No New Year's Resolutions For Year ... 2015

No New Year's Resolutions ... For Year ... 2015
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates /aka Granny Gee

Photos of the special dragonflies sent to me from someone I loved many years ago.  She was in my life when we were young girls ... she knew Tommy, when he was a child.  She's very special in my Heart.  Thank-you, Vickie.  <3




This is the first year I'm not going to make resolutions for the new year.  Why?


Because ... I have made them every year I can remember ...  things happened to make them useless ... most of the time. 


I have decided to go with the flow ... and channel all that comes my way into as positive as positive can be. 


There are things I am keeping in the back of my mind to improve on ... I will do them quietly, without broadcasting them 'to the world'. 


I think a lot of times when we say things aloud ... we think that will 'make things happen for us'.  It doesn't work for me at all.  I have to do things quietly, without being noticed to have things work out for me .... for you, if I'm doing something for you.  I don't need praise, or recognition for everything I do.  I am honored though ... when it happens.  :)


So, here's to a happy new year for all of us ... isn't it amazing to go into another new year?  Year 2015!  We made it ... once again.




Photo/Story are both owned by me, Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee


Dragonflies in my photo are of dragonflies someone sent me ... she found me recently online.  She was in my life when Tommy was a little boy.  I loved her dearly.  She sent me dragonflies ... that is so special ... not only that ... she sent them in my lucky, favorite colors ... green and purple.  I'm so honored.  Thank you, Vickie.

What's On The Other Side Of The Blanket?

What's On The Other Side Of The Blanket?
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/ aka Granny Gee

Photo I took of the blanket ... as I folded it ... my handprints stayed on the velvety surface ... therefore, giving me the idea for a short story ... is it fiction?  Could this really ... happen?  We'll never know ... unless ... did something try to grab your hand when you touched your blanket?  Is this how ... some people disappear?  Should we check all ... blankets?




I stood at the foot of the bed, folding the king-size blanket. It was very soft to the touch. Light blue in color ... velvety.


I watched my handprints appear on the surface of the blanket as I smoothed it, here and there. Once ... my heart almost stopped, I thought I felt something from the other side of the blanket latch on to my finger! It was my imagination ... it didn't happen again.


The blanket looked neat, on the end of the bed. I noticed slight movement ... I walked closer to look down at the blanket, when I froze. I was unable to move ... there was an extra handprint bigger than mine ... on the surface of the blanket! It was trying to reach out!


My puppy ran over to the blanket, barking. I guess my shock reached through her sleep, waking her up. I tried to push her back ... she was too close. She disappeared, the hand pulled her to the other side!


No! No! I wanted my baby back! I grabbed the hand moving on the surface of the blanket, pulled. A thin man popped out on this side! He held my puppy. Give me back my puppy!


He held her tightly ... not wanting to give me the puppy back. I began to think fast at how I could coax him into giving me my puppy back.


Why ... did you take my puppy? I'm lonely, he said. You don't know what it's like on the ... other side. The other side? Yes, the other side of the blanket! It's lonely there ... it's cold ... all on the inside is snug, cozy.


Why ... are you on the other side? Because ... I kept hogging all the cover one cold, freezing night from my wife. The next thing I knew ... I was on the other side! Now ... I've learned my lesson ... I don't know how to stay on this side of the blanket.


I stood there, thinking ...wondered if talking to his wife could help keep him permanently stay here. Where does your wife live? Only five miles from here, he said. Let's go ... he popped back to the other side of the blanket. I smoothed it ... picked it up, took it to my truck.


My puppy stayed on the bed, going back to sleep, no doubt. I'm sure she was baffled, stunned at the person on the other side of the blanket as I was.


I parked, walked up to the house where the man's wife lived. I knocked on the door. The door opened, and a pitiful looking woman appeared. Ma'am, may I talk to you?


She led me to the living room ... we talked. She began to share with me that her husband disappeared one cold, wintry night. She didn't know why he left her ... she wished for him to come back home.


