Welcome to "About Me"

Underlined text are links

Updated January 2010

I am Rea
I can say anything after that...
I am Aubrey's widow
I am my children's mother

I am retired
I am a certified webmaster
I am 63 yrs old
I am tall, with freckles.
this is who I was, or what I do,
or how I look.

In rebuilding my life after being widowed I came to the realization that, if I was going to be successful in trusting myself,

I'd have to understand that first I am Rea.

Everything else comes after.

When life hands you something that makes you question your own validity keep in mind that,
when you introduce yourself, you start with you:

Hi.

I'm Rea.

I'm a Christian, born June 24th, 1946.  I was married for 28 years to a great guy

(widowed August 20th, 1997)
I have four grown children, all living on their own, all diverse in their likes and activities, and the three I am close to are extraordinary individuals,
(as are their spouses)
and Grandchildren that bring smiles to my face, heart, and life with every encounter...
I like all kinds of activities, from yard sales to the theater...
from a good movie to a rented oldie in front of the TV with popcorn and good company...
I enjoy the beach, love the sun, walks in the quiet of the woods,
I love fishing and boating...
I like dancing to oldies, dining out or in,
I love entertaining and cooking for people...

I garden, read and and play on this wonderful bit of technology, my computer.
I'm a certified webmaster and I either made or used tubes to produce the graphics on these pages

 :)
 

I'm a writer (I have a book ready for the Editors if I ever get the guts to submit it).
I have been very involved in VFW Post 3057 as Ladies Aux Chaplain, Rehabilitation Chairperson,

Gold Star Parent Rep, and I was the Post Newsletter Editor, and their Webmaster.

Doing community service and helping our vets is some of the most rewarding work I've ever done.

I'm proud to have known these people and blessed to call them friends.

I listen to people and to what they say and single words sink into my head...
this is the result of what I've heard:


1/25/01
Hope is the repository of our dreams.
It's where we store them up and where they are held in safety,
close to our hearts.

As far as I can tell there are two kinds of hope:

Wishful hope...

which brings all kinds of things into play.
we knock on wood, wish on stars,
thinking that what we are wishing for can or could or might come true..
We have to guess, watch, and wait.
What we are really doing is not really hoping, it's relying on luck..
It's been my experience that if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all,
so I don't give chance that much power over me.

Then there's faithful hope..

Faithful hope is the confident knowledge that blessings are on their way.
It is the firm belief that good things are already mine...
It is a place in the heart that just knows....
Being faithfully hopeful lets me rely on my God and myself
and the good that comes into my life
because
being faithfully hopeful lets me trust.
Period.
 

3/5/01
And I'm also a soul searcher...
I am constantly searching within myself for answers to the things that puzzle me...
This used to happen more when I was searching for solace,
or trying to heal from something...
but lately, as my life takes on new dimensions,
as new people and different attitudes affect my outlook,
good things are happening...
Positive things...
Positive people...
I am smiling a lot these days....
And I don't even realize it until someone returns my smile...

I have realized, because I am who I am,
because I look, listen, and learn,
and then apply these lessons to my life,
that
(with the encouragement of loved ones)
I got myself here...
Smiling again...
I have a WHOLE person to live with now
(me)
and a whole person to share with my family and friends...
it feels wonderful :)

March 10th, 2001
When we are able to stop enjoying this moment because it
compares more favorably than some other moment in our lives
we have truly reached the place
where beauty can be appreciated
and where love can be freely given, and, accepted.

Thank you Lord, for the gift of my life,
for lending me the people you have brought into it,
for however long it was,
and for making me the kind of person that loves easily.
And, and thank you Lord,
for those that were also who they said they were...
Thank you for those that love me.
:)

February 2010

Because of Rick's suicide the above lessons are ones I'm having to learn all over.

While we both discussed that one of us would end up alone someday I never thought to be back here for the reason I am. 

I don't like it.

Yet here I am, having to learn Rea all over again...

I have to decide how much loving him will stay with me, and how much his death will change who I am.

Painful steps that I am just as hesitant to make as they were the last time I made them.