Judy and I are more then friends, we are like sisters. Her girls call me auntie gail and my girls called her aunt Judy. When we lived in Turlock Judy lived in a small house out on west main a little ways from town. The house was surrounded by corn field in the summer and the girls would run through the corn and pretend to get lost having a good time. One day they came running into the house yelling and my daughter kathys eyes were swollen shut. Aparently the pollen got into her eyes and she had an alergic reaction. Judy never seemed to panic, she just washed her eyes out with water and put cold washclothes on them to take the swelling down. It worked but believe me Kat didn't want to do that again.

Judy was teaching me how to make jelly one day and I really don't stop to think sometimes. I picked up the jar and poured the hot jelly , but instead of hitting the jar I hit my thumb. I guess my face went pretty weird cause judy started laughing and grabbed my thumb and put it under cold water. Again with the cold water. Boy do we really need to spend hundreds of dollars on doctors or just use cold water. I did learn not to hold the jar next time I pour something boiling hot into it.
She reminded me of the time we went to the store and was in a hurry. I got out of the car and slammed the door only my thumb was not quit out of the car yet. I opened the door , took my thumb out and looked at it. and was embarrassed cause there was someone sitting in the car next to mine. And my first thought was , I didn't want them to know I was dumb enough to do what I just did. It really didn't hurt till I got in the store and grabbed the item I was going to buy and by the time I got to the register it started hurting and pulsating all the way up my arm. and the tears started pouring out and the lady looked at me like I was nuts. She said " are you ok?" and I tried to tell her I smashed my thumb in the car door but couldn't quit get the words out. Again Judy went hysterical on me. At least she can say I've always been good for a few laughs.

Judy was not there for this one, but when Sharon was a baby another friend was over and I was trying to fix a bottle and she was screaming. I couldn't find the can opening so I took a sharp knife and stabbed down to make a hole in the can. Again I was holding the can like a dummy, and stabbed , but this time the knive went into my hand between my thumb and index finger. I stood there in shock with the knife in my hand and my friend jumbed up and yelled, "did you just stab yourself?" Believe it or not it didn't hurt at first. Needless to say I pulled the knive out and went about my business. Well the baby had to eat.

I've told you of my fear of spiders, Judy and her family use to go to some mountains not too far from Turlock and have a picnic and one time they went she called me and told me that the girls brought back a couple of tarantulas. I told her I wouldn't be coming over to visit. Some time went by and one of her girls had a birthday and she invited us over.. Forgetting about the (you know whats) we went. she had a few people over and as I went to sit down on the couch and was talking Judy started to come over toward me slowly and as I looked next to me on the end table there sat a gallon jar with a tartantula in it. At first I froze, then inhaled and jumped up and ran, only thing was I never exhaled. Her Brother Bill followed me into the other room and began to pound on my back and I finally let the air out. Pour Judy kept apologizing and I was going home. She had them put up but when the others came in the girls wanted to show them off and they didn't get put up before I walked in the door. In my life I've had a couple of small heart attacks and I think that was one of them.

Things are funny now looking back but not when it happened . The kids are all grown up now and all married and have kids of their own. And will learn lifes lessons on how to be the best parents they can be, like Judy and I did. All you can do is your best and alot of praying and hope they turn out ok. And so far they have. But our kids having their own kids will help them understand how hard it is to know to do the right things. and how easy it can be to mess up. Just have a lot of love and forgiveness and things will be ok. till next time.