A Tribute to My Grandma and My Mom

"A falling tree makes more noise...

Than a forest that's growing."

I remember as a young, brown eyed girl who was innocent to the ways of the world my grandma used to sing a few songs that I just thought were simple silly songs. 

There were two of them that she sang quite frequently;

 Row Row Row your Boat and Accentuate The Positive.

To look at the lyrics of either of these songs you might think they are but simple childlike songs, but as I've gotten older I have come to realize that the theme in both of them; to live merrily, gently, and stay on the positive side of life, are words to live by.

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream." 

and

"You've got to accentuate the positive 

eliminate the negative

Latch on to the affirmative 

But 

Don't mess with Mister in between."

As every year passes and my kids are growing like weeds, with a graduate of High School and one more headed into High School, their friends getting married, and having babies these lyrics are beginning to become my life's simple song.

Because life truly is ...
But a dream.
But a breath.
But a moment.

I think that is all one can do in this life is row your boat gently and merrily down this stream called life,  call it a good day, and return to dust.

Gently because there are enough storms in this life to rock that boat so on the daily to remain in gentleness and kindness and merrily live this life is truly not an easy task.

The second song is without a doubt in my DNA.

My mom and my grandmother have lived this song out and maybe it was the song in their hearts that forever changed them to be positive people.

Living on the positive side of life and not giving energy to negative things is also not an easy task.

Latching onto the affirmative to me would be the key to life.

The affirmative to me means truth.

Latch onto what is TRUE in this life and for me The Way, The TRUTH, and where life can be found is only in Jesus. 

These songs although they might be simple melodies they are far from simple to live out.

I believe they are the reason you arrive at 46 years of marriage like my parents picture above. 

Either one of my parents at any given moment could have got hung up on negative things that they saw in each other. They could have looked at their 5 kids and torn them apart for all their inadequacies as well, but instead they chose the positive side of life. 

They gave each other space.

They chose grace, and mercy and they still do.

These words are a way of life that I'm determined to emulate.

  I'm beyond grateful for these simple songs now that I'm older and I've seen many ways to live this life.
You can spend your time, your energy, your resources on so many different things in this life, but things don't last, people do.
If your not spending time on what is eternal it all turns back into dust in the end.


Simple but True.

Life  is But A Dream.
Live merry.
Live Gently.
Live Positive.
 And pay attention to that growing forest rather than the one noisy negative tree falling.

Nothing But Love

Noël