Where did my babies go?

I am starting to sound like a broken record, but where are those babies I held in my arms? What happened to all the noise and rough housing. Yes even with three girls there was rough housing. I can't remember how many couches they destroyed jumping on them. How did they all grow up with no broken bones?

Where is the silliness that never seemed to end. Or the fighting over who's turn it was to use the computer.

What happened to the weekly trips to town for piano, gym and library?

My first born. I can remember the day she was born-well actually I can't I was pretty drugged, but I remember the first time I gazed at her sweet little face and wondered; who is this little person? Who is she going to be. It was amazing to watch her grow. Her personality firmly in place the day she was born. She was determined, smart and beautiful. There was no prettier person on the earth than my dear little baby. None smarter! No other baby could compare.

By the time my second one came I had this mothering thing all figured out. (read here still didn't have a clue). She was my Tom boy, my explorer the one who hated school in the traditional sense, but loved learning if she could get her dirty little hands on it. Cattle were her passion. She loved anything having to do with them and spent her teen years with cows instead of boys. She was my shadow when out in the barn. The one who loved anything animal.

Oh my baby, my last. She could light up a room just walking into it. Everyone was her friend. She loved people. I used to worry that she would just go away some time with a stranger. She arranged secret signals with the librarian, because I had forbidden her to ask for candy. "Conny pease", I think was her first spoken words. She would ask everyone. Her other passion was old men. We used to tease that she collected grandpas. She never really knew her own so she adopted all the grandpas she could.

Her drum beats to a slightly different tune. Shooting sports and hunting in a family that doesn't hunt. Adventure, travel and people; she is ready to try anything at least once.

So where have they gone? Where is the noise, dirt and mess?

My precious babies have scattered to the wind to start their own families and find their own brand of adventure.

It time for me to embark on my own adventures.

More on that later.

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Where have I left my mind?

I am a caretaker for several elderly people withAlzheimer disease. They are all wonderful people, I love them dearly and I look forward to seeing them, but sometimes I wonder if they are contagious. The day before yesterday I thought I read on one of my favorite blogs that she was going to have a photo contest keeping with the theme of Love. She did a love contest last week. This week it was suppose to be forgotten love or lost love. That is the first thing I can't remember-what exactly was the title that she used.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and I decided to take advantage of the light and photograph some items that belonged to my mother-in-law, father and grandmother. I took the pictures edited them then looked for the post so I could enter them. I couldn't find it I hunted through all of my old e-mails from the last week and can't find it any where. I e-mailed my daughter to see if she remembers seeing it. She doesn't know anything about it. Now I am starting to think that maybe I dreamed the whole thing. I am going to share some of the pictures that I took with you. The first one is items not from my past, but from some people I loves past.

The box was my mother-in-law's. She always kept patterns in it. The handmade lace my grandmother Josephine made. The monkey was my father's as were the baby shoes. The jewelry was also my grandmothers. What memories of her they bring back. She used to to needle work

pictures as well as tatting. She tried to teach me how to follow a needle work pattern. I never did finish a picture, but I did learn to cross stitch. She taught me how to play solitaire. My sister, cousins and I would sit around her dining room table and play cards all afternoon. We lived in Michigan, she lived in Wisconsin. We only saw each other twice a year. She wouldn't call and talk long distance; that was for emergencies only, but letters traveled back and forth across the lake, several every month. Those letters were filled with love. They all were about the same. She would write about what they had for dinner and who came to visit, but they were always filled with love. She took the time to write to me. Oh how I miss her. She died the year my first child was born. As she was lay dying she held my babies foot and said the baby's name. I didn't know then that those would be the last words I heard her say. She would have loved her great grandchildren as she loved her grandchildren.

My lost mind has taken me down memory lane and maybe I will write more about the incredible people that are my ancestors and take more pictures that bring back memories. Never the less if someone finds my brain out there will you please send it home.

Same spot 22 years later

Here we are in the same spot as the previous post only 22 years later. The cattle have been replaced by the sheep and two donkeys. The little girl filling the tank has grown and has a little girl of her own. The tank has long been gone and an automatic waterer now delivers water to the livestock.

Original
Edited version

I edited this photo again using Kim Klaussen's History texture and Photo Shop Elements.

I have included the recipe for anyone wanting to try this on their own photos. Kim's Skinny Mini course is free and gives a good basic understanding of PSE. Here is the link to Kim's website. http://www.kimklassencafe.com/

I am going to try and keep warm and enjoy the sunshine here in Sunny Michigan