Just like the vine that grows on the fence that separates my home from my very newest friend, Sharon, our lives are forever and inescapably entwined with the seasons and months of the year. I personally love this month, day and year! It's not only my birthday, but next will be my little brother Dwain's birthday who I adore. He is not only an outstanding brother, but he has been committed to his wife, Terry for over 30 years, a wonderful Dad to his daughter, Amanda, and his son, Chris. On occasion, I even listen up to his advice
followed by several more special people in my life.
God bless my Mom ~ 8.27.33- 5.09.05
Jammie whose birthday I will miss this month, not being able to make the Houston trip, but you are very special and remembered always.
I've just finished reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven...a must read about the magic that lets you see yourself and the world all over again. Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club said: "This book is a gift to the soul." I agree and am learning that good reads like this help explain why people wander in and out of our life.
In my drive to and from work this week, I've been thinking about how I want to celebrate my birthday and little did I know I would be so lucky to have my oldest son Steven come home to spend my birthday with me. One bright ray of light was missing and that was his beautiful new bride...staying home to keep her commitments...which speaks to her character. She never lets people down.
My birthday gift from them was a beautiful "Mother's Love Charm" Heart from James Avery. I wear a silver collar necklace almost every day, bought several years ago and now it is adorned with this gorgeous heart that slides through the collar and shines like a glimmer of light. It's inscription: "Through all the trials and tribulations of growing up, somehow they manage to reach adulthood. Children move in and out of your life so quickly, it seems, but one place they stay forever is in your heart." It's simply beautiful...just like the two of them and their love. Thank you both...excuse the bad hair day...a hurricane was blowing in (from Corpus!)
Then next week-end my birthday will be celebrated with my youngest Sam,
I think that means I'm having a very long birthday. These two most wonderful creatures, my sons, showed me as a single Mom, that sometimes the very best things in life that happen are not only free, but happen when you least expect them. Do we remember the skunk in the trash can, Sam?
BUT MY BIRTHDAY ACTUALLY BEGAN YESTERDAY
It started yesterday when I was called to come to the Administrator's office "now " Esther said. I kept saying, "ok, I'm on my way" and was told "now" yet again. It has become a bit of a joke that when the Administrator wants to see any of the Managers it's "how fast can we get there?" I know it takes me 32 seconds at a fast pace with notebook in hand to walk (fast, Beverly, very fast) to get to the boss' office but yesterday seemed extra urgent. I've told him about the book I read once "I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can." It's the story of the man and woman dancing, and the man's obviously "not real into her" and he continues to tell her how it's got to be an early evening. Her response: "I'm dancing as fast as I can." So when I'm told it's a short meeting, do it in bullet form, get there NOW, the chatter in my mind is" I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can." Anyway, with notebook in hand, Boom, I open the door and the Management Team and one of the doctors was all waiting for that special moment to sing "Happy Birthday," snap photos and catch me off guard. I felt really special - you know that old saying by Mark Twain: "I could live a whole year on one compliment." That's how I felt. Even Nancy who keeps me guessing all the time, had taken time from her busy schedule to make me a funny little card. It said: "You don't have to worry about Birthdays aging you ~ just working here will do it." Now how cute it that? They had ice cream cake and my present was a huge bowl of Hershey kisses and diet coke. I try to tell myself that "I don't do chocolate" but on occasion, I just need that little extra boost for the day. Diet coke...well most all of you know that's been an on again and off again relationship for over 20 years. They were little baby diet cokes. I had never seen them before and don't want to drink them...they were just too cute. So, my birthday actually started yesterday with my peers and I'm going to celebrate until Sam pulls out of the driveway next week-end.
Leaving the clinic in a jolly good mood, I wanted to reminiscence about my life and how rich and full its has been and let this journaling be a starting point of looking into that window of my life and gaze upon my memories.
I came into this world Beverly Ann Bruce on this first day of August at 8:01 in the morning in Texas City, Tx, 1950, to two very young kiddos, Robert and Joyce Bruce. My first and one of my favoritest memories of my Mom was me telling her: "come on we've got things to do and places to go" as I always felt I was the mother and she was the child. As for my Daddy, well I can say he was the most handsome and charming kind of guy you would ever want to meet. He never met a stranger but he was a stranger to many. A mechanic by talent, a race car driver by hobby and a gorgeous guy by the grace of God, he charmed every woman in his path. The black hair and blue eyes carried him very far ~ no doubt the wrong way too many times. A real James Dean good-looking kind of fellow and he would pick me a pink rose, out of someone's yard, no doubt, when I had "done good" as he would say, whether it was a grade, a piano recital or he thought I had hosed down the driveway extra good, for which I received a whole quarter. My love for pink roses grew from that small gesture and I am grateful for that...I have my very own pink rose garden now and I enjoy it immensely.