Instantly, I got to my feet, ran to my truck, grabbed the big blanket ... came back to the living room with it. I put it on the couch, gently. What the ..... ? She was standing there, with her mouth wide open. She didn't understand what was going on.


I asked her again if she wanted her husband home. She said yes, quickly. I took her hand to the blanket ... she began to pull away when she saw the hand on the other side .... reaching out for her hand!


It's alright ... you want your husband back home ... let his hand touch yours. She looked at me, questions in her eyes. I just nodded for her to take the blanketed hand ...


As she did, the man appeared on this side of the blanket. He began apologizing for hogging the bedcover that fateful night. She ran into his arms, forgiving him. She wanted her husband, home!


I watched, tears in my eyes ... my heart felt as if it were being squeezed from emotion. The man had disappeared from this side of the blanket to the .... other side of the blanket. All for hogging his wife's cover ...


I wonder ... if this is how some people disappear? You never know what's on the other side of the blanket!




Story written by Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee. It is owned by her.
Photos were taken by, owned by Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee.


This story idea came from making the bed, folding the heavy, king-size blanket on it. My handprints began appearing on the surface of the blanket as I touched it ... I took photos of my handprints. #Gloria Faye Brown Bates #GrannyGee #handprints #other side

Handprints From The Other Side ...

Handprints From The Other Side ...
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

Photos of my handprints on the big, soft blanket as I folded it ... I  instantly thought of ... handprints from the other side!  Just suppose ... something was on the other side of the blanket as I folded it ... I think I felt something ... try to grab my hand!  Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee


　


I was making up the bed this morning when ... I began to pay attention to something that caught my attention. I began to ... think. You know how my imagination is! The oddest things spark it, unexpectedly.

We have a beautiful, soft blanket we like to sometimes, sleep under when taking a nap. It's so big, heavy ... that you don't need any other covers with it. I noticed something about the blanket, this morning ... in fact, I've been 'sort of noticing' ... lately.

As I folded the big blanket, I began to see my handprints in it! Handprints on a blanket! All kind of ideas came to mind to write about ... like a scary story ... the curtain of air, handprints pressing through ... such things!

I took photos of our blanket with my handprints ... I might need those handprints one day to write a short story.

She stood watching the air in front of her ... there wasn't anything there, until ... oh my God! Handprints from the other side begin pressing the air to reach her. She reached out, placed her hand on one of the handprints ... she could feel each finger. The hand tried to latch onto hers ...

Handprints from the other side ....

　

Photos/story are both owned by me, #Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka #Granny Gee. One day I may finish writing a story from the title I just thought of ... #Handprints From The Other Side. One could weave a good story from that!



　

　

　

　

Family Sounds...

Family Sounds ...
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

A Doodle I did while sitting, grieving ... missing my own child, my son ... Tommy


　


I heard a sound ... a familiar, happy sound

Of a laughing child as it ran, played

I remember hearing such sounds ... a long time ago

Long ago, when my son was but, a little boy

Running, playing ... squealing in pure abandonment

Pure happiness ... oh, the innocence of a child

Long ago, I played with his little son in the sand

Laughing, squealing in pure enjoyment he did

Eyes twinkling just like his daddy's, smile just as bright

One day ... you were gone ... then, he

No more laughing, squealing sounds ... family sounds

Oh God, I miss such special sounds

When I hear them ... I stop in my tracks, lean my head sideways

Look longingly toward where they come from ... listen

Family sounds ... your family sounds ... sounds I once knew

Radio playing in the background ... door closing somewhere

Voices calling to the other ... dogs barking

More family sounds ... sounds I miss hearing ... love to hear

I listen to your family sounds ... I have none of my own, anymore

Skip and I are quiet people ... make soft sounds

I can't help it ... no matter what I'm doing ... I stop to smile, listen

When I hear the special sounds a family makes

I'm listening to life going on ... people making memories

Just as I once did ... praying your children will always be there

That you'll never know the loss of a child

Feel the pain I've carried so long, now

I pray your family sounds will last ... forever

　
　

Money Is The Root ... Of All Evil?

