Milestones – Page 5 – The Dackel Princess

Sixty Years & Counting!

Sixty years ago today, at 12:01 PM I made my debut into this world. My mother did not recall anything of my birth, as she chose to sleep through the delivery. In fact, all I have heard about that day was that Mom was hungry when she woke up, and they brought her a turkey sandwich.

I love being sixty! For many reasons. I love that I know so much more than I did in my twenties. I love that my heart is full of love and happiness. I love that I still see the goodness in people. I love that despite experiencing the worst in life, I am not only alive but living a truly wonderful life!

Being sixty means that I’m looking at things I did in my past, that I do not want to repeat. It means I’m being more selective now about my plans and my time, because I understand that time is running on my clock, and I do not want to miss a thing!

I made a short montage of pictures from birth until the present day. I am so grateful to my family and my friends for always being there for me, and always loving me. What a great birthday gift that is!

Happy 40th Birthday Katie

Many of you know that besides Mandy, I had another daughter, Katie, who was killed at the age of 6 1/2 (click the link to read that story) by an impaired driver. Most days I get along very well, however, there are certain days that I find myself missing her and longing for her. Today is one of those days.

Today Katie would have celebrated her 40th birthday.

Kathleen Alynne was born at 5:29 AM on November 8th, 1978. She was two weeks late and I had begun to feel as if I were part elephant. In the delivery room, I remember asking the nurse to clean off her head because the blood made it look red. She laughed at me (She also had red hair) and told me that this was it! My child was a redhead!

Katie was a neat kid and we all loved her. She had a wicked sense of humor, yet was also sensitive and empathetic, which was strange in one so young.

Her loss is bothering me a bit more this year probably due to the fact that I have been feeling angry that we were robbed of so much of her life.

Of course, she missed so much of her own life too. I wish she was here to meet her brother and sister, to see her niece and nephew and to be enjoying her life.

I think of what she would be like at 40 years old, where she would be in her life, and how many kids she would have. She once told me she wanted 5 children! That made me laugh. But she did love kids, so who knows.

Here is a montage of some of the pictures that I like the best. She was a real joker in front of the camera, almost always had a smile on her little face.

I know one day Katie and I will be together again, and that we will share an eternity, but for today I miss her something fierce!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

The Triple Crown!

The weekend passed with the coronation of a new Triple Crown Winner! Justify joins an elite number of horses, (13) to have won The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and now the Belmont Stakes! Of these 13 horses, I have watched 5 of them win.

Justify is a beautiful horse. He is smart, likes to lead, and during a race, he seems to float over the track, in an effortless gallop to the finish line!

The Jockey riding him, Mike Smith, struck me as a man who truly loves this horse, knew what he could do, and over the years of training with him, had developed an ease, a oneness, with this horse. After the race, at one point, he leaned down, hugging this horse, and kissed his neck. I think I cried more at that moment than I did when they crossed the finish line.

Bob Baffert is an amazing trainer of horses. This man seems to know just what to do to get the most out of the horses that he trains. His comment about Justify was that he knew this horse was special the moment he saw him. And indeed, Justify did not disappoint!

Now Justify will have a good life. well, at least a good life for a retired Racing Champion, who will have many sweet Fillies coming to visit in order that his bloodline will be carried on. And so it should be.

Justify truly is magnificent!

My Peach Friend

To everything, there is a season, a birth, a life and a slow waning into death. I’d thought about this in human life, but this year, we are faced with the loss of several trees that we planted in our Orchard.

The above picture was taken a couple of years into the life of our finest Peachtree. It was Fritz’s favorite tree to sit under, and Greta’s as well. This tree produced hundreds of pounds of beautiful juicy peaches each year, and I made jam and Jack sold the peaches to farm stands.

The beautiful blossoms each year led to the full, ripe, juicy fruit a couple of months later. So beautiful to walk around the Orchard at this time of year.

This is just a small sample of the beautiful peaches we harvested. We always seemed to know when to pick them for the ultimate peach experience! And let me just say here and now, walking out my back door and picking a fresh peach off the tree and eating it, with the juice trickling down my chin, has been a real experience!

