HOT SUMMER!!!

Well...haven't been here in a while....I rarely get here. This use to be a hoppin' place to blog but I guess like everything else has given way to more "modern" forms of social media. Glad it's still active so I can at least post...rant...rave...vent...chat...etc even if no one is here to read it...LOL...perhaps this will pop up on a Google search...you never know. A shout out in the wind to friends from long ago that will probably never know I am shouting to them...lol -- Kelly Seager, Callie Nowlin, Gena Hall, Sheryl Banister, Pamela Swanson, Christie Diamond, Alex Macey, Shannon Rollins, and on and on and on....

It's been a scorching summer here in Mississippi. I'll be soooo glad when fall is here! It's my favorite time of the year! 

Hope to be back soon! Cheers!

RR

Friendships over the years: Reflections

Wow...been quite a while since I posted a blog here...wasn't sure if this site was even still active!  LOL!    I've been reviewing old blogs from over the years and reflecting on friendships...those that have long since gone by the wayside through no fault of my own, and those who are still hanging with me!   

I had someone I considered at one time my very best friend in the whole world...Kelly. I have fond memories of our friendship over the years and every once in a blue moon I'll stumble across some of the sweet emails we sent back and forth to each other.  The way our friendship ended...the ways she treated me so badly, I don't hold it against her any longer.    I hated her for a long time, but that time has since past.    I know she's had a rough life and I still pray for her often.  She'll always have a special place in my heart.

Callie was another close friend...we chatted for many years...prayed for each other...shared with each other...until one day out of the blue she just disappeared.  When I found her again, she alienated me, blocked me from her social media, ignored any attempts I made to communicate with her and find out what had happened.    A theory I have...in no way has any proof whatsoever...just a feeling...she converted to Catholicism and I'm thinking she was instructed to cut off all ties to everyone in her life outside the Catholic Church.   I do miss her and the encouragement we use to give each other....life goes on.

I have a couple of other friends (Brandy & Ashley) who got married and have what appears to be extremely dominating and possessive husbands.   Without warning or a word, I was blocked from ever having any contact with these friends I've been close to for over a dozen years....a draw-back to having a lot of female friends....

There is another friend (Donna) who I was very close to for many many years, but has disappeared from my life, mainly because she cared for me beyond friendship that I was not at a point of reciprocation.   And for that, I was cursed to lose a very meaningful friendship.   I wish her well...I think about her often.

But, all is not doom and gloom!   I do have some very very special friendships that have lasted the test of time.  These are people (online friends) I hold in the highest regard, mainly because of their value of friendship and the importance it plays in our lives.....Kerith (almost 14 years), Dixie (16 years), Sue (22 years), Diana (going on 23 years now), Kristine (16 years), Candi (19 years), Vanessa (almost 14 years), Lisa (13 years), and so on....hope I didn't miss anybody...lol.....these are the friends with a noble character....people who would never think to abandon another friend, stab them in the back (at least not before telling them...haha)....these are the special ones! 

July 2014 is here!

Wow...can't believe 2014 is half over!    Right now as I write this, I am at work, covered in bread crumbs, dough, oil, etc....all are very yummy in their proper proportions...but...not the way they were splattered on me!  LOL!  Anyway...getting use to my new place I moved into 2 weeks ago...boxes everywhere but that's to be expected....feeling pretty good about stuff right now....need to lose some weight and get healthier...need to save money....

A co-worker was hit by a hit-and-run driver while walking home Saturday night....killed instantly....leaving behind children and grandchildren....reminded me of how frail and precious life it....yeah, I don't really have any problems....but it did make me think about those I love and care about in the world...

Well...back to work!

FRIENDSHIP

I title this blog "FRIENDSHIP"....I've been writing heartfelt things lately about friendship...more specifically about certain people in my life who had claimed to be my "friend", but their actions spoke otherwise...I have friends who go through the same thing I do, except their issues surround actual family members whose legacies involve back stabbing, deception, and treachery.....I am very thankful I have a loving family who does not enter into such things....my demons lie with some of so called "friends" I have had in my life.  

