"Generations pass like leaves fall from our family tree. Each season new life blossoms and grows benefiting from the strength and experience of those who went before." ~Heidi Swapp This picture was taken in early 1992, just a few weeks after our daughter Chelsea was born. It is a very important picture to me because it documents the fact that Chelsea marked the fifth living generation maternally & paternally in our family. The three women behind my husband are his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. In turn, the three women behind me hold those same spots in my life. We actually missed having three sets of 5 generations by a few months. My husband's other great-grandmother died while I was pregnant with Chelsea. It is incredible to me to think that Chelsea was surrounded by so much experience, strength, wisdom and love as a newborn baby! What an awesome gift! I DO remember this day very well because it was a rare occurrence to have all of these people in the same place at the same time. Also, because Chelsea was NOT having a good day. (Thus, my "harried" look of photo anxiety.) :) Three women in this picture have since left this earth, but their legacies live on with each generation that comes behind them! Thank you, God, for Chelsea's (and our son's) family tree! Until next time,
~D
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"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." ~Mary Lucas (a character in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice) I've recently completed this book for the very first time. I know what you're thinking......"It's a classic. Surely you had to read it in high school." Nope. Somehow, I missed this one along the way. Well, recently my husband and I watched a movie entitled "Becoming Jane," and it left me totally wanting more about the author Jane Austen. So, for once in my life, a movie was actually a catalyst for reading a book! (It's usually the other way around!) Now, I don't mind telling you that while I do love a good love story (which I was really banking on this being, by the way...), I had a very difficult time plowing through all of that "old-world language". I mean we're talking "Aye" this...and "Nay" that. I found myself re-reading paragraphs several times thinking....."what did that even mean?!" However, it didn't take me long to realize that Miss Austen has got some pretty witty bits of wisdom throughout this story, and I found myself wanting to hold a highlighter as I was reading in order to bring those ideas to the surface for further examination. The quote at the top of this post is just such an idea. I agree with Jane Austen. Some folks do consider the two terms synonymous, but, like her, I think they are quite isolated from each other. Allow me to explain.......... Let's start with the concept of "vanity." DISCLAIMER: I'm probably going to step on some toes here, but there are some things that just need to be said. (Don't worry. I step on my own toes later on in this post!) I fear that vanity has reached an all-time high among our society these days. There's nothing wrong with loving yourself. I get that. Truly I do! Low self-esteem is the worst! Everyone needs to feel special in his/her own way. However, from what I see these days, the problem isn't LOW self-esteem...it's an ABUNDANCE of self-esteem! Look familiar? Of course it does. In fact, the idea is so commonplace now that there's an entry in the dictionary for it! Okay, so everyone has done a "selfie" at one time or another in the last decade or so of social networking, but ...... come on....every single day??!! That's a problem! The more I think about it, though, I'm not sure if it shows an abundance of self-esteem or a serious lack of it. At any rate, I think it's ridiculous to have that much vanity. Pride is one thing. Sure, post that occasional selfie if you must, but being so vain that it's automatically assumed everyone else is waiting with extreme anticipation for your next selfie post is just too much. Jane (Austen) was right....vanity truly IS what we would have others think of us. The problem comes when others DON'T think of us the way we would hope. Take care not to push yourself onto others too much. You could do more damage than good. Let's move on to the idea of "pride" because this one can be problematic as well. According to Jane, pride also relates to how we feel about ourselves, which sounds a lot like vanity, right? The difference between the two is what you do with those feelings. She says that vanity obsesses over what OTHERS think while pride is more concerned with how we view OURSELVES. So, what about the selfie that was taken and posted because you want the world to see that you've worked hard and lost those extra 25 pounds? Is that okay? I say, absolutely! The problem comes when you post pics of that new body over...and over.....and over. That's when it would seem that the bridge has been crossed from the land of pride over to the land of vanity! As promised, allow me to step on my own toes for a second. I've become pretty well-versed in using this lately........ Yep......that's 'hashtag/proud mama.' I use it a lot at the end of a Facebook or Instagram picture post. As I really ponder the focus of this post though, I have to wonder........are people as tired of my "#proudmama" posts as I am of their duckfaced selfies? Maybe.......probably. I guess the only justification I have for myself is that I'm braggin' on my children....not myself. Does that make it okay? Honestly, I'm not sure, but I can tell you this for certain: NOTHING brings out the pride in me more than my children. They are, without question, my greatest accomplishments, and I cannot seem to stop myself from telling the whole world about their achievements. In fact, I'll go a step further and really tell the hard truth. I DO want others to know just how great I believe my children are! So, does that make me vain. Yes. Therefore, I'm just as guilty as the next guy. Ouch! My toes hurt! ;) Bottom line is this: Anything done in excess is not only repetitive and loses its significance, but it also gets on people's last nerves! So, go easy on the vanity...and the pride! Jane Austen was a very wise author, but so was C.S. Lewis! We would all do well to heed some of his wisdom as well: Let's be proud of ourselves (and our children)! Let's just try not to shout it from the social media rafters 24/7. Until next time, ~Dot P.S. ....but I really AM a #proudmama! Sorry.....old habits die hard! ;) "Happiness is a warm puppy." ~Charles M. Schulz Here's today's Monday Memory. That little girl with the ever-present middle-part pigtailed hairdo is me. From the gorgeous azaleas behind me, you can tell it's Spring-time in South Georgia! I'm holding my new puppy, Snoopy! Yes, I realize I'm holding him like a baby. You have to understand that having my very own pet was a brand-new concept to me, and I had absolutely no idea what to do with him. All I knew was that I was SO happy! I was an only child FOREVER (well, I finally got my "real-life baby doll" .......a.k.a. my sister Heather..... when I was eleven) and Snoopy was my very best friend for a LONG time! He was a present to me on my 6th birthday, and, as only my luck would be, Snoopy died on my 16th birthday. Yes, ON the actual day! Did I mention my birthday is March 13th? Anyway, Snoopy was smart, sweet, funny, and most definitely patient! I mean, it looks like I'm choking him in picture #2, but I think I just wanted him to look at the camera. Like I said....a very patient dog! :) These days, I'm pretty partial to this pup, but I'll always remember my first (and only) childhood dog Snoopy. He'll forever have a special place in my heart! Until next time, ~Dot "I don't believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at." ~Maya Angelou My sister and I are 11 years apart. (Guess that's pretty obvious from the picture, huh? I'm the older one, by the way.) If you follow my blog at all, you know by now that I have a terrible memory. In fact, 95% of my "Monday Memory" posts are really not memories for me at all...and yet, I'm in the pictures! Weird! Well, THIS is one memory I DO remember VERY well. My great-aunts took us to Albany to an Olan Mills studio in order to surprise our Mama with this (and other) marvelous "portraits" (seen below) for Christmas. As you see, I have on a lovely valour pullover and a gold chain straight from one of their costume jewelry boxes. Clearly, I wasn't at the proper age to wear a stitch of makeup....what a shame. Heather, on the other hand, is just as pretty as can be. This was just moments before she threw up all of her baby formula covering the entire white smocked Feltman brothers dress she has on. .....or wait....maybe this is right AFTER the throw-up. That would explain our ridiculous "pose". (I mean, she's six inches shy of being UNDER the "carpet table"!) Anyway, as I recall, Mama WAS surprised on Christmas morning and loved the pictures. Guess that's all that counts. Yep, Maya Angelou was right......Sisterhood IS something that has to be worked at. It's definitely a continuous work in progress. Eleven years difference used to be a BIG chasm...now....not so much. We're just two adults......sharing an eternal bond......I'm sure she'd agree that some days are easier than others, but we're making it. Ah.....Olan Mills.....gotta love it. :)
Until next time, ~Dot So, it's Wednesday.....and that means I need to spotlight a word from our vocabulary, but today.....<heavy sigh>.....it's a toss-up, so......without further ado, I give you Wednesday's Words. Yep....plural...two of 'em. exasperate [ig-zas-puh-reyt] verb, To irritate or provoke to a high degree; annoy extremely. hypocrite [hip-uh-krit] noun, a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. So, there you have it. My two words for this Wednesday. Oh, and also, I found a good quote as well, so I'll leave you with it.... "Kids have what I call a built-in hypocrisy antenna that comes up and blocks out what you're saying when you're being a hypocrite." ~Benjamin Carson I daresay some adults have this super-cool "built-in antenna" as well. Sorry to be so blunt today, but enough is enough. Praying for a better tomorrow! Until next time,
~Dot |
AuthorHi! I'm Dot. I refuse to succumb to the "empty nest syndrome"! So, this is my journal.....my photo album.....my attempt to enjoy the next chapter of my life as it unfolds. Welcome to The Roomy Nest! Archives
January 2020
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