Sea BreezesI am still dreaming. Today it is in the mid seventies, a beautiful coastal day. The official day to give thanks is coming up and I am hosting all 11 kids. Funny, I started off alone, and now our family numbers 12 and a girlfriend we all love and hope she will become part of our family one day. We are all busy with our lives and don't live in the same city, but I like to think we share a bond together that we are all in love and prayer for each other. Our five beautiful grandchildren are a source of joy and wonder. We  get pictures via email when we can't be near them or phone calls. I hope you have a wonderful family like we do. We are all in different places in our lives and share the experiences of those places. Grand babies are different ages and activities among them vary greatly. I am thankful for  my precious family. This Thanksgiving, I am going to give thanks for the gift of life.

Random thoughts at 61

Sea BreezesThoughts move through my head like leaves scattering in the fall. I think this is something all writers experience when they are away from paper and pen or computer. I am starting to think of myself as a writer. It is an odd title to give oneself, being as so many people aspire to be a writer. I don't want to have a career as a writer. I have already had two careers, motherhood and teaching. Now that 61 has come about, I can suddenly call myself anything I want to. I am a rider of horses, and a darn good rider. I am a grandmother, which I cherish. I am a wife of 39 years. I am a follower of Christ, I am a writer, I am a dreamer. Today the Glory of God washed over me and for the first time in a long while I feel set free to pursue my dreams rather than count my days on earth.

I will get my work published. I will get my farm and my farmhouse. I will get my pony and ride. I will write about my farm experiences. It is my heart's desire to make others happy, smile, be rinsed with nostalgia, think harder, laugh louder and question. I can do that. God has given me this talent and I do not take it for granted. I am no Thomas Wolfe or Charles Dickens. I am Phyllis Sartin, writer of the simple things in life that we take for granted. My blog has been a great help to me for organizing my thoughts. I wish I wrote in it everyday. Those are my thoughts for being 61. Yesterday, against rules, I dove into the Y pool and was chided by the lifeguard. I apologized, but I explained that I just had to dive into a pool, and I did. I don't think she understood, but then she is 15 and I am 61.

My Daughter

Sea BreezesI have been away from my blog for a while for several reasons. My writing just dried up for a while, my thoughts seemed to be consumed with my job, family and other activities. I wrote in my head but the paper remained blank. Then, my inspiration returned. My husband has starting downloading pictures from the past and my heart jumped into the past years when he presented me a picture of my beautiful daughter at the age of about four.

There she was, my precious little girl, all curly blond hair and loving on her Barbie doll. She loved dolls, my little girl has always been a nurturer. She has always wanted to be a mother. That desire in her was evident as soon as she could hold a baby doll. To this day, she is living her childhood dreams with her own two beautiful children. I wish every woman had a daughter. I love my boys dearly also, but this blog is for those of you who have daughters or are a daughter. You become an extension of your mother. She wants to share the lovely world of womanhood and girlhood with you. She wants you to be strong, tenacious, brilliant, beautiful and also alluring. She wants you to be nurturing, self-confident and endearing.

My daughter Katie is all these things. I recently found a plaque that read "First your daughter, now forever your friend." She may think it sappy, but it says so much now to me. Our relationship now is of two women, two mothers, two wives; although we are different ages, the womanhood we share is a bond. I probably drive her crazy with my repeating of stories, and she drives me crazy complaining about them. But while we have the time to be together on this earth, I will ever remember the picture of a little girl who wanted nothing but to be a wife and a mother.Katie you are beautiful in both these roles.