I never stopped to think that my Daddy probably first started picking pink roses out of my grandmother's yard, my Mama Rush... I was named after her...Annie. She could grow just about anything and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her and her trying to keep up with me. On week-ends, in the summertime, and often times hollering out "Beverly Ann where are you?" Frequently, I was out in her very huge yard, assigned to picking the garden, but more likely eating a few berries off her dewberry vine. Always busted no doubt - because I was sent out there to pick berries for a cobbler she would just whip up...I was not sent out to eat them before I got back into the house. She was a wonderful cook. She wouldn't be pleased with the sign in my kitchen that says: "Kitchen Closed" though I have it there so as not to confuse anyone.
She would say: "You can do better than that." Of course I can...if you can read you can cook right? Wrong! The first time I baked a cake after moving to San Antonio from the Galveston area it turned out totally flat. I have no earthly idea what happened so I just dumped it, went to the nearest bakery and bought one which is what I should have done in the first place. Part of my Christmas that year (1997), my son Sam bought me a book, COOKWISE
and inscripted it "Don't ever blame the altitude again! Merry Christmas '97 Love Always, Sam 12-24-97. He's good like that...always trying to help. Sam, I love this book (to look at) but it's a science book....a book, albeit in everyday language, to indicate which steps or ingredients are vital and cannot be omitted without consequence. It tells you which ingredients work, individually and in combination, and will not only make one aware of the cooking process, but transform you into a confident and exceptional cook - - a Cook in Control. Something I've never aspired to. To be a cook in control! I can attest to that because I had an exceptional cook fix a wonderful dinner for me many years ago but I happened to only have 1 bottle of cooking oil and after tasting the most awful grilled steaks ever, he discovered that the oil was 8 years old. I didn't know it runs out of time! Did you? The label gave me away - - the store where I bought it around the corner had been closed for several years.
~ Don't ever blame the altitude again ~ Just don't bake cakes anymore ~
That was my excuse. I wasn't living at sea level anymore..I was living in the Hill Country, so the cake must have gone flat due to the high altitude. Great book Sam, I just pulled it out of my collection for probably the, let's see, 3rd time, for a photo op! My really favoritest dessert was my grandmother's Coconut Cream Pie and there is no duplicating it by anyone; therefore, I do not eat pie lest it would be a total waste of calories and not wasting calories is almost a pasttime with me. Calories are like time...we only have so much, let's not waste them on that which is not good for us :-) I happen to love books and they are also my friends. They ride in the glove box in my car, they are beside my favorite chair in the Den and there are always 4 or 5 beside my bed. That doesn't even count the books on tape that are on my CD player in the car. So you see, I have friends that ride along the way. One would not want to be stuck in the line at the bank without something to read! I know there is a real jealous relationship that is ongoing between my books and my magazines but I love them both so they must learn to live together! Now Sam has given me many books over the years for birthdays and holidays and one of my favorite is The Art of Doing Nothing. I point blank asked him: "Sam, what am I supposed to do with this?" I still don't "Get It" but I'm working on it. See July 4th blog for proof! Steven on the other hand used to give me Home Depot Gift Cards - - that was before Lauren came along and you see now the classy Heart Charm I received. But I loved those, too, just as much as the high pressure washer! No, cooking is not one of my favorite past times. Not in the past and not in the present though I can be a trusty assistant, as needed. As a young one, a favorite past time was hanging out with my Daddy doing whatever he was doing and it usually had something to do with cars. Cars that go fast. He built me my own little racer so I could drive it round and round like he did. Let's see...I was 8. He was racing stock cars in Houston in the late 50's. Along with A. J. Foyt. Of course, I straightened A. J. out more than once for beating my Dad. At the age of 8, when my biggest job at the track was handing out trophies, I told A. J.: " you won because you started first...look where my Dad started, in the back!" My mother and my aunt both said at that time: " I think we are going to have a problem on our hands when it comes to Beverly Ann telling men which way is up!" But one of my best friends and favorite things in life was a birthday gift Daddy gave me~ CoCo, my beautiful horse. He was 18 hands, deep red in color and my very best friend. No thoroughbred for sure (he climbed through fences, didn't jump over them, and actually crossed the highway all alone to go and find me at my house!) but he provided me with endless memories and fun times. Scared my mother to no end. Once she had to have me pulled out of an all school assembly to go home and take him back to the barn. Have you ever had your name announced in front of the entire High School to go home and it wasn't an emergency. Try explaining that to your principal. He just wanted in the back yard to chew on the green grass. He also caused me a few challenges like falling on me - - hey Dr. T., maybe that's the real beginning of why we had to do shoulder surgery. My horse knew more about me than anyone in the whole world from the time I was 14 until I was 18. He knows things about a fellow named George that George probably doesn't even know, definitely doesn't remember and probably would prefer it not be mentioned at all, but he was a very special part of my growing up. Both of them...the horse and the boy! Nothing like being able to talk to your best friend and he is ALL EARS and no judgment. That's the horse, not the boy! CoCo was my hobby, my responsibility, my all consuming relationship of significance during that time. I lived for the days of "going to the barn" after school. He even helped me with my young romantic years - - that he did. You know...you can't keep a horse locked up overnight! Though Daddy gave me CoCo and he would help me with him from time to time, I don't think Daddy really knew what to do with me as a teen ager. He had always called me Sportmodel after one of his race cars but that stopped when it appeared that I was growing up ~ well I never, ever did get to grow tall like my Big Sister, Norma. She has ALL of the height and legs in the family. But hey, she needs them so she can dance through life. She entertained us, including her beautiful Mom, my Tis and especially her Dad with all her flowing around and singing and generally just being a little drama queen. We love that about her. By the Way - Happy Anniversary to My Tis and her beloved husband, my Uncle Dee, whose Anniversary I was born on 8.1.50.
