Fourth of July as our day of independence gained nearly 250 years ago.

Even more important than the historical interest in this "patriotic anthem"--see note below--is the sense that people during those war years kept a picture in their hearts about what their country meant to them.

I pray we have beautiful pictures of our country, our home, in our hearts today. The ones we see on our screens can terrify us--why not remember what we are, deep down?]

[If you want to hear the song performed, check out YouTube--Frank Sinatra, Paul Robeson, and Dianne Reeves, among others, recorded it.]

From SongFacts website:
This became a patriotic anthem in America during World War II. The lyrics describe the wonderful things about the country, with images of the era like the grocer, the butcher, and the churchyard. The "house" is a metaphor for the country.

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THE HOUSE I LIVE IN

Songwriters: Lewis Allan / Earl Robinson

What is America to me

A name, a map, or a flag I see

A certain word, democracy

What is America to me

The house I live in

A plot of Earth, a street

The grocer and the butcher

And the people that I meet

The children in the playground

The faces that I see

All races and religions

That's America to me

The place I work in

The worker by my side

The little town the city

Where my people lived and died

The howdy and the handshake

The air a feeling free

And the right to speak your mind out

That's America to me

The things I see about me

The big things and the small

The little corner newsstand

Or the house a mile tall

The wedding and the churchyard

The laughter and the tears

The dream that's been a growing

For a hundred and fifty years

The town I live in

The street, the house, the room

The pavement of the city

Or the garden all in bloom

The church the school the clubhouse

The million lights I see

But especially the people

That's America to me

The House I Live In lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

WHAT DOES GRATITUDE LOOK LIKE?

Line up ten people, ask that question, and you'll get--you guessed it--ten different answers!

Today you'll get my version.

Now that it's summer, my fourth favorite season, I decided to challenge myself. I asked: "What can I be grateful for when I don't feel grateful?"

(Please don't gasp--it distracts others.)

Since I've never had a single original thought in my life--and having lived so long I recognize that as a fact, not a stain on my character--I know I'm not the only person who has asked that question. Some days, it's just like that.

Here's an example:

• We are now into the second full day of Summer.
• The temp is hovering in the 90s.
• Humidity likes to hover with the temp.
• The sun is up! (Of course it is, this is summer.)
• It's daylight out there 'way earlier than working folks should be up--but they hope to beat the heat & humidity (see above) if they get lawns mowed, gutters cleaned out, roofs put on . . . .

Just so we're clear, this is my list. If you don't like mine, make your own.

The challenge: Look out my window and name 5 things (yes, 5) I see out there that I'm grateful for. Take a deep breath . . . ready?

1. Green. Lots of green out there. Or, I should say, lots of greens--dark green, pale green, yellow green, rusty green (I know, it sounds silly, but that's what it looks like). To give your eye a chance to rest, there are also reds (Japanese maples), purples and pinks (flowering bushes), and yellows (flower beds and dandelions in bloom). 
2. Shade. For the moment, no one is chopping down any trees in my vicinity. Every time I see a tree being reduced to logs and sawdust, I weep inside--we lose a little of our natural combatant to the increasing carbon footprint. Yes, a new tree will (perhaps) be planted--but it'll take years to grow and provide shade.
3. Breeze. Okay, I don't actually see the breeze, but I see the trees, bushes, and bird feeders swaying back and forth. By the way, did you know birds don't really care that their feeders sway around while they're at lunch? Can you imagine being in a swaying cafe while trying to chow down on a burger and fries? Or a bowl of chili? The mind boggles.
   
   
   
4. Neat lawns. My neighborhood is blessed with folks who either mow their own lawns or hire it done. At present all the houses on my long block are occupied or at least owned and maintained by folks who hope to live in them some day. That means there are no patches of knee-high weeds-and-grass that announce "This Property Is Unoccupied."
5. Animal Life. Birds, chipmunks, squirrels. Dogs. Cats. People (usually walking the dogs, or vice versa). A few kids on bikes but that's usually out front on the street; the alley is one-lane wide and not safe for bikes and cars together.

