Life is not for sissies!

When I start a blog, I'm never quite sure where it is going to go. I've had a recurring thought running around in this pea brain, so we'll see.

A few weeks ago when we were in the Kansas City area we had the opportunity to lunch with two couples we'd known when we lived there 40 years ago. One friend, Lois, now suffers from the Big A. The Big A is no respecter of persons. It doesn't matter if you've dined with queens, held the most powerful office in the world, or are just a normal housewife in suburban Kansas - the Big A can and does strike.

I knew Lois had developed this disease. I wondered what she would now be like as I'd heard that personalities are changed. This dear Christian friend, whom I've always counted as my spiritual mother, is still the same sweet personality. Despite the fact she can no longer recall on a moment's notice where one of her children lives, she is still the dignified, lovely lady whose feet I sat at as she poured wisdom and Biblical teaching into me years ago. I think her grounding in the Word is holding her steady.

I came away with a new mantra. "Old age is not for sissies"!

I've thought about that a lot. There is a lot of wisdom in this saying which also has some humor. I thought about Granddaughter Emma who is just 17 mos. old. If she could verbalize, maybe she'd say something like:

Being a baby is not for sissies. I'd hardly gotten out of the womb before Mom and Dad wanted me to follow them with my eyes, smile at their silly "coochie coos", sit up, crawl, and of all things, stand up and walk. And they wanted me to do all that in one year!" Now, I think they are talking about me having to sit on that potty. Being a baby is not for sissies.

How about the high school seniors. We have two grandchildren in that category. Parents are continually talking about what we're going to do with our lives and what college we're going to. Being forced out of the house and expected to be an adult is not for sissies.

We could go on and on - what about newly marrieds, new parents, older parents, old parents!

Life is not for sissies! Thankfully, we have the Manufacturer's Handbook to give us guidance, because on our own we would fail miserably. We can see that by the hordes of people around us who refuse to read the Handbook.