I'm a "reader". I have been for as long as I can remember. It started when I was in the first grade with "Fun With Dick And Jane" and continues on to this day. I love books and the places that they take me to.

Today kids get engrossed in video games, but when I was a girl we didn't have video games. We had books. I could open a book and be totally involved with the story, characters and action to the point that everything else just faded into the background.

I have watched my grandson's face as he is playing a video game. He is completely absorbed. He doesn't see or hear anything else. And I realized that I do the same thing when I read. I am caught up and transported to another place and time! Once upon a time and not so long ago, reading was a primary source of entertainment.

But times do change. We have come a long way from eight track tapes to CDs, from writing letters to e-mail or Facebook and from party lines to cell phones. And even reading books has changed in this electronic age. I never thought I would enjoy an E-Reader. After all, there is the smell of a new book, the crisp sound of the new pages turning, the feel of the book in my hands. How could I ever give that up for some new fangled gadget?

Then I finally relented to all the advertising hype and bought a Kindle. I simply couldn't help myself. I had to try it. And it has turned out to be a verified wonder for me!

I can now carry a whole library of books with me when we travel. The Classics that thrilled me so in high school are free for me to download. I can reread them to my heart's content. And the current best sellers cost about half the price they would in hardback. My Kindle is with me every where I go now. New books and old favorites are just a click away. And I realize that it is the stories and words that are important, not the method of their delivery.

The other day, my grand daughter was visiting and I saw her pick up my Kindle. She searched through my library until she found a title that interested her...and then she began to READ! Now that's progress!

My greatest wish for this generation, for my grand children, is that they will discover the magic and wonder of the written word.

Read a good book today, my friends. Rediscover the wonder. You will be glad you did!

The Journey Continues

Another Mother's Day has come and gone and I feel so blessed. It has been an eventful year! There has been great joy as well as great sadness in my life this past year.

My nephew, Connor, underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and is winning his fight with leukemia! Way to go, Connor! And I want to thank all of my readers who have sent up prayers for this little fighter - God bless you all.

We have moved to a new place, closer to our son and his family. The grand babies can run over to see me more often now. And we have had several great sleep-overs already. I love it! They keep me feeling so young and Keilee (13 years old) keeps me up to date on the latest fashion and music!

Speaking of Keilee, she will be graduating from the 8Th grade Friday night. Where does the time go? She really does get more beautiful every day. (Spoken like a true doting grandmother, right?)

I decided to go back into nursing so I am finishing up my Nurse Refresher course through OU next week. I said I'd never work in nursing again but "once a nurse, always a nurse",I guess. It's what I do best so I am excited to be back in my chosen profession.

I already told you about our great sorrow this past September - the loss of my nephew, Shane. His parents and brother are doing the best they can to go on without him. But, oh! how hard it is. Dear Lord please light their path and ease their pain.

This journey through my 5Th decade is a bit of a roller coaster ride sometimes. Both frightening and fun. In spite of the hurt and sorrow, it is still so good to be living this time of my life.

The sunrises are bright and beautiful, the nights are calm and restful and the people around me are sweeter to me than they have ever been before.

So Much Has Happened!

I apologize for being absent from this Blog for so long but so much has happened. Since I last posted here, we have had a great sorrow in our family. My nephew was killed in an accident in September of 2010. His name is Shane and he was 17 years old.

I have found it impossible to write about this until now. We are a close knit family. The loss of my brother's child was almost more than I could stand. All of us are still grieving. It has been emotionally shattering for our family.

How do we make sense of the loss of a child? Who do we blame? So many people at the funeral kept saying it was "God's will" or "God's plan" for Shane, but I can't seem to accept that. I keep thinking that God had a much better plan for Shane and that this was simply an accident that no one could have forseen or prevented.

Shane was bright, young, beautiful, smart, and loved by everyone who knew him. He could light up a room just by walking in the door. But that light has gone out now, and we are left standing in the dark and trying to understand why he is gone.

Maybe someday we will know why he was taken from us...when we can speak to God face to face. But it won't matter then because we will all be together again, with Shane, in God's presence...and then there will be a family reunion like none we have ever known!

I love you, Shane. I will never forget you. And I will see you someday in God's house.