While I COULD wile away the hours here, for your sake I won’t. Why? Because I actually DO have a brain!
But, the prompt did ask what three objects I couldn’t live without. Well, the first thing that came to mind was my brain. Without a brain, which is the central nervous system for this flesh mech, I, just like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, would simply hang limp on a pole in a corn field.
The second object that’s a must-have for survival, again, can be answered by one of the characters from that old movie, The Wizard of Oz. Remember the Tin Man? Without a heart to pump blood throughout the body, nourishing all of the precious organs that make us flux an flow, we would simply break down, shrivel up and cease to exist!
While I realize you were expecting me to call up the cowardly Lion for my third object needed, I think his courage actually came from his heart, so those two sort of go hand in hand, in my humble opinion. I’m going to call upon our beloved Dorothy… and her little dog too!
What is this thing that I am eluding too? Lungs! How on earth would Dorothy, or Toto for that matter, be a proper example of lungs, you may be asking? Judy Garland, who played the role of Dorothy, had an amazing singing voice, did she not? And, Toto had the ability to bark, which he did a great amount of, in order to protect and save the group of adventurers on several occasions. I am pretty confident in thinking that they both had a decent set of pipes!
Don’t ask me why The Wizard of Oz was the first thing that popped into my head when I read this mornings Daily Prompt question… I’ve no earthly idea.
But, you do have to admit that it worked pretty well. And, I’m being fully honest in choosing a brain, a heart and lungs as the three objects I couldn’t live without. I’m fairly certain that none of us would get along without them, don’t you agree?
In truth, I can get along without every other earthly object if it came down to brass tacks, as they say.
Here, have an apple. I promise, the trees won’t throw them at you…
The most precious time in my journey, hands down, was having and raising my three daughters when they were babies!
Don’t get me wrong, I carry their older years in my heart as well, but the baby phase was the most difficult to leave behind.
The doctors said I would never conceive … and if I did, I would not be able to carry a baby to full term, due to my medical history. I had a great many difficulties in my young life, of which, now is not the time or place to go into in any great detail. I will simply say that babies were not supposed to be in my future!
I became pregnant 8 times, losing 5 in order to have the three that I did carry to full term. The sicker I was, the better, because I knew my body was holding on to the pregnancy. I relished every bit of morning sickness, every stretch mark, crazy cravings and chubby pounds I gained.
My first daughter didn’t want to exit the building, forcing the doctor to induce my labor 2 full weeks after my due date… she is my stubborn Drama Queen, to this day!
My second daughter and I both nearly died in childbirth, as my placenta ruptured prematurely, causing an emergency Caesarian section. She was born 2 weeks early and still weighed in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. when she arrived. She was a very fussy baby, being dubbed Kaitlungs… though, to this day, she’s the quietest and most reserved daughter of all three!
My third daughter was the easiest pregnancy, easiest delivery, and tiniest of the three… born 2 weeks early and weighing in at a solid 8 lbs. She literally shot out and landed in my doctors arms, being dubbed the surfing baby! She is most like me, of all my girls… just as strong minded, sassy and bright!
It was after her delivery that my doctor said, no more pregnancies … the risk was just too great for me to continue having babies. Thus, my season of bearing children had finally come to an end.
You may scoff, but I miss every detail of those years… every sleepless night, every tantrum, every band-aid handed out! I miss nursing my babies, changing their diapers, cuddling and rocking them gently, while they slept in my arms.
If I could, I would have bottled up and saved the smell of their breath, their skin… their hair!
If only I had made recordings of their laughter, cries, shouts, whispers and bickering… oh well, no more woulda coulda shoulda, in that regard!
I did make journals for each of them, with letters and stories of things they did and said, that I have saved all these years… I tried so hard to plan ahead, knowing that memories fade and things can so easily be forgotten over time.
Thank goodness I did that, because even if I had to say goodbye to that phase, I can easily go back through those books and memories, remembering and cherishing them over and over. Who knows, maybe one day my daughters will want those books to read with their children… maybe not. I’m still glad I dreamt of them, birthed them, raised them, and wrote things down for them… that way it’s not really goodbye to that phase, is it? My blood runs through their veins… they will always be my babies… and I will forever be their mother!
Between my husband and I, we have raised 6 teenagers… boys and girls! One thing I have learned over the years is that the moment you attempt giving advice, they will bolt like a Ferel animal!
Why? Hormones!
Teenagers are similar in behavior, to a hot blooded Thoroughbred race horse… always hungry, mad, excited, horny and quite sweaty!
