Little Flying Orange Mothers from Mexico Are Back!

Here is an actual married-people conversation from one week ago:
Husband: When do the little flying orange mothers from Mexico come back? You know, the little flying mothers! *he mimics the motion of wings*
Me: Monarchs. They're called monarchs. *eyeroll*

Well, I'm happy to let everyone know the grand news of this day. The little flying orange mothers (some people call them monarchs) from Mexico are back! It was a good day for it, as it was also my big sister Barb's birthday. She was our Butterfly Girl, also the original Barefoot Girl. It somehow felt like she had sent them for me.

In honor of Barb's birthday, I am posting a photo of the two of us girls in the extras. That glorious curly-haired blonde on the right with the megawatt smile is my big sister Barb, who had tiger blood, and could leap small buildings in a single bound! Yeah, she was fierce, and she was strong, and she loved all of us kids to bits.

That girl on the left, yeah, that's me. The camera around my neck is my pre-digital SLR, a Pentax K-1000, that used to go everywhere with me. (Yes, I was GirlWithACamera, even before you met me!) It's been quite a few years since I messed around with an actual film camera, but that was a good one.

Barb's favorite color was butterfly blue, and mine was always purple. But I think we look pretty good wrapped up in Barb's favorite shade, just two gals in blue. Do you see how happy we were together? Do you see how much love? I do. I see it shining out from us like a great big light!

On this day, Barb's birthday, while she's in Heaven walking barefoot with Jesus now (and someday I will too! Barb, I am coming too, but not yet, so hold on and wait for me!), I choose gratitude over heartache. It is what I was taught. She helped teach me this: I choose love, I choose happiness.

There is a poem that goes around on Facebook sometimes, that I love. It's by Merritt Malloy. Here are several favorite verses of it. The rest can be found here.

When I die,
Give what's left of me away
To children
And old men that wait to die.

And if you need to cry
Cry for your brother
Walking the street beside you
And when you need me,
Put your arms
Around anyone
And give to them
What you need to give to me.

Love doesn't die,
People do.
So, when all that's left of me
Is love
Give me away

For my sister Barbara Jane Colyer, well loved and truly missed on her birthday.

Two songs. One for the butterflies' return: Kansas, Point of Know Return. One for my sister and me with our arms around each other, in our shining blue moment: Waylon Jennings, Didn't We Shine!