Lera Mae Wynn

Age: 16

Thoughts from Lera Mae, at age 84.

I'M GETTING OLD

I remember how, when not so long ago, that I picked cotton, cut wood and washed clothes on a rub board. I was blessed with eight children, and raised seven of them to be grown. Five of them were boys, Oh My! They were sweet, so were my girls, and I still kept doing anything I wanted to. I spaded up garden plots and grew tomatoes and peppers. I cut grass with a sling blade, and it didn't seem so bad. I still had time to enjoy my children and as they got older we did things together. They would fold their clothes and rake grass. But now, they are all grown and gone from home and I can't seem to get anything done. No yard work, and I like getting in the dirt. I sew a little when I can get the needle threaded. Either, the eye is too little or the thread is too big. I'll figure that out someday. I do the laundry and wash dishes. I've always had dishpan hands. But worst of all, I can't hear too well, and I forget. The doctor says that goes with aging, but it makes me mad, just real mad at times. I'm thankful that I can still read my Bible and listen to the TV. I know I turn the remote up loud sometimes but I don't read lips, and I need to hear my sermons. Most of all I am thanful I still have my family. They have brought me a lot of happiness, so when I don't hear too well and don't remember like I should, just be patient and please don't scold. Just love me and remember, "I'm getting old".

I love everyone of you Very, Very Much.

I just got home from attending my brother, Roger's funeral service in Shreveport, LA. Although the reason for my visit was a very sad one for all of our family, I was blessed while I was there. My Mom, my stepdad, my little sister,Beth, my brother, Frankie, my step-sister, Vickie and of course, their families and all of my aunts, uncles and my Grandma, were all very happy to see Tish and me. It was an interesting visit for Tish, since she has grown up without ever meeting most of this extensive and extended family.
I found a couple of old photos, and thought this one might be very interesting. Especially, to Krysta. We know know why our little Lucy is such a little ball of fire. Not only does she favor me at her age, but she also has an amazing resemblence to your Grandma Margaret, when she was 2 1/2 years old. Note the hair.
The picture on the right is my mother, with her grandmother. I am trying to see if we can find a picture of my grandmother at that age, then we'll know for sure, the Woodard gene has been passed down for 5 generations. Or maybe that is the Wynn gene, since my Grandma's maiden name is Wynn. Never-the-less, after our visit this week, I am convinced that the hard-headedness that I am accused of and apparently passed on to my oldest daughter and my granddaughter came from one 84 year-old spitfire in Shreveport by the name of Lera Mae.
I love you Grandma, and you are perfect, still, in every way. I am so glad that you are healthy and bossy as ever. I know that your faith and your hard head is what has kept you going all these years and I admire you for raising 7 children to be such a loving and closeknit family, especially the little curly headed one, you named, Margaret.

So serious and soooo cute. That was last year.

This year, he is all grown up.

He goes to school now.

I'll bet he is going to be a dynamo at his first soccer game of the season. I can't wait to see him out there.

Way to go, Jacob. Grandma and Grandpa are very proud of their Mighty Munchkin!

Teaching Jacob to Hunt!

My son-in-law is a great guy. In Jacob's eyes, he is bigger than Shrek, more powerful than Superman, and more righteous than the Lone Ranger.
The thing is, my son-in-law is also a funny guy, one of his favorite subjects is "me". It is not often that I get an opportunity to pay him back. However, I had a conversation with my star-struck granson the other day about their latest hunting trip, and this is what he said,"Me and Daddy went huntin' the other day. My Daddy can shoot anything. We got lots of birds. One bird flew over. Daddy said, "Watch this, son, I'm gonna show you how to shoot that bird." Daddy aimed his gun and fired. The bird flew on by. "Son," my Daddy said, "you are witnessing a great miracle, that there, dead bird is still a-flyin'." All kidding aside, Cotton and I have a strange and wonderful relationship. He's strange, and I'm wonderful. But, he loves me anyway.

Maybe, it's just me. But, I can see a little "Grandma" in my little Lucy. What do you think?

I Love Surprises!!

I got a present in the mail. The Dragon on the right is the mascot for Aaron's company. The dragon on the left came in the mail Friday. I have been collecting dragons for a long time. Aaron saw this one and thought I would like it. Of course, I love it. But, the cool thing about it is that it is green and gold, like his mascot. I talked to him tonight for a little while and he didn't even realize they were the same until I pointed it out to him. He has bought me dragons as gifts for some time now, but this one, I think is the most special. I am really proud of my soldier. He starts his school for Chemical Operations, tomorrow. I know he will do great.

When it rains it pours!

