Author: aencoker

Author, teacher, mom, grandmother, but most of all, Christian.

Categories
Life school teaching

“Someone Like You”

We all need something good in our lives, something that lifts us up, makes us forget the bad, reinforces the fact that there are good people all around us, and reminds us that God Himself is good. (according to Psalm 100:5 and Psalm 107:1 and others)

I experienced that this week when I went to see the movie Someone Like You, based upon the novel by Karen Kingsbury. Not only did meeting a long-time friend to see it with me uplift my spirits, but the story itself was uplifting and reaffirming of our need as humans created by God to care for one another.

The kidney transplant scenes were fiction, of course, between a lost daughter and her found biological mother, but they reminded me of a real life story that happened about a decade ago in the school district where I worked.

I was the director of the district’s disciplinary alternative school, and one of my teachers needed a new kidney. He would teach all day and then go home and hook up to dialysis so he could resume his life the next day. To his amazement, one of the counselors from the high school who had previously taught with him announced that she was a match and could donate one of her kidneys. And she did! Not a blood relative, just a work friend, literally saved his life by giving up a part of hers.

Amazing love, how can it be? Truly she encapsulated the true meaning of love, a person giving unconditionally and without thought of possible consequences. That her husband and children supported her was nothing short of amazing as well.

If you get a chance, see Someone Like You. Privately produced, but professional, God-centered, and inspiring.

What about you? What selfless, loving acts have you witnessed in your life?

Stay safe and well.

XOXO

Categories
Uncategorized

Medicare and Me?

I’ve always considered Medicare something that I would need much later in life. Medicare has always been for old people. Grandma talked about it. After she was gone, eventually my parents talked about it–which Supplement or Advantage Plan to buy, whether Medicare would cover certain medications or procedures, or even if Medicare would still be around when they needed it. It was something nebulous. Far off. Future. Way in the future.

Guess what? I caught up to it. Or it caught up to me. As of January 1, I became a Medicare customer, client, recipient. I reached that lucky milestone where every American must sign on the dotted line, literally or virtually, like it or not, unless they want to pay a stiff penalty.

How is it, you ask? What is it like? Well, to tell the truth, I don’t feel any different. (Tell that to my lower back, right knee, and hands. They argue with me daily. My mother-in-law calls it a visit from Arthur Itis.)

I’ve only used my Medicare card once so far, for medicine, and it only cost me $2.00 with my new drug plan, which, in addition to my Medicare premium (over $500 per three months), only costs 50 cents a month for Tier One drugs. Which I’m told, are the more common less expensive ones. What a bargain, huh?

I guess so, but no matter. I’m now part of the Medicare population, the senior community, the aging baby boomers (love that phrase), the retirees, grandmas, etc. Born in the USA, raised in the 60s and 70s, I remember the days before computers, microwave ovens, cell phones, and child car seats. I’m glad, though, because it means God has blessed me with a long life. Just hope He sees fit to make it a little longer.

Hubby Jimmy and me in 1979 when Medicare was the farthest thing from our minds. (Happy Valentine’s Day. I miss you so.)

What about you? Are you there yet?

XOXO

Categories
fall holidays Life Memoirs Travel

Remembering Thanksgiving

At the risk of writing another unnecessary article about the meaning of Thanksgiving, I’d like to share a few words on what I think it’s all about. Yes, Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday of November and it’s generally attributed to the Pilgrims who gave thanks for their bounty after they settled in the New World. It’s also a time for turkeys: real ones–baked, smoked, fried, sliced, and served; or fake ones drawn and cut out by elementary school children. What is Thanksgiving without turkeys, right?

I’d like to reminisce a bit about the Thanksgiving holidays I remember growing up. Thanksgiving was a time for family, and my parents would pile all four of us kids into the car for the four-hour drive to the Texas Hill Country where our maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins lived. It was an exciting adventure going to a much rougher country than we knew–we lived in lush green tree-filled East Texas and they lived in rocky, cactus-dotted, rattlesnake country. My brother loved it. One of my aunts lived at the bottom of a big rocky hill and we four kids with our five cousins would clamber all over it. It’s a wonder no one got snake-bit.

Thanksgiving meant tables overloaded with food and dessert, and the kids were not allowed at the adult table, so we would fill a plate and land wherever we could, usually in the floor, to eat our meal. The food would stay out all day, so it was no wonder we usually caught a “bug” when we got home–sometimes on the way home! Poor Mama. . .

