The Secret Life of Aunt Linda

By Linda Patton – July 1, 2015

I had a funny blog planned for tonight, but under the circumstances, I’m going to switch it up and just do some freewriting as I watch to see just exactly how close this tornado warning is going to come to where we live.

My nieces and nephew ended up at my house for an unplanned, last minute slumber party due to an unfortunate trip to the emergency room for their mom and dad. Everything will be fine, just a few stitches.

I knew it was supposed to rain, and I was dreading more water. So much water! My dread quickly turned the corner to worry, as the tornado warnings started rolling off the television screen.  So my freewriting time will now be spent secretly preparing for the storm that is to come. The littlest one is asleep, and thank goodness for DVR and the Disney channel. That is keeping the older two occupied so that they don’t notice what I’m doing.

·         Phase one-Chicken check. All the hatches are battened down there. If we exceed 5 inches of rain before morning, I’ll be waddling out there and moving a mother hen and her chicks to higher ground. Everyone else is up off the floor. I would do it now, but the babies are too small to fly and I am afraid they will jump down and get injured. She lost one two days ago, and I have no idea why, so I’m not taking any chances.

·         Phase two-all dogs inside. Check. So many dogs!

·         Phase three- Inform my older children and check for close by shoes and flashlights. Check.

·         Phase four-make sure that the younger children have flashlights and shoes close to them, without alarming them in any way. Check. I can’t believe I pulled that off. Again, I must say, thank goodness for Disney channel.

·         Final phase- Tuck everyone in and gather  my own personal flashlight, shoes, and English homework. Check!

Time to get in the boat. Thanks for listening. Safe wishes to everyone tonight.

The Heart of a Child

My prompt today was to write a story about a beggar who loves to hear himself sing.

     “He’s at it again,” she told him, nudging him toward the other side of the street. “Quick, let’s cross here.” As they crossed the street, they could hear him growing louder and louder. The next person to walk by would not escape so quickly.

     A man dressed in neatly pressed slacks, a crisp clean oxford, with a tie placed almost to perfection around his neck, tried to dodge as the beggar walked closely up to him, face to face. Seeing the two of them side by side was like night and day.

     It was obvious that the poor man had not bathed in quite a while. His clothes discolored from sweat and dirt from living on the streets. His hair was matted into a mess that could not be combed. Yet he lifted his voice loudly, wavering back and forth in and out of key. As he sang he waved his arms around in front of the well dressed man, trying to get through.

     The obviously annoyed, neatly dressed man, reached into his pocket and gave the man some change. The beggar sang some sort of thank you and danced over to the next passerby. He could and would do this all day, singing from one to another, making gestures with his arms, tipping his hat on occasion.

     Walking on the other side of the street were those who had managed to cross and avoid him, as well as a few other folks going about whatever business was on their agenda today. Suddenly, an 8 year old boy managed to slip his hand out of his mother’s and bolt across the street, taking her by surprise, and leaving her with the most horrifying look on her face as she attempted to catch up to him, praying out loud as he ran through the street.

     "Hey Mister?” he said to the beggar.

     “Why hello there young fella. How are you today?” he sang as he knelt on one knee to face the child.

     “We are on our way to the toy store,” said the boy. “I have worked all week long to earn enough money for a truck that I wanted. I heard you singing. Would you sing me a song?”

     “Why sure I will? What would you like to hear?”

     The boy twiddled his fingers and then replied, “Jesus loves me.” The beggar sat down on the nearest bench and much to his surprise, the boy climbed onto his lap. When the song was over, the boy hopped down, stuck out his hand to request a handshake, and said, “Thank you. That was so good.”

     The beggar shook his hand, and the boy lunged to hug him. The mother, still in shock, not knowing what to say, just stood with her arm outstretched waiting. But the boy wasn’t finished. He had seen others pay the man for his songs, so he reached in his pocket, pulled out crumpled up one dollar bills and some change and said, “Here, this is for you. Maybe you can sing to me again sometime.  I like that much better than any old truck.”

     By now a crowd had gathered, watching with tears rolling down their faces. One after another, came by to shake the man’s hand. Then one after another went directly to the toy store. 

This I believe!  Love Never Fails!

My Credo

by Linda Patton ~June 30, 2015

Encouraging words, willingness to love as well as to forgive, and simple acts of kindness seem to be a source of power. The kind of power that spreads from one life to another leaving behind a trail of light.  LOVE NEVER FAILS!

One smile may be someone else’s only reason to smile today. Opening a door for someone gives them a reason to say thank you. Helping someone in need brings about relief and allows them to feel like they matter. Forgiving the person who rear-ended you, makes for a much easier situation. LOVE NEVER FAILS!

