It's just not fair

How many times have I heard it?  It's not fair.


I don't remember hearing this but I have been told that when I went off with one of my friends and didn't take my little sister, Cindy, she would say - It's not fair.


When Becca was chosen to go to the football game with granddaddy when she was a little girl, I heard it from her siblings - it's just not fair,


And when I got that call from a physician in Sanford, Florida telling me that my husband of eight months, the man who loved me with abandon, had not survived a heart attack, there's no doubt in my mind but that I thought..."not fair".


This was not my first experience with the fact that life is not always fair.  Nor was it my last. Because in reality - life is not fair.


When Rich died, people asked me if I were angry and I said no, I was just disappointed.


Then one day I realized that disappointment is a form of anger and to be perfectly honest sometimes I am still a little bit angry - all these years down the pike.


And then I remember what one of my daughters said - "you have a great opportunity, mom.  Look at all the things you get to do with your life".


It took me a while to realize that to be true, but now I do.


I "get" to enjoy my grown children, those three bundles of joy and the spice that they have brought into our family (my nickname for my children and their spouses); not to mention the seven adorable people who call me grandma.


I get to spend time with a plethora of friends - from those who have been a part of my life for my whole life to those I met as late as yesterday (no matter when you are reading this, I probably just met someone who I'm having coffee with soon).


I didn't "get" to continue in the process of ordination, but I do "get" to serve at the rail, take communion to those who can't get to church and help with events that are aimed at encouraging and enriching the lives of  others.


And I get to write...a blog like this one.


With this entry, I am welcoming some other readers.


Several weeks ago I met Trudy Pascucci who is the publisher of Shades of Pink magazine.  My friend, Virginia Pillsbury and I have met with Trudy several times and we are delighted that we are going to be a part of the magazine which reaches many in the Northeast Florida area and has the potential to reach beyond our borders.  This and other blogs (including one Virginia will write about the joy of being the daughter of a woman who has dementia - I said that right - she considers it a joy) will be showing up on the Shades of Pink magazine website and we welcome others who want to post so watch for more information on that.


You might say I've found another way to act out that oft used axiom - "when life hands you lemons - you make lemonade".