We Remember You...

"In Memory of those gone from our lives too soon... We remember you in the morning, in the night, when we look at the stars, hear a song, revisit a place, and catch a familiar smell. You are always with us in our hearts." ~ Unknown #quotes #stuckinindiana

Do you miss someone and grieve for them? Grief and loss come in many forms. We miss those who have passed on. We miss those who once were cherished friends or family member but are no longer a part of our lives. Although not experienced in our family... I can imagine "missing & grieving" a child who passed prior to or at birth. 

Love comes with some sort of expectation of what the future will bring. The absence of a loved one can be strongly felt at the most expected times -- clearly out of the blue. Love doesn't necessarily stop when a person is no longer a part of our day to day lives. One of the most wonderful things about love is that it lives on and survives and even thrives when the loss happens.

Hold tightly to those feelings of love. They will bring comfort in the most uncomfortable times. They will be an inspiration that love is worth the cost of losing it.

TODAY... Chant the Beauty of the Good

Today... I'm going to try very hard to CHANT THE BEAUTY OF THE GOOD.

Real life isn't a picnic. Neither is real love or... real "almost anything" 

But, today I am encouraging YOU (and me) to shout out about the BEAUTIFUL GOOD to be found around us. In the words of Emerson:

"Don't waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good." ~ Ralph W. Emerson #quotes

#stuckinindiana #MorningThoughts #AtTheENDoftheDAY 

The Simple Joys - May in Indiana

The SIMPLE JOYS surround us... no matter where we are. Savor the simple joys: like blooming trees in Indiana or lush mountain greenery in the Kentucky mountains or... those things that surround YOU wherever YOU are!!

We changed the cover photo on the When You're StuckInIndiana Facebook page today to this shot taken while looking east from our backyard in the "land of stuckinindiana"...

Blooms on one of our ornamental trees -
a crabapple tree :)
Cameo by our NEIGHBOR, Eddy,
over by the white barn.

The old saying says, "April showers bring May flowers." It would seem that we got our fair share of showers in April and, we're getting an extra dose in May. In addition to a lot of rain, we've gotten some pretty strong winds. The wind the other day broke down and/or destroyed the blooms on all of our irises and many of our other flowers. It also continued to beat up on our fence out back:

I am choosing to "embrace the beauty in the broken" - ha ha! The hole in the fence makes a great frame for our wonderful open country view. It also makes this coming holiday weekend's fence tear-down and rebuild activity much easier :/

There's a lesson to be learned there :)

... and now to go outside in the rain to clean those clogged gutters...

DO NOT POST THIS

I need to vent... but, feel as though I can't really talk with anyone about exactly what I'm thinking. I feel like most people don't get me. I'm overwhelmed with what we are privately processing in our little family right now. I want prayers more than words from friends, peers and acquaintances. Encouraging quotes about change, doors opening, new adventures, etc. are great. But, there's always another eloquent quote that seems to give the opposite view. I believe so many of the encouraging quotes I see. As a matter of fact, I seem to be sharing them with myself & the stuckinindiana communities a LOT in this season.

For more years than I like to admit, I've battled

Too Tired For The Sunset

Yesterday was one LONG, HARD DAY - physically. I'd begun the day with an early "walkabout" on our country roads then done some laundry & worked in the kitchen before heading back outside for pruning, weeding, picking, etc. I'd barely sat down to rest when the LOML got home for the day. Granted, he was a little earlier than usual. But, I was already worn out from the many projects I'd tackled that day. His current mission was to enjoy a relaxed evening with me. Despite being worn out & sore, my current mission was 

Struggling to Do It ALL!

I'm a wife, a mom, & a DeeDee (my g'mommy name). I'm a daughter, a sister & a friend. I'm a volunteer, a blogger & a somewhat-but-hopefully-not-totally-addicted social media person. Putting all of those things together (as is the series title for this month) is a daunting challenge. But, the worst thing of all is... I'm an over-achiever. 

My childhood, youth & adulthood have been riddled with me feeling insecure and struggling

#JoyDare No. 2873. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

One of my least favorite sayings as a child was "Actions speak louder than words!" 

I feel as though I heard that statement no less than once a week for my entire childhood. I seem to remember it being said over & over to me -- after I had chosen to act or speak in a certain way. Perhaps I can put some blame on the fact that I was the middle child - after all, they are the problem child, right? Perhaps I just need to fully accept the blame :) I've been known for acting & speaking abruptly... often in a way that didn't mesh well with the person I portrayed myself as being.

There's a social media craze lately where people (famous & not) will respond to a challenge & then ask others to take the #ALSIceBucketChallenge to raise awareness of the progressive neurodegenerative disease of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). The challenge to is make a $100 donation to the ALS Association OR to have ice water dumped on your head. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. are full of pictures & videos of people accepting this challenge. Often the person will state that they are taking the ice bucket challenge AND making a donation. 

