6 November 2024
There is much to say, and this is long. Some of you may start reading this, and stop, and some will read to the end. That is your choice, obviously. But this is for ALL of our family, and friends; and we have family and friends of many nationalities, ages…from the early adulthood to well into their senior hood, genders (straight and LGBTQ…), religions (or not), political choices, varied careers, some who have had abortions, some who have experienced rape, some who are wealthy and live that lifestyle, and some who are far from it, and live from paycheck-to-paycheck, some who have overcome drug and alcohol addiction, some who may still be dealing with them, some who are trying to make sense of life and the mysteries, and everything else that can be imagined. So this is for ALL of you.
It seems as though some people have had a life of ease, always having, or getting what they wanted. Others have dealt with disappointment, they deal with it, and go on, for the most part. Either way, life goes on.
Most of us in The Hermitage are closing in on 70 years old. Some are FAR younger, and others are FAR older. All of them have experienced much in their lives.
Queen went through several divorces/marriages with her mother over her years of living at home. Each of these events brought a different home (14+), and school (12 at least). She hated every…single…move. Hated trying to make friends. Hated life. Hated a lot. Each move brought more depression, and discouragement. But she persevered, for the most part. She learned that life goes on wherever you are, whatever you are doing, like it or not. She still questions the whys of all of it. Life went on.
Queen went through her own divorce. That wasn’t something she ever thought would happen. Movie Buff and Storyteller had always said, “You get married and live happily ever after.” But that didn’t happen. She did NOT want the divorce. She wanted the happily ever after. The years leading up to it brought back memories she suppressed for years. She hated it. Hated trying to deal with it. Not only did it bring depression and discouragement, it brought back all the suicidal thoughts and dispositions she dealt with as a child and teenager. She still questions the whys of this as well. It was one of the hardest things she had to deal with. Life went on.
Athlete played all kinds of sports growing up. Sometimes she, or the team won, sometimes she, or the team lost. There was joy in the winning, and disappointment in the losing. You deal with it. Life went on.
Voter turned 18 in 1973. She isn’t sure of the first time she voted, BUT she voted. She has ALWAYS voted. Sometimes the people she voted for won, and sometimes they lost. Sometimes she questioned why the people she voted for lost, as she had her opinions about them. But, for 51 years life has gone on, no matter the outcome of any election.
Through all of these things, and much more, ALL of us in The Hermitage have learned to deal with disappointments. They happen. They will always happen. We’ve learned to live with the successes. They happen as well. They will continue to happen. We have learned that it is not the end of the world. Sometimes it means we adjust one way, sometimes it means we adjust another way. Adjustment is also something that happens frequently. Without experiences in life, discouragements, adjustments, disappointments, winning, losing, AND everything else, we wouldn’t need to be here. Our job is to learn everything we can. To learn how to deal with everything we can. Life goes on. This too shall pass.
Disciple has taught us that timing is EVERYTHING. That everything has its own time. Everyone has their own time. We’ve all pondered this. Queen with her life and disappointments, and joys. We wonder IF things had happened EXACTLY the way WE wanted them to happen, WHAT actually would have happened? Where would we be? What would we be doing? No. Everything has its time. What would have happened IF the election for 2020 would have had a different outcome? Would things have been different? How would they have been different? Would the pandemic have been handled differently? We don’t know. NO ONE knows. ONLY God knows. He has the plan. He is in charge of the timing. Everything in regards to the plan is done according to His timing. There is order. His order. Just as the earth spins and we have seasons. God has order in everything. We are ALL “inspired” in this order. We all have a purpose and reason in this plan. IF we listen, we will hear what is going on. We all make choices. Everything we say, do, react to, etc. is a choice. We can react positively or negatively. If we react positively, and get along, etc., life will be far different than if we react negatively. One thing we have ALL learned in The Hermitage is to get along, work together, try to be positive, and life goes on. Once in a while, one of us is in a funk. It happens. Thankfully, not very often anymore. When it happens, we console, until it passes. We work together. We may not like what’s going on, but fighting and being destructive or discouraging, just makes everyone else not want to play with us in the sandbox. We’ve learned to get along. Life goes on. This too shall pass.
So however you voted, whether your candidates won or lost, keep going. Have a positive outlook. Having a negative outlook isn’t going to make things better. You aren’t going to feel better. Know that things happen for a reason. Whatever it is. Think of what this is preparing you for. Think of what could happen that may be different from what you think will happen. Life WILL go on. This too shall pass. Make the most of life.