And back to Dear Old Daddy: Funny thing about my Daddy. He called everybody "Honey." My mom, my little sister, my grandmother, my aunt (yep Tis I do remember him calling you "Honey" when I was little) I thought it odd, too. I know he meant it affectionately because he loved all of my mother's side of the family. Especially my beloved Mama Rush. Anyway, back to the story. Since Daddy called everybody Honey I thought that was EVERYBODY's name...so I called him Honey until my mom straightened that out at age 4! To this day I don't call anybody Honey. Guess dear Mom got that one through my head pretty quick! At age 7 Mom and Daddy surprised me with my little sister Janell. Then the sharing had to start. SHARING...grrrrr. Boy was that a memory like it happened yesterday. And not particularly my best memory in the treasure chest. I wasn't big on sharing and many would say that as an adult I don't do that "sharing thing too well but I'm working on it." Meaning "sharing my canvas for someone else to color on" a wisdom learned by one of the smartest fellows I've ever met. Thank you very much RS for those kind words of encouragement :-) As for my sister, I had to share my room, share my closet, share my stuffed animals and I didn't like it one bit. I even put tape on the floor of our bedroom to draw the line so she couldn't step over or drag her stuff on my side. I was organized at the age of 7 and I just couldn't get Organization 101 taught to a 2- year old fast enough. Better not say much else since I stay overnight with her once a month. She might place tape over my bedroom door that I now share in her home with her daughter who is gone. And the circle continues. As a teenager and now in my more mature years, my very bestest childhood friend is affectionally my PAnn, as in PAnn and BAnn. We talked last night for 2 hours and we can go for months without talking, pick up the phone and continue where we left off and take off in new directions. We laugh, we remember good times, live them over and over but we've yet to offer up a solution to all the world's problems. But hey, there's still time. She could retire soon and she might get that job done - solving the world's problems from Fredericksburg, TX. Just the other day she said something so prophetic: "I don't know if I can't decide if we are too old to work or too young to retire!" Well said, PAnn, but you be the first because that might mean having to read the book "The Art of Doing Nothing." Now for you, I know you won't do "nothing." As that beautiful daughter of yours says: " Mom,you just can't keep that hammer down long before you have to pick it back up again. " She is a talented, talented artist and it spills over into her guest homes in the Hill Country, her own home, her cooking and just the beautiful and talented person she always has been and always will be. At present we are debating the "do we go or not go" to our 40th reunion. She is beautiful inside and out and my life has been blessed for 45 years with her in it since my birthday (yes we went to the movies on my 13th birthday). We laughed and talked last night about Memories so much it sounded like a scene from "The Way We Were." Trying to identify some of our high school classmates and deciding we better have a get together to "identify" the way we were. I suggested before and after buttons but she didn't think that too great of an idea. Now one of my bestest friends and one that many, many would find the friendship quite unusual is GAnn. She is my Stepwife. Stepwife, you ask? Yes, she married my children's Dad after we divorced and last year we talked for the first time in 16+ years. We talk and talk, mostly about the beautiful boys whose lives we've shared and the funny little things they do. How they are like their Dad (who died when he was 45 - they were 15 and 13 {he was a math teacher at Blocker Jr. High} and she was married to him at that time) and talk how, in other ways, they are like me. Now how many women do we know can say they've buried the hatchet with the woman their former spouse married, admit she was the love of his life and be friends. I can...I'm a really big person. Truly, she loves my boys so I love her even more. She sent me the most beautiful birthday box today just full of books and keys...beautiful keys with words "One key was particularly beautiful ~ the Key to Friendship. It has a beautiful little tag inscripted as follows:
Favorite food: Shrimp, shrimp & shrimp ~ what I eat most: C H I C K E N !
Favorite Hobby: Drawing with my pens & colors just waiting to see what is hiding in the
ink...waiting to tell somebody Happy Day, Thinking of You, Merry Christmas...You get it!
Spent an hour chatting with my brother who I love very much.
Opened a birthday card from a dear friend!
Spent time chatting with my Stepwife, GAnn
Opened her birthday present and a card! Thank you so much.
Let everyone at my Bank see my driver's license, on purpose, so they knew it was my Day!
Wrote an e-mail to a special friend going through a new chapter in his life.
Opened a birthday card from my Insurance Agent.
**MAKE A WISH FOR A SPECIAL BIT OF HAPPINESS TO COME YOUR WAY * *
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