6 minute read
It’s not the real thing
MOONVALLEYBIBLECHURCH 2022SUMMER HYMNSING 6PM JUNE12
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MOON VALLEY MAGIC BY DEBBIE ERBSTOESSER
On Friday the 13th in June 1980, Gary and I went on our first date after being friends in high school and taking a junior college class together. He’d gone off to San Diego State and been there a year before I went. I had already requested to apply for a transfer to SDSU before we were dating. Now here we are 42 years later with a shared history we marvel at.
All along he’s been saying that June isn’t our real anniversary and I know that, but it’s still fun to acknowledge, given the date so many people get weird about. Our real anniversary is in August when we’ll celebrate 38 years of marriage. Our oldest son is 26. We didn’t purposely wait 11 years to have children. I had doubts we’d ever have any at all when I had to undergo chemo after having a molar pregnancy, so we adopted a son and named him Garett Miguel. He’s 28 next month, but that’s all we know about him. We had to give our little Miguelito back to his birthparents. It’s a long, sad and tragic story few of our friends know, but it highlights the importance of sharing history and experiences with someone for so long.
In 1977 I saved a high school newspaper I was in, only to find years later that an article was written about Gary and his amazing athleticism in the same issue! He was at the beauty queen pageant I won in 1978 because he was escorting the outgoing queen who crowned me. So many times and in so many ways our paths crossed.
We actually don’t have a lot in common, so how do two perfectly imperfect people do it? Faith and Family; not his family and certainly not mine, but the one we created. We watched mistakes being made, tried not to duplicate them, but made some of our own anyway.
There isn’t anything magical about our relationship, indeed it’s messy sometimes, but the good outweighs the bad. I believe we were meant to be, imperfections and all. God put us here for a reason. Both our careers are service oriented and we make a difference in people’s lives. If our purpose was only to create our three joys, then I feel confident we did a good job!
June is known as Dad and Grad month and indeed I have written about dads over the past 13 years, but June has always held a special place in my heart as our ‘beginnings’ month.
BY LINDA HENLEY-SMITH
It’s getting hot and it will soon be getting even hotter! We know to expect that because we live in the desert, where the squirrels wear potholders to pick up nuts and roadrunners can’t walk; they have to run because they don’t have shoes and their feet will burn!
Phoenicians know that we need to adjust our lifestyles in the summer. We try to do errands in the morning or evening, we cover car steering wheels when we park in the sun, because we know if we don’t, the steering wheel will fry our fingers when we get back into the car, and we try to lighten up our clothes, our food, and our midday activities. Since we already do all of that, why not try to lighten up our attitudes as well?
The past few years have been full of heaviness and it’s time to climb out of that mood and find the joy that summer can bring! We need to shed the layers of anger, fear, and uncertainty that have dominated the world lately! We need to enjoy our lives and be grateful for small miracles that are all around us.
It’s summertime and it’s time to do summertime things! I have dug out my swimsuit and am building up my courage to try it on. I wish it had long sleeves and a turtleneck, but I will throw caution to the wind and wear it anyway. I have made a point to get out early and walk every chance I get. Nothing lightens a mood better than a walk in the desert in the quiet of the early morning of a brand-new day that hasn’t been used yet! I love seeing neighbors gathering, having picnics, playing games, and most of all…laughing together. Summer is for regrowth, renewal, and regeneration. It is a time for lightening up.
I have started a “Joy Journal.” When I am out and about, if I see a humorous sign, a funny bumper sticker, or anything else that makes me chuckle, it goes in my journal. I recently had a laugh when I opened a menu at a restaurant which offered some food choices to be cooked to order right at your table. It was a nice service, but the menu read, “Farm Fresh Children Cooked Just the Way You Like It.” I assumed they meant chicken, but I didn’t order it just in case. That one went into my Joy Journal to read when I need a laugh.
The best way to lighten up is to find that elf in yourself. Here’s a sign I just saw that should help us all do just that:
Opening doors to gainful employment for adults with developmental disabilities.
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