Money Is The Root ... Of All Evil?
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates /Granny Gee

Artwork by Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee ... who personally feels money isn't the root of all evil.





Sometimes, angels need watching over ... too

They watch over us ... I watch over them

When they aren't aware that I do

Do you look out for others, even animals ... when you don't have to? Do you care?

Maybe some of you can't see anything just outside your world ... it could be so wonderful, perfect ... you just don't have time to stop ... look at life around you.

Have you ever cast an eye over toward your neighbor? Wondered if they are doing okay? Maybe they burn wood in a heater ... I love to smell wood burning ... but, not ... when I know someone depends on it for survival. Not when I know they are struggling to live every day of their life.

I can't enjoy the scent of wood burning ... not around me. I associate it with hardship ... a life of more downs, than ups.

I know I don't have to care ... why would I? I don't have extra to help them ... why would I care? It's enough to live my life without worrying about someone else.

Money is the root of all evil .... I've heard it all my life. I know money can be the cause of bad things. I know people are robbed, murdered for it. This is the root of ... evil.

Money can be good, too. It can buffer someone's ass from the cold ... feed their hungry children; give someone a warm coat when they are freezing. Pay for somewhere to shelter them from the elements of the weather.

Dreams can come true ... when someone shares, does something for another. The feeling that comes from doing something special is unlike any feeling you've ever known. In my life, I've known it a lot ... when I used to have extra money. Still, once in a while ... we will do something for someone ... extra money ... or no money. Money is ... everything; money isn't ... everything.

Even without money to help others ... I can 'see, hear' people who would be so thankful for a miracles to happen in their lives. I wish I could be the one to make their dreams come true. I wish I could even do special things back to the ones who have done them for me .. through time.

Do you ever think like this? Think such thoughts? About money? Have you ever wished to make dreams come true? We all look at things differently ... some look at money like it's some evil thing. I look at money as a life-saver.

I don't care what anyone says ... money makes things possible. It buffers one's ass from the ground ... keeps them afloat to not feel the harshness of life. Think about it ... if there wasn't any money, what would you be doing? I think there'd be a lot of sore asses around, myself. I did say that!

　

Birds Of My Feather ... I Am Grinning As I Wonder

Birds Of My Feather ... I Am Grinning As I Wonder
By #Gloria Faye Brown Bates / #Granny Gee

Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee ... I'm a 'bird of a different feather' ... but, a good ole bird!



This morning ... my thoughts have traveled into the past to the time I was a young girl ... to my earliest memories of someone who said ... did something special to touch my life ... until the present.

I know I have forgotten as much as I remember throughout the years. I was sitting here, reflecting on how in the world can someone thank 'everybody' who has touched their life in the most special of ways ... to make it all better?

A lot of those people are gone, now. One being my favorite aunt ... whose soft, quiet voice stayed in my mind, through time. When I was a little girl, she would come to me ... say "Faye, one day ... you will be older, you can choose not to live in this kind of life". How I had wished she was my mother, too. I truly loved her. I loved my Aunt Frankie.

I watched as a little girl in Hell ... when she would come to visit her mother ... my Grandma Alma. Hell would try to suck her in ... making it hard to leave each time without being burned by the flames of harsh words ... or crushed by a physical fight. My Aunt Frankie wanted to stay above that.

She never knew this little girl admired her, loved her ... wanted to be like her. She came from Hell, herself ... when she left, she strived to be a lady. Of course, time to time she was pulled down ... she had no choice but, to fight to get out of the clutches of Hell ... it didn't like to let go of people who tried to be the best they could be ... be someone.

No, Hell hated 'goody-goodies' ... I was hated as I grew older. I damn sure wasn't a goody-goody ... I just wanted a life without Hell being raised ... that meant I was trying 'to be better than someone'. I wasn't better than anyone ... I just wasn't a ... Hellraiser; but, I learned real good ... I could raise Hell with the best of them. It didn't feel good ... I didn't.

