Saturday Doing's

I've had an interesting day today, fun and interesting.  I had to drive to McAlester today to pick up my paintings from the art show and since I did not want to go by myself I asked my 88 year old mother-in-law to go with. 

I love, Love, LOVE my MIL and was thrilled she wanted to go.  She grew up there and the lady that was putting the show together is her niece.  She was impressed with all the art and enjoyed the visiting.  I liked having someone to keep me from getting drowsy and bored for the 1-1/2 hour drive down then back.  The drive back she started talking about religion, death, being buried, religion, religion and more religion, which is fine.  She really questions it a lot and it's difficult for her because I think her father was a deacon or something like that and she has spent a lifetime in the church but she just questions it and is confused.  She also talks a lot about dying and her fear of going to hell.  I told her there is NO WAY you are going to hell.  She is one of the most wonderful people I know and it absolutely scares her to death.  It was a conversation we have had many times before and probably will again.  

After dropping her back home I then traveled to visit Daddy and Sis was there to so we had a nice visit too.  I was able to get his printer hooked up to his laptop and he was thrilled.  Daddy really is doing very well and looks awesome.  It's nice to see that.  

Say GoodBye

Yesterday was a sad day.  I said goodbye to a high school classmate.  First let me say that I never talked to Ken in high school but that does not mean I don't care.  I am the official contact person for our high school class.  I do the cards, flowers, used to do the newsletter and I'm the keeper of all the important info and contact info.  He passed away after a battle with lung cancer and then brain cancer.  Ken left a wife, two daughters and four granddaughters.  He was a loving father, brother, husband, and grandfather.  He was a hard worker who loved to be in the great outdoors which was evident by the place he lived, in the country in a really fixed up cabin.  Ken was a football and wrestling star in high school and a ladies man.  All of the stuff outside of high school was new to me and really most of the high school stuff as I really didn't know him at all in school.  It was so cool today to see the church filled up with former classmates from our graduating class and the classes below us and above us.  It told a lot about who he was and who we are from the small town I'm from.  His sister gave a very wonderful eulogy telling the room what a good guy Ken was.  One of our classmates I noticed at the end of the pew was just crying to beat the band.  I asked later and was told that Ken had called him about a month before to have lunch and the guy didn't have time.  He was feeling the guilt at that moment.  So sad really. 

Now I'm going to be a little bad and I may get struck down but I have to say this.  The memorial service was just wonderful and all the talk about Ken was about 15 minutes long.  I have to interject here that it also took place at a Baptist church.  Now, after the 15 minute spiel the preacher got up.  Here we go.  We were PREACHED to for the rest of the hour, 45 minutes of non-stop preaching.  Trying to save our miserable souls.  Should anyone want to give themselves to....blah, blah, blah...  I'm sorry but you can tell here that I'm NOT that kind of person.  I actually used to be heavily involved in church and all it was about but I...well, not going there.  My point is that this was a special occasion to say goodbye to a friend and family guy not be saved.  If I wanted to be preached to or saved I would go to my church and not someones memorial service.  Sorry, I'm going to step down from the soapbox and try to remember the good guy who has left his mark on this world.

Another wedding

Yesterday The Hubby and I had to leave our place of paradise to go back to town for a wedding. We had to break up our 3 day weekend to drive back into town. That was not the first time back though. Friday afternoon we were able to get away early, about 2:30 pm and head out. The drive is about 50 miles and we were about 25 miles out when we remembered that we left the brisket in the little refrigerator. We thought about hitting Pryor to find another one but since this was Memorial Day weekend we knew that might be an impossible feet on a late Friday afternoon so we turned around and went back home.

Back to yesterday. We had to go into town for a friends son getting married. Jason, we have know Jason since he was about 1-1/2 old, his mother was our daughter A's first teacher and she is a very good friend of ours along with her husband so we HAD to go. It sure messed a perfect weekend but a must is a must. It was so sweet to see little Jason as a grown up man getting ready to tie the knot. The church they were married in is not our home church (Jason and his family go to our church, which we don't attend anymore) but was Angie's home church. the preacher-minister-pastor whatever his name began with a prayer as ususal then he went into preaching. I HATE it when these preacher-minister-pastor's, whether at a funeral or a wedding, think that they have a captive audience and preach. Hey, if I wanted to be preached too I would go to my own church and I don't do that. I sat there and got madder and madder as he went on and on for 25 minutes of a 40 minute wedding. I wanted to get up and walk out but because of Jason I didn't. I HATE IT! Then to top of this 25 minute speech he was talking about how Jason would be the boss, the pants of the family, that Angie would be subservient to Jason. WHAT! My face was red I was so angry. I can't believe this is modern day, how can women let this keep going on. Marriage is not a boss and servant it is a partnership, even-steven. I was absolutely frothing I was so incensed by the speech of this guy. I'm still so very angry. When B and B2 got married I was so proud of her. The judge, yes a judge married them, she would not allow the judge to say the traditional vows where she would be his property, she sat her foot down that she was not his property. I was proud of her. Good girl! Whew I feel better. That was eating on me so bad. I have a problem with the whole property, I'm the boss, I wear the pants kind of thing.

A Whole New Can of Worms-"Relative" Size

Yesterday The Hubby's sister-in-law (mine too) emailed a huge thing about "The Mark of the Beast" and I guess The Hubby had enough. The SIL is a huge religious person and The Hubby's brother has fallen in line with it even though in 32 years that I have been in the family he has only been to church the past 4 or 5 years. The Hubby email back to ALL that he didn't believe in it, that it already happened and that was his story and he was sticking to it! Now the rebuttal emails are coming in. He has opened a huge "relative" size can of worms.

My story:

When I was about 10 years old, my brother 8, we were at a girls house that was in my class just playing. She started in on us that we were going to hell because we didn't go to her church and we weren't baptized yet. Then the mother started in on us and the mark of the beast stuff. We started crying and ran home and then my mother got in on the act. She went off on that lady big time and then started damage control with us. We were terrified and I had nightmares for awhile about it. It definitely affected me most of my life.

I guess we will wait for all of the fallout from The Hubby's email. You never know. The BIL may start preaching at us and I will have to come down on him. This is why I keep my own personal beliefs mostly to myself as I believe or don't believe.