The Bay Pines VA here in St Pete, Florida had a moving Memorial Day ceremony this morning. They have placed an American Flag at each gravesite. It is overwhelmingly emotional to view.



Flags of each state were placed around their Veterans Memorial. Beautiful blowing in the breeze.

Are you looking for a "late night snack"? Try Ben & Jerry's ice cream with that name. It is awesome. Vanilla ice cream with fudge covered potato chips and swirls of caramel. It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. A portion of the money paid for this ice cream is donated to colleges working with our farmers to get them a fair wage for their crops. Very succulent.

Once again these talented men have made a happy difference.

Memorial Day weekend has forever meant the start of summer to me. It didn't matter if school was still in session. It didn't matter that summer "officially" doesn't arrive until June 21st. To me it was and will always be Memorial Day weekend that heralds the beginning of summer.

It no longer gets dark at 5 o'clock. Spring has done it's work and the grass and trees have returned to a rich green color. Humidity has returned. Temperatures are rising. The pool opens. All indications are that summer has arrived or at the very least it is right around the corner.

Now I get to live in a tropical paradise where it is summertime year round. The pool never closes and the beach is just across the street.

This week-end I not only remember with gratitude the sacrifices of our military but also the fun Memorial week-ends in my rearview mirror.

This week-end I am counting my many blessings.

'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways -
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOW what a ride!'
Unknown

Wow, life can come at you like a roller coaster sometimes with unexpected great highs and lows.

As for lows, they are learning experiences. They are also a little mind boggling and sometimes a little painful. I know the saying that "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." Unfortunately, not true, words do have a way of hurting. You just have to move on; learn from the experience and trust in the truth.

Happily, the ups of my crazy couple of weeks have been fantastic. Ups definitely are the antidote to lows.

When my AC broke because the overflow water from all the condo's above my unit were backing up and flooding my home, I discoved a text message from my granddaughter, Hope and during the sopping and pumping water even got a helpful text from my son, her dad, Tom that proved helpful. AC and maintence help arrived like the calvary the next day and the problem was resolved. I am now comfy in my cool home.

I learned that someone special to me has been the recipient of money from their colleagues to help them restore their home from extensive fire damage. I had wanted to help but wasn't financially able. It is terrific that insurance and friends have been able to make the positive difference they needed. Progress is slow but it seems certain that after repairs and changes are made the house will be better than ever.

My daughter, Shelia, invited me to attend a conference with her in Louisville in June. She and Tom are even paying for my flight and the cost of the conference. I am so excited about sharing the experience with Shelia and their generosity is very much appreciated. It is wonderful having special things to look forward to.

My other daughter, Carol has been fantastic leaving me newsy voicemails. She never even knew how much they made a positive difference. It has been great.

My grandson, Noah has kept me updated via Facebook and some e-mails. It is wonderful to read how proud he is of his mom's accomplishment getting her MBA.

My son, Jim invited me to join him and his wife, Carol and my grandsons, Jake and Jonah in DC when he goes there for business. It made me smile to overflowing. I love adventures to DC. Right now we are rethinking things because DC is a costly place and Jim and his family are currently planning a trip to visit here in Florida. We have decided the expense might best be used as an investment in fun here in the sun. Again I have a look forward to adventure. Yeah!

I have enjoyed keeping up with the baseball talents of my grandsons, Jake and Jonah and Noah via Facebook. They are very talented. I got a surprise vociemail from Jim yesterday telling me that Jonah wanted to go to Logan's Restaurant. Jim thought it was because he enjoys steak; NOPE. It was because he likes bread. Terrific, that is my favorite food, very cool.

This weekend I heard from my sister, Wendy that she enjoyed a surprise I sent her in California. Thanks to Facebook, I got to share an adventure my neice Dawn was making taking a bike trip in Virgina. Got to see my other sister, Bonnie having fun in Arkansas with her grandchildren. Enjoyed texting with my neice, Valerie. I had a nice voicemail message from my brother, Bob. It has been wonderful to hear from my family. I miss each of them very much. It looks like my neice, Caitlyn is still enjoying Austraila. Her sister, Jasmine is going to California on a special trip because she is so awesome at her work. My neice, Amber's birthday is coming up the end of the month and I got her a little surprise yesterday. My nephew, Josh is going to go for his MBA. It is exciting wondering which school he will select.

My everyday is filled with hope and many blessings. I am so fortunate to have the loving, constant reminder that, "Everything is going to be okay; no matter what."
I am a very grateful lady.

If you find yourself having a roller coaster crazy time of ups and downs, hold on tight. This is the time to put your attention on the many fantastic twists and turns happening in your life.

Wishing Wendy safe travels and wonderful adventures.

Saw that my daughter-in-law, Carol had posted this picture of Jake on Facebook today. Looks appropriate for the holiday. Jake and his brother Jonah, my son Jim and Carol live in West Virginia and will be enjoying their day. Jim's twin brother, Tom and his fantastic family; wife Shelia and beautiful daughter Hope and talented son, Noah live in El Paso. They live daily with Mexico just across the border. I hope they also have a safe and fun day. I miss my family.

This may not be the best time of the year to drive a convertible with the top down. Yikes! I had bugs in my hair, stuck to my sunglasses and even up my nose and down my throat. Let me make it perfectly clear that lovebugs are not tasty.

For the time being I will have to drive with the top up and the AC on. I will have to rinse these sticky bugs off my car each night.

All in all a tiny price to pay for living in paradise. I am a lucky lady.