What's in a name??

I doubt that when I was in my 20's raising four girls, I really thought much about being a grandmother. That word sounded quite old -- and the name "Grandma" seemed to depict someone with white hair in a rocking chair. That didn't sound like me and it isn't. Yes, here I am a grandmother but with a different name than "Grandma". I'm not sure if any of the grandchildren have called me that and if so, it was only in passing. Usually it is Nana, Nina or Nana Linda or like Marley who called me "Winda" for a short time. Each of those names are very special to me ...


A couple days ago, Kasi came into my office area and stood behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. I suspected that she might want to use my computer but what I heard was, "I just came to say 'I love you'"! What a treasure! Tyler will be busy playing or watching a DVD and all at once, he will come running, throw his arms around me and say, "I love you, Nana" ... and off he goes back to what he was doing, hardly missing a beat. Just the other night, Kamen came in to show me something he had done ... and I was so glad that I was on his special list! Although he is now 9 years old, it's not uncommon for him to simply come up and give me a hug.


Today was one of those days when there was humor in the mix. While I was driving to Atlanta, I talked to all four of the girls along the way. Whenever I talk to Shonna, RJ usually wants to have a conversation with me so I beat him to the punch today and asked to talk to him. He talked for a few minutes about what was going on in his day and then he said, "What is your name?" I thought perhaps he hadn't recognized me so I asked him, "Who am I?" His answer, "Nina." I said, "Who are you?" "RJ!" "Aren't you Robert Joseph?" "No, I am RJ Keeling!!" "Aren't you really Robert Joseph Keeling?" He thought for a minute. "Well, I am Robert Joseph but I like to be called 'RJ'!" Okay, then ...


His next question was classic. He asked me, "What is your full name?" I asked him to repeat his question. He did. So, I said, "Linda Joanne Bedford."


He said, "Here, you need to tell Mommy," .. as he handed the phone to Shonna. I guess he wasn't sure that she knew my 'full' name! So, we'll see what he calls me the next time I see him or if he remembers my full name. Somehow, I think he probably will!!

Scary times ....

My telephone rang last night about 11:30pm ... when it rings that late, it usually means there is a problem. And last night was no exception. Sandi's question, "Would you or Chris be able to drive Tim to the hospital?"

Tim (in photo above with Sandi and Tyler) has been sick for about a week now. He was diagnosed with an ear infection, upper respiratory infection and bronchitis. He hasn't seemed to get much better but his schedule has been such that he hasn't had proper rest either. Some of his symptoms last night resembled a possible heart issue and since his mother died from a heart attack and his oldest brother had a heart attack at 42, Tim was quite concerned.

It took Chris all of about 2 minutes to get out of the house and get to Tim and Sandi's. I doubt calling 911 would have had any quicker response. By the time I had called Sandi to tell her that Chris was on his way, he was pulling in their drive. The fact that they live less than two miles away does make that trip a short one.

Tim's EKG was normal .. PTL! However, true to form, he and Chris did not arrive back home until about 5:30 this morning and Chris was gone to Northside Christian School by 7:15! I doubt he slept much. It seems that the problems Tim was having was medicine related so the doctor changed those, gave him a breathing treatment (since it did appear that he had been close to pneumonia) and sent him home to rest. Rest?? Tim? It takes a lot for Tim to want to go to a hospital and it is usually hard to keep him down. However, after last night and the anxiety he experienced when symptoms were playing tricks on him, I think he knew he needed to take care of himself until he gets well. He can handle his work by phone for a few days ...

We're thankful that God keeps His hand on all of us. I would ask for prayer tomorrow as I drive to Atlanta. I do enjoy the trip even by myself. I stop at the $3 book store at the state line (FL-GA, of course). They have great bargains and it gives me a respite from crazy interstate drivers. Am I one of them? Probably and others are probably thinking I fit right in with the rest of them!!

My sister-in-law, Susan, just had a total knee replacement so I hope to help out with their family, too. Big sister on the job!! Of course, after being there about five days, they may be ready to ship me home -- that won't be hard as I believe my car knows the way home from their house without me even driving it!

And I'm rambling ... so I think I will stop for now and hope that I don't get any late night phone calls tonight ..

Here she comes .... again!!

Opal is at it again!! About the time the nurses think they have 'roped her in' (not literally, of course), she's at it again -- barging into my dad's room any time she pleases. I think it was three times yesterday. At lunch time, she started to head for my dad's table and one of the CNA's called out to her and Opal responded with an, "Oh, shut up!" She came right to my dad and said, "They are trying to keep me away from you." My dad explained to her that my mother had passed away a year ago, he wasn't out looking for girlfriends and that he had plenty of girlfriends right in his own family -- daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters. I'm not sure that will stop her .... we'll see what today brings! I don't think my dad ever thought he would fight off a female at this stage of the game! On a more serious side, he is having a great time ministering where he is -- there are a couple ladies who come to Glenn Oaks and play the piano for people to sing along. My dad enjoys that so much -- it's good for him and the ladies seem to enjoy someone who can sing right along with them. Who would have guessed he has had lung problems. Needless to say, his lungs are getting exercised a lot -- whether it be singing or reiterating -- "Opal, go to your room!"

