Is this retirement?

"So, Miss Careen, what do retired people do?"

The question struck me as odd, because the one asking it was the person who has helped me in our home for the past ten years, since I "retired." I started thinking...was she asking because she apparently doesn't see me doing anything, or is it because we stay so busy she doesn't realize I've retired from something?

I'm trying to find the answer to the question. Let's see, the past ten days, here's what I've done:

A week ago this past Thursday, Pops and I drove to Macon and babysat our three grandchildren so Clint and Helen could have a night out. It was their first "date" since the new baby, Hartley, had been born. We entertained Harrison and Hannah (more accurately, they entertained us), fed them supper, and rocked little Hartley until the parents returned, then we drove home around midnight.

Friday was a rest day! Then on Saturday, I visited with our youngest son Josh, his wife Jenny and their new baby, Molly (two weeks old), who live across the highway. I helped Jenny entertain an out-of-town guest who had come to see the new baby. Pops spent the morning on the tractor spraying food plots for the deer, and the afternoon playing 18 holes of golf with our middle son Jed, who was down from Atlanta. His expressed purpose in coming was to take me on a date! We hadn't had any fun time together lately, so he wanted to do it. We went to dinner at The Trellis restaurant in Americus, the nicest place in town. I enjoyed every minute of the time we spent in conversation. Sunday, it was church and lunch at Josh and Jenny's. The remainder of the week was filled with three workouts at the gym, two Bible studies, sharing meals with the new parents, counseling a young woman Burt met in Cracker Barrel one morning, who came and spent the night in our guest house.

On Friday of last week, I had an unexpected call from Lila, our almost-four granddaughter, who was at the beach with her family. She wanted to know if I wanted to come to the beach and "sleep with her in the big bed." I wasn't too keen on sharing the bed with Lila, but joining them at Watercolor, I could do! So Pops and I left the next day and came down, and here we are! We'll go home tomorrow and get geared up for the expected influx of guest that will come during hunting season.

So what is all this saying? If our time was spent looking for entertainment for ourselves, I can't imagine how bored we'd be. The fact is, we never know what surprises God has for us every morning. We get calls about serious prayer requests, unexpected guests staying overnight in the guest house or the carriage house, and repeated opportunities to share with people daily, the goodness of God that has graced our lives.

Retirement for us simply means we don't go to the same work place every day. It means we are free agents, ready to be used by the Lord to be blessings to others whenever the Holy Spirit taps us on the shoulder and puts us in the game. The days we have nothing to do are almost non-existent, but we figure we worked for forty years for this moment of availability.

Home Alone

Tonight finds Pops and me at home alone! ( Sound like we like it, doesn't it??) I'll admit...it is kinda' nice not to have anything to do or anybody to interact with. The Lord send so many people our way, and we absolutely LOVE it, but tonight, we needed a quiet night. It's the beginning of the Labor Day weekend, and we feel as if we're on vacation. I made dinner; we ate in the sunroom where my man was enjoying watching the Braves game on TV, and everything tasted so GOOD, I just have to share my recipes!

First, I cooked fresh salmon, purchased at Publix a few weeks ago (I froze it). Here is the recipe, which I got from wwww.allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons lemon pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets

Directions

Whisk together the brown sugar, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon pepper, thyme, basil, parsley, and garlic powder in a bowl, and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the salmon fillets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate. Remove the salmon from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade.

Grill the salmon on the preheated grill until browned and the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 5 minutes on each side.

Note: since I didn't want to fire the grill for a small piece of salmon, I used the oven. I set it a little hot, about 400 degrees, and the sugar on the fish caramelized around it—yummy. I also hardly ever measure, so there were probably more spices in the recipe than called for. Just go for it—you can't lose, if you like salmon!

Then I put together the best tasting salad! I must share it with you:

I mixed Baby Romaine lettuce (buy-one-get-one-free at Winn-Dixie) with some marinated goat cheese (also purchased at W-D), threw in some Kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts (in a jar), and the crowning touch...fresh grape tomatoes and cucumbers given to us by our new friends from Athens, GA, that we just met last weekend on a Lay Witness Mission at their church in Athens. I used my own olive oil-balsamic vinegar dressing, and it was YUM-IE!!!

