Today is Pop’s 84th birthday! We plan on celebrating tonight with a swim, and supper, and cake! The whole family will be here with the exception of Ben, who is working with the Army cleaning up the oil spill on Dauphin Island. And, Ian, who is not able to get away from Birmingham and make it here. We will miss having them here, but we’ll just party harder to make up for missing them.

Pop, we love you. We are blessed that you lead our family. We admire you, we learn from you and we respect you.

Today would have been my parent’s 59th wedding anniversary.

Last year, on this day, they went together to the funeral home they chose to use. They had had burial plots for many years, but had made no other arrangements. And, so they spent part of the day of their last anniversary deciding on their caskets, and markers, and other such arrangements. Mom called me late in the afternoon and said, “Guess what I got for my anniversary?” I expected her to say another diamond…for her ears, or her fingers, or her neck. So when she said they had bought caskets, I was taken aback. I said, “Why in the world did y’all do that?” And, she said, “Well, we’re going to need them one day and when we do, the decisions will already be made.” She then went on to tell me that the one she choose had a soft pink lining, and she wanted to wear a deep rose colored dress and jacket that she had. She told me that it was hanging at the very end of her bedroom closet. I remember saying to her, “Well, we don’t need to be thinking about all that now.” Five days later, she died.

I still miss her terribly. Joy still misses her terribly. The grandchildren miss her terribly. All the rest of the family misses her terribly. But, Pop misses her, too. And, in a different way than I do. He misses the love of his life. He misses the woman he spent 58 years with, and raised two daughters with. He misses the woman who he travelled the world with. He misses the talks they had. He misses the missions work they did together in South America. He misses the Bible reading and prayer time they had together each morning. He misses sitting in church with her….right side, third row back. He misses helping her plant her flowers, getting the dirt in to the pots…and then watering them when she did not feel up to it. He misses getting her meds together and putting them out beside her plate every morning, and bringing them to her every night. He misses taking her car and filling the gas tank for her. He misses visiting others who were sick or sad or lonely with her. He misses her pound cakes. He misses her fixing his hair in the back where it doesn’t want to lay flat. He misses her delicious meals. He misses covering her up when she lay down on the couch next to his for their naps. He misses answering her call when she needed him during the night. He misses watching her sleep. He misses her.

When I was in the 6th grade we moved to Florence Street. Pop had the house built there while we were living on Third Ave. We loved our new house. All the bedrooms (3) were in a row down one side of the house. And, the great thing was…….they all had their own bathroom!!! Not huge, but a bathroom, none the less. And, oh! how Joy and I loved having our own space! ‘Cause she was the little sister who always got into my stuff! 🙂

We moved next door to the Peacocks. They had 3 daughters…2 were older and one was right between Joy and I in age. Oh, the adventures we had. But, I’ll have to talk about those another day, this is about time shared with the families.

My Uncle Allison and Aunt Katherine were some of the finest people I have ever known. Aunt Katherine lives with Jesus now. She and Mom have probably started a WMU (Women’s Missionary Union…it’s a Baptist thing ) in Heaven. And, if those 2 decided they wanted to start a WMU in Heaven…you can bet it’s going strong! They were 2 very determined women! Uncle Allison is still going strong. I could say alot about him, but I’ll just say this…I think when I see Jesus, He will remind me of my Uncle Allison is many, many ways.

Our families became very close. Whenever Mom or Aunt Katherine cooked something special, they made another dish for the other. Why, neither would even think of cooking one pie…always 2. But, I think the most favorite was ice cream! Now, Aunt Katherine and Uncle Allison LOVED them some ‘cream’! They had some every night before bed. There was always several varieties in their freezer. But, none of that compared to their love of home made ice cream! I can still hear Uncle Allison sticking his head in the back door and saying, “Y’all leave room for some cream. It’ll be ready in about 30 minutes!”

He would haul out the old worn freezer, along with the ice and the rock salt. Aunt Katherine would have mixed up the ice cream recipe in the mean time. Then she would pour it into the tall silver cylinder and insert the ‘do-dah’ with the little ‘flapper thingys ‘on it, down inside the cylinder. This would then be handed off to Uncle Allison who would pack it into the big bucket, and pack ice and rock salt around it. Then the top would go on. And, the hard work would commence.

