Well here we are almost half way through 2021 and I have had so many things on my heart and the past 2 weeks I think I have partially figured out why my heart has been heavy and why I have some of the feelings I have. So sit back, grab a glass of lemonade and join me on this little story time..
Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I know a lot of times we tell this to kids as they are graduating high school and college and going out into the world. We as adults need to keep it in the forefront of our minds as well. Life sometimes throws us curve balls and we forget that God has a plan and that He will work it all out in His way and in His time..
The end of 2019 was pretty normal as far as school starting, fall and winter sports, Christmas and New Years and even the very beginning of 2020 was normal.. My youngest son was in the last half of his senior year and looking forward to playing baseball one last year, senior trip day, graduation and so much more before he was to leave June 1st for basic training... I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to watch him play the sport he loved the most. I am so glad he decided to play basketball and we got to have Senior night,, (I was afraid I wasn't gonna get that with my last one like I did with the others.) Went back to school after Christmas break and not too long after that we started hearing the dreadful "C'" word and it was not Cancer.
People were getting sick, going to the hospital, some were passing away and fear was running through so many. Gradey and I had went to Sam's Club on weekend and as we were walking through there he said "do we need to buy toilet paper? I said well we might as well we opened our last package the other day and no one wants to run out of that. LOL I mean we already had laundry soap, paper towels, fabric softener and other stuff. So my thinking was well here we are at Sam's might as well make sure we got it.. Ill be danged the next week toilet paper was disappearing like crazy.. and by the next week there was none anywhere.. I was like Praise the Lord I decided to go ahead and get that big old package of toilet paper.. Then they started talking about quarantine oh and lets not forget the social distance stuff.... Then the kids went on spring break and that was all she wrote for the 2019/2020 school year.. We had to do online school, which was not fun with my son who hated school anyway and it took all my nerves and will to get the kid to finish and be done.. We held out hopes that we would get to go back and play some baseball and get to do all the year end school stuff.. They finally did agree to let us have a graduation ceremony. It was much different than any other, but I got to watch my baby boy walk across the stage and get his Diploma, We even got to have a little reception for him afterwards,,
Let me throw this in there my work was even closed during the Pandemic for almost 2 months. It was crazy to see how fast life as we knew it shut down. Then we got to the mask wearing mandates, stay home, don't do this and don't do that and all you heard about was the "c" word and how many people were dying, on vents and how fast people were getting sick. People just went batsh@!t crazy. Elderly people were on lockdown and so many died in the nursing homes all alone and without seeing or saying good bye to their families. Like seriously life went crazy for a months and months. Every time you turned on the tv, the radio, opened the news paper or Facebook anything it was all about Covid-19 and the Pandemic.. People were nasty to people. The ones who were die hard mask wearers and those who are all for the vaccine are jumping all over those who were not mask wearers and those who have chosen to get no shot. I could get into a lot of debates here, but that is not what this is about. You see what I learned that people were all about everyone having their rights, but only as long as they followed everyone else. I say you know what we are all able bodied people and we all have the choice to do what we feel is right for us.
Ok so back to the rest of the story.. I had to drop my baby boy off on 5/31/2020 to go to MEPS to leave on June 1st for Fort Jackson South Carolina for Basic Combat Training. He had joined the Missouri National Guard.. This momma is so proud of him.. I could not go see him off at the airport, I could not attend his graduation in person for Basic or AIT. This momma's heart was broken, but oh so proud of her baby boy. I know he had second and third thoughts about joining and as much as I wanted him to stay home and figure out what to do I encouraged him and held him to his choice.. He did it.. I knew he could.. Watching his graduation ceremony brought tears to my eyes.. My heart swelled with pride and every time I hear God Bless America or the National Anthem I get teary eyed. Thank you Jeremiah Hunter Wingate for choosing to serve.. I know it wasn't easy, but you did it.. He had not been home from AIT that long when he got deployed to Washington Dc got the inauguration.. Oh yes I forgot to mention the crap show of an election in 2020, it was really no surprise it was going to be a crap show since 2020 had been a crap show.. (I wont get into politics here, just know that I believe you have the right to vote for whomever as do I and I do not have to be a jerk and neither do you if we don't agree..
So fast forward to the 2020/2021 school year, for the most part the school my kids had attended went back to normal and everything went off like it was a normal year. I as a momma kind of feel like my son, his classmates as well as all the 2020 seniors got screwed.. And now those who are graduating Basic and Ait get to have family day and graduation.. This makes this momma sad and angry because I missed watching such an awesome proud moment in person. I hope that by writing my feelings down and talking about it that makes me feel just a tiny bit better.. You see I know in my heart there was a reason for all of this happening the way it did.. I know God is in control and I pray He heals the hurt in my heart over how things went.. God is Good.. All the time God is Good..
My family was blessed throughout the past 18 months and for that I am thankful.. Thank You Lord for keeping my family safe and healthy and please Lord hold me close and help heal my heart..
So I guess what I am saying is that no matter what curve balls life throws at us, we need to keep the faith. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5&6 And Pray pray pray..
Later Taters..
God Bless