You feed them the best you can, and try to sooth them when they are angry. You try to calm them when they won’t stop bouncing off the walls, and diligently make efforts to coral them from freely using their private parts.
Daily, you make every effort to hose them off before they leave the house… throwing a stick of deodorant in their general direction. Ok, well, a horse may not know how to use a stick of deodorant, but then again, neither do most teenagers. I caught one of my kids using a can of Febreze for body spray… not even kidding!
I will go back even further, into my teenage years, confirming that I myself had intentionally assigned ALL adults with the label of ENEMY #1. Whether it was hormones, a traumatic upbringing or both… I did NOT listen to anyone!
No amount of coercing could entice me to go back and re-experience my teenage years, and quite honestly, kids today look the same as we did back then… hungry, mad, excited, horny and, yes… sweaty!
If I were to do anything for my teenage self… it would be to protect her, shelter her, encourage her, and guide her through my example, instead of my wordy grownup words…
I can hardly believe that it’s been over two years since Barnyard Business began. So many changes have occurred in the lives of our little babes, with some changes being bigger than others.
Time waits for no man, as they say, and in terms of barnyard life, it couldn’t be more apparent! I wanted to share a big change that’s coming to the barn, but while looking through the old photo albums, I found myself lost down memory lane… in a good way.
Sometimes it just feels good to look back.
I’ll admit that it’s a mixture of bitter and sweet, realizing how much all the babes have grown, and reminding myself that they can’t remain the same forever. I know that I’m certainly not who I was two years ago. I cant expect them to stay babies, nor can I treat them as such.
You try bossing a two ton dragon around. Let’s see how far you get!
Remember when Brutus was just a baby?
He’s far from a baby now…
I could spend hours looking back over their baby photos! Why can’t they stay babies forever, though?
I do actually have an answer to that last question. The babes have grown and changed because I have, as well. Within my imagination and dreams, the babes don’t stay the same… they can’t. With each and every adventure I write about, all the creatures within the barnyard grow a bit, depending on the lessons learned, if that makes any sense.
I never expected to become so attached to these wonderful creatures, nor did I plan their paths out for them, as you may have thought. What I see in them, and write of them, is fully dependent on the way my journey affects my perspective. I shouldn’t feel so surprised when I compare their mature images with their baby ones. I still recognize the baby in them, though they appear far different on the surface.
If I hadn’t have had those dark days of struggle, I may never have imagined Nugget. Remember our little guy from my bedside table drawer?
He’s still in residence, but doesn’t sleep in the drawer much. He prefers to sleep on my pillow, just behind my head. Fortunately for me, this little guy seems immune to aging, in much the same way as our little Dinky Do.
I think characters like Dinky, Boomer, and all those Twilight Dreamers will always be my safe space, my comfort zone. Maybe my anxiety is just a bit more manageable with these little ones. Who knows, right?!
Now Eustace… he’s quite a camel!
But, as much as I loved looking back at his baby pics…
I simply adore the adult camel that he’s become, don’t you?
You’re probably wondering what’s got me all nostalgic and melancholy, so I’ll fill you in on the changes occurring at the Barnyard, and those to come.
It’s been a difficult winter for most of the residents in the barn, as miss Tilly has moved down to the church, where Henry has taken on the roll of pastor. His father was quite aged, and far too old to perform his pastoral duties any longer.
While I realize that she’s got a whole new life ahead of her with young Henry, it hasn’t been so easy explaining things to the babes, if I can still even call them that. Tilly was like a favored auntie, always caring for them, feeding them, and tucking them in each night… I try to do it, but I’m just not her!
Slowly, but surely, they’re coming to accept her absence. Both Boomer and Brutus have helped immensely, in this regard. While Dinky remains small, with only the mind of a child, her brother has begun to grow, and has taken up the roll of caregiver for the others. While Boomer cares for the babes food and bedtime routines, Brutus has been frequently taking them to visit Henry and Tilly, down at the church.
Things are about to change, once more.
Our Miss Tilly, or more aptly referred to as Mrs. Tilly Munster, is expecting her first baby, or possibly babies.
We won’t know how many babies, til the big day arrives. Tilly isn’t due til the end of March, but her belly looks as if she could deliver next week!
We’re all very excited about the newest change, as the babes are now all practicing the art of babysitting, in hopes that Tilly will call on us to help out.