When we are willing to love and show kindness, it spreads joy. The person you smiled at, who was having a bad day, may then go on to encourage 5 people with a smile. How many people could effectively be changed in one day, due to a simple smile? 

A Good, Bad Day in the Chicken House

 by Linda Patton June 29, 2015

Welcome to our barn yard!

For those of you who have not previously been here, let me give you a bit of insight into our world. We have a small flock. Well, I should say, “We want a small flock.” On January 1^, 2015 we had 4 laying hens. Two of those laying hens chose to set and have babies. Of those born, we kept 6 more, which included a rooster who we named Waffles because he grew giant wattles and we thought it fit him very well.

Things were going along nicely, the 6 babies were growing into fine young adults and were almost  integrated into the “Big Chicken Society,.” when two hens decided it was again time to hatch more babies.  A week later a third hen proclaimed, “Humph! Well, I guess if everyone is going to set, that means I have to!” She was not happy about it, and she made it known. However, that is not the story I want to tell today.

The first two hens hatched a total of 18 babies. Sadly, we lost one when it ate a rock that was too big and choked. The third hen can apparently only count to 3. Out of 12 eggs, she hatched 3 babies. It was simply from lack of commitment. I can’t really blame her, it was cool when she started setting, and then it got hot. Nevertheless, she half way hung in there and managed to bring 3 little yellow chicks into the world, making our total 20 baby chicks, who mostly look exactly alike.

At a point, when they are old enough, even the babies are allowed to free range in our fenced back yard. At a certain age, they are all allowed to venture out onto the rest of our property for an afternoon walk, but not until they look like small adult chickens. 

There comes a time when, just as human children, chicks want to push the limits with their mother. If they are small enough, they can squeeze themselves through the spaces in our 2 inch welded wire fence. They always come right back to their mother, so it’s not a problem, UNLESS predators show up.

My brother lives across the street from us and has a giant half German Shepherd/half Mastiff dog we call Chief. He is a sweet thing and has never bothered our chickens. However, he has been known to sneak into the chicken house and have himself an egg or two. He keeps the predators away and gets along with our dog, so he is allowed to visit.

This particular day, I was outside visiting with my brother and heard a hen get mad in my back yard. I didn’t go check because I was sure it was Waffles pestering a hen. He is trying to turn into a flock leader and they aren’t going for it. They have never had to put up with a rooster and they are making sure he stays convinced that they are still the Bosses.  

As we continued our visit, I looked up to see Chief walking past with something in his mouth. My vision isn’t the greatest, and I couldn’t make out what it was. It looked like the bone you pull out of a pork roast after it is cooked. My brother immediately sent his 13 year old daughter to see what it was. Our hearts broke to find it was one of my baby chicks. “OH NO!” we yelled in unison. I ran to him, trying not to burst into tears, trying to distract the younger kids from seeing. We pulled it out of his mouth to find that that little thing was still alive. It was slobbery and gross-but alive!

I held it tightly in my hands, closely to my neck. I knew from experience that this was quickest way to warm one up. After a quick inspection, we found it had no puncture marks and was alert, although it was not moving.  

As I hurried in the house, snuggling this baby chick, I kicked myself. I felt so bad, “If I had only checked when they had tried to tell me.” I told myself. I felt as though I had failed them. I took him to the kitchen table and quickly spread out some newspapers. At the time, my heart was aching so bad that I didn’t care that there would be a baby chicken on my kitchen table.

It appeared as though he was paralyzed. I gently took him from my neck, opened my hands up and he wiggled his head. I slowly parted my hands, and let him gently slide onto the table. He immediately stood up and began running. Looking back, I can’t help but laugh. There we stood, two adults and 3 kids gathered around the table, squealing with delight, tears running down our faces, and my brother yelling. “Thank you Lord!”  

The chick showed no sign of injury, but the hard part was not over. We still had to try to give it back to his mother. Would she take it? Could we tell whose it was?  Now, let me tell ya, there is nothing quite like a “mad momma hen.” We walked out my back door and we could tell immediately that it was Falina’s. This poor girl has 11 babies, but she was one “mad momma hen.” She knew it was it was hers.  I lowered the chick to the ground and it ran straight to her. She mumbled and grumbled at me for the rest of the day. We would never again be able to tell which chick it was.

It has been three days with no sign of any ill chicks. Whew! Praise the Lord. Chief, on the other hand, is not allowed no longer allowed to visit, and we are going to take a vacation day and put chicken wire around the bottom of our entire back yard so that we will never again have this type of Good, Bad Day. 

