Courage takes time

Everyone who has read the book Gone With the Wind or seen the classic movie remembers that infamous last scene. The critics in 1939 censored Clark Gable’s line, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a dam” before he walks out of Scarlet’s life and into the fog of the future. I can’t tell you how many times I watched that movie in the theater with my mom or by myself on our TV. 

Years later after my mother died, I inherited her collector’s set of VHS tapes. Late at night whenever the family was asleep and I was too anxious, depressed or lonely to go to bed, I watched that movie, especially the ending, my favorite part over and over.

The last line inspired me, challenged me and always made me feel better. No one understood what I liked about the last scene, and I couldn’t explain my feelings until now.
Rhett Butler’s leaving Scarlet at the door was not the end of the story. There among the last twenty-eight seconds is my favorite part. The flawed heroine has no where to go, no one to challenge her or any one to keep her spirit going after losing her first love, losing her lifestyle and losing her family through a Civil War, plus fighting against the only man who loved her. She never gives up. She survives and when all seems lost again, Scarlet rises up again and proclaims, “After all, Tomorrow is another day.”
That scene, that dialogue impacted my early adult years. I too grew up a spoiled child of loving parents in a small country community, but I was not beautiful or popular like Scarlet. I met my first love and knew on the first date that I would love him forever. We had three years together: one year of college and two of military life.
He died. I was only twenty-one left with a broken heart. Like Scarlet I wanted someone to love me, to help me and to go through the struggles of life. I cried for years getting up each day and facing, "Another day."
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             It was never on my Bucket List to move from Colorado, but here I am two years later, living my retired years in a BIG, little city suburb of Ft. Worth.
             I say, "big" because Burleson is about 150,000 in population. That is big in relation to most towns or cities in other states, which proves the slogan, "Every thing is bigger in Texas."
             "Why did you come to this state?" All my friends asked.
             "All my grandkids live in Texas." Simple answer.
My husband and I have lived in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado and now Texas. We have traveled through thirty-eight of the fifty states, enjoying them all plus Canada and Mexico. I traveled overseas to Austria and Germany. We were counting on having more trips to other places, especially discovering all the historic sites of Texas.
          My husband and I had a great plan. We would move closer to the grandkids in Texas and be involved with them from October through May. Then we would beat the summer heat by traveling back to Colorado from June to October to enjoy our friends and be cool in the mountains.
          Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, our plan never happened.
Soon after we moved into our Texas house my husband was diagnosed with a terminal disease. He is doing as well as can be, but his condition has limited us in our travels.
          Our car trips have been to two hospitals several times and to an ever-growing list of specialists too many times. He is still with us, and we have seen the grand kids and grown kids more than we did in Colorado. So we are not sad or mad about our move.
          After two years of these adventures, I want to write in this blog about all the funny, interesting people and experiences we are having while we are "Living on Texas Times."
         So, welcome to my world.

THIS IS MY MOTIVATION.