However, I need to clarify that the reason I am hit so hard by the practices of these faux friends from my past is because of level of my regard for true friendship.    I believe in friendship.  I believe in giving your all for your friends...true friends....many of my friends have been my fortress for most of my life.   They have been my rock of encouragement during the dark times of my life.   So, in honor of friendship....TRUE FRIENDSHIP, I dedicate the following quotes:

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.

Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

True friends stab you in the front.

A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.

ODE to Callie Nowlin - Callie Odom - Portrait of Hypocrisy

It's just amazing to me....I just marvel at the human race.....how two people who have been friends for years can suddenly have one turn on the other one....many times on a dime with no warning and many times with no apparent cause....it just baffles me.....the unkind, uncaring, depraved state of people......I've had several in my life that I've run across that have been that way...as an example:  a very dear friend of mine Callie Odom (formerly Nowlin) just suddenly, for no apparent reason, decided to disappear, and abandon our friendship.   I say "abandon" because when she reappeared again, her actions showed she wanted nothing more do to with our friendship.   No explanation...no opportunity for me to know what happened and to ask forgiveness for anything I had done.    We had been very close...communicating many times a week...praying for each other...everything good....She converted to Catholicism and then suddenly...friendship gone!   I would never say anything derogatory about Catholicism, however, her actions do certainly seem to show her now more caught up with religion than relationship with God....Yet, after converting to Catholicism, she continues almost daily to quote the saints....never bothering to actually put into practice the very things she is quoting....scriptures such as:

 "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (I John 4:20).....or, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (James 1:22), and "Let love be without hypocrisy..." (Romans 12:9) 

I continue to pray for her daily...that God will speak to her heart and show her just what it means to be a "saint"...the very thing she says she is striving for...

Is is Spring yet??

We just finished with the biggest snowstorm in recent memory here in Roanoke, VA....over 2 feet of snow...the place I worked closed down for 3 days which has never happened before...but, we survived....it was 61 degrees today with bright blue skies...and the remnants of snow still on the ground all around.....quite a sight.....hopefully we're movin' on to warmer things... :)

What's Important In Life

I, like so many others, had been in great anticipation of Superbowl Sunday.   The media, like the fans, was expecting this to have been one of the greatest matchups of all time....quite possibly the greatest offense against arguably the greatest defense of all time....but like life, it had its results in disappointment and disbelief.    It turned out to be the most disappointing, frustrating, lopsided Superbowls of all time.   

It got me thinking about life in general and the expectations we often have of it.     We expect everything to work out in our favor...to be perfect....free from pain and frustration....oh, we'll admit to others that we don't, but deep down we do.....I mean, unless we are deceived and hell-bent for destruction, if we knew the path we were on wasn't the right one, we would change paths.   

There really are only a few important things in life....and if we get those going right, then everything else will work out...and if they don't, who cares?    Family and friends.....people......relationships at any level are the heart and soul of a life.   Whatever struggle you are facing in life....if you have that as a solid focus, you will overcome.    Financial issues, personal concerns, health, etc....these things can really take a toll on us....and can be very difficult to fix (if ever)....but if you have people in your life that you can go to...that will talk with you, pray with you, hold you....take you in if necessary....help to get you back on your feet....be there for you during the darkest times of your life......then if makes those times easier to bear...and your life can be dramatically changed because of it.....

Some are not close to their families.....is it because they haven't tried or we haven't tried?   What about our friends?   Some friends's I have (see earlier posts) have been as plastic as a milk jug.......but perhaps we need to spend some time reflecting on our own selves...our own motives.....our families are....our families....they are kind of with us for life....we need to do whatever it takes to maintain those relationships as best we can......as for our friends...they come and go in our lives....some are here for a moment...a season...several seasons...or for life...even choosing our friends wisely can lead to disappointments (see earlier posts)....but anything worth anything is worth risking for (also see earlier posts).   

A lot of rambling....thoughts racing....but in summary....holding onto the people in our lives....cultivating those relationships....giving of ourselves to the people in our lives....makes life much more bearable and worth living in this world.