Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Hope Springs Eternal!

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

-Alexander Pope,
An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733




The start of spring brings with it hope. After the winter we have endured, I am enjoying the warmth of the sun. It is what spring does...life begins anew, trees come back to life and flowers bloom. Once more the world is open to us.

So it goes with life itself. Everyone needs that point to breath in and say let's go at it again. Every year, we deal with what life gives us. Every year, we need to rejuvenate to tackle life's obstacles. I suppose I'm reflecting a tad at the moment. It's the first year that my husband's family is dealing with his mother not being at family events. She has Alzheimer's and is in a nursing home. She wasn't at our family gatherings for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. We do go to visit her and she's quite happy in the little world she lives in at the moment. It's her family that's hurting.

My father-in-law told me that retirement isn't anything like he imagined. My in-laws had planned on enjoying their golden years. My in-laws loved to travel. They had a time-share down in Aruba for twelve years. Every May, they would go down for a couple of weeks. But as we talked, he began to remember. It put a smile on his face. Then the younger grandchildren...the ones that didn't get to know their real grandmother...started asking questions about her. My father-in-law sat with them and relived with them his memories. 
Sometimes its what we have is the memories. Passing them on means they will live on. And that gives us hope.

Hope...we built our country on that belief. If you enjoy reading about spies, traitors, love and betrayal, try Winds of Betrayal Series. The first book in the series, The Cry For Freedom, is now only $.99!

THE CRY FOR FREEDOM

A rousing family saga for the fight for America's independence. Follow Hannah and Jonathan Corbett's path to Freedom!
The winds of change brews over the colonies. Tension against the crown is mounting daily. In Williamsburg, the rebellion burns strong in the hearts of two siblings, Jonathan and Hannah Corbett. Spirited and headstrong, Hannah finds herself thrust in the middle of a conspiracy when her father receives a strange package from Philadelphia. Jonathan, a physician for the Continental Army, is torn between duty and family. With war looming on the horizon, the siblings soon discover there is a high price to be paid for the cry for freedom!

The Saga continues....






Coming 2014
The Heavens Shall Fall, Winds of Betrayal Book Four









6 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Jerri,

Beautiful post. My heart goes out to your family. My daughter-in-law just got a similar diagnosis for her mother. This will help me know how to help her. Oh, and best of luck with your saga. Sounds fabulous!

Jannine Gallant said...

Life is full of curve balls. I don't think it's ever what we expect. Very moving post, Jerri.

Colleen Connally said...

Appreciate the thoughts. Life is full of curve balls. We just need to appreciate the time we have...what is the saying...smell the roses along the way!

glenys said...

Jerri - I was sorry to hear about your Mom-in-law - Alzheimers is a dreadful illness. It must be hard for your father in law, especially, to deal with - people have such plans for retirement and all too often, something happens that skews is all.
Did I tell you how luscious your book covers are? Goodness, the covers alone should sell your books!

Colleen Connally said...

Glenys,

You're right. Alzheimers is an awful disease.

I do love my covers too. Erin did an awesome job.

Barbara Edwards said...

Nice post. I also share memories with my family. sometimes they make me cry but mostly we laugh together.