Beth

I am:
Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Sister, Friend, Teacher and older than Kitty West.
I thrive on laughter, the love shared with family and friends, the wonder of all nature, music and the joy of meaningful work.
My husband Monty cooks. That alone makes him worth keeping. He is my friend, helper and a great baby burper. He also teaches classes at the local college here.
Daughter Jessica ihas finished medical school and is now in a residency program, and is the mother of Nathan "get up stand up" Marley, our first grandson.
Jessica is a good mother,a feisty woman, has been known to frighten off would-be thieving thugs. A bright, beautiful, enthusiastic being, topped off with a head full of flaming red hair.
Elizabeth, better known as "Bub", had one of her years of college in Costa Rica, brought home a Costa Rican husband named Alfonso ("a handsome man")and they had Andre in October 2006.
It is unknown as yet whether the baby will speak Costa Rican or English....Bub and Alfonso told the doctor they didn't want to know ahead of time, they wanted to be surprised. So, we are buying the baby books in both languages, and after he starts talking, we'll know which books to exchange for the appropriate language.
Nathan, our son, a musician, enthusiastic surfer and all round gentle, kind, human being, left planet earth 9 years ago, a week after turning 21. His spirit, however, is alive and well, with us always. It's become somewhat normal among family and friends to have occasional "Nathan sightings", quick peeks of his big smile, casual stride and floppy hat, which remind us that he is always right here, in the present. Once every so often, he can be seen playing in the ocean, looking very much like a dolphin. Another friend says that Nathan is in a heavy metal band right on the brink of being discovered.
That Damned Isabelle...
Our little home was completely paid for when Hurricane Isabelle blew through Downeast Coastal North Carolina. Suddenly, and unbelievably, our home was flooded. Insurance covered the equivelant of what it might cost to rebuild a bathroom, maybe. And FEMA did nothing to help us at all. For 2 years we were sheltered in the homes of various friends, grateful for their help, but heartbroken over the loss of our home, not to mention losing all sense of normal life patterns.
THEN CAME THE BAPTISTS
Having been homeless for 2 years, I have only the deepest gratitude for the group of NC Baptist men, strangers, who came from far away in order to help rebuild our home. They are forever true heroes in our hearts. God Bless those Baptists!
Life has taken on new patterns, now, new joy, and big, brand new, wonderful Hope.
We finally live at "home" again, the new walls, ceilings and floors absorbing new memories.
Little "Get up Stand Up" Marley Nathan fills our home with the presence of re-discovery, laughter and love. Jessica has blossomed with motherhood and ihas finished her medical school requirements.
And I look at my other daughter, her near-toddler, her (handsome)husband and their dog who barks in Costa Rican language....
Today I am new again. I am glad to be alive, happy to feel all the life in motion around me. I'm grateful to know first hand about those good Baptists. Living in the comfort of "home" is more special than ever, having experienced not having one.
I cherish my friends, I know I am loved.
I know that life is full of surprises, some bad, but the majority, good.
I know there will always be endings
I know there will always be new beginnings.
I know that Love is eternal, most important of all, and when our bodies are used up, buried and gone, who we are REALLY, is Love.....which lives on.
I welcome Today, and all the new beginnings it offers. Written by Kitty West 9/06, updated by Beth 9/07