In the last few years, the tree began a slow decline. It didn’t produce as many peaches, and then we found that it simply was not setting the fruit it once did. For whatever reason, the tree kept showing it’s age. The bark had started to become rough and almost wrinkled looking, and fewer blossoms came onto the tree, thus we did not have the good crops as we did in previous years.

This Spring, the poor tree did not blossom out too much. This may well be its final year in the yard. There was quite a bit of dead wood on it, and Jack got out the chainsaw and cut it back.

There was such a sadness then. I remember planting that tree 20 years ago with Jack, as we built the house. I remember our first harvest and even a thunderstorm that tore off a limb early on.

But the tree was always there. Waiting for dogs to lie under it, or for us to come and harvest a ripe peach. I guess that’s why there is a sadness now as I start to think about cutting the tree down. The end of an era. The end of this good friends time.

Our Orchard has not just been about the fruit we have sold but about each and every one of the trees, their planting, their health, and their beauty. It’s really the first time I have felt connected to my fruit trees in this way.

Isn’t it funny how as we grow older, we begin to see the real importance of things in life? Beautiful trees, fresh fruits, and the calm their presence provide in our lives.

We’ll work to make you healthy again, dear Peach Friend. I hope we can. But if not, thank you for all these wonderful years.

Our 30th Anniversary

Today, Jack and I celebrate 30 years of marriage. It doesn’t seem possible that it has been that long. In the grand scheme of things, 30 years is like forever in a Hollywood marriage. And at my age (59) it certainly is a large chunk of time.

In our thirty years of marriage we have had 4 White German Shepherds, Rex, Max, Fritz and Lili. Four Wire-haired Dackels, Shubi, Greta, Arnie and Anneliese, and lived in four homes. One was a farm in Lyndeborough, NH, a nice ranch home in Punta Gorda, FL, in a motor coach here in Meredith, NH for 9 long months, while we built our current home, and lastly this beautiful house, that Jack and I designed.

We had four children, between us. Three are living, and they have grown up to be really good people. We also have two of the most beautiful, and wonderful grandchildren on the face of the earth!

Marriage is never easy, even if you are married to your best friend. There are days you want to murder each other, but lucky for us, those days were few and far between.

Forgiveness is so important when you live with someone this long. People do stupid things, and if you can’t forgive them, then you are with the wrong person. I am the Queen of stupid things and I am married to the King of stupid things. So it’s a good thing we forgive and forget.

You will also find during a long term marriage (or relationship) that there will be those days when your significant other just makes you crazy. Whether it’s how they are chewing their food, or even sipping their soup, you will sit there and wonder how you never noticed this before!

But then, there are those times when a little look, the warmth of a hug, or a gentle squeeze of your hand, will make you feel loved and safe. During my illness last year, when I felt like I was dying, I was so scared, and Jack just kept the home fires burning, cooked my meals, did the laundry, and did not allow me to believe that I was leaving this earth.

Likewise, not even six month later when he got the infection in his foot that led to the amputation of his toe, I made sure I was at the hospital each day. I brought him goodies to eat, stayed to speak with each doctor, and informed Jack that at 79 years old, he wasn’t leaving me yet.

No, marriage isn’t easy, but the pro’s far outweigh the cons, and life would be so empty, so lonely, without my Jack.

Even after all these years, Jack is still the first person I want to speak with in the morning, and the last person I want to speak to at night.

I made up a short montage of our life together using one of our favorite songs. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Anniversary Jack!

Life

It seems that life has a way of changing quite quickly. Like the John Lennon song goes, “Before you cross the street, take my hand. Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans.”

On Sunday we learned that my brother in-laws Aunt (the sister of his mother, who just passed) had gone to bed in her warm much loved pajamas and while sleeping peacefully in her own bed, had gone home to Heaven, to be with her husband of 60+ years, and the rest of her loved ones.

Sally was a sweet, warm, funny, kind woman. She was the blond sister to my brother in-laws brunette mother, The two of them looked very much alike facially and they both enjoyed the heck out of their families.

