I was meeting with country
friends this morning, for another jam/chit-chat session. I like these
gatherings; and they always run overtime – I like that, too 😉
I held out to the very last
possible moment before leaving town: I wanted to drop off a bag of books at the
community library, and that didn’t open until 10 AM. I was cutting things slim,
but it couldn’t be helped; the books I’ve read over the winter months are
piling up … and they gotta go. Someone else will enjoy them.
When I pulled up to my
favorite coffee shack, I was informed, “We’re out of oak milk …”
Hemp seems to be the latest
craze: I AM NOT INTERESTED. I had a friend (no longer a friend due to the
blm nonsense), who liked to try to sprinkle the lunch fare she was sharing
with me, with hemp seed – she was always gushing about how “healthy!” hemp is. I had to finally physically stay her hand, and say, “Stop, please. I’ve
told you before I don’t want it. I do not use drugs of any sort.” She was
offended by the rebuff, even though I had repeatedly told her I didn’t agree with
her infatuation with hemp food products … and at that point, I was beyond
offended by her pushiness.
The coffee shack employees may be thrilled to have hemp milk on their menu – but I am not interested. This aging flower child does not want it. I am not interested in the selling hype about {it’s benefits}: that is all BS to me. The selling hype around hemp {food} products is that “there is little to no” psychoactive THC in the product. Uhhhh … little is too much, as far as I am concerned.
And some people – I could
very well be one of them – are dangerously allergic to hemp food products. I do
not want to risk an itchy distraction rash, hives, or an onset of anaphylaxis
while driving. I have a sensitive constitution; I have to be careful with my
food sources.
I do not want
marijuana seeds on my salads, and I do not want marijuana juice in my coffee.
I was happy to get to the
jam session: the friends I’ve made are funtastic people, and the music is good –
it’s a mish-mash of musical tastes, musical talents, oldies tunes/new
styles, and ‘on the spot’ inspiration (this is the exciting anticipatory part
– seeing the conception & birth of a cooperative, created, song). I
LOVE IT!
I like this group of people –
I will forever be grateful I was introduced to them. I feel like I actually
belong; for once I do not feel I am standing entirely apart from everyone else
watching life go by. And I am startled now and then to know that I am
sharing some of the same space others share: up until recently, I have
pretty much avoided people because most people get very annoying very
quickly. But, since being cast adrift following Bob’s physical death, Elohim
has been faithful to put people across my life’s path that have been very
good for me in many ways. I am grateful for their low-key, inclusive,
same frequency friendships … and I am thankful to be so loved and
highly favored by my God.
I was surprised to see D walk in the door with a guitar case - I didn't know he could pick ;-)
While we were all sitting
around jawing, and jamming (I'm the side-line cheer leader), J asked, “Val, do you sing?”
How to answer
that?
Yes: and no. Yes, I sing when I am alone. No, I
do not sing in group settings because my lung power eventually craps out
and I end up either faking it, or mentally singing while those around me assume
I don’t know the songs or I am a party-pooper.
I love music – music gives expression to what I cannot put
into words.
I sing when I am alone … and
I would sing with Bob when were together in-house, or in the vehicles and we
were jamming to songs we both enjoyed; but I don’t sing in public (or in
Fellowship) because my lung capacity just isn’t there – sooner or later, I
end up lip-syncing when the song being sung requires a deeper air capacity than
my lungs have. But, I haven’t had to use my inhaler since Mother’s Day (7 weeks
ago), and I am breathing deeper than I’ve ever been able to in my entire
life, so we’ll see if I eventually get up and sing 😉
But for right now, in this
moment … I am content to listen to J, GG, and B belt the songs out while D
& H do the instrumental backup 😉 GG
sings perfect acapella (singing without instrumental backup), and
sets the scale/pitch tone: Bob enjoyed acapella singers, if he
were with me, he would really enjoy GG’s singing as much as I do. And maybe
he is enjoying it 😊
Josh Groban
Acapella – ‘You Raise Me up’ song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcLl0A-lXIc)
I believe that the Saints (which
Bob now is part of: Hebrews 12)
surround us – that being the case, I believe that Yeshua, and Bob, are aware
of my daily life happenings. And that knowing, strengthens and
comforts me.
J also asked me how old I am;
I said, “65” – his eyebrows went up, and he said, “You’re pulling my
leg.” I shook my head and said, “Truth. I’ll be 66 in December.” He
said, “You do not look 65. You must be doing something the rest of us know
nothing about.” I said, “I have a secret: clean living, good loving, and
God first and foremost; covenant relationship. Age is just a number, the secret to
aging well is not to stress about aging – it happens; so does life. Enjoy life
while you have it, and don’t worry about it ending.” 😉
I exercise my body and mind - keeping both limber and active; I eliminate as much stress
in my personal life as I possibly can, and I use make-up sparingly (cleaning
my face as soon as possible when I get back home) – those basic eliminations
keep my face pretty wrinkle-free.
Personally, I think I look
my age (what, exactly, does 65 look like?) – and I’m okay with embracing
my age. Some people of my generation haven’t made it as far as Elohim has
blessed me to be: in many ways I feel privileged to be 65. While my hair had
retained much of its natural hue … there is quite a bit of gray in it (it
blends very stylishly – thank You, Yeshua 😊); and I’m glad Bob got to see it showing up,
before his spirit stepped off this Earth.
Aging does not have to be a
heavy burden. MPO
And age really is irrelevant
when you are in Elohim’s Secret Place 😊
Smith, White
& Fairchild – ‘Secret Place’ song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzdWNYkpl68)
The jam session wrapped up
around 4 PM. When I got home, I did an hour-long walk-thru in my garden area (watering,
pinching back some plants, sprinkling slug bait in all the beds, noticing/noting
which plants need to be reseeded, ect.); ate Supper, and started on another
Angel Baby Blanket.
Mobility and relaxation is
also another {secret} way to stave off the effects of aging 😉