It wasn't that I was a 'goody-goody' ... God knows I was led down a lot of roads that taught my ass many lessons. Roads that were terrifying ... damn, I had such a curiosity! I wanted to know how this ... how that could be. I couldn't imagine ... I wanted to see firsthand. I made turns on many roads I should have never ... turned on.

I saw firsthand ... I felt the sting of Hell on a lot of roads. I made mistakes ... not horrible ones ... but, the beginning of horrible ones until I decided I didn't want to be on the roads I was taking. I ran like Hell ... from Hell. I was always running ... you know, Hell is in a lot of places.

Hell is disguised in many ways. Beautiful, wonderful things ... lots of beautiful colors that attracted a young girl like myself. Sights, sounds ... oh, how I loved beautiful things ... oh, the roads I traveled on! How beautiful everything I had ... was; how beautiful I was!

Oh, the fun I could have had ... if only ... I'd been 'bad' enough. I wasn't as ... bad as I thought I could be. I wasn't tough enough to 'walk the talk ... talk the walk' ... (I probably said this wrong ... but, I'm good at that ... you know what I mean :) The most beautiful colors in the world ... the most awful consequences to pay.

I am glad I got off those paths ... though, I have to say this. I can't 'knock' everyone that was .... 'bad'. There are a lot of 'good-bad' people. We need them in this world we live in. Though, I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't agree ... I lived real life ... I have good-bad people to thank for being good to me. They were much tougher than I ... and understood my path needed to go in a different direction.

My friends, people I love ... care about ... are all birds of a different feather. None of them are the same ... they come from all walks of life ... none are so low that I wouldn't be proud to stand in public to speak to. So, if you see me talking to someone you can't believe I'd be seen with ... just know, you are only seeing the 'outside' ... there's good somewhere there ... you just can't see it.

You know the old saying ... my Grandma Alma used to tell me all the time ... 'birds of a feather stick together'. Looking 'at my birds of a feather' ... you wouldn't be able to 'see' why 'they are my birds of a feather' ...

None of us would look alike ... talk alike ... sound alike. We would all be many colors ... every size. Some would be dressed in the finest ... some wouldn't have anything fine to wear at all. Some live in the most grand of homes ... some don't have the luxury of a bathroom.

What you can't 'see' is the ... goodness, kindness, love ... caring, unselfishness ... all the 'birds of my feather' ... share.

That's what we all have in common ... sure, you'll think, 'okay, but ... so and so, has a bad reputation; so and so, drinks, drugs, and such; just keep this in mind ... so and so, could save your life ... do, say that little something that can make all the difference in your life. They wouldn't have to ... but, they would.

I love good people ... kind, honest, loyal people. They don't all look alike. Their feathers are all different colors ... some are smooth, clean & shiny feathers. Others ... well, sometimes, they are very poorly groomed feathers ... I don't judge their feathers. I only care about what can't be seen ... a good Heart.

These are the types of people I've seen, known through time ... that either said, did something that meant the world to me ... along with people who do look like me ... look like the 'birds of my feather' ... I wish I could be sure I thanked all of them ... of course, I can't. I just went on trying to do better, not make the same mistakes ... twice.

I have been molded, shaped by ... different birds of a feather. My colors change all the time ... yet, down deep ... I am the same person. A good, kind, loyal person who cares about everyone, everything ... unless it hurts a person, or animal. I won't go there ... that's Hell ... flaming Hell.

I guess what I'm getting at is ... everyone who has reached out to touch my life ... even in the smallest ... biggest of ways, I would like to say 'thank you' for caring. Yes, I know all I have are ... words; but ... my words are sincere. Thank you ... all you birds of my feather. We don't have to look alike to understand.

I wonder what my Grandma Alma would think of all my friends ... if she saw the 'birds of my feather stick together'? I am grinning as I ... wonder.