Sally, with her husband, Gene, and Nancy, last year.

Within a two month period, they all passed. Yet now, they are together again.

In fact all of her kids and most of the grandchildren came to Nancy’s service on Saturday. At one point friends had drifted off to go home, but the cousins all stayed behind, just a little bit longer, to reminisce and share their much loved stories of Nancy. Of course this brought in the memories of Nancy’s other brothers and sisters. And at that time, we believed that Sally would be the last, but also we thought she would be around a little longer. The plan was, to have a big family gathering this summer. Something I hope they still will do.

Anyway, after everyone left, I went back to my sister’s house, and we just sort of collapsed. Thankfully, there was plenty to eat, left over from the Memorial Luncheon, so we picked at food, watched the Olympics, until the bed called my name at 10:15 and I fell instantly asleep.

The next morning, my sister got ready to go to church. She sings in their choir each week. She asked if i would go. I was in my pajamas and didn’t feel like going. I know, bad sister!

After she left I started to feel guilty, so I told Ron I was going to get dressed and go with him. I changed, brushed my teeth, and was all set, when Ron’s phone rang, with the news about his Aunt. After his call, we headed to church, and my sister was so happy to see me, as Ron took her aside to tell her the news. And then, my sister was happy to have me there, with her, as she faced another family member, leaving us.

So the weekend was a tough one, yet filled with so much love, and also full of hope. I do believe in God. I do believe in a place where our pain and suffering is gone and we are reunited with those we have loved and lost. Heaven.

I came home and I stood looking at my husband and I reminded him that life is so short. That we need to tell each other every day how much we love each other. How much we love those of us that are near and dear to our hearts. Life goes by so quickly.

Remember, gentle readers, you are loved.

Blessings!

Farewell Dear Nan

When I was eight, my sister met her future husband. They were 13. They courted through letters, and occasional phone calls and visits either to Arlington where Ron lived or he came to Falmouth.

Since propriety called for a chaperone for my sister, I was nominated for the post. Everyone knew I had a big mouth and that if Mel and Ron did anything they shouldn’t I would rat them out. After all, what else do 8 year olds do?.

Consequently I met Ron’s mother, Nancy, pretty early in my life. She was studying to be an elementary school teacher, and I was a great way for her to practice.

My Mom on the left and Nancy on the right. Two lovely ladies!

I remember her teaching me to read and to do simple math. She also read me stories, which I really loved.

When Melodie was invited to go to their cottage in Winchendon, Massachusetts, I was invited as well. Ron’s parents taught me to water ski, to shoot a BB gun, and what it was like to camp with no TV. At least I do not recall there being one there.

I remember Nan in her lovely bathing suit, being on the dock, in the boat and swimming, looking incredibly beautiful.

After Mel and Ron married, they lived with Ron’s folks while he went to school, and while Mel and Ron’s first child was born. I went up to stay with them and again, I spent time with Nan watching Boston Bruins Hockey. These were the years of Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and Derrick Sanderson! Yes, a hockey team made in heaven!

Over the years, Nan’s life went in a different direction, but whenever we saw each other it was easy. After all, even though we weren’t technically related, she always treated me like one of her own.

Ron and his mother Nancy.

This lovely woman passed away yesterday from complications of age and Parkinson’s Disease. Her death means that the last of our parents is gone and now Mel, Ron, Ron’s brother and I are the older generation. It’s hard to believe.

Nancy loved all of her family very much. She was proud of each of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I think at the end, she fretted some, at leaving them all, but her body just plain gave out.

So, as I bid a very fond farewell, to a terrific lady, who made such an impact on my life, I send out my deepest sympathy to all of Nancy’s family and her friends.

Rest in peace, Nancy.

Remembering September 11, 2001

I think we all can tell you where we were, and what we were doing on that fateful day, ten years ago.

