The Graduations of Life by Windell Don Darden

The Graduations of Life

By Don Darden 12/8/02



Life is a series of graduations, beginning with the event of our birth until the most important final graduation from this life to the kingdom of heaven.

When we are conceived we grow in our mother’s womb and develop, by God’s grace, until we can sustain life on our own. At this time we are born and graduate from being a fetus to being an infant in this world as we know it today. This event is a happy and festive occasion. Everybody is happy, our parents, relatives, and our parents’ friends. This is, indeed, a time for celebration.

We continue to strengthen our muscles and improve our motor skills until we are old enough to enter pre-kindergarten. We then graduate to the beginning of our formal education years. Everybody is happy, the parents, relatives, and friends. This requires a change to a different way of life.

The following year we graduate to kindergarten. The next year we graduate into the first grade. Another joyous occasion. Another change of lifestyle.

After a series of graduations as we move from one grade to another we eventually reach another major graduation when we move from grade school to middle school. Everyone is happy and another change in our living patterns.

After a series of graduations from one grade to another we reach another major graduation when we graduate from middle school to high school. Again everyone is happy and a more important change in our lifestyle.

A series of grade graduations brings us to the most important graduation to date. We graduate from high school. There are celebrations and gifts as everybody congratulates us on this major achievement.

Then we reach the most drastic change of our lifestyle to date when we enter either the work place or a school of higher learning.

After a series of graduating from freshmen to seniors we eventually graduate from college. The most important event yet in our lives to date. Another joyous occasion with celebrations and parties. Everyone is exceedingly happy for us. Another more serious change of lifestyle.

We then enter the work force where we achieve a series of graduations from one position and pay raises to another. We eventually reach the age of retirement. There are celebrations and happy occasions when we graduate from the work force to a life of leisure. Everyone is again happy for us, a time for celebrating.

As time goes on, natural aging progresses to the point that our bodies and minds cannot sustain life and our mortal bodies (but not our souls) die. This is the point where we reach the ultimate graduation of all, what our life of graduations has been preparing us for-------If we have lived our life according to God’s laws and accepted Jesus into our life, our spirit graduates from this world that we know to the Kingdom of God. We are extremely happy. No more worries, no more pains, no more sorrows, just peace and bliss with all the comforts of God’s Kingdom.

Are our friends and relatives happy for us? They walk around with long faces with tears in their eyes. This is the time for celebrating, not tears. This is truly a time for joy for the departed.

Having been on the surviving side many times I have felt the loss of losing family members, relatives, and friends. Each time I felt a sense of loss. I was sorrowful that the departed was no longer with me. It was uncertain what the future would bring without them. I know their spirit is with God and they have achieved the ultimate God has for us. And, even though their departure makes me sad I am happy they have achieved the ultimate graduation of all.

We don’t all handle grief the same way, so to those who find peace and comfort at the grave site of a loved one, I say, "Go, and may God be with you, but don’t set in judgment of those who find grave sites too painful to bear."

The following poem was published several years ago that says it all:

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.

(Author Unknown)

Sleepless in Charlotte

2:22 a.m.

In a deep sleep. Dreamed I heard the door bell. Awake now.

Wuz up with me anyway???

Now that it is 3:33 a.m., I am thoroughly awake and sitting here twiddling my thumbs - wishing I could sleep! I could do my Bible lesson. I'm having trouble focusing, though.

Yesterday was Father's Day. We had a great time together! We played in the back yard until we got too hot and had to come in. Later we grilled rib-eye steaks and I fried some okra. Also, I baked a delicious apple pie and made homemade ice cream. Oh - My - Gosh. Where oh where is my treadmill? I'm going to have to use it a lot for the next week!

I have been printing up wedding photos. Also, I have been printing up other photos that I have taken over the years and want them in albums. I do not want to be dependent upon the computer to view all my photos! It has taken a whole "you know what" load of ink and Kodak paper. Several hundred dollars have been spent the past two weeks just on my photos.

Everybody seems to be doing fine. Dustin needs a job, though. And, Natalie is bored with all her toys. Although I did bring her home a huge, gigantic bag of Disney Store toys and games yesterday! I think she needs a vacation or something. The day before that (Sat.) I brought her home some new rings, a bracelet and two Hawaiian Lays! (sp) She thought that was cool for about 5 minutes!

Well, this is it for now. I think I'll try to go back to sleep. How can I be bootyful if I do not get my sleep?

A Wedding and Decompressing

Hello, Great Big World!

