The Car Wash

 Life Through a Car Wash

Today, of all places, I found myself thinking about life while sitting in a car wash.

I had driven up onto that little ramp—which, by the way, always makes me a tiny bit nervous. You have to get your tires lined up just right, put the car in neutral, take your hands off the wheel, and trust that something you cannot control is going to carry you forward.

And maybe that was my first lesson. ❤️

Sometimes life asks us to let go of the wheel.

As my car began moving through the wash, I watched my windshield change right before my eyes.

First came the soap. Bright red covered the glass, and then suddenly it was blue. Colors swirled together until I could barely see what was in front of me.

Then came those huge blue brushes, beating and spinning against the windshield. For a few seconds, everything outside disappeared. It was dark, noisy, confusing, and even a little intimidating.

And I thought…

Isn’t that just like life?

There are seasons when everything is colorful and beautiful. Life feels good, the sun is shining, the people we love are near, and we can clearly see the road ahead.

Then, sometimes without warning, everything changes.

Something comes crashing against our world. We receive news we weren’t expecting. We lose someone we love. Plans change. Our hearts hurt. Fear creeps in. Suddenly, we can’t see very far ahead.

There are times when life feels a little like being inside that car wash—noisy, dark, messy, and completely out of our control.

But then came the water.

It poured over the windshield like heavy rain, washing away all those colors and all that soap. For another moment, my view was distorted. But little by little, the windshield became clearer.

And finally…

I could see again.

The darkness hadn’t lasted.

The pounding hadn’t lasted.

The confusion hadn’t lasted.

And neither do many of the difficult seasons of our lives.

Sometimes we have to travel through the darkness before we can appreciate the light. Sometimes we have to experience the rain before we notice how beautiful everything looks when the sun comes back out.

And sometimes we simply have to trust the One who knows where this journey is taking us.

I couldn’t steer my car through that wash. I couldn’t hurry it along. I couldn’t skip the dark part and go straight to the sunshine.

All I could do was trust the process and keep moving forward.

Maybe that’s something I needed to be reminded of today.

We aren’t promised a life without scary ramps, dark places, pounding storms, or moments when we can’t see what is ahead.

But we are promised that we don’t have to travel through them alone.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” — Psalm 56:3

So, if you’re in one of life’s darker places right now, remember this:

The windshield will not always look the way it does in this moment.

The rain will come. The washing will happen. The darkness will lift.

And one day, perhaps when you least expect it, you’ll look up and realize…

Hey....I can see the light again.

Who knew God could tuck a little life lesson inside something as ordinary as a trip through the car wash? ❤️

I made it out safely ✓  My Car is clean ✓  The Lord spoke to me through this short ride ✓

🤣  😂. I went to wash my car in hopes that it would rain!!  This is usually what happens...but today, No rain!!

Y'all Enjoy Your Day...

Shug....

Not just one cake....but TWO!

 Another Trip Around the Sun… and TWO Cakes! 

     🎂🎂

Well, I have officially celebrated another birthday, and I have to say… this one was pretty fabulous! ❤️

I got to spend it exactly the way I love — surrounded by family, enjoying a wonderful dinner out, laughing, visiting, and simply being thankful for the people sitting around the table with me.

All four of our grandsons and their families live SIX hours away.  Our oldest granddaughter lives about 40 miles away. Trista's husband works out of state and Mylee left for College last week.  This just left the 5 of us (Sam, Trista, Shanda, Tom and myself) to celebrate with a very nice dinner.   

And apparently one birthday cake just wasn’t enough for this birthday girl. 😂 There were TWO!

First up was a chocolate-on-chocolate cake — because if you’re going to have chocolate, you might as well fully commit! 🍫🎂

And then came one of my absolute favorites… Italian cream cheese cake. Oh mercy. That one never disappoints! I’m pretty sure birthday calories don’t count anyway, and if they do, I have decided I simply don’t want to know. 😂

But as wonderful as dinner and TWO cakes were, the sweetest part of my birthday was all the love I received. So many birthday wishes, cards, messages, phone calls and thoughtful gifts came my way. I read every single wish and thought about how very blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life.

Birthdays change us as we get older. We may not be quite as excited about adding another candle to the cake... (at this point, we might need a fire permit! 🔥😂)... but we become much more thankful for another year, another memory, another family dinner, another laugh and another chance to be with the people we love.

My heart is full, my sweet tooth is VERY happy, and I’m stepping into another year feeling incredibly loved and blessed.

Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday so special. You truly blessed my heart. ❤️

And just for the record… if having two birthday cakes is a sign of how this next year is going to go, I think I’m going to like it! 🎂🎂🥰

Happy Tuesday!!

Shug...  

55 Years Later

 55 Years Later… and We’re Still Showing Up! ❤️

This past Saturday night, Sam and I attended our 55th high school class reunion, and what a special evening it was! It’s hard to believe 55 years have passed since we walked across that graduation stage. Some things have certainly changed since then—our hairstyles, our waistlines, our eyesight, and possibly our ability to stay awake past 10:00! 😂 But one thing that hasn’t changed is how much fun it is to get together with people who share so many of the same memories.

