Loving the unloveable

After a few sleepless nights I feel I need to write -

My thoughts this morning you're drifting toward those that suffer from that terrible disease called addiction those that are hardest to love when we need to love them hardest~ it seems that when a  person is addicted to something that others push them away instead of pulling  them closer ~ it's so hard to know what is the right thing to do when it comes to dealing with those that have an addiction and it doesn't matter what that addiction is ~an addiction can be anything

It can be drugs ... It can be alcohol... It can be prescription drugs... porn... politics... gambling... material things...(Some have addictions others may never know about... Some don't know they have an addiction) 

The list goes on and on and no one is immune! 

But those that have never dealt with it before think if someone has an addiction that it's better to sweep it under the rug... 

Push it away... Shut them out! 

 NOT TRUE! 

I feel I can talk about this because we have dealt personally with those that have had / have addictions! 

I won't go into all the details or the many should and should nots but I will say this DO NOT under any circumstances push them away ... Shut them out... Or Ignore them... They need our/your help 

~they need us to stand up for them to defend them - they need our love! 

When you push them away... That leaves the door wide open for that very dangerous visitor called depression... Which can make the addiction worse and lead to the addict giving up completely and doing something that can make it so we never have a chance to help them again. 

Get professional help for them... For you...(I don't mean your elders or your preachers- I mean someone who has a degree in understanding the mechanisms of chemical reactions in our bodies!) 

Yes,leaning on our friends is good but professional help is best! 

Be open and honest about your situation! It helps prevent rumors, gossip and lies which can enhance the situation and make it worse! 

Prayer is wonderful but sometime it's not enough! 

   ...

 Do not push them away

"remember when others are hard to love, that is when we need to love them the hardest! 

When you get homesick

Go to a lake

Blogs

Here they are;

OUR LIFE;     http://lifeinnorthernmichigan.blogspot.com/

FOR THE HEALTH OF IT;       http://barefootbroccolini.blogspot.com/

DEBS PHOTOG BLOG;      http://dlynnesnekideyephotos.blogspot.com/

MACHINIST LIFE;           http://westsidetool.blogspot.com/

MUSINGS;    http://poeticwaxingofagreeneyedlady.blogspot.com/

A babe is born

     Our honorary Grandgiril!

We are so excited for Matt and Nicole!

Happiness

"In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy."

6 years

Happy Anniversary to our wonderful son and his lovely

Calling it home

We are happy to call this southhome 

It's a beautiful area with more sunshine than you can imagine.

Our hearts will always call the North home but we are settling in and this is home too.

So we have "Southhome" and "Northhome"

Engaged

Now bespectacled but still full of life this handsome blue eyed man thirty four  years ago asked the green eyed girl to be his wife ... From the mountains of New Hampshire to the lakes of Michigan & to the Northeast Georgia mountains she'd say yes again 

Rest and Best

Lately my mind has been out wandering - 

you may think it's too little to be out there,

but sometimes it's best to just let it go - 

I wonder if too often some of us forget that our spouses, our children aka our loved ones... 

get the rest of us instead of the best of us!

we give the best of ourselves to our bosses, our co-workers our friends

but too often the ones that are the most important to us get just the leftovers

and most times that's not the pretty part - 

that part is usually the tired part, 

overworked part,

the impatient part...

while it is necessary to give some of the best parts of ourselves

to our bosses, coworkers and friends 

it is  absolutely necessary to save the

 VERY BEST 

part of ourselves for our spouses and our children aka our loved ones.

Remember those closest to our hearts should always

get the best of us not the rest of us! 

Moments

There are moments in life when you just have to shake your head - 

close your heart against the hurt walk outside and

 look for the beauty in nature because sometimes people are not very beautiful at all! 

Sultry Summer Days

It's hot and ongoing! We had hot days in

Michigan but most of the time you could find a cool spot in the shade or in an lake! 

Here even the pools and lakes are hot- 

I am not complaining at all but you don't know he meaning of hot till you experience this kind of heat for months instead of weeks! 

But the birds are happy and there are at least 15 or more hummingbirds coming to the feeders now- that's entertainment 

Man its a HOT one... Like 7 inches from the Midday sun...

Deep summer in the south 

is when laziness finds respectability. 

Before I got sick

Spent a couple days camping with Krystal and the boys....

Sometimes

I get so busy taking care of others and making sure all their needs are met I forget to take care of me... 

Then before I know it all the self medicating doesn't work and I am sick ... Really sick! The doctor told me when this happened a few years ago that I can't let it get this far and dang it I did it again... But after some not willingly taken antibiotics and rest I am on the mend... 