There are my five offerings for gratitude this day. And I didn't even get into people stuff: visits from out-of-town friends, letters and emails and texts from people I care about.

Shall we do a "moral of the story"? It would be this:

• Open your eyes--really look at what's out there; and when you see something you like, smile and say, "Thank you."
• That's gratitude, in a nutshell.

Blessings abundant,

Thursday's Child

ANSWERS . . .

I almost called this essay "If You Don't Ask, You Won't Get," but that opened up a couple cans of worms I wasn't ready to look at. So instead, I'm going to tell you about some answers I received. I did ask, but in a roundabout way. Here goes . . . .

Last time we visited, I told you about my Summer Blahs. I was so deep into them, that I asked for help.

Let me say right here--some of you must be psychic: I got answers before I even got the question out!

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Before I started to draft my post on The Blahs, I got an invitation from Liz Flaherty to guest blog at Window Over the Sink. (As an aside: If you haven't visited her blog, get on your horse and trot on over. It's great!) She has a guest each Wednesday ("Wednesday at the Window"). I read the previous person's essay and liked it so much, I commented: "Wish I'd written that." Liz responded, Okay, come on down! This was an ego-booster, folks, and I'm looking forward to writing that essay. Will let you know when it's published.

Later in the day I got a text saying my Arizona daughter had mailed a letter via USPS! Always look forward to mail.

In the evening (same day) I went to visit my Ohio daughter at her place of work--she had a little box of just-picked strawberries from her garden for me. Their  fragrance alone was intoxicating! Finally ate them a day or so ago--swoon-worthy.

Also that evening my live-in daughter found a movie on Netflix that ought to cure Blahs. She watched it and felt better. It's on my watchlist now.

So my cry for help generated four (count 'em!) Blah Busters.

As I said earlier, if you don't ask, you don't get. But remember to ask for good things--it's all about the good.

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I was going to suggest asking for cooler weather, but other people may not want that. And if I ask for it just for myself, then that's just plain selfish. So we'll let the weather take care of itself--summer is a-comin' anyway, guess I'll just dial back on the A/C thermostat when the heat gets out of bounds.

In the meantime, eat popsicles, run through the sprinkler, and have somebody deliver your meals. No need to heat up the kitchen.

Cool Blessings!

Thursday's Child

THE SUMMER BLAHS . . .

The summer WHAT did you say?

I know, I know . . . it's Summertime! The livin' is easy! (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong reminded me just the other day.)

Well, not quite Summer yet--another 12 days to go. But: the sun's out most days, rain isn't day-after-day now, humidity bops around between comfy and unbreathable. So why, you wonder, am I talking about Summer Blahs?

Here's why:

• school's out--I don't have the structure I had for nine months of the year.
• there aren't any kids my age in the neighborhood to play with
• a lot of regular activities are re-styled for the summer, so I don't have a dependable list to choose from

I'm not really stuck in childhood--but the summer season reminds me that there's a break in the year that signals a different way of living.

And that's not all--even with air conditioning helping my asthmatic breathing, I feel my energy being sucked out of my body every time I step outside. I don't have to step outside at all, if I don't want to. I can empty the mailbox while standing at the open front door. Amazon leaves my book orders near the door so I'm out less than ten seconds. But sometimes--

And gardening--? Not my thing at all! My daughter loves garden work (so do two of her sibs). Even filling bird feeders apparently comes under the heading of "Gardening--What to Do When," so all I'm required to do is drive to the feed-and-seed store, have the nice people there load up my SUV with mixed seed and black-oil sunflower seed bags, pay them, and drive home. As for the gardening itself--I'm perfecting my role as Encourager and Appreciator. 