I have memories of many folks in my life making ice cream. We always had a freezer…and we used to have lots of ice cream suppers at our church. All manner of freezers would be lined up out under the bus awning…and each owner working feverishly to produce the best of the night! For a long while, this consisted of the men having to turn the crank themselves. They would try to get the sons to help, but they were too clever to come near while the cranking was going on. Occasionally, they would ask one of the kids to come and sit on top of the freezer. (I never knew if that was of any benefit or if it was just a joke to see how long the kid would sit on that freezer!) They would turn and turn and crank and crank…and then without warning they would say…”It’s ready”. The tables had been gotten out of the storeroom at the end of the fellowship hall and depending on the weather, set up inside or out. The ladies then covered the tables with white butcher paper. One by one all the freezers would be opened and brought into our old fellowship hall and put on the tables. Every third or fourth freezer or so, there would be a pound cake or some cookies. A long line of silver cylinders holding ice cream made by some of the finest! I never understood this either…almost always they would leave the’ flapper do-dah’ INSIDE the silver part. It made it so hard to dip down in there and get the ice cream out. Maybe there was some reason or maybe it was just always done that way! Anyway, it was always tasty and the perfect end to a Sunday spent at church!

I also remember there always being home made ice cream when we visited in NC. It would seem as if you could not be together without several ice cream freezers going at once. My Aunt Evelyn made a wonderful peach ice cream that was soooo good, I remember it still after all these years! And, I can recall many freezers made at my Aunt Della’s home.

But, oh how nice it was when they made the electric freezers. NO MORE CRANKING!!! They could just fill them up and turn them on. The men still watched them though. Walk by and pat them approvingly…maybe add a little ice…sometimes throw a towel across the top. I think it may have made the men a little sad that their muscles were not needed to make this frozen treat anymore. The freezers may have gone electric, but the keen eye of the man in charge was necessary to be sure all was going as it should.

Really, home made ice cream was just about everywhere we went in those days. ‘In those days’…lots of things were different. Whole families got together. And, the kids all ages and sizes would play outside, even after dark. Or we would go to the den or the living room…wherever the adults were not! And, we got along. Or we didn’t. But, we got over it quickly because we knew we were all going to be together again soon! We had no video games to play, but we would occasionally watch TV…but being together and talking and playing was much more fun. After the adults had gotten the ice cream they wanted, they would call the kids. We were free to have whatever we wanted…of what was left. Usually the best was already gone! But, none of it was bad, so we were good!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must now make a confession. I really do not like home made ice cream. I do not like how inconsistent the flavor is. I do not like having to dig it out of those cylinders full of flappers and cream. But, mostly, I do not like the texture. It is not smooth. It’s bumpy. It is grainy. There are rivers of milk running in it. It just doesn’t suit my palate. All through the years, I have pretended to like it, because I never met anyone else who didn’t. But, I figure I am old enough now not to care. ( The only exception being the peach that Aunt Evelyn made…it was smooth and creamy.)

I do not know much about the early life of my Granny and Granddaddy Townsend. But, I loved to hear my Granny T. talk about the first time she ever had ice cream. She was 16 years old! It used to delight her to tell us all about that day. And, as we become older and she become older still…..we knew it would be impolite to tell her that we had heard the story before. Instead, we learned to express our awe and amazement one more time…and we began to take the delight in waiting for the telling to come again. Here she is outside her home in Douglasville, GA.

When we are children, we can’t wait to grow up and do all the things that grown-ups do. And, know all the things that grown-ups know. What we don’t know is that the older we get, the more the ‘magic of childhood’ fades away. And, the more the cares and concerns of the world get heaped upon our shoulders. But, if we are wise, we keep just enough of that ‘magic’ hidden away, to share with the little ones in our lives. And, if we tell them the same stories over and over again…it’s OK…we were taught by the best!

