Surprise! ~ I am here on a Monday!!??

"You need music, I don't know why.It's probably one of those Joseph Campbell questions, why we need ritual. We need magic and bliss, and power and myth, and celebration and religion in our lives and music is a good way to encapsulate a lot of it." ~ Jerry Garcia

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs ... one step at a time."
~ Joe Girard

"Friends are like elevator buttons, they either take you up or they take you down."
~ Tom Osbourne

Monday's Meme ~ Moody Monday~ Today's theme is

NEW LIFE! This little fellow is a newly hatched Pharaoh quail.. he was hatched in my home made cooler/ incubator....he is a few hours old and struts around in the brooder able to eat and drink on his own.. he does spend most of his time stretched out under the light asleep though.. Just like any new baby!!

Well, Hello and I hope you are having a great Monday! My Monday has been super so far! After a trying and filled with bad luck week-end.... I was glad that for a Monday; today was pretty good.. Today was a great day for the theme I saw on one Meme.... New Life!!

My grandson Mason got a new baby brother bright and early this morning.. Both Mom and Baby doing well.. So we are happy about that.... Mason was so adult today as he explained to me that he wasn't ever going to be a bit jealous of him.. I informed him that he would.. He of course vehemently denied it.. I had to smile.. I was of course remembering the first days after we brought Cooper home and Anthony played the big brother so well.. That lasted about a week till I saw the eyes rolled and the bit lip.. Mason is just a year younger than Anthony was when Cooper was born.. I talked to him about being a little bit jealous and that it is of course normal.. I know there will be times when Mason will wish to once again be his mom's only son.. I had seven siblings and most of them older than me.. I wished to have been the last one many many times.. But Life had a better plan for me.. Life gave me a wonderful younger brother; Reuben and a younger sister; Martha.. I have thought a lot about them today.. I guess because Mason came here to have a mini stay with me and his Grand-Daddy while Myranda waits to bring the baby home... Mason has had a few adjustments this last year... A new Step-Dad and new step siblings and now a brand new Baby that will live with them all the time.. A lot for a youngster to take in.. But he does so well..

Thinking about everything today my mind wandered a tiny bit back in time to back when Reuben and then Martha was born.. I was four when Reuben was born.. I had looked for Mama for three or four days.. Grandma Black let me set on her.. Grandma Morris was too busy.. She was sewing stuff.. and cooking and fussing about stuff I didn't understand..I wanted my Mama.. Then they came home toting a blanket that I knew was mine.. But guess what was in it? A Baby!! Reuben.. he was kinda cute for a boy.. Jimmy had stood in the door and looked at him.. then ran away with his rope.. I could see his feet in the China berry tree.. I wished I could climb a tree... I saw Frank grin at Mama and she grinned right back at him.. He held his yo yo up and let the new Baby see it.. I didn't like that cause he didn't let anyone touch his yo yo.. then he touched the baby very softly with his finger and grinned at Mama again.. He didn't say anything but he didn't really have too... his eyes were smiling Frank liked him.. Trudy was sitting real close to Mama holding my blanket with the baby inside.. I wanted my blanket.. Mary looked at him from across the room and then went in her room and shut the door.. I went and looked in at her.. she was drawing hands on a paper.. some of them looked like baby hands... Later she came and leaned on Daddy.. while he held the new Baby.. I couldn't hear what Daddy said but Mary smiled and sat down beside Daddy.. Very carefully Daddy laid Reuben in her arms and she smiled her eyes so wide.. she leaned her head on Daddy and they both smiled so big.. I was tired of all this new baby stuff.. I saw my blanket hanging over the crib side.. I crawled under there dragging my baby doll and my blanket and went to sleep.. when I woke up I could see Mama asleep on the bed.. Daddy came in and covered her up and kissed her head.. I watched as he knelt down and held her hand and whispered to her.. I was four.. I most likely heard and either forgot or didn't understand what he said.. I remember thinking about it years later and thinking how much he loved her.. I can still see him kneeling there beside their bed holding her hand.. I don't think she was asleep even though I remember her eyes were closed.. I think she was just resting... Then Daddy prayed thanking God for a beautiful wife and for all of his children...He kissed her again after that and then motioned to me to come with him..I hadn't known he could see me.. He carried me into the den and let me sit on his lap for a little while then he put me to bed with Mary and Trudy... Reuben was a lot of fun.. he let me do him any kind of way.. when he could walk he followed me everywhere unless we were both running from Jimmy.. I usually let him run ahead of me.. I had more years of being lassoed so I tried to protect Reuben from it a little bit.... When we went to New Orleans mama bought him some paper diapers.. we had never seen such a thing.. Mama knew nothing about sizes though and they were way to little for Reuben.. Mama Just pinned his cloth diaper over them and used them anyway... They helped for the traveling I guess..

I was ten when Grandma Morris woke me up banging pots around in the kitchen again.. I asked her where Mama was and she said gone to get the baby.. I could see Reuben so I didn't understand that.. Then she said we were getting another baby.. I wasn't happy about that... what if is was a girl? Would she want my dolls? She wasn't getting any of my stuff. I was ten I wasn't sharing with any baby!! Babies cried.. they pooped and peed on you.. Reuben had.. I didn't like babies! Later that day Daddy came home and went in his room with Davey and Trudy and shut the door.. when they came out Trudy was crying and she went to her room.. Mary followed her and they shut Trudy's door.. I knocked but they wouldn't let me in.... Mary finally yelled at me to go play or she was going to get Grandma Morris after me.. I ran to my own room.. Grandma Morris was mad at everybody... She had already snapped at me and Reuben that morning.. I wasn't about to set on the steps because of a new Baby.. Grandma would put on the steps quicker than a wink.. I stayed in my room until Grandma made us all come out to watch Lawrence Welk..Grandma Black had walked up to our house that evening.. She let me set beside her as she sang BY BY to Reuben and rocked him....he was really too big to be rocked but he went to sleep anyway.. Finally Daddy came home late that night.. I tiptoed down the hall being careful not to wake up Grandma Morris... I wanted to talk to Daddy.. No Body would tell me anything... I wanted to know what was going on and where was my Mama?... Daddy was kneeling by his bed talking to God.. That was the first time I ever saw my Daddy cry... he was grateful for God allowing him to have both his wife and his new baby... As long as I live I'll remember that night... I have never shared the fact that I saw Daddy that night.. I was ten.. and Y'all I was pretty smart even at ten.. I knew something bad had almost happened.. I didn't know what... but I knew something had ... I ran back to my own bed and prayed too.. I even thanked God for allowing me to have both My Mama and the new baby.. I figured if she was special enough to make Daddy cry... she was pretty special.. I knew I didn't like her right then but I figured I might like her well enough some day....

~ as little kids there were both pretty cool.. I dressed them up as fat men and old women and carried them around the neighborhood just at dusk to knock on doors and frighten the grown people.. Daddy finally told me I better quit it after he opened the door to a little old bent over woman.. he was trying his level best to help the crippled old woman up the steps when Martha turned her dazzling five year old smile up at him and said "Hey Daddy!" He was at a loss for words for a few minutes.. under the old bonnet Grandma Black had given me and dressed in Great Aunt Martha's old; cast off; long black dress.. she did indeed look just like a bent and frail little old woman.. Reuben had found a stick that made a good cane.. We really had outdid ourselves that night.. Daddy often said afterwards that we scared him that night.. we on the other hand were just being kids.. trying to get a laugh.. Daddy turned around just as me and Reuben sneaked in the back door... we had stayed hidden in the bushes till she was safely at the door and we saw the porch light come on... She was too much fun to let anything happen to her... besides Daddy might not think it was funny if we left her outside after dark.. I hadn't forgotten him praying the night she was born.. I knew I was going to protect her if I could.. Daddy called me to the back porch a little later and asked me if I knew I scared him? I hadn't meant to.. He said he knew I hadn't meant to and maybe It would be better if I didn't dress her up like a old woman all in black again.. I agreed not to and that was the end of it.. I did dress her as an old Lady over and over.. But never again all in black.. In fact I always tried to put something on her head that would let him know it was her.. a ribbon of hers or even her own Bonnet that grandma made her right after that.. Daddy would always come to the door and laugh and laugh and even invite the "poor old Lady" and her cohorts... in for something to eat.. cookies.. Martha and Reuben were good sports.. I dressed them as dogs and cats and clowns and little frail old people.. But we all grew up and quit playing dress up.. Reuben was my secretary in my closet office and Martha let me cut her hair and paint her tiny face with makeup... when I wanted to be a beautician.. Daddy had the right idea all along when he was so thankful at their births.. They grew up into fine folks.. I am glad Jimmy said we couldn't kill them!

Maybe I could get them to come over and let me dress them up as something and we could sneak around the neighborhood and scare the grown people even now... Then again... Maybe not.. Oh wait.. I am grown people now aren't I?? Do I have to be??

Have a great day.. be thankful today for New life.. be it a bird or a butterfly or in the case of Our day.. a new baby!! Have a wonderful day!
Patsy