Tilly received a letter…

When I opened my eyes this morning, I found Tilly staring back at me, from across the pillow. She held something that looked like a letter, and I couldn’t see who it was from, but the look on her face was answer enough. Young Henry had written to Tilly, that much was quite clear!

But, why the long stare fest? What was in the note? At first, I honestly thought Tilly looked more frightened than happy. For a moment, I feared something unpleasant may have occurred. Only after taking the letter she offered me, did I come to understand her conflicted emotions…

The words of the letter were few, but very heartfelt, as young Henry wrote down his words of love for our young Tilly.

My Tilly
I love you
I hope you love me
Meet me at our spot by the river, if you can
I want to ask you something.

Henry

No wonder Tilly has such a strange look on her face… She is truly in love. The rush of emotions, fear of the unknown, and excitement for what’s to come, all bouncing around inside… yep! I’ve seen it before, and even though I’m seeing the backside of my fifties, I too, remember the butterflies, giddy laughter, and rush of emotions at every smile or touch… yeah, I remember them like it was yesterday.

So, it has now become my joy and honor to walk this journey with our young Tilly. Whatever she needs, we’ll be there to help and guide her along the way… that’s what family does.

Once Tilly saw how excited I was, her face relaxed into a more dreamy and confused state. She just kept twirling into things, as she wandered about looking for what to wear. I picked out several of her favorite dresses, in an effort to speed things up a little. For the next hour and a half I watched Tilly get dressed in one outfit, leave for the river, and then return to change into a different dress…

Finally, she made up her mind…

I do really love that sweater she’s wearing. Young Henry’s mother made it for Tilly while we were out to sea, presenting it to her upon their first visit, once we’d returned to the Barnyard. Tilly absolutely loves that sweater, as I think it bears a great deal of love, woven throughout the garment.

So anyways, I watched from the front porch as Tilly scampered across the grass, and down the path toward the river… I stayed there to watch til long after she’d disappeared into the trees. I could only guess as to what would come………………….

…she’s late…

… maybe she won’t come…

I think she loves me…

… what if I’m wrong, and she says no?

Well, God told me to ask her, and I did read that verse saying, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart”. I think it was Psalm 37:4…

Here, she comes…

I can do this, I can do this…

Ok…

Ahhhemmm…

Miss Tilly…

I love you with all of my heart. In fact, I’ve loved you from the moment we met. I offer you all that I have in this world. Please say that you’ll be my wife…

……… give em their moment…………………………….

(10 minutes later)

I am getting married… I am getting married! He asked… he really, really asked me to marry him…

…………………………………………………………………………………………

… she said yes… she actually said yes, God…

What am I standing here waiting for… I gotta go tell mamma! We’ve got things to do…

…………………………………………………………………………………………

… What am I doing dancing around in the woods? I can’t wait to get back to the barn and tell Ma.. Mee… oh for heavens sake, I’m callin her my Mamma cause it suits her, and she’s always been there for me…

… and I’m gonna need her now, more than ever! I hope she knows what we’re supposed to do. I don’t know the first thing about getting married…

Small Beginnings…

From the time I was very small, I loved to write. I was reading Louis Lamour books when I was roughly eight years old. No, my childhood wasn’t an easy one, so reading and writing were my sustenance! I could lose myself in worlds far better than the one I was enduring. I was reading adult books before I’d ever learned the meaning of all the words. The funny thing is that the books made sense, somehow.

Here I sit, nearly fifty years later, still learning. When I began this blog some eight years ago, the memories slowly began to resurface, giving rise to many wonderful, and some not-so-wonderful stories, poems, anecdotes, journal entries… and eventually, stories began arriving. Big ones, small ones, funny ones, sad ones… and some that made readers say, Huh?

When I really began writing heavily, it was in early 2023. Back in those initial days, weeks, and months, my writing was more a therapy session than anything more. I looked toward WordPress subscribers as a silent audience, or a studio sounding board, if you will.

But then, over time, something began to change. My subscribers, or readers if you will, began to comment, share and respond. Not like fans, though, but rather my friends. I might even be so bold as to say that many have become like family to me… like a village, really! You have all watched me suffer, struggle, cry, rage, and lament my journey. But, you have also been with me through blessings, joys, and countless literary adventures!

You have encouraged me to keep going, supported and loved me through some of the worst of times, some of the hardest life lessons, and some of the deepest joys of my journey! For this reason, I want to share something with you that while being rather small, brings me a great amount of joy in sharing with you, my most treasured family.

I know it’s only an e-book, but it’s got to start somewhere, right?

God Bless my husband’s abilities, for without his hard work and skills, it would have been impossible for me to navigate all this publishing stuff. I’ve a mountain of manuscripts just sitting, collecting dust, which is the opposite of what I wish for them. This is certainly worthy of at least a peek, if not a full read. Oh, and since it’s published on Amazon Kindle, members can read it for free! Don’t worry though, I still receive royalties, even if you don’t purchase it.

For now, I’ve simply included a link to the book, which is below, but you can also just look it up on Amazon.

Faith without action is rather empty, so here is an action…

https://a.co/d/buvEII2

I don’t think I could have done any of this without you, my WordPress family. So, I offer my most sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart, for all of your love, support, and encouragement… Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”. Matthew 17:20