　

　

　
Photos/story owned, written by me #Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka #Granny Gee    

Up There ... On Fairchild's Mountain

Up There On Fairchild's Mountain ...
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

　

Long, winding dirt path up a little mountain

Rocks on both sides ... covered in lush, green moss

Trees growing tall to the sky ... patches of blue sky peeping through

Joy, peace of mind engulf one ... quietness, only the sound of birds

An occasional woodpecker knocking here ... there

Fairchild's Mountain ... I have many memories there

To the left of the path at the very top ... lies a small cemetery

Not for people ... for Pups, animals from the wild

All were loved by us ... from Pups to feral cats ... white possum

Sometimes, the road below claimed an animal we fed, loved

We would bring it up on top of Fairchild's Mountain

Lay it gently in its grave, cover it with soft dirt, blanket it with love

Lay a mound of rocks to protect the grave from other animals

I would stand there, sadness in my Heart for the loss of a life so special

Animals no one else in the world was aware of ... only Skip, myself knew they were there ... cared for, loved by us when they lived

In my mind, I visit Fairchild's Mountain, where we once lived

It's the last place I saw my son, only child ... Tommy

The evening before he died ... I see his smiling face, twinkling eyes

Hear his soft voice saying 'mama' ... strange, that evening

The very air about him was special ... golden, shining like the sun

Strange ... how people 'glow with beauty' ... before they die

Maybe I'm the only one who sees the 'glowing beauty' ... I'm not sure

I know I see it, feel it ... never realizing that soon ... that person would be gone

I've seen it over, and over ... somehow, I forget ... never feel alarm

Fairchild's Mountain was named after our big Rottweiler ... he ruled that mountain

His name was known far, and wide

He was huge ... beautiful, and to be 'woofed' by him was 'something'

I used to ride him around on a cobalt blue Volkswagon ... sun roof open

Fairchild sat in the back seat .... with his red bandana blowing in the wind

People wanted to pet Fairchild, he didn't want them near ... it didn't stop anyone from admiring him

There were a lot of good memories on Fairchild's Mountain

Sad ones, scary ones ... too

One being where I saw our mailbox murdered by a stranger

Strange people sometimes, rode up on Fairchild's Mountain

It was isolated, some came to see what they could see

Some came, hoping they could sit in peace, drink their spirits

I just became aware of soft music playing here, in Skip's study

My eyes have several sparkling, diamond teardrops in them

I think one slid down on my cheek ... leaving a cold path

Reaching up, the tips of my fingers brush it off, warm the skin

No longer feeling cold ... forgetting that I may have been crying

While in my mind, I was on Fairchild's Mountain ... visiting the past

Visiting with each loved animal buried in the cemetery ... each feral cat I fed for a year after we moved, here

Pain for so many animals I loved with my Heart ... so, many tears

Pain ... it's where I last saw Tommy's smile, heard his son voice saying 'mama' ... last saw him walking ... last time he hugged me ... last waved at him ... he waved to me, smiling, calling 'bye, mama, bye'!

Fairchild's Mountain ... there's so much in that name, place

Colors of my life are embedded in the rocks, trees ...in the very air, there

No one will ever see, know ... if they sense ... they will feel a soft specialness in the air ... love; grief from a mother who lost her son; beloved Pups ... wild animals

Since we moved from there ... we took the name with us

Making it impossible to ever know ... where ... Fairchild's Mountain was

Fairchild's Mountain is now, only a memory of many last memories of special events in my life

The first, last times I ever spent happy times with a little grandson

Who is growing older, forgetting his Granny Gee

Family sounds ... how I miss 'family sounds' ... my family's sounds

Sounds, sights that will never be heard again

Only in my memory of memories

Up on Fairchild's Mountain

　


Photos/poem owned by Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

Fairchild's Mountain was real at one time ... it's still there ... but, it isn't Fairchild's Mountain, anymore. I could walk there, see things no one else could see ... I wonder if the new owners sense any of those things?

