7/28/2017

Friendships can be Fleeting

Friendships can be fleeting,                     

They may simmer and be hot,
Sharing highs and lows
Helps one mature a lot.


But life is full of challenges.
And relationships can unfold,
When feelings aren’t reciprocated,
The end of the story should be told.


It is hard when there are memories,
That fill your heart with joy,
But over time those moments
Can become a decoy.   

Our lives are enriched,
Just by having friends,
But it is important to recognize
When the time has come for it to end.

Not every friend is there forever,
For our standards do go up,
One must ask themselves,
Is the quality filling my cup.

There is no goodbye spoken,
No words from the lips will pass,
But distance grows insipidly
And the feelings are gone alas.

Do not look with sadness,                    
For the goodness was worth the pain,
Losing time with one friend,
Opens windows for future gain.

The thinner we spread ourselves,       
By hanging on to unreliable friends,
Translates to less energy,
To the dear friends that will bend.

So when you evaluate a friendship,
A word of strong advice,
Ones to truly value,
Are friends who always treat you nice.



Proverb 18:24
One who has unreliable friends  soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 

7/23/2017

A Gift of a Grandma


On a recent trip to Nashville to see my grandchildren, my grandson was asking me to buy him toys. Thus began a talk I wanted to have about my own grandmother. The value of my relationship with her was built on her unconditional love for me.

Grandma Gliatti was born in Italy and moved to America in her twenties.  She and my grandpa were poor. I am sure they lived on pasta and homemade bread for many meals.  She used to tell me stories of hiding under the kitchen table when bill collectors came.

Even when I was a small child, toys were prized, getting any kind of gift or money. And yet, Grandma never had much money so gifts were limited to Christmas and were very small items.. At that time, she bought all of her grandchildren (which were many) a little something each, frequently we all got the same thing.

The delight in getting a gift from Grandma Gliatti was more special because of who it came from than any item. Infact, as good as my memory is of my childhood, I can only recall one gift from her, a Barbie type doll that was Italian so she said!


Her reaction to seeing her grandkids happy was the best gift of all. When Grandma smiled, her face lit up and at times, she would move to tears of joy. How can you put a price tag on a gift like that? 

I was raised by my Grandma’s son, who was the only one of 4 siblings not living  in Toledo, Ohio. Thus my time spent with her was limited to weekend trips to see her and the rest of the family. The drive to Grandma’s didn’t matter; it was too big of a thrill to see her to care. She was worth the boring drive. Her and Grandpa I felt the moon and stars were over their head.

Kindness in a relative is not measured in terms of material possessions but more out of love. Grandma use to sit up late with my sister and me, talking about whatever we wanted to talk about until my father pulled in the driveway. As soon as she saw those headlights, she would yell and laugh telling us to run up to our bed we shared and pretend to be asleep.  We did exactly as we were told, never letting on what Grandma had done.

Looking back, perhaps our parents knew it and chose to not say a word. The late night chats seemed to be as important and special to Grandma as they were to me. Her white powdered cookies she hid in the cabinet from Grandpa would come out and we would sit munching cookies and laughing with her for hours.

Those days gone by, of watching her make her Italian dishes and kneed bread may be over with but in my mind, they never ended. She was an important part of my youth and the realization that what she gave was priceless hits me hard when I look at my own grandchildren.

I asked my grandson what his best memory was of being with me. Not surprising he 
mentioned something he had done with me. I then began rattling off, with my husband, his
Grandpa, a multitude of experiences we have shared with him over the years. The list is endless, baking cookies, attending a Christmas show, playing at the park, swimming in our backyard, reading books before bed at our house, watching him laugh with delight at our Christmas train!

I told him about my grandmother who has gone to heaven. It was important to me that he understand that what I miss about Grandma is not an item I opened or her slipping me a quarter at the store. My memories of all the fun times I laughed with her and she told me how much she loved me is what I remember best and loved the most.


My grandson seemed to understand because he asked me if I miss her much. I told him yes, but that is why I try to be as good of a grandmother to him as she was
to me. When I die, I asked my grandson always remember what we did together and how I made him feel. I then had to ask if he knows how much I love him. When he said yes, I told him than he too, when he grows up, won't remember me for a truck, a bug or a train. Infact, I went on to say I don't want you to remember anything I bought you. I want you only to think of all the laughter we shared and all the wonderful memories of the time we have spent together, just like I do with my Grandma! 


Now I know how grandma felt towards me and how she missed a grandchild when she didn't see them. But, I also know, as she said, we carry them in our heart so they are never truly far away. 

7/19/2017

Out of Touch Blogger!



Author: Jeanette Lynn Dundas
Attending a Book Signing show recently reminded me of how negligent I have been in writing my blogs. I apologize wholeheartedly to those that follow me. It is a matter of making the time, not finding it as time is there if you make any task a priority.

Writing is a passion of mine, though I lack the list of credentials I see on many bloggers page. At times it shocks me that so many follow me but then again, I am not impressed by
college educations, what someone’s title is. No, I am impressed by who they are now, how they give to others and what lessons they can teach me on my growth journey. So perhaps I touch a few of those qualities in you, the reader.

Finding material is only hard when you have a mental block.  The world is full of exciting things to write about and most of us live high on emotions so that generates plenty of dialogue to capture on paper.  And, lately for me, I have been scrutinizing every topic I want to blog about wondering if it will hold anyone’s interest but mine.

The answer is yes. Many times the articles I have written that I have put the most thought
Dan Alatorre - Author
and energy into do not net the greatest statistics of readers. It is usually that impulse write that comes straight from the heart that seems to spread over social media much quicker and to a larger audience.


So, with that said, I will try to stay back in touch! 

Veronica Gliatti

Sister Bonds

  Having spent some time recently with my older sister, it reminded me of so many shared moments in our youth.   Those years were some of th...