Happy Birthday Crystal-Lynn

Picture it...Sunday June 30th 1974... It started out like any other day except I was 9 months and 9 days pregnant. I awoke to the smell of a turkey and a ham roasting in my mother's oven thinking what is the occasion, and this is a far cry from the 3 tuna with sweet mix pickle sandwiches with coffee milk I had the day before.
(DON'T KNOCK IT UNLESS YOU TRY IT) This was exciting it was "just because." I loved it when my mom did things just because. So I got dressed, made the bed and said to my mom, man I don't feel well. Her reply, "Do you remember what you ate yesterday?" Oh yea I thought and continued cleaning. Well all of a sudden I felt like someone was knocking and wanted to come in...or in this case "OUT" and then faintly in my head I started to hear...stuck in side these four walls... any one that loves Paul McCartney knows this is from Band On The Run. Well the story behind this is Crystal was due June 21 and when that day came and went and my sister Laura would hear this song she would say oh listen, its the baby's theme song. She would say just picture it this poor little creature with eyes wide open, nose pressed against the womb wall with the hands pressed on either side singing the song. Well we would always laugh and to this day it has stayed the birthday joke between Crystal, myself and my best friend of over 40 years Cindy.
Well once I could dig my nails out of the wall, I went to my mom and said, I think we have a problem, and my father in all his wisdom said, "What about all the food?" I just loved my dad,but I guess when he got "the look" from both my mother, me, and my grandmother, he went and started the car. 
Here we are at the hospital by noon time and then it was one, two, three...six, by this time dad is laying on the waiting room floor thinking about how bad his stomach is growling,  and wondering if he will be able to have at least a sandwich when he gets home because after all it can't be much longer...can it...seven, eight, nine and then 9:53pm I was looking at the most beautiful gift from God a person could ever imagine.
Crystal this is for you:

Happy Birthday my beautiful daughter.  In ways you and I grew up together and we have a special mother and daughter gift. May life bring you all your dreams, but most important may God continue to Bless you with the gifts He gave that made you...YOU!!!!

Thought of the Day

“Love is patient; love is kind

and envies no one.

Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;

never selfish, not quick to take offense.

There is nothing love cannot face;

there is no limit to its faith,

its hope, and endurance.

In a word, there are three things

that last forever: faith, hope, and love;

but the greatest of them all is love.

~Bible~

My Heart Could Just Burst

PROUD: pleased or satisfied, as with oneself, one's possessions, achievements, etc, or with another person, his or her achievements, qualities.