My sweet DIL has a problem. Well, she doesn’t see it as a problem, but it is. I’ve tried telling her that we can fix this. But, she’s oblivious to all she is missing. So…I have decided to take matters into my own hands and send her a message via my blog. Y’all don’t think that would be considered being a meddling MIL, do you? I think it just shows how caring and loving and concerned I am! And, who knows? Some of you may have this problem, too.

She has sensitive toes. She does. It’s probably because she is just a sensitive soul (and I mean that in a good way). But, friends, it just is not right for someone of her young age to miss out on so many of the good things. You know…the good things that are shoes that fit between your large and second toe…FLIP FLOPS!!!! She has only one brand that she will wear, (they come in a yellow box) because the others all “hurt her toes.” Now, I am in no way making fun of this dear sweet girl, bless her little toes. It just is not that essential to her life that she wear anymore than that one brand. But, those of us who are ‘of a certian age’ know what all she is missing. Oh, just think of all she is not experiencing. It’s just not right. I wanted to bring her a ‘darling’ pair home from Maui, and she said “No, they will hurt my toes. So, this post is to give her ways to branch out, be bold, be daring, get more flip flops!

Now, if I found a pair of FF that I loved and they hurt my toes, I wrap a band-aid or a piece of tape…even a piece a duct tape, if I really liked the FF!….. around the offending appendage, and wear that until a callous formed. But, she’s not able to do that. So here are some things that may help.

Friends, these things are terrific. I usually keep some in my purse. If a new pair of shoes rubs a blister, this will keep you from making a fool of yourself by walking round with one shoe off! I understand this…I’ve been there. Once a blister on my heel was so bad, I thought about just going barefoot while in the grocery store. And that’s what I had to do. It solved my immediate problem, but people gave me dirty looks and I had to put the shoes back on to walk out to the car. ANYWAY…these are good for anywhere on the foot. Here’s what the box says: Band-Aid Advanced Healing Blister Cushions ($4.99) feature a gel pad that relieves pain while helping to protect the blister. The bandage is tapered on the sides, making it easier to wrap around toes, in particular, and also provides a super-duper seal to protect the blister from dirt, water and germs.

They also state that these ‚Äùcushions‚Äù are waterproof and provide a ‚Äúsuperior adhesive‚Äù that can be worn for several days before changing, even in the shower. And, it’s true. Once on, they don’t come off till you are ready. None of that wadding up. They are good for your heels as well.

Everything they said is true! This is a wonderful product!

Sandal Gel Toe Spreader. Soft Silicone Spreaders with built-in slit for sandals/thongs…not THAT kind of thongs!!! It wraps around the thong to reduce friction and enhances walking comfort in thongs, flip flops, and sandals.

• This Spreader‚Äôs built-in slit fits around the sandal‚Äôs thong, thus keeping it from slipping or moving out of place.
• Reduces friction and irritation between toes.
• Helps relieve pain of soft corns, overlapping toes, and bunions.
• Aids in maintaining proper toe alignment. Improves cosmetic appearance of the toes and feet.
• Invisible silicone color makes spreader discreet as possible.

I can offer no endorsement…I just found these on the Internet. Have never seen any IRL. Order from www.ourdoctorstore.com. That Dr Jill has been busy, you wouldn’t believe all the things she has designed to make our tootsies feel better! I wonder if she is a REAL doctor or just plays one on the World Wide Web!

These are the last that I have to show, and they are what started this whole trip down Flip Flop Lane. They are called Thong Wrappers. (But not THAT kind of thong!) I found these while out shopping one day and had to buy them for Sweet Suzanne. (Oh, please forgive the horrendous picture above, but I gave away all my talent to Adam obviously, and kept none for myself). But, these are a strip of silicone and you wrap it around the toe thingy and then it is a cushioned toe thingy! These I found at TJM, for $3.99. They stick to themselves and you can wash them and use them again. Isn’t that a good thing?!

OK, Sue Ann, I have you a box of the Band-Aids, and 2 pkgs. of the toe thongs…Now let’s go shopping and I’ll introduce you to the wider, wonderful world of Flip Flops!

We’ll get YOU a pair or two, and ME ? well, it’s possible I may could be persuaded to try on a pair or two…if it will make you feel better……

Whatever you do on this July 4th………

ENJOY THE DAY !