Feel an unexpected happiness ... feel unexpected grief ... cry when not knowing why they cried ... smile, not knowing they are sensing happy times?  'Know' this special place was the ... last of many special things ... for this grieving mother ... grandmother?

　

　

　
　

　

　
　

How Does ... 'It' ... Know To Come Looking ... Who 'It' Is Looking For?

How Does ... 'It' ... Know To Come Looking ... Who 'It' Is Looking For?
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

How would 'It' recognize me ... with sunglasses on?  Through the years, if I wished something mean, bad on another ... I always got ... payback.  Or ... did I pay back myself ... for being 'bad'?  We'll never know ...  Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee ... December 2014




　

Watch out! A black cat just ran across the road in front of you! You had better make a big 'X' on the windshield! If you don't ... you will have ... bad luck. I try not to draw an imaginary 'X' on the windshield. I'm sorry to say, I grew up hearing that ... and sometimes, still react to it.

Don't! Don't walk under that ladder! If you do ... you will experience bad luck! As for myself ... why in the world would I walk under a ladder ... anyway? If I did, I would just look to be sure there wasn't a hammer laying on the step ... or a bucket of red paint sitting there ... ready to splash me red!

Step on a crack ... break your mama's back! Oh, my ... how I used to be so careful as a child to not step on a crack! I lived in town, cracks were everywhere ... I grew up with sidewalks. I didn't want to do anything to cause harm to my mama ... no matter how many times she left me. No matter how many times I ... 'hated' her. Growing up, I realized that all the times I 'hated' my mother ... was all that much more I loved her.

Don't wish bad for others ... it'll come back on you! I do believe in this ... I believe when you wish bad things to others ... it will surely come back to ... bite you in the ass. Growing up ... my ass got bitten plenty of times ... I wished mean things lots of times as a child... young adult. I learned to wish good things ... even for people I despised.

Do unto others the way you'd want them to do ... unto you. I believe in this one, too. As a young person, I did my share of spiteful things only to have them ... 'come home' ... to me. I got to feel how it felt ... every 'damn' time!

I don't like it when something ... comes back to bite me in the ... ass! It surely will ... one way or other. Smile ... it could be coming ... for you. The sad thing is ... it takes so long for some to learn this ... it took me years to learn.

Have you ever gotten 'bitten in the ass'? How did it feel? Do you even 'know' ... when payback ... comes for you? I wonder 'how it knows' ... to come looking ... and 'who to look for'?

　

Photo/story both are owned by me #Gloria Faye Brown Bates/ #Granny Gee

　

　

　
　

I Didn't Know The World Was Big Enough For Both ... Grief Of Losing My Son ... Me

I Didn't Know The World Was Big Enough For Both ... Grief Of Losing My Son ... Me
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

 

Photos of Tommy, Skip, myself, my artwork, beadwork; I made fireplace in the photo with our Christmas tree this year... dragonfly picture (Tommy loved dragonflies) .... owned by Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee



　


I have made it to another Christmas ... never knowing ... I could ever feel joy, happiness in my Heart, again. 

My only child, Tommy, died May 29, 2010, at the young age of 40. He had blockages to his heart ... no one knew. He ... was at Myrtle Beach ... running, playing with his little 3 year old son ... when he collapsed on the sand.

Tommy's spirit soared with the angels who came to take him home. The last sounds he heard ... were the laughter of a precious, little boy ... sea gulls singing to him as the ocean waves softly played in the background. Come home, Tommy ...

I can't in no way ... describe the grief I've suffered. Grief ... there wasn't enough room in this world for my grief ... myself. I almost ... had to go ... to make it bearable. How in the world does a mother ... learn to live without the child she brought into the world?

Of course, if you've never lost a child ... you can't even begin to understand, nor ... imagine. I do know you can begin to think about your child being 'gone' ... you will panic inside, have to stop trying to imagine.

Why? Because ... you don't want to think of this world without your child in it. Oh, my God ... the pain. Pain just from 'thinking about it' for a moment, or two. Just think if it were the 'real thing' ... that it really happened.