If you haven't learned by now, whenever I am going to blog about my Sam, it is always preceded by a definition of some kind. As in the last time I wrote about Sam he once again has amazed me.
Today was a graduation celebration for Kirstie, Raymond's Fiance's daughter, who I consider my granddaughter, and we of course were invited. Well as much as we love going out it is a big challenge. As we finally got Sam onto the porch and he was just about to take that first, "hold your breathe" step down the stairs when he stopped and made this yell. My heart leaped out of my mouth and as I was picking it up to put it back in place, I heard a horn toot and when I looked it was a woman Sam knew when he was working that had over come major brain surgery. Now here is someone that was not given the best of hope when the procedure was explained to her and the first few months after the surgery she did not do well and that is the last thing Sam remembered about her until he saw her driving her truck. Well she yelled out her window, "MY SWEETHEART," and to our surprise and joy, Sam yelled back " HEY BABY!!!"  Before she drove off she said to Sam, "EVERY DAY IS A GIFT" she blew him a kiss and drove away! Well those words, or seeing this woman that he must have thought of often, did something for him because before I knew it Sam was heading down the front stairs with very minimal assistance, he got himself into the car and we were off to Attleboro.
We arrived at our destination and with a little help from Ray, Sam was placed comfortably in the back yard under the umbrella. He soon summoned for food like the king he thinks he is, and Ray soon satisfied his hunger with the most amazing cheeseburgers...Thank you Giammalvo's!!!!!! 
As time passed, so did Sam's bladder, and we had to figure out how we would get Sam into Ray's house and to the bathroom, you see this was the first time we had to do this and Ray's house is not assessable friendly. We were able to bring Sam to the front of the house where there are only 2 steps but I'm sure Sam thought it might as well have been 100 because there wasn't a railing for him to hold onto. Thank goodness Ray took up theatre at BCC because he played many of parts but I don't think any prepared him to act as a stair rail. Sam made up his mind he was going to do it, and do it he did. I don't even remember if I helped because I was so stunned, but this proved to be the first.  When he made it into his chair that was waiting in the door way, he wheeled into the living room and when he saw the door way to the kitchen was a little blocked,and as clear as anything he stated,"Oh Sh--!" Well after we all regained our composure we got him to the bathroom door and of course his chair did not fit. I was waiting for another comment but instead he thought for a minute and he stood up from his chair held onto the sink counter and walked with NO assistance. Now if you are reading this, and you are a mom, do you remember what it felt like when your little one went to the bathroom on their own for the first time because after all they were now a big boy/girl and they knew they could do it?  Well this was one thousand times better. Funny how such little steps leave such big impressions. I must tell you, he walked himself out of the bathroom to his chair and sat for some time because, this little thing that we all take for granted, exhausted him beyond belief. Shortly after that we left to come home and now he sits in his recliner with his legs up and having unbearable pain because of all the work his leg did and yet, he still has that " I CAN DO IT" smile on his face.   ~~ I just love this man~~

Thought of the Day

“Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel.”
                  ~King Solomon~

Thought of the Day

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with FAMILY"
                                             ~Anthony Brandt~

Today was truly a gift

The definition of progress: To make improvement; to advance.  All this fits perfectly to this wonderful day with my wonderful husband Sam!!!
We started this day with a great Father's Day breakfast made by "our Maegan" and then it was relax for a bit while Sam had to watch Fast and Furious, ( for the 100th time... I think I know the words by heart) and then it was GIFT time. He was very happy with his new "duds" and picked out the outfit he wanted to wear. Can I just say he proved he was a Red Sox fan. By now it was lunch time and he was given a choice, I would make him anything he wanted or Clam Cakes at Country Whip...Whew...Got out of cooking and everyone thought it was "Father's Day" NOT IN MY BOOK.
Going out normally is challenging since Sam has had his stroke, but today proved that all the leg exercises, even when he didn't want to because he was hurting or just down, is paying off. Once Sam had his feet planted firmly on the front porch he took a deep breath and with minimal assistance from Crystal and myself he was down the stairs in half the time it took him not even a month ago.
We made it to Country Whip and the smile on his face was the biggest I have seen in a long time. He savored every bite of his clam cakes and every sip of his root beer soda.
Once done we decided to take a ride (we have become the "have to travel in 2 cars family") and visited Raymond (I needed some work done on Maegan's car) Erica and Kirstie. We all sat in the back yard, in the shade, and talked about stories from the past and had alot of laughs. So there we were, Sam, myself, Crystal, Raymond, Maegan, Steve, Erica, Josh and Kirstie, Tbone (Rays dog) and Red (Sams real love) the youngens playing some kind of yard game that consisted of throwing something that looked like hand bombs from WW1 and once the target was missed and the fence was hit, I decided it was time to move my chair.
It was a really great time, Maegan's car now has air conditioning and my computer runs better but most important, we were a family, together, and celebrating  a wonderful man that has done so much for us and others, a perfect example of the teachings of "OUR FATHER"... TODAY WAS TRULY A GIFT!!!!

Thought of the Day

If you're not doing something with your life, then it doesn’t matter how long you live. If you're doing something with your life, then it doesn't matter how short your life may be. A life is not measured by years lived, but by its usefulness. If you are giving, loving, serving, helping, encouraging, and adding value to others, then you're living a life that counts!   
              ~John C. Maxwell~