I'm strangely moved (as I'm suspecting many are) as I watch young & old take the challenge and pass it on to others. In hearing their words & seeing the images, I feel certain they are sincere in their passion for the eradication of this disease. I'm stirred into believing that each one will make a contribution to this research. In fact, aside from some personal friends & some famous people whose finances are public, I don't really know how many people actually follow through with their gifts and support.

It's said that "seeing is believing". But, some things are never really seen by mortal man. And, we all know that many unseen things are no less real than those which are seen. As a young person, I hated the saying which I chose today for one of my three JoyDares...

#JoyDare No. 2873. actions speak louder than words

As I've matured, I am really seeing how what we do carries so much more weight than what we SAY we do. Another trite statement, talk is cheap. Saying what we believe in means little compared to what people see us do to model our beliefs.

I took this photo in the Discovery Garden at Chautuaqua Institution on 8-2-14

I'm challenged today... and I challenge you today... to take note of what your actions are saying about your beliefs -- about the person you claim to be, desire to be, plan to be. If they don't line up perfectly, as mine don't always, take note & make changes.

"As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person." Proverbs 27:19

Really, What Are Mere Mortals... Photos From My Drive Home...

I could NOT resist stopping again & again to take pictures as I drove home tonight. The beauty was incredible. My camera couldn't capture it. All of the following pics are without any filters -- just God's colors. Here are a few pics I took...

I cry out with the Psalmist:

What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Psalm 8:4-9

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today... 

We've ALL Been Stuck

I've fallen!
And, I can't get up!

I have a friend who kiddingly (I hope) calls me Stuck -- an abbreviated form of stuckinindiana :) I've never really seen being here in Indiana as being sadly stuck but, God-ordained stuck -- in the place where He would use us. The LOML & I came up with that name about 20 years ago when circumstances* here in Indiana prevented us from moving back to the sunny east coast of south FLORIDA where we'd met! And, what caused us to be stuck...

     * we got jobs,
     * then we had a daughter,
     * then we bought our first house,
     * then the LOML got his undergraduate degree, 
     * then the LOML went back to school & earned an MBA,
     * then we had a son, 
     * then the LOML earned his CPA license, 
     * then I finished up schooling getting my undergraduate degree,
     * then we bought a bigger house,
     * then, then, then...

Caitlyn Young vs Caitlyn Old - 4 Moving to China?

YOUNG Caitlyn
a LONG time ago :) 

In the early 90's, a few things began to really "get under my skin" about a dear, cherished, beloved relative. I pondered those things & came to the abrupt conclusion that I too could easily slip into similar and perhaps the exact (gasp) behaviors. It was at that time that I began a new file entitled, "Caitlyn Young vs Caitlyn Old". About 2-3 times each year, I send the file to a few "sister friends" in the hopes that they will NOT let me edit the entries as I get older to suit my fancy.

Moving to China?

I'm so thankful that a big part of my life has been with my favorite comedian of all time (aka my husband)! Humor always seems to take the edge off of real life, doesn't it?

A few years ago, my mom announced that she was going with a close friend on an alumni trip to China. This would be the mom who gets almost all her clothes (and OUR presents) from a local used clothing shop, who complains that she has to eat cereal for supper due to the lack of money, who wants us to cover the cost of the gas necessary to come visit her grandkids (even when she initiates the trip), and who keeps her house as cold as a coffin in the winter and, in the summer, as warm as - hmmm, you get the idea. Back to the China trip, we were told that the cost of the trip was none of our business. We were even told that there was plenty of money to cover the trip cost. None of her adult children could get a straight answer from her as to whether the trip was something she could handle financially at that time.

Shortly after the siblings & spouses had processed all of this toegether, I received the following note from a close friend:

When I was talking to your husband after the meeting yesterday I said, "I heard your mother-in-law is going to go to China." His immediate reply was, "I hope she moves there." 

My friend went on to comment: "Isn't that hilarious! He comes up with some funny stuff sometimes. And he's so serious about it all too - which is great! Hope I didn't get him in trouble right there :)"

Of course, my husband (the LOML) was kidding. My mom took the trip to China.. and, she CAME BACK! She had a wonderful time, made some great memories with friends and took some fantastic photos. She's still under the same roof; eating cereal for supper under a cozy blanket. We all survived :)

So my advise today to the me of the present and the coming years is "Always keep your humor; trust in the LORD at all times!" 

God always sees the BIG PICTURE and was "spot on" when he inspired the writing of Proverbs 3:5-7 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn your back on evil."

FORMER POSTS IN THIS "SERIES"

Caitlyn Young vs Caitlyn Old #1 - Sleep Around

Caitlyn Young vs Caitlyn Old #2 - The World Doesn't Owe Me

Caitlyn Young vs Caitlyn Old #3 - Giving With No Strings Attached