Monday, December 12, 2022

Oh The Blessings....In The Mountains

 With TV viewing being awfully poor these days, yes with a million channels to choose from, we have returned to the TCM app to watch favorite movies. One of my very favorite movies comes from childhood, The Trouble With Angels. Roy keeps remarking, you are Mary Clancy. Don't know about that but I feel like we would be friends. To rethink this just a bit, I totally would be Mary Clancy-ish back in the day of recklessly going to my "fearless" zone...which got me in a lot of trouble throughout growing up as well as in adulthood. I can hear my therapist admonishing me, that going to the fearless zone took energy and back in those days, I was woefully lacking this commodity. Many times the trip to the zone was amusing, therefore the risk seemed worth it. Oh well.... Anyway, we have watched several times over the past few days. It has been several years since we last viewed the movie, that is until this week. We both realized that we are seeing this movie differently. Still entertained by the antics of the two friends, but for me I am seeing for the first time why...spoiler alert... Mary joins the sisterhood of the Order that runs St Francis after she graduates from St Francis. I almost always understood Rachel's hurt and disbelief that this wildly fun friend who had brilliantly scathing ideas, wanted to serve God. This time though, I saw and it is obviously done by the director, but this time I really noticed how Mary watched Mother Superior in alone moments, putting food out for birds and squirrels, walking, reading her Bible and when her best friend and assistant Sister Lagoria passes away, the supreme sorrow Mother Superior shows after the family has left. It was the consistency that MS led her life. When she shares with Mary her life before becoming a nun, it all is taken in by Mary and the audience. One would never think that before she was a nun, she had a life that sounds as if she would have found great success. Mary Clancy was like Mary of the New Testament, she saw these things and pondered them in her heart. 

We dropped Netflix last year. We hardly watched it but at Christmas time, I watched White Christmas, several times, okay a whole lot, mainly to watch the dances. Roy surprised me by buying it digitally on Amazon Prime, so I can watch it over and over all through the holidays. A very good use of $5.00. The Trouble With Angels is about to roll off the TCM app, so maybe we can check whether it is available for purchase. 

On Saturday we made our TN run. The BBQ people were back and we got some brisket and smoked mac and cheese. They ran out of smoked bologna or I would have gotten a sandwich for the road like Roy. Instead, we did the Taco Bell drive through to get a cheese quesadilla for my trip home. With a stop in Mars Hill at TJ's and Ingles, we completed the shopping portion of our day. The best part of going over to TN, besides Roy, is that we get a glimpse of the ever changing, ever beautiful scenery. With the overcast skies and a little chill nip in the wind, it truly felt like Christmas, winter scenery wise and the only thing missing would be snow...snow...snow snow.... (song from White Christmas.) Only if there was snow, we wouldn't have made the trip. 

Mr Mo has noticed the little spindle tree I put on top of the bookcases. He casts a gaze to it in the evenings and maybe he is planning on climbing up to the top for Christmas inspection. We had all three boys together for a very short period of time. It is a step into the right direction. 

After church yesterday, we had the senior adult Christmas luncheon. Our first since all the Covid restrictions. Lots of fun gathering with friends to eat a delicious lunch. Oh the green beans were outstanding, as per usual. 

Not many, but some Christmases, we went back to Illinois to celebrate the holidays. One year we took the train because my father needed to pick up his company car but mostly we drove. This morning someone in the hometown group posted a picture of a well known bridge or viaduct and gave the history of its construction. It was one of those places we as kiddos thought was the highest bridge we'd ever been on. Now seeing the pics, it wasn't that high but oh the memories and the pungent odor from the plant processing soybeans and the like. It's kind of like Canton here, it is the smell of money, papermill there... There was also a street we'd take sometimes going from my grandmothers to the grandparents house. A water tower, not so much a tower and maybe it didn't hold water, but it was darkly painted and the sight lurking in the distance, it always scared me. People post pics of the parks in the city and downtown. Now, the city isn't as vibrant and crime has taken over in many areas. Things I would remember are probably not there anymore and if we wanted to do a drive by of the house my grandparents lived in, from what we've been told it would be like taking our lives into our own hands. Haven't been back since I was 24 years old but love seeing the pictures from then. 

We are approaching the year anniversary of Roy retiring and then being robbed of everything but 50 cents, his wedding ring and watch...oh but most importantly, he was not robbed of his life. It has been an interesting year as we have processed emotionally from it all, got everything in order and then taken care of for all the changes legally and such that occurs when one moves to a new state. Roy has adjusted to retirement really well. For these things, the healing emotionally and the changes to a new life, we are thankful. God is so good!

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