Tag: photo

Hilda JoAnn

This is my mother, Hilda JoAnn. Today is her birthday. I’m thinking of her. I am proud to be a part of her lineage. She was, “born at the right time”. Which was December 27th, 1933. She flew away, January 16th 2007.

I use to dream of Julie Andrews being my mother. I just knew, that if she were my mother, I would be so happy. And, of course, I would have a wonderful voice. Life would be a musical.

Being Hilda’s daughter, was kind of like being in a chorus line. She was our leader and we were all her followers, but I couldn’t dance and I couldn’t sing.

My mother was a phenomenal woman. She was Irish Catholic. She got married at the age of fourteen, had five children, and made a fortune. How did she do that?

She lived with my father, until widowed. They were a team. I watched them work, play, laugh, and fight together. They played a lot of cards. She took us to church, but didn’t go, until the end of her life. She waited on the priest to receive her rights, before she would leave.

She answered the altar call, when we went to hear Joel O’Steen preach. She acted like it was a convenient time to stretch her legs. She wasn’t fooling me.

She told me, that no matter how bad things are; the sun will rise again in the morning.

She had, what people would call, a good attitude.

She also said, “if you don’t have something good to say about someone, then don’t say it at all.”~ she practiced that.

She was smart. She must have been. Having limited formal years of school, she was educated. She was an avid reader. I never knew, until I was grown, that when she was in her reading chair; she had ear plugs in. I told you she was smart.

She wasn’t scared of Y2k. She knew her math. She owned paper, and pencil.

She outran the IRS, but they caught her, after her death.

I never saw a grey hair in her head.

I believe my mother was a great example, of being dealt the hand called life, and playing it well.

She gave me my love of the ocean.

So, I surf. Who needs to sing?

P.S. She was a good cook.

P.S.S. She was a great cook.

A LITTLE BIT OLDER

A little bit older than the crowd, but I got my waves. It was a good day at Playa Avellanas. It started out with some wind on it, so the majority of the people left, the sun came out and it cleaned up. I love it when that happens. It has been a week since I have been in the water.

My guage of a good wave. When I realize I’m smiling from ear to ear. That’s why I surf.

Who would believe it!

It looks like I’m going to get to surf tomorrow, in the morning. I am really looking forward to it. But I have something I think is far more interesting to share about today.

This picture was taken by a Niaraguan woman that I know. I lent her my camera today to take to a children’s party. She has NEVER used a camera before in her life!  Can you imagine?  We take a lot for granted.

This picture is unedited. I think she did a good job. How about you?

You can do it! ~whatever it is

When I was a kid, I had summertime friends, that were visiting Amelia Island the same as myself. One particular summer there was a family, from Atlanta staying three houses down. There was the mother, two sisters and a brother. They were probably there only two weeks at a time, but back then the days were long and two weeks seemed like forever.

None of these kids ever surfed with me but we did do things like, look for sea shells and spends hours chasing each other around on the beach. I always did love to run.

But right now, I am remembering one of the sisters telling me about casting a bottle out into the ocean. The idea was to write a message, put a contact address on it and see what happened. She had done this before and actually had someone write to her from someplace, that seemed like far away. I was told that my bottle could possibly drift to China.

I thought about that bottle that I never threw. I imagined it moving along the ocean floor, heading to some exotic destination. But, for some reason I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. What if someone did find the bottle? What if they wrote back? What would I say?  I was paralyzed by the “what ifs”.

Writing this blog has that same feeling. But today I’m not paralyzed. I’m motivated. I want to inspire myself, if no one else.

My car is still not fixed and it looks like it will be Tuesday before I get to hit the waves.

Until then I will walk on the beach. Exercise and staying tranquillo are important.

In retrospect I see how some things don’t change. My life is locked in like a cartesian point. I am by the beach, not surfing today, but being with friends and hanging out on the beach, checking out the shells and the driftwood.

I’m tossing out my message. Who knows where it will land?  Who cares?

The important thing is that I did it!

 

 

 

 

Apropos

The suggested thought for the day, is ‘waiting’. That’s rather apropos, as I have been waiting to start this blog for about six months. There’s no time like the present, so here I am, Mama Cheri.

I am sitting in my small house in Costa Rica, waiting on our car to be fixed. The swell is here and there have been waves, all day long. Off shore winds are blowing and I am

 missing it.

Oh well.

Continue reading Apropos