Why I married my husband...

 ...or maybe it should read, "Another reason why I married my husband".

(Reference note: Grandma, why did you marry Grandpa?
AND   Sunshine and the Solar System)

I was sitting here, content to check out blogs and make comments.

John had taken the telescope out to back yard (there is no yard, just a pool which is seldom used).

He came running in, "Quick.  You gotta see this!  Jupiter's moons are lined up, and you can even see..."

I told him, "Just a minute, okay?"

"No, you gotta come now.  These things move out of focus really fast!"

Jupiter with its moons

So we ran out back, and he refocused the telescope.

The planets' positions on evening, March 3, 2012

 Today's night sky


There Jupiter was with striations of orange and brown, with three of its moons in a line, and one shy moon snuggled in just beneath Jupiter.

Jupiter moving closer to Venus, with the Moon looking on

Awe struck.  That's what I was.  Then I look at John; his face was lit up like a child sharing a special toy with a special person.


And that's another reason why I married my husband.

 

Wednesday Words from 2012: Maniacal Old Woman

Violin music scratched from Miss Violet Ramsey’s record player, volume turned up high, pouring music directly at her head. Her deaf ears scarcely heard even a note, which did not seem to be a problem.

By the window where Miss Violet sat, she stroked her calico kitten and sipped hot cocoa topped with melted marshmallow.  "How about we have another, Kitty?" as she set a fresh cup next to six empties. It had been a long cold day, and six cups were nothing.

Violet had barely taken a sip, when she cried out, “Oh, look, Kitty!  There’s another one!”  Even with her glasses steamed and fogged, Miss Violet did not miss a man  in a dark overcoat as he rushed by on Albany Lane, now a very slippery street.  

When he tumbled and cursed, Miss Violet giggled and marked another hash mark on her writing tablet. “That makes 13 today!” Marshmallow spittle splattered onto Kitty, who was not in the least bothered by it.  

Her joy was disturbing on so many levels.

This is a re-post from Nov. 29, 2012.  The italicized, underlined words were a gift from Delores (her blog at the time "thefeatherednest") and Wednesday Words challenge she instigated. Being the clever girl she is, Delores managed to capture and pique the interest of many bloggers who delighted in using 6 unrelated words and playing with them.

This writing challenge still exists!  You can find the words at several bloggers' sites, mainly Elephant's Child, River-Drifting through Life,  Please head over to Delores' site, as there is always something going on there!

C is for Change, 4/3/12, re-posted on 3/26/16

Let's see...spring forward...fall back...dammit.

Change. 

The day this was written was the “time change day”, the spring forward an hour.  Everyone and their brothers hate this one.  The fall back day is fine with most people, but it takes weeks to adjust to this new hour forward change.

Most people aren’t happy with change in any form.  As a people, we like our schedules and routines:  Coffee at a certain time;  Leaving work at the right time;  Eating our comfort foods. 

Pretty straight forward

We are creatures of habit, and change is an irritant, a grain of sand in a place that can’t be reached.

Years ago at a school where I taught, a new math curriculum was introduced.  “Changing to conceptual understanding will help students…”

A fellow teacher stated (about the integration of that fancy new math curriculum), “Change is good!”  Trying to be positive, I guess.

I'm with 'ya, kid.

After two years of using an expensive, cutting-edge curriculum, students couldn’t add or subtract.  Another program quietly took its place.

Change is sometimes painful.  And expensive.

Okay...I see where you're going with this....not sure I want to...

My mother died one year ago today.  Yes, April 3^rd, 2011.  I had received a photo of Mom on Valentine’s Day when she was voted “Queen of Valentine’s Day” at her care facility.  She glowed with joy and pleasure, and she was beautiful. 

Then, six weeks later, I stood by her bedside, holding her hand.  The woman in the bed was my mother, but she wasn’t.  Pneumonia combined with COPD had melted her down to a pale faded leaf, ready to be blown away.  When Mom took her final breaths, change happened.

Her generation is leaving the stage, and now my generation has moved up to take its place.  The whole damn queue is moving up with us, waiting in the wings for their turn.

No, change is inevitable.

How about you?  Are you one who thrives with change?  Or one who fights, kicking and screaming, when change happens?

At the time of this posting, I knew NOTHING about copyright and crediting photos to providers.  NOTHING.  So, I hope and pray that I have offended no one.  I know a lot more now.

Also, this was a post for April 3, 2012:  C is for Change during the A to Z Challenge. April 1st is only a few days away, with some awesome talented bloggers meeting other awesome talented bloggers.  This is the first time I haven't participated in five years.  Lots of family events going on, so I'll stop by at my beloved bloggers to see what they are thinking!