MY PERSONAL HISTORY GROUP

Today was my personal history group. Six of us today. Six wonderful women--yes, I'm including myself in the wonderfulness, if I don't believe it how can I be it? How can I be better if I don't think I'm worth being better for?

Here are the stories we heard today. I will not divulge much of their stories, not enough to compromise their privacy. I am giving them new names too. Here we go:

Meg didn't get married soon. She didn't get married later. She got married late. Too late to have babies. Today we heard the first bit of the romance story. Funny. Sweet. Tender. I want Meg to write this into a novel. She could do it. She's educated and I see authorship in her but don't know if she does. Who am I to say, anyway? She is writing it for her husband's grandchildren--her husband died about four years ago--she had him such a little bit of time--but I want the world to hear her life. It would be a wonderful read. Because she was single for so long she has done a lot of fascinating things the rest of us haven't had a chance to do.

Deedee read poetry, free verse, I guess it's called, beautiful poems for her grandchildren on their birthdays, telling of their lives, their passions, their disappointments and their faithfulness to their religion. She told them that she and her husband loved them. There is nothing like the love of a grandparent. She loves those children and told it wonderfully well and gave such a great summation of their lives. I know the children will treasure this poetry written by their grandma.

Julie--my favorite name, my sister got it first--told of when she was a kid and had surgery. She had a photo to show the cast, from chin to hips, her head turned permanently--for six weeks--to the right. When the cast was off her neck muscles were so weak she couldn't hold her head up. It was like a new baby's. This woman has to be reminded we need her and I am the designated nag. She is independent so I have to nag a lot to get here with us, where she belongs. And yet she is the first to tell those of us who struggle to be independent that we shouldn't be, that we are all connected, we are all one. We have to remind her to listen to herself.

Me, I'm calling myself Gabrielle from an earlier post--I read my Grandpa and the Chocolates story and then the first few paragraphs of putting it in a six year old girls voice for a book I'm thinking about writing. The group was nice about it, told me to remove the last part of the last line and it does read better. So it ends, "We sat there together for a long time."

Dani read a funny story about getting up with her baby at 1:00 (AM), 3:00 (AM), and 5:00 (AM) EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. She said she does well on not enough sleep until one night the baby decided to only get up once. The next day Dani was cranky because she said, "I got too much sleep." She told--in dialogue--all the unreasonable things she told her Kindergarten boy to do because she was too cranky to be nice. It was so funny. I would love to see it in a magazine. Young mothers would howl with laughter.

Ella Enchanted read about a blessing she wanted so very badly simply never happened. She retreated to her bedroom to grieve and told in detail the steps. We grieved with her. Finally, and for the first time, she accepted whatever God had in store for her. Truly accepted his will. It was a breakthrough for her, to accept with complete faith. I won't tell the end of the story as it is her story to tell. It gave us all something to think about.

So, there you have today's Personal History group's readings. I wish I could have a personal history group with each of you. Wish I could know you and learn from you and learn to love you as I do my friends here.

May God bless each of you this night and always.