The Towel

 

The Towel

I am reminded of a scene I witnessed at the beach on Saturday.  The red flag was flying as the ocean rip currents were strong and beach goers were being warned that swimming was a risk.  I was on a girl’s weekend trip, relaxing leisurely on the sand and strolling along the shoreline in search of the occasional shark tooth.  I walked close to a little girl who was sitting facing the ocean with her feet touching the tide, legs apart and leaning back on her arms.  She was probably six years old and was singing quietly to herself.  I could see she was having the time of her life.  The sun shone down as the waves gently lapped at her feet.  She was so happy and excited to be there, it brought to my attention how lovely the day was.  Then out of nowhere, a large wave broke right near the shoreline.  It was a forceful wave that unexpectedly hit her right in the face.  Immediately, she jumped up and grabbed her eyes and ran directly to her mother who was up on the dry sand area just behind her.  The little girl was more shocked than upset by the sudden turn of events.   I saw her receiving her mother’s comfort as her mother offered her a towel to dry her eyes.  I think she had gotten salt in her eyes and water up her nose.  After she dried her face, the next thing I knew was the little girl had returned to her spot along the shoreline.  The forceful wave had alarmed her but had not discouraged her from going back.

I was instantly prompted to compare this scenario to our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  While we are happy and singing because life is going well, something traumatic happens in our life.  Something unexpected rocks our world.  At once, if we have a relationship with Christ, we run to him for His comfort.  Like she ran to her mother, we cry out for help from Jesus.  He encourages us and like the little girl, we are able to return to our sense of safety.  Jesus has the towel to wipe the salt from our eyes.  He is there in our time of need.  Always and forever.  Amen.

Tammy Harvey

8/19/2024

Be A Daisy

 

Be true to yourself,

As youngsters we don’t really know yet who we are,

Our struggle to find our place is so bizarre,

We tend to conform to the group mentality,

But life experiences and time give us clarity,

We want to fit in and be popular amongst the crowd,

Maturity shows us that there is no voice as loud,

As the voice inside us, revealing what we believe,

When we believe in ourselves, we achieve,

A confidence that surpasses the world’s clatter,

A courage that says I really do matter,

I am strong.  I can decide.  I know what is right,

Against the hypocrisy, I will fight,

In a world where corruptions abound,

Civility is lost and the sincere can’t be found,

Trust in yourself, alongside the Almighty,

There is still hope for our society,

It may sound really crazy:

In a world of roses, be a daisy!

Tammy Harvey

8/10/2024

Forest Fairy

 

Lady Jasmine

Lady Jasmine is a forest fairy,

Very kind, not at all scary,

She flies high on butterfly wings,

And with a tiny voice, she sweetly sings,

Her head is covered with a petite acorn cap,

She can appear and disappear in a snap!

Her skin is fair, her eyes are aqua blue,

Her flowing hair is corn silk too,

She wears a dress made of flower petals,

And comfortably on a leaf she settles,

Her heart is pure, her intentions are good,

She would befriend you if she could,

She spreads cheer amongst the garden plants,

And sometimes plays kickball with the ants,

Though small in size, her adventures are big,

She once took a ride on a farmer’s pig,

Oh, she has spunk and moxie, it’s true,

She can outwit both me and you!

Tammy Harvey

8/12/2024

First Train Ride

 

 First Train Ride

Big blue-eyed little girl with the curly hair,

Throwing kisses everywhere,

Come ride the old train with me,

You will like it, wait and see,

First time is always a charming affair,

You will see when we get there,

The conductor will welcome us with “all aboard”,

 To an old passenger train that has been restored,

The train whistle will blow loudly, hold your ears,

The thrill will outweigh any of your fears,

This train travels at a rate that’s very, very slow,

It has no windows so the breeze will surely blow,

And you will wave to everything we pass by,

Our ride time will truly fly,

So many firsts to experience with you,

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Tammy Harvey

8/7/2024- Took Nellie Rae on her first train in Hope Mills on June 12, 2024.

Rhythmic Rhapsody

 

Rhythmic Rhapsody

Each night when I go to bed,

As I lay down my weary head,

The serenade of a beautiful love song is playing,

Encouraging me while I am praying,

Casting its spell, aiding my slumber,

A symphony of frogs croaking in number,

Rhythmic rhapsody filling a silent night,

On again, off again until the morning light,

The holding pond behind my home,

Offers wildlife a place to roam,

Canadian geese are often there,

 And Mallard ducks, a quacking pair,

The most unusual? … a group of otter,

Swimming playfully in the water,

Above the surface, a turtle quietly pokes its head,

While I am peacefully in my bed,

A world of delightful creatures, just outside my door,

Who could ask for anything more?

Tammy Harvey

8/7/2024

Bull or No?