That's what Jerry said, tonight, when he called me. I thought it would be something about my family again, never dreaming what he was about to tell me.
Tom and Lynn are friends of ours. Jerry and Tom ran the sound system at our church in Little Elm, together. They also work together and have the kind of friendship where you confide in one another and support one another through the various trials in your life. Lynn and I don't know each other that well. But, I consider her a friend. We all love good fried catfish and have had several couples dates.
Tom had to rush Lynn to the hospital today. After examining her, the doctors told Tom the tragic news. Lynn had severe bleeding on her brain. They can't stop the bleeding. She is not expected to live through the night. Almost all brain activity has ceased. They are just waiting for her heart to figure that out.
The last time, I saw Lynn, she was sitting across the table from me, making jokes over a plate of fried catfish. It just doesn't seem real.
My only real consolation is that I know she is a Christian and that she already has a place set aside for her in Heaven. Her crown is waiting.
My selfish side wants all this tragedy to stop. First, Tish's best friend, Sage, loses her mother to a long debilitating disease, then my brother is hospitalized with a brain tumor, I still don't know any more that that and then a good friend is taken away unexpectedly by an anurism. Add to all of that, I still haven't got to play with my grandchildren and life seems pretty miserable.
But, I don't want to be miserable. That is why I have Christ in my life. He is the one who gives me the strength to deal with all of this. He is the one who gives me peace and hope when there is no where else to turn. He is my Lord and my salvation.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
"Therefore, having been justfied by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perserverance;
And perserverance, character: and character, hope.
Now, hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:1-5

I grieve for my family and my friends, but I will not despair, for my Lord and Savior is with me and I have the Holy Spirit to comfort me. There are so many words of comfort in the Bible, it would take me all night to write them down here with my typical "hunt and peck" method of typing but there is one more that I would really like to share, "Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:4-5

Pray for my family and friends that God will help them through these trying times.

A New Heartache

The night before Halloween, 1977, my Dad died. I was 17 years old and had been married all of 10 months. Two weeks earlier, Jerry and I had recieved a frantic call from my Mom. She said that he had collapsed in the bedroom after taking some medication that he had recieved from the doctor for migraine headaches. She had called for an ambulance but they refused to transport him for some stupid reason. We rushed to South Dallas from Irving. Jerry carried my Dad down a long flight of stairs and put him im my Mom's car. We put my two younger brothers in the back of our little pick-up truck and headed to the V.A. Hospital with him. They found a large inoperable tumor on his brain. He died two weeks later. I had a really rough childhood. Dad was an alcoholic and was extremely abusive. It took me years to forgive him for the hurt that he caused me. But, we were trying to make things right, and then he died.
Today, Jerry called me at work, he had gotten a phone call from my Mother in Shreveport, La. My brother, Roger, collasped at work . They rushed him to the Hospital. He has a tumor on his brain. That is all I know.
I am the oldest, Roger is two years younger than me, Frankie was the youngest until Elizabeth was born, she is twenty now. Growing up, Roger was definately the middle child. He was very tempermental and easily angered. He would fight anybody. But, he loved me. He never got angry with me. After Dad died. Roger and Frankie went wild. Without going into detail, I stayed away from them as much as possible. Just last year, I saw Roger again for the first time in probably 25 years. He had grown up, he is married to a really sweet Christian woman and life is so much better for him. We talked about getting together. We never have. And now, I sit here thinking about what is going on with him. I think about all those lost years and how much I love my brother. I think about the pain of my Dad dying and how that must have affected him at the ripe old age of 15. I think about how I wish we could take all those years back and start over. I love you, Roger. and I am praying for your recovery.

the serenity prayer

Lord. give me the strength to accept the things, I cannot change.
The courage to change the things, I can
and the wisdom, to know the difference. Amen.
It has been nearly two months since my daughter and my grandchildren have crossed the threshold of my home. I can only pray that at some point. Love and forgiveness will heal the wounds that were opened by thoughtless words in the heat of a passionate argument and my world will be complete again with the laughter and chattering of little voices while we create the magic of homebaked cookies to share with Daddy and Papoo. It's time to let old hurts heal and look toward a bright and happy future as we all intended when we left our home of nearly 20 years (total) to start a new and exciting adventure close to the ones we love the best.

Wish I could have been there.

Jerry and Tish went to Missouri to see Aaron graduate from Basic Training

They brought back some really cool pictures.

I am really proud of my son.

Hairy personalities!

Pretty Candy, thinks she's the queen.

Spike, telling me, that he is hungry.

20 pound, Candy, tattling on poor little Spike.

This is Snickers, my yorkie/poodle mix. he has a super funny personality.

This is my funny boy, after he came in from playing in the rain.