LIFE in The Hermitage…
We have a question. Do any of you wake up and a song is playing in your head? WHAT the heck? Why does THIS happen? On Friday, the 1st, when we woke up, the hymn, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” was playing in our heads! Then, on Sunday the 3rd, the song, “Don’t Forget About Me,” by Simple Minds was playing. We don’t even remember the last time we heard that! THEN on Monday, the 4th, we woke up and, the lyrics, “For maybe by being an “A” student baby I can win your love for me,” from “(What a) Wonderful World,” by Sam Cooke was running around in there! And we have no idea the last time we heard THAT song! Someone give us a clue as to WHAT the heck this is all about!
We’ve been staying up FAR too late at night, and EVERY time we do, we ask ourselves WHY? We question this, say we aren’t going to and then do it again. NOT every night, but dang! Everyone has been SO busy and being tired doesn’t help.
Organizer has been VERY busy. With the help of the kitchen staff, they were able to get things put away that have been on the island and dining table. This was helpful to Chef and Baker. They prepared meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn, tossed salad, and a macaroni salad for the first Sunday Family dinner. Baker prepared a cinnamon pull-apart, which fell apart EVERYWHERE. We all questioned why, then realized, with the help of the oldest daughter, that we didn’t let it sit and cool for 10-15 minutes. Hmmm…Baker is sure this will be brought up in future get-togethers.
Organizer was out in the garage with Crafter and Seamstress trying to sort, organize, toss, and pile things accordingly. They have decided that a lot of it needs to move on. Putting it somewhere else AND still not doing anything with it, isn’t helping the situation.
Gardener has been checking out the landscaping and plants. Seems that ALL of the “Naked Ladies” and assorted other bulbs she moved a few months ago have decided to grow. No, they are NOT supposed to be doing that, BUT at least she knows that they are getting what they need in the bulbs from the growth. They will bloom at their designated times next year from February to September. She is sure it will be lovely. AND another tomato plant is growing out by the mailbox! These seem to come up randomly from the compost! Chef throws all sorts of stuff in the compost and it grows, much to the surprise and delight of everyone.
Time Keeper thought she would get “ahead” of the game last Saturday and reset the clocks before Chauffeur took Grandmomma and Athlete to the little league game. So she reset them…Sunday morning EVERYONE woke up at 6:45…OR what they THOUGHT was 6:45! It was NOT!!! It was 4:45!!! AND THERE was NOT one happy camper amongst ALL of us in The Hermitage. There was talk of having Time Keeper walk the plank. OR to take her to the street and flog her! THE one time we get an extra hour and she robs us ALL of 2 hours! Dang and Double Dang!!! What was she thinking!?!?!!? Needless to say, she was put on report and had better get her act together for the next time change! Maybe someone in the government will resolve to fix this so we never have to do it again. Some states don’t do it. This is a great question! The little league game was great! The grandson hit the ball several times, and was able to round the bases! ALL of the team is doing MUCH better. We do not expect them to win every game as they are young children, and learning. The key is that they are learning skills. Yes, sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose. It’s okay. The skills we learn are more important. It will help us later in life. And life goes on.
We have all been making MUCH progress with the “STUFF” from storage. We’ve learned all about the “clipboards!” We learned about all of the “safety glasses.” This week we found at least 9 index card boxes. A couple of them are from the 50’s. They are metal. Most are plastic. They hold 3”x5” and 4”x6” index cards, OF WHICH we have stacks of index cards in three sizes! 3” x5” 4”x6” and 5”x7” IN white, lined and blank. ALSO colors! Pastels and neons! Lined and blank. ALSO all of the dividers…alphabetical, numerical, and some with typed, yes, typed on a typewriter, tabs. Text messages went out to the same four people as the clipboard questions? WHO has an obsession with index cards??? One response was a lot of laughter, and “Looks like we were really trying to get organized.” Another response was, “I love index cards!” Another said, “Hmmm…” And another emoji with a face palm. Apparently some have inherited the same issues several of us in The Hermitage have. No one wants the clipboards, safety glasses OR the plethora of index cards, boxes and dividers. Chef and Baker have also decided to downsize the LARGE library of cookbooks! Seamstress, Crafter, and others in their little group are downsizing their assortment of books, etc. Life goes on. This too shall pass.
Disciple showed Seamstress some items from the “give and take” at the Church. YES, we took bags of things over there. There was a king size, champagne color, satin flat sheet, and some long tulle curtains with tiny roses embroidered on them, that look like they will be a lovely holiday dress. YES, sometimes Seamstress reminds us of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music when she does these things. Also Gone with the Wind. Making clothing out of the drapes! Insert smiley face. Life goes on. More on this later…with photos.
We are ALL hopeful. There is progress being made. We are staying positive. We are praying for the greater good. We know who is in charge. We have faith and trust. Life goes on. This too shall pass.
