WHEN I WAS JUST A KID





MEMORIES and ~~~I WAS HONKIN' FAT!

Yes, that's me as a baby, then a "kid", then a young lady with long hair. Oh me, oh my! Where has the time gone? Did I mention that I'm going to be ***60*** on August 26? Yes, that's right ~~ SIXTY! (See my post of a few days ago.)

Recently, I did an interview for someone's blog and the theme was: "When I Was a Kid..." The questions certainly stirred a host of memories for me. On my actual birthday, I'll post the interview, so come back if you want to read my answers.

Anyway...in response to this interview I had to go in search of some old photos of me, and what a time I had trying to find them. Mission accomplished, though, photos scanned, and there they are!

More later...must get my beauty rest in preparation for my "big day"! My daughters are treating me to a trip to Chicago. I am sooooo excited about this little 'getaway'!

Hugs...

YIPPEE-SKIPPY! MY BOOK IS AVAILABLE!

Long Journey Home is available for immediate shipping on Amazon! It won't hit store shelves till September 1, so I was surprised to see Amazon ahead of the game--and excited--and BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!

Long Journey Home is the first manuscript I ever wrote back in 2000. Retirement from teaching was still a couple years out, but I started praying that God would lay a new passion on my heart in preparation for leaving teaching. Well, I started having a recurring dream that I'd written a novel, which seemed a little odd to me since I hadn't dabbled in fiction writing since high school!!!!! But remembering that I'd asked God for a new passion, I decided to try my hand at writing a story. About a month later, a full 90K word novel emerged (I've never written that fast since!), and my passion was born! Now, I'm delighted to say that manuscript has found a home -- WHITAKER HOUSE PUBLISHING asked to pub it between my two series, and I was thrilled. (Thank You, Jesus!)

Soooo, if you're interested, go to www.amazon.com, plug Sharlene MacLaren into the search space, and my books will pop up. Scroll down to Long Journey Home and wa-lah!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

AUGUST ALREADY?!

One of my dear friends would have to bring up the fact that it is almost August. In fact, by the time you read this, it WILL be! It's almost midnight as I write this, and almost time to flip the calendar page.

I used to love August. Why? Because it's my birthday month, and who doesn't love their birthday month? ME now. I am getting so old that I should really think about rolling back my odometer. Is that legal to do? The other day I was browsing through the antique store and they wanted to KEEP me!

I remember our first black and white TV, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Annette Funicello (she was a mouseketeer!), Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, Mayberry, The Hardy Boys, and Loretta Young...

I remember when bread was four loaves for a dollar, gas wars, (yes, 27-cents a gallon!), fishing with my daddy, Dick and Jane, Think and Do books, Old Yeller, watching Mommy sit at the sewing machine, Fury, My Friend Flicka, Howdy Doody, The Yearling, our first console stereo (we called it a hi-fi, which stood for high-fidelity!)...

I remember going to church twice on Sunday, Wednesday night prayer meetings, and never missing a night of week-long revival services (yawn), ginger snaps, penny candy, two-cent suckers (tootsie roll pops), running barefoot down our dirt road, and Daddy whistling while he worked around the house on Saturdays, his shirt-sleeves rolled up past his elbows, his old pants sagging at the waist. I remember...

OH, OH, OH! IT'S MIDNIGHT. And officially August.

This is my big year. I have truly passed the halfway point, probably the two-thirds, maybe the three-quarters. I am going to be 6-0 this month, and that feels geezerish!

I sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not really. I just put on a good act. I am truly happy and contented to be where I am. Every stage of my life has been a blessing, even the difficult times, because I've truly discovered God's faithfulness in all situations, and more so the older I get. Now I DO sound geezerish! But it's the plain truth.

Yes, I'm going to be older than rocks, but that's okay. With God, my marvelous HUNKY hubby and darling family at my side, why should it matter? I have it all -- not wealth and possessions, mind you -- but GOD and family, the things that make you RICH without having all the money.

I LOVE LIFE AND ALL OF YOU, and suddenly I LOVE that I'm going to be 60!!!!!!!!