I must admit that the excitement is very contagious! I’ve already added a crib to SugarPlum’s bedroom, just in case. I can’t help but get excited along with all the babes, but it’s so hard to imagine our Tilly having a baby of her own.
I still see the wee little thing that Santa dropped in my Christmas satchel, two years ago. It seems like only yesterday…
From that tiny little ball of love, came the Tilly that we’ve watched grow up…
Time for a bath…
She began changing overnight, it seemed…
Then love found our young mouse maid, in the form of young Henry…
The beautiful thing about our small ones growing up and finding their own way is that we must have done something right. While I can’t take credit for how wonderful Tilly turned out to be, I would like to think that I played some small part in who she is now. Who knows?
So here’s the fun part! We get to throw Tilly her first baby shower, and I want to make it something special. For that, I’ll need some help with ideas for gifts and decorations.
If anyone wants to suggest some things, I’ll bake virtual cookies, in trade.
No worries about thinking things up right this second, as the shower is still several weeks away. I don’t want to wait too long, however, as she might deliver early. You know how babies can be. They seldom operate during normal people hours…
While I could show you a video of my own very excited, and amazingly fantastic news dance, I’ll show you the video of how I learned to do it. No one does it better than Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska…
Seriously though, I really do dance a bitty Jig when I get really happy. You should’ve seen the crazy dancin that went down at the birth of each of my grandbabies. I could have been a star (not really).
The next best thing to do with good news is to bake cookies, and I’m very good at that! Well, at least I think so…
While most may assume the lottery to mean cash money, there are a number of other possibilities…
Such as peanuts! Why can’t there be a lottery for a lifetime supply of peanuts?
Or flowers, perhaps…
What about a lifetime supply of all the most beautiful spring blooms? Wouldn’t that be heavenly? Well, at least the fragrance would seem sent from above, in my humble opinion.
Then there’s babies…
Ok, so maybe that’s going a bit too far… but you can’t blame a girl for trying!
Now, books as a lottery?
SOLD!!!
Since the likelihood of an All-You-Can-Read book lottery isn’t that high for me, at this moment, how about we settle on a Cookie Lottery…
Smiles are magical, I think. And, they’re contagious, too…
When someone smiles at you, don’t you just automatically want to smile back?
A smile can soften a heart, lift a person’s spirit, and/or trigger some actual good will toward our fellow man.
Take a baby’s smile, for instance. Don’t we get all mushy inside, and feel the sudden urge to speak babyeese… was dat a smile, awwww, you widdle fuzzy wuzzy bundle of bootiful awesomesauceness… hey, don’t judge me! I can’t help it!
The world is filled with all differing types of magical smiles, babies obviously being the best and most effective in brightening ones day. But, one must appreciate the value and magic of all the other differing smiles out there, as well…
Smiles are actually pretty important, as studies have shown how smiling affects ones health, and state of mind. It’s a real scientific thingie, I swear. I even googled it, to make sure that I did not mislead you in any way.
I typed in “what is the science behind a smile”, and this was googles reply:
The science behind smiling involves a positive feedback loop between facial muscles and brain chemistry, where contracting muscles (like the zygomatic major for mouth corners and orbicularis oculi for eye crinkles) trigger the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters like dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin, reducing stress and enhancing happiness. This “fake it ’til you make it” effect means even a forced smile can make you feel better, while genuine smiles (Duchenne smiles) signal authentic joy and foster connection, improving well-being and perceived attractiveness.
How it works: The Muscle-Brain Connection
Sensory Input: Emotional data from experiences (seeing a friend, hearing good news) travels to the brain.
Muscle Activation: Specific facial muscles contract: the zygomatic major pulls lips up, and the orbicularis oculi creates crow’s feet around the eyes.
Brain Response: These muscle contractions send signals back to the brain, activating the reward system.
Neurotransmitter Release: The brain releases feel-good chemicals:
Dopamine: Boosts pleasure and motivation.
Endorphins: Act as natural pain relievers and mood elevators. Serotonin: Functions as a natural antidepressant, lifting mood.
Types of Smiles
Social Smile:Involves only the mouth muscles (zygomatic major) and is used for politeness or social cues.
Genuine Smile (Duchenne Smile):Involves both mouth muscles and the orbicularis oculi, creating eye crinkles, signaling authentic happiness.
Benefits of Smiling
Reduces Stress:Neuropeptides activated by smiling help combat stress.
Boosts Mood: The release of endorphins and serotonin creates genuine feelings of happiness.
Increases Attractiveness & Trust: Smiling people are often seen as more reliable, sincere, and attractive, enhancing social interactions.