Our graduating class had 68 members, and we were so happy to have 21 classmates in attendance. Considering it has been 55 years, I’d say we’re doing pretty darn good!

One of the most meaningful parts of the evening was our memorial table honoring the 19 classmates we have lost through the years. Seeing their pictures and remembering the young faces we once knew was a tender reminder of just how precious time really is. They may no longer be able to attend our reunions, but they will always be a part of our class and our memories.

Of course, you can’t have a proper reunion without food, and we certainly didn’t go hungry! We enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner, followed by a sundae ice cream bar. At this age, we may be watching our cholesterol and sugar, but apparently all medical advice is temporarily suspended during a class reunion. 😂

We also had a silent auction to raise money for our class, which added a little friendly competition to the evening. Nothing brings out determination quite like seeing someone else write their name underneath yours on something you’ve already decided belongs to you! BTW...I won the bid on a nice basket of homemade sour dough bread, sour dough crackers, cookies and granola.  I was happy to bring all these goodies home with me.  

Then came BINGO—and I’m happy to report that all these years of experience paid off because I WON THE VERY FIRST GAME! 😂🏆  I may not remember where I put my phone five minutes ago, but I can certainly recognize B-12 when I hear it!

There was plenty of visiting, laughing, reminiscing, and probably a few stories that have gotten a little better with every reunion. We talked about the people we were back then, the lives we’ve lived since, our families, our adventures, and all the years that somehow passed much faster than any of us expected.

Sam has on the blue wig.... sitting next to me...

Not sure what he was doing...definitely not looking at the camera..lol

At our age, a class reunion isn’t just about remembering high school. It’s about being grateful that we are still here to gather, still able to laugh together, and still interested enough in one another’s lives to keep coming back.

We were once just a group of kids trying to make our way through school, with absolutely no idea where life would take us. Fifty-five years later, we’ve traveled many different roads, experienced joys and heartaches, raised families, lost people we loved, and collected a lifetime of stories along the way.

And for one Saturday night, we were classmates again.

Maybe a little grayer. Maybe a little slower. Maybe needing our glasses to read the Bingo cards. 😂

But still laughing.

Still remembering.

Still friends.

And very thankful for 55 years of memories. ❤️

Here’s hoping we all keep showing up for many more reunions to come!

Me...having a little fun while getting the event set-up on Saturday morning...

I am on the planning committee along with my dear friends Joyce, Vicki and Susan...  For me, this was another BUSY weekend.  

More of the decorating crew. ⬆️

Loves to you all...

Shug....

** Oh....and I must tell you....Not to brag or anything, but I was the youngest class member there!!  Whoop Whoop!!  😂

Three Loaded Vehicles and One Dorm room..

 Well, it’s official—Mylee is moved into her dorm! ❤️ And apparently moving one girl into one dorm room requires approximately the contents of a small department store. 😂

Sam and I headed out with a car packed with just about everything you could possibly imagine. Her dad followed with his truck loaded down, and Mylee’s car was stuffed full too. Three vehicles. One girl. One dorm room. You do the math. 😂

Now, I should probably clarify Sam’s role in this little adventure.

Sam was my riding companion.

That was his job.

He rode there.

And once we arrived, he located himself a nice comfortable chair and settled in while the other four of us carried, unpacked, arranged, rearranged, organized and tried to figure out how everything from THREE vehicles was going to fit into ONE dorm room.

Apparently Sam had been promoted to Move-In Day Supervisor. 😂

And I have to give him credit—he supervised beautifully.

By the time we finished, Mylee’s little space had gone from dorm room to home away from home. Her bedding is soft and cozy, her pictures and colorful touches make it feel like her, and even the sweet fragrance from a plug-in made the whole room smell fresh and welcoming.

This girl came prepared right down to the smallest detail, too. Even her nails were painted in her school colors! 💜🤍⭐️ Now THAT is commitment!

Once everything was in place and we had admired our handiwork, it was time for Sam and me to head home.

Of course, a long day of supervising and decorating can make a person hungry—especially the supervising part—so we stopped for something to eat along the way.

And WOWZA.

The food was absolutely delicious!

But before we even got inside, we spotted something that definitely deserved a picture—a towering Christmas tree covered in PINK FLAMINGOS! 🦩🎄😂

Because apparently flamingos celebrate Christmas too.  🤷‍♀️

It was one of those funny little things that just made an already good day even better.

The best part for me, though, was having Sam along. He enjoyed getting out, taking the long ride—which almost made it feel like we were off on a little vacation—and getting to see exactly where Mylee will be living and beginning this new chapter of her life.

 We are excited for everything that is ahead of Mylee, at the same time, we are wondering how in the world the years went by so quickly.

We left Mylee with a cozy room, pretty nails, plenty of belongings, prayers and, hopefully, everything she needs.

We came home with three much emptier vehicles, full stomachs, tired bodies and very full hearts. ❤️

It really was a good day.

And Sam?

Well, after all that supervising, I’m sure he was exhausted. 😂❤️

He was a trooper though...not one single complaint.