Are you celebrating the holiday with your own traditions? I hope so. Thanksgiving is much different for me and my siblings now. We all have in-laws and some of us have children with their own families. There are no long road trips, and sometimes I don’t even see my kids on Thanksgiving. But it’s not all about getting together with loved ones. It’s supposed to be about giving thanks. I am thankful every day for all the blessings and mercies God bestows upon me. Thanksgiving Day is just a good day to reflect on all those blessings and mercies and enjoy the food, the people, and maybe a game of football.

Happy Thanksgiving.

XOXO

Categories
Memoirs Travel

Oh, Lahaina

I never thought I would get to see Hawaii, but careful saving and using a Southwest credit card to pay for daily expenses allowed me to go early this summer. My friend Paula and I found ourselves on the beautiful island of Maui for the first time in June.

Yes, it was beautiful–a paradise. It’s hard to believe that such unspoiled beauty exists, and that Hawaii is a part of the United States. We enjoyed staying in a beautiful condo just outside Lahaina and we explored the area like the tourists we were.

The beaches are beautiful, well-cared-for city parks abound, and chickens roam around freely. We saw the Maui Ocean Center, we drove the road to Hana (yes, I drove it myself in our rental car!) where we visited the Garden of Eden (no, not THAT one) and saw many waterfalls. We saw the Nakalele blowhole, trekked Honolua Park, and hung out on the beach.

We visited downtown or Old Town Lahaina, too. We had originally planned to stay at the historic Pioneer Inn, but decided upon a condo instead. We did go look at it, though, and we met Alex the African Gray parrot, who was quite vocal. We marveled at the huge, complex, 150-year-old banyan tree in Banyan Tree Park, and we perused the shops along Front Street. We had lunch at Captain Jack’s restaurant overlooking Front Street, and bought a Dole whip in a corner ice cream shop.

And now it is all gone. I haven’t heard any reports, but I’m sure Alex is gone, as well as the macaws, hyacinths, and cockatoos used in sidewalk photo opportunities for tourists. Maybe the owner got them to safety before the fire swept through. I’m sure many chickens are gone, probably the rooster we saw perched in one of the banyan tree branches. There is some hope that the banyan tree itself will survive, but it will never grow that big in our lifetimes.

Worst of all, though, is the loss of human life. With over 100 reported bodies found, hundreds more are expected. All those homes and businesses are gone, many of the 13,000 residents homeless. I can’t imagine the fear and despair, but God is still in control and He is faithful to those who call on His name. I pray for them daily, that they will find their loved ones, recover from injuries and loss, and come back from this.

I’m so glad I got to see Lahaina before it was destroyed. I feel honored to have done so. I’m glad I wasn’t there when the disaster happened, as so many tourists were. God, help those affected by the fires on Maui. Help Lahaina. Help Maui.

XOXO

Categories
holidays Life Memoirs

Titche’s & Dr. Dolittle

There comes a time in a child’s life–it was at age 10 or 11 for me–that he or she feels not quite a kid and not quite an adult. One Christmas season my parents took me and my sisters and brother to visit my uncle, aunt, and cousins in Duncanville, about an hour from our home. They wanted to take us to downtown Dallas to visit Titche’s department store (later to become Joske’s and then Dillard’s). It was our first trip to the big city and the skyscrapers impressed us kids. Titche’s had several floors, and it was Christmas, so my aunt took us to the floor where Santa Claus was. Having already learned “the truth” about Santa Claus, I was mortified when she had all of us kids, hers included, pose for a photo with Santa. I almost died of embarrassment standing there with the children, thinking I was much too old to be in a Santa picture. My mother made me.

Each of us was given a Dr Dolittle figure as a favor (or maybe my aunt or parents bought them, I don’t remember), and I did like that part of the Santa visit. The next day I played with my Dolittle doll in the cold December sunshine on the neighborhood sidewalks with my cousins and siblings. We didn’t have sidewalks in the country, and the houses weren’t as close together. Titche’s eventually changed ownership, but the Italian Renaissance-inspired structure still remains in downtown Dallas, hosting apartments and small businesses.

As for me, I got over my aversion to family portraits and forced my own children to participate, preteen angst notwithstanding. They also know the truth about Santa Claus: if you don’t believe, you don’t receive.

Me and my siblings–I’m the oldest on the right.

Do you have a memory from the in-between years?

XOXO