Thanks to my pharmacist friend and my daughter in law the nurse for all their help too!  Love you both- 

Blog Bug has bit

catching up - 

after going so long without blogging its kinda fun to get back into it

and maybe even wander away from FB - its fun to keep in touch with 

so many long lost friends on there but tiresome too the endless drama, 

politics and media fed frenzies!

Today is another HOTLANTA day even though we are 78 miles

North East of Atlanta in the mountains its hot ;-) but its summer!

This beauty landed on our back deck today - 

LOVE WHERE WE LIVE

when I was watching him I was paying attention to 

the other feeders to see if the other birds were around

they were, they did not appear to be in danger 

maybe he is their protector

Happiness is -

being close enough to get our grands for the weekend - 

Our lives are not perfect and we have our struggles we don't advertise

but we are grateful for every moment and count our blessings often - 

we were once "accused" if that is the word to use of having

a "perfect" life - while our lives are far from perfect we 

prefer to dwell on the wonderful and remember that even though we have our 

struggles in reality they are nothing compared to some - 

Summertime

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." ~ Sam Keen

ahhhhh so this is what they mean by "Georgia Hot" 

days when temps hover right around 100 degrees

and the humidity doesn't want to be left alone so gets right up there too - 

I am NOT complaining in anyway shape or form just adjust to this new life and new temps.

Most of you know that I have Fibromyalgia so my body LOVES this weather -  I don't ache!

Moving here was a huge "leap of faith" as our friend Beth says - 

adjusting to life here has been the same!

We had a wonderful social life in Traverse City... friends and family that we were close to

and our days were filled with both work and play.  

We had a few couples we did things with as couples -  WE MISS OUR FRIENDS!

Bruce has adjusted to "working for the man" but what an adjustment that has been - 

but he whistles while he works when he is reminded of the paycheck and wonderful benefits - 

in addition to living 4.5 miles from our daughter and grandbabies - :-) 

Krystal has been accepted into Nursing school and starts in late August so the main

reason for moving down here has another notch in the "meant to be".

While everyone that you meet is friendly so far its the loneliest place we have ever lived - 

but we are hoping in time that will change - 

this past week we had a double lunch date - with new friends - 

we had a great time!

Its funny in talking to a friend last night they said that they had heard that 

Bruce had been moved to another shift at work

 because the guys on the previous shift did not like him?

SERIOUSLY who starts this stuff - this is so not true and anyone that knows Bruce

likes him, respects him and admires the work that he does.  They needed someone

with his expertise on the other shift to "GET THINGS DONE"  so in the future

unless you have your facts straight and from a reliable source better to keep quiet!

Also if you have questions about something you have heard ask the person.

All in all life is good and are so thankful for each others company

and that we still enjoy being happy together -  

Have a wonderful day and COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS you will be 

amazed what happens when you do - 

Still of the Evening

Evenings #quietmoments #stillofeve #northgeorgiamountains #westswindyacresouth #romanceforone #younglivingessentialoils #leelanaucandleco 

Moon

Moon surfs the mottled skies ... While the lonesome whippoorwill cries

Uncertainties

Moving from a place that has been home for 21 years is scary, exciting and everything in between- 

Your emotions run the gambit of the upmost anxiety to the upmost excitement- 

You are heartbroken to leave your friends and family but anxious to be close to your Grandboys- 

You close two successful businesses to go work for "the man" 

All in all though it's been trying we are happy we were moved to move- though our patience has been tested over and over again things SLOWLY but surely fell into places- we are content!

Loving our new home

Georgia feels like home already! 

Love this share!

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to cook for us and usually there would be nothing interesting about that. 

But one night in particular when she had made dinner after a long hard day at work, Mom placed a plate of jam and extremely burned toast in front of my Dad. I was waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt toast. But Dad just ate his toast and asked me about my day at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember I heard Mom apologizing to Dad for burning the toast. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned toast.”

Later that night, I went to hug Dad good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Mom put in a long hard day at work today and she was really tired. And besides, burnt toast never hurt anyone but harsh words do! You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people I’m no exception; I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.” 

What I’ve come to appreciate over the years is that learning to accept each others faults and choosing to celebrate each others differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. Life is too short to wake up with regrets. Love the people who treat you right and have compassion for the ones who don’t.

We have a new nest

YES the rumors are true we really did move south -
We are now living in Georgia and are in the process
of getting our new home ready to move into.
This whole process has been the most exciting and terrifying experience -
A whole life change for us -
we are looking forward to this next adventure
and appreciate all the support we can get!
Thank you,
Bruce and Deb