I think Santa Claus is Coming to Town...

I realize some of you don't believe in Santa and don't want your kids to think he is real, but I, for one, still believe he is coming to see me.

Can't give that up!

I'm enjoying getting ready for his visit and trust he makes to the beach where we have sand instead of the traditional snow.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good day...Until the next page turns.

Ginger, I received a wonderful surprise gift in the mail yesterday afternoon. One of my favorite movies of all time and a nice, warm, beautifully colored throw to wrap up in to watch it here at the house. However, I have been creative and designed the throw to wear as a big scarf/wrap with an outfit tomorrow night to a huge Christmas party in Houston. It matched my outfit perfectly and I started out teasing about doing it, but goodness sake, it works! Thank you so much!

Able to get a lot done today...

This week feels long already and tomorrow is only Thursday.  I keep thinking it should be Friday or maybe even Saturday.  We are planning on celebrating DeAnna's birthday on Monday, Labor Day, here at the beach.  She truly inherited the love of water from me and she gets out here as often as she can.  Happy Birthday to my oldest child, DeAnna Stancil Davis.

Steven stayed at school to play his drums for the city wide pep rally in preparation for the first football game of the season at Ball High School. He was excited to be asked to join the band for this occasion even though he has not been attending the before-school and after-school practices. Transportation back and forth to his new school on Galveston Island is a bit of a problem and no matter how you plan it, takes about three hours to get in the Bolivar-Galveston ferry line, ride the ferry over, do whatever you have to do on the island, and do the reverse to get home.  I left here tonight at 6:10 and we got home a little after 9:30 pm, which makes for a very long school day.  His bus picks him up at 5:45 am, when it is totally pitch black dark outside.

Thus far, he is doing well in his busy ninth grade classes and I am in communication with each of his teachers by way of email.  Boy, things have changed a lot since my children went to school!  He's carrying a heavy load of classes in the Advanced Placement program.  All he wants to do when he gets in the door in the late afternoon is eat and get a bath, chill out for a short while, and head to bed.  He is also involved in the Junior ROTC program, which is somewhat tough I hear.

Joni Harding, a friend of mine here on the peninsula, and I are volunteering tomorrow at the Children's Center, also in Galveston, for a mutual friend, Terri Ward.  She directs the Children's Center and Safe Place on the island and is in need of some help regarding a project. Joni and I are honored to be asked to help there.

I've been working all day on the Hurricane Ike Memorial and Anniversary Service/Celebration, planned for September 12, on the beach nearest Coconuts, beginning at 7 pm.  We plan to honor the ten known dead from Ike and the four still unaccounted for in a solemn service with tea lights and sending a live floral wreath out to sea in their memory.  An old ship's bell that survived the storm will be rung after each name is read.  We will also hear from some Bolivar Peninsula residents, property owners, vacationeers, and some of our talented musicians.

The general public is invited to join us and participate and we are hearing that many are planning to do just that.  It has been the most unusual year of our lives I think.  My mother was dead one year on her birthday, August 26, and Hurricane Ike hit our beloved peninsula and destroyed our home on September 12 and 13 of last year.  We are still waiting on TWIA to pay our insurance claim so we can rebuild or buy a new home.  Thanks be to God, we are in a nice leased property now and are quite comfortable.

My old and dear friend, Betty Cargal Nance, told me about her sister-in-law's gratitude journal, and I want to begin one of my own.  Every day my heart is touched with some small thing (and sometimes, large ones, too) and I want to remember those things in the future.  We get so wrapped up in living that we forget to enjoy the ride from time to time.  I think for me to list those things I am most grateful for will help to keep me focused and my eyes on the prize. Living where I do in my dream world of the ocean and beaches, I see things every day that are special and deeply meaningful to me.  

If you were writing in your gratitude journal today, what would you list? We have so much to be grateful for each day, don't we?

I am excited that Ginger (Bragg) Doster and Millie (Jones) Pincus, two of my oldest and dearest friends, are coming in mid-September to stay a week or so with Ted, Steven, and I here at the beach house. I guarantee there'll be a lot of front deck sitting, sand and surf watching, telling of old tales, playing of board games, cooking and eating, and good memories being made.  And, then, in late October, we are heading to Atlanta for another reunion of sorts with the Carpenters and the Rounds, more old and dear friends. Jack and John came to us at Forrest Hills Baptist Church from Bob Jones University when they were young college students.  Both have now matured, married, had families, and still communicate with each other often. It will be the first time we've all been together in quite some time and we look forward to hitting some of the old haunts in the Big "A" Town, eating at the Varsity, climbing Stone Mountain, visiting old friends and catching up.

God is good ... all of the time.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

Learning lots from our grandchildren...