Pretending this will be read by 1 out of 10 people all around the world! Oh yes... My genius words of infinite wisdom! Right here, folks!

We had a wedding in April! This was a wedding given for our beautiful, sweet daughter. As it was by far and large, the largest party ever attempted by me, I have to say that it turned out so incredible that I'm still in shock! This entire event came together like magic. There were so many great people involved. From vendors to loving friends and family, this came together like a giant puzzle!

I should be exhausted - well, okay... I am exhausted! But, I'm also ready to do another one! Let's party! I am so raring to go, so enthusiastic for another wedding that I don't know what to do with myself. It was my first wedding to plan. I had some great ideas. But now that I have been through it, I can see all the areas where there is room for improvement and a more accurate time measurement. Oh well.... I learned and had a blast doing it.

Not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition. Not supposed to make incomplete sentences, either. Oh well.

I'm not here to be perfect!

Let's see.... What else? It's raining. Everybody is happy. The dog is taking his 3rd mid-morning nap. He couldn't wait to get me up at 7 a.m. sharp to play. Knightley was the happy recipient of a purple dragon toy and immediately attempted to run from the silly thing. It squeeks! Oh no! It makes crinkle noises, too! Oh no! Run! But wait! Maybe it's fun? He kept looking back at it, wondering if it was a real threat or something to play with. Finally, he decided to be Lassie the Wonder Dog and attacked it with relish. Oh yes..... Now the mean old dragon has collie teeth in it! Take that! And that! And that! Collie teeth and slobber. The dragon has been properly conquered!

I have a happy, beautiful daughter bride. Happy children. Happy husband. Happy dog. Happy home. And new Merle Norman cosmetics to make me appear 30 years younger. Life is good.

Holy Cow .....

Okay, well it has been ..... forever since I have written! Since no one reads this but me, let me just begin by saying, "Hello, Me!"

What a very strange past two weeks! Natalie had a major tooth pain on March 10th. Ran her to the dentist within 45 minutes. Then, she had to go into the hospital 6 days later to have dental surgery on March 16th at 2:00 p.m. One week later, to the day and to the hour, Allison went into the hospital to have surgery on her knee. So, that's two of my children in the hospital for surgeries within one week of each other - at even at the same hour of the day. Maybe I should tie Dustin down somewhere for this next week! Actually, he's sick with a sore throat. When it rains, it pours!

What a beautiful day this has been! Natalie and I spent much of it in the back yard playing in the fort and on the slide and swings! The Yoshino Cherry tree in the back yard is in full bloom. It is so big and tall now. I'll bet it is at least 30 feet tall. It is spectacular! When the wind blows, the little flower petals softly shower down upon us. It is just like snow in the beautiful sunshine.

Allison's wedding is coming up. I'm afraid to look at the calendar! It is on April 18th. So, can you count this late at night? Golly - it's after 9:00 p.m. I must be getting old to think this is late. lol.....

Heck - Those are cuss words. Getting old? Not me! Never! They are gonna have to KICK me into my grave! I'm not going! Not getting old. Nope.

Juanita called me today. It was so great to hear her voice. She reminds me so much of Mimi. She is such a dear, precious cousin. I wish I could live near her!

Today is Leslie's birthday! I had a lot of fun visiting with her. She is awesome.

And, of course, I have a new baby niece! Ava Elizabeth. What a beautiful angel. She was born on the 19th.

Natalie is doing fine. Allison is doing fine. Now, I need to take care of Dustin.

Good night, Vicki Lynn. The world is a happy place. Keep your mind on the positive side - the sunny side - and you will enjoy each and every day.

God is in control. :-)

Just Pondering........

Pondering the Universe.....

Why I am still awake when it's after 11:00 pm .......

How in the world I remembered my sign-in name and password here .......

It is hard to Ponder when I'm so sleepy!

However, I haven't written in such a long time. Yep... guess it was Christmas! I might as well add right here that Santa DID find our house. Once again. I was as good as I could be last year. It's good that his standards are so low! :-)

This has been an interesting month! We are planning Allison's wedding! Oh my gosh! Is it too soon to panic? Too late to panic? Mother of the Bride.... you cannot run. You cannot hide. For some reason YOU have to be the steady one! Dang... running for my life isn't an option! I tried closing my eyes and screaming in my head, but it didn't work. When I opened them again, everyone in Walmart was just looking at me funny. lol.... (no! I didn't really do that) I DID cause a traffic jam in the doorway, though. Well, I dropped my car keys just as I was walking through the doors. They fell onto my tennis shoes and got stuck in my laces. So, I tried to pick them up but they were all tangled up. I bent down to the floor so I could see really good to untangle them but then people started tripping over me! It was really crowded and they couldn't see me down there on the floor. So Then, I stood up and kicked my foot really hard! They keys came loose, flew across the entrance and hit an old man in his chin. I was horrified and of course, apologized! That's all I have to say about that. (charm school drop-out) It is a little embarrassing when I can't even make an exit out of a Walmart store without making the "Greeter" laugh at me!

All is going well so far. The wedding is still on. Our precious little Love Birds are still in love! Everything else is secondary!

And now it's time to call it a day. The Pondering from a Beautiful Mind has come to an end.... *s

Now, It's REALLY Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Last night as I was tucking Natalie into bed, I was explaining to her how Santa works. You know, the North Pole, the elves who help him, his bag of toys, sleigh, reindeer, roof-top landings, chimney, etc...... Her eyes got so big! Of course she is aware of all this as she has seen The Christmas Toy and other movies all her life long. But for some reason, on this special night, it all hit home with her in a big way. I went on to explain that Santa only brings presents to GOOD little girls. Again, her eyes got really big, waiting for me to tell her if she fell into that catagory, so of course, I quickly went on to tell her that she was such a good girl! (instant relief!) Once she was reassured and beginning to accept that Santa was indeed going to bring her toys tonight, she began saying over and over again, "I'm good girl! I'm good girl!" Over and over again, "I'm good girl!" lol.....

She was so cute.

Of course this type of discussion is not amenable to quick falling asleep. For a long time after I closed her door, I could hear her chatting and playing up a storm in her room! I figured that she was tired enough. It wouldn't take long for her to succumb to the magical, dreams of sugar plums that would dance through her head, sleep. I was right.

This morning, bright and early, she ran into the living room and began discovering one toy after another...... Oh, how very VERY happy she was! She did try to eat all her chocolate candy from her stocking - almost in one gulp - but we had to stop her after two BIG pieces. Oh my goodness..... so much sugar! She wasn't too happy with us for monitoring the chocolate consumption session. However, she just had to deal with it! (woopsie..... somebody has a bit of a temper! lol.... )

Quickly, though, she went on to other things. Coffee helped.

I will not go into more detail. I'll just say that this was the most perfect and happy Christmas ever. She is still enthralled with all her toys, gifts, goodies, and surprises. She is in her room now taking inventory and rearranging all her new things!

It is good that we have these magical holidays thrown in here and there. God knew that we would need happy celebrations interspersed within the harsh realities of life. Now is a very good time to turn our thoughts to Him, worship, give thanks and revel in the beauty of God's gift to us...... Eternal life through our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am deeply grateful for His provision, for His love, forgiveness and mercy.

May God bless us, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Well, I can't believe I haven't written - or even signed into this blog - since last May! This is the weird part..... I did not remember my sign in name or password so I had to guess. I got it right the very first time I tried it! That's amazing!

Allison and Keith are here to visit. They spent the day with us and tonight, they are attending a Christmas party. Keith's biker club.... I wonder how Harley guys throw a Christmas party? Anyway, I hope they have a good time.

It's raining and I have barbeque cooking in the slow cooker. I put out so much food all day long, though, that I can't believe anyone could possibly be hungry for dinner. It smells great in here!

Natalie is so excited about Christmas! She sits in front of the tree for hours sometimes, just looking at all the presents and the tree lights. She does not have any concept of when Christmas will arrive - no concept of time, so that makes it a little hard. She doesn't realize that it's still 5 days away! She's having the time of her life, though. She brought all of her toys in here so she can play in front of it.

The other day, Natalie was sitting and looking at the presents. She was being so good..... not even trying to open one. Then, just as I was going out of the room, I heard a teeny-tiny "tear" and turned around. She had a present in her hands and was pulling on a bow very slowly and looking up at me. When I turned and looked at her, she said quietly and with amazement, "Uh-ohhhhh....." lol.

Accidents happen! Hate it when presents fly apart like that!

Knightley has been good, too. He loves to eat paper and he has kept his distance from those presents.

Oh good news.... I sold some Revenescence on Ebay the other day for $125.00. Good, eh? I have more on there now. This bottle is a 6 oz. though and I have $299.00 on it.... Buy it Now for $345.00. We'll see. I don't care if it doesn't sell. I love that stuff. I'll keep it with no problem.

Dan is doing good. He is getting new customers and bringing in great numbers - inspite of the bad economy.

Well, time to get to the kitchen and do something in there - even if it's wrong!

God is good! We are blessed......