 

That’s No Bull

Another story from our recent trip to Tennessee is worth retelling.  We made our way to Pigeon Forge from the Cades Cove area.  Cassie’s parents, Randy and Sande, however, who were meeting us there came from Raleigh, the opposite direction.  They had followed a GPS route that took them through some back roads to get there.  Sometimes GPS routes you way out of your way, but you may end up encountering something new.  Sande conveyed this story to us not long after we arrived.  She said they were out in the middle of nowhere (via GPS) and happened upon a little dog in the middle of the road.  Avoiding the dog, they proceeded and along the next stretch of road they encountered a large black bull standing in the middle of the road.  Luckily, they avoided hitting it too, but were pretty shook up by the siting.  At this point in her story, I asked her what she had been drinking and/or smoking.  I pretended to not believe such a silly story, but she promised that it happened.  What made her think of it was that the boys were watching Ferdinand on the television.  I could not help myself.  I hit here with a barrage of bull jokes, including “well, it’s a good thing your truck wasn’t red”!  For the next day and a half, I kept questioning the “bull” she had told us she saw.  I’d taunt her with: “Maybe it was a bull” or “Are you sure it wasn’t a bull?” when she would be having a conversation with me.  It’s a good thing that my son’s mother-in-law has a good sense of humor.  Recently, I found a set of vintage bull salt/pepper shakers during one of my thrifting outings.  Sande’s Birthday is in September and guess what she is getting from me?   It is fun to have an inside running joke with someone, especially if the jokes on them!
That’s no bull!

Tammy Harvey

8/7/2024

Chairlift to the Tip Top

 

Chairlift to the Tip Top

On our recent Great Smoky Mountain trip, we had intended all along to go to Dollywood.  As we arrived there, we decided to skip the amusement park scene and opted to go to Ober Gatlinburg instead.  It was my daughter-in-law Cassie and her two boys and myself that went on this grand adventure.  Ted and Rande were golfing at the Gatlinburg golf course.  Sande stayed in the room and kept baby Hannah.  By the way, Ted ended up beating his personal best and shot a 78 on a par 72 mountainous course.  He is still coming down off the elation that he felt.  Back to the story of Ober Gatlinburg.  A huge gondola that probably holds 75 people took us to the activities at the top of the mountain.  It was about a 15-minute ride and the scenery from that vantage point was amazing.  Charles spotted two black bears on the road below.  These were the only bears we saw on our trip.  There was a house built on the side of the mountain that was a copy of the original Barbie toy house.  Another house was called the stilt house and only 6 inches of the house was actually built on the ground and the rest was supported by stilts.  The ride up in itself was a treat, but at the top was an indoor skating rink.  Right away Charles wanted to go get on the ice.  He had taken skating lessons when he was 3 years old, so he was ready to try his skills.  They had small plastic apparatuses that could be used to assist in balancing while pushing it in front of you.  Charles got a hold of one of those and went cautiously on his way.  He only fell a couple of times before getting the hang of it.  Later, when Cassie and Grayson joined us, Charles pushed Grayson around while he sat on the pushcart.  Also at the top was a variety of challenging outdoor experiences.  There was a mountain roller coaster, mountain trail biking, a zipline, a rock-climbing tower, a jump pillow, a tube ride, swing chair ride, and a spider jump trampoline equipped with harness for doing flips!  They did many of these activities while I enjoyed watching.  The mountain roller coaster had a 2 hour wait time so that was unfortunate.  We were not willing to wait for Cassie and Charles to ride.  A large screen was positioned outside that offered news and sports.  The breaking news happened that President Biden had dropped out of the Presidential race while we were there.  It was one of those “where were you when” moments. My favorite attraction, however, was the chair lift.  We were already on top of a mountain, but not at the tip top.  The chair lift went to the tip top.  Cassie and Grayson rode together, and Charles and I rode together.  Only a metal bar across our laps separated us from the ground below.  It was a slow ride, and the view was incredible. I suppose we were only 20 ft off the ground. I wondered why I didn’t see sandals, cell phones, sunglasses or hats on the ground below. It would have been easy to accidentally drop something off the chair.  A bear was spotted up ahead of us.  The folks on the way down that we passed were all excited and telling us about it, but unfortunately the bear was gone by the time we arrived at that spot.  There was nothing at the tip top to see except the view and a tourist stand selling photos that they took of our approaching the top.  Charles wanted to have a picture of us kissing, so he held a constant lip lock on my cheek for what seemed like 5 minutes to ensure it was in the photo.  It was cute, but we passed on the photo and headed down again.  We were able to take our own photos because going up we were ahead of Cassie and Grayson and when we dismounted, we took a photo of their arrival.  The same is true when we returned to the bottom and Cassie took our arrival.  They sat in front of us on the way back.  The funniest thing started to happen as we descended the mountain on our chairlift.  The people we passed initiated games of rock/paper/scissors with the approaching chair.  Charles had a grand time playing this well-known game with the passing tourists.  In fact, he won with the majority of his games.  Grayson was also playing, and we could see him in front of us.  It was a reminder that ultimately, we are all in the same chairlift, dangling our feet above the ground, reaching for the sky and celebrating with strangers.  What a ride!

Tammy Harvey

8/7/2024