I appreciate the interaction I have with the readers of The Examiner. A kind gentleman walked up to me yesterday at the dedication of the Ben J. Rogers Regional Visitors Center and said he wanted to see the tan on my arms. I was puzzled for a minute until he said he had been reading the fish tales I had been writing and thought I surely would have a good tan from being on the water so much lately. We had a good laugh and enjoyed a few more of those hilarious fish tales that are surfacing right and left.

I also appreciate when the readers take time to share favorite writings or columns with me by way of the Internet or personal letter. Some of my very favorite ones have to do with grandchildren. I have the joy of having my eldest grandson, Steven, who is now 12 and lives in the Nashville area, visiting me for summer break. We have so much fun together and I confess I learn so much from him now. He knows far more about a computer than I do and he helps me identify current actors and singers that I’ve never heard of before until he or one of the other grandkids enlighten me. We play games for hours and hold intense discussions about all kinds of subjects that are interesting to both of us.

Children are generally kind and forgiving and can bounce back from unpleasant situations or bad experiences far better than their adult counterparts. They do not seem to be as inhibited and certainly not nearly as rude and unkind as adults can be when the pressures of life pile upon them. Children are most often eager to learn and are open and honest with all they meet. Oh, to have the minds, hearts and dispositions of our children.

Ginger Bragg Doster, who has been my close friend since third grade of school, (and believe me, that’s getting to be a long, long time now) has two precious dark haired, dark eyed granddaughters, Kylie and Korie, and she loves those girls of Dean and Elizabeth’s and is always planning special treats, trips and surprises for them. And, yes, I have seen literally hundreds of pictures of Gigi’s grandkids and been shopping for hours to find just the right souvenir or Christmas present for one or the other of them. But, hey, that’s what good girlfriends are for. I should add here that she’s certainly done the same for me.

Ginger sent me the following information this week and I loved it so much that I decided to share it with you. Remember, God gives us grandchildren so we will know that rearing our children was really worth it all.

Ginger said, “Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.” I’m sure some of the sayings are writings my friend has collected from various authors and I have included the source when I could determine it for myself or if Ginger knew who the original author is.

Gene Perret is credited with saying, “What a bargain grandchildren are. I give them my loose change and they give me a million dollars’ worth of pleasure.” We do not know who first said, “Grandmothers are just ‘antique’ little girls.” An old Welsh proverb declares, “Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.” One little tyke told his teacher, “A grandmother is a babysitter who watches the kids instead of the television.” Gore Vidal wrote, “Never have children, only grandchildren.” Pam Brown said, “Becoming a grandmother is a wonderful thing. One moment you’re just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.” The same Gene Perret whom we quoted earlier, also wrote, “Grandchildren don’t stay young forever, which is really good because grandfathers have only so many horsey rides in them.”

Ogden Nash said, “When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.” I love what Marcy DeMaree said, “Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day long and now the day was complete.” One young school child said, “Grandmas never run out of hugs or your favorite cookies.”

Hannah Whithall Smith wrote, “If becoming a grandmother was only a matter of choice, I should advise every one of you straight away to become one. There is no fun for old people like it.” Mary H. Waldrip believes that “Grandchildren are God’s way of compensating us for growing old.” One old proverb I discovered teaches, “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.”

“Grandmother-grandchild relationships are quite simple,” said one unidentified writer. “Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love.” Alex Haley, famous author of “Roots” and other works, wrote, “Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” Joy Hargrove wrote, “One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather.”

Teresa Bloomingdale said, “If your baby is ‘beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time,’ you’re the grandma.” Bill Cosby said, “What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I’d like to say that grandparents are God’s gifts to children. And if they can but see, hear and feel what these people have to give, they can mature at a fast rate.”

Perhaps my favorite is, “Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever.” And may I add, so do the grandchildren. Mine cannot only wrap me around any finger they choose much of the time; they hold a very large part of my heart and life.

How we should thank God for our little ones and the pure joys they bring to our lives.

“Lo, children (and grandchildren) are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Psalm 127:3)

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788 or at brendacannonhenley@yahoo.com.

'Grandmother' by any other name — still a wonderful title

Photo by Brenda Cannon Henley

Steven Brown and Brendan Jones play in the surf.


Titles mean more to some folks than they do to others. Often, young professionals strive and work long hours climbing the corporate ladder to get that first fancy title on their job. Others choose to use rueful methods to snow the boss or the board in an effort to have a new title attached to their John Doe. In later years, titles often are bestowed to show honor or appreciation for a job well done.

In the course of my years of employment, I enjoyed several titles and was rightfully proud of achieving the steps required to get each one. I was an administrative secretary when I first began working, then later assistant to the pastor, financial secretary, and much later in my career, assistant to the editor and conference coordinator. I like the word, ‘writer,’ and for my first three and one half years at The Examiner, I was a staff writer and had that title placed under every byline. In my last year and a half, I was the Life Editor and loved that title, too, although I took some teasing about it from time to time.

