Chris xx Route 66's blog: "Daily Thoughts"

Grow When I get up in the morning in the mirror, I do see. I’m not quite certain who, that is staring at me. Often times, the person I am, conflicts in my mind. Do I treat people badly or, do I try to always be kind? Are my good intentions, for those in need of a helping hand? Or, are they just to make myself look grand? Life is all about change, nothing ever stays the same. I have to accept my mistakes not looking for someone else to blame. Taking a constant inventory of my bad faults and putting them on a shelf. It’s quite a work in progress to become my self. I tend to a garden filled with P’s, peace, patience, positive and pray. The beauty of this is I get a bountiful harvest every day. As long as I weed out the W’s, want, weak and worry. A garden takes time to produce, no matter how much I hurry. Our Creator makes the seeds it’s up for to me reap. My bounty will be overflowing of blessings I get to keep. Chris

We had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom. Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done. Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth. And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt. "In raising my children, I have lost my mind but found my soul."

MY FANTASY I HAD THIS DREAM LAST NIGHT OF FANTASY YOU AND I WAS TOGETHER ENTWINED IN ECSTASY I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY OR, WHERE TO BEGIN MY FEELINGS FOR YOU ARE ALMOST A SIN SOMEHOW, YOU’VE CAST UPON ME AN OVERPOWERING SPELL DREAMING ABOUT YOU IS HEAVEN, WITHOUT YOU IT’S HELL TRY AS I MIGHT, THE WORDS ARE HARD TO FIND JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW YOU FILL MY MIND LIFE SOMETIMES GIVES US A TERRIBLE FATE. KNOWING YOU’RE SO FAR AWAY IS SOMETHING I HATE. IF, MY DREAMS WERE TO COME TRUE THEY’D BE SPENT WITH NO ONE BUT YOU. SO STRANGE TO ACHE FOR SOMEONE YOU’VE NEVER TOUCHED NEVER THOUGHT, I’D WANT SOMEONE THIS MUCH CHRIS

Visions Got a vision of you in my mind, you’re lying there soaking wet. Are bodies entwined we’re covered in our sweat. Just staring at you, things get quickly out of hand. And, we rock together almost by command. You’re lying on top of me, together we become one. You lie there still after the passion is done. But, only for a moment in time, do we even rest. The passions mount as you slowly move across my chest. My eyes drink you in as you’re by my side. Our desires come rushing back in like a tide I reach out for you to touch you in the dark. As my hand glides across your skin, I can feel a magic spark. I want you again, to feel you and to hold you next to me. I can’t even think of, anywhere I’d rather be I press my mouth tightly upon your lips. I close my eyes as you reach for me with your finger tips Together, we rock and grind forward and back. How many times we made love, I’ve since lost track. Just waiting for that day when, I come thru your door. To love you for ever and ever more chris

MY IMAGINARY LOVER Just wanted you to know, you’ve captured my heart I wish, the distance didn’t keep us a part. Even though, you’re so far away, I seem to find, This doesn’t keep you off my mind. Imaginary lover, you’re in my heart and in my dreams. The yearning and longing, stretches my heart at the seams. If, I close my eyes, I can see you standing there. I can almost reach out and stroke your hair. I can reach out and touch your skin What I feel for you is almost a sin I can imagine that, you’re here. As, I take you in my arms I draw you near. Even though, the distance keeps us miles and miles apart, I can feel your chest against me and the beating of your heart I look into your eyes to see the windows to your soul. This stirs in me a fire down below. I just had to tell you how I felt. If, I was holding you, my heart would surely melt. CHRIS

I want to go back To a time long ago when things moved slow Before, we raced to our grave Long before, we had a microwave You wave at everyone you know We listened to music on A.M. radio We took our dates to a drive in Hopped in the back after the movie begin We waited all year for the holiday's For the snow to fall, to take out our sleighs The first virgin snow to fall on a winter's ground I can still see it in my mind falling without a sound We hold these thoughts so close in our memory Of how simple life used to be. We try and vision what will be Try as we might, still can't see Will, my day become a memory in a year or two. Only Tomorrow know's, it holds the clue. Yesterday is history, and tomorrow is a mystery. It's better not to ponder over the past, nor long for what's to be. The future is not promised to you nor to me. Maybe, it's by grasping each minute of the day, lingering slowly, before they pass away. The days of our past and the days of present will all be memories if, they're all well spent chris

THE NET I MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE LAST ONE TO GIVE THE INTERNET A TRY I'LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT, TECHNOLOGY HAD PASSED ME BY MY SON WAS IN THE NAVY IN THE PERSIAN GULF OVERSEAS THIS WAS THE FASTEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME I REALIZED SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF MY SON A COUPLE YEARS LATER, I'M STILL CONFUSED AS CAN BE I'M NOT ALWAYS SURE ABOUT A DOWNLOAD OR, AN MP3 SO, TO TRY AND STAY IN THE PRESENT AN NOT APPEAR A FOOL I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE THE COMPUTER, A USEFUL TOOL NOW YEARS AGO, WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL ALL THE SMART KIDS USED SOMETHING CALLED A SLIDE RULE. I CAN'T COMPLAIN ANY ABOUT USING THE INTERNET THERE'S SO MANY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE THAT, I HAVE MET. MY COMPUTER IS OUTDATED, SO I'VE BEEN TOLD. LOL KIND OF LIKE ME, I'M FEELING OLD! CHRIS

Do you ever think about me, like I think about you? When, I get up in the morning and the sun sparkles on the morning dew. When, I go for a drive in my car. I’ll see flower growing wild an, I’ll be reminded how pretty you are. Did I ever tell you, how much I love to see you smile? Did I tell you, how much you lift me in times of trial? I often wish the words would flow from my pen. To tell you you’re more then a lover, you’re my friend. You know, thru our good times and thru our bad. You brought a smile upon my face when, I was sad. When, the lines grow on our face and our hair has turned gray. I’m glad you’ve been with me thru the night and day. An, when our days on earth are thru, I wouldn’t have been me, without you. chris

The Quilter Our Days On Earth Are Numbered From The Day We're Born From Lives Often Tattered And Torn. So We Piece Our Lives One Stitch At A Time. Like The Verse Of A Sonnet Or Nursery Rhyme Back To A Time When We Were A Child So Care Free And Running Wild But The Days They Blow Away Like The Desert Sand One Day I Was A Child And Now I'm A Man Mother I Wish, I Could Have Been All You Wanted Me To Be I've Never Said, Thanks For All You've Done For Me Now That I'm Older, I Can See The Sacrifice That You Gave That You've Loved Me From My Cradle To Your Grave What You Did Teach Me To Pass To My Own. They've Left Me So Quickly And Now They've Grown So I Hope, Their Lives Can Be A Happy One Mother I Love You, The Quilters Son Thanks Mom chris k

SHMILEY My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word "SHMILEY" in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving "SHMILEY" around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more. They dragged "SHMILEY" with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal. They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. "SHMILEY" was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave "SHMILEY" on the very last sheet. There was no end to the places "SHMILEY" would pop up. Little notes with "SHMILEY" scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows. "SHMILEY" was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture. It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love -- one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection which not everyone is lucky enough to experience. Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandmother whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew "how to pick 'em." Before every meal they bowed their heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other. But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents' life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared in years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside. Now the cancer was again attacking her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone. "SHMILEY." It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby. Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew that, although I couldn't begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty. S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.