The Five W’s of Linda

By Linda Patton - June 28, 2015

       In order to establish a credo, I think it would be important to answer a few questions. While answering these questions, I will find out more about who I am as a writer. Or rather-who I would like to become. It’s easy to answer these questions in my head, easy because the answer can change at any moment, or trail off into another line of thinking. By answering these questions to the world, it makes me accountable to myself. In becoming accountable to myself, I am therefore able to understand the difference in what I “think” and what I “believe,” which will hopefully make me a better writer, as well as a better person.  

               

                Why do I write?  I write because I believe everyone has something to say.  I write because it is an outlet for my imagination. I am a creative person at heart. Just a few of my hobbies include crocheting, gardening, building things, baking, volunteering for different organizations, and raising chickens. In addition to that I love music. I love many kinds of music, although I mostly listen to Christian music, and have even written a handful of songs. I have other hobbies, like being outdoors with my family. We go rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, camping and many other outdoor activities. I enjoy people, I enjoy listening to what they have to say. I also enjoy talking-as I am sure you have noticed. As you can see, many of my hobbies are creative hobbies, while others revolve around people.

I have learned that volunteering for different organizations provides an outlet for some of my creative hobbies. For example, I can make blankets for a local charity who helps mothers and new babies, and by helping with meals for many school organizations during trips and after school, I get to create meals and bake all sorts of wonderful things.

Who is my audience? While this blog journal is set up for an English class, I hope to learn enough to create a blog after I have finished this class.  I have learned that people enjoy hearing about something they have never experienced, in addition to hearing something they have experienced from a different point of view.  Around our house, we have a slightly different take on raising animals. One of my core beliefs is that man has a duty to take care of animals. I am not opposed to eating meat, but I believe that we should provide animals with the best life possible. They deserve to be taken care of in a humane manner. However, around here, chickens are family pets. All of our chickens have names and we have even been able to learn to communicate with them as well as we do with any dog we have ever known. They run to the fence and ask to go for a walk. There are specific sounds that they make for different types of predators, and our chickens asked to be held. People want to hear about that. Not everyone can have pets, much less chickens, and reading about them makes them feel as though they do. I thought I was only writing for friends and family to read, only to find that they were printing my stories off and reading them to coworkers and their friends and family. Boy if that isn’t a quick lesson on internet safety!

What do I write? I enjoy writing about my animals, what I learn in my spiritual walk with the Lord, my adventures, what I am learning, and of course-my family. I enjoy life. I want to live every minute to the fullest, and then I want to reflect on it. My family has a practice, whenever my husband, my kids, and I go on an outing, we take a few moments after to share our favorite parts. We have found that it helps us remember the things we don’t want to forget. We have also learned that negative has a way of overshadowing the positive. In reflecting this way, we are forced to look at an experience and realize that it wasn’t as bad as we thought, and we are able to shake off any negative and move forward with a positive perspective. I personally tend to think of it as our own little battle in making this world a happier place. It reminds us that we have a choice.

When do I write? I write back and forth with many friends and family that I only get to see on occasion. I write when I want to remember something. I write in some form every day. I find it helps me to stay focused.

And finally, Where do I write? Besides writing many emails, texts, Facebook posts, and letters, I like to use journals. Some things I don’t mind sharing, but other things are best left in a book that no one will ever read.

Thank you for allowing me to share this learning session with you. Your help has been greatly appreciated. 

Friends

by Linda Patton

Today I am reminded of what friends mean to me. I have been given a multitude of friends, as well as a handful of what I would call “close friends.”

Close friends are people who are in no way related to me by blood, yet our paths have crossed and we have formed a bond that has lasted for years. We each have families, spouses, kids, careers, and other responsibilities, still we have found a place in our hearts for the other.  We have laughed together & cried together, been through hard times together, enjoyed each other’s successes, and lent a hand-or just an ear- when we thought the other was about to fail. We pray for each other, carry each other’s burdens, and stick up for each other. However, we are not afraid to give each other a good hard slap when needed. We encourage each other and lean on each other as the occasion arises.

Beyond my “close friends,” I have friends who are there because have common interests and duties that put us together. On occasion we call each other for an opinion, or some small reason.  I can honestly say that I have the most amazing friends. Today, as we were working a fundraising event and one after another came up to encourage me on the direction that I have chosen to go. They didn’t have to do that. They were so kind and loving. I am so thankful for them.

We went on to testify to each other and encourage each other in our walks of life as well as in the Lord. As I looked around I could see the strengths they possessed. There were husband and wife mentors, incredibly strong single mothers giving their all to their children. There were caring people requesting prayer for those less fortunate. On many occasions, I have known one of these women to get on the phone and social media and put out a cry for help for people who had lost their homes to fire, had car accidents, or had an extreme illness or need.  These people seem to barely have time to breathe, yet they will drop all and run at the mere mention of someone in need.

