mosses monday LI...

and a time to dance

mosses was past his dancing days,

but he still enjoyed the music

of days-gone-by...

the music, perhaps,

to which he once

danced with his beloved lucy.

~@~

"dani, does john like big band music?"

mosses asked me one afternoon

while katherine and i were visiting.

"yes, he does,"

i answered.

"well, golly-muggins, i was thinking

earlier i still may still have some old records

and mike's turntable in the basement.

do you think he'd like to come over

and listen to them with me

and have a toddy?"

"i think he'd love to, mosses!

if you can't find yours,

we have a couple of glenn miller's cds

at home."

~@~

a few days later

my phone rang.

it was mr. moss calling to say

 mary, his afternoon sitter,

had found his records

and player

and he wanted me to call

john at work to ask

him if he could join mosses

that afternoon.

i told mosses to expect john

unless i called back to tell him

differently.

~@~

when john arrived home

late that afternoon,

he came in grinning.

"how was mosses?"

i asked.

"oh, he was on cloud nine!"

he answered.

"mary had a toddy

waiting for me

and was making mr. moss'

when i walked in the door.

we drank, ate popcorn,

and listened to a couple

of records."

"glenn miller?" i asked.

"no, he had mary play

some benny goodman.

you know,

that old record player

of mike's sounded pretty good."

~@~

a time to keep silent...

"what did he have to say?"

i asked as i tossed our salad.

"not much while we 

were listening to the music,"

he replied,

"we pretty much just 

relaxed."

and a time to speak...

"after we finished listening

to the second record,

he talked a little about 

the big bands that used to play

over at the trocadero.

he said his favorite

was harry james."

~@~

that each of them
may eat and drink,
and find satisfaction
in all their toil...
this is the gift of God.

(ecc. 3 niv)

i smiled...

john grinned again, 

"he asked me

if i'd come back and listen

to some more with him."

he continued,

"i told him, sure.

i think he really liked that!"

i'm SURE he LOVED that!

(to be continued)

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

ps. on my side-bar,

you will find earlier entries

entitled,

"our love story"

in ascending order.

lane snow...

falling falling down

blanketing the sleeping ground

not making a sound

ddb 1-21-14 

~@~

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

mosses monday L...

there is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity 

under the heavens

(ecc. 3 niv)

~@~

a time to laugh

seasons came,

and seasons went.

and by the grace of God,

mosses enjoyed

each for what it was.

a time to plant

when springtime finally arrived

mosses donned his

farming clothes,

his yard shoes,

and

a baseball cap

john had given him

to keep the sun out of his face.

mosses was ready to get

out of the house,

to breath in fresh air,

to work in his yard,

and,

with a little help,

to plant and tend his garden...

from his outdoor-wheelchair

(which was half wheelchair/

half duct tape;)

he caged his

tiny vegetable plants,

he weeded around them,

and

he watered them.

a time to uproot

then...

he reaped the rewards

of having done so.

he had a garden

and a harvest,

which was newsworthy!

and also that every man

should eat and drink,

and enjoy the good

of all his labour

it is the gift of God.

mosses shared his harvest.

most every afternoon

his family and friends

found on their porches...

handle-knotted

plastic bags

full

of tomatoes, turnips,

cabbage, and green onions.

mosses loved sharing!

a time to love

and

he also loved receiving

calls of thanks 

at the end of the day...

not because he expected them

but because he loved hearing

the voices of his loved ones.

he loved talking about his garden

he loved hearing about

his loved ones' respective day.

mosses loved.

~@~

and a time to dance

(to be continued)

love and Gods blessings,

dani xxx

ps. on my side-bar,

you will find earlier entries

entitled,

"our love story"

in ascending order.

sew awesome!

so, when meester berrong

asked me what i wanted

for Christmas,

i didn't hesitate,

me: i want garth brooks' new cd box-set

and a new set of pots and pans...

red or turquoise.

with that,

my boy rolled his eyes at me.

(like all the way back-

i was lookin' at nothin' but whites.)

john:

iamnotgettingyoupotsandpansforChristmas!

me: ugh, why? that's what i want!

john: not doin' it...

he went on about whatever

it was he was doing.

katherine (putting in her two cents from another room):

she wants a monogramming machine,

dad!