I challenge you to count your smiles this weekend. It’s merely an exercise, meant to show how many times you do smile, as well as, how many opportunities you’re given to intentionally smile at someone… remember, this is only an experiment. You don’t even have to tell anyone you’re doing it. Call it an exercise for health and wellness.
Whatever you do this weekend, remember how loved you are… that should help with the smile thing.
With the birth of our newest grandchild, changes are coming to the barnyard that none of the babes have ever experienced before.
Yes, we’ve had a baby Squagon to care for, two baby dragons to feed, a tiny Lilly that flew in on a dandelion, and a passel of Moonlight Dreamers flitting above the rafters in the barn. I also realize that Brutus, himself, came to me as a tiny one… but a baby, an actual baby, has never before been experienced around the barnyard.
Osrig is so confused that he doesn’t know what to do. He just keeps looking at her with such devotion, without knowing why he feels that way. He just sits and stares at her, smelling her hair and occasionally licking her tiny little fingers… it’s actually quite adorable.
Even Peanut has taken one of the bedrooms just off of the nursery, hoping I’ll let him help with anything baby…
While I wish that I could splatter a thousand pictures of our Maisie all over the doors, windows, and walls, I must also respect my daughter and son-in-laws privacy. This is where our SugarPlum comes in as a happy little substitute…
I had to invite our little SugarPlum into the barnyard, because I’ll be caring for Maisie when her mamma goes back to work. Obviously, my daughter said there wouldn’t be any wild boat rides allowed, so who else will travel abroad with us, sailing the high seas, and all that?
Babies are so fragile, I wouldn’t dream of risking her safety out on the high seas. Just so that you don’t worry about SugarPlum, she’s perfectly magical and fluffy, and fit for sea adventures… I promise!
This girl likes to have fun, if you hadn’t picked up on that yet, but “playtime” has had to be toned down these days.
From the time I was small, playtime revolved around hiking, biking, horseback riding, camping, fishing, and/or any fun activity out in the wilderness.
Over the years I’ve walked marathons (running them is silly), played softball, and at one point even played a game of tackle football in a muddy field, no joke. I was fast, light, and could take a hit!
Sitting where I sit now, with a rainy day ache in every single place that I injured myself over the years, playtime has had to become a bit less aggressive.
I traded my outdoor adventuring for online gaming outdoor adventuring (don’t judge), as I’ve no desire to collapse from trying to do things the way I used to. Not only that, but the embarrassment of being hand carried off the path by some young, strong, and handsome paramedics… no thanks!
I may not be a young spring chicken any longer, but this wise old owl has traded her adventure shoes for Meemaw slippers. Don’t think that this is just anybody’s game, no ho ho way! You wouldn’t think that rocking a baby to sleep would be so tough… until you have rocked them for an hour, while holding yourself in the most awkward and uncomfortable position. You’ll ache for days, trust me!
I guess you could say that my playtime has become selective now… I save up all my physical energy for baby, while I imagine, write, and virtually play online games. I also bake you virtual cookies each day, which I consider playtime, as well.
I sat for a good bit this morning, trying to find the words to enter back into the stream of literary traffic that is WordPress… and it’s been hard, to say the least.
If I could sum up the last several months in only a few words, it’d be something like, “alrighty then, wasn’t that a ride!”
I could tell you the details about my health journey, and perhaps in time I may, but now is not the time… maybe later.
On the upside, we’ve a new granddaughter that has to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever lain eyes upon…
From the tip of her tiny toes, all the way to her silky soft hair…
… our Sugarplum was the most wonderful of Christmas package one could ever imagine! While I would love to show you a cascade of new baby pictures, I wish to respect my daughter’s privacy, so for the most part I’ll be using the Avatar created for Maisie unless Mamma gives me approved pic’s for public viewing…
Please forgive any future crazy writing angles, as I’m still trying to right my health situation. When you are physically compromised, it bleeds over into your emotions, as well.
In a tiny nutshell, doctors have failed to offer anything other than more drugs, so we’ve been forced to step back from modern medicine and seek a different route. Basically, we’re DIYing it. I don’t know what’s to come, but God does, so I’m leaving it in His mighty hands.
While God watches over me, I’ve been tasked to continue my writing. I want to publish my works, and I want to be here, with you… my family.
So, with that being said, let’s just get back to it, the writing that is…
Let’s all celebrate and have a party… cause the Punctuation Fairy has returned!!!
Journey With Me! 