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To battle the Summer Blahs, I have a short list of activities (which I can do alone or with help, and which are done indoors--no special equipment required) that keep me from going round the bend:

• painting--trying new techniques as demonstrated on YouTube tutorials
• sewing--finishing a quilt started several weeks ago
• writing--keeping my daily journal; working on a novella once a week during a dedicated time
• keeping records--every medical person I see wants me to keep track of something; if I thought I was going to live a lot longer, I'd buy a gross of spiral notebooks and the same amount of pens to keep going; or maybe I'd just invest in a paper company, if it paid good returns on my investment
• sorting stuff--a perennial activity--never a favorite--but sometimes it helps me get through summer days when everything else requires too much effort

I didn't list reading, and I'm sure you noticed that. I'm slowly getting back to reading--not sure yet why the interest waned--that's not like me, at all. I did request a book on the Evergreen service, read it and returned it; so, you see, I did read in this month of June. And am now re-visiting one of my old favorites, a mystery series set in the American 1930s.

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If you have any good ideas for beating Summer Blahs, I'll be glad to entertain them
--but remember, I don't like to travel, and crowds aren't my thing (right up there with gardening--see above). In the meantime, I'll have a cup of coffee, read a little about the USA in 1936, and contemplate the feeding frenzies of birds at my now-half-full feeders (replenished only a day or two ago).

Blessings for all,

Thursday's Child

 PLAYING THE OLD CARD

Bacon: 1561-1626

[Took a walk down Memory Lane, also known as my blog post archives, and came upon this one published in June of 2018. Obviously, I'm even older now than I was in '18, so it was interesting to read my thoughts from four years ago. Happy to say, I'm still on board with the subject of aging and "playing the old card," when need be.]

Last week I was loading my groceries into the trunk of my car when a youngish (hard to tell these days, but I'll say mid-30s, at a guess)--anyway, a youngish employee of the store smiled and said, "I'll take your cart."

I had parked very near a cart-return, my usual plan so I don't spend much time on foot in between vehicles, but I agreed she could take my cart. I thanked her.

As I drove away, I thought about that little exchange. She was the age of my grandchildren. She was an employee of the store. She had a nice smile and a pleasant manner. And I was quite happy to have her look at my gray hair and walking shoes and decide it would be a good thing to offer to take my cart back to the store.

The success of our little exchange was her attitude--she came across as genuinely happy to help me, but she wasn't going to push it.

Best of all--I didn't have to play the old card. She did it with grace and style, and I left smiling because I'd had help without being made to feel old.

Let's have some definitions. Here are some of the ways people have made me feel old:

--handicapped - helping without asking
--deaf - talking too loud or very slowly
--feeble - taking my arm when I don't want help
--worn out - saying "you poor thing" 
--slow - sighing with impatience (my perception)
--blind - telling me what I'm seeing
--mentally impaired - not giving me time to think

Nearly anybody 20 or more years younger than I am can move faster, think about a dozen things at once, and put on a show of strength. Long, long ago I gave up trying to keep up with the younger folks. Not because I'd lost all my super-powers, but because I refused to compete. 

Even when I don't play the old card, I know other people will. They'll also help me when I don't want help, but I've grown outspoken enough to tell them no, thank you. (This is important if you have an arthritic shoulder that shrieks when someone tries to dress you, such as, help you put your coat on.) And if I can do it with a smile, we're both happy--they offered, I declined with a pleasant look on my face (and no pain in that shoulder).

When I get fed up with trying to explain that I'm not as old as they think I am, I entertain myself with some of the great sayings of famous people. Hope you enjoy these.

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          Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got 
          to start young. 
          Theodore Roosevelt (American statesman, writer, US President
          1901-1909)


          The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as 
          you're learning you're not old. 
          Rosalyn S. Yalow (American medical physicist 1921-2011)


          The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which 
          means never losing your enthusiasm. 
          Aldous Huxley (British writer, novelist, philosopher 1894-1963)

          One of the many pleasures of old age is giving things up. 
          Malcolm Muggeridge (British Journalist 1903-1990)


          [I especially relate to Mr. Muggeridge--lately I've grown very partial
          to giving things up.]

          Scripture is filled with examples of men and women whom God 

          used late in life, often with great impact - men and women who 

          refused to use old age as an excuse to ignore what God wanted 

          them to do. 

          Billy Graham (American evangelist 1918-2018)

          Old age is when the liver spots show through your gloves. 

          Phyllis Diller (American comedienne 1917-2012)

Whatever your age, have a blessed week!