September 11, 2001

It was a beautiful day here in New Hampshire. Sunny, bright, clear with blue skies. I was taking a shower getting ready for a dental appointment, while Hubby was working on shingling the house. It was a day like any other here.
Hubby had the TV in our bedroom pointed out the window so he could listen to the morning news.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm and Hubby told me I had to get out of the shower now, something was happening. I was a little dazed and confused. I shut the water in the shower off and grabbed my towel.

Hubby and I sat in our family room watching Fox News, ABC, and CNN. A plane had hit one of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in downtown New York City.

While we watched, suddenly another plane came in and hit the other Tower!
We were both in shock. We listened to reports. No one was saying terrorism, not at first. But both Hubby and I knew.

I look at this picture, and I know that none of those innocent people got out alive. That thought brings me to tears each time.

We watched the Tower’s come down, one and then the other. We knew people had died. We just didn’t know how many.

At 12:30 I drove to my dental appointment. There was not another car on the road. Not one. I got to my dental appointment and found that I was the only patient that hadn’t cancelled that day.

When I got home we watched the TV all day. I called my family and my close friends. Just to hear their voices.

It doesn’t matter your political affiliations, or how you feel about the war. What matters is on September 11, 2001 innocent people died in New York City, In Washington, DC and in Shanksville, PA.

People like you and like me. Just because they were Americans.
That was the day I learned that we are no longer safe here at home.

I also learned that when our country is attacked in such a manner, we pull together and unify.

God Bless all who lost their lives that day, to their families, who will never be the same, and all who serve this country each and every day to protect and defend us.

September 11, 2001: Basic Facts

Chronology
8:46 AM Plane crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
9:03 AM Plane crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center.
9:17 AM The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shuts down all New York City area airports.
9:21 AM The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halts all flights at U.S. airports. It is the first
time in history that air traffic has been halted nationwide.
9:38 AM Plane crashes into the Pentagon. Evacuation begins immediately.
9:45 AM The White House evacuates.
10:05 AM The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
10:10 AM A portion of the Pentagon collapses.
10:10 AM Plane crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
10:22 AM The State and Justice Departments, as well as the World Bank are evacuated.
10:28 AM The World Trade Center’s north tower collapses.
10:45 AM All federal office buildings in Washington, D.C. are evacuated.
1:44 PM Five warships and two aircraft carriers are ordered to leave the U.S. Naval Station
in Norfolk, Virginia to protect the East Coast.
4:10 PM Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapses.

The Flights
American Airlines Flight 11
From: Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport)
To: Los Angeles, California
Lives: 92 people on board
Crashed into North Tower of World Trade Center at 8:46 AM

United Airlines Flight 175
From: Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport)
To: Los Angeles, California
Lives: 65 people on board
Crashed into South Tower of World Trade Center at 9:03 AM

American Airlines Flight 77
From: Washington, D.C. (Dulles Airport)
To: Los Angeles, CA
Lives: 64 people on board
Crashed into the Pentagon at 9:38 AM

United Airlines Flight 93
From: Newark, New Jersey
To: San Francisco, California
Lives: 44 people on board
Crashed into rural Pennsylvania (southeast of Pittsburgh)

Victims
Victims came from more than 90 countries around the world.
The following are the number of people who died at each site:

World Trade Center 2,823 (includes airline passengers)
Pentagon 125 (not including plane victims)
Flight 11 – 92 people on board
Flight 175 – 64 people on board
Flight 77 – 64 people on board
Flight 93 – 44 people on board

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m, the times the Towers were hit. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.

Fact Sheet
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC
August 15, 2002

Happy Twenty Ninth Anniversary

Today Hubby and I celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. It’s funny, after all this time, it just feels like we have always been with each other. Through thick or thin, good or bad, sickness and health, we’ve somehow stuck it out.

Twentynine years ago, we married in my hometown of Falmouth, Massachusetts. It was a bright sunny day, with just a trace of a nip in the cool wind.

It was a nice wedding, and little did I realize then, that when I said I do, time would pass so quickly and here we would be, 29 years later, still sharing our life and our love. Time flies!

Never Forget, 15 Years Ago

I think we all can tell you where we were, and what we were doing on that fateful day.