There's not a lot of spiritual depth to this post. I guess the point is that, after 41 years of marriage, I enjoy serving my man and letting him relax more than I did years ago when I was in the throes of child-rearing, and needed his help to settle the guys for bedtime. Those years, I resented his relaxing at night because I couldn't. Things have changed. He now realizes how much his presence means to me, regardless of the task, and I've come to realize how much I need him. We both realize how much we enjoy taking care of each other!

We also enjoy the same menu...and a quiet weekend!

Happy Labor Day, Everybody!!!!

My Little Diva

I've learned some things about little girls lately. Especially about my little girls. Especially about Hannah, my little granddaughter. I've learned I can't trust them...out of sight, that is!

We thought the challenge at our house would be the big boy toys: the knives, guns, matches, and other trinkets that fascinate both little boys, as well as big (as in, grown-up) ones. I never stopped to think that my stuff was in jeopardy. Our sons never seemed interested in the things I kept in the bathroom, except the time that one of them came walking into my room filled with guests, carrying a handful of tampons. That temptation was easy to fix; I just put them away and simply explained that was something that for girls, not for boys. No problem; our boys didn't want "girl stuff."

So I hadn't considered the possibility of little girls being interested in my things. I actually thought I'd enjoy having granddaughters to share lotion and nail polish and jewelry with. Guess I didn't realize that Hannah, at age 2, was ready to share. So when she disappeared for a few minutes and found my make-up, and you see the results! She looks much better without make-up!

Balancing our Lives

I got this message from one of my "special girls," a young mom with two toddlers and a newborn:

My servant attitude sure has been challenged recently. Especially with the addition of another little one with so many "needs". I have even caught myself rolling my eyes when a little one dares to utter the word, "Mama". I know alot of my attitudes are from lack of sleep and the constant "neediness" of being a mom. Trying to adjust/correct my 'tude, but also trying not to beat myself up during this season of my life. It's all a balancing act.........but that has left me wondering, does it ever balance?

I understand the question. Will the day ever come that we don't have some disappointment in ourselves as moms, those times when we lose our cool and find the very ones we are devoted to and would lay down our lives for are the ones we become frustrated with. I said that, at times, I didn't even LIKE my own kids! I realize now it was myself I didn't like. I didn't like my lack of self-control, my lack of patience, my lack of the nature of Jesus. That's what I wanted to show to my family, but instead I have shown annoyance to the very ones God sent me to minister to. The disappointment in my own behavior becomes a harsh exposure of the deficiencies in my own life.

Dealing with the stubborn spirit in our children makes it evident how far we human beings are from being like the Master. No doubt, to God we look no different from the belligerent two-year-old who throws herself on the floor and kicks her feet, or the siblings who tug and wrestle over some toy. It's all about having our things our way. The angry little toddler who screams at being denied a treat before dinner is motivated by the same spirit that causes me to yell at a child who just tracked mud over my clean floor.

Dealing with small children shows me another spiritual lesson: I can't do it successfully without HELP. And that's exactly why God sent the Holy Spirit to us, to help us in our weaknesses. Yes, everything is a balance. Our busy, demanding lives have to be balanced with time to be refreshed and renewed by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we just need a nap! Parenting is not easy; to me, neither is grand-parenting. My precious grandchildren remind me how much I need God's help to let the fruit of the Spirit come forth.

Sometimes I think I expose too much to the young women I mentor. I confess my lack of composure. But at the same time, I tell them where to find the watering hole: resting on Jesus's bosom and believing He will impart His presence to us and His wisdom for the tasks we face. Jesus Himself became tired. He sat "wearily" by a well and sent the disciples on ahead to get food (John 4:6); He needed time alone so He left the disciples early in the morning and went to pray (Mark 1:35). I love the verse in Mark 1:33, "The whole town gathered at [his] door." That's a verse we mothers can relate to—sometimes it feels like the whole town is gathered at our door...especially when we're in the bathroom!

The life of Jesus was one of composure and balance. The only way to find this for ourselves is to spend time in His presence, and that means we remember He has placed His Spirit within us, and because of it, we will find the balance we need.