(my girl has ears like an elephant.)

i looked at john.

me: seriously, i really want pots and pans...

some pretty ones.

~@~

about a week-and-a-half

before Christmas,

katherine came to me

and told me john was in a real

dilemma.

(last minute dilemma...

that's how john rolls.)

katherine: mom, he really 

doesn't know what to get you?

me: i told him what i want.

katherine: mom, he's not getting you

pots and pans.

it's not going to happen.

so, what else do you want?

me: i don't know.

katherine: well, what about

a monogramming machine?

me: the one i want is too expensive.

katherine: all i've got to say is,

if you don't tell him something,

there's no telling what he'll

get you. 

she had a point.

me: tell him,

 the monogramming machine.

but, if he thinks it's too expensive,

tell him,

a set of red or turquoise

pots and pans

and the garth brooks set.

~@~

you know,

i would understand

pots and pans not being

the ideal present for a husband

to go out and purchase for his wife

for Christmas...

if she hadn't asked for them.

but, i really wanted a set.

that's different.

that being said,

i really, really, really

wanted a monogramming machine.

the only reason i hadn't bought for myself

was the price.

i couldn't justify spending that much

for a toy.

~@~

apparently, meester berrong

did though

because on Christmas eve morning

(when we always exchange with each other

on the lane)

i came into the room to find

him sitting in his chair next

to something BIG all covered

with blankets.

(gotta love his wrapping!)

john: well, are you going to come

over here and see what you got?

me: well, yeah!

i pulled off the blankets

to reveal the monogramming machine

i wanted

and atop...

the new garth brooks collection!!!

all i could think...

my boy is sew awesome!!!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

mosses monday XLIX...

"God, take him now if he is ready;
but, if he is not ready. leave him,
and leave him whole!!!"
(i had never prayed so boldly in my life.)
...

THANK.YOU.GOD.
.
he was back

and

he was whole.

God knew before i
how important it was
for my prayer to be
answered completely.
to have kept him only alive
and not his
whole-mosses-self
was just not an option!

~@~

just days after mosses
had started to make his recovery,
i was at family night at church
when my preacher asked
if i would like to share
my experience.

(i don't know what 
methodist churches are like
in other areas,
but our church is/was not really
the touchy-feely,
sharing type.)

although it was not the norm
to do so,
i graciously accepted his invitation
to share.
ric handed me the microphone,
and i turned around
to face a roomful of my church family
and began to recount
mosses' story
of answered prayer.

from the expressions
i saw on their faces,
i knew they were receptive
and genuinely touched.
this made it so much easier
to tell mosses story.
when i was finished,
i looked all around
to see only smiles
and happy tears.

Emmanuel!
God was with me!

~@~

after taking my seat,
ric led a short prayer
before directing us to go
to our wednesday night Bible studies.
i gathered my things
and started walking across the room.
as i passed by her,
a woman grabbed my hand.
i stopped and turned to her.
the woman greeted my smile
with her scowl.

woman: you are selfish!
you should have let george
go on to his reward.

i stood in stunned
silence.

woman: who do you think you are?

i knew her question
was rhetorical.  
the last thing she wanted me to do
was answer,
which was good
because i had no words for her.

~@~

looking, eye-to-eye, at her,
i jerked my hand 
from the woman's tight grip,
turned, and
walked away from her 
as quickly as i could.

for a moment,
i thought about her words.
for a moment,
i questioned my actions.

then
by the grace of God,
i remembered,
it wasn't about me or even mosses,
and it certainly was not about her...
it was about God!
i felt a smile creep
back across my face.
i pulled up my chin,
and stretched back my shoulders.
i walked away from that woman
with a blessed assurance
only God could bestow.

and.i.never.looked.back.

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

ps. on my side-bar, you will find earlier entries entitled,
"our love story" 
in ascending order.

stella was the mom...

stella had been bathed

a short while before i arrived

at the rehab facility

where she was receiving therapy.
she was soundly sleeping.

so as not to wake her,

i made my way over to a chair

in the corner of her room

and sat with donna,

one of stella's beloved care-givers.

donna is very easy to talk to:

she is fun and funny,

loving and caring,

and,

most importantly, very kind.

stella counts her as a blessing.

