Friday, September 14, 2007


Happy Birthday
Grandma / Great-Grandma!



















Today is my grandmother's birthday. Let me tell you this 80+ beautiful women is always on the go! She is still very active with her church choir, does payroll for many places, travels all over the country to see Jazz concerts with her friends ~ something she really enjoys.
I know she gets up every morning and reads this blog and my sisters here. She sent each of us the sweetest email recently telling us how much she enjoys reading our blogs everyday and loves to see when we update!
We love you grandma (great grandma) and hope you have a FANTASTIC Birthday! Hope you are home today for the delivery man ?!?!

Ya'll, THANK YOU so much for all your visits and comments. I have been a lousy visitor to my favorite blogs lately ~ just plain BUSY right now. Am hoping to get some much needed things done today and tomorrow so that after church on Sunday I can have a good look and catch up on what I've been missing.

I do want to share one story with you and some thoughts ~
Yesterday at the grocery store this lady was blocking the isle. I patiently waited for a minute and she still didn't move (she knew I was waiting). I politely said excuse me and shuffled by - barely as she moved just enough for my cart to not to hit the food or her cart. The look I received and the comment she made to her friend (she called me a term used for a female dog)
and I thought about turning around but didn't. I walked around the corner and said a little prayer for her. Maybe she was having a bad day. Maybe she was hungry and aggrevated cause she wanted all those cookies and candies but knew she didn't need to buy them (been there ~ know what I'm talking about). Well, her and her friend caught up with me a few isles over and both of them challenged in their height were trying to reach up on the top shelf for something and couldn't reach it. Well, I'm a rather tall girl so I reached up and got what they were trying to reach and as sweet as pie they both said "Thank You" I bet she was eating her words ~ HUH? Regardless of what she felt afterwards I thought about how she looked at me and the name she called me all because I wanted to get by her in the store. It hit me that it was Sept. 13th. 6 years and 2 days after Sept. 11th when our country was unified and ONE. Well, I believe slowly but surely we are now a country divided and separated. COME ON PEOPLE!
COME ON LADIES! We can make a difference. We can make it the way it was 6 years ago ~ by reaching out and being friendly, respectful and polite! Let the spirit of Sept.11th flow through you this weekend! Open a door for a stranger. Smile and say hi to those people you pass in the streets. Let a car merge when you really think you are in more of a hurry to get where you need to be - they might need to get there faster! SLOW DOWN and take a breather. Hug a loved one. Call a friend. Write a personal note. I'm gonna do all those things this weekend and I hope you will too! BLESSINGS my friends!

19 comments:

Christi said...

Fantastic post today, Sandy! Happy birthday to your Grandmother and huge kudos to you for being the better person!!! smiles...

Sandi McBride said...

Amen Sister, Amen...oddly enough I think this is truer of women than of men...the rudeness thing in public. You're right, a smile goes a long way and pays for a multitude of sins

Justabeachkat said...

Happy Birthday to your sweet Grandmother! She's very pretty and sure doesn't look her age!

Wow...on your experience in the grocery store. I've had things like that happen to me too. It's amazing just how rude and thoughtless some people can be. I think the way you handled it was just perfect and an example for all of us, including that lady and her friend. Hopefully, she saw God in you. That is my prayer, that my actions will let others see God in me.

Hugs! Have a wonderful weekend.
Kat

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!!
I think the hardest thing to do is to through out blessings, when all you want to do is curse! I struggle with this one everyday.
Such as, when I get cut off in the car, when someone throws garbage on the grown (big pet peave), when insults are thrown my way...
I believe that God puts these people/situations in my path for a reason and I have a choice. To throw a blessing or a curse.
I have to admit that occasionally that curse flies out, but then I am reminded that: "I died for them, too." WOW! How powerful.
Thanks for sharing...

Lisa said...

First Happy Birthday to you son and to your sweet Grandma! I too am appalled and astonished by the morals of people I run into at stores and other establishments. Where are manners???? Well if people like you and I keep on fighting the unkind with the kind maybe we will show these "misguided" I was going to say Heathens! LOL a thing or two! Have a terrrific day! XOXO Lisa

Dragonlady said...