We left the event exhausted. Each of us going to whatever responsibility we were facing next. For some, it was getting ready for surgery, while for others it was trying to get everything done that had not been finished this week, so that tomorrow, they can try to get ahead on the week to come.  Even still there were those of us rushing from baby showers, to weddings, to whatever performance or sport our children, wives, or husbands were participating in today. Nevertheless, we all left feeling encouraged and happy. It’s a marvelous blessing to have such people in my life.

       Throughout my years, I have been blessed to find such wonderful people in my journey. I have learned that we need each other.  Encouraging words, simple acts of kindness, and willingness to love as well as forgive, seem to be a source of power. These acts have the ability to change the world. So I think for my credo, I will have to go with-LOVE NEVER FAILS-love is patient, love is kind, love is not proud, love is not boastful, love bears all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.  

Knowing Your Audience

by Linda Patton- June 27, 2015   

             As a nontraditional student going back to school after 29 years, I was quite nervous and insecure. Being the older adult in a class with students who, in my mind, have their lives in control and their feet on the right path, was quite intimidating. That wouldn’t matter until fall, because for the summer I would take online classes. Or so I thought!

               

                I was nervously excited when I realized we were going to get a chance to get to know each other.  This has been a very pleasant assignment. I feel as if I have had a few minutes with each of my classmates to get to know them; and Ms. A too. Since we have been assigned group discussions, as well as class discussions, it seems almost as if we are a team.

               

                Besides just getting to know everyone, I realized that I had a lot of preconceived notions. I learned many things from this assignment. The questions were amazing. I don’t know how many times I said, “Oh man! These questions are difficult to answer.”

                From these questions, I learned that many of us are alike, yet very different.  For example, almost every one of us spoke of how much we love our families, though each of us are at different stages.  Some of us spoke of our connection with parents and siblings, others talked of their spouses and children. There are some who are just starting their lives on their own, some who have new spouses and children. There are also a few of us who have older children. No matter where we are in our walks of life, we all cherish our families and friends. For writing purposes, this means that we can connect with our audiences on the family level. We almost all have a common bond.

                There are some things that only a few of us have in common, yet there seems to almost always be a group of one or more perspectives. Some of us told of the importance of our faith. There were other common threads that overlapped such as an interest in politics, or whether we most enjoy the small town or country life. It was only last week that I thought about how I would like to learn to include more interests in my writings that others would connect with. Besides helping the reader to connect to my writing better, I believe it would allow me to connect better with others and learn things that I may never learn elsewhere, and boy do I love to learn.

                I found that not all college students have their lives together. I think I knew this, but fear and insecurity clouded my judgement. I was relieved to find that others had come back to get their education at different points in their journeys. I am so very proud of those who feel that they have made a wrong turn in the past, yet they have had the courage to overcome the obstacles and doubts and press in to further their education. I have already learned from many of my classmates.

                Speaking of courage, I enjoyed hearing about the careers we are all seeking. Doctors, lawyers, welders, firemen, and teachers. I will think through each of these professions as I write. It will help me to expand my thinking and put more perspectives into my stories.  

What I found most intriguing was that some of us enjoyed one aspect of life, while others didn’t enjoy it at all. I want to learn how to incorporate more than one of these aspects in my writings so that it will reach a broader audience. 

My, what imaginations we have. I can tell we all are in the same walk as far as classes are concerned, because our superpowers mostly pointed to a need for more time. Ah! The elusive time factor. Maybe soon we will achieve those superpowers and slow down time for the greater good of mankind. The Avengers will have nothing on us. Ms. A’s Class! I feel that it would be wrong to even attempt to come up with a name for a group such as that all on my own. But enough of my silliness.  Can you tell that this was one of my favorite questions?

And Ms. Anthony, I think you might actually like to have fun as much as I do. My family is never bored. A little annoyed sometimes, but never bored. It seems we all like different adventures as well. Since I would like to captivate my audience, I want to learn of these adventures. I may never be brave enough to travel to some of the places that our class spoke of, but I am anxious to read more about them. In my writings I will try to use more of the different experiences that I have had so that others might relate well to what they are reading.

From this assignment I learned that we all have something in common, and we all have unique experiences, likes, and dislikes. It has encouraged me to think outside of my personal bubble, and not to be afraid that I won’t connect with my audience. It has also left me with a desire to read more, and explore the thoughts of other writers. I can’t wait to get started.