What was I thinking????

It is 11am and I think there should be an alarm when anyone under 65 walks through the doors at Publix at that time of the morning. "Beware ... shopping carts on the prowl with white haired people behind them." (Well, natural hair color, that is!) Driving those carts ... well, at least part of the time when they haven't abandoned them for a little while to check the price of their favorite item. Don't move the cart or they may forget where it is ... they already have a post-it note inside their purse or pocket indicating what row their car is parked in.

This morning was one of those days ... and I realized that I really wasn't that far away from joining these precious old folks. (They are precious for the most part -- until I've waited about five minutes to get through an aisle. Usually, I end up turning around and going around to get what I need!)

It's October -- I should have remembered. I have a red spot on my forehead for hitting myself so hard. Duh!! It's "snow bird" time and we, for the most part, celebrate that time. We love for our northern friends to come down and become winter residents. It keeps our prices down and except for having to stand in lines to get into restaurants (and the challenges of shopping at 11am in Publix or Walmart), we love 'em. I can't wait to hug them when I see them in church and already dread that they will not be here for the whole year. We sometimes do a countdown and might greet each other with, "Hey, you still have another six weeks. Do you really have to go back up there??"

Okay ... so I've told you how much we appreciate our Snow Birds. But, it is not without challenges. For us who work in Florida and cannot consider ourselves retired (although all the tourists think you have to be retired to live here), we try to refrain from honking when they drive so slowly. We try to smile at them because, in all seriousness, many of them are facing issues in their lives so they need a smile as much as we do. And quite frankly, they don't move to Florida to die -- they move to Florida to live!

So ... you never know what you might see from our Snow Birds!! You might watch one buzz by you on a golf cart and hope they know where the brakes are. Or they will beat you to the beach any day, loaded up with sun screen and umbrellas -- and hats. Lots of hats ... all kinds of hats.

I say all of that to say this ... I have a vision of what life will be for me in not that many years ... will I be one of those 'standing in the way' in the grocery store? Will I be one that can't quite maneuver the grocery cart around a corner without bringing down a whole stack of stuff? Somehow, I'm afraid I will be right there with them -- and then if I look around, I'll probably see 'me' in someone else's body ... wondering what all these old people are doing at the grocery store at 11am in the morning!

It has been that way as long as we have lived here ... and I doubt it's gonna change now!! So, as we've heard before, I tell myself to "live with it!"

Let's play ball!

I went to another one of Kamen's baseball games last night and it's always a neat experience. Part of why it is so neat is that, along with actually playing baseball games, this is instructional baseball for kids about Kamen's age (9 years old). So, there will be some short delays in the game when a coach 'coaches' his guys in how to hold the bat, where to stand, etc. There is no yelling at the kids like there can be in some of these games. You usually hear, "Way to go, Kamen" ... or "hold your bat" this way, etc. Of course, Kamen gets a little discouraged when he doesn't do well ... he pitched an awesome first inning and then had some problems in the second inning. (Although the boy that came in to replace him actually didn't do any better!) He did catch a fly ball while he was pitching and hit a hard ground ball (is that the right term?) when he was at bat! I asked Chris if that would take away his disappointment in his pitching. He said, "Only if he makes it home!" He did and all was well!! I do enjoy this time with the kids and grandkids ... but the time seems to be flying by and before you know it, Kamen will be a teenager!! Wow ...

Would you ... lead Cinnamon???

Life is interesting ... so interesting. Roxanne came in this afternoon laughing hysterically. They had been talking about "Would you rather ..." which is an ice-breaker that Sandi has used with their Common Grounds Cafe'. Some of those would be, "Would you rather hear babies cry or your friends whine?" or "Would you rather eat worms or have worms?" or "Would you rather go three days without food or three days without water?"

Kamen had his own variation today. His was ... "Would you rather take cinnamon or lead cinnamon?" Okay, so you don't know what that means? They didn't either until they realized he meant to say communion rather than cinnamon! He was a little embarrassed that he hadn't caught the mistake but he joined in the laughter when he realized he had amused everyone around him!!

Oops ....

I got so involved in taking care of this cute 5-1/2 month old that I spelled "cookies" as "cooks" and had you as confused as I was! Oh, well ... I guess it was par for the course! It's quite apparent that Rudy loves his big sister!!

Of course, then we had the egg fiasco! Poor Marley, I knew she was quite distressed when I heard an uh-oh and then, "Oh, no!!" But, it just added more levity to the day. I had to laugh -- especially when she learned later that there were 18 eggs in the garage. I'm not sure she was too amused but since the cake (not brownies as I had thought they were) turned out just fine, she wasn't too bothered by all the craziness of the process!


A highlight of the day I totally forgot to share before was an old fashioned tea party -- complete with little tea cups, saucers and tea pot that were careful wrapped and stored for these very occasions. What a delight it was to sit with them and share in this exciting event in their lives -- and wish for a moment that perhaps I could turn back time ... then again, I think I will just enjoy it with them!!