Happy Birthday to Grandma....

Loved your post today and thank you for sharing it...
Brenda

Genevieve said...

Hi Sandy! Oh I can so relate to your story too. It seems almost everytime we go into public we witness some type of uncalled for rudeness and disrespect. What the heck are our children learning when they witness these random acts of unkindness????Happy Birthday to your Gram she looks wonderful!"See" you soon!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to your Grandmother! 80Yrs old! Wonderful post! :) *HUGS*

Alice J said...

Great post , Sandy!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Grandma! She looks great to me too!
In this world today I think people are TRYING to see how rude they can be! But I highly respect you for what you did!!! I don't know if I could have done that. But...I'm sure that is what Jesus would have had you to do too. We sometimes don't think that way though. We are out to get revenge in whatever way we can get it on the other person.
You have taught me another lesson! Not only does this girl(that is younger than me) teach me art lessons now she is teaching me LIFE lessons! How great a teacher is that!
As everyone can tell from this comment I love my teacher! May the whole world know! Amen!
God will richly bless you in the days ahead! Amen!
AliceJ

Michelle said...

Happy Birthday to your dear Gram!

I am so glad you were able to have grace and mercy today...I am sure it made an impression and hopefully will help that lady extend the same one day. (((hugs)))

Kari (GrannySkywalker) said...

Happy birthday to your Grandma - here's hoping she reads the comment section of your blog, too!

I have been thinking the same thing about the division in this country. How did this happen? We were so united and it was wonderful...why couldn't it last? I'm all for differing opinions and views, but doesn't it seem like politics has taken a turn for the worse, as in...the "parties" seem more interested in promoting their own agendas than in doing what's best for the country? I feel that a lot of people who are screaming "I love America" are doing their best to tear us in half these days. But I also believe that change can start with a single person. And if all of us - the INDIVIDUALS of Blogland - each make a vow to do just what you've suggested and treat each other better just because we can and it's the right thing to do, we'll see a change on a larger scale, too. I hope so anyway.

Great post!

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Great Post... and Amen to that!

Kim said...

Happy b-day to Great-grandma. My grandmother will be 87 next month and is so precious to me. I read a devotion one time that suggested that we pray for strangers, especially if they interact with us in an adverse manner. As I'm driving I often pray for people working in their yard, crossing the street, walking their dogs. What a wonderful world it would be if we all prayed for strangers as well and our friends and family. Thank you for your post and the reminder to be kind. Hugs ~ Kim

Scrappy Moments said...

Happy Birthday to Your Grandmother. What a meaningful post, each day is such a Blessing.

Thank you for stopping by blog, I hope you will visit again :)

Angie

Susie Q said...

Happy Birthday to your sweet Grandmother...such a pretty lady!

I love how you handled it all...it is exactly the right way. I love it when
I can return a rudeness with a sweetness...it always befuddles 'em.
Being loving and kind is harder I think...and always the right way to be. : )

Have a sweet weekend.

Hugs,
Sue

Anonymous said...

Good for you for taking the higher ground! If one by one we all make those choices, we can make this a more pleasant world. Thanks for the encouragement to make a difference.

Charity

Deb said...

Happy birthday to your lovely grandmother! I can only hope I am as energetic and youthful as she appears when I'm 80!

Best regards,
Debbie
http://www.shabbycozycottage.com

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday to your Grandma! How nice she has grandchildren who love her so. And as for the grocery store incident, you handled that with grace. I've seen people get in shouting matches over things like that in the store. Hopefully she saw something in you that might help her react differently next time.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to Grandma! (she really looks wonderful.)
Oh, I can so relate to your grocery store experience. I am the most impatient person in the grocery store check out lines. Oneday I decided that I had no power over how fast the line moves, and I needed to change myself. I now remind myself that I will get there in good time, and to push myself to be even more patient, if there is someone in line behind me with just a few items, I ask them if they would like to go before me. It's just my small way of teaching myself patience and also showing a little kindness along the way.