Lovely Among The Ugly

 I walked outside this morning to feel the fresh air on a Sunday and attend my church. The birds were singing like a choir and I looked for my lesson, because there is always one if you open your eyes.  

I saw this jumble of leaves, dried sticks, Spanish Moss, debris from the winter's yard, but when I looked closely I saw this beautiful lil flower perched on a blade of grass. 

It still makes my heart jump when you see something so lovely, coming out of something so ugly.

That is our challenge everyday. To find the lovely,  in the ugly. 

We have a lot of ugly in our lives  if you believe the news or the TV or what people tell you, but I am here to tell you that there are just as many or more instances of Lovely,  if we look and listen. 

The bird song this morning was lovely.  The tiny new buds on the trees letting us know that Spring has sprung and new life has started, was lovely. 

When we have new life we have everything and that is the best kind of lovely. 

Today is my favorite day. The memories of Daddy and my sisters and brothers swimming. The silence as buses are quieted, people are off work and children are sleeping in. 

I am so thankful for the lovely in my life. 

Illness is ugly. Pain is ugly, Pills are ugly.  But my family and friends are lovely. They counterbalance all that ugly with the best possible parts of Lovely and I am grateful. 

I pray that each of you find the lovely in your lives today. I love each and every one of you so much, Kimmee

My Tombstone Cousin Doc Holliday

 Jan 3, 2021

Hi, sweet friends. I've been meaning to post pictures of our day in Tombstone and am sincerely hoping that I will be able add as many pics as I took that day. 

Tombstone has a special meaning for me as Doc Holliday was my 2nd cousin 3 x removed. I have read about him and was just tickled pink to be where he stood even though he didn't have the best of reputations as a gambler, gunfighter, drinker and sometimes Dentist. His common law wife was Big Nose Kate and I took some pics of her Saloon that Doc had built. . She was a sometimes lady of the night and fiercely protective of Doc, helping him each day cause he was pretty sick from tuberculosis.  His mother had died from it when he was 15 and the records I found had him suffering at a fairly young age. 

He and Wyatt Earp were friends and Bat Masterson knew him during that day also. 

Kate and Doc had a very volatile relationship and they had one fight too many and he kicked Kate out. He ended up dying in Colorado of his illness at age 36. It was surreal being there, reading about "characters" that I had only seen in the movies. 

There were so many amazing things to see and I wish my knees would have held out for more but I was so thankful to see this cowboy town and Boothill Cemetery.

 I hope that you all enjoy seeing some of the sights of our outing a week ago and I wish you all could have been with me! It was so much fun. I'm still recovering from the Cemetery and praying I get back to where I was one day soon. 

I am praying for a return to more normalcy in our lives and for all those lost and suffering in the pandemic. It makes my suffering seem small in comparison and I am so thankful to still be here enjoying life. I love you with all my heart. Always, kimmee

Hummingbird

 A dear friend of mine shared this beautiful Hummingbird and it reminded me of another. So I hope to honor her by sharing it with all my wonderful friends . 

Kat, your wonderful Hummingbird reminded me of another. I had a beautiful purple hand blown glass one that I displayed with my dolls. She was all of 3 inches long and so elegant in the light. I had purchased her on one of the many trips that Mom( the lady that I called Mom) Wendi and I took together in the 70's. We were down near Disneyland in California and Mom spotted a glass blowing shop. They had several shows a day and my love of hand-blown glass was born. 

Aww man,  he was talented and I bought my Hummingbird that he had made. I protected her through 13 moves by keeping her in a well padded box. 

One day I was cleaning the glass front cabinet she was in and I don't know what happened but she slipped from my hand. Oh, how I cried. I still tear up now just talking about her. She was a link to Mom and our adventures. 

Then all of a sudden the lesson was clear. 

We cherish of sorts of things over the years and they enrich our lives but maybe they aren't meant to be ours forever and we have to let go. 

Letting go has never been easy for me. Abandonment as a child left me clingy, needy and things became my security.

I worked on myself in my 50's and overcame so much and this lil Hummingbird was a last remnant of that former life. It was time to acknowledge that I am different now. I'm not that needy person that kept people in my life that were mean to me. I let people go when they want to go and keep those that want to stay. I learned that I have no control over anyone else but myself and my responses. I didn't need anyone or anything anymore. I had let go and was flying free as that dear Hummingbird.  

It's a new year and I don't make resolutions anymore. I just try to be a good person everyday. A helper, compassionate for myself and others and above all else loving. 

God bless you all for walking with me. Thank you Kat for the gentle reminder on this first day of the New Year. I love you. All of you with my whole heart. Always, kimmee