I'm glad you have your children. It makes my Heart happy when I see you with them. I smile when you don't know it ... I love to see families, hear ... their happy, family sounds.

My Heart breaks if I see unhappiness in a family ... I have to not look. My thought is that they just don't know how fortunate they are to have each other. If I think closer, I realize that there are others like me ... who will never have a normal family relationship with loved ones.

Some families are 'f____ up' before they are born ... things are somehow, born in them ... when they come into this world, they come in kicking, screaming ... full of hate, anger. If you see a happy smile ... watch out ... someone else is hurting, someone else had to 'pay for' that happy smile. Just hope it isn't ... your ass.

This is life ... just the way it is. I don't sugar-coat it. I see it this way, I have felt it ... this way ... since I began aware of being a little person with thoughts. I've known grief, sadness, pain all my life ... it's a part of me just as breathing.

I also, know how it feels to smile, laugh ... feel the happiness of happy! It just never lasted very long in my life ... just enough to get a taste of it ... wish for so much more.

Once in a while, I allow myself to ask 'why can't I have happiness all the time'? I stop as soon as the question forms in my mind. So, I tell myself that no matter what ... everything will somehow find a way to be alright .... at times, it'll take longer ... but, it will be alright.

I just have to be happy while I'm sad, grieving ... or in pain. I'm never going to feel one ... without the other. I just have to make the best of it ... or just ... die. I love to live ...

Thank-God for writing ... thank-God for Skip, our Pups ... and thank-God for ... you. I made it, to 'now' ... Truthfully, I never 'saw ahead this far'.

I fought the battle of my life ... losing a child is a terrible war inside. I won ... I'm here ... and for-real, everything is alright. Not 'going to be' ... it 'is'.

I wish all mothers, fathers ... the most wonderful holidays with their children. Hold them close to your Heart ... I pray you never lose them. Parents should never live to see their children ... die.

The perfect way would be for parents to grow old gracefully ... go before their children. The world is ... not perfect.

I didn't know the world was big enough for both the grief of losing my son ... me.

　

Photos, story owned by me, Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

#grief during holidays #loss of a child #grief #Gloria Faye Brown Bates #Granny Gee



　

Four Hearts Equal ... Sandwiches Made With Love

Four Hearts Equal ... Sandwiches Made With Love
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

Sandwiches I made with love ... sometimes, it's the things not seen that counts ... things one can 'feel' without knowing what it is they feel ... they just know it feels ... good, happy.  I took these photos to show what I mean ... Four hearts equal ... sandwiches made with love. 



　

For many years I have been doing something that may be unusual. You know me by now ... I do ... do unusual things. Especially ... if you are unusual, too. Colors of life!

Yes, yes ... I know I can seem boring ... I promise you, I am interesting in how I think, do. :)

See ... sometimes, it 'isn't me' that is boring ... it's that ... 'you' might not bring the ... interesting ... out of me! :) Oh, no ... please don't take that personal ... we can't be everything to everyone.

So ... what do I do? I just be quiet, nice, sweet ... until I can go my way. If ... you ... begin to become animated, fun ... happy ... so, do I!

If not, that's okay ... I just stay quiet, nice, sweet ... and go my way as soon as I can. Sometimes, it really is nice to be ... quiet, though.

Chemistry is what it's all about. When two people share a special chemistry ... wonderful things happen. One being ... a 'forever' love that lasts until ... death do us part. A forever love ... with your soulmate, best friend, lover ... hero ... like I have with Skip.

I did the unusual this morning when I made his lunch for today. He had to work today ... I cooked hamburgers for him to take.

I laid out four slices of bread on the big, cutting board ... took the mustard bottle ... began drawing hearts in mustard ... on each slice of bread.

Hamburger patties went on the bread ... laid on a heart of love from my hands. I, then ... sealed each hamburger with love from the slice of bread ... laid on top ... four hearts equals sandwiches made with ... love.

　

Photos/story owned by Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee