2011

Hey friends and family,

I just woke up from a nap I was trying so hard not to take.  I only slept for an hour so maybe it won’t disrupt my night’s sleep too much.   I had already decided I was going to sleep either on the couch or in my recliner.  Lately, my back has been really bothering me when I sleep in the bed.  It’s either a sign of old age or I need a new mattress.  Oh, well.

I had a good day today; met some friends for breakfast at TL’s, then we worked at the Church most of the day “un-decorating” it; went to the grocery store and then came home and cooked a ham and made a pot of vegetable soup. Nice day, all in all.  I doubt very seriously I will see the end of 2011 tonight.  It isn’t as important as it used to be to sit up and see the ball drop or whatever else happens at midnight.

I remember some of the New Year’s parties of the past.  Thankfully, I never was a drinking person, but I did attend some good parties.  I remember one in particular – 12/31/68.  My mother-in-law made me a beautiful red dress trimmed in gold braid and my husband and I went to a formal Jaycee party.  We had such a good time that night; probably one of the best times we had together.  I remember some not quite so fondly but I guess all of them led me to where I am tonight.

I think back over 2011.  It was a strange year in a lot of ways.  There were a lot of natural disasters – earthquakes, floods, hurricanes.  We even had an earthquake that was felt over most of the eastern seaboard…I missed it.  I never felt a thing.  Hurricane Irene struck North Carolina the last weekend in August and some parts of Dare County will never be the same.  A new inlet was opened on the Southern beaches and as a result a new bridge had to be built…maybe a temporary thing….maybe not.  Several families have left that portion of the beach with no intention of returning.  Family businesses which have been in business for more years than I have been on this wonderful earth will never reopen again.  Stumpy Point village was forever changed but I really have to applaud that little village and its inhabitants.  They have persevered and seem to be rebuilding their lives and getting back to normal.  Or what passes for normal after such devastation.  My niece and her husband watched the water rise in Windsor and came so close to losing their livelihood for the second time due to water  Thankfully I came through the storm pretty much unscathed.  My home suffered only minor damage and I am truly thankful for that.  The water was higher in Manteo than ever recorded before.  When I saw some of the pictures on the computer while I was staying at my sister’s, I could not believe how high it was.  It was almost two feet high in my office.  My office building is probably one of the oldest buildings in Manteo and has its own unique charm.  Now-post Irene-it’s just a sad little building.  It would only take a little work and a little money to repair it, but my boss doesn’t seem to be interested.  I got it as clean as I could but quite frankly, I am ashamed of it.  I just deal with it – probably won’t have too many more years there anyway.

One of my nieces and her husband celebrated their 25^th. wedding anniversary with a surprise party.  Not many marriages make it to 25 years anymore.  Congratulations Gail and Jeff.  A couple in my Church celebrated their 60^th. wedding anniversary.  That was a milestone absolutely worth celebrating-congratulations Stafford and Jean. New babies were born, some special friends passed away and the world just kept on spinning.  Just a few weeks ago, my first grade school teacher, Mrs. Bertha Barnacasle passed away – she was 104 years old and until just a month or so before she died, she lived by herself and was pretty much self-sustaining.  I would love to be so blessed.

I still have special friends fighting for the good ole USA overseas  and I would love to see them come home for good – Melissa Sizer and Clayton Holliday.  Clayton, an Army Ranger,  was able to come home this summer for a few weeks for the birth of his second child.  He has a wonderful wife and two beautiful boys.  Melissa is a medic, taking care of our soldiers.  I’ve never met her; she is Ray’s special friend.  She has a son also and I know he misses her very much.  I’m ready for all our troops to come home.  They’ve been in the Middle East long enough…way longer than they should have been…and it’s time to get them home.

I read a post on Facebook a little while ago written by a young woman.  I refuse to complain about how "awful" 2011 was......yes, it had its hard times, BUT: God blessed me with a wonderful job, I got to see my beautiful daughter's first birthday, and I got to watch God's healing power as he took all the cancer out of my dad's body---and allowed him to walk me down the aisle. 2011 was another year of blessings.  Her comments really put a lot of things in the proper prospective.  I had some health problems in 2011, but none of them were very serious.  Some of them were a little scary when they happened but God saw me through all of them. Thankfully I think I am finally on top of the vertigo that has troubled me for many years.  I’m still fighting the spider bites I got while cleaning up the office after Irene.  So I still have sporadic times of frenzied itching. 

One of the highlights of this year was the homecoming of the Dickens family.  Joel and Cynthia along with their children, Morgan, Aydan, Daniella and Abigail, are missionaries in Brazil.  They arrived in Brazil  in April 2005.  Their daughter, Abigail, was born over there in 2006.  I was blessed to visit them in May 2006.  Having them home has been great.  They’ve been able to stay with me several times while visiting Churches to share their experiences in the mission field and to raise more support.  I can only imagine how thrilled Cynthia’s parents were to see them when they came through the airport.  You see, they had not seen them since they left – almost 6 six years ago.  They had never seen their granddaughter, Abigail, except in pictures or when talking to her on the computer.  I know their hearts must have been so full of love and happiness.  They will be leaving in July to head back home ‘cause now Brazil is their home.  They love their people there and even though they are enjoying their time here in the states with their families and friends…they miss their people.

I wonder what 2012 has in store for me.  I pray God will still bless with me with good health.  I pray the economy will turn around and people will be able to turn their financial lives around.  I would like to be able to see Ray again.  It’s been 3 ½ years since I’ve seen him and I miss him a lot.  He seems to be doing well and I think he still likes living in Alaska.  I know he gets homesick and I think he will move somewhere in the lower states when Melissa returns from her tour of duty.  I’ve prayed for God to send someone to Ray who will love him and want to spend her life with him and I think Melissa may be the one.  TJ and his family are doing well.  His teenage daughter, Hannah, went to live with them in August.  I know her Mom and family, here in Manteo, miss her a lot but I am really glad TJ is having the opportunity to be a full-time Dad.  He loves Hannah a lot and really enjoys having her live with them.  There have been a few trials, as there are in all families, but this is a special time for TJ.

I wish I could just snap my fingers and heal some of my friends and family.  Both my sisters are struggling with health problems now; both in pain and I wish I could make it better for them.  I have a friend, Jerry, who has been dealing with chronic pain for a long while and I wish I could just speak it away. Joyce, a special friend of mine, also has chronic pain.  She is in her 80’s and to make matters worse, when we were trying to evacuate during Irene, she took a tumble and broke 10 ribs.  Not such an easy thing for anybody, but especially someone 80+.  I have several friends who are struggling financially and I wish I had the money to take away those cares.  I wish I could provide a home for my Pastor and his wife and open an employment door for her so they could be with us all the time.  I wish I could take away world hunger and famine.  I wish I could end all the wars and the world be peaceful…no one getting killed or maimed.  I wish I could discover a cure for cancer, so one of my friends, Tim, wouldn’t have to worry if his was coming back. I wish I could stop child abuse and find happy, healthy homes for all the children who don’t have one.   I wish I could stop the bullying that goes on, especially among teenagers.  I wish I could impress upon young teenage girls to not get pregnant, since some of them make this a choice.  I wish I could close all the nursing homes and put those “old people” in loving homes.  I wish…….a lot of things.  But we all know, I can’t do anything about any of the things I’ve mentioned.  I can only pray about it and trust God to take care of it.  

So, my friends, 2011 is almost at an end.  I hope 2012 brings all of you special blessings.   I pray it will be your best year ever.  May it be filled with love, peace, joy and an abundance of God’s blessings.  May we all find the time to slow down and enjoy all the wonderful blessings God puts in our way every day. Some of you I’ve never met, yet I feel like I know you.  I have shared laughs and tears, joy and sorrow all through the modern technology of the wonderful world of cyberspace.  I’ve rekindled old friendships and made new ones.  I’ve shared some of my deepest thoughts and then, sometimes, some of my silliest.  And so far, I haven’t lost a friend.  I love all of you wonderful people.

Happy New Year from my house to yours.  God bless you.

Brenda

boutlaw@carolinaregion.com

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly and in their dim light I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest; my daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, transforming the yard to a winter delight. The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe, completed the magic that was Christmas Eve. My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, secure and surrounded by love I would sleep in perfect contentment, or so it would seem. So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud and it wasn't too near. But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow. My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear and I crept to the door just to see who was near. Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, a lone figure stood - his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled some twenty years old. Perhaps a Marine, huddled there in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, standing watch over me and my wife and my child. "What are you doing?" I asked without fear. "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here! Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve. You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve."

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts...to the window that danced with a warm fire's light. Then he sighed and he said, "It's really all right. I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line that separates you from the darkest of times. No one had to ask or beg or implore me. I'm proud to stand here like my father's before me. My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December." Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers. My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam and now it is my turn and so, here I am. I've not seen my own son in more than a while. But my wife sends me pictures; he's sure got her smile."

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag the red, white and blue...an American flag. "I can live through the cold and the being alone, away from my family, my house and my home. I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet. I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat. I can carry the weight of killing another or lay down my life with my sister and brother who stand at the front against any and all to ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright. Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do..at the least give you money" I asked, "or prepare you a feast? It seems all too little for all that you've done for being away from your wife and your son." Then his eyes welled a tear that held no regret..."Just tell us you love us and never forget to fight for our rights back at home while we're gone; to stand your own watch, no matter how long. For when we come home, either standing or dead, to know you remember we fought and we bled is payment enough and with that we will trust that we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

At this time of year...really all year long...we need to remember our US service men and women and our Police officers and Firefighters who lay their lives on the line for us every single day. Remember their families who also sacrifice.

Remember their families who also sacrifice.