~@~

the longer we sat and talked,

the more nostalgic i became.

donna mentioned

she had seen a photo of jack

i had posted to jeda's facebook wall

on her birthday.

i chuckled.

me: you know,

when i was growing up,

there weren't any other kids

in the neighborhood.

so, i played with jack.

he was my best friend!

donna (looking over at stella):

and stella?

me: no, jack was my best friend.

stella was the mom.

donna: oh.

me: don't get me wrong, 

i love and have always loved

stella,

but jack was my buddy...

while we did our thing outside,

stella was in the house

tidying,

making us coke or sweet tea in ball jars,

and preparing dinner.

donna smiled.

~@~

 yes, most definitely...
jack was the kid, and 
stella was the mom.

from my little-girl-perspective,

that's how i saw it.

stella was a good mom to jack and me.

she had a hard job keeping jack in line,

but she did it beautifully.

she took care of him,

and

she took care of me.

with both of my parents
working long hours,

i was a latchkey kid.

i wasn't allowed to answer the door

but was allowed to go to jack's and stella's house

if they were at home and didn't mind.

thankfully they were home a lot,

and

they never made me feel

like they minded my company.

over the years,

jack taught me how 

to play basketball,

to air up my bike tires,

to shoot a bb gun,

and

to form political opinions.

stella taught me how

to crochet a chain,

to cross-stitch,

to make hot chocolate,

to play tunes on her piano,

and

to behave like a classy lady.

jack and stella were my

proverbial

village
on the lane.

it takes one,

you know.

~@~

as i looked over at stella,

i noticed her

head was sliding

off the edge of her pillow.

so, i walked over to the side of her bed

and began to rearrange

her pillows.

me: hey, stella, it's dani.

stella: hey, dani.

me: is this better?

stella: yes.

me: do you want a drink of water?

stella: i think i do.

as she took a couple of sips of water,

donna began to rearrange

her sheet and blankets.

donna: are your heels

getting sore, mrs. davis?

i sat down the cup of water

and moved to the foot of stella's bed

to raise her feet while

donna placed a pillow beneath

the lower calves of her legs.

as i lowered her feet

i rubbed one of her heels.

stella: ah, that feels good.

~@~

i crawled onto the foot

of stella's bed

and began to gently rub her heel.

donna brought a jar of cream

over to me.

after greasing my hands with it,

i commenced to massage her feet...

first her heels,

then her arches,

and

lastly her toes.

when i got to her toes,

i began to feel really emotional.

i took notice:

they were worn yet soft,

they were curled and crooked

yet functional,

they were in need of a pedicure

yet showed signs of having 

had one recently.

stella's feet began to divulge

to me

who she really was.

each individual toe

spoke to me and reminded me

that stella davis was 

a humble servant...

to her husband,

to her mother,

to her children,

to the patrons of their

dry-cleaning business,

to her church,

and to her neighbors.

all at once,

i found myself

in a very intimate place

with this woman

whom i have loved and admired

most all my life.

~@~

so as not to break,

i quickly turned and 

looked over at donna.

me: does stella have any toenail clippers?

donna: no, but i have some

fingernail clippers in my purse

and a file.

here, will these work?

me: i think so, thank you.

i stood up and looked around

the room for something

to place beneath stella's feet

to catch her nail filings.

~@~

after i clipped and filed,

i found a washcloth

and dampened it to wipe

off her feet.

when i came out of her restroom,

donna looked at me

and crinkled her forehead.

donna: that better be warm,

or she will fuss at you!

at that,

we both laughed.

i returned to the restroom,

ran the tap until it was very warm,

re-wet the cloth,

and resumed my place

at stella's feet.

i gently washed,

dried,

and

recovered them

with her sheet and blankets.

~@~

last sunday,

God blessed me...

by allowing me to bring pleasure to,

by allowing me to remember,

by allowing me to experience a precious,
most intimate moment with...

this woman,

this mother,

this neighbor

i hold so dear.

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx