My husband has always liked short, but meaningful quotes that he reads or hears. He has a notebook where he writes them down. He also has just come up with many on his own over the years of teaching/preaching.
I am getting a new computer (my current one is almost eleven years old and just cannot keep up with all the new updates in the internet world). It’s like driving a model T car on the interstate. Does not work.
Going through all the documents and pictures I have accumulated in those eleven years is crazy. What needs to go to the trash bin and what needs to be saved to a new computer???
Going through my husband’s folder, I found one of his lists of quotes. Some are serious and thoughtful; some are just silly. Most of these are his own, but if there are any that are not original to him, I apologize for the plagiarism.
Before deleting, I thought I would share.
Say “no” to sin and “yes” to God.
Eternity is too long to be wrong.
What part of “thou shalt not” did you not understand?
You have a right to be wrong if you want to.
There is more to serving God than 11 am on Sunday morning.
Emotion without devotion is just commotion.
Serving God is walking straight after you repent.
I never saw a U-Haul behind a hearse.
If you want something out of church, put something in.
It is not what Grandma told you, what you think or what you saw that is the truth, but what “thus says the Lord.”
I have not posted anything for almost three weeks (have you missed me?). In case anyone was wondering, here’s my story.
In 1971 Hasbro/Romper Room created small egg-shaped figures that “wobble” from side to side but return to an upright position. Their slogan for these toys was “Weebles Wobble but They Don’t Fall Down.” Inside each weeble is a small weight. When the toy is tipped to one side the weight will cause the toy to “wobble.” Gravity soon brings the toy back to an upright position.
For the past few years, I have experienced chronic pain throughout my body. At first, I just thought it was arthritis creeping up on me or perhaps damage done to my body from the many chemo and radiation treatments I had as a cancer patient almost 20 years ago.
Along with the pain, it has become more difficult for me to stand for any length of time and to walk any great distance. My husband and I have always been active, but this constant pain and difficulty walking was beginning to make me depressed. I began dreading growing old and living a limited lifestyle.
My clothes also did not seem to fit properly. My tops always hung to the left and anything with sleeves would find the left sleeve longer than the right. No matter how many times I tried to straighten my tops – they refused to remain straight and even.
Finally, my granddaughter told me “Grandma, you wobble when you walk.” I felt like those little weebles – bobbing from side to side as I tried to walk straight. On uneven ground or climbing stairs I even wondered if this “webble” would fall down.
At my last doctor’s visit, I pointed out to her that a rib on my left side was sticking way out. She gave a closer examination and determined that my left leg is shorter than my right and because of that my spine has slowly been tilting to the left. Thus, why my clothes do not fit properly and why I “wobble” when I walk.
Diagnosed with scoliosis, she sent me to their physical therapy department for further evaluation and treatment.
First order of business was to add an insert to my left shoe to begin to even out my legs. We have had to slowly raise the height of the left leg because my therapist said too much of an increase all at once would only make things worse.
My first few visits to PT were basically sitting, lying while they did adjustments to my pelvis, my spine, and my hips to try to bring me back into proper alignment. After four weeks of therapy, three times a week and more inserts in the left shoe, they have declared I am back in proper alignment.
I have four more weeks of PT where we are working on building strength into my muscles so that I can retain the proper position of my pelvis, spine and hips. My therapist told me I will need to continue these exercise three to four times a week for the rest of my life if I want my body to keep the right alignment. They can make adjustments to my spine, but it is the muscles that will hold that alignment.
While doing the physical therapy and learning to make other adjustments – such as losing my recliner for a more straight-back chair, using the right size pillows when I sleep, wearing shoes all the time (which I hate), adjusting my computer so that I am not looking up or down at the screen which is hard on the neck, I have been too busy to blog.
Honestly, I have thought about not returning to my blog and I have mixed feelings about it. But here’s goes my story of my absence – and I do hope some of my followers have missed me.
This week my husband and I traded in our flip phones for a smart phone. I have resisted doing this for some time. It’s not that I am not computer savvy – but I must confess as I age and as the technology keeps making leaps and bounds, I fear that I will never keep up with it all
I learned to type on a Remington manual typewriter. The only place you will see one of those now is in an antique shop.
Excitement ran high when we found out we would get electric typewriters to use in our senior year of school.
During my senior year they also offered a course on computers. That class consisted of reading about the history and concept of computers. We heard about the mathematics professor Charles Babbage who designed the Analytical Engine. This became the basis of today’s computers. But there were no computers for us to use. At that time the only ones with computers were banks and large commercial firms. The idea that someone might have a personal computer at home sounded like science fiction to the average American.
The last week of the class we visited a local bank to see their computer. It was a huge machine in a room that had to be kept at a certain temperature.
Data was fed into the computer inserting punch cards into the machine.
Every time I remember that big computer and realize the smart phone my daughter holds in her hand can do so much more than that huge machine could do, I am still amazed at the progress in technology made in my lifetime.
After graduating my first job was as a bookkeeper at a local bank. Checking accounts were divided between three bookkeepers. I was responsible for all customers whose last names started J to P. Every check and every deposit these customers made was posted by me using the Burroughs data processor. Each customer had a statement that we posted debits and credits on throughout the month. At the end of the month we printed out the statements, gathered all the checks and deposit slips and mailed them to the customers. We had to memorize the signature of our customers and before posting any check we examined it to make sure it was signed by our customer. If we had any doubt we would pull out their signature card and make a comparison. If still in doubt we would give the customer a call to confirm they had written the check.
Finally, at age 36 I used my first computer. Starting a job as a legal secretary for a junior partner in a law firm, I was told the firm had just switched out their electric typewriters to word processors about six months before. Having no experience with word processors I came in on a Saturday morning and spent about 30 minutes with the secretary I was replacing to learn how to use the processor. Monday morning I was off – secretary to a very busy upcoming lawyer using a word processor with no experience as either a legal secretary or with a word processor. Needless to say, it was a BIG learning experience. Thankfully I am a fast learner and the job became my favorite in my work career.
Since that time there has continued to be new and exciting milestones for me in this rapidly changing technology world.
The day the law firm got email on their computers. We could only email one another within the firm.
The day we got email that could go beyond our own personal system and we could communicate with other law firms and businesses.
The day I got my own personal computer at home. It was just a word processing machine.
The day I got a computer that could handle all kinds of programs like Publisher, Excel and I could go on the internet.
While I struggle to stay on top of all these changes – and I think I do pretty good for a woman in her 70’s – I fear the day it all gets more than I can do.
But, if and when that happens, I have my own little computer expert, my granddaughter Zoe. When she was only four years old she sat by her Papa as he opened up children’s songs on YouTube and showed her the videos. She kept trying to reach over and touch the keyboard and he kept telling her to stop. Finally, she managed to get around his hands and reach the keyboard. To his surprise she touched a key that opened up the tiny window showing the song to a full screen picture! Then and there he realized this four-year-old was probably much more computer savvy than he was.
Grandma's Ramblings 