I’ve also been called mother, sister, daughter, niece, wife, sister in law, board member, president of several associations and historian for another, and for the last dozen or so years, “MaMa,” pronounced more like MawMaw, but spelled with the two capital “M’s.” Steven, my eldest grandson, now 13, chose what I would be called when he simply started saying, “MaMa, I’m hungry.” Or, “MaMa, I’m sleepy.” Or, “Let’s go.” As the other grandchildren came along, they mimicked him and also called me MaMa. When my mother is around the children, for clarification, the clan calls her “Big MaMa” and I am referred to as “Little MaMa.” Each of these distinctions came from my grandchildren without any adult prompting or persuasion.

It has always rather amazed me at how children come up with the titles they choose to use for the adults in their lives. My good friend, Ginger Doster, in Atlanta, is called “GiGi” by her two granddaughters who heard people saying, “Ginger” when they were very small. They could not quite grasp “Ginger,” so they quickly shortened it to “GiGi” and Ginger loves her title. I have many friends who are called “Nana” by their young and others who are called “Mama” or “MawMaw.” Some still use the older term, “Granny,” but no one in my family would be caught doing that for my mother or for me.

My son’s children call my eldest daughter, DeAnna, “Nami,” and we assumed it is their version of love wrapped around a name they could not quite understand, born by an individual who gives them undivided attention and lots of old fashioned fun. They all want Nami to take them home with her, or to the park, or the store or outside to play or out to eat at a favorite spot.

Whatever word is used, the relationship is indescribable until you’ve become a grandparent. Ask any new grandmom or granddad how they felt when seeing that baby for the first time or what their expression was when the child was handed over to be held. It is one of God’s choicest gifts and one to be treasured and respected. A humorist has said that God gives us our grandchildren to reward us for not killing our kids when they were growing up in our homes.

Good grand parenting also bears some responsibility and it is sad that in this day and age families live so far apart that these family ties are not perhaps as strong as they once were. The very global nature of our existence and the scope of travel make family get-togethers rare and difficult to maintain.

My hat is off to grandparents, who for whatever reason, are rearing their grandchildren. It is not easy to begin parenting again when retirement looms on the horizon and bodies are not quite as strong as in earlier days. The costs for rearing and educating any child are ever growing and demands are placed on the elderly that are physical, financial and emotional.

Lin Yutang observed, “Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother. And, if motherhood is the world’s greatest privilege, surely grand-motherhood is among the world’s greatest delights. The role of grandmother can be a joyful experience indeed, but wise grandmothers do much more than simply play with their grandchildren or baby-sit them. Thoughtful grandmothers serve as enduring, lifelong role models. Through words and deeds, a grandmother’s influence extends beyond time and space, weaving itself as an unbroken thread through future generations. In truth, a grandmother’s impact upon her family lasts a lifetime…and beyond.”

Let us be wise stewards of all of our titles — including that of grandmother. God has honored us with this gift.

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788 or at brendacannonhenley@yahoo.com.

Hello and welcome to my blog...

My sister in law has been encouraging me to post a blog for months, and now that I have semi-retired, I am following through with her suggestion.  I write for a living, so you might think the last thing I would want to do is to write more words, but here I am, writing away.  I have enjoyed a life-long fascination with words from my earliest school days until now.

If I am not writing them, I am reading them.  Just finished the last of James Patterson's novels, including the Women's Murder Club series, all of the Alex Cross mysteries, and his new series on the bird children.  I also read and review books for the newspaper I work for out of Beaumont, The Examiner.  Great little read if you have the time and inclination.

My best friend since third grade, Ginger Doster, wrote yesterday and recommended a new book by Ann Rule, "Too Late to Say Goodbye," which I've ordered and will start on when it arrives.  From time to time, I will post reviews on my blog and hope you'll be interested in reading them.

I'm also involved in doing a travel series "Roads Less Traveled" and will post those from time to time as well.  First article is on the fun Arkansas Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, which we visited on our recent swing through Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana on our way back home to the Gulf Coast.

As I type on my faithful Mac, I am looking out the back deck window at the rolling and churning Gulf of Mexico, which is my backyard.  There's no place like it and we love living here on the coast.  Ted, my husband, and I fished yesterday afternoon out by the North Jetty and I am pleased to report that I caught the first fish and the largest number of fish.  We hit a bed of ocean cats and must have landed 28-30 in just a few minutes.  What fun!

We have contests determining who catches the first fish, largest fish, most unusual and the largest number each time out in the Gulf. 

 

Until next time,

Brenda